House

In a coma ward, House is having lunch and watching television when Wilson confronts him about the fact he faked Wilson's signature on the prescription pads. They're interrupted when a coma patient's son Kyle comes in to see his father Gabe Wasniak. House notices the son has a vision problem where he intermittently can't see things that move. He sets off a seizure in the kid by flickering the lights.

Chase and Cameron tests Kyle who says his seizures have previously been inconsequential and other doctors couldn't find anything. Kyle is also an alcoholic. House suspects it's something genetic despite the fact his father Gabe went into coma from asphyxiation after rescuing his wife from a house fire. The initial tests prove negative and House orders genetic testing, which will take a while. Kyle's liver seizes up and they put him on dialysis, and House suggests they talk to Gabe. He grabs a series of drugs to bring him out of his vegetative state but Cuddy interrupts him and warns he'll only be awake for a couple of days at best. House goes ahead with the injection and Cuddy is furious, but Gabe wakes up almost immediately.

Cuddy checks out Gabe who is fully cognitive, and notes there is no recorded family history of seizures or liver failure. Gabe is aware his wife is dead and remembers the fire and how he got Kyle out. He also notes there's no relevant medical history on his wife's side and seems unconcerned about Kyle.

Wilson talks to House about the case and wonders how House has such a cynical view of fatherhood. Meanwhile Tritter shows up and asks Cameron about House's drug use and tells her about how Wilson is defending House. She gets a page which is from Chase and Foreman, who want to know what Tritter is asking her. Kyle is still slipping away and House goes to see Gabe who knows he'll be back in a coma in a couple of days. He wants to get out of the hospital and get a sandwich and head to Atlantic City. House offers him car and money and they take Wilson along with them on a road trip… in Wilson's car, with Wilson's money.

While they travel, House interrogates Gabe about his history. Gabe insists that House answer one question he asks, for every question House asks. House reluctantly agrees and they trade off questions as House asks about the factory that Gabe owned, and concludes that Kyle got a dose of mercury poisoning from spray paint for the boats. House calls in treatment for Kyle and Foreman is forced to lie to cover for Chase being questioned by Tritter.

They can't find the sandwich shop in Atlantic City and Wilson continues to wonder why Gabe is avoiding Kyle. Gabe first lies and then dodges the questions and insists on going to a casino. At the hospital, Kyle's condition worsens despite the treatment. House goes back to the "game" and asks Gabe how much awareness he had in his vegetative state. Wilson wants a few answers himself about House abusing his trust. Foreman calls in to report testing for mercury is negative and the treatment is failing, and House orders another test.

Wilson tries to track down the sandwich store while House checks over Gabe's family history. They notice Gabe has the same problem that Kyle does with being unable to see moving objects.

Tritter questions Foreman who is clearly uncomfortable but Tritter warns that "everyone lies." Gabe asks House while he became a doctor and after some dodging, House admits that when he was 14 he saw an untouchable, a janitor, in Japan, who they needed to handle a patient with an infection, and how he doctors kept around because he was right, and that was why they had to listen to him.

Kyle goes into seizures again while House goes back to the night of the fire, and Wilson accuses Gabe of blaming Kyle because he knocked some tinder loose and caused the fire. Gabe has an outburst blaming himself and refuses to go back to see him fail his son again. House identifies Kyle's accident-prone nature as ragged-red fibre from his mother's side and the liver failure is part of his alcoholism. He calls Foreman, who reveals that Kyle can't get a heart transplant because of his alcoholism and there's no chance of a cure. Gabe volunteers his own heart although Wilson warns that ragged-red fibre isn't curable, only treatable. Cuddy refuses to approve Gabe's donation which will require killing him and now there's only one option. House asks Wilson to leave then he and Gabe discuss ways that he can kill himself so his heart becomes available. Gabe doesn't know what to say to his son, and asks House what he would want to hear from his father. House admits he'd like to have heard his father to admit he was right just once.

Downstairs at the casino, Wilson pays a guy to pretend to be House where he loudly announces who he and House are. Then they wait outside while Gabe kills himself, and then get his body to the hospital for the transplant operation. Cuddy suspects something is up but lets the matter go. Later Kyle wants to know what Gabe left him as a message and House lies and says that Gabe said Kyle did the right thing.

House talks to Wilson who is trying to take out some money from the ATM. House accuses him of enabling as Wilson realizes that his bank account has been frozen as part of Tritter's police investigation.