House lay in the MRI machine, waiting for it to finish scanning his head. And he found himself enjoying the procedure. He couldn't see ghosts in here. He could fall asleep in here...Until Cuddy's voice came over the speaker from the separate glass room. "House! What are you doing in there?"

He opened his eyes, knowing he was looking directly into hers. "When I sleep in my office, my team can find me."

"Why are you examining your brain?"

He heard the machine finish, and he reached up and ejected the tray supporting his resting body. When he stopped moving, he sat up. Cuddy was still inside, illuminated by the screen. She didn't look pleased; and something told him it wasn't his usual sunny personality. Something told him it was what she was seeing on the computer. He grabbed his cane and limped closer to the glass room, stricken at the way she suddenly looked at him.

He limped to the door and pushed his way into the glass room. And it was empty. No sign of Cuddy, no scent of her in the air. He looked at the solid door leading to the hallway. It was locked, just like it was supposed to be. He slid into the chair and looked at the images, clicking through them.

"Oh, God."


Coming back into his office, House found himself naturally reaching for the door handle. He walked in feeling like an idiot, under the scrutiny of his team sitting there. At least, he hoped they were there.

"How'd it go with the patient?"

"Amazing. House, you've got to see this thing," Taub said, almost sounding excited. "His extra toe? It's bigger than his big toe. It's the most anomalous anomaly I've ever seen."

"I've seen plenty."

"You haven't seen this," Park said. "It's really freaky."

"Taub," House said. "Run through the list of symptoms again."

"Uh, heart, fever, tiredness, rash, joint pain."

"All symptomatic of being overdressed and doing hard work in the snow where his feet can get wet. Dry him off, warm him up, wait an hour. I'm going home."

"You just got here," Park said nervously. Or maybe she wasn't nervous; he could never tell.

"How can you be so lackadaisical about your employment?" Dr. Lim asked.

"Not caring helps. You've got my number, I'll call a repairman." He liberated his winter coat and was gone again.

Wilson and Amber were waiting for him in the elevator, along with three doctors. House let two of the doctors get off before he stepped inside. Standing there with the third doctor, he tried to ignore his hallucinations and the sobering discovery he'd made. He turned to the fresh-faced doctor, probably an intern. "You going up or down?"

"Up."

House reached to the number pad, and pushed the down arrow. He smiled at the doctor's sigh.