012. Grey
Shades of Grey
"They've got the same symptoms!" Chase objected. "You can't give them different treatments."
House rolled his eyes as he limped back and forth in front of the whiteboard. "I think we've had this conversation before."
"And a baby died," Chase replied heatedly.
"And five others survived," House shot back. "It was our only option then, it's our only option now. Stop arguing with me when you know I'm right and go and do what I told you to do."
Chase glared at him for a moment then he turned as stormed out of the conference room, Foreman and Cameron following in a more circumspect manner. House waited until they were out of sight then limped into his office and sat down heavily. He titled his head back and stared at the ceiling, not moving when the door to his office opened.
"What did you do to annoy Chase now?" Wilson asked with mild humour. "I passed him in the corridor. He looked like he wanted to strangle you, which is more what I expect from Foreman."
House grimaced. "He's having one of his idealistic moments when he thinks everything is black and white. Right and wrong. Good and evil."
Wilson gave a cynical snort. "A few more years should get that out of his system."
House looked over at his friend in surprise. "Well, that was disturbingly cynical coming from you."
"I have a patient who is refusing treatment because it's against her religion," Wilson said sourly, scrubbing his face with one hand. "We've caught the cancer early. It's treatable. Six months of treatment and she should be fine. But her religion forbids it for some reason."
House frowned. "Well, that's just stupid."
"Not in her eyes," Wilson replied. "She thinks it's perfectly sensible. Who am I to tell her she's wrong?"
"An oncologist who knows better than she does," House said brusquely.
"She thinks prayer will cure her," Wilson said with a sigh. "Who's to say it won't? Not everything is black and white."
House snorted. "Shades of grey," he muttered.
Wilson smiled sadly. "That's what life is."