Chapter 2

"It's not Moersch-Woltman," Chase said as House walked in.

"Oh thank God!" House exclaimed, tossing his backpack into his office. The team looked at him confused. "If it was and you had me come back here I'd fire all of you," he explained. He walked to the white board and added "fever" to the list of symptoms.

"Multiple sclerosis?" Taub tossed out.

"The MRI showed no lesions" Foreman countered.

"Tetanus," Forman suggested as House made himself a cup of coffee.

"He's been vaccinated," Taub said.

"Vaccines can fail," Foreman pushed, "And he was vaccinated precisely because his job puts him at risk. Animal control officers are bitten and scratched all the time."

"He hasn't been bitten recently," Taub insisted.

"It doesn't have to be a puncture wound," Foreman protested. "A deep wound is all the bacteria need to get in."

"And he is around animals constantly," Chase offered.

"It could be a metabolic myopathy," Chase suggested.

"Good thought, Chase," House complimented. "You can run those ten labs while Foreman and Taub share the tetanus test." The team was half-standing to go run more tests when House continued, "Except… We don't need to because it's Moersch-Woltman." They all sat back down. "Don't worry, I won't fire you."

"Fevers don't present with Moersch-Woltman," Chase reminded him.

"No, but they do when someone is sick," House explained.

The team was silent. "We know he's sick, House," Foreman ventured.

"We knew he was sick but we didn't know he got sick," House corrected. They stared at him, trying to follow. "Who has visited him recently? Everyone hale and hearty?"

"His co-worker was here yesterday and had a cold," Taub recalled.

"His co-worker brought a cold," House corrected, "And this morning we started immuno-suppressants. The fever isn't a symptom," House said, wiping it from the white board.

"The virus got in and his defenses were being inhibited," Foreman murmured, understanding.

"And without defenses, the common cold gets to bully his way around the playground-" House trailed off, a look of realization dawning on his face. "Stop the immuno-suppressants, wait for the cold to clear up, then restart to confirm," House said, grabbing his cane, looking at his watch, and walking out the door.

Taub looked at Foreman. "Did he just have a reverse epiphany?" he asked.

"It's been rumored to happen," Foreman said. "Cameron saw one once."