Chapter 7
Once Innocent, Now Monstrous

House found Mrs. Gray sitting on a bench in an abandoned hallway on the fourth floor, desperately clinging to a steaming Styrofoam cup. Wisps of her dark hair stuck out at odd angles, doting upon her that same worn out air that was always present. As House came closer, her focus shot to him, and she shifted, her eyes immediately morphing from distant to fear-filled. She recognized him, but she hadn't seen that much of him, which made her afraid. "Is he…Aiden…" she muttered, unable to say any one complete thought.

"At the moment, he's doing ok," House replied. "I came here to talk about him."

"What about him?" Mrs. Gray sipped hesitantly at her coffee.

"I think your son has DID."

"You think he has multiple personalities?" she asked incredulously. "You think the others haven't thought of this before? It's the first thing they all say! And you know what?! It never is DID! Never has been, never will be!"

"Has he ever been treated for it?" House asked, his head dropping lower.

"They tried once, but it didn't work because apparently they didn't diagnose it correctly."

He was blank for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"They couldn't finish treating him because they couldn't recognize separate personalities. He was only ever one single person, just with different attitudes."

"That's because he's clever," House muttered, looking off in the distance for a moment. "He knows how to twist everyone around him on his finger. Why should a psychiatrist be any different to him?"

"He cares," Mrs. Gray added in a softer tone. "Deep down inside I recognize the boy who wants all this pain to be gone. I see it in him, Dr. House, but everyone else just shoves that aside."

"So, there's a part of him that cares, and a part of him that likes toying with people." Both parties said nothing. "All the technical dealings aside, do you think your son has different personalities?"

Mrs. Gray scoffed. "I already told you: it never has been DID! They were wrong! I just want my son-"

"That's not what I asked," House interjected. "Do you or do you not think your son has multiple personalities?"

Mrs. Gray stared gaping at the diagnostician. "Why does it matter what I think? None of you ever bothered to ask me before, so why should it-"

"A mother knows her son best," House replied.

Freezing in her rant, Mrs. Gray found herself caught off-guard by House's comment. She paused for a moment, and she glanced off toward the wall. As the moments passed, Mrs. Gray's face melted slowly into tears, and she wrestled a tissue forth from her purse. "He wasn't always mean and callous," she said after a while. "That's new in him. I still recognize him, the way he was before all this took serious hold of him. But now it's been fused with this monster that I barely recognize." She resolved to sobbing.

"By monster, you mean the telekinesis?" House stated.

"No, no," Mrs. Gray answered, her gaze fallen upon the sodden fibers in her hands. "He always had telekinesis, but he was very good with it. He still is, I suppose, but that monstrous side of him pushes it to a dangerous level, and…" She sobbed some more.

"So, as you see it, he does have different personalities?"

"You could say that, I suppose," she answered.

"If you feel that strongly about it, you should let us do an examination to determine if he really does have DID. And then we can discuss treatment." He gazed down at her, and she found his eyes. A shred of hope had found its way through the sadness into them. "Right now, it's his best chance."

She glanced down at the decimated tissue in contemplation, then lifted her head again. She nodded, and faintly replied, "Yes. Yes, do it."

Giving a brief nod, House turned and limped back down the hallway.