Out of the Chute - Recap

A bull rider, Lane, enters the ring atop a bull and holds on for the requisite eight seconds. However, after the bull throws him, Lane stands frozen in the center of the ring. The bull rams him and then stomps on him repeatedly. The other riders pull it away and ask Lane if he’s all right, but Lane asks what happened as if he doesn’t know.

House cleans out his bank account, rents a hotel suite, and goes back on Vicodin. Wilson comes to see him, and House insists that he plans to spend the next two weeks enjoying himself after his breakup with Cuddy. When Wilson says that he’s taking more Vicodin, House says that it’s feeling worse and the pampering will get him through it. The hotel clerk, Carnell, arrives with House’s breakfast and promises to do anything he can to make House’s stay comfortable. House invites Wilson to join him in a room service massage and wonders if Carnell means “anything.” Wilson suggests he talk to someone, but isn’t surprised when House explains that he hired a hooker.

The team goes over Lane’s x-rays, which show all the metal surgical pieces he’s received over the years for his injuries. Taub is disgusted that House is off burying his sorrows instead of doing his job, and he warns Masters not to feel any sympathy for their boss. Foreman is eager to take control, and Chase calls him on it. When Masters asks about House’s Vicodin habit, she’s surprised to learn he was suing for ears, but Foreman prefers to focus on the case. She suggests that the hearing loss is a long-term inner-ear pathology, and they can do an ENG to test his inner-ear balance. Foreman tells them to go ahead, and Chase echoes his order.

Wilson talks to Cuddy and points out that she said she didn’t want House to change. She says that she’s thought about it and hasn’t changed her mind, but Wilson says House deserves another choice. Cuddy admits that Wilson is right, but it’s about what she needs, not what House deserves. As Wilson goes, he tells her that House is back on Vicodin, and she should keep an eye on Lane.

The ENG is normal, and the team calls the results to House. He’s in a tub with a hooker, and tells them that a standard ENG won’t work on a champion bull rider. House tells them to devise a suitable test and then, well aware that Cuddy is with the team, tells her that spying is for cowards. Cuddy tells them to keep him posted, and Foreman and Chase both agree.

The team tests Lane on a platform, and Taub wonders why he does something so risky. Lane insists that he loves his job and gets to meet his fans, directing his last comment to Masters. She blushes and then gives him the visual device, and he passes with flying colors. The team wonders what to do next, and they realize that Lane is bleeding from the mouth.

The team calls House, who is in bed with another hooker, and tells him about the new symptom. Chase and Foreman continue to squabble over who is in charge, and Taub tells House to do his job. House notes that Taub is jealous because everyone cares about his relationship breakup and nobody cared about Taub’s. He tells Chase to stop screwing with Foreman and Foreman to do a GI tract. Masters asks if they should worry about him, and if he’s on Vicodin. House takes a Vicodin, says he’s not on Vicodin, and says he needs to find a man with a hurdy-gurdy.

As Taub and Masters check Lane’s GI tract, she worries that House’s judgment. Taub tells her not to worry about it until House actually gives orders instead of providing theories. He then asks Masters why she’s attracted to Lane, and she claims that she isn’t. He warns her that it’s against the rules for her to become involved with a patient and she refuses to discuss it. Masters does notice that Lane’s sclerae have turned yellow. The team calls House, who is listening to a hooker play a hurdy-gurdy. The x-rays show a mass in his liver, but it’s difficult to tell because of the metal rods blocking it. House tells them to operate and check the mass, and then hangs up. They do the surgery and find nothing, meaning the mass has disappeared since they saw it earlier.

The team goes to the hotel to show House the x-rays. He’s in bed with another hooker, and has no explanation for the missing mass. He tells them to check for an intermittently swollen lymph node, indicating an infection. They can’t do a spinal tap safely, so Chase suggests a ventricular puncture. Masters objects but House tells them to do it.

Taub and Masters tell Lane what they need to do, and Masters checks to make sure that Lane has no one else to turn to. As they run the puncture, Taub pokes more fun at Masters, and she admits that she doesn’t know why she likes Lane. The patient’s O2 stats drop and they are forced to do a tracheotomy. As they save his life, they discover that Lane’s feet smell.

The team calls House again, and hears Carnell begging him not to shoot arrows in the room. House wants to shoot an apple off of Carnell’s head. He passes, but Hook’s new hooker eagerly volunteers. Nothing that causes smelly feet would also cause bloody spetum. However, House suggests fungal infection, meaning that it’s in the heart or brain. They can’t check either organ because of the metal, and House says that they can do a MRI of the heart but it’ll be painful. Taub suggests ice water injections to minimize the damage. House then shoots the hooker with the bow and hangs up. Carnell panics until he realizes the whole thing is a prank set up between House and the hooker. Wilson arrives and tells him he won’t be shooting anyone again.

Taub and Masters explain the procedure to Lane, and Masters gets flustered again. As they begin the MRI, Masters claims that her brain is telling her to have sex with him because he’s good breeding stock.

At the hotel bar, Wilson points out that House is bored and is worried he’ll do something more stupid. He suggests that House move in with him, but House dismisses it as Wilson’s ego. He finally snaps and yells at Wilson to leave him alone, but Wilson refuses. House trumps him by getting up and walking away.

The rods in Lane’s ribcage start to heat up, and Masters tries to stop the procedure. Taub says that she’s trying to protect lane, not save him, and keeps the MRI going until they get a clear scan. Masters runs to lane and puts an ice pack on his rib cage, and Taub tells them that the images are normal.

Wilson comes to see Cuddy and says she’ll have to talk to House eventually. When he says that House needs her, Cuddy admits that she loves him, but they can’t go backwards and she can’t fix his problem because she is his problem.

The team goes to the hotel pool to tell House and his new hooker that there’s no infection in his heart. House figures they have to remove the metal plate in Lane’s skull, but the team warns that it’s too dangerous. Looking for an alternative, House figures that the brain infection is causing mini-blackouts, and that he has a way to test. He goes to the hospital and has Lane sing. Lane does so but momentarily blacks out without realizing it, and his brain can’t compensate if there’s a preset rhythm. Masters congratulates House, who looks less than thrilled.

Later, Wilson and House go back to the hotel, and Wilson figures that House is depressed, meaning that puzzles aren’t thrilling him anymore. The team calls to tell House that the CT is clean, meaning there’s no brain infection. That leaves a heart infection, and house goes back into differential to tell the team that they’ll have to blow up Lane’s heart. That will reveal the imperfection in the aorta. When the team objects, warning that it will kill Lane, House says that it’s better to do it under controlled conditions or later when the infection causes the aorta to blow out. House goes to tell Lane the risks, and is surprised when the bull rider easily agrees to give up the sports he loves because of the stress they’re going to put on his heart. Lane admits that he loves bull riding, but he’ll find something else to love.

As House leaves, Cuddy arrives and forbids him from performing the procedure. House figures that she thinks he’s accusing him of impaired judgment because of their breakup, and Cuddy admits that he’s right. However, House points out that even his impaired medical judgment is better than anyone else in the hospital, and tells her to let him do the procedure or arrest him. Predictably, she caves.

As House and Masters watch the others do the procedure, House points out that Masters ratted him out to Cuddy. She admits that did, and accuses him of impaired judgment. In the OR, Lane’s aorta blows out and they work desperately to stich it together. They manage to save Lane, but House simply walks away.

When Lane wakes up, he finds Masters at his bedside. She advises him not to raise his heart rate and starts making comments about his sex life. She suggests that they hang out, and then realizes that it’s inappropriate and quickly leaves.

At the bar, House is drinking when a sports team comes in and starts loudly celebrating. The bartender comments that he wishes he could cut loose like that sometime. House watches them, gets an idea, and goes up to his room and takes more Vicodin. He then goes out on the balcony and balances on the railing. Wilson arrives and sees a crowd gathering, and looks up to see House preparing to jump. House smiles and throws himself off the railing... and does a cannonball into the pool below. The sports team jumps in with him, and Wilson yells to House, asking what he’s doing. House asks the sports team what they do whether they win or lose, and they yell that they part no matter what. Wilson walks away as House celebrates with the team.

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