A test with the very medical name of "squeeze-the-tube" is performed on Alex. House says that her twitching should stop when he squeezes the IV line closed. And it does. House does it a couple more times just for fun until Foreman has to order him to stop. House says that they have Alex hooked up to some immuglobulin that neutralizes the antibodies in her blood that are attacking her brain and causing the twitching. Since it works, that means that Alex does have paraneoplastic syndrome. It also means that she has cancer, which House informs Alex and her father of with his typical tactless aplomb.

Cuddy's getting ready to leave for the night when House comes in asking a favor. He's not at the top of Cuddy's list right now, so when he asks for a shot of morphine directly into his spine (ouch), she tells him to take some Vicodin and leave her alone. "It's not enough," he says. He doesn't want the Cottages to know how much pain he's in because they'll accuse him of letting it affect his judgment. He can't go to Wilson because Wilson just thinks it's all in his head and will bore us to tears with more lecturing about Stacy. The rest of PPTH's physicians probably hate House so much that they can't be trusted not to "accidentally" paralyze House with a spinal injection. So that leaves Cuddy. She refuses again, and House drops his cane on the ground to get her attention. Then he drops his pants. Wow! Have they been having after-hours trysts in Cuddy's office this whole time? Oh, no -- House just removed his pants to show Cuddy his thigh scar, and clarify to her just how desperate he is for her help and how real his pain is. Also, his underwear choice: boxer-briefs, for those of you keeping score (and there are a lot of you, I suspect). We get a good look at House's nasty scar for the first time, and I think it's safe to say that he won't be wearing showy short-shorts anytime soon. "I could swear I remember a thigh muscle being here," he says, his voice breaking just enough to make us all forgive him his past shitty behavior. No one can resist a vulnerable man. Not even Cuddy: "I'll get a syringe," she whispers. That wasn't as sexy as I hoped a scene involving House removing his pants in Cuddy's office late at night would have been. It was still really good, though.