Merry Little Christmas (S03E10)

It's Christmas at Princeton-Plainsboro and Wilson has a present for House – he and Detective Tritter have struck a deal and House has three days to accept it. Wilson will testify that he didn't sign the prescriptions House used to illegally obtain Vicodin, and House will receive two months in a rehab clinic for pleading guilty, avoiding jail time. Even though the deal apparently would make the whole nightmare go away, House is furious at Wilson, will not admit he did anything wrong and immediately goes looking for Cuddy. Barging in on Cuddy in an examining room, he meets her patient, Abigail, and Abigail's mom, Maddy, both dwarfs. Abigail has a number of symptoms and is recovering from a recently collapsed lung, but Cuddy doesn't recognize the gravity of her illness and House takes on the case. As House and the team get to work, Cuddy finds out about the deal offered to House, pulls him from the case, suspends his treatment privileges and refuses to dole out any more Vicodin until he takes the deal. As Abigail's condition worsens, House begins to detox and the team tries unsuccessfully to solve the case without him. When Abigail reaches a critical point, Cuddy begs House for help one last time, but they play a game of chicken to see who will flinch first as he holds out for his pain medication before he'll offer any more of his insights into the case. Cuddy is forced to make a difficult and potentially life-threatening choice between her patient's life and House's life. (iTunes)