Open and Shut (House)

"Open and Shut" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the American medical drama House and it is the 129th episode overall. It is directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by Liz Friedman and Sara Hess. It originally aired on April 26, 2010.

House and the team treat a woman (Sarah Wayne Callies) in an open marriage.

35-year-old Julia suddenly feels fever and a strong abdominal pain after a slightly awkward encounter with both her husband Tom and her other sexual partner Damian.

As soon as the team starts the differential diagnosis, the patient's open marriage becomes a major discussion topic, with many varying opinions being present. This proves to be so intriguing to House that he sets out to conduct the first diagnostic test himself. During the test, Julia adamantly claims that they are a perfectly fine and happy couple.

As a contrast to the patient's sex life, we see Taub subtly flirting with Maya, who works in the hospital. He is immediately confronted by Thirteen about this, but claims that he is doing nothing wrong. House decides to confront him with the patient and makes him conduct a night-long test, also holding him from going home. Julia still holds on to her opinion, going so far as to claim that exactly the openness of their marriage allows them to be happy. During the test, the patient shows a new symptom: arrythmia. At this point, a parasite is the leading theory, making it necessary for the team to question both Julia and Tom regarding their sex life, leading to a rather surprising discovery: Tom does not have sex with any other women. He claims that he is doing this for Julia and compares it with other mundane activities (going to a concert with one's spouse even though one hates the music) that one does just to make one's partner happy. House immediately concludes that he is lying and that Tom is somehow betraying his wife, not necessarily sexually.