Unfaithful (House)

"Unfaithful" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of House. It aired on February 16, 2009.

A young priest, Fr. Daniel Bresson (played by Jimmi Simpson), runs a homeless shelter. After he gives a man a sweater to keep warm, Bresson begins drinking at a dangerous rate. He hears a knock at his door and opens it to find an apparition of Jesus Christ hovering a foot off the ground and bleeding.

Cuddy asks House to come to her baby daughter Rachel's simchat bat, a Jewish baby-naming ceremony, and House sarcastically refuses. In the emergency room, House takes the priest's case from Cameron, who tells him there is nothing to diagnose, as Bresson simply drank too much bourbon. House takes the case as a diversion for Kutner and Taub while he confronts Foreman and Thirteen about their relationship. While the team tests Bresson's EEG for epilepsy, House calls Foreman and Thirteen in. He gives them the option to "split or quit," as he feels their relationship is clouding their judgment. He tells them they have until the end of the case to decide.

While performing Bresson's EEG, Taub and Kutner learn more about him. Taub, intrigued by Bresson's frequent job relocation, asks him for an explanation. Bresson admits to having an alleged inappropriate relationship with a teenage boy a few years ago; once that was exposed, no church would keep him. Kutner and Taub report this to House, who declares the case over. During lunch, House and Wilson talk over Cuddy's invitation, and Wilson tries convincing House to go.

Foreman and Thirteen decide to "do nothing." Foreman says that House is just trying to get them to work harder. When they report their decision, House fires Foreman. When Taub and Kutner tell Bresson he is being discharged, he pleads to stay, saying he knows something is wrong. Kutner finds a black toe in Bresson's bed, which fell off his foot. House suspects carbon monoxide poisoning and orders them to put the priest in a hyperbaric chamber. Cuddy again asks House to come to the ceremony, and this time he agrees. Annoyed, she goes to Wilson and asks him to uninvite House, saying she does not want him there and that Wilson prodded him to go.

Bresson suffers an apparent heart attack in the hyperbaric chamber. Foreman asks Cuddy for a letter of recommendation, but she tells him she cannot give it to him because his breach of protocol during the drug trial put the hospital and Cuddy's reputations in jeopardy. House debates Bresson on God and faith while testing his lungs. Kutner apologizes for the pain as he pulls the catheter out, but Bresson says he did not feel pain. House discovers a new symptom: regional anesthesia. House orders a nerve conduction study.