Couple Counseling – House, 7×06 “Office Politics”
Cuddy alone in session.
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Cuddy : House was right, it’s not gonna work.
Maya: Why are tu saying this? What happened?
Cuddy: He lied to me.
Maya: About what?
C: Why do tu care? A lie’s a lie.
M: Yes… and no. Some lies are meant to hurt, some are meant to protect. There’re all sorts of lies… So which was it?
C: He faked a blood test to get my approval on a risky procedure.
M: How did tu find out? Did he confess what he did to you?
C: House, confess? Are tu kidding? … No, I found out por myself.
M: I see. Tell me how tu feel.
C: I feel hurt!
M: But what hurts tu the most − the fact that he lied, o the fact that he didn’t tell you?
C: I don’t understand. You’re implying one should be less hurtful than the other?
M: Well, obviously House’s lie is not just a professional issue to you.
C: Of course it’s not! We’re in a relationship. He betrayed my trust. I know this is House we’re talking about and that he doesn’t care about rules. But…
M: tu think because tu two are in a relationship, he’s going to act differently now?
C: Well I hope so! Am I being unreasonable? Isn’t that the minimum I’m entitled to expect from a man who says he loves me?
M: Of course it is. But tu dicho it: it’s House. He’s lied to tu before to treat a patient. Why would he be truthful to tu now más than before?
C: Is this some kind of sick joke? Are tu asking me why trust is important in a relationship for real o are tu just trying to mess with me?
M: I’m trying to define where your priorities are. So, do tu think House’s actions were meant to purposely hurt you?
C: That is a stupid question! Do tu realize what you’re asking me to consider?
M: Yes. And, did you?
C: Pfff! That’s crazy… I mean, he did it to save a life…
M: So his motives were good. tu acknowledge that.
C: Yes. But that’s not what matters. What matters is that what he did ultimately hurt me. I’m sure he knew it would.
M: So it was intentional then?
C: Stop playing with words! You’re just jerking me around.
M: Let’s examine the medical aspect of that then. What were House’s alternatives?
C: He faked a test. Something I had specifically told him not to do.
M: You’re not answering my question. If he hadn’t faked the test, would tu have approved the treatment?
C: No.
M: And would the patient have survived?
C (puffing): This is unfair.
M: Why?
C: tu make it sound like my decision was completely heartless.
M: No, I’m saying you’re confronted por hard, difficult decisions, maybe even conflicting sometimes. But my pregunta is: when tu asked House not to administer the treatment, who was asking him that?
C: What? I don’t understand.
M: Did tu ask him that as the Dean o as Lisa Cuddy?
C: As the Dean but…
M: And who do tu think overruled you? House o the Head of Diagnosis Department?
C: House.
M: That’s an interesting difference, don’t tu think?
C: There’s no difference. Especially not after I’d specifically told House it meant a lot to me that he could respect me enough not to lie to me. And then he did it anyway.
M: But who did? You’re saying tu asked House not to overrule your order as the Dean and–
C: tu don’t understand: I’m Lisa Cuddy and the Dean of Medicine. When House lied to me as the Dean, he hurt me as his girlfriend. I’m sorry, but I can’t separate the two of them.
M: You’re saying tu can’t but actually tu are.
C: What do tu mean?
M: You’re angry and hurt because of what House did when he lied to you, but tu refuse to consider his medical motives.
C: That’s not true. I told tu I understood he did that in the patient’s best interest.
M: Yet, tu only hold your boyfriend House responsible for the lie. Not the Head of Diagnostics. So the truth is, you’re perfectly capable of separating the two… Cuddy, tu know medicine is an extremely important thing in House’s life. tu know what kind of great lengths he’s ready to go to just for the sake of saving a patient, even putting his own life in danger sometimes, like he did with Amber…
C: So what? I should encourage him to do más crazy things?
M: No. What I’m saying is: this is not a one-sided thing. When House faked that test, he didn’t just overrule you. But tu tend to think that was his primary motive. Why?
C: Because I can’t believe he didn’t care at all. I’m sure he thought about it!
M: I’m sure he did. But maybe not in the way tu think he did. Maybe he wanted to protect tu from the risks. Maybe it was his way of mostrando tu respect.
C: That’s just crap! He lied. Period. Lying does not equal respect.
M: It’s not easy to draw the line, is it?
C: What line?
M: The line between what tu can demand from House as his boss and what tu can only request as his girlfriend.
C: Are tu saying respect is a double-standard concept that changes whenever it’s convenient?
M: No. What I’m saying is, at work you’re entitled to expect him to defer to you. But what about outside the hospital? tu don’t order him around there, do you? Because then, tu cease to see yourself as his boss, correct?
C: Of course!
M: Yet, tu want House to keep considering tu as his boss.
C: I do not! It’d be insane!
M: Unconsciously that’s what tu do. When tu think a decision he makes in a professional context determines how he treats tu as a woman, tu are the one taking away his chance of mostrando tu respect the way tu ask him to because tu force him to always keep in mind that you’re his boss.
C: So this is all my fault?
M: No. tu are both responsible. House, as your employee, should defer to you. He didn’t and, as his boss, that’s something tu have the right to be angry at. But you’re mixing up your expectations. House is not going to change his way of practicing medicine and tu know that. Be honest, your feelings for him would probably not be the same if he was not the kind of doctor he is. A part of tu admires him for that. You’re talking about double standards but you’re right in the middle of one because you’re angry for unclear reasons, even to you. The truth is House gives más importance to tu as a woman than he does to tu as his boss. I get why this is annoying, but just ask yourself this: do tu really feel House respects tu less as a woman because he challenges your authority at work?
