House and Cuddy explore the ramifications of their feelings and attempt to make a real relationship work. Meanwhile, Princeton Plainsboro is left without a neurosurgeon on-site due to a colleague's illness, threatening the hospital's accreditation as a Level 1 Trauma Center. As the team attempts treatment to get their sick colleague back to work, they discover there is more to the illness than they initially suspected and turn to House for direction. Instead, House remains elusive, leaving the team on its own.