Once they had gotten on the elevator, Foreman felt the awkwardness between them even more strongly. Amber had been sending him the occasional look while they were still in the patient's room, and Foreman had so far avoided getting caught when he'd glanced in her direction. The softness of her voice when she'd agreed with him on his assessment of the patient's symptoms was too familiar, and Foreman cleared his throat to avoid thinking about it. There had to be something he could say that would dispel the feeling that they'd never been closer than strangers on a bus. On Friday Amber had asked for tips, something that would help her deal with House. Foreman had more than enough insider information, and, as soon as he heard her question, he realized she needed it.

"Do you think it's that simple?" he asked. "House knows me. He knows what I'm likely to come up with. If you go to him with one of my ideas, he'll ignore anything you have to say from now on. He wants originality, even if you're wrong." He glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow. During their mini-golf game, she'd shown that she'd rather follow him and be as close to right as possible, than risk making a mistake. "Especially if you're wrong," he said. "House will expect you to lose for his sake." Foreman had already lost more because of House than he'd ever planned on, and House had treated the whole situation as a joke.

"Yeah, and I should know," their patient suddenly piped up. "You're not going to get anywhere just by being manipulative."