wilson prepares a 14-year-old leukemia patient named nick for a last resort bone-marrow transplant from his younger brother, matty. however, when his brother sneezes, the team must figure out what is wrong with him before the transplant can occur. with only 5 days left for nick, the team resorts to worsening matty's condition to reveal what it is and treat it quickly. meanwhile, foreman is busy checking the donor list to provide a riskier but immediate bone marrow donor. the first transplant does not work, and nick is dying. house convinces nick that if he is going to die, he should die saving matty. house proposes that if matty's bone marrow is transplanted into nick, whatever matty has will spread and kill nick, but will tell the team matty's condition. the boys' parents originally oppose this, but are convinced by nick to allow the procedure. before the transplant begins, the team finds out that the younger brother is suffering from a fungal infection known as histoplasmosis. foreman decides to take bone marrow from matty in order to save nick's life. however, since matty is too sick to be sedated, foreman removes his marrow without anesthesia. house applauds the decision, while foreman realizes he is too much like house for his own good, and tells house he is resigning.