House didn’t look at Nyx right away. He stared down at the table like the coffee had suddenly become very interesting, tapping his finger once against the side of the mug.

Then, finally, quietly: “It’s not about saying you’ll stop." Pause. "I’ve seen people mean it. I’ve meant it. That doesn’t make it stick. And I'm not suggesting you go to rehab or something, Nyx, just - "

Wilson finished the sentence for him. "You need a plan. Chemo’s going to make everything harder—sleep, pain, mood, even your sense of time. And when all of that’s slipping, even a small temptation will hit hard. So we build in safeguards."