diff --git a/src/Custom.php b/src/Custom.php
index 24371b0..b3ce240 100644
--- a/src/Custom.php
+++ b/src/Custom.php
@@ -71,12 +71,20 @@ class Custom
      * @param string $query The query to be executed (will have "LIMIT 1" appended)
      * @param array $parameters Parameters to use in executing the query
      * @param Mapper<TDoc> $mapper Mapper to deserialize the result
+     * @param PDO|null $pdo The database connection to use (optional; will obtain one if not provided)
      * @return false|TDoc The item if it is found, false if not
      * @throws DocumentException If any is encountered
      */
-    public static function single(string $query, array $parameters, Mapper $mapper): mixed
+    public static function single(string $query, array $parameters, Mapper $mapper, ?PDO $pdo = null): mixed
     {
-        return empty($results = self::array("$query LIMIT 1", $parameters, $mapper)) ? false : $results[0];
+        try {
+            $stmt = self::runQuery("$query LIMIT 1", $parameters,
+                is_null($pdo) ? $actualPDO = Configuration::dbConn() : $pdo);
+            return ($first = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC)) ? $mapper->map($first) : false;
+        } finally {
+            $stmt = null;
+            if (isset($actualPDO)) $actualPDO = null;
+        }
     }
 
     /**