In the previous scene, the hospital got word that Wade Coleman was injured by an assailant at Llanview University.

Wade has now made it to the hospital, and he's lying unconscious in a hospital bed, with Dan, Brenda, and Wade's wife, Mari Lynn, standing nearby.

Dan: Any change in pulse and blood pressure, Brenda?
Brenda: (checking her watch against his pulse) No change.
Dan: Okay. Where's the spinal films?
Brenda: Judy went across the hall to pick 'em up.
Dan: (sighing heavily) All right. Call radiology and see if the CAT scan's available yet.
Brenda: Yep.

Brenda goes to the phone on the other side of the room to make the call while the tech with the scans comes into the room.

Tech: Spinal films. No fractures. The sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae look good.
Dan: Terrific. Okay, let's check it out.

Dan takes the films and puts them up on the screen so he and the tech can review them.

Dan: All right, looks like good news.
Mari Lynn: Does that mean he won't be paralyzed?
Tech: (to Mari Lynn) No injury to the neck or spinal column.

Brenda is now off the phone and returns to Wade's bedside.

Brenda: CAT's available in five minutes.
Dan: All right, great. Wade, it's safe to take off your collar -- you'll be more comfortable without it.

Dan takes off Wade's neck brace, but Wade remains non-responsive.

Dan: Wade? Wade, you want to wake up and talk to me?
Mari Lynn: Why won't he wake up? What's wrong with him?
Dan: We won't know for sure until we do the CAT scan.
Mari Lynn: Well, you have to help him! You can't just let him die!
Brenda: Mari Lynn, we're doing everything we can, all right?
Mari Lynn: No, you're not! He's not responding! (to Dan) Please, please don't let him die!
Dan: Take her to the waiting room, Brenda.
Mari Lynn: No! No, I want to be here with Wade.
Dan: (yelling) Get her out of here now, Brenda!
Mari Lynn: (to Brenda) But I want to be with him!

Brenda is taken aback by Dan's temper but follows his orders nonetheless.

Brenda: Yes, doctor.

Brenda hustles Mari Lynn toward the door.

Brenda: Mari Lynn, come on -- it'll be better outside. I'll come and get you as soon as there's a change.

Brenda leaves the room after casting one last look at Dan, who has gone back to focus on Wade.

Dan: Come on, Wade -- give me a response. Open your eyes, move your legs -- anything! (whispering) Come on, Wade.

But Wade stays unconscious.

--end scene--

When the scene returns, Brenda and Dan are alone in Wade's room -- Brenda is tending to Wade's head bandages.

Brenda: So how do you explain the coma?
Dan: A severe concussion, but he should have come out of it sooner than this. Let me -- let me check his pupils again.

Dan checks his pupils.

Dan: Wade? Come on, kid. Give me a response! I don't know, Brenda -- maybe we all missed something on the CAT scan. I'm going to ask the head of neurosurgery to consult on this. And I want you to let me know as soon as there is -- if there's any kind of change in his condition.
Brenda: Yes.
Dan: Okay.

Dan touches her on the arm and then goes out the door but stops when he hears Brenda call out behind him.

Brenda: Doctor?
Dan: What?

Wade is stirring awake.

Wade: (groggily) Mari Lynn?
Brenda: She's right ouside, Wade.

Dan has rushed back over to Wade's bedside -- he grabs Brenda's arm excitedly.

Dan: Get her for me, Brenda.
Brenda: (taking his hand in hers) Yep.
Dan: Get her.

Brenda rushes out of the room as Dan addresses Wade.

Dan: Wade, I'm Dr. Wolek. You were in a fight over at the university, and you had a bad accident.

Brenda pokes her head outside the door to address a nurse outside.

Brenda: Tell Mari Lynn Coleman to get in here right away. Would you? Thanks.

Brenda rushes back in the room in time to hear Wade speak again.

Wade: Mari Lynn?
Brenda: Yeah, she's fine, and she's on her way in here, Wade.
Dan: Wade, I'm gonna check your pupils one more time, okay? (he checks his pupils) Okay, now, I want you to follow this finger without moving your head, okay?

Wade does so.

Dan: Terrific, terrific. Okay, now we're giving you some blood. You've got a nasty cut on your head, but x-rays show that it's nothing to worry about, so, just relax, okay?
Brenda: Do you mind going in and watching after Wade until his wife gets here?
Nurse: Sure, I'll be happy to.

The nurse goes into Wade's room, and Brenda goes to the nurses' station desk to wait for Dan, who comes out of the room looking relieved.

Brenda: Whoo.
Dan: Yeah.
Brenda: Good prognosis?
Dan: Yeah, well, we're gonna monitor him for another 24 hours, but I have a feeling the kid's gonna be all right.
Brenda: You were terrific in there -- I mean that. I'm really impressed with the way you handled Wade.
Dan: Thanks. A compliment from a super nurse -- that's great.
Brenda: Yeah, well, just hold on a minute, because I have a criticism here.
Dan: Oh, I knew it was too good to be true. Okay, okay, was it the suturing? Was it, uh, the way --
Brenda: No, no, it was your bedside manner. I thought you came down on Mari Lynn pretty hard in there.
Dan: Well, she was in hysterics.
Brenda: Well, of course she's in hysterics! She thinks her husband is going to die. You don't have to order her out of the room like that.
Dan: Brenda, she has no right being in there. My first priority is the patient's welfare.
Brenda: Well, the patient's family is very important to the patient's welfare. I mean, you have to take in consideration that they need to trust us. They need to feel that they can come to us.
Dan: Yeah, well --
Brenda: Do you understand?
Dan: Brenda, please, just spare me the lecture, okay? I've had enough bedside-manner lectures in med.
Brenda: You are a real arrogant son of a gun -- do you know that?
Dan: Well, thank you. I'll add that to my list of compliments for the day.
Brenda: And if I didn't know for sure that you were Larry's son, I'd --
Dan: What, Brenda? What? What? Go ahead and say it. That you can't believe that swell Larry Wolek could have produced a cruel and insensitive offspring? Well, you know what? Maybe you should take a refresher course in basic genetics.
Brenda: And maybe you should take a refresher course in basic manners, Dan.

Their argument is interrupted by the arrival of an anxious Mari Lynn.

Mari Lynn: Is -- um, is he conscious? Can I see him?
Brenda: Yes, to both of those things. Go on in.

Mari Lynn heads into the room while Brenda and Dan stare each other down outside.

--end scene--

Later, Dan is at the nurses' station when Larry approaches.

Larry: Ah, I just saw Blakemore -- he said he'd be glad to see Wade, so I just want to say good job. You did just great, son.

Dan looks over at Brenda, who has just arrived at the station as well.

Dan: Well, I could have done better, right, nurse?

Larry clocks the strange vibe between Dan and Brenda.

Larry: What's going on here? What happened?
Dan: Well, Brenda gave me a lesson in bedside manners.
Brenda: Listen, if I was out of line --
Dan: No, no, no, hey, hey, don't back away from it. I like a nurse with fire and passion, especially when they're right. I appreciate your honesty, Brenda. I'll apologize to Mari Lynn, and I'll use your advice in dealing with patients' families in the future. Friends?

Dan offers his hand to Brenda, and she shakes it.

Brenda: Yeah, friends.
Larry: So there's hope for this guy after all, huh?
Brenda: Yeah, I think so!
Larry: You pretty exhausted?
Brenda: Yeah, I'm kind of worn out. And I was just wondering if you wouldn't be too upset if I didn't go to that play tonight. I don't even think I can get home and get out of my clothes.
Larry: Don't worry about it.

Larry reaches into his coat to get the tickets.

Larry: As a matter of fact -- here, Dan -- you take these. You've earned 'em.

Larry hands Dan the tickets.

Brenda: Listen, I'm sorry about that --
Larry: Don't worry about it. I just thought of something. Have you got that cassette still?
Brenda: Yeah.
Larry: All right, I'll tell you what -- all is not lost. We'll get in the car. You put the cassette in, I'll drive you around.
Brenda: (giggling)
Larry: It's almost like being there, okay?

He puts his arm around her.

Brenda: That sounds great.
Larry: I'll see you, son.
Brenda: (to Dan) Good night.

Brenda and Larry walk off together while Dan stares after them with a rueful smile.

Dan: (to himself) Way to go, Dad. Way to go.

--end transcript--