He took off his glasses, wiped his face dry with his right hand, and stood silently for a moment more, gazing at the boy.
"Oh, how I wish I could take your place," he added, "but I know that's impossible. After all I'm their only hope for a decent future. That's a laugh!" Shaking his head, Cooper moved around to check the monitors, as usual, then a startled look came over his face. He checked them again, and felt a quiet inner peace. It was unbelievable, but not only did a slight brain wave register on the screens, a faint heartbeat had appeared, also! "Hallelujah!" Cooper whispered in disbelief and the wonderful ecstasy that comes with the joys of the medical profession. He surpressed the urge to call Officer McCree and tell him he'd been blessed by one of the Scottish Saints. "Come on, Mike! I know you can do it!" Moving around the bed, he paged Dr. Horton at the emergency dorm, where he had decided to stay, and watch Larry and Jeanie. It didn't take him long to answer the page, and was thrilled to hear there had been an improvement. The two doctors talked for a moment, then the older man rushed to join his colleague at the clinic. After a thorough check on their patient, and the improvement had been affirmed to be a permanent one, it was time to relax a bit. Of course it was still not known if Mike would regain consciousness or, if he did, there was no way to tell whether his entire mental or physical capabilities would be intact. But with the way things were now, he had a good chance at pulling through. His life signs seemed to be re-registering on the EEG machine monitors one by one. They were of course, weak, but constant.
Dr. Horton felt he was witnessing a miracle. Cooper was speechless. He looked at his watch to jot down the time on Mike's chart, and nearly fell through the floor....he had just spent twelve hours on his lonely vigil by Mike's bedside, with nothing to eat. He faintly remembered a slice of toast and coffee for breakfast somewhere around six a.m., and his stomach began to growl and feel mushy. Seeing him stretch then rub his belly, Dr. Horton suggested he take a break.
"Great idea!" Cooper smiled. "I'm starving!"
"Why don't you go to the little lounge area and grab a snack? I believe the cafeteria's closed by now. You'll find the vending machines a couple of doors down to your right. Enjoy yourself You deserve it! I'll keep watch here for you. You know you can trust me! There's something I want to check on with Larry Daniken, anyway," and he removed Larry's radiation tag from his pocket.
"Sure, Phil, you and your crew are the best! Thanks for all you've done so far, and your confidence in the boy's recovery. Sorry I've been somewhat of a pest, underfoot."
"That's all right, Matthew. I can always use your assistance and advice. Don't worry about being in the way here. Your bedside manner is always welcome. Now go and rest a bit before I DO kick you out of here!"