AMY: I thought they only paid you to play piano.
EPHRAM: Ah, you'll doubt my school spirit?
AMY: Whatever, it's cool of you to help. You see that red rope over there? That's where it all starts. Every year it's a mad dash to see who gets the best seats. I swear, you'd think it was a Paul McCartney concert. Ever seen middle-aged people run so fast?
EPHRAM: A high school ballet depicting the changing of the leaves... high point of the Everwood social season? Why am I not surprised?
AMY: The flower mart actually sold out last year.
[Amy laughs.]
AMY: [cont'd.] All the girls get bouquets, roses mostly.
EPHRAM: That's good to know.
AMY: Except me. I mean well, I've never had a solo before but... Colin used to bring me flowers anyway. Not my parents or anybody, just Colin.
[She checks her watch.]
EPHRAM: You just checked your watch five minutes ago.
AMY: Colin's parents' appointment is almost over.
EPHRAM: Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it. My dad's appointments usually last just long enough for whoever he's talking at, to sign on the dotted line. I swear I can't remember the last time someone said no when the Great Doctor Brown offered his help. Colin's surgery's a done deal.
[Amy's not sure what to think.]
AMY: I watched this show about comas the other night, on the science channel. It showed people who came out after a long time like, six months or so. Most of them barely even looked human. I remember this one guy's face was frozen in this silent scream, like that painting. And most of their hands were all curled up like Jennifer Hawkaday in Special Ed.
EPHRAM: You know, I don't mean this in a bad way Amy, but are you sure you want him back? I mean, especially if... I-I just mean that it might be better for him if...
AMY: I want him back! No matter what.
[Ephram has a look on his face like's he's hurt or torn.]
[Cut to Dr. Brown's office. He is still meeting with Sharon and James Hart, the parents of the comatose Colin Hart.]
DR. BROWN: As Dr. Latham and the Denver team have told you, the causes of short term coma are generally discrete and identifiable, while the causes of prolonged coma can often be idiopathic... of unknown origin. In Colin's case, the neuro team has carefully monitored his intracranial pressure, and provided what I think is well above the standard of care. You can be confident, that up to this point, you've done everything possible for your son. And...
JAMES: [interrupting] Up to this point?
DR. BROWN: Well, having studied Colin's history and his films, I've come up with a theory.
JAMES: So you think you know something they don't?
DR. BROWN: There is what we believe to be a small fragment of bone lodged in Colin's brain. More specifically in the brain stem where it would be extremely difficult to remove. Dr. Latham doesn't believe that the relationship between this fragment and your son's prolonged comatose state is causable.
SHARON: But you do?
DR. BROWN: I do. And I believe I can surgically resect it without damaging the stem.
JAMES: You've done this before?
DR. BROWN: Actually, no. The brain stem handles the most elemental tasks that the brain performs. Were we to undertake this surgery successfully, it would be medically reportable.
SHARON: Meaning?
DR. BROWN: Well, it would be an experiment of sorts. By that, I mean that experimentation occurs all of the time in medicine. It's how innovation takes place, it's how lives are saved. I want you to know I don't undertake this lightly. I've performed over 200 procedures a year in the last fifteen years and if I'm not mistaken, I have one of the highest success rates in the country.
SHARON: But what if you do... damage the brain stem?
DR. BROWN: Well, it would threaten Colin's ability to... walk, eat, breathe.
JAMES: And what if we don't do it?
DR. BROWN: It's impossible to say. Colin may emerge from the coma on his own.
