George was still in surgery, and hanging around outside the ICU wasn't doing anybody any good. After comforting Mary for a bit, Mike headed over to the nurses' station.
If he remembered right, in the original timeline, George—Sheldon's dad—would pass away from a heart attack when Sheldon was fifteen.
Mike wanted to check his medical records and see if there was any way to prevent it. After all, the Coopers had been really good to him lately.
Plus, on a personal level, Mike genuinely liked George. The guy was solid.
At the nurses' station, a young nurse was on duty.
Mike explained what he needed, and she handed over George's chart without much fuss.
Looking at all the numbers, Mike could tell George's blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol were a little high. The rest? Way over his head as a non-medical guy.
"Excuse me, could you help me understand what exactly caused this?" Mike asked the nurse behind the counter.
She'd already noticed how ridiculously handsome Mike was. Leaning in eagerly, she grabbed the chart and studied it. "Mr. George's condition is acquired heart disease. There are two main triggers—look here..."
She scooted even closer, pointing to a long section of medical jargon. "One is chronic stress. Long-term anxiety, anger, and pressure can increase the risk of heart problems.
The other is poor lifestyle habits—high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar diet, lack of exercise, heavy drinking, smoking, obesity... all that can mess with your metabolism and clog up your arteries."
Thinking about George's lazy streak and his love for beer, Mike figured it was probably the second one.
If they caught it now and made some changes, it could really help.
"Thanks for explaining," Mike said, taking the chart back to leave.
"Wait~" The nurse stopped him, slipping a little card into his hand with a flirty look. "This is my contact info. Come find me anytime you need anything."
She had that uniform appeal going for her, sure, but her looks and figure were pretty average—nowhere near Karen or Katie's level.
Mike just gave an apologetic smile, nodded politely, and booked it out of there.
When he got back to the ICU waiting area, George's surgery was over. A doctor was updating Mary.
George was out of danger. If he felt up to it, he could even go home tonight.
The Coopers exploded with relief, hugging each other tight.
"Where'd you run off to?" Grandma Connie asked when Mike showed up.
Before he could answer, she pulled him into a grateful hug, sharing the joy. "It's so good—he's gonna be okay."
Little George and Missy came over and hugged Mike too, like he was family.
"Alright, let's go see him," Mary said, wiping tears from her eyes and pulling herself together.
Just as they were about to head into the room, Missy looked around and asked, "Wait—where's Sheldon?"
Mary and Connie suddenly realized they'd been so worried about George, they hadn't noticed Sheldon was missing.
As they started to panic, Mike spoke up: "I know where he is. You guys go see George—I'll go grab him."
...
In the little hospital chapel, a small figure stood in front of a glowing stained-glass window, praying earnestly.
Little Sheldon was bargaining: If Dad pulls through this time, I swear I'll never doubt God's existence again.
Mike pushed open the chapel door and caught Sheldon bathed in that "holy" light.
Mike wasn't sure if God was real or not, but even with his so-called "devilish" body, walking in here didn't make him feel a thing.
"Sheldon, what are you doing?" Mike asked.
"Praying. Asking God to keep Dad safe," Sheldon answered honestly.
"Good news—your wish came true," Mike said with a smile, breaking the update.
"Awesome!" Sheldon cheered, then turned to the window: "Thank you, God!"
After that, the kid bolted out happily.
[Intelligence Attribute +3]
Mike almost wanted to tell him he should thank the doctors instead.
But seeing the big glowing attribute orb he'd just snagged from Sheldon, Mike chuckled to himself: God bless~
Back in the room, the family was still riding the high—until they saw the hospital bill.
The medical costs were way over what the Coopers could handle. Keeping George for observation would just bury them deeper in debt.
They lived comfortably enough, but it was all on George's single paycheck. Mary was a stay-at-home mom with no extra income.
Even with a decent salary, feeding and supporting a family of five pretty much wiped it out.
George looked at the bill, forced a grin, and said, "I feel fine already. Let's head home."
The three kids didn't get the grown-up worries. Hearing Dad say he was okay put smiles back on their faces.
Mary eyed his pale face, still concerned.
Feeling guilty about George, Connie offered to cover part of the bill.
Mike jumped in too: "I've got some savings—I can chip in five grand to help."
"Thanks, guys, but I'm good," George said gratefully, then cracked a joke: "With that money, you could just buy me a few extra cases of beer instead."
"Dad's gonna be fine. I've made peace with God," Sheldon piped up proudly, like he had an inside connection now.
Of course, the adults just chuckled at that one.
In the end, George insisted, and they headed home that night to their cozy little house.
The next day, while Mike was out in the yard working out, he saw Sheldon coming over in a white outfit covered in Christian symbols.
"Mike, Grandma Connie—Mom says come over for dinner," Sheldon called from the doorway.
"Oh wow, who's this?" Connie stepped out and spotted his getup. "My little Moon Pie, what are you wearing?"
(Nickname: Moon Pie. Or sometimes"little cookie.")
Sheldon puffed up a bit, serious as ever: "This is out of respect for God."
"Did you convert?" Connie asked, amused.
"No, I believe in science," Sheldon explained matter-of-factly. "I'm just wearing this to thank God for saving Dad."
Classic Sheldon—logical as always.
Connie didn't really care if he was actually religious or not.
She just loved him as family and would support whatever he decided.