Dr. Michael Corday: [after to waking up his superior in the middle of the night] Look, I know you don't like me. I don't blame you. But I had to talk to somebody, that's why I came here...
Dr. Alfred Norton: ...sit down. What's wrong?
Dr. Michael Corday: Thanks.
Dr. Alfred Norton: [seeing the grim look on Corday's face, and trying to break the tension] What, did you kill somebody?
Dr. Michael Corday: [laughs nervously] No.
Dr. Alfred Norton: That's alright. I've heard about the girl. What's the trouble?
Dr. Michael Corday: My father.
Dr. Alfred Norton: Oh, I see.
Dr. Michael Corday: You see, if I get involved with her, I'm on my own. If I toe the line, I can have the residency at Chelsea. It's... well, you know what that means.
Dr. Alfred Norton: Yeah. I'd like to help you out... but nobody can make that decision - you have to make it for yourself.
Dr. Michael Corday: [Dejectedly, as he gets up to leave] You're right, I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry. I'll just...
Dr. Alfred Norton: [takes out a bottle of whiskey] . Sit down, sit down. I'm awake now. Let's have a drink together.
Dr. Michael Corday: [smiles gently] Okay.
Dr. Alfred Norton: You know, somehow you don't seem to qualify as a distress case. A ballplayer who's lost an arm, or a painter who goes blind. Let me tell you how I feel about it. Men like your father are tops. We had them in China. But the war kind of jumbles up things. You see a chest specialist doing eye surgery in an emergency station. An endocrine man, handling an amputation. That's when I discovered something. That whether you're doing a decompression on a man's head, or removing a splinter from his finger, you're part of the greatest fraternity in the world. There's nothing like it. Why, I'd be happy in your father's shoes, or as... as a country doctor. Just as long as I was on the team.
Dr. Michael Corday: [after staring into his drink, he looks up] That's what I wanted to hear. Something like that.
Dr. Alfred Norton: Now, don't get oversold. You see, what's right for me may be wrong for you. Ask yourself honestly, what it is that you want. And what you're willing to pay for it.
Dr. Michael Corday: [smiles as he get he gets up to leave] Thanks.
Dr. Alfred Norton: [smiles] You know, every day I convert doctors to the practice of medicine.