NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14: Dr. Dolittle
At that moment, Alex and Melinda arrived at the hospital. After asking for information at the front desk, someone led them to where Jonas was.
Inside a medical ward, a man in a police uniform was resting in a chair. When he heard the door open, he quickly stood up.
He saw the three people entering — a nurse, a middle-aged woman, and a child.
Just by looking at the pair, he instantly knew who they were.
The officer remained silently observing them as they rushed over to Jonas.
The nurse, having brought them in and seeing that nothing was wrong, turned around and left.
"Darling," Melinda said softly.
"Dad," Alex added with a worried look.
Jonas was asleep. After being treated and medicated, he felt better and eventually dozed off.
Melinda had already noticed the uniformed man in the room. But since she was worried about her husband, she initially ignored him.
Realizing her husband seemed fine, she turned and locked eyes with the other man, who quickly took the hint and stepped forward.
"Hello, Mrs. Melinda. I work with your husband, my name is Tomas. I was the one who called you. Now that you're here, I have to go. Don't worry, he's okay. The doctor said he might be discharged in two days. If you want more details, you can speak with the doctor who treated him," said the officer named Tomas.
Melinda listened attentively and thanked him for taking care of her husband.
Tomas said it was nothing and, after a few words, left the family of three alone.
...
A few minutes later, downstairs at the hospital, Mary and George also arrived. After helping her husband sit in a chair, she rushed to the front desk for help.
"I think my husband is having a heart attack," Mary said quickly, full of anxiety.
The receptionist could tell it was urgent. She grabbed the phone and called for help. After that, she hung up and went to assess the situation herself.
Seeing this, Mary pointed toward George. At that moment, he was sweating heavily, massaging his chest for relief.
The receptionist hurried over and started asking questions:
"Sir, are you feeling chest pain now?"
"Yes... a bit!" George answered, his voice strained.
She continued gathering information while Mary anxiously watched her husband's condition.
"Any numbness or pain in your arms?"
"Yes, this one," George replied, raising the arm where he felt the symptoms.
"Shortness of breath?"
Mary couldn't take it anymore and interrupted.
"Enough with the questions! For God's sake. He's a middle-aged overweight man with chest pain. Do something, please!"
Her husband was suffering right before her eyes. Who could stay calm in a moment like that?
After that outburst, the receptionist rushed to speed up the process. Once she left, Mary apologized to George for calling him fat.
Soon, a medical team came and took George to an exam room.
...
Upstairs, in a private room, a Black man with a mustache and glasses was reviewing a patient's exam results from earlier.
While studying the case, someone knocked on the door. Before he could answer, a woman burst in.
"Dr. Dolittle, we have another patient with the same symptoms as the previous one," she said urgently.
"What? Another one?" Dr. Dolittle exclaimed.
What's happening to this town? Two people with heart issues on the same day, he thought.
But his body was already in motion. He grabbed his coat and ran out of the room while asking:
"How's the patient?"
"Not doing well, which is why we need you," the nurse replied, handing over a clipboard with George's information.
As they got in the elevator, he started reading and planning the treatment strategy.
...
Meanwhile, back downstairs, Mary took advantage of the moment — with her husband being seen by doctors — to make a phone call and reassure everyone at home.
She told her mother everything. It was a calm conversation. After saying she might spend the night at the hospital, she hung up.
That's when two people came from behind. It was Melinda and Alex.
Melinda quickly recognized Mary and called out.
"Mary, what are you doing here?"
Mary, recognizing the voice, turned around. Upon seeing the familiar faces, she asked:
"What are you two doing here?"
The two women then walked off to find a quiet place to talk. Alex followed them.
Meanwhile, back at the Cooper household, Georgie Jr., Sheldon, and Missy were all deeply worried.
Connie had no idea that later that same day, her dear grandchildren would secretly steal her car to visit their father at the hospital.
___
Author's Note:
I used up all my brain cells in an intelligence war with an AI while revising this chapter. Maybe my grammar is really bad, which made the AI change my text several times. The strange thing is, it ended up more illegible than if I had written it on my own.
After 300 rounds, it gave in to my grammatical talent, and finally, this chapter came out.
Back to the romance: you weren't expecting Dr. Dolittle, were you?
You might not agree, but in some versions, Dr. Dolittle is just a regular human doctor—only after gaining the ability to talk to animals did he redirect his talents to that area.
Hope you enjoyed it.