The Amazing Doctor Irvington

Chapter Seven

Derek rolled his eyes at her. Her worries were understandable, seeing as the patient, Henry, was family to her. However, since her grandfather looked better than before and it was all thanks to his abilities, the least she could do was show her gratitude and let it end there instead of doubting him.

“What did you give him?” Laura demanded, her voice rose after each word, “What kind of pill was that?”

Derek glanced at her, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes but he forced his face to remain calm.“The pill doesn’t matter,” he said, his voice firm. “What matters is that your grandfather is alive.”

Laura took a step forward and tilted her chin in defiance,“Are you even a doctor? What gives you the right to—”

“To what?” Derek interrupted, his anger got away from him,“To save his life? Would you rather I had stood back and waited for an ambulance? By the time they arrived, he would have been dead.” He crossed his arms, staring her down. “But I guess you’d prefer a man in a white coat to handle that, right? Even if it meant watching him die.”

Laura’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She hadn’t expected him to bite back, and certainly not with such cold accuracy. The truth in his words irked her more than she would like to admit. She wanted to believe him but all she could focus on was the doubt in her mind, the nagging feeling that he couldn’t be trusted.

Henry, already sitting up on the ground, let out a weak cough, and Derek knelt down again, checking his pulse as if nothing else mattered. He moved gently, with speed and dexterity, which left Laura completely speechless.

“Laura,” Henry’s voice rasped, barely audible but firm. He took Derek’s outstretched hand and then slowly stood on his feet, his gaze moving between her and Derek. “Show the young man some respect.” He inhaled deeply, turning to stare at Derek with something akin to admiration. “He saved my life.”

Laura blinked, the reality of their situation slowly setting in. Henry was right. No matter how much she questioned Derek, no matter how much she doubted him, the undeniable fact was that her grandfather was alive because of him.

Henry stood firm on his feet without Derek’s help, his breathing steady. “Young man,” he said, turning to Derek, “I owe you my life.” He paused, the words filling the silence. “And for that, I want to offer you my gratitude, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It’s the least I can do.”

Laura stared at her grandfather, her chest tightening. She understood that this was just to show gratitude for saving his life. However, she could not shake off the feeling that Derek was undeserving of it, mainly because he wasn’t a reputable medical professional. She expected Derek to pounce on the offer presented to him.

But Derek shook his head, tucking his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t do it for money,” he said simply.

Laura’s jaw dropped. “What?” The word slipped out before she could stop it. She had assumed that Derek would jump at the chance for that kind of reward. He was dressed poorly in his threadbare clothes, looking like he hadn’t had a proper meal in days.

But he didn’t.

Henry, for his part, seemed impressed. “Well then,” he said with a smile, “at least let me treat you to lunch. It’s the least we can do.”

Derek hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Lunch is fine,” he said, his voice quiet but resolute. “I’ll accept that.”

Even as Derek left the park, Laura couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something peculiar about him. How could a man dressed like that have the kind of knowledge to save someone from a cerebral hemorrhage? It didn’t add up.

“We should take you to the hospital,” she said, turning back to Henry, her worry creeping back in. “You need a proper check-up, just to be sure.”

Henry chuckled softly. “You don’t trust him, do you?”

Laura folded her arms. “It’s not that I don’t trust him,” she lied, “but we need to be sure. We can’t just rely on some... some stranger. There’s no equipment here; whatever he did must be short-term.”

Henry shook his head, his eyes soft but firm. “You’re wrong, Laura. That man, he’s no ordinary stranger. When he touched me, I felt something. A kind of energy. True Energy.” He paused, watching her reaction. “I’ve only heard about it in stories, but it’s real. He’s not like the others.”

Laura frowned, her mind racing. “True Energy?” she repeated, the term foreign to her. “What does that even mean?”

“It means he’s someone extraordinary,” Henry said quietly. “Far beyond what we know.”

Despite Henry’s conviction, Laura insisted on taking him to the hospital. She needed proof, something solid to hold onto. And maybe the doctors could confirm what her gut refused to believe.

At the hospital, they were seen by Dr. Russell Barker, an old family friend who had been Henry’s physician for years. He examined Henry’s scans, his brow furrowing in confusion as he flipped through the images.

“This is... remarkable,” Russell murmured, his voice tinged with disbelief. “Henry, you suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, but... the blood vessels in your brain have healed themselves.” He looked up, his eyes wide with shock. “It’s a true miracle.”

Laura’s breath caught in her throat. She had expected something else, something not entirely bad, but this was beyond what she could comprehend. “What about his condition?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “Would he have survived if we waited for the ambulance?”

Russell hesitated, his face serious. “If you had waited,” he said softly, “he wouldn’t have made it. Or, at best, he would have been left in a coma.”

Laura felt her whole world shift. All the doubts, the suspicion she had harbored, crumbled in an instant. Derek had saved her grandfather’s life. There was no denying it now or ever.

As they left the hospital, Henry turned to her, his expression gentle but firm. “Laura, listen to me,” he said quietly. “You need to treat Derek with respect. We owe him more than just a meal. That young man has powers we don’t understand. And one day, we might need his help again, maybe then it will be more than today.”

Laura swallowed hard, her mind still reeling from everything that had happened. She had been so quick to judge, to doubt, but now she wasn’t so sure. But one thing was certain: he was someone they couldn’t afford to underestimate.