Not Your Doormat Anymore

I knew that without my parents' support, I wouldn't be where I was today. I owed them more than just for today.

But right now, my injuries weren't something I wanted to flaunt. After saying a quick goodbye to my parents, I headed back to the apartment.

My parents knew Kourtney was also there, so they weren't worried when I left.

Kourtney was taken aback when she saw me like this. "Dr. Ranford, what happened to you?"

She pulled me into the living room and grabbed the first aid kit to help bandage me up.

I shook my head. "It's already been taken care of. You don't need to worry about it."

"That's not enough! You need to properly bandage it. What if you bump into something and it hurts even more?"

She gently touched my swollen face, making me wince. Instantly, she pulled her hand back and rushed to get some medicine. She applied it carefully and wrapped the bandages neatly. Perhaps because she had spent so much time in the hospital, her techniques were great.

When she was done, she tied a little bow at the top of my head.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but think I looked a bit ridiculous. I remarked, "You didn't have to go this far."

"Isn't it cute?" Kourtney propped her chin up and stared at me. "Dr. Ranford, when you showed up looking like that, I almost had a heart attack! What happened? Be honest with me. If someone hurt you on purpose, we should report it to the police!"

I shook my head. "It's nothing serious."

I quickly gave her a brief rundown of everything that had happened, but her eyes only grew wider with shock. "Dr. Ranford, you did everything you could to save that patient! How could they treat you like this?"

I shook my head helplessly. "The hospital has their own way of doing things."

Kourtney opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but then she hesitated. Seeing her reddened eyes, I couldn't help but smile.

"I'm the one without a job, yet you look more upset than I do."

"They shouldn't have laid a hand on you. You're a doctor, not their punching bag!"

Tears welled up in Kourtney's eyes. She quickly lowered her head, wiping them away in an attempt to hide them from me.

Seeing this, I let out a sigh. "It's alright. It's all in the past now."

But hearing that, Kourtney cried even harder. "You're such a good doctor... Why did this happen?"

She couldn't understand the hospital's actions and was genuinely upset for me.

"I'm taking a few days off from the company. Once you're feeling better, I'll return to work." Kourtney had been crying for a while, and seeing my injuries only seemed to upset her more.

"You don't need to take time off for me. They're just some superficial injuries. It's not like I've lost a limb."

Kourtney looked like she was about to respond but lowered her heade instead "I understand. Dr. Ranford, make sure you take good care of yourself while you're at home. I'll come by every day to cook for you!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. Was she really treating me like a patient?

After all these years of caring for others, this was the first time I was the one receiving care.

Kourtney kept her promise. From that day on, she made sure I had breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, and each meal was different from the last.

"Doesn't your company provide free lunch? You could just bring some back for me instead of going through all this trouble."

It was rare for me to be this relaxed.

By the time I woke up, it was usually already close to noon. There were no emergency calls in the middle of the night, no back-to-back surgeries, and I wasn't even working. This long lost free time allowed me to completely unwind, both physically and mentally.

Kourtney shook her head. "The food at the company cafeteria is just basic. It's fine for us, but you're a patient. You need something more nutritious."

She brought out the soup she had been simmering all morning and ladled me a bowl.

"I went to the market in the suburbs this morning to get these ingredients. They're much fresher than anything you'd find elsewhere. Go ahead and give it a try!"noveldrama