Chapter 19: First Day, First Patient, First Test

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The morning sun peeked gently into their new home. The kitchen smelled like toasted bread and Reet’s special ginger chai. Both doctors were dressed in soft pastel formals, stethoscopes around their necks, bags packed.
“Ready?” Abeer asked, tying his shoelaces.
Reet gave a nervous smile, “Nervous.”
He looked at her for a second, walked over, cupped her face gently and said, “We’re in this together.”
And just like that, the nervousness faded.

They reached the clinic Abeer had joined first. It was a small but well-managed place. The receptionist smiled as Reet entered too. “Oh, another Dr. Malhotra? Must be the lucky place.”

They laughed lightly.
Reet was given a temporary post in the same clinic for a trial week. Both were excited to work side by side.
Around noon, a middle-aged woman was brought in — dizzy, pale, and with a high fever. Everyone was occupied, so Reet took the case.
But as she approached the patient, the woman suddenly panicked. “I want a senior doctor! Not a girl fresh out of college!”

Reet hesitated. The words stung.
Abeer heard it and came close, placing a calm hand on the patient’s shoulder.

“Doctor Reet Malhotra just graduated as one of the top scorers in the university,” he said. “But more importantly, she’s the only one who noticed your irregular pulse while everyone else missed it.”
The room fell quiet. Reet’s eyes met Abeer’s for a second. And in that second, she understood what support looked like.

The woman blinked, then slowly nodded, letting Reet treat her.
By evening, the case was under control. The patient’s family thanked her with folded hands. Reet smiled, but her eyes were full.
She walked into the storeroom for a breath. Abeer followed quietly.
“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?” he asked.
“For being my wall when I felt small.”
Abeer didn’t say anything. He just pulled her into a gentle hug — a hug that said everything words couldn’t.
That night, back at home, they sat on the floor, tired but content.

“One patient, one day… and a hundred more coming,” Reet said.
Abeer raised his mug of coffee. “To our new life — not perfect, but perfectly ours.”

They clinked mugs softly, smiled at each other, and the stars outside twinkled like they approved of this beautiful beginning.

Thank you for reading chapter 19
Stay tune for 20.