That night, Adam finished tutoring Alice Grey's private lesson, and it was already pretty late. 😴
He swung by the VIP ward for a quick check. Beatrix and Mary were still chatting away, showing no signs of sleepiness. Meanwhile, Emilia, being the teenager she is, was totally wiped out from the day's chaos and was fast asleep on the extra bed nearby. 😌
"Mrs. Cooper, you should get some rest," Adam said with a smile after checking Beatrix's stats and seeing everything was stable. "Beatrix needs her rest too."
"I don't want to sleep," Beatrix replied with a self-deprecating chuckle. "I'm scared that if I close my eyes, I won't open them again."
"You won't," Mary quickly reassured her.
"Go ahead and sleep," Adam added. "The day after tomorrow is Emilia's birthday party—you'll need the energy to join in!"
"Mary told me about it," Beatrix said, perking up a bit. She looked at Adam gratefully. "I haven't even thanked you for your help yet. Thank you, Adam."
"No problem!" Adam grinned. "I've got a pretty tight bond with the Cooper family. It's the least I could do."
"Exactly!" Mary chimed in. "I've always seen Adam as one of my own—like family."
"Really?" Beatrix raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by Mary's words.
"Yup!" Adam nodded with a laugh. "Sheldon's my best buddy, and I get along great with Little George and Missy too. Back in high school, I was always hanging out at the Cooper house."
"Adam's a real catch," Mary said with a knowing tone. "If he weren't already with someone even more amazing like Paige, I'd have snatched him up as a son-in-law myself. Such a shame!"
"…" Adam's smile twitched into something awkward. Oh, he definitely caught the hint in Mary's words.
His pristine reputation—ruined! 😂
"Who's this Paige?" Beatrix asked, glancing between them curiously. "Better than Missy?"
In her eyes, her niece Missy was already the pinnacle of perfection, so hearing about someone even more impressive piqued her interest. Of course, being Mary's cousin and a seasoned woman herself, she also picked up on the subtle warning in Mary's tone.
But she wasn't shocked. A charming guy like Adam? Naturally, he'd attract attention left and right.
Hmm, I'll have to tell Emilia to steer clear of him later, she thought. Emilia grew up without a dad, and Beatrix's biggest fear was her daughter falling for some older guy like Adam. With his good looks and easygoing charm, he'd be way too tempting for a girl like Emilia. No sane mom would want her precious daughter anywhere near a guy who seems to effortlessly draw in admirers—he's a heartbreak waiting to happen!
"Let me tell you…" Mary launched into a full-on spiel about Paige, and even her brief rundown left Beatrix wide-eyed, barely believing such a girl existed.
"Oh, and at the birthday party the day after tomorrow, you'll get to meet her," Mary said to Beatrix before turning to Adam. "Paige is just over in New Jersey, right? She'll be at the party too?"
"Of course," Adam said, his lips quirking up. "Sheldon's coming, so she'll definitely be there. Those two are inseparable—best friends and all."
From the wary looks both moms shot his way, Adam felt a little insulted. Really? Do they have to act like I'm some kind of predator? He's a good guy, honest! Otherwise, with his looks and charm, no amount of their watchful eyes would stop him from winning over any girl he wanted. 😏
Grumbling to himself, Adam left the room, feeling a bit miffed.
---
The next day, during morning rounds:
"What do you think of gardenias? Picture this—fields of gardenias all around us, strolling through the flowers… Should we watch out for bees?"
The man lying in the hospital bed looked dead serious as he asked Adam and the lineup of interns.
"That's exactly why I love him," the pretty woman on the couch said, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at her fiancé.
"What?" Dr. Burke asked, walking in and looking confused.
"Nothing, just some mushy couple talk," Christina quipped, rolling her eyes. "They're about to get married. This is Cave Paulus—admitted last night with chest pain. Tests show acute heart disease, but no family or personal history, no obvious triggers."
"He's healthy as a horse!" his fiancée added with a laugh.
"A horse that just had a heart attack and is lying in a hospital bed," the patient teased back.
"Give it a minute, and the doctor will tell us it's all a false alarm," his fiancée said, exchanging flirty looks with him. "Then we'll head home and get back to business."
"…" The interns' reactions varied. Christina looked annoyed, Meredith zoned out, George was visibly jealous, and Adam just smiled calmly. He'd heard way cheesier lines than this—please, this was tame!
"Mr. Paulus," Dr. Burke said, his tone serious as he reviewed the chart, "your scans show a mass around your heart. A very large mass."
"A mass? Like a tumor?" the patient blinked, stunned.
"That's ridiculous!" his fiancée shot up, walking over. "He can't have a tumor—he's way too healthy!"
"We can't be sure until we observe it further," Dr. Burke said cautiously. "So today, we're scheduling you for an angiogram."
"Okay…" The couple's smiles vanished.
"Christina, you're in charge," Dr. Burke said, glancing at the group before settling on her.
"Yes, Dr. Burke!" Christina stood tall, ready to roll.
The team filed out to continue rounds.
---
At noon, in the cafeteria:
"What's up?" Adam asked, tray in hand. He'd been chatting with Emilia by the door for a bit and noticed Christina and the others staring at him when he walked over.
"You do know dating a minor is illegal, right?" Christina said with a smirk.
"And you don't qualify for the Romeo and Juliet law either," George piped up. "You're 24—you can't pull off Romeo anymore!"
"I know this stuff better than you guys," Adam shot back, exasperated. "What's going on in your heads all day? Just hormones?"
For context, in the U.S., the Romeo and Juliet law exists to keep consensual relationships between teens from being harshly labeled as crimes. Basically, if someone over 14 but under 17 hooks up with someone else, as long as the age gap isn't more than three years and neither's a registered offender, it's legally fine.
"We're just looking out for you," Christina said with a sly grin. "Maybe you don't have any intentions, but what if the girl comes onto you? Everyone knows guys have zero resistance to temptation—especially with a pretty one like her!"
"She's right," Meredith laughed. "You have no idea how appealing you are to high school girls. If I were her, I'd totally fall for you."
"Trust me, I'm aware," Adam teased. "But Emilia's not you. Actually, I'd say most high school girls aren't you."
"…" Meredith's smile froze, clearly offended.
"You really don't have any ulterior motives?" Christina asked, genuinely surprised. "Then why throw her a birthday party?"
"It's not for her," Adam shrugged. "It's for my dying friend's aunt. It's just a small favor, no big deal."
"…" The group fell silent. If they remembered right, the last time someone wanted to throw a party in the hospital—for the director's niece with cancer—his wife had to threaten divorce to make it happen.
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