1887:

It was the twenty-one-year old's last day at Church in Walnut Grove for a while.

A few weeks back, Albert got the opportunity to become something he always wanted to be. His dream... a doctor. He had always wanted to pursue that as a career forever, especially since some traumatizing events happened to him like his addiction to morphine a few years back and when he found out that he had a deadly form of Leukemia. Through time, Albert found ways to manage his disease.

While he was training to become a doctor for the past four years, he found himself enjoying every minute of it. He helped out a few people while at medical school that had a few minor incidents that he was allowed to help with. Now that he got the opportunity to be a doctor full time, he would be happy to help people out all the time.

The job would be in Sleepy Eye, a town not too far away.

Albert was glad that he would be so close to home and could visit whenever he had time. He was leaving the next day and got the second train out since the first train was leaving fairly early and he wanted his family to be there at the train station with him. When Albert was saying his goodbyes to them, there were a lot of tears and laughter. They were all reminded and shared their fond memories of him before people had to board the train and leave.

"We will really miss you son. Please remember to visit." Charles said to Albert.

"I will miss you all too Pa and I will," Albert replied. "Thank you for adopting me and helping me get through part of life."

The train made a loud whistle noise.

"Any last passengers going to Sleepy Eye, a border now." A man said into the crowd.

"I guess that's my cue to go," Albert said, turning back around to his family. "Hopefully I'll see you all very soon." He gave everyone another hug and aborted the train. He walked down the aisle of the train cart and saw many people. Some were sleeping and some seemed to stare straight at him as he moved past them.

When Albert found an empty seat, he sat down and out his luggage bag next to him. He was lucky to get a window seat since he could get motion sickness easily. He looked out the window and saw his family standing there, watching the train as it started to move slowly. He waved at them and they waved back.

Albert could tell that Laura was trying to hold back her tears and he smiled at her. He was going to miss his family very much so but he was so happy that he was going to achieve his dream.

He didn't know what was going to come of his career, but he knew that he was going to be the only doctor in Sleepy Eye which was a big step since there was a lot of people living there. And depending on the workload, he might not get as much sleep as other nights but he was willing to take that risk as long as he got to do what he always wanted to, help people.

Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls. Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls. Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls. Albert replayed constantly in his head. It kinda had a ring to it. Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls. It still seemed surreal to him. He looked out the train window and saw all sorts of trees passing by. He saw a few towns in the far distance but nowhere the train would stop at.

Albert heard a bang and turned around. His eyes glanced around but saw nothing except people looking forward or sleeping or reading. He turned back around and closed his eyes. He was tired and he just needed a short rest.

"Help! Help! Someone please!" A woman yelled from the back of the train cart. "Is there a doctor on the train?! Please!"

Albert's eyes shot open and almost tripped as he got up from his seat. He rushed over to the mid-aged woman and knelt down to the man next to her.

"Are... are you a d... doctor?" The woman asked in a scared tone.

"Yes," Albert replied confidently. "I'm going to be the doctor in Sleepy Eye."

"Oh." The woman gasped. "Can you do anything doctor, my husband, he just... collapsed. I don't know what happened"

Albert put two fingers on the man's neck to check for a pulse and there was one. "Umm... do you happen to know what was going on before he collapsed? Did he show any signs?"

The lady gulped and looked back down at the young doctor. "Well his breathing was very weird and he started sweating. Umm... when I asked him what was wrong he just said that his chest hurt. Other than that, I'm not sure."

Albert calculated what the lady had told him and what he saw in his head and came up with an answer. He turned to someone who worked on the train. "Can I have a damp towel please?"

When the worker ran off to get the towel, the lady asked, "What happened to him? Will he be okay?"

Albert let out a breath. "I believe your husband had a minor heart attack. He will be okay but when he wakes up, he will need to take it easy. When the gentleman comes back with the damp towel, I will stay here with you until he feels better. He should wake up in a couple minutes but because he just had a heart attack, there is a chance that it may happen again so make sure he gets lots of exercise, eats healthy, and doesn't work too hard."

"So he will be okay?" The lady asked biting her bottom lip.

"Yes, he will be," Albert replied. "Just remember what I told you because if not then this might happen again.

"Yes, I understand." The woman replied nodding her head.

When the worker arrived back with the moist towel, Albert placed it on the lady's husband's forehead and patted it a few times.

It took a second but the man started to regain his conciseness and his wife let out a sigh of relief. She knelt down next to her husband and stroked his cheek. "Oh love, you're okay." She turned to Albert. "Oh thank you, doctor, thank you so much. How can I repay you?"

"There is no need for that. I'm just glad I could help." Albert was the kind of guy that didn't always except payback, especially in this situation. He didn't do anything major. All he did was tell what happened to the man. It's not like he had to perform surgery or prescribe any medication. Besides, as long as he got to help someone than that's a good idea of pay for him.

"Are you sure?"

Albert nodded his head.

For the next thirty minutes, Albert sat next to the lady and her husband. He would check every so often to see how the man was doing.

The couple had made conversations with the young doctor about his life and why he wanted to become a doctor for a living.

"Well I always wanted to help people," Albert started. "It was always just a gut feeling that I should be the person to help people who are ill or aren't in the best condition because there will always be people who are. And if someone gets hurt and there isn't anyone to help them than what would they do? Some people might not get better on their own and no one deserves to suffer... I know what it's like to suffer and have someone there and by my side when I needed it. I want to be that person who is there." He finished.

"That's amazing," the man told him. "I'm glad you chose that path and I know for a fact that people will definitely appreciate your help.

"Thank you," Albert replied to the compliment.

A moment of silence passed by.

"Oh, I don't think we properly introduced ourselves." The lady said. They had been talking for a while now and forgot to mention it." My name is Helen and this is John." She said pointing to her husband.

Albert smiled. "And I'm Albert... Albert Ingalls."

"So where are you from and where are you going to work, doctor Ingalls?" John asked.

Albert sighed and replied, "Well I was born in Winoka and was an orphan for a while and then I was introduced to my now new family. When they moved back to Walnut Grove, they took me with them and adopted me shortly after. Umm... I'm going to work in Sleepy Eye. I was looking for places to work for my career path and Sleepy Eye was one of the cities who needed a doctor, and since it was close to home, I had to take it because who wouldn't want to have a good job and be close to family at the same time?"

"Are you married doctor?" Helen asked.

Albert blushed and giggled. "No, I am not married and I think I will just stick to work until I get used to it and then maybe I will find someone."

"Well you are a very handsome young man, so I wouldn't be surprised if some young ladies were looking at you," Helen added in.

The young doctor could feel his cheeks flush red.

The rest of the train ride to Sleepy Eye went well. He got to go back to his seat since John was feeling much better. The food they served on the train didn't taste as well as he remembered but it was decent. After he ate, he got tired so he fell asleep.

Time flew by and the next thing he knew, the train's loud whistle rung in his ears as he woke up and got up from his seat. He glanced outside and saw the sign at the train station say, 'Welcome To Sleepy Eye.'

There he was, in the city where he would be able to pursue his dream.