Chapter 4 is here! Although this is the last chapter in which an illness is dealt with, it is not the last chapter of the story, for, as mentioned previously, this is a five chapter story, and furthermore, Chapter 5 will reveal just what accounts for the sudden catching of these serious, potentially fatal illness by our four quadruped heroes and what it will mean and lead to now that they've gone to a vet to be treated. But before we get to that, a question to consider. Yeah, the vet saved Georgette, Oliver and Dodger, but can she save Rita, too? What is Rita's condition, and how can it be treated. If it can be treated, that is. Sure, it would seem not to be as severe as the other three, but it's still damn serious and she needs help. Can the vet make it a perfect four for four and cure Rita? Only one way to know, and you know the drill! Read away!

I own none of the characters. They all belong to Oliver And Company.

Veterinarian Emergency Room

Chapter 4-Rita-Virus

As the cured and recovering Georgette, Oliver and Dodger slept after hoping to God, and praying to him, that Rita would be saved, too, the vet, at the same time, was coming out to see both her and her owner, as well as Jenny. She said: "Hello, Fagin. Jenny. RITA." She looked to Rita most directly, and both Rita, Jenny and Fagin knew as well as she did why. She said to Fagin and Jenny: "All right, you two, I am down to my last patient. Rita here is the only one left who needs treatment, and as with the others, I intend to give her the best of treatment possible for whatever is plaguing the poor girl's body, though I would like to know of any symptoms she was showing either of you know about, so I have an idea of what I'm dealing with here." "Okay, I've not seen much of her today, so I'm sorry, but I can't help much, but I'm betting Fagin knows, since she's his dog!" Jenny said. "Oh, I definitely know! I mentioned before that she was, even if not on Dodger's level, showing symptoms of something awful," Fagin informed, "and while I've no idea what her illness could be, I could tell that she was vomiting and also suffering from a lot of bad diarrhea. I had no time to clean it up, since she needed a vet badly, so I will have to clean it up when I get home, but there can be no denying Rita is extremely sick to her stomach here, and it would be too optimistic to say she just has a bad case of nausea. She was making a lot of noises and contortions to indicate her stomach hurts like hell."

"Well, now, we can't have that, can we?" the vet said. "Thank you for letting me know, Fagin, and Rita? I know your stomach is probably killing you, but I have to carry you into the emergency room, so grit your teeth." Rita nodded and did all she could to ignore the pain as the vet picked her up and carried her into the emergency room as slowly and gently as possible, to try and make it so the abdominal agony she would feel would be reduced as much as possible. Rita tolerated what pain she did feel like a trooper, and once placed gently on the table, she got the same thing the other three had gotten before. Namely, the vet, after saying: "Well done, Rita. I commend you for your bravery and resilience." got her translation device, and she held it to the mouth of Rita. After this, the vet asked her: "Now, Rita, I was told by Fagin that your symptoms were that of diarrhea and vomiting, as well as gastric pain, but I need to know from you just what happened, exactly, and what you think it is and/or what it feels like which has been causing you this kind of horrid digestive system torture." So Rita, into the translation device, barked, yapped and panted in various ways which could be translated as the following statements.

"When I woke up this morning, my stomach was killing me. And so were the rest of my digestive organs. The pain is such like I've never felt before. Fagin was astute when he said that I'd puked a lot and shat out just as much diarrhea. It happened so much that I almost thought I was going to either pass out again or die of dehydration. Thankfully, neither happened, but I'm still in a lot of pain and I feel awful. This is much worse than nausea or anything of the sort. I'd not be surprised if I started to vomit and shit profusely again, and I'm actually surprised I haven't done so once more already! Especially since I think the pain in my stomach is worsening by the minute, even if I do have quite a tolerance for it. And the rest of my body feels squeamish, dizzy and gross because of all of this. Please help me. I don't know how much longer I can last before this either kills, or at the very least, maims me in some way."

The vet then put aside her translator device, and she said to Rita: "Okay, girl, the thing is, there can be no doubt about it now. Without a doubt, you've got a serious case of the rotavirus. I could tell by your description of your symptoms and what they resulted in that it could only be a rotavirus infection which you had somehow caught. Although until recently there were no real treatments for the rotavirus, there is one which has been come up with meant for both humans and animals, child or adult, infected with the virus in question. It is a special machine which is like a tanning bed, but instead of tanning the skin with heat, it emits a special kind of warm and gentle yet potent energy essence which is gentle on the patient but tough on any virus, bacteria and/or disease that needs to be eliminated. Once it's over, you'll still be somewhat weak and in need of time to rest and recover, but the virus will be eliminated and you'll be just as you were before catching this outside of the aforementioned weakened state and requirement for recovery for a bit. So, I'm going to gently carry you there and open it up to place you in. All right?" Then Rita gave a firm nod, and the vet picked her up as easy as possible, so as not to escalate her pain, subsequently bringing her over to the germ killing energy essence machine which she opened the lid of(it, as I said before, resembling a tanning bed despite being used for a far different and more serious, significant purpose), and placing Rita into it. She then closed it and pressed the buttons on it both for the required amount of time and the amount of energy essence which would be of need to get rid of every last rotavirus infesting the digestive system of Rita.

Finally, she got it started, and after a short while, Rita had been cured of her unwanted rotavirus infection and the lid was then lifted open, with Rita looking much more comfortable than she'd been before, though it was clear she was still quite a bit weaker than she usually was, and thus needed to be carried to her bed, which the vet knew she would want next to her three friends. So she said: "Well done, Rita. You were quite courageous, not unlike Georgette, Oliver and Dodger before you, and since you know that you'll need a sickbed until you're completely recovered, I can tell you would want it to be next to those three, just like they wanted company in the form of being with each other, as well. So what do you say I put you in the sickbed next to Dodger?" Rita wagged her tail and smiled as if to say "Yes, please!" and with that, the vet would pick her up and bring her out of the emergency room to show to Fagin, who, along with Jenny, a second later saw her and was happy beyond belief, realizing what this meant. "Wonderful news, you two!" the vet informed them. "I've cured Rita, and though she, like her predecessors, needs rest and time to get her strength regained, you can be certain she is no longer afflicted with the rotavirus you thought she had and I confirmed her to have, and is going to live and get well yet again, just like all the other patients you brought in here."

"Oh, thank heaven!" Fagin smiled, hugging Rita, who nuzzled him and gave him a lick in exchange. "My thanks for you is boundless," he said to the vet, "and I am so glad this nightmare is over for them." "But we do have to find out how they caught these illnesses overnight!" Jenny reminded him. "Oh, yes, of course!" Fagin exclaimed. "Indeed, for since they were healthy last night and then suddenly woke up with the rotten sicknesses I just purged them of, we need to find out what happened to make this so, especially since we don't want them catching these or any other illnesses without warning overnight all over again." the vet would point out. "So I'm going to bring Rita into her emergency room sickbed with Georgette, Oliver and Dodger, and I am then going to have the two of you accompany me in trying to find out how this could have come to happen, since I'm their doctor, but you're their owners, so it's important you know as fast as possible as much as it's important I know as quickly as can be." Jenny and Fagin gave a nod, and the vet then carried Rita back into the emergency room of her pet hospital.

Then it was time to bring her over to where her sickbed was to be, and when once it was set up and gotten open for her to be in, the vet placed her in it and said: "May you get better as soon as you can, Rita. Just like I hope such a blessing for these other three. I am glad you will be able to be all together and provide one another with companionship during your recuperation time." She walked out to join with Jenny and Fagin so that the three of them could go and find out how this could have occurred, and how to make sure it would not repeat itself in occurring, nor would anything similar happen. Rita said: "Hello, Dodger, Oliver, Georgette. As I think you just heard from the vet, I've been cured. She's unbelievable. She's four for four, and she saved us all from horrid illness and what would most likely have been certain death!" "I know. Isn't it wonderful?" asked Dodger. "You should know me, Oliver and Georgette prayed for you before we fell asleep a second time, and woke up just as you were being brought in." "We were so, so relieved to see you'd lived and were cured, and that you'd be with us while you recovered and so did we made it all the better." Oliver told her. "It would appear humans are indeed right when they say there is a God." Georgette spoke. "One who answered our prayer for you and has seen to it we'll live." "Hopefully, though, he can also make it so we know how this all happened in the first place!" Dodger pointed out. "I mean, of course it's good we've been cured, but we can't just forget this happened!" "Yes, no one just gets ill overnight for no reason, especially if as fully healthy as we were last night before coming down with these various, specific illnesses." Rita an instant later put in. "We've got to find out what happened, how and why." Georgette said.

"Either that or keep our ears open for when Jenny, Fagin and our savior vet find it out and talk of it to each other, so we'll know, too, but either way, I can see what the three of you mean." put in Oliver. "So I guess falling asleep, even as tired, weak and inert as we all are, is going to be out of the question for some time." "Yeah, but it'll be worth it, given what cause it's for, kid." Dodger commented. So they did all they could to keep awake and make sure to listen for anything that sounded like the finding out of what had happened to make them so sick as to need the special cures the vet thankfully had at that time they were given, and what their learning of it would mean and what it would lead to. None of them knew yet, obviously, but they knew all four of them had to make sure to keep open ears about this until they were certain they'd learned all they'd need to know about this matter and what it meant for their futures and their salvaged, nearly cut short lives.

TO BE CONCLUDED…

So, how did you like reading Chapter Number 4? Please rate and review, everyone!