The Army Doctor's Wedding

by Helen Scott Taylor

  With a confident stride, he headed towards the door.

  "Thank you, Cameron."

  He paused and turned, a smile lighting his face beneath the helmet he still wore. "You're welcome, Alice. See you soon." Then he was gone.

  The nurse chatted as she helped Alice take off her shorts and the remains of her jacket, then cut away her T-shirt beneath.

  "Let's clean you up, shall we?" She brought a bowl of water and a washcloth and left while Alice soaped herself down using one hand. It had been a couple of days since she had washed and she was aware she probably didn't smell good. She hoped Cameron had been too busy to notice.

  Once she was clean and gowned, the nurse helped her back in bed and put an IV in the back of her uninjured hand. "This is for the anesthetic. You won't have to put up with it for long."

  Two men in uniform came in and lifted her onto a gurney, then wheeled her along a maze of corridors. They pushed her into a small room where a technician gently lifted her arm out of the sling and took some X-rays. Then they wheeled her to the OR.

  Plastic sheeting covered the walls and machines bleeped and hummed. The gowned and masked medical team worked around Alice, attaching monitors and preparing. Relief burst through her when Cameron strode in with a female doctor at his side.

  "How do you feel?" He leaned over her, gowned and capped in green scrubs, his mask loose around his neck, and rested a hand on her shoulder.

  "Nervous."

  "No need to be. This won't take long. When you wake up your arm will be set in a cast."

  The female doctor stepped up beside him. "Hello, Alice. I've heard a lot about you." Dark curls peeped out from beneath the green cap topping the woman's heart-shaped face. She smiled and instantly put Alice at ease.

  "This is Major Braithwaite. She's here to put you to sleep for a little while." Cameron glanced at the X-rays clipped to a light board on the wall and exchanged a few words with one of the medical team.

  "I'd like you to count backward from ten for me, Alice." Major Braithwaite injected something in the IV on Alice's hand, her eyes moving to a monitor.

  "Ten…nine." Alice met Cameron's gaze as he pulled up his mask and tied the tapes behind his head.

  "Eight." All she could see of his face were his chocolate brown eyes between his cap and his mask. What long eyelashes he had, thick and dark.

  "Seven." Although she couldn't see his mouth, she knew he was smiling at her; the corners of his eyes crinkled. "Six."

  He leaned closer, his hand on her shoulder. "See you on the other side," he said softly behind his mask. Then everything went dark.

  ***

  Cameron pulled off his cap and mask and tossed his gloves in the trash. He held aside the plastic strip door as Alice was wheeled out of the temporary OR, still unconscious. Her arm was so slender it had seemed almost fragile as he'd set the bones. In fact there wasn't much of her at all—probably a result of spending weeks in the desert without a decent diet.

  Much as he admired the work the charity did, he had mixed feelings about young women like Alice working unprotected in conflict zones—especially in countries with a misogynistic culture like this one. He didn't want her to go back out there. Lips pressed together in thought, he headed off to check on the baby.

  Lt. Kelly Grace stood beside a plastic hospital bassinet, rattling a small blue rabbit in the air. "Who's a good boy?" She grinned down at the baby as Cameron moved to the other side of the crib.

  "I don't need to ask if you enjoyed tending your patient."

  "You know me, Cam…oops, I mean, sir."

  He did know her. Very well. They'd dated for over a year way back when Cameron first came out of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was stationed in Germany, back when he'd gone through something stressful and upsetting in his personal life. Kelly had been a rock, helping him through it. But they had both realized they weren't right for each other and moved on.

  Cameron had started to wonder if a woman existed who was right for him. He never seemed to maintain a relationship for longer than a few months. Everything was great to start with, then his girlfriends got fed up with him being away so much and dumped him. Not that he was bothered. By that time, he had usually lost interest in them anyway.

  "So how is the little guy?" The baby wore only a tiny diaper with colored alphabet bricks along the waistband. His frail body was a rich chocolate brown against the white mattress.

  "He's clean and fed." Kelly patted the baby's round belly. "Look at that lovely full tummy."

  Cameron touched the baby's tiny hand and smiled as he remembered the first time his own son had gripped his finger. Now George was about to turn six. Cameron was due to go home for the birthday party in a few weeks.

  Where had those six years gone? Cameron would turn thirty soon, yet he had nothing except his career. Not that he didn't value his career as an army doctor—it suited him well. But there should be more to life.

  He ignored the voice inside that whispered there had been more, but he'd given it away.

  Kelly ran her finger over the baby's mouth with a frown. "We need to have the cleft lip repaired before we release him. Once he's turned over to an orphanage, he won't get the surgery."

  "Yes, I want to take a look at that again. Will you hold him up for me?" Cameron took a penlight from his pocket as Kelly lifted the baby. She palmed the infant's head so Cameron could examine him. Gently opening the child's mouth, he shone his light inside and confirmed what he had initially suspected.

  "The palate is intact." He grabbed the baby's notes and recorded his initial observations in the space that had been left for them, then added his latest findings.

  Kelly deposited the child back in his bassinet while Cameron tapped his penlight on his palm. "None of our surgeons will want to take on delicate facial surgery on a baby. We need a plastic surgeon. I'm going to call my brother for advice."

  "Do you want me to take the baby back to the charity worker who brought him in?"

  Cameron could tell from the tone of Kelly's voice that she didn't want to give up the tiny boy just yet.

  "Alice will still be groggy after her surgery. You keep the baby here for a while longer. I'll take him back when I've spoken with Radley."

  Cameron pulled out his mobile phone and headed outside to stand in the shade of the doorway. He glanced at the time on the phone display. They were only an hour ahead of the UK. Radley would still be at the military hospital where he worked. Staring out at the dust blowing around the heaps of debris, he dialed his brother's number and waited.

  "Lieutenant Colonel Knight," his brother answered.

  "Rad, it's me."

  "Please don't tell me you're not coming back for George's birthday."

  "Of course I'm coming. Why do you always assume I'm going to let you down?"

  Radley grunted. "It's been known to happen."

  Cameron chose to ignore that comment. He had missed George's first birthday. He hadn't been able to face playing uncle to his own son back then. Giving George up to Radley had been too fresh and painful. He was used to it now, yet it still got to him occasionally.

  "We have a newborn baby here with a cleft lip."

  "Not really my area of expertise."

  "I know that." Why did talking to Radley always make him feel like an idiot? "I wondered if your plastic surgeon friend would help."

  "Lieutenant Colonel Fabian is unlikely to fly all the way to Africa for a cleft lip, but if you can bring the child here, I'm sure he'll operate."

  "Okay. Thanks, Rad. Can you mention it to him?"

  "Sure. See you in a few weeks."

  Cameron cut the connection and kicked at a crack in the cement. The baby would need a visa to get into the UK, and goodness knows what hoops they'd have to jump through to take the baby out of this country. He wanted to help the boy, but the whole thing was getting very complicated.

  ***

  Cameron wheeled the bassinet into Alice's room to find her propped up against
her pillows, sipping from a plastic cup of water.

  "How's your arm?"

  "Good. I'm sleepy, though."

  "That'll be the sedative effect of the painkillers. It's best if you sleep for the rest of the day, anyway. I think you need to after what you've been through today."

  Alice sat tall and peered towards the bassinet. "How's Sami?"

  "Bathed, fed, and fast asleep." The tiny boy lay flat out on his mattress, his small arms thrown up beside his head, a sheet over his body.

  Alice relaxed into her pillows with a sigh. "What a relief. I couldn't bear it if he'd been injured."

  Cameron parked the bassinet, unhooked the baby's notes from the end, and pulled a plastic chair up beside the bed. When he was seated he tapped his pen on the clipboard. "I need to take some history for him. How did he come to be in your care?"

  "A group of us from Safe Cradle were working with the nomadic clans in the desert, trying to educate the women so they are more able to look after themselves and their children. The group I was with moved every day to avoid the rebels or they force the young men to join them. Early this morning the rebels caught up with us."

  Alice dragged in a breath and closed her eyes, tears squeezing out and running down her cheeks. "It was awful, Cameron. Those pigs slaughtered them all—men, women, and children. I'll never forget what I saw."

  Cameron gripped Alice's hand where it lay on the bedcover and gave her a moment. "How did you escape?"

  "I wasn't in the main camp. They set up a birthing tent some distance away. I was there with a woman called Faiza while she gave birth." She reached out and brushed her fingers along the edge of the bassinet. "This is her son."

  "So how did Faiza die?" Cameron wished he didn't need to ask. He didn't like upsetting Alice.

  "Giving birth. The three women with me were meant to help her but the moment they saw the baby they wouldn't touch Faiza again or the baby. They said he was cursed because of his lip."

  Cameron finally remembered he should be taking this down and hastily made some notes. He'd come across all kinds of customs and prejudices in his time working overseas with the army. Even when a people's beliefs ran contrary to his mission to preserve life, he often understood the rationale behind them, as he could here. A nomadic people living on the edge of survival would not have the resources to look after a child who needed special care.

  "Do you know if the baby has any living relatives?"

  "They wouldn't want him."

  "I guess not. But we have to make a note if he has."

  Alice shook her head sadly. "From what I saw, most everyone in the village is dead."

  Cameron sucked in a breath and released it slowly. He might be in the army, but he would never get used to the persecution of civilians. It seemed to be part and parcel of just about every military conflict.

  "Here's my suggestion on how we move forward. The baby obviously needs surgery to repair his lip, and he's not going to get it here. There is a plastic surgeon at the military hospital in Oxfordshire where my brother works, and he could do the operation. All we have to do is get the baby over there."

  Alice visibly perked up, determination filling her blue eyes. "I'll take him. No problem."

  "Unfortunately we can't just put him on an aircraft and ship him off to the UK. He needs a visa and we need to get whatever permission is necessary to take him out of this country. It would look bad if the local authorities think we are taking children without authority."

  Alice sagged again, her good hand moving to rub her shoulder above her cast.

  "Aching?"

  "A little."

  Cameron had an overwhelming urge to fold her in his arms and hug her. She was incredibly brave and had experienced things no young woman should have to cope with. But she was a patient. Much as he wanted to offer comfort, he had to maintain a professional distance. He patted her arm then pushed back his chair and moved away from the bed.

  "Get some sleep. I'll make a few calls and try to arrange a visa for Sami."

  It was lucky his father was a bigwig in the Ministry of Defense and quite happy to throw his weight around when necessary.

  Chapter Three

  A few days later, Alice woke with a start to a booming explosion outside. The window above her head rattled, the ground shaking. Dust and flakes of cement fell from the ceiling. In the corridor, voices shouted while booted feet thudded.

  Pulse racing, Alice struggled to sit up in the dark room lit only by the faint light leaking through the crack in the door. Sami started to cry, his plaintive wail rising as another boom and crash rattled the building.

  "It's all right, Sami. All right, baby boy. I'm here." Alice slid out of bed and felt for her boots on the cold, rough floor.

  Leaning over the bassinet, she stroked the baby's hair, speaking softly to him so he knew he wasn't alone. She wanted to cuddle him, but it was difficult to pick him up with the wretched cast covering her left arm from shoulder to wrist.

  So far Lieutenant Grace had changed and fed Sami. She'd promised to help Alice work out how she could hold the baby in her lap to give him his bottle.

  Another bang sounded. Flashes lit up the sky outside the small window, momentarily giving Alice a clear view of the room before leaving her blind.

  Sami continued to cry, his desperate wail growing louder as the barrage of gunfire outside grew more insistent. She had to find someone to pick the baby up and soothe him. The poor little guy sounded frantic with fear.

  The door burst open and light flooded the room. Cameron raced in, pulling on a utility vest. "Good, you're up. You need to get dressed quickly. We'll have a driver take you across Rejerrah to the hotel where the foreign journalists and charity workers have been evacuated." He stooped to tie his trailing boot laces. "You'll be safer there and we'll need this room for casualties."

  "What's going on?"

  "The rebels are shelling the airfield."

  Another boom outside, closer this time, caused the whole building to shudder. The lights flickered off. After a few moments of darkness they came back on again, but not as brightly.

  "The backup generator has kicked in."

  "Can someone come with me to carry Sami?"

  Cameron ran a hand back through his tousled hair and frowned. "We can't spare any medics. We're going to need them all. You'd best leave him here. Lieutenant Grace will have to find time to look after him."

  "No. He comes with me or I stay here." After everything Alice had gone through to keep the baby safe, she was not leaving him now, especially when the hospital would be so busy it was unlikely Lieutenant Grace would have time for him.

  Cameron met her gaze, firm and intense, as if judging her resolve. After a few seconds he nodded. "Okay, then. I shouldn't do this but never mind. You'll have to bunk in my room for a while." He gave a weary laugh. "I certainly won't need it for a few days."

  He grabbed her clothes off the chair and heaped them on the baby's feet. "Come on. Let's move you now."

  Clutching the end of the bassinet, he pushed it out the door. Alice jammed her feet deeper in her boots and shuffled after him, a sheet wrapped around her thin hospital gown. She had to jog to keep up with him as he slalomed down the corridor, avoiding people and equipment. He turned at the end into a quieter area. The rooms here only had curtains over the doorways and this part of the building was in worse repair, bricks falling out of the walls in places.

  Cameron pushed aside a curtain and led her into a small room with a low camp bed on one side, a chair on the other, and no windows. Bags and clothes hung from nails in the wall. She recognized the jacket with the red cross logo on the sleeve. It was the same one he'd worn when he rescued her.

  "Can you manage to feed and change Sami?"

  Alice glanced at the distressed baby still bawling his eyes out. "Yes," she said firmly. She would have to manage. The sterilizing unit and baby formula were in a small kitchen down the corridor, and she'd watched Lieutenant Grace prepare a bottle the previ
ous day.

  "Good. I'll see you later." Cameron grabbed his jacket and put it on, then picked up his helmet. He headed for the door but paused and looked over his shoulder. "It will be pandemonium for a while. You'll be fine. Just stay out of the way."

  "I will."

  He stepped out and went to draw across the door curtain.

  "Cameron, be careful."

  Their gazes locked. For a crazy moment she thought he would come back into the room and hug her. The moment passed and he simply nodded. Then he was gone.

  Alice squatted beside the bassinet and rested a hand on Sami's tiny body, gently stroking, listening to the distant shouts and clatter of soldiers as some headed out to pick up the casualties while the others prepared. Gradually the noise died down and so did Sami's wails.

  In the light from one small table lamp, she peeled back a tape on Sami's diaper to check if it was dirty. Then she hurried along the now quiet corridors to the room where Lieutenant Grace kept the sterilizer, bottles, and formula. Alice made up a couple of bottles before dashing back to Cameron's room.

  Sami was still awake, but now the barrage had died down, the baby had quieted as well. Was it simply the noise he'd reacted to, or had he sensed the tension in the people around him?

  She stood the bottle on the floor beside the bed and gently wriggled her good arm beneath the baby. Bending close with her palm supporting his head, she scooped him up against her chest, his bottom resting on her cast. Pain shot up her broken arm, and she hurried to sit on the low bed.

  Her years working in a women's refuge in London had given her plenty of experience handling babies. She knew it was possible for women to breast-feed while lying down. She hoped it also worked with bottle-feeding.

  She lay the baby in the middle of the bed and put the nipple in his mouth. The tiny boy must have a strong survival instinct because right from the word go he had taken his bottle with no trouble. He sucked down his milk as if he knew he was lucky to have it.