The Army Doctor's Wedding

by Helen Scott Taylor

  "Of course not." A note of frustration crept into Cameron's tone. "I have to go where the army sends me."

  "Then I'm sorry. Mr. Knight's occupation will cause a problem."

  "You allow single people to adopt." Alice's voice rose as she tried to contain her escalating panic. "How is that different from me looking after Sami on my own while Cameron's away?"

  "I assure you it is different. You want to adopt a baby as a couple. Therefore you both need to make the commitment to live with the child for the first three years to establish the family relationship."

  "We've already established a family relationship. Sami's been with us since he was born. We're all he knows. He's not going to forget who his daddy is."

  Mrs. Sugden closed her folder and put the cap on her pen. "There are rules, I'm afraid."

  Cameron abruptly released Alice's hand and rose. "Excuse me a moment." He returned almost immediately with Olivia.

  "I'm a lawyer representing Cameron and Alice," she said. "Please explain the problem to me."

  Olivia and the adoption officials talked back and forth. Alice tried to listen but the words blurred into a meaningless babble as Olivia fired questions.

  A band of pain tightened around Alice's chest. A numb coldness pervaded her body, her thoughts sluggish with fear. She must think of something to say to persuade these people. They couldn't stop her adopting Sami. She was his mum. He was her baby.

  "We've already adopted him," she blurted.

  "We are aware of the foreign adoption," Mrs. Sugden said. "It still needs to be ratified by a British court to be legal in this country."

  "You can't take my baby away. I won't let you."

  The cold emptiness inside Alice filled with blistering angry heat. She would not let these heartless morons take Sami. They didn't know her or Cameron. They hadn't even asked to see Sami yet. They didn't care about him. All they cared about were their silly rules, rules enforced in courts by men like her father.

  Olivia rounded the table, stood between her and Cameron, and rested her hands on their shoulders. "Keep your cool," she said under her breath. Then louder, "My clients are obviously very upset, Mrs. Sugden. You must understand that Alice rescued Sami from a desperate situation. She saved Sami's life. Since then she has cared for him as her own."

  Mrs. Sugden inclined her head and made a note on one of her forms.

  "Let's set aside the adoption process and consider the more immediate issue of fostering. Here you have two responsible people with good family support who love this baby. I suggest they are an ideal couple to foster Sami."

  Mrs. Sugden glanced at her assistant and nodded. "I see no reason why the baby can't remain with Alice and Cameron for the moment while the adoption process continues. If Mr. Knight leaves the army or can guarantee he will be based in the UK for three years, they stand a good chance of keeping the child."

  Mrs. Sugden asked a few more questions. Alice struggled to pull her thoughts together to answer. A storm of emotion wiped her mind, leaving nothing but a mass of exposed nerves. Finally, the adoption officials gathered their things. Cameron rose and showed them to the door.

  Alice followed, blinking against tears. If they tried to take Sami, she would leave the country. She'd go back to Africa and live in the desert with him rather than let those people take him away.

  She watched as the social workers climbed in their car and drove off.

  Cameron pressed his fingers to his temples, pain and frustration clear on his face. "I need to talk to Dad. He'll know what to do."

  "Shall I come?" Alice reached for his arm. Right now she wanted to be with him and Sami, to cuddle up together.

  Cameron closed his eyes for a few seconds. "No. You stay here, love. I might have to wait for Dad to get home from work. It could make me late."

  "I don't mind. I'd rather…" she started, but he wasn't listening.

  He hurried towards the kitchen, returning a moment later with Olivia's car keys. With a perfunctory kiss on her cheek, he stepped out the door, leaving Alice alone in the sudden silence. The tears that had threatened leaked from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. She rushed almost blindly to the kitchen and bent over Sami's stroller, pressing her face against his dear little body.

  Olivia rested a supportive hand on Alice's back. "It'll be all right. I'm on your side and Cameron's parents are solid gold. When I was in trouble a few years ago, Sandra and George stood by me and made sure I was okay. They will help you and Cameron keep Sami. I'm sure of it."

  ***

  Anger and frustration roiled in Cameron's gut. His fingers clenched so hard on the steering wheel that his hands ached.

  "Ignorant, self-important do-gooders," he growled. Who were they to decide he wouldn't be a good father for Sami? The two pen-pushers from the adoption agency had no right to pass judgment on him because he chose to serve in the army and defend his country and the freedoms those two took for granted.

  They had no idea what life was like out there where the rules they lived by didn't apply. He'd like to see them running through the desert, being fired on by rebels, trying to save the life of a baby. The baby they now wanted to take away from Alice.

  Cameron blew out a breath and consciously tried to relax, tensing and releasing his shoulders and shaking out his hands one after the other. He would not let those people take away the son he and Alice loved. There was always a way to sort things out. His father had a knack for solving problems.

  Cameron didn't make a habit of calling on his parents for help. He had always felt they expected him to screw up and need to be bailed out. So he purposely didn't tell them when he got into trouble. But this time was different. This time it affected Sami and Alice.

  His foot pressed on the accelerator and the car shot forward from traffic lights, the tires squealing on the road. Anger bubbled up anew as he recalled what Mrs. Sugden had said and the self-righteous smile on her assistant's face as he nodded in agreement.

  In what world was it fair for people like that to take away his baby boy over some stupid arbitrary rule? He understood they were trying to make sure adopted children settled into their families, but the authorities should judge each case on its merits. With something as important as adoption, it should never be a one-size-fits-all rule.

  Plenty of military wives had babies who only saw their dads during leave. His situation with Sami was no different than that.

  He slowed to maneuver the car through the narrow country lanes approaching his childhood home, Willow House, and turned into the gateway. It was nearly six in the evening. His father's car already stood in the drive. He must have just arrived home from work. Stopping, Cameron grabbed the key and jumped out, eager to get inside.

  Cameron burst through the front door and hurried along the hall to the kitchen. "Mum, Dad, I need to talk to you."

  His mother turned from the counter, an apron around her waist and flour on her fingers. She grabbed a tea towel to wipe her hands, tossing it aside as she reached him. Then she pulled him down into her arms and kissed his cheek. "Cameron, darling, what's the matter? Is somebody hurt?"

  "No, everyone's fine. Alice and I had the adoption interview today. They won't let us adopt Sami if I'm posted abroad."

  She pulled back, an incredulous look on her face. "Don't they realize you're in the army?"

  "Yes, that's the point. They know I'll be deployed overseas and it's against their rules."

  "But military personnel have no say in where they're posted."

  "Exactly!"

  "Oh, darling." His mother pulled his face down to her shoulder and cupped the back of his head, murmuring to him as though he were a little boy who'd bumped his knee. A fresh burst of frustration at the unfairness of the situation brought tears to his eyes. He swallowed hard and eased out of his mother's embrace to stride back and forth across the room.

  "I won't accept this. I promised myself this time I would do the right thing. I won't let them take Sami from Alice. I'll resign from t
he army and find a job in a civilian hospital if that's what it takes to keep my son."

  And he would. But at the thought of leaving the army, something inside him withered. He specialized in front-line trauma care. It was challenging, dangerous, and exhausting, but battlefield medicine was what he did best. On his first deployment in Afghanistan he'd discovered he thrived under extreme conditions. His satisfaction when he saved the life of a soldier who might otherwise have died was off the scale.

  But he would give that up for Alice and Sami if he had to.

  "George, can you come down here?" his mother shouted down the hall. A few minutes later his father's footsteps sounded on the stairs and he hurried into the kitchen.

  "What's the problem?"

  "The adoption agency won't let Alice and me adopt Sami because I'm in the army."

  His father's expression tightened, and his lips thinned.

  Cameron repeated what had been said in the interview earlier.

  "I have never heard anything so blatantly unfair or discriminatory against military families. This is totally unacceptable. I'll make damn sure the Ministry of Defense kicks up a stink about it."

  "I suppose there's no chance I can stay in the army and request not to be deployed abroad for three years?" Cameron knew his father had power. He wasn't sure how far it went.

  His father sat down and ran a hand over his face. "I'd like to say yes but in truth, even I can't guarantee that. We like to think we plan ahead, but we don't have a crystal ball. If a military uprising or regional conflict threatens Western interests, we have to respond. The medical corps are always needed. Anyway, I thought you liked front-line assignments."

  "I do."

  "I don't," his mother said. "I worry about you. I'm sure Alice will worry as well."

  Cameron met his father's gaze and they shared a moment of understanding, man to man. Cameron straightened his spine. The fine balance between doing his duty to the best of his ability, working to his strengths to serve his country, and also taking into account the needs of his family was something new to Cameron. He'd been selfish in the past, putting what he wanted ahead of other responsibilities.

  That had been his problem when Olivia gave birth to George. The promise of his exciting career took precedence over his obligation to her. In the past six years, he had grown up. Now he understood a man had to balance his responsibilities. Not an easy task.

  "Compromise is the name of the game," his father said softly.

  "I tried to do the right thing. Instead I've let Alice and Sami down."

  Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose and dropped into a seat. He'd thought that by marrying Alice he would help a brave young woman adopt the baby she loved. Along the way he had fallen in love with them both. They'd become the most important people in his life.

  To think she might have been better off without him ached like a punch in the stomach. The adoption agency might well have approved her as a single mum. Of course he would never know, but Alice must wonder.

  His father rose and rested a hand on his shoulder. "There will be a way around this, son. Don't do anything rash like resign from the army. You and Alice hang in there. Give me some time to think of options. I'll do my best for you."

  Chapter Ten

  Cameron put his arm around Alice as they walked into the hospital, the handle of Sami's car seat in his other hand. She glanced up at him as they headed to the elevator, but he didn't notice. He stood aside to let her walk in first, then pushed the button for pediatrics. He was doing all the right things but he wasn't really present with her.

  On the drive to the hospital, he'd barely said a word. Every time Alice tried to start a conversation about the adoption, Cameron cut her off. "Let's get today over with first," he'd say.

  It had been very late when he returned from his parents' house the previous night, but she'd stayed awake, waiting for him. He'd slipped into bed beside her with nothing but a brief greeting. For the first time since they became lovers, he hadn't reached for her.

  She had wanted to snuggle up and draw strength from him, share this worry and soothe each other. Isn't that what being married was all about—sharing the problems as well as the joys? Instead he had distanced himself from her.

  "Here we are," he said, squeezing her hand as the robotic voice announced their floor. They stepped out into the now familiar corridor of the pediatric department with its colorful walls and large animal pictures designed to make sick children who visited the hospital feel more at home.

  Cameron led the way into the reception area and checked in with the nurse. "Lieutenant Colonel Fabian will be right down," she said. "Take a seat for a few minutes, please."

  Alice sat and picked at the worn edge of her plaster cast. "It will be so great to get this darned thing off. I can't wait to hold Sami in both arms after the surgery."

  Cameron placed a restraining hand over her nervous fingers. "Don't worry, love. Sami will be fine. It's just a routine procedure."

  All the Knights had told her this many times. She believed them, yet she still ached at the thought of her baby boy suffering any pain or discomfort. But Sami's surgery wasn't what bothered her most. It was the rest of his life, and where he would spend it that now consumed her thoughts.

  She was his mother. How could anyone think of taking him away from her?

  These same thoughts had circled in her head all night. She wanted to call Mrs. Sugden and her sidekick and tell them exactly what it had been like in the nomads' camp when the rebels had attacked—the deafening gunfire, the swirling smoke, the reek of blood and other horrible things, the gut-churning fear.

  If they knew how terrified she had been when she dashed back to the birthing tent, wrapped Sami and hid him under her jacket, then ran for her life with the three women and their children, all the time expecting a bullet in the back, maybe they would understand how much Sami meant to her.

  "Cameron, Alice. Good to see you." Lieutenant Colonel Fabian strode towards them wearing green scrubs that made his Mediterranean eyes appear more green than blue. "How's Sami today?"

  "He had a good night," Cameron said.

  "He's only six weeks old and he's already sleeping through the night." Alice couldn't resist boasting about how good her baby was.

  "I hope I'm as lucky with my children." Sean grinned with obvious pride. "My wife is expecting twins."

  "Congratulations, mate." Cameron shook his hand.

  "Congratulations. That's wonderful. I bet you're excited," Alice said, trying to pretend she could chat like a normal mum who wasn't terrified the adoption agency would take her baby away.

  "Yes, it's certainly going to be a new experience."

  "Do you want us to bring Sami through?" Cameron directed them back to the matter at hand.

  "Yes, of course. This way."

  They followed Sean to a room with a hospital bassinet. While Cameron signed some forms for Sean, a nurse entered and lifted Sami from his carry seat into the crib. She removed his sleep suit and vest, leaving him in his diaper. Then she covered him with clean hospital bedding.

  "There, he'll stay nice and warm, don't you worry." She handed Sami's clothes to Alice. "You hold on to those for me. He can have them back on when we're finished."

  Cameron wrapped an arm around Alice's waist. "Time to say good-bye to him for a little while."

  Even though Alice had promised herself she wouldn't cry, tears flooded her eyes as she leaned into the crib and kissed Sami. "You be a good boy, sweetie. Mummy will be thinking of you the whole time. I'll see you soon."

  When she withdrew, Cameron bent down and kissed Sami as well, running a gentle hand over his hair, a tell-tale sheen to his eyes.

  "You'll see him in a couple of hours." Sean smiled kindly.

  Cameron rested a hand on Alice's back and guided her to the door. She glanced over her shoulder as they went out to see the nurse wheeling a tray holding medical implements up to Sami's bassinet.

  Cameron firmly closed the door
.

  "What are they going to do to him now?"

  "He'll be given a sedative to relax him, then they'll take him down to the OR."

  Alice sucked on her lip, her insides churning with many conflicting emotions. She wanted this for Sami, wanted his lip to be repaired, but she couldn't help worrying. Yet she almost welcomed the transient worry about the operation as it pushed aside her greater concerns over the adoption.

  "Let's take you down to have your cast removed." Cameron took her hand and they stepped in the elevator and went down a couple of floors. They checked in and within ten minutes Alice was called into a room where a medical technician with a tool that resembled a mini circular saw cut the plaster cast off her arm.

  As it fell away, relief burst through her to see her arm back to normal.

  "Let me take a look." Cameron lifted her arm and felt up and down the bones in the two places where it had broken. "Straighten for me." He flexed her joints and then smiled. "All looks good."

  It was strange to remember Cameron had set her bones before she knew him, when he was just a face behind a clinical mask, a kind pair of brown eyes as she went under the anesthetic.

  Wordlessly, she leaned into the firm strength of his chest and encircled his waist with her arms. His arms closed around her, his lips pressing against her temple. The medical technician left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

  For long moments they simply held each other, reveling in the simple pleasure of being able to do so.

  "Thank you," Alice whispered.

  "What for?" he said.

  "Everything."

  Cameron's chest expanded beneath her cheek as he sucked in a breath. "I'm not sure I've done you much good. I wanted to help, but marrying me probably made life more difficult. You might have been able to adopt him as a single parent. Then you wouldn't have this hassle with the adoption agency."

  "I wouldn't have you, either."

  Cameron's arms tightened around her. "Would that matter?"