The Army Doctor's Wedding

by Helen Scott Taylor

  Another two soldiers got in and sat down, their guns across their knees.

  "Do you expect trouble?" she asked.

  The driver glanced over his shoulder. "Don't you worry, love. An explosive device could go off right underneath us and we'd still survive. This vehicle is a great piece of engineering."

  She smiled tentatively, far from reassured.

  Cameron reached back and squeezed her hand with a nod of encouragement. The engine rumbled to life and the vehicle pulled away.

  Alice hung on as the Foxhound bumped into potholes and weaved between heaps of rubbish and rubble, heading away from the air base and hospital to the main part of Rejerrah. They joined the busy road around the city. Men on motor scooters and in old beaten-up cars raced every which way. Dust rose in plumes from the tires; Alice tasted it gritty and dry on her tongue.

  The squat stone and cement buildings lining the road looked half-finished or half-demolished, she wasn't sure which, many with corrugated-iron roofs.

  The Foxhound turned into the old city and threaded its way through narrower roads, frequently having to slow down for people. Old men with donkeys piled high with bundles trudged along in the middle of the road, and women in brightly colored robes walked with babies wrapped on their fronts or backs.

  "We're heading over there." Cameron pointed.

  Through the dust drifting in the air, Alice made out taller buildings in the center of Rejerrah.

  "I landed at the commercial airport on the other side of the city when I arrived." That seemed like a lifetime ago now, not just four months. She had been naive and unprepared for the living conditions in the desert with the nomads, or the brutal reality of the war. She'd witnessed terrible things that would stay with her forever.

  What had happened to the others from Safe Cradle who'd come with her? Three teams flew in, destined to work with different nomadic groups. She'd discovered that the two women who had been working with her had both been airlifted to safety shortly before the rebels attacked. They hadn't come to find her. Maybe they hadn't had time.

  Alice leaned forward and rested a hand on Cameron's shoulder. "You said the charity workers were evacuated to a hotel?"

  "Yes. All the foreign nationals were rounded up about a week ago. The hotel's on the other side of Rejerrah, near the commercial airport. I expect a lot of them have been flown out by now."

  Alice had only joined the charity a month before she came out here. She wondered briefly if they could help her arrange for Sami to leave the country. But she'd been the junior member of her team, and they hadn't exactly looked after her. She trusted Cameron far more, despite the fact he was not only a man but a soldier—something she would never have believed possible a few months ago.

  A loud crash pulled her back to the moment and set her heart racing. The corporal in charge of the patrol shouted orders and a second soldier stood and manned a gun sticking out the top of the vehicle, but they didn't slow down.

  "It's all right," Cameron said after a few tense moments. "Just kids throwing rocks."

  The men seemed to settle down again, and Alice's pulse returned to near normal. They entered an area that was obviously a business district with taller buildings. Many of them looked abandoned.

  The Foxhound slowed outside a three-story cement building with burn marks up the walls and boarded-up windows on one side. Alice spoke a little of the language but couldn't read it, so the words painted on the front meant nothing to her.

  "Here you are," the corporal driving said. "We'll wait for you."

  Cameron jumped out and extended a hand to help Alice down. She folded the white fabric over her head and Cameron tucked it in. They had already decided it was best to cover her blonde hair.

  "So are we going to start with their version of Child Protective Services, or the emigration office?" Cameron asked. They had researched the local government structure and identified these two departments to contact.

  "Child Protective Services. They deal with orphanages and adoptions."

  "Okay."

  Cameron led the way inside a dimly lit entrance foyer. A hot, stale smell filled the place—totally foreign and unwelcoming.

  Some people lined up at a desk while others sat along the wall on wooden benches. The man behind the desk was arguing with the guy at the front of the line, both shouting and gesturing.

  Back at the hospital, when they discussed this trip, Alice had been hopeful. Now they were here, her heart dropped to her boots. Suddenly negotiating this foreign system seemed like a nightmare.

  The two men who'd been arguing fell silent as they noticed Cameron in his uniform. Everyone stared. The man behind the desk rose and approached, firing questions.

  Alice's minimal grasp of the language was useless. She had no idea what he was saying, and he didn't look friendly.

  Lucky for them, Cameron obviously did understand the man. He answered calmly and confidently. The man's belligerence faded and he directed Cameron to some stairs.

  "Well, we're in the right place." He led the way upstairs.

  "What did the man say?" Alice asked.

  "He was defensive at first. I think he thought I'd come to cause trouble. When I told him why we were here, he calmed down." Cameron halted on the second landing and looked around. "Here we are." He knocked on a door and opened it.

  Two men sat at scarred wooden desks heaped with brown folders. More folders were stacked against the walls, many with the contents hanging out.

  Cameron spoke to the officials and obviously answered some questions. Eventually one of them searched in a drawer and pulled out a form.

  Alice took the offered document, glancing at the unreadable text. "What's this for?"

  "The only way they'll let you take Sami out of the country is if you adopt him. That's what the form's for."

  Alice's heart leaped and fluttered in her chest like a trapped bird. Adopt Sami? She had hardly let herself imagine she might be able to do this. It was what she wanted, more than anything else in the world.

  Sitting down at an empty desk, she pushed aside some papers. Cameron took a pen from his pocket and held it out. "Do you want me to translate for you?"

  "Yes, please." She tamped down the excitement bubbling inside her. This was only the start of the process. She had no idea how long they would make her wait before she could bring Sami to the UK. They might even turn her down. This was not the time to think that. Be positive, she told herself.

  Cameron leaned over her. "Name and address," he said, running his finger over the words.

  Alice wrote and Cameron translated: her age, twenty-six; her educational qualifications, college diploma in social work; her home address, London, England. They seemed to want to know everything except her shoe size. Thirty minutes later when she had finished, she signed the form with a flourish and handed it back to Cameron, her heart racing.

  "Will you tell them he needs surgery? I want to take him home as quickly as possible."

  "I have already. I don't think they usually allow people to walk in off the street and fill out adoption forms. Officers who work in the orphanages normally have to recommend you. The fact Sami needs surgery is why they've bent the rules."

  Cameron placed the form on the man's desk, but he shook his head and tapped his finger on Alice's signature. Cameron exchanged a few sentences with the government official, then his lips thinned.

  "What's the matter?" Alice was light-headed with tension, her emotions swinging from excitement to fear that they would turn her down.

  "He says you can't sign the form."

  "I don't understand. Who does sign it then?"

  "Your husband."

  Alice stared at Cameron, totally confused, sure she had missed something. "I don't have a husband."

  "He wanted me to sign the form," Cameron said. "He thought I was your husband. They only allow married couples to adopt children here. It's one of the rules."

  Alice pressed a hand over her mouth, her gaze fixed on Cameron'
s suddenly guarded expression.

  "I can't leave Sami here in an orphanage. I won't."

  "I agree. I haven't visited an orphanage but I can guess what the conditions are like."

  "Will you sign then, please? Pretend to be my husband?"

  Cameron dropped his gaze on a sigh. "I wish I could. The trouble is I've already told him you aren't married. The only way he'll believe us now is if we can show him a marriage certificate."

  ***

  Cameron stood on top of the hill behind the field hospital and stared across Rejerrah. The ubiquitous dust hung over the city like a pall of smoke, but he could still make out the tall buildings in the business district where he and Alice had visited the government office the previous day.

  He swiveled to gaze over the desert, to the shamble of tents and huts that marked the refugee camp. About five miles farther out was the wrecked rebel jeep that had been chasing Alice down, and the place on the rocky ground where she'd fallen holding Sami, just before he got to them.

  And here he was in the middle with a huge conundrum. He wanted to do his best for Sami. Even if someone else had brought the baby to the hospital, he would still have gone out of his way to help the tiny boy. But because it was Alice, he wanted to help even more. Yet to marry her just to get the child out of the country felt like going way above and beyond the call of duty.

  He sat on a rock and rubbed a hand over his sweaty face. The sun beat down relentlessly, burning the tops of his ears. He should cover them up. He should go back inside. Yet he didn't move. Alice was inside fretting over Sami's fate. Cameron couldn't bear to see her worrying when he had the power to do something about it.

  Perhaps God was giving him this chance to help Sami so he could make up for not being a father to George? Or perhaps he was trying to find hidden depths in a straightforward situation. When it came down to basics, it was a simple decision—he could either marry Alice and take Sami back to the UK for surgery, or let the baby sink without trace in a lousy orphanage.

  The sound of a helicopter drew his attention and he shaded his eyes to watch as it approached the airfield on his left. The Apache raised a hurricane of dust, obscuring itself as it neared the ground. Cameron pressed his sleeve over his nose and narrowed his eyes as the edge of the dust cloud hit him.

  "Cam, there you are."

  Cameron turned to find Kelly Grace trudging up the hill behind him. She reached the top and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Move over so I can sit down."

  Cameron shuffled along with a sigh; so much for getting away from everyone to think in peace.

  She rubbed his arm. "I'm worried about you."

  Kelly knew him better than most people and he trusted her. She was the only person he had confided in about this problem. Perhaps talking the situation over with her was a good idea.

  "You don't have to marry Alice," she said. "Nobody will stop her taking the baby out on a military flight now she has a UK entry visa for the boy."

  "Yeah, I know. But how's it going to look to the authorities at home if she takes the baby out of this country without proper authorization? That will nix any chance she has of adopting him. Sure, Sami will get his surgery and be allowed to stay in the UK, but not with Alice. Even with my father's influence, I doubt Social Services would let her keep him."

  "I can understand why she wants to keep him." Kelly's gaze drifted into the distance. "I'd feel the same way."

  Cameron wiped his sweaty palms on his knees. Alice hadn't asked him to marry her, but they both knew it was the only way to take Sami out of the country legally. Well, almost legally. He supposed a marriage on paper just to con the system wasn't strictly legal.

  Kelly fell uncharacteristically quiet for a while.

  "So, what do you think?" Cameron prompted. "If you've got any other suggestions, I'm all ears."

  "Do you have feelings for her?" She cast him a quick sideways glance.

  Suddenly this conversation felt awkward. They had stopped dating years ago, but there was an edge to Kelly's voice that made him uncomfortable.

  "I admire her, and I don't want to see her hurt." He rubbed a hand across his mouth, trying to think how to explain what he felt. That was difficult when he didn't know himself. But he was certain about some things. "I want to make sure Sami gets his operation, and that Alice has the chance to adopt him in the UK."

  "There's your answer, then. You marry her."

  Emotion shot through Cameron, hot and uncomfortable, although quite what emotion it was he couldn't say. If marrying Alice was the only way to help her keep Sami, he would have to do it. "I'd better call the padre and arrange things quickly. It makes sense for us to travel to the UK together next week when I go home for George's birthday."

  "Your parents are going to be surprised."

  "That's got to be the understatement of the century."

  Chapter Five

  Alice stood in front of the army padre in her shorts, borrowed T-shirt, and boots, with ugly yellow and purple bruising around her eyes and a nose that was still somewhat swollen.

  The room was small, with flaking cement walls and holes for windows. A makeshift place of worship in this hostile environment. The only thing identifying its purpose was a metal cross on a wooden stand set on a table behind Father Dudley.

  Cameron stood at Alice's side wearing his desert camouflage trousers, dusty boots, and a sandy-colored T-shirt. Lieutenant Grace and Major Braithwaite sat on wooden chairs behind them, both there to witness the marriage.

  Marriage!

  Alice swallowed down the massive lump in her throat as memories from the past rushed back. She had sworn never to marry. She had believed she would never trust a man enough to commit like that. If someone had told her she would marry a soldier in a makeshift chapel in a war zone, she would have thought they were crazy.

  Yet here she was, and far from being nervous with Cameron she was deeply grateful to him. She cast a quick sideways glance at the gorgeous army doctor with his warm brown eyes and easy smile. She might be developing feelings for him, but Alice had no illusions he was interested in her. When he'd suggested they marry, he had made it clear it was only so they could help Sami.

  His lack of interest didn't surprise her. She looked a mess. She was definitely not much of a catch. What did surprise her was that a man like Cameron didn't have a wife or girlfriend at home already.

  The pleasant tenor of the padre's voice repeated the familiar words of the marriage ceremony. Alice responded appropriately where needed, her voice faint with nerves, her senses reeling at the strangeness of the situation.

  "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," Father Dudley said.

  Alice's gaze shot to Cameron in alarm. Considering the circumstances, she had assumed they would skip this part of the ceremony.

  He turned to face her. As if in a dream, her feet stepped around too. She met his gaze, and he smiled intimately, as if the two of them shared a secret. The smile confused her, set her mind racing to understand what he was thinking.

  "Alice," he said softly, raising a hand to rest on her good shoulder. Then he leaned down, hesitated a moment, and pressed his lips to hers.

  The kiss lasted only a few seconds, a chaste touch of his lips to hers. Yet the warm grip of his fingers on her shoulder and the firm touch of his lips on hers rocked her foundations as surely as if a shell had dropped on the chapel.

  She had been certain he was only being kind, trying to help her adopt Sami, certain he wasn't attracted to her. After the kiss, she wondered if she were wrong. Then he turned back to the padre, all business again.

  They each signed the marriage certificate and had it witnessed, then Cameron folded the piece of paper carefully and put it in his pocket. He ushered her outside into the jeep that had brought them across the airfield to the main area of the NATO base.

  Alice sat in the back with Lieutenant Grace and Major Braithwaite while Cameron took the front seat beside the driver. The others chatted and joked b
ut Alice stayed silent, her thoughts spinning with confusion over how she felt and what would happen next.

  She was married to Maj. Cameron Knight.

  For the first time it occurred to her that she knew next to nothing about this man apart from his profession. He was obviously bright and well educated, otherwise he wouldn't be a doctor. He'd mentioned his father worked at the Ministry of Defense, and he had a brother who was also an army doctor.

  What would his military family think of her? Would she even meet them? After all, she and Cameron were married in name only.

  Alice felt light-headed with unreality as the jeep pulled up outside the field hospital. Cameron jumped out and his colleagues followed. Alice slid along the seat to reach the open door, awkward because of her broken arm. Suddenly Cameron was there, his hand outstretched to support her and help her climb out.

  "Thank you," she said, self-conscious in a way she hadn't been before the wedding.

  "You're welcome." He dropped his steadying grip the moment she found her feet and joined his colleagues again, resuming their conversation.

  Alice followed them inside, her emotions swinging around like a weather vane in a storm. The marriage was not real. There was no relationship between them. So why did she now feel shy and uncertain around Cameron like a schoolgirl with a crush?

  She needed to stop thinking about him and focus on Sami. She strode past Cameron and his two friends and hurried back to her room where she had left Sami asleep in his bassinet. The nurse on duty was just leaving the room when she entered.

  "How's he been?"

  "As good as gold. You'll probably want to prepare a bottle. I think he's waking up."

  Alice leaned over the bassinet and smiled down at her baby boy. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when she'd started to think of Sami as her baby, but he absolutely was hers. She would do whatever it took to make sure her little boy was safe, healthy, and loved. That meant taking him back to the UK with her, arranging for the surgery on his lip, and officially adopting him in Britain.