Episode 3

Chapter 03

Deployment Orders

Two years passed with hardly any news from Damian.

That was not surprising.

The morning after their wedding, he had truly left. In two years, Alyssa had seen him only five times. Twice during holiday visits at the Whitmore family home. Once when Grandfather Whitmore was hospitalized. Once at a large family gathering. Once more when Damian came home to pick up documents and left before dawn.

They only slept under the same roof when the family was watching.

Behind closed doors, Damian always kept his distance.

So did Alyssa.

She returned to work at South City General Hospital, took long shifts, worked the ER, assisted in surgery, and buried herself in her job. Dad underwent surgery with help from the Whitmore family and slowly improved. Lara eventually married Felix in another city, after a long stretch of drama that left Mom exhausted.

Nothing was ever truly resolved.

The wounds only learned to be quiet.

That morning, Alyssa had just finished checking on a post-op patient when the chief of surgery called her in.

"Dr. Prescott, have a seat."

Alyssa saw the official envelope on his desk.

Her stomach tightened at once.

"What is it, Doctor?"

"There's a joint medical deployment program. The Health Department, the public hospital system, and the military. Eastern border region. They need a doctor with emergency surgery and disaster triage experience."

Alyssa went still.

The department chief pushed the envelope toward her.

"Your name is on the list."

Alyssa opened it.

Border health post.

Coordination with the Border Security Task Force.

The name printed on the second page made her heart stop for a second.

Task Force Commander: Major Damian Archer Whitmore.

Alyssa stared at the words.

For too long.

The chief cleared his throat. "Do you object?"

"Is this mandatory?"

"It's an official program. But you can still decline with a strong reason."

Alyssa almost laughed.

A strong reason?

My husband is the commander there, and he hates me.

Was that a strong reason, or exactly the reason everyone thought she was suitable to be sent?

"How long?"

"Minimum six months. It may be extended."

Alyssa folded the letter again.

"I'll take it."

The chief looked surprised. "Are you sure? The region isn't easy. Facilities are limited. Transfers to a major hospital take time. Roads wash out when it rains."

"That's exactly why they need a doctor."

"You don't have to answer now."

"I've answered."

The senior doctor watched her, then sighed.

"All right. You leave in three days. Prepare yourself. It won't be like the city."

Alyssa nodded.

The city isn't always kind either, Doctor.

She did not say it.

That night, Alyssa told her mother. Mom panicked immediately.

"The border? Why does it have to be you?"

"It's a hospital program, Mom."

"Does Damian know?"

Alyssa folded several work shirts into her suitcase.

"Not yet."

"You have to tell him."

"He'll find out."

Mom sat on the edge of the bed. "Alyssa, I know the two of you aren't like other couples. But he's still your husband."

Alyssa stopped folding.

"On the marriage certificate, yes."

"Sweetheart..."

"Mom, I'm going as a doctor. Not as Major Whitmore's wife."

Mom had no answer.

Alyssa looked at the half-empty suitcase.

The truth was, she was afraid.

Afraid to face Damian.

Afraid all the old insults would come back.

But more than that, she feared what it would mean if she refused because of him. For two years, she had fought to prove her life did not revolve around an empty marriage. If she backed out of a medical assignment now because Damian was there, then he still controlled the door to her life.

No.

She refused.

Three days later, Alyssa flew to the provincial capital, then continued overland with a small team toward the border town. From there, they used a military vehicle to reach the border health post.

The road twisted through dry hills. Houses stood far apart. Children in school uniforms walked along the roadside and waved at the passing truck.

Alyssa sat in the back with two nurses and a midwife. Hot wind blew through the window.

"First time out here, Dr. Prescott?" Midwife Renee asked.

"Yes."

"Don't be shocked when the signal disappears."

Alyssa gave a faint smile. "I'm more worried about running out of medicine."

Nurse Joe laughed. "Now that's realistic."

They had not reached the post when gunfire crackled over the vehicle radio.

The driver stiffened at once.

"Operation on the road ahead," he said. "We've been told to stop at a safe point."

Alyssa turned.

In the distance, several military vehicles had pulled over at the roadside. Soldiers moved fast. A man in civilian clothes was handcuffed near a pickup truck. Several white sacks lay scattered on the ground.

"Drug smuggling?" Joe asked quietly.

The driver did not answer.

Their vehicle stopped. A soldier approached and instructed the medical team to wait.

Alyssa had just nodded when someone shouted.

"Sir! He's seizing!"

Everyone turned.

The handcuffed man collapsed, his body convulsing violently. Foam gathered at his mouth. The soldier holding him panicked.

Alyssa did not think twice.

She opened the vehicle door.

"Doctor!" Renee called.

"Bring the emergency bag!"

She ran toward the cluster of soldiers.

One soldier blocked her. "Ma'am, stay back. This is an active operation area."

"I'm a doctor."

"Orders are—"

"If he aspirates, he could die before the next order comes down."

The soldier hesitated.

Alyssa was already kneeling beside the seizing man.

"Turn him on his side. Don't put anything in his mouth. Loosen anything tight around his neck."

The soldiers exchanged uncertain looks.

"Now!" Alyssa's voice rose.

They moved.

Alyssa checked his pupils, pulse, and breathing. A faint chemical smell clung to his clothes. She took gloves from Renee's bag and pulled them on quickly.

"Possible poisoning or overdose. Get oxygen ready. Joe, blood pressure. Renee, diazepam injection if we have it."

"Doctor, the bag seal hasn't been opened yet—"

"Open it now."

Everything moved fast.

Alyssa heard heavy footsteps approaching.

Before she could turn, the cold voice that had haunted the first night of her marriage fell over her head.

"Who authorized a civilian to enter an operation zone?"

Alyssa's hands paused for half a second.

Then she went back to supporting the patient's head so his airway stayed open.

"I'm not a civilian spectator, Major. I'm the doctor assigned to the health post."

Silence held for a beat.

Damian stood in front of her in a tactical vest, road dust on his face, his eyes as sharp as she remembered.

He looked at Alyssa as if an old problem had arrived carrying a suitcase.

"Alyssa."

"Major Whitmore."

Their tones were far too formal for a married couple.

The soldiers around them immediately traded glances.

Damian looked at the patient on the ground, then at the medical bag.

"Move him to the medical vehicle."

"Not yet. The seizure isn't controlled."

"This area isn't secure."

"And this patient isn't stable."

Damian's eyes hardened.

Alyssa lifted her face. "If you want him alive for questioning, give me two minutes."

The soldiers held their breath.

Damian did not like being contradicted. That much was obvious.

But he also understood the situation.

"Two minutes," he said.

Alyssa returned to work. The medication went in. The seizure began to ease. The patient's breathing remained rough, but his airway was clear. Only then did she give instructions for the transfer.

As the patient was lifted, one soldier murmured, "That doctor's got nerve."

Alyssa pretended not to hear.

Damian heard.

He stepped closer, his voice low.

"You haven't changed."

Alyssa stripped off the dirty gloves.

"Neither have you."

"Still walking into trouble without permission."

"Still calling my work trouble."

His eyes narrowed.

Alyssa dropped the gloves into the medical waste bag, then stood.

Dust clung to the knees of her pants. Sweat ran down her temple.

"I came here under official orders. If you object, take it up with the Health Department and the hospital. But while I'm here as a doctor, I will treat patients who need me. Including your suspects."

Damian watched her for a long time.

Then the corner of his mouth moved slightly.

"Welcome to the border, Dr. Prescott."

No warmth.

No question about why she had come.

Only that same cold tone.

Alyssa lifted her chin.

"Thank you, Commander."

Behind them, the radio crackled again. Another vehicle had been reported moving in from the hills.

Damian turned at once and began issuing orders.

Alyssa watched his back move away.

For two years, she had managed to live without that man.