"I've already completed all the necessary examinations. If you don't trust my judgment, you can ask Dr. William Hayes or Dr. Leo Grant to take a look. They're both in the camp."
After saying that, Serena lifted the tent flap and walked out, ignoring Amy's aggrieved muttering behind her and Logan calling her name.
She walked slowly all the way back. By the time she reached her own tent, dusk was already settling in.
What greeted her was complete chaos inside the tent.
The camp bed had been turned upside down, the pillow lay on the ground, and half of the blanket hung off the side of the bed.
The few spare clothes she owned were scattered across the floor. The metal trunk her father had specially made for her sat crooked beside the bed with its lock forced open, the lid wide apart and the inside completely empty.
The nutritional food, the tiny baby clothes her mother had stitched by hand, and the emergency cash her father had tucked inside were all gone.
Serena stood at the entrance for a long time before finally walking inside. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the small succulent plant beside it.
During the days when pneumonia had left her burning with fever, that little succulent had been her only quiet companion.
Half a month earlier, the temperature in the war zone had suddenly dropped, and Serena had developed a high fever in the middle of the night.
Her fever climbed to 103°F, and even the baby inside her grew restless, kicking hard enough to send waves of pain through her lower abdomen.
Through her hazy consciousness, she saw Logan standing there.
Using the last of her strength, she grabbed his sleeve and hoarsely asked him to open the trunk in the far corner of her tent.
Inside it was the only dose of penicillin her parents had managed to send after tremendous effort. There was only one injection. It was her last hope.
"The medicine… Logan… give me the medicine…"
Logan stood at the bedside, silent for a long time. Serena forced herself upright despite the pain in her body and asked him to inject the penicillin. Instead, Logan stepped back a few paces and slipped the syringe into his pocket.
"I'm sorry, Serena. Amy caught a cold and her fever hasn't gone down. Her body is weak. She can't handle it. I'll give this shot to her first."
After saying that, he left with the injection. Serena burned with fever for three days and three nights afterward. Sweat soaked through set after set of clothes, and when Maya came to change the sheets, they were so wet they could practically be wrung out.
Serena survived by sheer luck. On the morning of the fourth day, the fever miraculously broke, but from then on she was left with the lingering problem of coughing up blood.
And what did Logan say after learning about it?
"You're a frontline doctor. You should be able to shoulder more."
Thinking of that, Serena picked up the small succulent in her hands and felt more and more that Richard had been right back then.
Richard had built his business from nothing back in the 1970s. The time Serena met him was when she and Logan were leaving for the airport in the Northreach Hinterlands.
He had already been very old, leaning on a cane. His aged eyes rested on her as if they could see straight through her.
"You and Logan won't last."
After saying that, the old man was helped into the car.
Looking back now, he had been absolutely right.
Hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent. Maya rushed in, and the moment she saw Serena and the wrecked tent, her eyes immediately turned red.
"How could they do this? I'm going to confront Dr. Lockwood!"
Serena lifted her head. Her voice was hoarse, but her tone remained gentle.
"Maya, I'll handle this myself. Could you help me check the medical supplies in the tent? We'll need to restock tomorrow. Another group of wounded soldiers will arrive in a couple of days, so we need to prepare."
Maya bit her lip as tears dropped one after another, but she still nodded.
"Okay… but are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Serena stood up slowly, her movements a little stiff. "You go ahead. I'll be back in a moment."
After saying that, she stepped outside and splashed water on her face at the basin by the entrance. The cold water cleared her head.
It was time to put an end to this. Serena walked toward Logan's office tent. When she lifted the flap, Logan was peeling an orange for Amy.
The bright orange segments were separated one by one. His movements were gentle, even carefully removing the white pith.
Amy leaned back in the chair beside him, wrapped in the camel-hair blanket. In her hand was a small celadon jar, from which she scooped a spoonful of the paste and brought it to her mouth.
That small jar contained the calming herbal paste Serena's father had gathered from pharmacies all over Alderbridge.
The tent was warm, the charcoal brazier crackling softly. Amy took a bite of the paste and smiled with her eyes half closed.
"Logan, this is delicious. Is there more?"
"If you like it, have more. I'll get you another jar when you're done." Logan comforted her softly.
Serena stood at the entrance and watched for three seconds before walking in. She stopped across the table, about a meter away from them.
