Wow, here come chapter 2!! I planned it out today so yeah. =) Enjoy!

-Gwen

Derek Stiles slowly walked into the pastel pink colored room where the crying was coming from. It was about two AM in the morning and he would have preferred to be asleep but when his daughter was crying for him who was he to deprive her of attention?

"Becca…shh…daddy is here now." He reached down and lifted the squalling infant out of the crib and brought her to rest and his strong capable arms. When she continued to cry he went to the kitchen and started to heat her up a bottle.

"It's okay, foods coming." Derek held her in one arm as he continued to heat up milk for her. As he did this he could feel tears running down his cheeks for he'd be gone the next day. When the milk was heated up he took the bottle and Becca to the living room, going to rest on the couch where he'd feed her and calm her down as to not deprive Angie from precious sleep.

The two sat there for a long while, Becca keeping her sweet little eyes closed and Derek holding the bottle for her. Even as he could see her little hands pressed against the bottle as if she was holding it herself. A smile came across his face as he admired her, his little girl, his princess.

"You know how much I love you, right? Daddy would never leave you on purpose." Derek confided. Noticing that the bottle was empty, he took it from her and placed it on the table next to him. After doing that, Derek began to maneuver himself on the couch and laid down on it, placing Becca gently on his chest while rubbing her back soothingly. She seemed to have fallen asleep on top of him but he didn't mind. So while she slept he decided to take a few minutes and talk to her.

"I know you are young and it's very hard for you to keep things in mind…but I don't want you to forget me if I'm gone long. And I want you to know that I love you so much, Becca. I'm sorry…this may be the last time I hold you for a long time." Derek's eyes closed as he tried his hardest to make a memory, something he could cherish forever in case he missed anything.

"And…I hope this doesn't happen but I don't want to miss your first words, or miss watching you take your first steps. I don't want to miss your kindergarten graduation or listen to you giggle. I don't want to miss coming to your tea parties after a long day at work." Derek choked on the words and sat up, holding her close to his face and giving her a kiss.

"I love you, Becca."

---

Derek's body was jolted to the side where his head smacked against the edge of the poles that held up the canvas on the army jeep. With a short groan he looked at the other men in uniform and remembered where he was. He wasn't home that's for sure, it was very hot and sand was all around him.

"Welcome back to Africa, Dr. Stiles."

Then he remembered, he was in Africa as a real military doctor. Fighting to keep his eyes open, the surgeon sat up straight and rubbed the spot where he'd bumped his head. He felt so drowsy and out of shape for some reason. Of course last time he came here he had Angie to keep him on his toes. Silently he pulled the picture Angie had given him before he left out of his shirt pocket, studying the figures.

"My girls…" He muttered, tracing the image with his index finger. His heart ached just thinking about the fact that he'd left them there alone. He knew it wasn't his fault but he wanted to go home, to be with his family. He put the picture away before he could start crying and looked around the area he was at. He couldn't recognize anything so he assumed he was either still a ways away from Costigar or things were just different because of the war. Derek shakily brought his hands to his face as he began to feel lightheaded. As much as he wanted to help his friends here in Costigar…he wanted so much more to be at home with his wife and baby.

Suddenly he felt the jeep stop and looked out the window to see the all familiar camp where he'd been last time he was there. The place was busy and bustling with energy. Mostly troops were walking around the area from what he could see. With slight hesitation, Derek stepped out of the jeep and looked around for the medical tent where he'd be working with several doctors…including Adel Tulba, who he hadn't seen since GUILT's eradication.

"Dr. Stiles!"

Derek knew he recognized that voice from somewhere. He looked around the area some more until he saw him.

Adel!

Derek ran over to him and laughed with excitement.

"Adel! It's been years how are-" He stopped when he noticed something totally different about his old friend. That was when he saw it, the pinned up sleeve and only one limb graced the upper part of his body.

"Heck…Adel what-"

Adel sighed with disdain and put one arm around Derek's shoulder as he led him to the medical tent.

"I'll explain later. First you must be welcomed. Things are pretty quiet now but our men are going on a mission tomorrow and we need to be prepared. They sent me out to meet your jeep. I'm glad you could make it."

Derek nodded and tired to keep his eyes off of the pinned up sleeve where Adel's arm should have been. He gulped nervously, things had changed so much since he'd last seen his old friend and colleague.

"I know it was short notice and they wanted me to apologize on their behalf." Adel continued while walking into the tent marked with a red cross on it. There were a few men there in the process of being treated and Derek figured he'd be helping out later with a few of those patients, right now he was listening to Adel go on and on about the events that had triggered this war and such.

"A-Adel…how about we reminisce a little shall we? We can get to business after I rest, it has been a very long trip." Derek interrupted.

"Oh, why of course, Dr. Stiles!" Adel put a smile on his face and walked Derek to one of the tents they were staying in.

"You can put your luggage over there in that corner, sit for a while. You must be exhausted." The younger surgeon commanded calmly as he went to help Derek out with the bags.

"No, I have it." Derek tossed a heavy weighted bag in the corner and then plopped down on a cot where he took a long breath and relaxed his sore muscles. Looking around the dark dank tent he noticed Adel rubbing his stub of a limb, looking slightly pained.

"Adel, are you okay?" Derek asked, watching as his friend's expression went from pained to alarmed.

"Yes, I'm fine. I guess I should do some explaining."

Derek only nodded, he didn't want to push Adel into telling anything if it really bothered him, but he could already see that his friend was going to tell him the story.

"We were going out to help some wounded soldiers one day and our car hit a mine field, much like the one that Sylvia and her group hit. When it happened the whole thing burst and I was burnt third degree on one side, and my whole arm was taken in the explosion. I'm not a surgeon anymore, just a diagnostic doctor that tells people what is wrong with them then sends them to the surgeons if they need it."

Derek sighed sadly, "I'm so sorry, Adel…that's horrible."

"Don't feel bad, accidents happen and sometimes they are beyond our control. We want to fix things but then…there is nothing to be done about it in the end." Adel stated in a strong voice then continued, "Derek…how is life back in America."

The older surgeon laughed and pulled out the picture of his family.

"Here, this is how things are in America."

Adel took the picture and smiled warmly as he figured out what he saw.

"Oh man, Derek! You didn't tell me you and Angie were expecting! What's her name, how old is she?"

Derek smiled, "Her name is Rebecca Lillian Stiles, she is only four weeks old." He said with a smile, reaching over for the picture that Adel immediately handed to him.

"Four weeks old, she is very tiny." Adel laughed and stood up with hesitation, he could hear a ruckus going on outside.

"We better go check it out…welcome back, Dr. Stiles."

---

Three nights of pure torture, three nights of endlessly bandaging, suturing, hearing the words 'stop the bleeding' over and over again seemed to be ringing through Derek's mind. He was exhausted and laying in bed all night hoping there would be some silence, but like any doctor would expect there was always a siren or some shouting. He looked over to see Adel sleeping contently on his cot as if he was used to it. Of course he probably was considering he lived there in the middle of nowhere…saving lives. Derek slipped on his glasses and pulled his precious picture out of his pocket looking at the figures with pain in his eyes. About that same second he had an idea and it brought a weary smile to his face. In the midst of all the ruckus and work Derek had managed to snag a picture of he and Adel together on base. He pulled that picture out of his pocket and turned on a lantern to start writing a letter to his beloved; Angie.

Dear Angie,

I'm pleased to say that I had a safe journey to Africa and things are going well. I am very tired because in the past three days we've been very busy patching up wounded soldiers. I hope you and Rebecca are doing okay. I am worried that me being gone might be stressing you out, Dear. I met with Adel on the first day because he came to get me at the jeep. I am enclosing a picture of us together in this letter to you. He was very excited to hear that we became parents and told me that he'd love to visit America one day and say hello to the two of you in person. I'm sorry if I am jumping so many topics, Angie. I am exhausted and can't keep my mind focused on one thing for long and it's very late here. I decided to write since it is silent right now and I can't sleep anyway. Give Becca my love and tell everyone I said hello at Caduceus and that I miss them all. And just to bug Victor tell him I miss him too.

With all the love in my heart,

Derek.

Derek sat down the pen and read over the letter as best he could. He would send it out in the morning before beginning his duties if possible. Shyly and very quietly he wrapped the letter and the picture together and stuffed them both gently into his backpack.

It seemed like Derek had just fallen asleep when he heard a loud siren blaring through the night. Adel jumped up from his sleep and looked over at Derek with wild eyes.

"Dr. Stiles, we need to go check this out!" He called, then ran out of the tent before Derek could even get on his feet. The two ran outside to see men with guns and weapons coming towards them at great speed.

"We're being ambushed!" A voice shouted loudly, then other began to shout and run and some started to fight against the oncoming fleets.

Derek felt like he couldn't even move, that was until Adel pulled him out of the way and they started to run.

"We need to gather medical equipment and a jeep and move the medical tent elsewhere and quickly!"

The older surgeon obeyed and followed Adel to the medical tent where they and other doctors began to gather up supplies almost at the speed of light. A few others gathered patients and put them into the medical jeep and the supplies into another.

Suddenly there was a bang and the next thing Derek knew he felt a throbbing pain pulse through his shoulder. For then he ignored it and hurried to continue helping Adel and the others pack up.

"Move! Hurry!!" One of the older doctors called, rushing Derek and Adel into one of the jeeps and hurrying off to another. In all that rush and adrenalin Derek hadn't noticed his white coat turning red, all he knew was that he was tired and feeling numb from the excitement of being ambushed, the worry of being killed and even worse racing against time. Once everything was calm he rested his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes bringing his hand to his shoulder which he just noticed seemed to be in searing pain.

When his hand touched his shoulder he wised and noticed that it was cold and sticky. After putting his hand in view so he could see it he saw that it was covered in blood.

"They got me…" Derek breathed.

Adel glanced over and frowned, "Okay, just don't panic okay?"

The older surgeon nodded and started to feel lightheaded a little, he hadn't felt that way until he noticed blood covering his shirt. Then he began to feel dizzy from blood loss.

"Dr. Stiles, stay with me okay? Just don't fall asleep!"

Derek tried to do as he was told but against his will his eyes fell shut and his body gave way to unconsciousness.

Sorry for the cliffhanger guys! I'll have more in the next couple days. No I'm not putting Derek in a coma or killing him off so…CHILL!

-Gwen