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Two hours later.

Valarie slowly opened her eyes. Though her head was not throbbing like before, it felt heavy. It took a great deal of effort to even move. She noticed that she was in an unfamiliar place and the walls were painted white. For a moment, she feared to have been kidnapped by someone. But when she noticed Ryder's anxious face before her, she relaxed a little.

Valarie then realized that she was at a hospital. She tried to remember how she ended up here and all that happened in her office flashed through her eyes. She remembered how she had fainted and it did not take her long to deduce Ryder and Preston to have brought her here.

She tried to get up and Ryder helped her. He placed the pillow behind her and made her sit comfortably. However, Valarie was not satisfied with just sitting. She wanted to walk around and leave the hospital as soon as possible. But Ryder was having none of her antics, he stopped her immediately. "Don't Val. Please don't move. You need rest."

"But.." She tried to speak only to meet Ryder's deadly gaze. Valarie gulped in fear. Though she was their Deputy and their senior at work, they behaved like overprotective friends outside the headquarters and she could not even retaliate against their commands. She would become a meek lamb when facing those monstrous lions. Even now, she became quiet when she noticed Ryder's annoyed face.

"How long have you been ignoring to take your medicines since you got discharged?" Ryder folded his hands and questioned her with a stern gaze. He wanted to know what was she was thinking when she decided to ignore her health. It was just like her. In the past too, she would ignore to take medications if she was sick and would continue to work until her body could not tolerate anymore. Though they had to commend her dedication, they were also angry at her foolishness. She did not care about her even a gram.

Valarie was silent. She knew her answer would only add fuel to the fire and Ryder would only get more furious. She was grateful that Preston was not here. Other, she would have got an earful from him too, and boy, his anger was more terrifying than anything she had ever seen. It was as though his heart was filled with a lot of fury and all he needed was a chance to let it out.

On a second thought, she wondered where he had gone. It was unlike him to leave her here when she was sick. He would be like a mother hen, overly anxious whenever she fell sick. So, his absence surprised her a little.

On not getting any answer, Ryder was pissed and he seethed in a low voice. "Answer me." Given a chance, he would have shouted at her. But the situation and the location was not correct for him to raise his voice. So, he controlled himself. He would definitely have a long chat about it but not right now.

"I haven't touched the medicine bottle after you guys forcefully fed me the medicines last time. I don't even know where they are." Valarie answered softly, her eyes looking at Ryder's shoe. At that moment, she felt his shoes to be the most interesting thing on earth. She was nothing like the Deputy who could easily fight people with loaded guns and sticks. Now, she looked like a teenage girl who had been caught skipping school.

"What?" Ryder barked. This time he was unable to keep his cool. The woman in front of him knew how to anger him to death. He had all the more reason to worry about her as she stayed alone without anybody to look after her. Unlike him and Preston, who were roommates, Valarie was staying alone. So, they were always worried about her and her safety even though she was skilled enough to tackle men on her own. To add to the list, she was even more worrisome when she forgot to take care of her health making them anxious to death.

"Valarie," Ryder started after taking a deep breath. There was no use reprimanding her now. They would take care of her when she got discharged from the hospital. Until then, he decided to let her live her life in peace. 

"Yes?" She replied expecting him to burst like a pressure cooker, but nothing happened. He was frighteningly calm and this made her panic all the more because she knew she would be in trouble when everything went back to normal.

"I wish that you get a strict doctor as your husband. He will take care of you when you are sick and if needed he will even treat you using those huge injections whenever you ignore to take care of yourself." 

"What? No. Don't say that. I don't want to be fed with pills instead of food every day. Spare me." Valarie objected at once, not liking his suggestion.

"No way. You need someone who can control you, who can make you listen to him like an obedient girl. Also, he should be someone who can take can take care of you." Ryder poked her head softly from the side. "Who is better than a strict doctor? I hope you find one as soon as possible."

"In your dreams." Valarie scoffed and she tried to change the topic. If given a choice, Ryder would go on and on about it for the whole day until her ears bled. "By the way, where is Preston. I haven't seen him since I got up."

"Yeah, he has gone to the canteen to have something. He might be here soon. Do you want something to eat?"

"Yes, please. I am very hungry, something light though, and some apple juice."

"Okay. I'll give him a call."

Meanwhile, the man in question had not gone to the canteen. Instead, his feet had taken him in search of the doctor who had occupied his mind since the day he had hurt her. As soon as he had stepped out of Valarie's ward, he had gone in search of her. He wanted to see and if possible even speak to her. How long had it been since he last saw her? 

But he could not find her anywhere. Unable to give up, he had even approached the receptionist to ask her about the doctor's whereabouts. But the problem was, he did not even know her name. He had wanted to know about her the last time he was in the hospital but he could not muster the courage even until the last minute and he finally left the hospital dejected. Now he had no idea who she was. 

Then, he remembered something. It was about the child who he had carried when the female doctor had found it difficult. He could ask about him. 'That's a good idea.' He thought and he went to the receptionist who right now was sulking. Since the time Ian had left the hospital, all the single women had lost the spirit and they had started finding their jobs boring. The receptionist being one among them.

Preston tapped at the woman's desk startling her in the process. She immediately masked her sadness. However, when she saw the man before her, her face bloomed and she smiled sweetly until her mouth hurt. "Yes? How may I help you?"

"Hello. I wanted to ask you about a doctor."

"Yes?" The receptionist prompted, her eyes twinkling in infatuation.

"She is the doctor who treated the little boy who died of a brain hemorrhage a few days ago."

As soon as he said that, the receptionist's face changed. Not because of jealousy but because of anger. She expected the man before her to be one of those people who wanted to create havoc in the hospital. She glared at him and Preston was taken aback seeing the fury in her eyes. He wondered what he had done wrong to have triggered such a reaction from her.

"Why do you need her?"

"She is my friend's personal doctor. I have tried calling her a lot of times, but she ain't picking the calls. If you could tell me where she is, I'll go see her personally." Preston lied conveniently. It was not like he would lose anything in this situation. He only wished that the receptionist would not call the doctor right here. If she ended up questioning her about him, then he would lose his face quite badly.

"I see." The receptionist calmed down. She for slightly guilty for misunderstanding him. "I am sorry, Sir. Dr. Aria West is not in the hospital."

"Is it?" Preston asked with a smile. He was very delighted on finding out the name of the woman he wanted and secretly applauded the lady before him for her slip of the tongue. 'Aria. At least, I found out your name today.'

"Can you tell me any other way to contact her? My brother only trusts her treatment. So, it's quite urgent for me to see her." He asked. He was not sure if the lady before him had noticed that he was tricking her into giving him Aria's number and he hoped she didn't.

"I am sorry sir. Dr. Aria is not in town. So, even if I give you her address, you wouldn't be able to find her."

"Oh, can you tell me when she will return?" Preston questioned again, this time with a sad expression. He had been dejected that the doctor he had been looking for was not even in the town, let alone in the hospital.

"Only the war can decide her return." Her answer confused him and he tried to speculate how the war was even related to her.

"What do mean, Miss?" 

"Sir, Dr. Aria has gone to assist our soldiers in the war. So, until the war ends, she won't be returning."

Her answer shocked Preston until his legs gave away. Before he collapsed, he held onto the desk tightly. He did not want to look suspicious before her. Seeing his distressed expression, the woman assumed to be worried about his brother in Aria's absence. "Sir, until she returns you could get your brother treated by any other doctor."

Preston came out of his thoughts hearing her voice. "Thank you, Miss. That won't be necessary." With that, he walked away from her. He looked as though his soul had escaped from his body. 'War? Aria has gone to the war. No.' 

Though he wanted to do something, he could do nothing. His hands were tied in this matter. He could only pray for her to return safe and unscathed. He chided himself to have lost his opportunity at their last meet. Now all he could do was to wait for her to come back.