“Somehow we didn’t think it could happen to us. We were out to save the world. Invincible. Always wishing we could ignore the fact that all it took was one wrong step...”
She stopped to look up at him, allowing the light from the lantern to catch the yellow-copper colors in her eyes. The soft curve of her lashes. “Thank you,” she said.
Grant fought to push away the unexpected draw. “I haven’t got you out of here yet. I told your mom I planned to have you back by Christmas, and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep my promise.”
“It’s hard to believe Christmas is in a couple weeks.” A look of sadness registered on her face. “But I’m not just thanking you for today. I’m talking about your being there the night Darren died. And for coming to rescue me. You didn’t have to come.”
He touched her arm briefly before pulling away. “Yes, I did. I owe Darren.”
He might not have been able to save his friend, but he was going to save Maddie.
“Is that why you came to rescue me?” She asked. “Because of Darren’s death?”
His face must have betrayed his thoughts for her to ask such a pointed question.
“No...I...” He didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t want to answer. Because she was right. He’d come to play hero and make up for not saving Darren. Which meant he hadn’t come for noble purposes. Not really. He’d come to ease his own conscience.
Her gaze shifted back to the table and, as if reading his thoughts, she said, “I know what it’s like to do something good for the wrong reasons.”
“What do you mean?”
“I came here, in a way, because of Darren, too. I was looking for what he found with his career. I hoped that somehow helping others would help me find that missing part of myself.”
“And did you?”
She shrugged at the question. “It depends on the day, I suppose. I came here convinced I’d save the world. Instead I’ve had to realize I can’t fix everyone. People are going to die, and I can’t stop it.”
Like Darren.
“But then,” she continued, “there are times where I think I’m making a difference in one person’s life and somehow...that’s enough.”
“Darren was always so proud of you.” Grant dropped the rag he’d been using into the bucket of soapy water they’d been using to clean up. “He talked about you all the time. His little sister studying to become a doctor.”
Her smile lit up her face this time. “I like to think he would have been proud of my coming here as well. My parents weren’t too happy about my decision, though. I was supposed to marry Ben, join some swanky family practice and spend the rest of my life working nine-to-five and having their grandbabies. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, it wasn’t enough for me.”
He watched her wash her hands and then motion to one of the women to get more boiled water while she grabbed bags of salt and sugar for the rehydration mix.
“Can you hand me those cups?” she asked him. “With no Google available out here, thankfully I have the measurements memorized.”
He watched her work, jumping in to assist when she asked. He couldn’t help but see the irony in the fact that her skills as a doctor had saved her. And yet as soon as the epidemic was controlled, there was a good chance they would kill her.
“I guess this wasn’t what you imagined when you signed up with Doctors International,” he said.
“Being kidnapped? Not exactly.” She let out a soft laugh as she started mixing up the drink for her patients. “Though the past few months haven’t been without challenges, either. Most of the time, I’ve been working up north, in a small rural hospital. Every day, I see the same thing over and over in the maternity ward. It’s stifling inside. There are rusty ceiling fans, but no electricity. In the US, one in just over two thousand women will die giving birth. Here, it’s one in less than twenty. Most don’t even consider going to a clinic. And even if they do, most—especially those in the rural areas—can’t make it to the hospital.”
He knew the issues she faced on a daily basis. Diesel generators were the primary source of electricity in the capital, and that lack of infrastructure spread throughout the entire country. There was one functioning hospital and even there equipment was limited. Most of the country’s health facilities had no electricity. Generators came to life during surgery, but there wasn’t enough fuel to run them continuously for refrigeration to store blood donations or for incubators for babies born too soon.
“But that’s not the entire picture,” she continued. “I see the smile of the children when I go out into the villages to teach preventative care, and the love the mothers have for their babies. Old men sit on mats outside thatched roofs, playing with their grandchildren, while chickens and goats run around. It’s a completely different world than the one I grew up in. But when I sit down and talk to the women about their pregnancy, or the babies they’ve lost and the children they’re trying to provide for, I realize just how similar we really are.”
“I’ve discovered the same thing everywhere I’ve lived. Most of the differences pale when you start working together to make things better.”
“I wish my parents could understand that. I’ve tried to share with them why I needed to come...and why I still want to be here.” She stopped and looked up at him. “But I haven’t asked you about them, because I know they can’t be taking this well. Do you think they’re going to be okay?”
Her unspoken question hovered between them.
Were they going to be okay if she didn’t make it home alive?
“They’re scared,” he said. “They will do anything to get you back. Because they’ve already lost one son, and they don’t want to lose you as well.”
She nodded. “I watched their reaction to losing Darren. I never meant to put them through something like that again.”
“You’re not going to, because we’re going to find a way out of this.”
He watched her continue to work, realizing that she was different from most of the women he knew. Most were happy with the dream of a white picket fence and a husband. Problem was, he’d never be able to give someone those things. And so far had never found anyone who was willing to break that mold with him. Maddie, though, was clearly different.
Maybe when all of this was over...when life went back to as close to normal as possible, he’d consider finding a way to get to know his best friend’s little sister...
She glanced at a couple of the armed guards as they walked by. “As soon as we’re done here, I need to talk to you about something. Privately.”
“About?” Her statement brought him back to reality.
Her hand moved to the locket hanging around her neck. “Information connected to what’s going on here.”
* * *
An hour later, Maddie walked toward the fire, fighting the exhaustion coursing through her body. Her head throbbed and her legs felt like jelly. But it wasn’t just the physical fatigue she was dealing with. The emotional strain of the past few days was taking its toll.
She’d finished making up the rehydration mix and checked on each of the patients she’d been treating. While antibiotics would have shortened the duration of the symptoms, ensuring each person was rehydrated was what mattered most. “Are you done?” he asked.
“For the moment.” She tugged on the end of her ponytail as she sat down beside him on the fallen tree stump being used as a bench. She’d always seen him as a hero, saving the world alongside her brother. And now, all these years later, that was