Coming Home
part 1
by Jo
Ten days. It had been ten days since Carter and Charles and Gillian had left, ten days he and Patrique had spent alone at Matenda with Chance and her mother, and Paskal and his father, and Azale. Luka had to smile to himself; he had saved them all--not alone, of course, but he was the one who was responsible for their being alive today, and he couldn't help but feel very pleased with himself. Fighting had raged all around them, and on several occasions, soldiers had come into the clinic, searching for food or medicine or anything that looked useful or valuable. Mai Mai, government soldiers, even some unidentifiable group had all taken advantage of their "hospitality," but thankfully they all left Luka and the patients alone.But it had been ten days now, and supplies were dangerously low--no food, only a few precious bottles of clean water, random amounts of odd medicines, no sterile dressings--and no real way out. The radio had disappeared with the first group of fighters who passed through; the car had gone with the second, and it was too far to Kisangani to even think of leaving on foot--especially since he'd have to carry Chance the whole way. Azale was well enough to leave, and Paskal's whooping cough was finally under control, and although the boy was still very weak Luka had made up his mind to tell Manes to take his son away to someplace safer. If such a place existed.
Ten days. Carter was safely back in Chicago now, safely back to clean sheets and fully stocked hospitals. And Abby. Abby. Luka sighed as he thought of her, sighed and pushed back the feelings that rose in him whenever he thought of her and what might have been. Another missed chance, he thought. Another part of my life I screwed up. Before he could flog himself any longer, he heard the sound of an approaching vehicle.
Luka felt his body tense; every nerve was on edge as he prepared himself for the worst. Who would it be this time? He could only wait until they arrived. The others had heard the sound, too, and Patrique came outside to wait next to Luka, his ID badge prominently displayed. Paskal's father had scooped up his son and edged to the back of clinic, as had Azale, ready to flee if things looked too dangerous. Seconds which felt like hours slowly ticked by.
Finally a familiar white Jeep appeared through the trees. Luka and Patrique exchanged relived smiles; someone from Kisangani had made the dangerous trip to resupply them. Luka walked over to the driver's door as the Jeep came to a stop.
"Charles!" he exclaimed, unable to hide his delight in seeing his friend. "Welcome back!" Charles climbed out and the two men hugged warmly. Luka looked to see if anyone else had made the journey, secretly hoping to find Gillian, but Charles was alone.
"I was afraid I wouldn't find anyone here," Charles said, his voice oddly subdued.
"Oh, you know me," Luka replied, trying to sound casual, "I'm hard to get rid of." Charles nodded, obviously distracted as he took stock of the compound. He took a deep breath and turned back to Luka.
"Angelique is dead," he blurted.
The words hit Luka like a fist. Angelique dead? That was impossible, simply impossible. "How?" he managed to stammer, not wanting to believe what he'd heard.
"Shot, long-range bullet from God-knows-where. There was nothing we could do--she was dead before she hit the ground."
Shot! It couldn't be--who would shoot at the hospital? Everyone--everyone in the Congo knew Angelique, knew she only cared about helping people, who would ever shoot her? And if they shot her--oh my God, Gillian! "You were attacked?"
Charles sensed the direction Luka's thoughts had taken him. "Gillian and the others are all safe," he replied. "It was a random thing, some bullet fired at someone else, meant for someone else." He paused to swallow hard before finishing in a horse voice. "But still Angelique is dead."
Now that he knew Gillian was safe, Luka could turn his mind back to other matters. "What about the hospital--what's happening there?"
Charles met his eyes. "It's a mess. The volunteers are doing their best, but they're just volunteers; they don't know the place like Angelique did. Gillian and I have been organizing things, but we're not doctors..." His voice trailed off a moment, and he looked off into the distance before he took a deep breath and went on, not bothering to hide his concern. "Angelique was the hospital. What's going to happen to the hospital? I don't know, Luka, I just don't know." Charles turned back to face him. "But I do know what's going to happen with you--you're coming back to Kisangani. Today. No matter what." Charles seemed ready to force Luka into the Jeep, but Luka had no intention of fighting these orders.
"As long as I can bring my patents," he replied. Charles nodded.
"But make it quick--I don't know how long the road will be open," Charles warned.
Patrique arranged a makeshift bed for Chance in the back of the Jeep while Luka explained the situation to Manes, Azale and Chance's mother, Zehra.
"But Kisangani is so far," Paskal's father said under his breath. "Is it safe?" he finally asked.
"The road was open when Charles came up, but I can't guarantee what it will be like now," Luka replied honestly. "Kisangani is safer than here, though, and there is more, and better, medicine there, and food. And the fighting is farther away." Manes nodded. "If you decide to stay here," Luka added, "we will give you some food and water, but that's all we can do."
The man looked at his son and then back to Luka, considering his choices. "We will go with you," he finally decided. Luka nodded, pleased; he didn't want to leave anyone here.
But Azale decided to stay. "I know this forest, know these men," she told Luka. "It is safer for me here than far away in Kisangani." Luka tried to dissuade her, but Azale was resolute. "Thank you for all your help," she told him sincerely, taking the water and food Patrique had packed for her, "But now I'll go find my people." She smiled at Luka. "Don't worry, Doctor--I will be safe." And she was gone, disappearing into the jungle without looking back. Luka could only hope she right.
"Time to go, little one," Luka told Chance. He carefully lifted the girl from her bed and carried her out to the Jeep, Zehra close behind them. Luka had become very close to these two, and he was thankful he could finally take them to some place safer. "Comfortable, little one?" he asked as he arranged the blankets around her.
"Yes," Chance replied in her small, shy voice. Luka's smile broadened; the child's bravery never ceased to amaze him.
"Good." He turned towards Zehra. "The road is very rough," he told her in a whisper. "Let me know if she gets too uncomfortable." He helped Zehra into the back next to her daughter.
"Bless you, Doctor Luka," she told him as he gently closed the hatch. He took one last look around the place that had been his home for the past few weeks. Satisfied they had taken everything, he got into the back seat next to Paskal and steeled himself for the long ride to Kisangani.
~~~~~~~~~
The trip turned out to be uneventful; no one stopped them, no shells landed near them, there was no sound of gunfire--yet the very stillness was enough to put them all on edge. The rutted road jostled all of them, but Chance absorbed the most discomfort. Luka's eye's darted anxiously to her with every bump, but growing up in constant fear had taught her to hide her emotions, and so Chance never even whimpered.
They arrived at Kisangani well after dark. Luka searched for Gillian as he climbed out of the Jeep, but she was nowhere to be seen. And he couldn't go looking for her, not yet--first he had to make sure Paskal and Chance were well taken care of. As he placed the girl into a hospital bed he heard a familiar voice.
"I heard a rumor you were back," Gillian said, trying to act as if she didn't really care--but failing miserably at it.
"And I heard a rumor you were running this place," Luka replied, keeping up the charade while they were in front of the patients. He turned to Chance. "I'll be back to check on you in the morning, sweetheart." Zehra smiled at him knowingly.
"Thank you again, Dr. Luka," she said softly. "Now you need to go and let someone else take care of you for awhile." Luka smiled back at her; he had to admit it sounded wonderful. He said his goodnights and followed Gillian out into the night, where he pulled her into his arms. He was surprised to find her shivering.
"I was so afraid you weren't coming back," Gillian whispered, her voice trembling. "We heard stories of rebels and execution squads, and then when Angelique...." Her voice trailed off as he held her ever tighter.
Could it be that she really cares so much about me? Luka found it hard to believe. It had been a long time, such a long time, since anyone really cared if he lived or died. Maybe Abby had, at least for a while, but certainly no more. He realized he was shaking, too, and he held Gillian tighter still, drawing strength from her touch as they slowly swayed together, reassuring themselves by their physical closeness, until finally the shaking stopped. They stood silently for a long time, still holding each other but more gently now.
Suddenly Gillian started giggling, and Luka couldn't help but join her. "What's so funny?" he managed to ask between laughs.
"No--no," Gillian said, pulling away from him. "You don't--you don't want to know."
Luka captured her again. "You don't get off so easy, young lady," he mock-threatened her, unable to hid his smile. "Tell me what's so funny." Still Gillian said nothing. "Don't make me tickle you," he warned.
"You'll be angry," she demurred.
"I'll be angrier if you don't tell me," he shot back. He moved to adjust his grip on her, and she slipped away again.
"I'm just being honest now, okay?"
"Okay," he said, getting more curious by the second--what could possibly be funny out here?
Gillian studied his face, still unsure of what to say, before finally blurting out, "Luka, when's the last time you had a bath?"
Her question took him by suprise. "What?"
"Because, well--you stink!" she added, still laughing.
He glared at her a moment, incredulous, and for a moment a cloud passed over her eyes. And then Luka dissolved into an uncontrollable belly laugh, the sound welling up from deep inside of him and exploding into the night, the sheer absurdity of her words making him laugh harder every time he thought of them. Gillian came back to his arms and laughed along with him while curious folks poked their heads out to see what lunatics had appeared in the compound.
"I don't know if I have the strength now to bathe," Luka teased when their laughter finally subsided. "Do you think maybe you could give me a sponge bath?"
"I was thinking more of washing you down with the fire hose," Gillian teased back. "But I think we'll have to settle for a shower...together."
""Now that I think I can handle." Still chuckling, he let Gillian lead him off into the night.