Doctored (13 page)

It was a horrible night.  As the rain tapered off and the sun finally shone through the clouds, they didn’t even notice when the assistants began to turn off the lanterns. 

“Jeezus Christus,” Deanna swore as she straightened up from her fortieth patient.  She hadn’t meant to keep track, but she had, unconsciously.  Some she had saved—most that could be saved—but it had been terrible to have to let some of them go.  There was nothing she could do for some of them.  Mothers cried over their babies, children cried for their parents, trying to match up families was terrible. 

“You okay?” Lenny asked as she put her hand on the doctor’s shoulder.  She’d been pressed into service to help carry the wounded and sick.  The floors of both the meeting hall and the clinic were full of people.

“Yeah, my spine could use a crack,” she mentioned as she rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand.  She removed her rubber gloves and tossed them out.  She couldn’t remember how many pairs she had gone through this night.  Her fingertips removed dust from her eyelashes...dust that wasn’t there, as she pulled lightly on the hairs.

“Yeah?  You got a chiropractor out here?” she asked, as though Deanna kept one in her pocket.  She removed her hand from her friend’s shoulder.  It didn’t pay to be too friendly these days.  She knew there were rumors aplenty going around.

Deanna smiled, as she was expected to, and stretched a little more.  She looked out where the sun was already drying up the mud.  It was a mess.  Old cars, jeeps, horses, and any animal they could find had been pressed into service to deliver the casualties here.  She was depressed at the numbers of people who had died although there was simply nothing they could do.  It was a primitive place.  They did what they could do, comforting the living and providing healthcare where they could.  It wasn’t an easy job and it was at times like this she wondered why she had gone into this career.  “Look at that,” she pointed with her chin, nodding towards the beauty that was outside the clinic: on the plains, the savannah, the flowers that always bloomed quickly after a rain.  “How can anything that beautiful hide so many deadly things?” she asked of no one in particular.  Deanna sensed, rather than heard, others coming up behind her on the porch to see what she was seeing.  The sun looked gorgeous and was welcome after so many days of rain.  She looked out at the brush beyond the edge of the camp, which was green and already beginning to grow lush.  In a few days the grasses would almost paint a sweeping path across the plains providing nourishment to the huge herds of grass eaters.  Following those herds would be the meat eaters.  They would all have to be a little more vigilant, already there were rumors of lions.

Deanna was one of the last to head to her bed, after checking on her patients one more time.  It was frustrating how limited she was in what she could do for them.  Still, it was gratifying that she could use her skills to help some of them.

“You should get some sleep,” Maddie came up after changing a dressing on a patient.

“I could say the same of you,” Deanna turned and smiled down at her.

“I am going to go take a shower,” she informed her.

“Yeah?   Found someone to pour for you?” she asked, interested, as they began to walk through the ward together.

“Not only that,” she bragged, “but it’s
warm
water.”

“Really?” she asked, actually interested in the way the conversation had gone.  “How’d you manage that?”

“Hamishish arranged it for me.  Come and I’ll share the showers with you,” then she blushed deeply as she realized how that sounded.  “I mean...I didn’t mean...” she stammered.

Deanna chuckled and said, “Don’t sweat it.”  They both laughed at that turn of phrase.  Already the sun was hot and drying up the place.  There were actually several places they could walk now without encountering the mud.

They made their way to their tent, got clean clothes to change into, and then went to the showers where a small fire had been lit to warm the water for them.

“You sure they won’t mind pouring for me too?” Deanna asked, worriedly.  She hadn’t thought of bribing someone to do this and wondered why Hamishish had offered to the nurse.

“Naw, I told you, they owe me,” she assured her as she went into the curtained-off area and quickly stripped out of her dirty clothes.  She hung up the ones she intended to change into and carefully pushed the other curtain across to keep them dry as she saw the women carrying up the heavy buckets of warm water. 

Carefully they poured half the bucket of hot water into an empty bucket and added a little of the cooler water until the water wasn’t so hot.  They poured this into the shower receptacle and this sprinkled down on the two women.  They quickly utilized the warm water and shampooed their hair and scrubbed their sweaty bodies with soap.  The water got progressively warmer as the carriers tired of hauling bucket after bucket up the platform, but finally they were done.  Both women relished the feeling of the hot shower they had received and dressed in their clean clothing.

“Oh, my gawd, that was great,” Deanna gushed as she used a towel on her short, blonde hair.  The hot African sun had been bleaching it whiter, removing the various browns and reds.

“I thought so too,” the nurse answered as she gathered her dirty clothes in a ball.

“Have you eaten?”

“No, have you?”

“No, and I’m starving, but I’m going to have to eat, walk it off a little, and then collapse for a few hours,” she explained her itinerary.

“Sounds good to me,” and there was a note of absolute exhaustion in the redhead’s voice too.

They did exactly that, hurrying to shovel down the food, ignoring all attempts by their associates to converse as they wished to finish their meal in a hurry.  Taking a walk on the now drying paths, they still couldn’t go far as the river hadn’t receded enough; it was too soon after the inundation they had received.

“Would you look at that!” Deanna exclaimed as she pointed out an animal.

“What is that?  A cheetah?”  The alarm in her voice was obvious.

“No, I think it’s a serval or what they call a bush cat,” the blonde told her excitedly.

“A serval?  I don’t think I’ve heard of that...” she began as she peered at the spotted cat.

“It’s Portuguese for wolf-deer,” the brilliant doctor informed her.  The tone of her voice told how excited she was to see one in the wild and not too far from their home.  “They also call them a giraffe-cat, but I can see why you thought that was a cheetah.  They once thought they were just a smaller cheetah.”  There was no hint of superiority in her tone as she explained what she knew about the cat.  She was just sharing it with her friend.  “The ancient Egyptians used to worship them for their grace and power.  I’m not surprised that we’re seeing them here on the plains.  I’ve even read that they are called the ‘Savannah Stalker’ because they hunt on these plains.” 

Just when she thought she couldn’t be more impressed by Deanna and her brilliance, she still surprised her.  “Look at those ears,” she gasped.  They were huge!  The animal itself was long and sleek, not as big as the lions she had seen in the zoo, but still, definitely a big cat.  It sat on an outcropping, just above the grass, sunning itself.

“You know, there are people that have them as pets,” the doctor said with a tone that implied she wouldn’t mind having one for herself.

“Well, you go catch one,” she teased.

“Maybe I will,” she laughed with her friend.  The cat heard her laughter from far away.  It looked at them momentarily before slipping off the rock and disappearing into the long grasses.  “Oh, too bad,” she lamented.

“Ah well, you’ll just have to try again next time,” she teased some more.  Maddie smiled up at the blonde, noticing how white her hair had become in the African sun.  The roots were definitely darker where they were growing in.  “You need a haircut,” she said when she noticed, and without thinking, her hand came up to run her fingers through the spikey locks.

Deanna froze where she stood as she looked down at the redhead.  The feel of her fingers through her hair felt wonderful.  She forgot to breathe for a moment and they locked eyes.

Maddie realized her mistake as soon as their eyes met.  In that moment it was just the two of them out on the plain, within sight of the village, but far enough away that they couldn’t be seen clearly.  She took a step forward, hesitated for a brief moment, thought about stepping back, and then leaned up for a kiss.

Deanna wasn’t sure she should, but at the same time she knew she had been attracted to the redhead for quite some time.  It wasn’t that she was attracted to all women, but Maddie and she had spent a lot of time together and she considered her a friend, a good friend.  To take this step might ruin their friendship, but, she hadn’t been the one to take it.  She leaned down to allow Maddie’s lips to capture her own.

The first thought Maddie had was that Deanna’s lips were softer than any man’s she had kissed.  Deanna had been right about that.  They were warm, supple, and slightly moist.  They invited her to taste further and her tongue hesitantly snaked out.

Deanna didn’t want to scare the smaller, robust woman off, but she so badly wanted to pull her against her own body and feel it full length, to enthrall all the senses.  As she explored her lips, inhaled her essence, and her tongue began to taste, it was a near thing.

The kiss went on for a while and finally Maddie pulled back, looking up at the blonde for reassurance.  Quietly, she asked, “Was that alright?”

Not trusting herself to speak, Deanna nodded.  Her eyes glimmered.  Her face was deadpan, showing no emotion.  She didn’t want to encourage Maddie, but she didn’t want to discourage her either.  It had to be the redhead’s decision.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have,” she began and her body started to pull back.

‘The hell with it,’
Deanna thought and her hands quickly snaked around Maddie’s shoulders.  “It’s okay,” she breathed, leaning down with her forehead touching the other woman’s.  Her lips hovered above Maddie’s.  “I’ve been wondering what you tasted like too,” she admitted.

Maddie pulled back marginally, but only so she could look into the blue eyes of the doctor.  “You have?”  At Deanna’s nod she asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Deanna grinned ruefully.  “I didn’t want you thinking just because I’m attracted to women, that I hit on
all
women.”

“But, you are attracted to me?”  There was an almost hopeful note in the nurse’s voice.

Deanna nodded.  “So, why did you kiss me?” she whispered, her lips hovering again.

“I was curious,” she admitted.  “I wanted to know what it was like.”

“And now?”

“I want to know more,” she said as she pulled Deanna in and kissed her again, harder.

They explored each other’s lips.  Deanna got her wish as she pulled Maddie’s body into her own, wrapping herself around the shorter woman.  Maddie was surprised at how different and how right Deanna’s body felt against her own.  The kisses, the tongue, and even the nibbling went on for a while.  Their hands began to soothe, caress, and wander.  It began to become heated and finally Deanna sensed that Maddie was becoming overwhelmed and calmed herself to reluctantly pull away.  “Are you okay?”

Maddie nodded, bemused.   “I didn’t know.  I didn’t know it could be like that.”

“Like what?” she asked, pulling back far enough to hold Maddie in place, but not far enough to let her completely go.

“Like a romance novel,” she responded inadequately.  She felt shy now that she had admitted her attraction to the doctor, had felt her mutual attraction, and knew that she was interested.  Her body spoke to her and she hadn’t even known it could feel like that.

“Not all romance novels have a happily ever after,” Deanna warned.

Maddie smiled, showing off the dimples that rarely appeared on her face.  “No, they don’t,” she shook her head, “but I’m willing to turn a few pages and find out.”

Deanna smiled in response.  She liked the dimples.  They added an almost fairly-like quality to the redhead’s pointed face.  “Let’s just take it slow and easy,” she promised.  What she wanted to do was take the redhead right there on the wet ground.  Her body had been a long time without the touch of another human being and she knew she wanted Maddie’s touch.

“What now?” Maddie asked, unsure.

“We see if this is really what you want to pursue.”

“What
I
want?”

Nodding, Deanna smiled slightly.  “I’ve been here before.  I think I know what I want.”

“Do you want me?”  Her shyness and indecision was endearing.

Deanna heard a sound from camp and let her hands fall from the now steady Maddie.  Turning slightly, she glanced to see others taking advantage of the sunny evening and taking a walk.  She tried to make it look natural as she turned Maddie so they could walk back to the camp.  “Yes, I want you, but, Maddie, this is a big decision for you.  I don’t want you to get hurt.  I don’t want to get hurt.  If you are just curious....”

“Yes, I was curious, but, it was like it made so much sense once we kissed,” she explained, her hands emphasizing what she was trying to say.

Deanna nodded.  It had been that way for her too at one point as she realized her attraction to women.  It just...fit.  It just...felt right for her.  No one could have told her that, she had to find out for herself.  Maddie had to find it out for herself.  “Think about it.  Do you really want to get involved like this?” her voice lowered as they walked by others making their way towards the river.  “Good evening,” Deanna said cordially and smiled.