A/N: Carter in Darfur. Just like in season 12, but with some changes. Changes that include Abby Lockhart. (Abby and Luka are not together, but had that one night stand after 'The Human Shield.') Well, enjoy, and tell me what you think of it. If you had the time to read... Take the time to review please. thanks. (I'm not a native English speaker, please correct any mistakes, I do the best I can!)
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine
Summary: Carter is in Darfur, trying to help a short staffed clinic running. They need staff, mostly women, who want and can help. He knows who he could ask, he only doesn't know if he should, or maybe even more important; if he dares.
Extra: You might think it's impossible. Well, in the show it is. Not here, not in my story. The title says enough!

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Against All Odds

Part I – 'Asking her'


'Abby,

I'm sorry if my handwriting is unreadable, the bedlamp broke last night. I don't exactly know why I grabbed a paper at this moment, and I'm not sure what I want to tell you.
So well, first, how is County going? I heard that Luka got the chief position, so I'm sure everything is going more than fine. I know we haven't talked much for the last, what, year, and I really regret that. Still, this letter is for you. If everything goes the way it should you'll receive this at home, and not at work so no one will have a chance to read this, unlike it happened before. I regret that too. But this isn't a letter full of 'I'm sorry's,' although they might be called for.
Well, Kem is in Pakistan, providing care at a camp for children who lost their family during the earthquake, and I'm here in Darfur. Not in a tent this time, but well protected by a musquito net in an actual bed...'

I sigh and try to catch a glimpse of moonlight through the opening between the bricks so I can read over my writing. I shake my head and turn on my back. Why am I doing this? Why am I writing her, here, right now? I don't know. Or maybe I just don't want to know, that's probably the case. I sigh again and turn back to my writing position.

'...unlike all the other people here. We have a total of twenty beds, fifteen for patients and five for the Alliance Médécine groupe...'

Why am I telling her this? I know what I want to ask, what I want to say. Stop with the facts John.

'...The good thing is that everything is more organized here, better than in the Congo, and we, the doctors, are safe as long as we don't leave the camp. But the medical equipment is practically non existent. We have to let people go, although we could have saved a whole lot of them if we'd been at County. But we're not. We let go a man today, who...'

Before I realize what I'm doing I'm writing down the whole story. About the soldiers, the hot water they threw over his body, the shots they discharged just above our heads, how we found them, how we brought him back and burried him.

'...and then everyone went back to work. Just like that...'

A tear drops om the paper. Damn. I turn my head and rub my eyes dry. I don't want this to be a letter full of inkt spots. Done with the tears. I cough and swallow the thick lumb in my throat away. Come on, get to the point.

'...Luckily things like that don't happen every day. Two days ago it seemed like there weren't any soldiers for miles around. We organized a small soccer tournament, that was very relaxing for both the doctors as the refugees around here.

But why I'm writing you about all this is because we need...'

Argh. This is not gonna work.

'...staff. Doctors, nurses, and especially women. The women who come here, who've been raped by soldiers, don't want any men to touch them. Dr. Dakarai, the man who runs this camp here, asked me to look for women, or gynaecologists, who want to help here, who want to come to Darfur. Because we really, really need them, especially with the huge amount of women over here…'

This is stupid. What the heck do I expect from her? To just fly to Africa and help here? To come to me? It's bold from me to ask her this, like this. Abby was always against this idea. The 'get yourself killed' idea, as she liked to call it. But she did understand me, in some way I guess, she did. She always did. Not the first time of course, but let's not get into that again. I turn on my back again. God I'm restless tonight.

You know what, let's quit this whole letter thing. It's useless, it will take at least five days to arrive in her apartment, it's nonsense. Unneccesarily.

With that thought I lay the letter under my bed and close my eyes. I don't fall asleep though. It's a bad idea. Bad. Bad. Bad. I repeat it a hundred times, softly whispering it to the dark ceiling above me. But it's not convincing.

And then, with the knowledge that I won't catch any sleep if I don't just finish the letter, I sit up, feel with my hand under the bed until the paper is back in my hand, and begin to write again.

'...so if you can, I don't know, ask around at County? I know you don't feel much for these sort of expeditions, but they are necessary. Trust me. I also know that you're not an adventurer of this sort, but you'd really be great here. I know you can handle these situations, I know you'll keep your head cool. But maybe it's too bold to ask.
Still, please consider it. Just think about it. Think that you'd be a great help out, or talk to Luka, please. You'd be the perfect help out. But you don't have to, realize that. You must be grinning now, or maybe not even reading anymore, and that's okay. That's really fine. But please, please, consider.
And besides you being a real good doctor, I'd like to see you again. But that can be in Chicago too of course.

So that's why I wrote you, that's what I wanted to ask you. For a period of two weeks, that's what we need before a part of the staff comes back from the north. Just think about it, and let me know.

Love, Carter.'

I sigh again, knowing that I rambled my way through this letter. But at least I did ask her. I did.


Thank you for reading.

(Preview for (an eventually) next chapter: The letter has been send, but will it be read, and what will the reaction then be?)

Please, leave a review to tell me if you like this or not, and if you want me to continue!