Title: The Defining Time
Author: Caera1996
Rating: R/NC-17
Disclaimer: Not mine

-Time, Interrupted—

"Jim, are you lost?"

Jim glanced away from the road to glance across Manny to Bones, who was watching him with a skeptical look.

"If I'm lost, it's because my navigator doesn't know how to read a map," he replied, pointedly looking at the map Bones was holding.

Manny rolled her eyes at the both of them and mumbled under her breath before saying, "We should have stopped to ask," she said. "When we passed by the village a few minutes ago."

Jim chuckled and glanced over at her. Some things about men and women were completely universal. Bones just snapped the map in his hands and went back to trying to figure out where they were exactly.

After another twenty minutes of looking for a bridge over a river that would indicate they needed to bear to the right, Jim saw a group of men walking along the side of the road. One of them looked as if he was hurt, supported by one of the others as he took slow, hopping steps. Jim pressed his lips together, his hands gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen a configuration like this. The landscape had been completely different, but the feeling in his gut was the same.

"Bones, lock your door," Jim said. He hit his own lock and moved as far to the other side of the road as he could.

"Why?" Leonard asked, looking across Manny at Jim, puzzled by the tone of his voice, and followed Jim's eye line to the pedestrians ahead. "Looks like someone's hurt. We should stop."

"Just lock your door," Jim said again. Without waiting for Leonard to respond, Manny reached across him and hit the locking mechanism. Rolling down his window half way, he slowed only enough to be able to talk to them quickly as he divided his attention between the road and the…six, he counted…men walking together.

"You okay? Uh…Ou byen?" Jim called.

One of the men closest to the road moved as if he was going to step in front of the truck. Jim let his foot up on the gas, but didn't hit the brakes.

"Non," the man called back. He gestured to the injured man being held up by the other two. "Li se blese ak malad. Nou bezwen èd."

"He says the man is hurt and sick and they need help," Manny murmured from beside Jim.

Jim slowed even further, and again the man moved as if to put himself in front of the truck. He struggled with indecision for a moment. As was policy, he was were unarmed, they had a lot of materials that could make unscrupulous people a lot of money, if that's what they wanted it for, and they were in a fairly quiet area…an unpaved backroad with forest and field surrounding them. He tried to see if they were carrying anything that could be used as a weapon – or any actual weapons – but it was really impossible to tell.

"There's the bridge!" Manny called out, pointing off to Jim's left. And that made the decision for him. They weren't all that far from where they were headed. These people might not have any ill intention towards them at all, but there was no way to know that for sure, and other ambushes had happened in situations similar to this one. Jim was responsible for two people right now…one who would be at particular risk if these guys weren't on the right side of things.

"We'll send help…stay there," Jim called. He looked over at Manny. "Manny…how do you..?"

"Rete tann gen," she said.

"Rete tann gen!" Jim repeated. He put his foot back on the gas, and registered that the man yelled a curse at him as they drove away, at the same time Bones looked at Jim incredulously.

"Jim, what the hell are you doing?" Leonard asked. "They needed help!"

"It's not safe to stop with a situation like that," Jim said. He took a breath and made a conscious effort to relax himself, flexing his fingers and loosening his grip on the steering wheel. "We can send a group of people to help him when we get there."

"Jim…that man might've been really hurt and sick!" Leonard shouted. "Just….let me out with some supplies and come back for me. We're right here..."

"Yeah, or he could not be!" Jim shouted back. He glanced at Manny, who looked like she was trying to make herself as small as possible between them. He made a conscious effort to reign in his temper. He doesn't know, Jim reminded himself. He's never experienced it. "Bones," he said in a more level tone. "There were six of them. We're alone, with no way to protect ourselves, and vulnerable. Maybe they were completely harmless…but we aren't in the position to take that risk." He subtly nodded to Manny, and was relieved when Bones seemed to subside a little.

He didn't like it. Everything that made him a doctor made him want to make Jim pull over. On the other hand, he knew Jim well enough to know that there would have to be a good reason for him to not do something for someone who was in need. And it wasn't just the two of them, either. Jim was right…they had Manny to think about.

"We need to send people as soon as we get there," Leonard said.

Jim nodded. "We will. We should be there in just a couple of minutes."

"And I want to be with them," he added.

Jim rolled his eyes. He knew it wasn't going to be that easy. There was no way Jim was letting him go out on his own. But they'd deal with that later, and he said as much. "Once we get there we'll figure out the best way to handle it."

Leonard bristled at that, ready to argue that Jim wasn't in charge of him, but before he could start that particular argument, their destination came into sight. The road widened out and was paved as they drove towards the little village. Located on the northwest side of the area affected by the earthquake, it was far enough away from the epicenter to escape a lot of the primary damage. There were very few buildings more than one story tall, and most were shakily constructed out of whatever materials could be found – but they were standing. Thank God.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. Although the village didn't suffer much damage, the people were still suffering. Most of those who lived here and had a job worked in some capacity in the city, and even now the city was at a complete standstill. Hotels, schools, hospitals, stores, museums, city facilities…most of it was either destroyed, or still completely closed. And what wasn't closed or destroyed was being used as emergency shelter and medical centers for the displaced and injured. The earthquake itself might've only directly affected the structures in about 40 miles from the epicenter, but the ripple effect was being felt much further than that.

As they drove through the main street, it was immediately evident how crowded it was. With nearly a million people displaced every place that could take more people, did. Families opened their homes to relatives, friends, and strangers, coming together to try to rebuild lives. But that hospitality caused its own problems. Close-quartered living made it easier for disease to spread, and people weren't getting proper care.

Driving through the street slowly, the truck garnered a lot of attention and kids ran along to follow them. Jim slowed even further, paranoid about the possibility of one of them darting in front of the truck.

Leonard glanced over at Jim, as he folded up the map he was still holding. "Where are we headed Jim?" he asked.

"There's an orphanage here, run by a Catholic organization. They're sheltering some of the quake survivors from the city. That's where the outbreak is."

"What?" Leonard asked, horrified. "They didn't separate the patients from children? Jim…what the ever-loving…"

"Bones," Jim interrupted, glancing over at him and then at Manny. For a doctor, he could be remarkably insensitive to other people's feelings. Jim knew it wasn't that he didn't care, just that he didn't always stop to consider what he was saying. That, apparently, hadn't changed in the year they were apart. "There's no place else for them to go. Everyone is doing the best they can."

Leonard kept the rest of what he wanted to say about the way this particular situation was being handled caught behind tightly clenched teeth. This was going to be an exercise in restraint. He knew he was going to have to work in less-than-ideal conditions – and he knew that Jim would want him to do that without pissing people off…he just really hoped to God whoever was in charge there now had the foresight to separate the children from the patients, and keep them separated.

Though not usually deadly, the key to handling measles was treating the symptoms…and sometimes the symptoms could involve respiratory issues that he seriously doubted they had the equipment to deal with. Children, with their still-developing immune symptoms, could also fall victim to secondary infections like pneumonia…and that could be deadly.

Moments later, the orphanage came into sight. On a small campus that included a church building and a building used as a school, Manny had to smile at the sight that greeted them. This…this is why she loved children. All of the terrible happening all around, and yet here they were, playing a game of soccer. Girls and boys of all ages ran back and forth on an expanse of grass, all trying to gain control of the ball. There were way too many kids on the "field" between the two teams. And…she realized as she watched…there were two too many balls.

There was a lot of bad things happening right now, but here…kids were laughing and playing, and the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing…and there was still happiness to be had. That was important to know, and it lightened her a little bit. Everything would be okay. I will be okay, she thought to herself. That had become her mantra…her daily prayer…and she was really starting to believe it.

They pulled up and parked next to a couple of other vehicles that were parked in front of the school. As Jim stepped out of the truck, he looked around for someone to talk to. Just as they were about to head over to the field where the kids were playing and under the watchful eyes of a few women, the door to the school opened and Jim raised a hand in greeting.

"Hello!" he said. "I'm Jim Kirk…from the Petionville Red Cross relief group. Someone here spoke to Elise?"

"Yes, thank you for coming!" The older man replied. "I'm Father Joseph Matier…welcome to Saint Lucy's Church and Orphanage. I believe it was Brian who spoke to your Elise."

Jim nodded. He knew Brian Cox…another Red Cross volunteer. "It's good to meet you, Father. I'm Jim, this is Dr. Leonard McCoy, and this is Manny…Manoucheka," Jim introduced them. "We're here to help for a couple of days until the rest of Brian's group gets here."

"And I am grateful to you. We are in desperate need of additional help. Come on inside…we're using this building for those who are ill."

"I assume…are the children kept away from the patients?" Leonard asked, freeing his medical bag from the back of the truck.

"Yes, Doctor," Joseph replied. "And I have asked the Sisters who work with the patients to not work with the children without a thorough wash and changing their clothing."

"Are all the adults here vaccinated?" Leonard questioned. He never before considered religious groups in the country. The nuns and priests part of the larger Catholic community never even came into his mind before now.

"Yes, we are all vaccinated. Some of the children are, as well. Though most only received the first in the series."

Leonard nodded, and let himself breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn't nearly as bad as he thought. The fact that the patients were all kept in a separate building was huge.

"Okay," he said. "I'd like to see where the patients, and if we could get some help…I have some medication to help mitigate symptoms in the supplies…" Leonard and Joseph walked into the building as he took charge of the situation. It annoyed Jim a little, but he understood. Bones had felt out of his depth for most of his time here. This is the type of thing he felt comfortable dealing with…taking control of the medical situation was natural to him. He rolled his eyes and Manny giggled as they followed them into the building.

"We have separated the children who are ill from the adults. We have asked the parents to not stay, so that they do not go home and make other children sick," he was explaining.

Leonard looked at him, impressed. "I have to be honest, Father, I wasn't expecting this level of containment here."

He looked at Leonard over his glasses, his careworn face serious. "This is not, as they say, my first time at the rodeo, Doctor. Illness is not uncommon." Leonard glanced back at Jim, giving him a significant look, and Jim nodded in understanding at the silent apology for earlier.

"Some of the people who live in the village are helping…some have medical training," Joseph continued. He pushed open a door to one of the classrooms. They followed him inside, looking around. All of the desks had been pushed away and stacked along the back wall. About twenty matts were laid out and each was occupied by an adult patient. Three volunteers were moving among them, helping them take sips of water, placing damp cloths on their heads, or for those who were recovering and gaining their appetites back, helping them with some broth.

The room was warm, even with the open windows and fans, and the sound of coughing filled the small space. Leonard felt his heart go out to the people who were sick…lying on the floor, feverish, hot…it was obviously miserable.

Manny's eyes landed on one of the women who was crouching down to help feed someone soup. Her heart stopped for a moment as she realized who she was looking at…but…it wasn't possible, was it? Was it really…

"Nadege?" Manny whispered. Her eyes filled with tears. "Matant?" she said louder.

The woman looked up, and Jim saw it the second she registered who she was looking at.

"Oh, God bless….Manoucheka…" she stood and moved to them, arms outstretched. Manny let out a sound like a choked-back sob as she reached her, falling into her arms. And as her aunt, who Manny was sure had died when the hospital she'd worked in collapsed, closed her arms around her, all of the pain and fear and heartache she'd been holding back for two months seemed to burst out of her at once.

Crying against her aunt's shoulder, she barely heard what she was murmuring to her. She let herself be led out of the room, to give the patients peace, and as she went she caught sight of Jim's face…and he looked stricken.

She couldn't control herself just yet, so she just clutched her aunt and pressed her face to her shoulder as she cried and tried to breathe…thanking God that He'd brought her here today.