Disclaimer: Oh, look! I still own nothing.
A/N:Thanks for all the reviews from last time. As many of you know, I reply to all reviews I get that I can - in other words, I can't reply if you review anonymously. I appreciate all my reviewers and don't have a problem with anonymous reviews (hence why that function is enabled), butI do miss the opportunity to reply in a few cases. Ellie, Vicodin Pill, thanks for your reviews; and ts, thank you for your review and questions. This story is going to be Hameron; for the rest of you wondering if I've lost my mind because Cameron and Weiss are an item, rest assured I haven't. And you will see House next chapter, so be excited! I had to get him to South Africa in a way that would make sense, and I think even the one I've chosen is a bit deus ex machina. ts, in regard to your second point, I can promise you Cameron will not be raped in this stoy. I agree that it would not fit and thank you for your concern.
A/N: Melissa, I've kept you up past your bedtime again. I know that you need to get some rest, so go to bed soon, young lady! Thanks for being an uber-picky beta even though you're exhausted. And just remember, you didn't want to know.
For Rizza and Ramona.
It was another one of those days. Too many patients, not enough doctors, and never sufficient time. Weiss had left early that morning for Cape Town for a conference, which meant she would have to take a break from Afrikaans lessons for a few days. She had now had two weeks worth of lessons, and, brief though some of them had been, she felt confident her Afrikaans was at least improving a little.
"Here, Dr. Cameron," Mary said tiredly, handing her another chart. Cameron accepted it quickly. "Just finish up this one and then you can take a break. I need you to come with me to pick up medicine – the new shipment of TB antibiotics just arrived."
Cameron frowned. "But what about the clinic? We're short-staffed enough as it is."
"I know," said Mary, "but they like to have a doctor sign off on the order. Aimee should be back by the time we leave."
"Okay," she said, dropping her gaze to the chart. Aimee was one of the other doctors who was more than capable of handling the clinic alone for awhile. She felt someone tap her shoulder as Mary walked away.
"Can I help you with this one?"
She turned around to find Sipho standing behind her. "Hey, Sipho," she greeted him. "Where is Nomzamo?"
"She's in there," he said, pointing to where Cameron knew the counseling offices to be. "Sorry I'm late. The nurse today didn't want me to leave the waiting room. She said I would just get in the way. I tried telling her I could help you, and that I was going to be a doctor, too, someday, and needed the practice, but I don't think she believed me. I snuck away when she wasn't looking."
Cameron choked back a laugh. "Well, I'm glad you're here," she told him, "but you shouldn't have disobeyed her."
Sipho grinned cheekily. "What's the point of rules if you can't break them?"
This time, Cameron couldn't help but laugh. Beckoning to him over her shoulder, she led the way to the next patient. She looked at the name on the chart: Abeba. She hoped it was pronounced phonetically.
"Abeba, I'm Dr. Cameron," she said as she walked up to the patient sitting cross-legged on the bed. Abeba looked to be about Nomzamo's age, but with long hair that fell past her waist. "What can I do for you?"
"Ek praat nie engels nie."
Cameron's heart skipped a beat, but this time, she recovered quickly. "My Afrikaans is sleg," she told her. "Ek is jammer. My naam is Allison Cameron. Ek werk soos 'n dokter." The level of her language skills was almost laughable. "Ek kom van die VSA." I am from the United States… She could have been at another lesson with Weiss for how basic her sentences were. She spoke slowly and carefully, making sure she pronounced all the words as clearly and accurately as possible. She could tell Abeba understood her from the way she listened intently, nodding occasionally, never taking her eyes off her. Cameron was just glad she hadn't scared another patient to the point of tears.
"Ek sal vind iemand te vertaal." She could almost hear Weiss in her head, repeating the directions to her. Introduce yourself. Tell the patient your name, that you're a doctor, and where you're from. Then say you're going to find a translator and turn to leave. She was just about to walk away when a voice stopped her.
"Wait." This time it was Sipho who had spoken. "Ek praat Afrikaans," he said proudly. "Do you want me to translate for you?"
"I…" Cameron's voice trailed off as she looked around for Mary or one of the other nurses who spoke Afrikaans. Not surprisingly, she didn't find any. She was grateful for Sipho's offer, but hesitant to accept it because letting him translate for a patient would allow him to get closer to patient care than he had even been. And what if he made a mistake?
"She says she was raped by her father," Sipho announced. Cameron whipped around. She had been so lost in thought, she hadn't even heard Sipho talking to the patient in Afrikaans behind her back. "She wants to know if there is anything you can do," he continued. He was looking intently at Abeba and hadn't seemed to notice that Cameron hadn't been paying much attention. "She says he has AIDS."
"She…what?" Cameron frowned. "Sipho, I really appreciate your help, but I'm not sure…"
"You're not sure you can trust me to translate?" Once again, she was thrown by his candidness. He took advantage of her silence to keep talking. "Afrikaans is my first language; English is my second. I speak Afrikaans at home with Nomzamo. She is not as good at English as I am. I learned English in school. So did she, but I tried harder. English is the language of medicine; I had to learn it." He looked at her earnestly. "Laat my asseblief u help. Please let me help you."
Abeba was looking at her expectantly. Cameron hesitated and then her expression cleared; if Sipho was a native speaker, he would be able to translate accurately. She knew the clinic was too busy for her to get anyone else to help her, and if Sipho really wanted the job, he was bound to do it well.
"Okay," she relented. "Tell her we can give her medicine to fight against HIV. I'll go get it now."
She heard Sipho repeat what she had said to Abeba in Afrikaans as she walked away. She retrieved the medicine quickly and was walking back when she was stopped by Mary.
"Are you ready?" Mary asked. "Aimee's back; we should leave soon."
"Almost," Cameron responded, holding up the pills. "Her father has AIDS; he's the one who raped her."
Mary nodded. "I'll wait for you outside."
Cameron returned to Abeba and Sipho and handed the pills to the girl. "Tell her these are to prevent HIV," she instructed Sipho.
He repeated the directions to Abeba and she smiled. "Dankie."
Cameron smiled back. Thank you. "Nie te dankie," she said kindly as she gestured to Sipho. He slid off the bed and walked over to her.
"I have to go now," she told him. "We're picking up the latest shipment of medicine for TB. Aimee is back, though. You could ask her if she'd mind having you follow her around."
"Can I stay with Abeba?" Sipho inquired. "Nomzamo's appointment will be over soon and I think Abeba likes me."
Cameron smiled. "Of course. Thanks for all your help. I'll see you next week."
"Bye, Allison!" he called as he turned back to Abeba. Cameron caught a glimpse of the delight on Abeba's face as she turned away. She was glad she had been able to make at least one rape victim smile again today. She walked quickly out of the clinic to where Mary was waiting for her outside. Once Cameron had shut the door behind her, they were off. Mary had taken off at a fast pace and Cameron walked briskly to keep up.
"We're walking?" she asked, surprised.
Mary nodded. "It's not far; the landing site is less than a mile away. It's not worth the gas."
"Landing site?" Cameron repeated, frowning.
"Landing site for the helicopter."
At the quick pace, they were able to reach the landing site within fifteen minutes. A brightly painted helicopter waited for them on the helipad.
"Hey, Mary!" one of the crewmen called as she approached. He walked toward them with a large crate in his arms.
"Kevin," she said stiffly as he drew near. "This is Dr. Cameron," she said, gesturing to Cameron. Kevin shifted the crate awkwardly so he could shake her hand. "She's going to sign off on the medicine for us."
Kevin handed the crate to Mary and slid the clipboard off the top of it. He handed the clipboard and a pen from his pocket to Cameron. "Just sign on the dotted line," he told her. She obliged and he took the clipboard back with a wide grin. "Thanks, guys. See you in a month."
"See you, Kevin," Mary said as she turned to leave. Cameron smiled at him before turning back.
"That was quick," she remarked.
Mary nodded. "It's always better to be quick with Kevin. I don't like spending more time with him than I have to."
"Why?" She had found Kevin pleasant enough in their brief meeting.
"Let's just say delivering medicine wasn't the only thing Kevin was quick at."
"Ah…" A sudden noise in the bushes caused her to freeze. She held out her arm to stop Mary, too. She waited with bated breath for a few moments, and then whispered, "Did you hear anything?"
Mary frowned. "No…why?"
"I thought I did." Cameron listened intently, but she couldn't hear any more leaves rustling. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, let's just go."
They hadn't taken more than two steps before they stopped again. This time it was Mary who threw her arm out. "Did you just…?"
The rest of her sentence was drowned out by the sound of gunfire. Cameron screamed at the nurse to get down as she dove to the ground with her hands over her head. There were more shots, footsteps, and victorious yells.
And then there was silence.
A/N: Ooooh cliffie, sorry about that one! The next chapter will not be up for a bit. I want to continue with Cetera Desunt now, and this feels like a good stopping place (though if you try hard, you may convince my muse otherwise). Thanks for reading; I'd love to know what you think!