The Marine's Return

As a medical resident, Taj took care of anything Lexi wasn’t licensed to do at the clinic. But he had obligations back in Nairobi where he was finishing up his hospital residency. He tried to make it out to the rural clinic as much as possible because giving back to the communities where he grew up was important to him.

He was a lot like Tony in that respect. Lexi loved that about him. Both men were reminders that there were good people in the world. She took the fact that Taj’s goals mirrored Tony’s as a sign that she was on the right path. That she belonged here even if she was technically an outsider. Tony had been her only family, which made this land a part of her through love and marriage and a part of their child through blood. She felt more rooted to this place than she’d ever felt anywhere in her life. She felt accepted.

She took another swig of water and pushed her short hair off of her forehead.

Even Hope Alwanga had taken her under her wing, making sure that Lexi had good prenatal care. Hope used to make it out here herself more often, but she was also running a pediatric practice in Nairobi and venturing out with a separate mobile medical unit to as many rural areas as she could.

Most people out here knew “Dr. Hope.” Many of them hadn’t seen a doctor before Hope had established her mobile clinic program for the Masai Mara and surrounding areas decades ago. Being of Luo decent and passionate about helping children, Hope had wanted to give back, as well. It was as if Lexi had finally met kindred spirits.

Hope had told Lexi that this static clinic was only a few years old, yet the staff turnaround had been high. Living out here wasn’t for the average person, but Lexi had never considered herself average. Given her past, she’d always felt a bit like a nomad, so the move from America hadn’t fazed her at all.

When she’d seen the online ad for a registered nurse willing to live and work in rural Kenya, she responded immediately. The timing had been perfect. She’d still been numb from burying Tony and, to top it off, she’d discovered she was pregnant. The news had been a bittersweet gift she’d never gotten to share with him.

As far as Lexi was concerned, the job posting had been a sign. It was as if Tony had been opening a door...nudging her to pursue their dream instead of losing herself in mourning.

She’d answered the ad and Hope had responded. The two women had instantly bonded. Hope’s son—also a marine—had been injured during a mission only a week before the attack on Tony’s field hospital. And it was Hope that made the connection between the two men. Her son, Chad, was the friend Tony had grown up with, the one who hadn’t been able to make it to the wedding.

She touched her belly. The thought of losing one’s child... She shuddered. This was why she hated sitting around and resting, even if she needed to. It gave her idle time to think and her thoughts, more often than not, only reminded her of what she’d lost.

Hope was lucky her son had survived. Injured, yes, though she hadn’t divulged all the details of Chad’s injuries. But at least he’d survived. At least he had loving parents—a father who could understand what he’d been through and a mother who, as a doctor, could help him heal or at least make sure he was getting the care he needed.

Since coming to the clinic, Lexi had met Hope’s daughter, a human rights lawyer who was well known for helping Kenya’s indigenous tribes, and Hope’s younger sons, currently in college, but she’d never met Chad. He’d only recently returned to Kenya and, according to Hope, he was far from healed.

Hope often lamented, with all the love and anguish of a mother, that Chad was the most stubborn, impossible patient she’d ever tried to work with. She’d been struggling to pull him out of a depression and to motivate him to resume therapy, physical and psychological, in Nairobi. But it was an uphill battle.

Lexi couldn’t blame him after the trauma he’d suffered, but she also knew motivation had to come from within. A person had to want to survive all that life threw at them. They had to want to find a way to chase their goals, even if it meant taking a different path. She’d heard of individuals who, after being told they’d never walk again, had learned to not only walk but to dance. Unlike Tony, Chad still had his life ahead of him. She wouldn’t feel sorry for him if he chose to waste it.

“I heard my name,” Taj said, stepping out from the exam tent. He paused to say goodbye to his last patient, a thin, lanky man whose cheekbones were framed by beaded loop earrings that reached his shoulders. The man gave a toothy smile and nodded his appreciation, then adjusted a red-and-orange shuka that was draped over his shoulder and headed down the dirt path for home.

“You need help cleaning up in there?” Lexi asked, nodding her head at the tent, which stood about twenty meters across the clearing from the bungalow. Her legs didn’t want to move so she kind of hoped he didn’t.

“No, I’ll get it. And this,” he said, grabbing the table Lexi had used to hold her vaccine trays. He folded the legs in and leaned the table against the peeling plaster of the clinic wall. “I’ll put that away in a second. Jacey can help me with the rest. Sitting there isn’t enough. You need to raise your legs. You should go lie down before your feet swell to the size of an elephant’s. I still think you should come back to Nairobi with me and let Dr. Hope find someone else to staff this place.”

“Not happening. I’m fine here. It’s good for me. Being sedentary while pregnant isn’t. But I’ll take you up on raising my feet. I’ll be inside. Oh, and if someone can get their hands on some chocolate-chip ice cream and potato chips in the next five minutes, my hormones will love you.”

“Good luck with that.” Jacey chuckled as she helped Taj pull the legs of the canopy out from the dry, red earth.

“I’ll have to bring you a cooler on my next trip over so we can stock some ice cream for you,” Taj said. They had a small freezer, but they needed it for ice packs and healthy foods. Not junk food. Besides, there was no room left in it.

“I would worship you if you did that,” Lexi teased.

He did have that ancient godlike look to him. Tall, dark and muscular with a sincere yet dazzling smile. Jacey had most definitely noticed. The poor thing was almost too careful not to steal glances, but the way her cheeks flushed whenever she and Taj talked casually over work, gave her away.

She also got annoyed with Taj quite a bit. The blushing and bickering were a dead giveaway that the two were engaged in some sort of primal courtship ritual.

Jacey didn’t like wearing her emotions on her sleeve any more than Taj did, but Lexi was convinced her two staffers liked each other. As a nurse, Lexi was well trained in how to read faces and body language. Sometimes people were too stoic for their own good...or too stubborn.

“You better share that ice cream,” Jacey said. Lexi chuckled and shook her head.

“I can’t make that promise. He’ll have to bring you your own tub. Although sharing would save me some calories. I’m probably lucky I can’t have ice cream and chips on a daily basis out here. I’d be huge.” Lexi pressed her palm to her lower back. “Thanks, you two, for finishing up here. I’m going inside.”

“Sure thing,” Jacey said over her shoulder.

Lexi wasn’t sure what was worse, the intense pregnancy cravings or the constant aches. She slipped into their mini kitchen, grabbed some cheese from their small, generator-run fridge and a banana off of the counter, then sat in a chair and propped her feet up on an empty supply box. She rubbed a hand across her belly, stopping when she felt a small kick. She lifted her T-shirt and smiled at the little bump on the left side of her belly.

“You too, huh?” she said, tracing her finger where the baby was nudging her. She had no idea if it was a boy or a girl. She still didn’t want to know. As undeniably real as her pregnancy was at the time of her ultrasound, somehow the more she learned about her baby—their baby—the more it hit home that Tony would never share the experience with her. That she was alone in this. That he’d died not even knowing she was pregnant. God, she hadn’t even realized herself. She’d assumed the light-headedness and nausea were due to being overwhelmed by all that had happened.

Her body jolted at the memory of the twenty-one-gun salute piercing the air at Tony’s funeral. The baby kicked back.

“I’m sorry,” she said, placing her palm against what looked like a tiny foot, until the little one calmed down. She pulled the end of her T-shirt down and dabbed her eyes, then took a deep breath. Was she being stupid? Was Taj right about getting a replacement? She had another OB-GYN appointment in Nairobi in just under two weeks. So far so good. Everyone was coaxing her to quit this job for the baby’s sake but she didn’t see it that way. This was home now. She needed to be here.

Man, it was hot today. She leaned her head back against the wall and pushed her side-swept, pixie-cut bangs off her forehead. She’d donated all twenty inches of her silky black locks before moving to Kenya.

She still wasn’t sure what had spurred her to cut it all off. On one hand, she’d wanted to help someone else since she had been feeling so helpless herself after Tony’s loss. But there had been practical reasons, too, given the rugged lifestyle she’d signed up for. And maybe subconsciously she’d been symbolically cutting ties to the past so that she could move forward to the future she and Tony had planned.

It was just her future, now. Hers and the baby’s.

What had she been thinking, falling for a marine? She’d reassured herself that he was a field hospital doctor, not a special missions guy. He’d been in Afghanistan to help the wounded, not to get wounded himself. Hospitals were supposed to have some level of protection. They weren’t supposed to be targets. But that hadn’t stopped him from being killed.

That attack had come from out of nowhere. Her throat tightened.

The baby did something akin to a summersault then lodged itself under her rib cage and stretched. Lexi let out a yelp and contorted sideways in her chair to try to accommodate the sudden move.

“You okay?” Jacey came running in but stopped and scrunched her face when she spotted Lexi. “Ew. That looks painful.”

“Looks painful?” Lexi gasped and held another breath. “I don’t think I’m carrying a human child. I’m convinced he or she is part alien or antelope...make that giraffe.” She tried nudging the little one away from her ribs. It didn’t work.

“You look like an alien is about to pop out of you,” Jacey said, kneeling next to her and patting Lexi’s protrusion. “Like in that old horror movie.”

“Thanks. That’s so comforting. Especially since I avoid horror movies like the plague. Does feel like the baby is going to pop out, though. I seriously hope he or she knows that up isn’t the way out.”

Jacey plopped onto her bottom, laughing, and crossed her legs. The baby shifted to a more normal position and Lexi let out a breath of relief.

“See?” Jacey said. “She settles down when I laugh. It happened last time, too. I’m already a good Auntie Jacey.”

Jacey was right. Laughter seemed to calm the baby, while Lexi getting anxious and thinking about the past seemed to make the baby irritable.

“Why do you keep saying ‘she’?”

“Just a gut feeling. Plus, it’s easier than saying ‘he or she’ every time, and nicer than calling her ‘it.’ ‘It’ kind of emphasizes the creepy alien-with-human-host factor.”

“Got it, Auntie. Promise me your bedtime stories will conjure up less freaky images in her mind.”

“You still sure you don’t want to spend the rest of your pregnancy in Nairobi before the rainy season hits? Or even head back to the US?”

“No. We’ve been through this. Plenty of people have raised kids out here and I’m not talking just the Masai and other tribes. You heard the story Hope told us about the vet who founded Busara. She raised her little girl out there when the camp was far, far more rustic than what we have here. And Mac and his wife have an adopted child and they live in a remote eco-camp. The point being, if others have done it, so can I.”

Mac Walker was a bush pilot originally from South Africa but who had lived in Kenya’s Serengeti region most of his adult life. He’d eventually become part owner of an eco-tourist camp—Camp Jamba-Walker—but still devoted flight hours to helping wildlife rescues and the Kenyan Wildlife Service with surveillance and reports of suspicious poaching activity in the area.

He was also a family friend of Dr. Hope and of Dr. Anna Bekker, the vet who’d founded the famous Busara Elephant Research and Rescue camp dedicated to rescuing baby elephants orphaned by poachers.

Mac had been instrumental in helping transport supplies to the clinic and he often flew Hope out. He’d also helped Lexi transition to the area during her initial weeks here. Even Taj hitched a ride with Mac whenever he could, to cut on commute time. Mac had a way of being everywhere and helping everyone.

“What if you end up with a complication in childbirth?” Jacey continued.

“You have a knack for putting things in such a reassuring way.” Lexi laughed. She knew Jacey meant well, though.

Lexi shifted back into a normal seated position and tugged her shirt over her belly. She was going to need something bigger very soon. Or perhaps she could get one of those giant shuka shawls the Masai wore and just drape it around herself. Come to think of it, maybe she should market the idea for maternity wear. “What if you stopped worrying so much? I go into Nairobi regularly for prenatal appointments and I take my vitamins. Heaven knows my diet out here with all the fruit, vegetables and whole grains is better than what I’d probably be eating if I had a grocery store around the corner. And between Hope coming out and you and Taj here, I’ll be fine. If a complication develops, I’ll head to the hospital. Promise.”

Truth was, she felt more comfortable out here giving birth naturally than in an overcrowded, underfunded hospital. And as illogical as she knew it to be, hospitals reminded her of death...of the last way she’d seen Tony. She needed to be as far away from that as possible.

“Fine. If you say so,” Jacey said, reknotting her hair at the base of her neck.

The grinding whir of a chopper broke up the chattering symphony of wildlife outside.

“Were we expecting Mac today?” Lexi asked, easing up from the chair and heading past Jacey.

Jacey stood and trotted after her. “Maybe it’s just KWS flying by.” The Kenyan Wildlife Service did pass over often enough, but they never sounded this close.

“Nope, it’s Mac.” Lexi shielded her eyes from the stab of late-afternoon sun and watched as Taj headed over to meet Mac.

Lexi and Jacey followed suit, waving as Mac got out of his chopper.

“You can only land here if you have ice cream on board,” Lexi called out.

Mac grinned and adjusted his cap.

“No luck, Lex. You should have warned me. How are you doing?” he asked, meeting them halfway.

“Excellent,” Lexi exaggerated. She appreciated all the concern but sometimes it got to be too much. It made her feel as if the pregnancy weakened her or made her more vulnerable. She didn’t like that idea. Plus, while she knew they meant well, she’d taken care of herself for so long she wasn’t comfortable with that much attention. She was self-sufficient and determined to be just fine. Why couldn’t everyone just stop worrying?

Mac gave a nod then braced his hands on his hips. His forehead creased and he scratched his jaw as he looked at all three of them.

“There’s word from KWS that they’ve had a few poaching incidents just southwest of here. They believe one of the poachers was injured before the group escaped. He might target the clinic, looking for supplies. Ben asked me to check on you and give you guys a heads-up. He couldn’t make it out here himself because of his broken leg. Another three weeks with that cast, according to Hope. She must have the patience of a saint. Two stir-crazy marines under one roof.”

After meeting Hope in the US and falling in love with her, Ben had moved to Nairobi with his children—Maddie, Chad and Ryan. He’d married Hope and founded a group that used ex-marines to help train KWS in security and methods for combatting poachers. Ben and Hope also had a child together, Philip. Chad was the only one who’d followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the marines, though.

“Well, Hope can always come here if she needs a break. Kick Taj out and we can make it a girls’ night off the grid,” Jacey said.

“Joking aside, does Ben think we’re in danger?” Lexi asked.

“No one’s been by here.” Taj frowned at Lexi and Jacey.

Lexi shook her head in agreement. “No sign of anything unusual. I don’t think the poacher would be stupid enough to come here for medical help,” she said.

“Hopefully not, but desperate people do desperate things,” Mac said.

Was she desperate? Was that why she’d chosen a life out here, as off the grid as possible? Desperate to cling to the future she’d planned with Tony or desperate to escape reminders of their life together back in the States? She pushed away those thoughts. Mac wasn’t talking about her.

“We’ll be careful, as usual,” Lexi said. “If anything suspicious is noted, you’ll hear about it. But I assure you, in the five months I’ve been here, life has been pretty routine. Not even a lion has checked out the place. Too much activity is my guess.”

“And doesn’t being near the Masai Mara ward the poachers off? I thought the area was protected.” Jacey folded her arms as if she’d put an end to the discussion.

“Technically the area is protected, but plenty of poachers find routes through the Mara. It’s true this particular group wasn’t close to the clinic, but it’s close enough to give you guys a heads-up. More eyes never hurt. And like I said, one of the poachers is injured and desperate. Combine that with access to a clinic... You do the math.”

“I’m sure he’d be more likely to head for the Tanzanian border than here,” Taj said.

Mac squinted at the sun and adjusted his cap.

“Maybe. But we can’t assume. The KWS have teams scouting the area approaching the border. No sign yet. But Hope and Ben are worried. This area has always been relatively safe and well monitored by Ben, but his crew is smaller than it used to be. Plus, he’s grounded with his broken leg and KWS is having to concentrate its efforts farther south. You understand he and Hope are preoccupied now with Chad, too, so Hope is considering shutting down the clinic, at least until they know it’s safe enough.”

Lexi’s chest tightened and she felt the baby kick. Shutting down the clinic? Leaving here would mean failing Tony, his relatives and the tribes they’d both sworn to help. She didn’t have the means to start a clinic on her own from scratch.

And for the first time in her life she finally felt like she was where she was meant to be. This was her life.

If she thought for a second they were truly in danger, especially her baby, she’d leave, but there was nothing in Mac’s report that warranted uprooting her life again or robbing the locals of needed medical care. She braced her hands on her disappearing waist.

“Wait a minute. They can’t shut this place down. We’re a necessity to the people of this area. The children need medical access. There have been no reports of poaching or dangerous people around here. A shutdown of the clinic is not warranted. Besides, Ben trained us in using the tranquilizer gun. Sure, it’s meant for dangerous animals bold enough to wander into our midst, but it would work just the same on a human. We’re fine,” Lexi said.

“I’m just letting you know it’s a possibility. And, for the record, poachers are bold and dangerous predators. If you weren’t pregnant when you first moved out here, I would have taken you to see evidence of just how ruthless they are. Your stomach wouldn’t have been able to handle the stench of the rotting elephant carcasses or the sight of their faces gone in the name of ivory and their orphaned calves standing near them. These men are pure evil.”

Lexi’s stomach twisted at the thought of a calf witnessing its mother’s murder. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She’d heard that elephants grieved deeply, too.

“Is this a ploy to scare me and get me to go back to the city because I’m pregnant?”

“This isn’t a joke, Lex. The truth is we’ve all lived with the realities of poaching. That’s why we have KWS and other groups constantly hunting them down and tracking evidence of their activities. We’ve all got homes in remote areas. I’m not saying you can’t stay here. The Mara and the area just south of it is full of tourists and campers. It’s usually safe enough, if you know how to handle the wildlife. But, like I said, the reason you specifically are at a higher level of risk is that this is a clinic and one of the poachers is injured. You have medicine that a wounded criminal might need badly enough to take the risk of attacking you.”

“Honestly,” Jacey said, “I can look out for things when Taj isn’t here. It doesn’t take a man, you know.”

Jacey was ex-army. She was pretty fearless and could kick butt if she had to. Lexi didn’t doubt she could protect them and the clinic. She’d seen the surprising amount of weight Jacey’s petite body could lift.

Mac held up his hands.

“No comment,” he said. “I wouldn’t dare challenge you two. But I will say that you also have a baby to consider. Ben and Hope just want to ensure that anyone working here is safe. Not just because it’s a liability issue, but because they care. Ben figured you’d want to stay, so he’s looking into finding security personnel to be stationed here full-time until KWS locates the escaped poacher.”

Lexi frowned. Full time security? Was she underestimating how dangerous things were?

“Is the situation that serious, Mac?”

“As I said, we’re just being careful. One of the KWS patrols used a thermal imager to sweep the area. They didn’t pick up any suspicious heat signatures in a three-kilometer radius of the clinic, so for now, you can stay put. All we’re saying is keep your radar up.”

Lexi was able to breathe again.

“Okay, then. He’ll find someone to help keep the place secure, for everyone’s peace of mind, and everything will be fine,” she said, looking at both Jacey and Taj, but she really needed to hear the words to reassure herself.

“You’ll know soon if they find someone. Hope told me she’s planning to fly out Friday. I’ll be dropping her off.”

“Then I can get a ride back with you on Friday instead of driving the jeep?” Taj asked. “This news about the poacher makes me want to stay here, but the hospital will be expecting me. Maybe things will have settled by then.”

“Sure, I can fly you out. The rest remains to be seen,” Mac said. “I’m out of here for now. I’d like to make it to Jamba-Walker before dusk. Be on alert.”

Taj folded his arms and Lexi almost missed the subtle nod and silent exchange between him and Mac.

She had to admit, she admired their sense of honor and appreciated their desire to protect. She really did. But she’d looked out for herself her entire life. She didn’t need rescuing now. Her maternal instincts only made her tougher—after all, her baby came first. But there were other children here whose lives and well-being depended on her and this clinic. She couldn’t abandon them. She owed them the same care she’d want for her child. Taj glanced at her and pressed his lips together. He understood. She knew he did.

“Lexi’s right,” he said. “We may be in the middle of nowhere, but we have Masai enkangs in all directions and other tribal villages. There are eyes everywhere. The poacher won’t risk it.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case. I didn’t mean to come down hard on you guys. I’ve just lived here a long time and I’ve seen things I’ll never be able to unsee,” Mac said, looking pointedly at Lexi.