The safari had been a great idea, and all four women thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It seemed to Sam that it was years since she had felt so carefree and relaxed. And she could see by the look on Janet's face that the trip had been a resounding success for her too.
Cassie and Rebecca insisted on emptying the truck themselves, telling Sam and Janet that they were banned from any work on their holiday. So Sam caught up with the news at the SGC while Janet prepared the evening meal. "It's not work," she laughed, when Cassie mock-scolded her. "This is relaxation to me, sweetie."
= = =
"Back to work tomorrow," Rebecca said, as they all sat round the table, replete from a magnificent dinner. "Actually," she admitted. "I'm quite looking forward to it. We're starting the new vaccination program tomorrow, and it'll be really exciting if we can keep on top of it."
"Can I help?" Janet asked. "Seriously, I'd like to. And I'd like to see the clinic anyway, I want to know how you manage to get so much done with comparatively few resources."
"You sure?" Rebecca asked. "It's going to be a long day. Hell, it's going to be a long couple of weeks!"
"Well, let's see if I can help to make them just a bit shorter. If Sam doesn't mind, that is?" and she looked over at her lover.
"You go ahead, hon," Sam told her. "I'd really like to go in with Cass, visit the school, see what she does all day. And I may be able to help fix that troublesome generator." While on their safari, Cassie had told Sam and Janet of the trouble that they had when the temperamental generator played up, and they lost all lighting in the school, which seemed to happen at least once a week.
"That's great," Cassie smiled. "I really want to show you around anyway. The kids'll love you. And the head teacher'll love you even more if you can get that beast to behave.
= = =
By the end of the third day, the first run of the vaccination program at the clinic was running way ahead of schedule, thanks in great part to Janet's expertise with a needle. "It's all that practicing on General O'Neill," she grinned evilly when she recounted their success to Sam that night. "Won't he be glad to know that his butt served such a noble purpose?" They collapsed with laughter.
Sam had also completely stripped and rebuilt the ancient generator by the end of the first day, and it was now running more smoothly than ever before. She had also taught the children the rudiments of baseball in their lunch hour. "Why did I never know you were such a whizz with a baseball bat, Sam?" Cassie asked her.
"Oh I'm a woman of many secrets, Cass," Sam winked mischievously with her. "I have hidden depths you know!"
Cassie laughed. It had been years since she had seen Sam so relaxed and happy, and she rejoiced in it. Janet may not be her mom, but she was pretty close, and she had certainly turned Sam's life around, and Cassie loved her for it.
Sam had been so pleased to see first hand the work that Cassie was doing at the school. Her daughter had grown into a mature, responsible young woman, with a sharp sense of humor and great humanity. She obviously reveled in her work in the small village, and was clearly delighted to be making a real difference. She was equally popular with the children and other teachers, and was clearly a born teacher. Sam was so proud.
= = =
"Simon has asked me to fix his motorbike next," Sam told Janet that evening.
"Who's Simon?" Janet asked.
"Just one of the teachers at the school. D'you mind? He bought up two late 1950 BSA bikes last year, and he's trying to get one decent working bike out of them. He's done really well, actually," Sam was gabbling now. "I think two days' work should do it."
"You just wanna play bikes, don't'cha Sam?" Janet laughed.
Sam nodded cheerfully. "The BSA is a beautiful bike, Jan," she admitted bashfully. "You don't often come across them in a usable condition. It would be fun to tinker."
"You go ahead, sweetie," Janet took her hand, and looked deep into her azure eyes. "Rebecca reckons we've got enough vaccine to last out the week, and she and Cass plan to go to Dar on Saturday for a new batch. So I'll be busy anyway. You play with your toys. Just make sure you're back at a decent hour in the evening. We have things to do!" And she kissed Sam thoroughly, leaving her in no doubt of what she meant.
"Oh I'll make sure of that, Dr Fraiser," Sam gasped at the intensity of the kiss. "No overtime, I promise."
= = =
By Friday evening, the work on the bike was almost complete with only some tweaks on the headlights left to do, and Rebecca and Janet had almost exhausted the supply of vaccine - and themselves. So when Sam took a tired Janet to bed, she was unsurprised when her lover fell to sleep almost immediately. So much for 'things to do' she laughed to herself. "Sorry, Sam," Janet muttered as she drifted off. "Tired."
"Don't be sorry, sweetheart," Sam pulled her into her arms. "We'll make up for it tomorrow. You sleep now."
So they didn't hear the truck as it pulled out at 6am the next day. Cassie insisted on driving to Dar Es Salaam, telling Rebecca that she could drive back. "You're still tired," she told her, "you can take over later."
= = =
The collection of the vaccine was simple and easy, a relatively rare phenomenon in Tanzania, where protocol often fuddled the issue, and 'tomorrow' was always the promise. "My turn now," Rebecca swatted Cassie's hand away from the door of the driver's seat in the truck as they set off back to the village. "You got to play this morning, I'm gonna drive back."
Cassie laughed. "Okay, I give in," she said. "Don't forget, we'll likely need to get gas on the way home."
"There's a gas station about an hour from the village, we've got plenty to last until then," Rebecca told her. "We'll stop there, and then you can call Sam and Janet and tell them when we're nearly home."
So that's what they did. They stopped at the small gas station, both used the bathroom and filled up the truck's monster gas tank. Cassie called Sam's cellphone, "We'll be back in an hour, Sam," she told her. "So get those beers in the chiller!" They were full of energy and chattering loudly to each other; neither of them noticed the jeep that had taken off ahead of them.
When they saw it apparently broken down on the side of the road ten minutes out, they stopped to help. Rebecca hopped down from the truck, "Wanna tow?" she offered. That was when Cassie saw a large man emerge from the jeep and sneak up behind Rebecca, grabbing her by the throat.
Cassie leapt out of the truck, screaming. "Let her alone you bastards!" In her fury, she at least had the presence of mind to press the 'last call' button on her cellphone. So when Sam answered her cell, she heard her daughter screaming in fury at the four men in the jeep. She felt sickened when she realized that the girls had been ambushed.
"Leave her!" one of the men shouted. "We only need the blonde. Come on!" and they tried to force a struggling and screaming Rebecca into the jeep. They didn't count on Cassie's anger and desperation though and, despite her small size, she launched herself at the biggest of the men and tried to drag him off her lover. He pushed her away with ease, and Sam could only listen helplessly as two of the other men set about her daughter, kicking and punching her. It was only when they flung her viciously against the side of the truck, cracking her head against the glass that she slumped, unconscious, to the ground.
"Let's go!" one of them shouted.
"No!" screamed Rebecca. "You can't leave her there in the sun; she'll die in this heat. At least put her in the shade. I'll co-operate if you just move her to the shade."
Reluctantly, one of the gang hauled Cassie roughly by the scruff of the neck and dumped her unceremoniously round the other side of the truck which was, at least, partly shaded. They then roughly bundled Rebecca into the jeep, and the vehicle screeched off at high speed.
= = =
"The bike," Sam said, desperately, to Janet. "We'll take the bike. They were only an hour away. It's the quickest way."
"My bag," Janet said. "In case they're hurt."
Sam nodded, and ran to get the bike out of the shed. "Meet me out front," she commanded.
In less than a minute, Janet was clutching her medical bag and some bottles of water. Sam helped her stow these in the saddlebags on the back of the bike, and - without helmets - they roared off in the direction of Dar Es Salaam, both with their hearts in their mouths, praying that their daughter and her partner would be unharmed.
Janet clung tightly to Sam's slim waist as they shot along the dirt road. The potholes in the country were infamous, so the drive was a difficult one for Sam. Fortunately, she was an expert biker; she also knew how to find the fine line between getting there as fast as possible, and making sure they arrived safely. She knew she would never forgive herself if foolish driving meant they didn't get there. Sam could feel Janet's arms tighten around her, and even through the vibrations caused by the bike and the bad state of the roads, she could feel her shaking. She took one hand off the bike's handlebars and covered one of Janet's own with it, trying to give her lover a confidence and strength she didn't feel herself. She didn't even notice the tears streaming down her own face.
= = =
The light had just started to fade when Sam came across the welcome sight of Rebecca's truck on the side of the road. She couldn't see either Cassie or Rebecca as she screeched to a halt. "She's here," she heard Janet shout, and they both ran to her on the far side of the truck. Janet gasped when she saw the dried blood on the unconscious woman's face; she immediately felt for a pulse, and was relieved to find one, albeit weak. "She's alive!" she told Sam. "Pass me my bag."
Janet quickly established that Cassie was only badly concussed, with no broken bones, while Sam searched the area for any sign of Rebecca. Sam could see from the tracks on the ground that the other vehicle involved - doubtless containing the men she heard shouting on her cellphone - had gone back in the other direction. However, she knew that the dust road would not yield good enough tracks to follow. She returned to Janet and Cassie.
Cassie was slowly coming round. Unfocused eyes looked up at Sam and Janet. "Sam?" her voice was so weak. "They've taken her. They've taken Rebecca."
Sam knelt down, and cupped her daughter's face gently. "I know, sweetie. We'll find her. We'll get her back. I promise you." She looked over at an anguished Janet, and wondered how she was going to keep her promise.