One Bridge, One Angry Colonel, and a Gash

Disclaimer: Not mine...never will be, but I wish I owned DJE.

Notes: Sorry for any mistakes...those are all mine. Another chapter closer to posting my brand new story for you all! In the meantime...enjoy another one of my oldies.


ON A BRIDGE SOMEWHERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA

2250 HOURS

"Hey Harm, what time do you think we'll get to the hotel?"

"I don't know, fifteen minutes maybe. Why? Are you in a hurry?" Mac eyed him, playfully rolling her eyes.

"No, I just want to get my butt out of this car and in bed. This case has drained the last of my energy."

"Well Marine, suck it up for a few more minutes." They drove peacefully for minutes until Mac realized that the car behind them had his lights off and was following Harm's every move. She kept an eye on him not mentioning anything to Harm until he got too close.

"Harm...we have a car following us." She was frightened but did not show it. She had her Marine composure in full mode. Harm glanced through the rear-view mirror and concurred with Mac's inference. The driver of the blue sedan must have noticed that his movements had been detected. He suddenly switched on his high beams and reacted quickly, not allowing Harm any time to think. He ferociously rammed the back of Harm's SUV. Harm stepped on the gas trying to put some distance between his rammer and him, but he did so to no avail. Violently Harm swerved left to right as his attacker pushed his car around the bridge.

"Mac, get the police on your cell now!" His voice strong and full of command, but his body was at ease...just like they taught him in flight school. Mac looked to him with wide eyes, the fear now visible.

"Harm...I can't get a signal, it must be the bridge. What do we do?" Harm, never taking his eyes off the road or the mirror, answered in a deep voice. "I don't know Mac-I don't know..."He wanted to finish but his throat became dry and he was unable to speak. Mac understood the look he gave her just then.

"Harm..." He interrupted her before she could finish. "Don't Mac. Don't say it...we're going to be ok. I promise."

Remembering a similar conversation Mac added, "Don't make a promise you can't keep."

Harm realized that he hadn't yet fulfilled his earlier promise to her and just answered a sweet "Trust me."

The sedan rammed the SUV one last time, the impact hitting them at an angle that sent the tan sports utility vehicle spinning wildly. Harm had lost all control of the car, the wheel locked and not cooperating with his command to stop spinning. He finally gave up the struggle and intertwined his fingers with Mac's. "I will get us through this!" Mac's eyes held his until the SUV broke through the rails and flew into the river below.

The SUV went to the bottom of the river taking its occupants with it. Water slowly filled the car. Harm was unconscious, but Mac was awake. Dazed…but conscious. She unbuckled her seat belt and moved toward the back of the SUV to break the window. She knew that she had to adjust the pressure or else she would become unconscious as well. She accomplished her task and moved back to the front of the car. She was below water now. Soon her lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen. She opened her door with all of her strength and kicked to the surface to fill her lungs with fresh air. She surfaced and gasped as she thankfully inhaled fresh oxygen. She knew she had a short time to get Harm out so she took in a deep breath and swam toward the submerged vehicle. She swam to Harm's side, but the door was jammed. She struggled with it until the strength she had used had spent her supply of oxygen and was forced to once again resurface.

She quickly kicked to the surface in order to get some air. She returned to Harm and swam around to check the doors and found all of them locked. Her door had closed and would not open. She picked up a rock and broke Harm's window. She did so with extreme care in order to avoid further injuring Harm. She unbuckled him and pulled him out of the car and kicked to the surface with Harm in her arms.

ADMIRAL CHEGWIDDEN'S OFFICE

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

SAMETIME

"Coats!" P.O. Coats practically ran to the Admiral's office to assist him.

"Yes, Sir?"

He looked irritated and worried. "Have you heard from the Commander and the Colonel?"

"No, Sir." He really looked worried now. He was thinking about possible reasons why they hadn't called to update him on their case. That was an hour ago now and they hadn't picked up the phone... something was wrong, especially since Mac was always on top of things with her internal timing. He knew something was wrong, that had to be the reason why they hadn't called.

"Coats get me the number to their BOQ." She caught the tone in his voice and she herself became aware of the danger that his two senior officers could be in.

The Admiral called the BOQ to ask for his Chief of Staff and his Commander. He got nowhere. Nobody had seen them since they checked in. He had to find out where they were.

UNDER THE BRIDGE

SOUTH CAROLINA

Mac reached the surface and gasped for air. She placed Harm in her left arm and used her right to check his pulse. He was alive, but still unconscious. He wasn't breathing. She struggled to stay up due to Harm's limp body. She examined him for further damage and found a nasty gash above his right brow. Spotting a place under the bridge, Mac kicked in that direction. She pulled herself toward the dirt and dragged Harm with her.

"Come on sailor, stay with me. Don't you dare give up."

She unbuttoned his coat and removed it and was quick to give him air. She tried it three times until she heard him gasp for air. He didn't say anything; he just stared at her and closed his eyes again. She placed her ear next to his nose and was relieved to feel him exhale. She placed herself near him to provide each other with body heat. She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed one leg on top of his. She stayed awake until exhaustion caught up to her.

JAG HEADQUARTERS

ADMIRAL CHEGWIDDEN'S OFFICE

"Sir, you have a call from Clayton Webb." Coats informed the Admiral.

"Thank you Coats, dismissed."

"Aye, Aye, Sir."

AJ quickly answered his phone with anxious hope that Webb could help locate his two officers.

"Webb, tell me you know where they are."

"No AJ, not yet, but we will find them, just give us time."

"Damn it Webb, time is the enemy right now. They could be dying right this second."

"Look, AJ, I will find them, it's a promise."

"Very well, but I need you to keep me updated every so often, understood?"

"AJ I'm not in your chain of command..."

"Understood!"

"Yes, AJ."

AJ angrily hung up the phone and sat on his chair, something wasn't right; he knew they were in trouble.

UNDER THE BRIDGE IN SOUTH CAROLINA

0631 HOURS

Mac was still asleep when she felt Harm stir beside her. She looked up and reached to feel his forehead...he was running a fever. Probably the nasty gash's doing if it was infected.

"Harm? Harm can you hear me?" She asked him in a soothing voice. He mumbled as he tried to open his eyes which felt as if they were attached to weights.

"M-Mac? Where am I? Is that you? Are you okay?"

"Whoa sailor, ease up a little. Too many questions at once. Do you remember what happened?"

"No...not really, just you and...and water."

"That nasty gash is catching up to you, huh?"

"What?"

"We went into the river. Sound familiar?" She smiled at him hoping to get him to remember. Which of course was no use.

"W-What for a swim? In this weather?" His puzzled look really began to frighten Mac.

"HA-HA, no sailor, a car pushed us in."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember now."

"Do you really?" She asked concerned for his health and current state of mind. Harm just closed his eyes and leaned back down.

"No...I remember telling you to trust me that we'd be ok. And then I blacked out."

"Huh, you don't remember anything before that?"

"No-I guess it wasn't important to me."

"Ah, and are you saying that I am?" Harm looked at her and gave her his best flyboy grin that inevitably made her stomach flip flop and her knees wobble. He moved closer wrapping his arms around her, pulling her toward him. He placed her between his long legs and held onto her. Mac gave into his warmth and leaned back against his chest.

"Harm we need to get help. I think your cut is infected and I can't tell how deep it is."

"Mmmm...I'm tired, how `bout we rest for a while." He tightened his hold on her and leaned back against the wall. They slept in their positions until Mac's internal clock told her that it was time to go find help.

"Harm...Harm...we have to go find help." She waited for his response. Not getting one from him, she turned in his embrace and noticed that he was too still.

"Harm! Harm! Wake up; we have to go find help." She shook him, caressed his cheek, took hold of his hand, but did not succeed in waking him.

"Hold on sailor." She cautiously kissed him and left for help. She didn't know what had possessed her to do that, but it felt right.

She wandered for one hour, twenty six minutes, and thirty five seconds. She finally saw a car approaching her and stopped it. A young man in Navy dress came forth from the car.

"Ma'am, do you need help?"

"Yes Lieutenant. I'm Colonel Sarah Mackenzie with the JAG Corps. My partner's unconscious under the bridge."

The man stood at attention and waited for Mac to put him at ease. "At ease Lieutenant. Can you help us?"

"Yes, ma'am." He drove her to the end of the bridge and phoned an ambulance.

Minutes later Mac and the naval officer got Harm up to the car and waited for the ambulance to arrive.

"Who is he ma'am?" Asked the paramedic.

"Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr., JAG Corps."

"Ma'am, best bet would be St. Mary's Hospital. It isn't a military hospital, but it will have to do."

Mac looked worriedly at Harm and nodded her head. She held onto his hand until they loaded him in the ambulance.

ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL

Once they arrived to the hospital, Harm was rushed to get an MRI. The doctors were anxious to find out what was wrong. A few minutes later a doctor emerged from the room. "Ma'am are you his wife?"

"No, I'm his partner."

"Is he married?"

"No. And his family lives in San Diego."

"Well, since you are listed as his next of kin I'll tell you the situation. The Commander seems to have a severe concussion. The reason why he is unconscious is because he is experiencing inter cranial bleeding. Apparently the little gash above his brow isn't so little. We're going to have to operate right now, or else the bleeding worsens and his chance for survival decreases drastically."

All of the news was too much to handle for Mac. She took a few seconds to register what the doctor had just told her. If she would have known...damn...she can't lose him now. Not when there's so much to say, to do, to feel.

"I need you to have Bethesda standing by ma'am. If his condition worsens we might need his doctor to take him."

"Alright, I will do that." Mac had said this with an empty tone in her voice.

"If you want to go ahead and contact the family you may but don't give them the specifics. We don't want to worry anybody. We'll do everything we can."

1231 HOURS

Everything was normal until the monitors started to go crazy. Doctors were rushing into the room to figure out the problem.

"We're losing him doctor!"

"His heart rate is falling rapidly."

"He's flat-lining doctor!"

"Code Blue! Code Blue!"

Just outside in the waiting area Mac heard the commotion. Those walls were so thin, she could hear everything. The sounds pierced her heart. She rushed toward the room and a doctor held her back.

"What's wrong? How bad is he, how bad is he!"

"Ma'am you can't go in there."

"How bad is he? Is he going to make it!"

"Get her out of here, Doc!"

"No! You have to save him, please!"

TBC...