Disclaimer: JAG and its main characters belong to the genius who is DPB and to CBS. I don't make any profit from writing any of these fics, but simply get the exercise my overactive imagination every now and then. Please don't sue me, I'm a student with no money:0)
Warning: I'm telling you now; if you're a Brumby lover, this story probably isn't for you…
This is installment 4 in the shattered promises series. Anyone who hasn't read the first three can either check the shipperhm list or e-mail me (see below) and I'll send it right to you. This sequence of the SP parts is;
Things Fall Apart.
Picking Up The Pieces.
(a & b.) Starting Over.
Getting It Right.
Getting To Know You.
Happy Endings.
Sleepless Nights.
See You In My Dreams.
Scattered Photographs.
Dreams Really Do Come True.
Celebrations.
Turning Full Circle.
Classification: H/M pairing. A bit of H/M angst, too. Also, if you are a fan of Mic Brumby, I'd suggest you don't read this, as I'm Brumby-bashing, big-time in this one! Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!
Summary: Set after the events of SP 3b: Starting Over, where Cathy is trying to get her life back together and forge a future career for herself. This part deals with Cathy finding a place for herself in Mac and Mic's life, as they try to become a family.
Spoilers: None. This isn't set at any particular point in the JAG timeline and there are no specific references to any episodes.
Feedback, as always, is very much appreciated. Please press that review button!
Shattered Promises 4 – Getting It Right
Part 1
As Catriona walked down the steps outside the Language Center, she was surprised by the SUV that was waiting in the driveway.
"Harm? What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, climbing in next to him, "I thought that Mac was going to pick me up."
"Sorry, she got called away on urgent wedding business, so I'm afraid that you'll have to make do with me."
Cathy gave Harm a big hug, to show that she certainly didn't consider him second choice.
"So, how did the first day go?" he asked her, pulling away and entering into the busy rush hour traffic.
"It was great, " Cathy answered him enthusiastically, "it's just so…me. I feel like I fit right in."
This had been Catriona's first day at the Washington Language Center, where the young elite had access to the best language training systems in the world. The Center groomed its promising young students for jobs working in the country's government. With help from Clayton Webb, Harm and Mac had managed to get Cathy an opportunity to sit the numerous entrance exams, all of which she had passed, with flying colors.
"Thank you for getting me that chance, Harm," she told him, and then added, fervently, "I promise, I'll do you proud."
"Sweetheart, you already do," Harm told her, his eyes sparkling, "just don't become another Clayton Webb!"
Catriona just laughed and assured him, "Don't worry, I won't. I was actually thinking of entering the military, eventually."
Harm just looked over at her, beaming, with a proud twinkle in his eye.
After a moment or two, he joked, "You're not thinking of becoming a jarhead, are you?"
Cathy laughed, answering, "Hey! Your best friend is a jarhead! If you keep that up, I might just consider it!"
OOOO
Across town, Mac sat in the Wedding Co-coordinators office. For the umpteenth time since she and Mic had gotten there, her attention focused out of the large window to her left. She didn't want to be here, she wanted to be across town, with Harm, picking Cathy up from her first day at the Language Center. Lord knows she had been telling Mic that ever since they had gotten Catriona's entrance exam results from the examining board. Cathy had been in the top ten of the examining session and she and Harm had been so proud of her. Mic, however, had been a little less enthusiastic, but Mac had made it absolutely clear that he wasn't to make any plans for Cathy's first day at the center. Mac wanted to be free after work to pick Catriona up and take her out for a big celebratory dinner. However, Mic had quickly put the blocks on that idea when he had announced that morning that he had arranged a meeting with the Wedding Coordinator, that evening, to discuss the flower arrangements.
"But Mic," Mac had told him, trying to keep her anger in check, "I've been telling you for the past three weeks that I've already made plans with Cathy, to celebrate her big day."
"I know luv," he had told her insensitively, "but Fiona said that this would be the only day that she'll be free for the next couple of weeks."
As he went to exit the kitchen, he added, "Besides, this whole celebration business can wait, can't it? You could do that tomorrow night."
Mac clenched her teeth as she watched Catriona's head drop in disappointment, as they sat at the breakfast table. Reaching over to cup her cheek, Mac raised Cathy's head and told her, "Don't worry sweetheart, I'll get Mic to change it."
"And if he can't?" Cathy asked her.
"Then, we'll just cancel it." Mac told her.
Catriona just smiled weakly and half-heartedly rose from the table. Grabbing her bag, she headed from the door, telling Mac, quietly,
"Never mind, it's not that important, it doesn't matter. I'll see you when you get home, later."
Mac was left seething.
OOOO
Mac had pursued the conversation with Mic, all day and he had dismissed at every turn.
Finally, Mac had no choice but to go to Harm and ask him to pick Catriona up and take her out to dinner. He had later called to tell her their plans and she had told him that she and Mic would join them as soon as she could
Now, she sat in the stifling office as Fiona the wedding coordinator and Mic discussed what flowers would be in the church.
"Which ones would you prefer, luv?" Mic had asked, turning to her. Somehow, she didn't think that she would get much of a say in this, no matter what she said.
Mac looked at the three choices before her, which Mic had narrowed it to. Roses, lilies and carnations. She definitely didn't want roses at the wedding, she felt as if they were something special that existed between herself and Harm. And the carnations were pretty enough, but Mac didn't consider them to be a wedding-type flower, personally. So the lilies it was, then. However, before she could voice her opinion to Fiona, Mic interrupted.
" I definitely think that we should go with the carnations, don't you think, luv? My Mum had carnations at her own wedding."
Mac sat back in her seat and remained quiet. In the back of her mind, she suppressed the urge to groan.
"This is going to be a long night," she told herself.
OOOO
Mac had been right; it had been a long night, with little being accomplished. Although she had compromised on the subject of the flowers, there were other matters that would not compromise on.
And now, Mic was trying to convince her to come back to the apartment, so that they could 'enjoy some time alone together.'
Here, Mac absolutely drew the line, telling Mic, "No way, because of your appointment, I've already missed out on celebrating one of the most important days in Cathy's life. We are going straight to McMurphy's. The whole of JAG are going to be there. I just hope that we're not too late."
Mic just sighed, obviously annoyed, while Mac started up the car.
OOOO
McMurphy's was abuzz with JAG officers, including some whom Cathy had never even met. The Admiral stood up and raised a glass, toasting to Cathy's future as a prospective patron of the US government. Cathy smiled appreciatively, thanking the Admiral for his kind words and wishes.
At that moment, the crowd began to chant, "Speech, speech, speech!" Catriona laughed good naturedly as she went to decline. However, she found that she was not really given much of a choice, as unknown hands behind her lifted her to a standing position on her chair, as the crowd in the bar continued to chant, "Speech, speech, speech, speech!" Finally, giving in, she conceded, "alright, alright!"
At this, the crowd silenced and Cathy looked over to Harm, shooting him a 'help me!' look.
He immediately jumped to her defense, telling the crowd, "Actually, Catriona was telling me a couple of considerations she had for her future career, just this afternoon."
Just then, someone in the crowd spoke up.
"She isn't going to become an agent, is she?" They cracked.
This drew a big laugh from all of those present.
"Oi! I resemble that remark," joked Clayton Webb, from his place over by the bar.
Once the laughter had died down, Catriona resumed, "Actually, I was considering a career in the military. I'm sure that with all the wonderful examples here, I could really do my country proud."
The crowd in the bar broke into deafening applause. After a while, the Admiral quietened everyone down, as if he had something important to say.
"Hang on, hang on just a minute." He paused a second, then joked,
"You're not going to become an jarhead, are you?"
This mirrored, exactly, the comment that Harm had made earlier that day. The bar broke into laughter once more and the Admiral turned to Victor Galindez, who was standing next to him and added, "No offense meant, Gunny."
"None taken, Sir," Gunny assured him.
Trying hard to stop laughing, Catriona answered the Admiral; "I'm not quite sure what I want to do just yet," teasing him with her ambiguity.
At this, The Admiral turned back to Gunny and commented, "Heaven help you, if she decides to join up with the Marine Corps!"
"Hey!" Catriona laughed. Harm spoke up on her behalf as the laughter at the Admiral's comment dissipated.
"Cathy would be an asset to the Marine Corps, let me tell you." He paused, then added,
"Lord knows, she can run away from danger like a bat out of hell!"
At this, Cathy gave Harm a killer stare that she could only have mastered from Mac and Harm quickly gave her hand a squeeze, to let her know that he was only joking.
"You weren't teasing me when you were stumbling like a girl after me, over the terrain in Nigeria!" She exclaimed, loudly, so that everyone heard.
At this, Harm quickly shut his mouth, as the Admiral added, "Oh yeah, Rabb! You'd better be quiet now! She told me all about this one!"
Cathy started laughing again, as the ruckus started up once more. Over the jeering that was being shouted in Harm's direction, Cathy caught sight of Mac, watching her in amused, amazed silence. Cathy just grinned back at her.
"She sure knows how to hold her own amongst a bunch of rowdy sailors," Mac noted, in awe, "That girl is so smart!"
OOOO
Cathy let herself into the apartment with her key, shouting to see if Mac was home yet. Mac quickly appeared from the kitchen, where she was making dinner and engulfed Catriona in a big hug.
"How did it go today?" she asked, "I still can't believe you've been there only two weeks and they've already got you translating classified material."
"I wouldn't say it was exactly classified material," Cathy told her, "but they are official government documents."
Mic just watched from the corner by the bedroom. After a couple of minutes, Catriona noted the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen.
"It's lasagna," Mic told her, "It was an old family recipe that my Mother gave to me."
"It smells wonderful," Cathy replied, "but I'm afraid that I'm not really hungry. I went out with a couple of friends for lunch. I'm actually feeling quite tired; it's been a long day. I think I'll just get some work done, before I turn in for the night."
She gave Mac a long hug, then started towards the bedroom, only to encounter Mic.
After hesitating for a second, she gave him a half-hearted hug, still managing to keep him at arm's length.
" 'Night Mac, 'night Mic," she told them, before disappearing into the bedroom. Mic stood sullenly in the corner for a minute, and then went through to the kitchen, to check the dinner in the oven.
"She doesn't like me," he told Mac.
"She does too, Mic, she just needs some more time to get to know you."
"I've been around for months now, she still doesn't like me anymore now than she did the first day she met me."
"It's going to take time, Mic. She's not too big on trust. Maybe if you didn't pull stunts like you did the other week," she pointed out to him.
He just scowled at her, while she continued, "and her distrust is perfectly understandable, when you consider…"
Mac broke off quickly and Mic finished for her, "…When you consider what she's been through?" Mac stayed silent, looking away from him.
"You keep telling me that, but you won't discuss with me what it was that happened to her before she came to live in the US. Yes, I agree that losing her parents is one hell of a blow for a kid her age, but it seems that there is something more, something that she can't get past. What is it that I'm missing here? Why won't you talk to me about this?"
At this, Mac simply sat down at the table and started picking at her meal, which Mic had put out on the table.
"What are you not telling me, luv?" Mic persisted, placing his hand on her shoulder for emphasis.
Mac involuntarily flinched, but told Mic, "I don't think I have the right to tell you. I think that it's Cathy's decision to, whenever she feels ready."
With that, the two of them quietly ate the rest of their dinner and went to bed, Mac in the bedroom with Cathy, Mic in his usual place on the couch.
He groaned in frustration as he put his head down on the pillow and dropped off to sleep.
OOOO
One afternoon, Mac and Mic were in the living room, when Catriona arrived home after going up to Arlington with Harm. She quietly let herself into the apartment as Mac and Mic continued to argue.
"Mic, we're supposed to talk about these things with one another, before we just go ahead and book them!"
"Sarah, luv. It's just a guest list. Fiona asked for a general list, it's nothing carved in stone, yet."
Mac grasped a copy of the guest list that Fiona had just faxed to her.
"Good," Mac told him, " because you're going to call her back and tell her to put Harm on the invitation list."
"Awww… c'mon luv," Mic went to protest.
"No way, Mic! No way! Harm is a colleague and a friend of mine. There is no way he is getting left out…"
"But Sarah," Mic insisted, "You know that I can't stand the guy…and he doesn't even like me."
"He's one of my closest friends, Mic!" Mac told him, then threatened, "you're already in my bad books for not telling me that you'd sent off a guest list. I had to hear it from the wedding coordinator! You're my fiancé, you're supposed to tell me these things..."
Mac went to walk away, when Mic spoke up.
"What, like you tell me about Cathy?"
Mac just stopped and turned around to look at Mic. She was just about to tell him that it wasn't fair to talk about someone who was not there to defend herself, when Cathy stepped forward from her place in the hallway.
"What about Cathy, Mic?"
This startled Mic and he spun around to look at her, along with Mac, who stood, speechless.
"What did you want to know, Mic? I'll tell you anything, all you had to do was ask. So, what is it, my family? Well, lets see…my dad was an Admiral and a former Navy Seal, my mother was a Navy Lieutenant. I had eight Uncles and Aunts on my Dad's side, most of them in the Navy as well. I had ten cousins too, but all of my family died in a hurricane that hit Florida, two years ago. Afterwards, I went to live with my mother's alcoholic brother, who ended up putting me in a coma. What else did you want to know?"
"How did you get to know Sarah and all of the people at JAG?" Mic asked quietly.
"I met Harm and Mac when they were on a case in Nigeria. In fact, I was their case. When I was two years old, I was abducted from my family and the kidnappers extorted money from my parents, to 'keep me safe.' Over the years, I was moved all over the place, until the kidnappers were caught in Cameroon. Harm and Mac brought me home to my parents, to my family. Then, of course…"
"They died," Mic finished off for her.
"Yeah, now the only blood relative I have left is serving a life sentence in prison for trying to kill me. My family at JAG are all that I've got left," Catriona summarized.
"You've got a family right here," Mac told her, "Mic and I will always be here for you."
At this, she looked over to Mic, who simply remained silent, looking at the floor.
"No, I've got nothing, from the looks of it," Cathy threw back at them, "Well, I'm just going to get a shower, then I'm going out with some of my friends from the center."
With that, she walked into the bedroom and closed the door after her. Mac shot Mic a dirty look, and then went into the kitchen. Mic just gave an exasperated groan and sat on the couch to watch T.V.
OOOO
The next morning, Cathy sat down at the table, groaning as Mic turned on the light.
As she shut her eyes and lay her head down on the table, Mac told him," Mic, would you please switch the light off. Cathy… isn't feeling too well this morning." She was careful how she phrased it.
Mic turned off the light and joined them at the table, making it sway a little. Catriona groaned some more as Mic gave an amused chuckle,
"Oh, I think someone partied a little too hard last night! What time was it that you got in lat night?"
Cathy just lifted her head off the table and gave him a look of absolute detest, then preceded to shoot daggers at him with her eyes. If only she wasn't feeling so bad… She actually managed to figure out five ways to quickly kill a full-grown man with just a spoon, while she was trying to control her nausea.
"I am not hung over," she told Mic, insistently, "I probably just ate something that didn't agree with me."
Mac rubbed her back comfortingly, shooting Mic a look that told him to keep his trap shut. Mic, however, remained unconvinced.
"Maybe, you're coming down with something," Mac suggested, feeling Cathy's forehead.
OOOO
The next day, Mic noted that Cathy was not at breakfast.
"So, where is the little party animal?" he asked Mac.
"In bed," she told him, "She went to the doctor yesterday. Gastric flu."
"Uh-huh. Yeah, right. Trust me luv, that has nothing to do with the flu and everything to do with the sauce..."
After telling him that, "no Cathy does not drink", Mac simply ignored him, every time he brought the subject up.
However, over the next two weeks, she found it hard to do so, as he pointed out every time when Cathy came in after seven or when she slept in late on the weekends. Mac had tried to tell him that Cathy was just working hard, or deserved to sleep in on the weekends, but he just would not take that for an answer. He always insisted that Cathy must have been drinking, partying and just generally getting up to no good.
Mac was so sick of hearing it, that, one day, while Mic was going on that Cathy must be on drugs, when she finally yelled at him,
"Mic, what the hell are you doing?"
"What do you mean?" he responded.
"Morning, noon and night. You just won't leave her alone! It's like you're constantly trying to put her down. What is it, jealousy?"
"No," Mic insisted, "I just don't understand why your life revolves around her. She's not your kid, it's not like she's even family…"
At this Mac swiftly interrupted him.
"No Mic, she is my family. She is a member of the family, our family. Why do you have such a problem with this? I thought that you wanted a family."
"I do want a family, but I was thinking about our own family, " he told her.
"We will have our own family… in time," Mac added, "but Cathy is going to be a part of it. She is a part of our family now."
Mic simply stormed out of the apartment, leaving Mac standing in the living room.
OOOO
The next morning, Cathy padded through into the kitchen. She didn't have to be in the Center until later that afternoon, so Mac had already left, while Cathy prepared for the important conference, where she would serve as an interpreter. As she entered the kitchen to get some breakfast she did not see Brumby standing behind the door as she was dictating into her cassette player. She let out a shocked cry as Mic seized her by the throat and pinned her up against the wall, her cassette player clattering to the floor, out of sight.
As Mic spoke, Catriona could smell the stench of booze on his breath.
"You listen to me! I am not going to let anything stand between Sarah and I, least of all a little bch like you! Your Uncle had the right idea to keep you in line."
Cathy's legs kicked helplessly in the air as she gagged, Mic's fingers digging hard into her throat and neck.
"But I won't make the mistake of not finishing the job properly," he threatened her, "Sarah and I will be together and I'm not going to let you stand in the way of that."
With that, he released her and she collapsed to the floor, sobbing. Once she heard the front door slam, she crawled to the bathroom, too nauseous and shaky to get to her feet.
She slammed the door with her foot, leaning over and being sick into the toilet bowl. When she was done, she stood, flushing the toilet, then staggered to the phone to call Clayton Webb. After she had explained that she couldn't make it to the meeting, as she had fallen sick, she hung up and staggered into the bedroom, crashing out on the bed.
OOOO
In her office, Mac was discussing a case with Harm. She couldn't help but feel distracted by a curious gnawing in her stomach, when, suddenly, her phone rang.
"Oh, hi Clay. Really? She sounded really sick? No, I didn't see her this morning, she was still asleep when I left. No, I'll talk to her once I get home, she'll probably be sleeping it off, right now. Thanks Clay."
"What's up?" Harm asked her.
"I don't know exactly, but Clay said that Cathy had to cancel this morning. He said that she sounded really sick. Harm, would you mind if I went to go ask the Admiral if I can take off early? I think I should get home and make sure that Catriona is alright."
"Not at all," Harm told her, " I can manage on my own. You go and make sure that Cathy is all right. Give me a call, once you know, won't you?"
Mac nodded, then left to go to the Admiral's office.
OOOO
Later, Mac quietly let herself into the apartment and stuck her head in the bedroom door, to see that Cathy was crashed out on the bed, still fully clothed. Worriedly, Mac felt Cathy's head, to find that the girl was running a temperature. However, what worried Mac more was the bruising that she noticed on Cathy's neck. She reached out to brush Cathy's hair back and get a better look, but the girl flinched and emitted a small whimper in her sleep, shrinking away from Mac's touch.
"It's okay sweetie, it's just me. I'm right here," Mac told her and Cathy relaxed once more. Mac went back to the living room, just in time to see Mic come through the front door.
"I think we should cancel our dinner reservations, Mic. Cathy's in bed, she's not well."
"She seemed well enough to me this morning," Mic told her, "She just looked like she had done too much partying last night."
"Mic," Mac insisted, " Cathy wasn't out late last night. She had a conference to go to this afternoon."
"Which, I hear, she didn't turn up at," Mic pointed out.
"She called Webb to cancel it because she wasn't feeling well," Mac corrected him, "Even Clay said that she sounded awful. Mic, I'm worried that this might be something serious, like meningitis or something. I saw these really bad looking bruises on her neck. It's might be some sort of a rash…"
"They're hickeys," Mic responded, "I saw them this morning."
"They don't look like hickeys to me," Mac interjected.
"Luv," Mic insisted, "I know a hickey when I see one and those are definitely hickeys."
Mac simply retreated into the kitchen, to put some dinner in the microwave for Cathy.
Mic opened up his briefcase on the coffee table and called through to Mac,
"Luv, will you come through here for second?"
Mac went through to see Mic hunched over the table.
"Mic, what are you looking at?" It took her a second to realize what he was looking at. It was a brochure for St. Catherine's, a private boarding college in England.
"Luv, I hate to bring this up, but I think that Cathy might be going off the rails…"
"No Mic…" Mac interrupted.
"Just let me explain," Mic cut her off, "it's a boarding college with excellent facilities. It keeps the kids supervised 24 hours a day. It'll cater to her exactly. I think that this is going to be the best thing for her, really beneficial."
"No Mic, I could never send her away. I've already done that before and she ended up in hospital, because of it," Mac insisted, "I would never send her away again. I promised her."
She turned around on her heel and marched back to the kitchen, arguing with Mic who followed her, but left the brochure out on the table.
A few minutes later, Cathy came out of her bedroom to fill the empty cup that was in her hand. However, she hesitated to go into the kitchen, hearing Mac and Mic having a private talk, or rather, argument. She instead she went to sit on the couch but glancing over, her eye caught sight of the open pamphlet on the table next to her.
Mac and Mic were alerted to Catriona's presence when they heard the smash of the cup, having hit the living room floor.
"Cathy, sweetheart? Are you okay?" Mac shouted through to her, a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she did not get an answer, she and Mic walked out to see her, standing frozen, looking at the brochure on the table.
"Cathy…" Mac started. Cathy spun around, her eyes full of tears.
"You promised…" her voice stammered, barely a whisper.
"Now, luv," Mic told her, "We're just thinking of you…"
"YOU," Cathy screamed at Mic, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Mic took a step back and Mac looked over at Cathy, having spent the last few moments staring at Mic, incredulously.
"WE!" she thought to herself.
"Cathy," she tried to reason, "I would never…" But Cathy did not let her finish. Backing up towards the bedroom, she emphatically shook her head.
"No, no, no! You promised me you'd never leave me. Now you want to send me away?"
"No!" Mac insisted, but Cathy fled into the bedroom, slamming and locking the door behind her.
"Cathy," Mac pleaded at the door, "please open the door. Just talk to me. Let me explain."
Cathy simply ignored her, pulling a duffle bag out of the closet and sitting it on the bed, starting to throw some clothes in it. Outside, Mic strode forward, rapping on the door.
"Cathy!" he called out in an authoritative voice, "Open the door now. Stop being so childish!"
On the other side of the door, Cathy saw red at this statement and grabbed her snow globe; the first thing within reach. She hurled it hard at the door, imagining Mic Brumby in its place.
It smashed with a satisfying 'thud' and she heard Mic exclaim, "Bloody hell!"
Calmly, she finished packing her bag. On the other side of the door, Mac bent down and put her fingers in the puddle of water and plastic snowflakes that had formed underneath it.
"Oh god, no!" she told Mic, "I gave this to her to replace the one her Mom gave to her, for her first day home. Her uncle smashed that one when she was living with him." She stayed silent for a moment, then came to her senses.
"Mic, you've got to get that door open, now! Break it down, if you have to!"
But by the time that Mic managed to get the door open, all that remained was an empty room, the bedroom window open to the fire escape outside. Cathy was long gone.
OOOO
Harm was cooking in his apartment, when his doorbell rang. He pressed the intercom to find that Cathy was outside the front of his building.
"Harm! It's me, please can you let me in. I need your help!"
Harm noted that she sounded very upset and out of breath. As he buzzed her in, he thought to himself, "What on earth is she doing here at this time of night?"
Shortly, there was a knock on his door and as he opened it, Cathy almost collapsed into his arms, soaked to the skin and having great difficulty catching her breath, which was very labored and distressed.
"Harm, please…help me…I can't breath."
Harm's alarm showed in his voice as he held Cathy steady and asked her,
"Sweetie, what's wrong, what's happened?"
"They're…sending me…away…Harm, I can't breath…I can't…" Cathy managed to get out in between gasps, and then fell into Harm's arms. He gently lowered her to the floor as he stroked her hair, trying to calm her.
"I can't breath," Cathy continued to sob, as Harm tried to sooth her, "I can't breath!"
Harm just cradled her in his lap and continued to stroke her hair, as he calmed her, eventually, into an exhausted sleep.
OOOO
Half an hour later, Mac checked off the final name on the list of Cathy's friends from the Language Center. Her mind whirling, she set down the phone and put her head in her hands.
Just then, a pain spread through her head and she suddenly heard the voice of Cathy, as clearly as if the girl had been in the same room;
"I can't breath…""What was that?" Mac thought to herself, "Where is she? If something has happened to her, I'll never forgive myself!"
She had sent a begrudging Mic out in the car, to look for Cathy, half an hour earlier, but there was still no word.
The phone suddenly rang and Mac snatched it up.
"Hello?"
"Still no sign of her, luv," Mic reported.
"Well, keep on looking, Mic."
"But, luv," Mic went to protest, but Mac silenced him, repeating her original order. She hung up the phone and got up to start pacing the floor, once more.
Just then, as Mac contemplated giving Harm a call, the phone rang, once more. In a repeat of history, Mac felt her stomach drop. She picked the phone up, to find Harm on the other end.
"Mac," he told her, "It's alright, I've got Cathy, she showed up at my place…"
"Harm, why on earth didn't you call me sooner? I've been going out of my mind!"
"Mac, Cathy literally collapsed in my apartment, in a terrible state. She had a full blown panic attack right here on the floor!"
"Is she okay?" Mac asked him, concerned.
"Yeah, I finally managed to get her to calm down. She's asleep in the bedroom right now."
"I'll come over and get her," Mac started.
"No, no, Mac, I think you should just leave her for the night. But I think we're really going to need to talk about all of this in the morning. Will you meet me early at the office, tomorrow?"
"Okay," Mac agreed, then hung up to call Mic and tell him that he could come home now.
OOOO
The next morning, Mac walked into the bullpen, bright and early, to see Harm waiting for her. However, half of the bullpen was already there, including the Roberts and the Admiral, so Harm suggested,
"Why don't we take this to my office, counselor?"
Mac nodded in agreement and followed him through his office door.
OOOO
As Cathy opened the apartment door, she breathed a sigh of relief, when she saw that both briefcases were gone from the hallway.
"Good," she thought to herself," they're both gone."
She made her way to the bedroom and picked up her book bag, then made her way to the kitchen, to see if Mac had left a note for her. She picked up the note propped up on the counter top, putting it straight into her bag. She didn't think that she could deal with this right now. As she went to leave, something underneath the kitchen table caught her eye.
OOOO
By the time Cathy reached JAG headquarters, she saw that Mac was involved in a heated conversation with Harm in his office. She perched herself on a desk, trying not to get worked up at the shouting that she could hear coming from Harm's office. However, after a while, she broke down and crawled into the space below the desk, tears dripping down her face and her hands over her ears as she tried to block out the shouting.
On her way back from the lady's room, Harriet Roberts noted the shouting coming from Harm's office, then came across a pair of legs, sticking out from under her desk. Hearing the sniffles, she realized who it was, then stooped down to find Cathy, still with her hands over her ears. She pulled the girl into her motherly embrace.
"Oh sweetheart! What's wrong?"
"They're fighting again," Cathy told her, "lately, that's all they seem to do!"
OOOO
Harm and Mac were still at odds in the office.
"So you decided that boarding school would solve it all?" Harm exclaimed to Mac.
"No," she protested, "None of this was ever my idea…"
"Oh," Harm realized, "I might have realized! This was all Mic's doing, wasn't it?"
"He was only doing what he thought was best for Cathy," Mac replied.
"Why are you always defending him?" Harm exclaimed.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and Harriet popped her head in.
"Not now, Harriet…" Harm and Mac both started.
"Ma'am, Sir," she insisted, "Cathy's in the bullpen and she's very upset."
"Why?" Mac asked.
Just then, Harm jumped in, "Because she's unhappy living around that guy. She doesn't like him."
Mac stared at him, open-mouthed. "What? Now I should give up any life with Mic, because Cathy doesn't like him?"
"No," Harm insisted, "but perhaps you should look closer at why she doesn't like him. I've lived in the same apartment with her and she had no problems getting along with me."
Mac was quiet for a moment, and then commented, "Yeah, well you chose not to be with me, in the way Mic is, didn't you?"
All was quiet for a moment, until they heard a shout, from the bullpen.
OOOO
Cathy had just gotten herself together, when she looked up and saw Mic Brumby striding towards her. He spotted her then smirked at her.
"Don't you come near me!" she warned him, visibly tensing, pulling her bag closer to her.
"What're you going to do, luv," he taunted her, nastily, "hit me with your little purse?"
"No, not exactly," she told him, calmly, taking out her cassette player. Before he knew what was happening, Cathy had turned it to full volume and pressed play.
By this time, Mac, Harm and Harriet were in the bullpen, as well as the Admiral, who had just emerged from his office with Clay, Bud, Alan Mattoni and Carolyn Imes. Mic's threat was played to the whole of the bullpen, leaving Mic red with rage.
He lunged forward before anyone could react, back handing Cathy across the face, sending her reeling.
"No! " Mac cried out, powerlessly as she watched Catriona fall and hitting her head hard against the corner of Harriet's desk, before landing unconscious on the floor.
Mic Brumby was immediately tackled to the floor by several members of staff and dragged into an office to be subdued. Mac and Harriet ran to Cathy, who was still lying, bleeding badly from where she had hit her head on the corner of the desk.
Examining her, Mac told Harriet, "Harriet, please call an ambulance quickly! I think she's really badly hurt."
Harriet rushed to the nearest desk with a phone, quickly calling 911. Harm ran over to where Mac was knelt, to keep Cathy's condition monitored until an ambulance arrived.
OOOO
The emergency room doors at Bethesda Naval Hospital burst open as Cathy was rushed in on a gurney. She was strapped to a backboard and was wearing a cervical collar and Mac and Harm were running along beside her, until the nurse told them that they would have to wait in the waiting room.
In curtains, Dr. Mark arrived to look at his patient and the nurse relayed Cathy's history to him;
"Eighteen year old female, blunt trauma to the head. She has a couple of old hairline fractures to the skull, so we're worried that the blow to the head might have caused one of the old fractures to open. So far, she has not regained consciousness."
Dr Mark took a look at her chart, then nodded, telling the nurse, "Okay, I want her to be taken up to radiology for a CAT scan, once I've quickly sutured to close this nasty gash on her forehead."
With that, he quickly set about stitching up the cut.
"Did anyone say what happened to her?"
"Well, her guardian is over in chairs with some of her co-workers, but she was a bit too upset to tell me much. But apparently, the pissed off ex-boyfriend took a shot at her. The people at 911 told the ambulance people that and the ambulance crew told me that the police were just hauling the guy out of there as they were getting the girl ready to transport. From what I hear, it took six officers and some of the staff to get him into the squad car."
"He's not a tall aviator, is he?" Dr. Mark asked her, incredulously.
"No," the nurse replied, "The ambulance crew said that he was short and stocky, with an Australian accent. The aviator is in the waiting room with the girl's guardian. All of the nurses are drooling over his uniform. I hear he's really cute!"
Dr Mark just chuckled as he finished his suturing.
"I can't believe what this poor girl has to through," he continued, "She's the daughter of the late Admiral Adam Carter."
"The girl who was kidnapped?"
"Yeah," he answered, "then she had just been returned to them when her whole family was killed in that hurricane that hit Florida two years ago. Poor kid ended up living with her abusive, alcoholic maternal uncle. He gave her those skull fractures and other injuries, which ended up putting her in a coma."
"And now this," the nurse finished, "Poor kid, she doesn't seem to get a chance."
With that, they pushed Cathy's gurney into the elevator, then pressed the button for the fifth floor, where radiology was situated.
OOOO
An hour later, Dr. Mark approached Harm, Mac and the rest of the JAG group in the emergency waiting room. He could see a swarm of nurses ogling Harm from over by the reception desk.
He smiled, then turned towards Harm and Mac, telling them, " Good news Commander, Colonel. Although Cathy has had a nasty blow to the head, x-rays and scans have indicated that there has been no damage done. The old fractures have healed over nicely and though I've needed to put a couple of stitches into the gash on her head, it's quite close to the hairline and it shouldn't leave a scar.
Everyone uttered a sign of relief and Dr. Mark continued, "right now, one of our nurses is just getting her ready to come down, then you can bring her home. She came to just before we took her into radiology and she was perfectly alert and has showed no signs of concussion. But as a precaution, I'd keep a close eye on her tonight and don't hesitate to bring her back if her condition changes. I'd recommend plenty of bed rest and sleep for the next week."
Just then, the nurse wheeled Cathy over in a wheelchair.
"They've put me back in a wheelchair," Cathy complained to Mac.
"Just hospital policy," Dr. Mark told her, "we can't have you having an accident on the way to the car, can we?"
Harm, Mac and Cathy thanked Dr. Mark, and then the whole JAG group walked out to their cars. On the way home, Cathy sat quietly in the back seat of the car, as Mac sat up front with Harm. He could see from the look on Mac's face, that she was worried. He tried to break the tension by suggesting,
"Why don't we spend the night at my place? I believe that I've got a freezer full of ice-cream."
"What flavor?" Cathy piped up.
"I think I've got Chocolate Swirl, Vanilla Swiss Almond, Caramel, Cookie Dough…"
"Sounds good to me!" Cathy exclaimed.
"I second the motion!" Mac added, smiling.
OOOO
The next day, Mac and Harm were sitting at the kitchen island, when Cathy walked out of the bedroom and joined them. She was sporting a colorful bruise to the side of her eye and cheekbone, as well as around the gash to the forehead.
"Cathy, sweetie," Mac started, "Harm and I have been talking and we thought that maybe it would be a good idea if we all went away for a bit, took a break over the holiday. We can get a bit of a rest."
"My Mom has invited us up to La Jolla to spend the holidays," Harm told her.
"I'd really like that," Cathy told them.
Harm was glad, because this would give him an ideal chance to get Mac and Cathy to talk to him and to each other.
OOOO