by Arriall
-- You can E-mail me at skyfox@interlog.com --
-- Rating: PG-13 --
-- Summary: Mac begins her vigil over Harm. Alternate
universe. Please: this will make more sense if you read
"Soul Survivor I" first. Thanks. --
-- Disclaimer: The characters included in this story belong
to their creators (Belasario, et al) and the current
network/production company (CBS, Paramount). I am only
borrowing them, no money is being made from the
distribution of this fan fiction - no copyright
infringement is intended.
Please do not further distribute without the consent of
the author. --
-- Author's Note: Title and inspiration from "Bridges Over
Borders" - Spoons [Be Alone Tonight written by Gord Deppe]
Hope that this does not disappoint. --
~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a long rough ride in the ambulance.
Mac hopped out the back door on the heels of the
ambulance attendant. Standing back out of the way, she
watched him and his partner carefully remove the stretcher.
She did not understand most of what they called out to the
medical personnel that came to meet them, but she heard the
word 'surgery' and knew that it was serious.
The attendant and a hospital orderly wheeled Harm
quickly through the doorway. A man pushing a very pregnant
lady in a wheel chair cut in front of Mac and rushed inside,
nearly knocking over an elderly couple on their way out. The
old woman stopped and watched them pass, turning with a smile on
her face. The man patted her on the hand and smiled back at
her.
Mac waited impatiently for the couple to move out of the
way. As she stepped forward to enter, the doors slid closed.
She walked right up to them and they did not open. The
corridor inside was frustratingly empty. She looked around
but there was only the couple walking slowly away.
"Damn!"
She tried to slam her fist against the door but it
passed right through. She jumped back in surprise, staring
at the door. Tentatively, she reached out to touch it. Her
palm pressed against the solid glass. She pushed harder and
still nothing happened.
Mac groaned. 'I need to get inside,' she thought,
leaning her forehead against her hand. 'I have to find Harm.
. . .'
Suddenly she felt herself falling forward, her arms
flailing helplessly. She landed hard on the floor inside - a
corner of her mind considered it strange that she did not
hurt. Mac turned slowly, the door was still very much
closed. Getting up carefully, she reached out and pressed
her hand against the solid glass again. She remembered
Angelico's warning - 'You will be able to do things that you
could not before - do not abuse those privileges.' Mac
pressed harder on the door and nothing happened.
She frowned and shrugged. "I don't have time for this
right now. I have to find Harm."
A quick walk down the hall brought her to a busy waiting
room. Apparently, their's was not the only accident caused
by the weather. It seemed that most of the other patients
had been a lot luckier than them - a broken arm seemed to be
the worst case.
Mac went to the Nurse's station. A tall dark-haired
woman was typing on the computer. She looked up as Mac
approached.
"Excuse me. . . ." Mac realized the nurse was looking
past her. So she tried again. "I'm looking for a man who
was just brought in."
The nurse smiled. "Can I help you?"
Mac was getting a little annoyed. "Yes. I'm looking
for. . . ."
She was interrupted by another speaker. Turning her
head slightly, she could she a large man coming up to the
counter. She stepped quickly to the side as he would have
walked into her.
"Hey!"
He ignored her as well and spoke to the nurse.
"Damn." She ran a hand through her hair. Angelico had
said that people could see her if they believed. She walked
into the room and looked around at the people sitting there.
"Can anyone help me?"
Not one person even glanced in her direction. She
sighed - being dead was going to be a big problem.
Three hours, thirty-seven minutes. . . .
It took Mac an hour and a half to finally locate Harm.
She had been in nearly every room in the emergency when she
overheard an orderly talking about taking the Navy guy into
post-op.
She stood in the door way, leaning against the frame for
support. Her hand trembled as she pressed it against her
mouth. Tears formed in her eyes. He looked so fragile
swathed in bandages; tubes and wires running from machines
around him. The bruising on his forehead and temple stood
out vividly against his pale skin. There was no sign of his
dark hair - his head was wrapped in white. One of his legs
was up in traction, but both were in casts.
Mac walked slowly over to the bed, reaching out
tentatively. His skin felt hot and clammy to her touch. She
stared at her hand on his forehead. She could feel the heat
of his body, but she did not feel pain when she fell. She
was confused and feeling very lonely.
She noticed a chair in the corner of the room near the
door. She curled up into it and started her vigil over Harm.
Someone out there had threatened to kill the man in the bed
and she vowed that they would not succeed - even if she did
not know how she was going to stop them.
Seven hours, twelve minutes. . . .
Mac turned in the chair again, trying to get
comfortable. She knew that she was not really uncomfortable,
but something just did not feel right. She stared at the
monitors - just as she had been staring at them for hours.
The constant beeping was starting to wear on her nerves.
The only break had been half an hour ago, when they had
brought another patient in. With a sigh, Mac got up and
wandered over to check on him. He looked to be in his late
sixties. He was also attached to an array of equipment that
beeped and flashed in their own pattern.
She was about to turn away when he opened his eyes and
looked up at her. He smiled. She was startled, but smiled
back.
"Can I get you anything?" She realized how silly the
words were as soon as she said them.
Suddenly one of the machines emitted a loud monotonous
tone. Mac looked up startled. Two nurses came into the room
at full speed. She could hear the PA calling for a 'crash
cart' in post-op. One nurse pulled the curtain between the
two beds. Mac moved back - to the foot of Harm's bed.
A doctor came in and started barking orders. The two
nurses followed his instructions quickly. The doctor was
standing on the edge of the bed applying CPR to the man.
"Help me!"
Mac heard the cry and looked around.
"Please God, help me!"
She recognized the sound of fear in the voice. She
walked over to the bottom of the bed and looked at the man.
She could see him looking at her, his eyes frantic with fear,
and heard herself speak.
"It's alright. You have nothing to be afraid of."
She moved around his bed to stand beside him. Smiling
down at him, she placed her hand on top of his.
"Sarah."
Mac looked up and met Angelico's eyes. She felt the
same warm feeling sweep over her. Her glance shot over to
Harm, but none of his monitors had changed from their regular
rhythm.
"No. . . I have come for Mr. Walden." Angelico smiled
at the man in the bed. "Thank you for taking care of him,
Sarah."
"We're losing him."
The doctor yelled, "Clear!" Everyone moved back from
the bed and he pressed the buttons on the paddles he held
against Mr. Walden's chest.
Angelico held out his hand to the older man. Mac
recognized the flash of white light. She turned to face Mr.
Walden. The man took her hand.
"Thank you, Sarah. Thanks for being here. I was so
afraid that I was alone."
Mac smiled.
The doctor stood back and sighed. He looked at the
clock. "I'm calling this. The time is two-forty."
Angelico spoke softly, "We have to go now, Mr. Walden."
The older man looked at him and nodded.
The younger man smiled at Mac. "You have a knack for
this, Sarah. Maybe you should take it up."
Mac wrinkled her nose and smiled back. "I don't like
hospitals."
Angelico chuckled. "A hint, Sarah: concentrate."
He turned and, in another flash, the two disappeared.
Mac could not look at the bed. She skirted the foot of
it and went to stand beside Harm. Leaning over she whispered
in his ear.
"Com'on, fly-boy. Angelico says it's not your time. So
you better wake up and stop goofing off."
finis. . .