My next story in the "Nine years after" series. This time Harm has gotten into some trouble and the family has to work through what happened.
The story starts off in October 2017. Sometimes it jumps ahead a day or two, sometimes a week or two, so pay attention.
Thursday October 5th, 2017
Harm let out a groan as he rose to a sitting position. His shoulder was throbbing with pain and he let out a sigh, cursing inside for moving too fast. His wife walked out of their bathroom clad in her robe, giving him a glance, she stopped. She was a strange mix of worried about his wellbeing and angry at him at the same time. He couldn't blame her for being angry.
"Does it hurt?" she wondered as she walked into their closet.
He got out of bed and limped over to the bathroom, peaking into their closet and saw that she was dressing for work. "So, you're going to work?"
She looked at him. "I have a class, and there's a faculty meeting."
He hesitated. "Okay."
She softened a little. "Will you be okay by yourself?"
"I guess I'll be fine," he smiled sheepishly. They hadn't talked much since he woke up at the hospital after his surgery. "Look, I know you're angry with me…"
"You don't know how I'm feeling," she cut him off and turned to pick out shoes.
"I would if you'd talk to me," he pointed out.
"Harm," she reached for a pair of shoes and turned to him. "I have a lot to do, and I just can't get into how I'm feeling right now. I'm barely keeping it together, and I need to finish this case. And my students are depending on me to follow up on their work."
"Can we at least talk about what happened?" he pleaded.
"I know what happened," she walked past him. "I read the police report."
Harm hesitated. "I didn't know."
"Harm," she took a calming breath. "I love you, but it's going to take time for me to get past this."
He could see that she was struggling to be in control. He had hurt her. "I'm sorry, you know that right?"
"I know, but it doesn't change the fact that you lied, and you got hurt," she hesitated. "You lied to me, and you never lie to me. I will need time, because right now I'm angry, and I don't know if I can ever trust you again the way I used to. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's honestly how I feel."
"I know," he turned to go to the bathroom.
Harm," she walked over to him. "I'll see you later. Call if you need anything," she kissed his cheek.
He nodded. "I love you, Sarah."
"I know you do," she turned and left the room.
Later that day
Harm was on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position and read a book. He had been out of the hospital for almost a week now, and he didn't miss it at all. The first week at the hospital he had been so medicated he didn't care where he was, then the week after he had been taken off the hardest pain killers and he was more aware. He hated that he had scared his family the way he had, he hated that he had lied to his wife, but in the end, he had helped bring down a human trafficking organization, and that he was proud of.
He had spent most of the day sleeping but tried to move around a little. His back was killing him because of all the staying in bed, the problem was that the shoulder hurt more when he moved around.
"Dad?"
He put his book down and smiled. "Hey Rose, how was school?"
"It was okay," Rose smiled and walked over to the bed. "Do you want dinner served here?"
"No, I think I'll come downstairs. I need to move around a little," he put the book down and stood.
"Does it hurt to get shot?" she wondered.
"Yeah," he winced as he straightened out his back. "But I won't get shot again."
"How can you know?" Rose questioned.
"Well, I guess there's no way to know for sure, but I will never put myself in a position to get hurt again," he reached out and touched her cheek. "I promise."
"Good," Rose moved into his embrace.
Harm pulled her close. This was only one of many talks with his kids over the last weeks where he felt like a jerk for scaring them.
"How was your day, Dad?" Matthew asked when he saw his father enter the kitchen.
"Long," Harm smiled and ruffled his hair. "Hey, honey," he greeted his wife.
"Hi," she put the lasagna on the table.
"Long day?" he wondered, noticing that she looked tired.
"Aren't they all," she offered a weak smile.
"Where's Claire?" he wondered.
"With Tim," Mac put the bread on the table. "Sit down."
Harm hesitantly sat down, remembering from earlier in the day that sitting by the table was painful.
"You can eat in bed," Mac looked at him with worry.
"Nah, it's fine," he smiled. "I like being with you guys. Is there anything exiting going on at the office?" he wondered.
"I wasn't there today, but Bud has it all under control. I'm going in tomorrow," she hesitated. "Don't worry about it, everything is taken care of," she offered a reassuring smile.
They had a nice meal. Harm wished that he could help clean, but he was in so much pain at the end of the meal that he had to lay back down.
The next day
The next day the doorbell rang just after he had lunch. Their neighbor Detective Ben Deidrick smiled when Harm opened the door.
"You look better than the last time I saw you," Ben offered his hand. "How are you Harm?"
"Better," Harm stepped aside. "Come in."
"I just wanted to check in," Ben followed Harm to the kitchen.
"Let's sit down in the living room," Harm handed Ben a cup of coffee. "I need to sit more comfortably these days."
"I can understand that," Ben smiled and followed Harm to the living room. He sat down in the chair across from the sofa, while Harm got comfortable on the sofa. "I talked to Mac, she seems tired."
"Yeah, she's working and taking care of everything here," Harm hesitated. "I screwed up."
"It was stupid to go in without waiting on the cops, although you did save the girl," Ben smiled. "And we got to bring down an entire network of hellish men exploiting young girls."
"My guess is that it's only a matter of time before a new bastard starts another organization," Harm let out a sigh.
"I'm afraid you're right," Ben agreed.
Friday 13th
Mac's office
Mac was about to wrap up for the day when there was a knock on her door. She was tired and all she wanted was dinner and a long, hot bath. She hadn't been sleeping well since Harm was hurt, and with him down for the count she had to be in control of everything.
"Are you leaving?" Harriet wondered.
"Yeah," Mac stood. "It's been a long week. Actually, four long weeks."
Harriet nodded. "It has," she handed over a file. "This is the last statement from Miss Hill. That leaves statements from Miss Wick."
Mac took the file. "More horrible reading."
"I can honestly say that after my talk with the girls I want to kill these men in cold blood," Harriet admitted. "But the prosecution does have a strong case."
"I'll hand this over after the weekend. I appreciate you following up on this while Harm's away. It's important that we continue to support our clients."
"It's no problem. It's the first time we work a trafficking case. This will be huge when it goes to court," Harriet let out a sigh. "I wish it would make a change."
"It will for these girls," Mac hesitated. "But you're right, it won't end just because Harm single handedly brought down an entire organization of human trafficking."
"He's one of the best men I know," Harriet smiled. "And I don't mean to interfere, I know he lied to you about where he was going and what he was doing, but he did a good thing."
Mac nodded. "Yeah, I know. But still, he should have told me. Or at least waited for the police before he went into that building."
"Well, I better get going," Harriet offered a concerned look. "You will get some sleep and rest up this weekend, right? You've been at it nonstop."
Mac smiled. "Yes, I promise."
"We would have understood if you'd wanted to take time off. Harm's been out of the hospital for two weeks, and we would have managed if you wanted to stay home with him," Harriet reminded her.
"I know, but it's not a lot for me to do at home. He needs to rest up," Mac hesitated. "I will take the weekend off. I promise."
"Good," Harriet smiled. "See you on Monday."
"See you," Mac watched her friend go, then found her jacket and briefcase and headed out the door herself.
Later, Rabb house
Harm's first week at home had been spent mostly sleeping and relaxing. The second week, he was more mobile, but still he followed Doctor's orders. He did feel better every day, as the doctor had promised. The shoulder wound hadn't been life threatening, but it would require some physical therapy to get its strength back. His main pain had come from falling down two sets of stairs. His spleen had a small blead that required surgery, but they had fixed it with laparoscopy surgery, so he healed quickly from that. He also had a couple of bruised ribs, a small concussion and an ankle injury. All in all, he had been lucky.
"Dad, when's mom coming home?" Matthew wondered.
"Ah," Harm looked at the watch. "I thought she'd already be home. She called to say that she was picking up Chinese food."
"Okay," Matthew hesitated. "I'm starving."
Harm chuckled. "Me too, buddy. Where's Rose?"
"Upstairs reading," Matthew strode towards the hallway as he heard the front door open.
Matthew was back second later carrying that night's dinner, Mac following behind. "Hi," she greeted.
"Hey," Harm walked over and kissed her softly. "How was your day?"
"Long," she walked past him and upstairs. He followed her to their bedroom.
"Claire called, she'll be home after the movie," Harm said as he leaned on the doorframe.
Mac stripped out of her skirt and blouse. "I got a text," she threw on a top and sweatpants.
"She hasn't been home much lately," he pointed out.
Mac nodded. "I know. She's dealing with everything her own way. I guess she needs some space."
"I guess," he hesitated. "She won't talk to me."
"She will. Eventually," Mac reassured. "Did Mattie call?"
"Yes, and Nathan," Harm confirmed.
Mac smiled. "They would like to be here."
Harm nodded. "I know. Nathan will stop by tomorrow."
"How was your day?" she wondered.
"Boring," he shrugged. "I'll be starting my shoulder therapy on Monday, so I have something to look forward to."
"I took the morning off to come with you," she walked past him.
"You did?" he turned and followed her.
"Of course, I did," she descended the stairs with him on her heels. "I'm starving."