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DISCLAIMERS etc in chapter One

CHAPTER TWO

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HARM'S LOFT - 2216 EST

NORTH OF UNION STATION

Harm was watching football on TV, when the phone started ringing, startling him out of his reverie.

Reaching over he answered it, "Hello?"

"Is this Harmon Rabb, Jnr?" the woman on the other end asked.

This instinctively put Harm's senses on full alert, "Yes, it is. May I ask who is calling?" he asked cautiously.

"This is Mary, from Bethesda Hospital. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie was brought in tonight and has been admitted. You are listed as her next of kin," she explained.

"Mac? What was she brought in for? Is she okay?" Harm said in a rush.

"Sir, we need you to come in. The doctor will explain everything to you," she replied.

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can," Harm then quickly dropped the receiver in its cradle, grabbed his keys and rushed out of his apartment.

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BETHESDA HOSPITAL

2242 EST

A harried looking Harm rushed into the entrance to the hospital, and ran up to the desk.

A young, blonde ensign looked up and said politely, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, I was called to come down here. My partner has been admitted. They wouldn't tell me what happened to her," Harm ranted off quickly.

"Sir, I need to know her name," the ensign looked up at Harm, thinking 'Well, he's hot but most definitely taken. Damn.'

"Sarah Mackenzie. Her name's Colonel Sarah Mackenzie."

The ensign typed her name into the computer, and then looked up at Harm. "You'll have to take a seat. I will page Dr. Kate Michaels to let her know you are here."

"Thank you," Harm replied, turning around, and folding his tall frame into the first available seat, sighing heavily.

After about 5 minutes he remembered that he should contact the Admiral. Getting up from his seat, he located a pay phone and punched in the Admiral's phone number.

"Chegwidden," the gruff voice of the ex-seal answered.

"Sir, it's Commander Rabb."

"Rabb. What do you want?" the Admiral asked him, straight to the point.

"Sir, it's about Colonel Mackenzie," Harm started.

The Admiral straightened in his chair, "What about Mac, Harm?"

"She's been admitted to Bethesda, sir," Harm replied solemnly.

"She's been what?! What for?" the Admiral nearly exploded.

"Admitted, sir. I don't know what for. They just told me I should get down here as soon as possible, so I did. The doctor was supposed to come talk to me but she hasn't yet, sir," Harm answered.

"Keep me updated, Rabb. I want to know as soon as you do what's happened okay. Ring me after you've talked to the doctor, and that's an order."

"Yes, sir. I will," with that Harm hung up the phone, and went back to his seat in the waiting area.

A few minutes later, a short female doctor dressed in scrubs came out to the waiting area.

"Commander Harm Rabb, Jnr?" She asked, looking around the waiting room.

Harm immediately jumped to his feet, and went to meet the doctor.

"I'm Harm Rabb. How is she? Will she be okay?" Harm asked.

"If you'd follow me, Commander Rabb. We'll go somewhere a little more private," she said, as she began walking down the corridor - leading him to her office.

As soon as she shut the door he started the barrage of questions. "Is she okay? What happened? Why has she been admitted?"

"Whoa, slow down, Commander. She will be okay, eventually. She was attacked in a stairwell, and found later by two Lieutenants. She has been admitted because she was severely beaten, but also she was raped," Dr. Michaels said soberly.

To say Harm was shocked would have been a major understatement.

"Ra -- raped?" he gasped.

"Yes, I'm sorry, she was raped."

"Is she okay? Where is she? I have to see her!" Harm fretted, jumping to his feet.

"Sit down, Commander. She will be okay physically, the bruises will fade and the injuries will heal, but psychologically she will need a lot of support from her friends and family. You have to understand what she has been through. She may not want to see you because you are a male, but then again she may want to see you because you are her friend," the doctor informed him.

"Her best friend. I'm her best friend, Dr. Can I see her now?" Harm asked.

"Yes, of course. She has been given a light sedative to keep her calm, so she may be sleeping," the doctor then led him to Mac's room.

Slowly he opened the door, and gasped slightly when he saw Mac. She looked like she was sleeping, so he softly closed the door. Making his way to her bedside, slowly sat down in the chair that was next to his bed, and grasped her hand, whispering softly to her.

"I'm here, Mac. I'm not going to let anything happen to you now."

Mac's hand tightened fractionally in his, her eyes fluttered open, and stared at Harm.

"Hey, marine. I'm here and not going anywhere anytime soon," Harm tenderly told her. "How are you feeling?"

Mac's gaze shifted away from his as she mumbled "Fine." Obviously, she didn't want to talk about it, but Harm knew that it wouldn't do her any good to bottle it all up. He had to get her to open up, even if it was only a little bit.

Harm looked at her doubtfully with his eyebrow raised, "Mac..." he started as he put his hand beneath her chin so he could look into her eyes where he would see the truth.

Mac's eyes started tearing, her face crumbled, and she began sobbing earnestly. "Someone raped me, Harm. Someone raped me," she cried.

Harm gathered her up in his arms, whispering reassuringly, "I know, Mac, I know. But I'm here now. It's all right to cry."

Mac cried until she cried herself to sleep. Harm gently laid her back on the bed, and pulled the covers up around her, tenderly wiping the remains of the tears away with his thumb. Mac snuggled into his hand, pulling it more firmly towards her.

Unwilling to leave her, Harm knew that he had to so that he could inform their CO of Mac's condition. This was one call that he didn't look forward to making.

He went out to the corridor and once he found a quiet section, he pulled out his cell phone dialling Chegwidden's number and waited for him to pick up. He didn't have to wait very long. The gruff answer "Chegwidden" soon greeted him.

"Sir, it's Commander Rabb."

The tone of the Admiral's voice changed, "How is she, Harm?" he asked.

"She's okay, sir, well not okay, but as okay as she could be in these circumstances," he stammered in his speech.

The Admiral almost smiled at harm's bumbling effort to say what he was trying to say. Almost. If he weren't so damn worried about his chief of staff he would have smiled.

"What happened Harm?"

"She, uh." He cleared his throat. This was just so hard for him. "Sorry, sir, for my lack of eloquence, but this is hard to say."

"Go on, Harm, take your time," the Admiral said quietly.

"She has been, uh. Oh god, she's been raped, sir, and beaten. How could someone do this to her? She doesn't deserve this!" Harm ended by cursing quietly.

There was silence on the other end.

"Sir?" Harm asked timidly.

A throat being cleared could be heard down the line. "I'm here, Harm. But, Jesus, I wasn't expecting this. How the hell did it happen?" he asked.

"She was attacked in the stairwell at JAG, sir."

"What?!" he exploded, outraged. "How in the hell did he get past security?"

"The police said that he must have snuck out a back entrance, but they don't know how he got past security, sir." Harm replied.

"Damnit, now my staff aren't even safe in their own office. What is this world coming to?" the Admiral seethed.

"Sir, if I may, can I get back to Mac? I don't want to leave her alone for long," Harm asked.

"Sure, Harm. Just make sure you keep me updated. As of now, you both are on emergency leave. You until the start of week after next and Mac until her doctor gives her the okay to go back to work. Take care of her, Harm."

"Yes, sir. I will contact you when she's able to leave. I believe it should be sometime in the next few days. Thank you, sir."

"No problem, Harm." The dial tone sounded as the call was disconnected on the other end of the line.

Harm put his phone back in his pocket and returned to Mac's room, returning to his vigil of staying by Mac's side, even if she was sleeping.

Mac slept until early morning, with Harm by her side, holding her hand. As Mac came aware of her surroundings, she felt the gentle pressure of Harm's hand in hers, and the soft sunlight lighting the room, warming her.

Groggily she opened her eyes and found that Harm was asleep with his head on her bed, facing her.

She gently brought her other hand to rest gently on his cheek, wanting to remember this moment forever. Harm slowly opened his eyes, and he immediately sat up, his eyes searching her face.

"Hey ninja-girl. How are you feeling?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Harm. Feeling better this morning, but still sore." Mac replied nonchalantly, looking everywhere but at him.

Harm looked at her sceptically, but said nothing, "So what do you want for breakfast, Marine?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Nothing."

"Mac, come on, you have to eat. If you don't eat it yourself I'll spoon feed you," Harm dared her to argue.

Mac said nothing, just moved her head to look out the window so she could avoid Harms' gaze.

This did not deter Harm from trying. He lifted his hand, placing it under her chin, turning her face so he could look at her, yet she still wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Mac, look at me."

Still her eyes were cast downwards, her hands fidgeting nervously in her lap.

"Mac, come on."

Still no eye contact, hands still fidgeting.

Using his last resort, Harm called Mac by her given name, "Sarah, look at me."

This caught her by surprise, making her jerk her gaze up to Harms' face, looking at him with an expression of startled disbelief - her eyes ever so round, and full of much pain.

"Mac," he began gently, "Don't shut yourself away. What happened to you doesn't make you any less of a woman. If you can come out of this on top, then it shows that you have determination, strong will, and lots of courage. Don't let this eat you up," he finished.

Mac's eyes began to tear up, "You don't understand, Harm. You never will!" She punctuated this by pulling her hand away from his, and turned over on her side away from him, ignoring the pain.

"I may not begin to understand what you are going through, Mac, but I will always be here for you, Sarah. Always," Harm said tenderly.

Mac's shoulders were shaking, even though she was trying to hold back the tears.

Harm moved around to the other side of the bed, "Oh, Sarah, it's going to be okay. Trust me," he said soothingly, as he gently wiped the tears off her bruised face.

As she began to sob whole heartedly, Harm sat on the edge of the bed, gathering her in his arms, whispering words of comfort in her ear. She grabbed the front of his shirt, pressing her head onto his chest, her tears wetting his shirt through to his skin.

For the next few days while Mac was in hospital, Harm was with her most of the time, usually not leaving until around 2000 hours.

Mac spent much of the time when Harm wasn't with her sleeping, or staring out the window.

Harm's visits were the only bright spots in her day, the only thing that she looked forward to.

On Monday it was decided that she could go home, but only under the condition that she wasn't left alone for long periods of time, especially at night.

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END OF CHAPTER TWO

A/N: please please review! I would love to hear what you have to say! ::