Day 2 – Friday
Harm groaned as he opened his eyes. He put his hands to his head and wondered why he had such a bad headache, then as his thoughts cleared he realised that the headache and incipient nausea were familiar symptoms. He had experienced them before – not least after his two falls on the de-commissioned USS Hornet. At that memory he grimaced, if he had a concussion, he could expect up to about twenty-four hours of disorientation and blurred vision, but somehow, he didn't think he'd be allowed the luxury of indulging in those symptoms.
OK then, he wouldn't have a concussion; he'd just have to suck it up instead. So pushing aside all thoughts of headaches and sickness, he concentrated on his immediate needs and the first thing he needed to do was to take stock of the situation. As he looked up, all he could see through the windscreen was white. It was covered with snow.
The car was poised at a funny angle, facing down-hill, it's position jarred his mind to an almost functional state and Harmon was shocked back into the present with a memory of the car going off the road the previous evening.
"Loren!", he gasped as he looked to his right to check on his passenger. He gently put his fingers to her neck and was very relieved to feel a steady pulse. He vaguely remembered her screaming and looked her over. He couldn't see anything obviously wrong but her right arm did look bruised and swollen.
Not being able to see outside, Harm tried to wind the window down, but even just a few millimetres were enough that he could feel the cold air, but there seemed to be no wind. He could not see any sunshine either.
Harm knew the importance of trying to keep warm. He found the keys still in the ignition and tried to turn the engine on. No joy. He eventually came up with a logical reason. If the lights had been on when the car left the road, and they stayed on, then the lights would have drained the battery leaving the car useless.
The next thing to do was to ascertain Loren's injuries. She did not appear to be bleeding. As he felt her neck again to feel her pulse, she began groaning and her eyelids started fluttering, and then her groans increased in intensity as the pain of her arm completed her awakening.
"Thank God, Loren, are you ok?" Harm asked.
"Oh, God, my arm. I can't lift it. It hurts. I think I may have broken it." she moaned.
"Yes, I know. But apart from that, are you ok? Do you have any injuries anywhere else?"
"A few scratches but nothing else that I can see or feel." she reported. "Commander, where are we? What happened?"
"We seem to have run off the road. While it was snowing last night. Probably hit some black ice. The bad news is that the car battery is dead. Which means we will have to find someplace else to stay warm. This car is going to become an icebox soon."
Harm rifled through the first aid kit looking for a bandage to strap up Loren's swollen arm. It was a long and painful session for both of them. Loren didn't scream, but she moaned frequently. Harm had to wrap the arm up tightly to give it some support. He also had to make a sling to support her arm. And because it was her right arm, and Loren was right handed - well, you get the picture.
Harm managed to open the door, stepped out and stood up. It had stopped snowing, for now, but it was still cloudy. All he could see was snow and more snow. But there was an angled roof with a chimney down at the bottom of the hill.
"Loren, we need to take our stuff and climb down there. If we stay here, we will freeze to death. My cell phone does not work. Probably no cell phone towers up here. There is what looks like a cabin down there with a chimney. Hopefully it's a place where we can stay warm. We are not expected back at JAG until Monday. So no one will be looking for us until then and today is Friday. So we need to get you down to that cabin, and then I can come back and get our bags and the food. I will have to make several trips, but first I need to help you climb down to that cabin."
Loren nodded. Despite having always been independent, right now, she was in no condition to refuse any help and she knew it. So Harm slowly helped her out of the car, and together they slowly made their way down the hillside to the cabin. Harm carried her sea-bag on his shoulders.
The climb down was slow and laborious but within an hour, Loren was at the bottom and standing outside the cabin doors. She found a couple of hair pins in her sea-bag, and Harm had used them to pick the lock. It was a relief to them both when the door was finally opened.
The cabin consisted of two large rooms, one with a large double bed, good mattress and two pillows, but no sheets or blankets. The other room had a couch, a table, some chairs and a fireplace with a stack of dry logs piled up next to the chimney-breast.
A hand pump stood at one corner overlooking a tub. Harm pumped the handle a few times and clean clear cold water dribbled out. He tasted it and declared it to be pretty good water for well water. In a cupboard, he found a pile of old newspapers, and a box of matches. There was no food in any of the cupboards, but he did find some pots and pans and an old tea kettle.
Harm was relieved, "At least we have clean water and can light a fire to stay warm. I just need to go back up to the car and get my sea-bag and the food, and anything else I can find."
He dumped Loren's sea-bag in the bedroom. Loren moved to the bed and just moaned as she sat down and then lowered herself down on her back. She was asleep in seconds, her broken arm still in its sling, resting on her stomach.
Harm carefully removed her sneakers. He was a little worried about her, but the pain of climbing down had taken its toll on her. He did not want to leave her but he had no choice. He had to get the rest of their belongings from the car.
Harm took another hour to climb back up the hill to the car, and pack everything up. He took his time slowly retracing his steps as he climbed back down to the cabin. It would not do for him to get off balance and take a tumble in an environment where he could so easily be injured. He was laden down with his sea-bag as well as the bags of snacks, the first aid kit, a flashlight and a blanket.
Once back in the cabin, he inventoried the food. Before leaving Pensacola, he had stocked up with lots of snacks and other foods he might have needed to stay awake while he was driving.
Fortunately he had also purchased plastic cutlery and some plastic plates and bowls. He was pleased to discover that they had:
Several bags of Dried Fruit - (apricots, bananas, papaya, pineapple, mango, raisins and sultanas)
Several boxes of granola bars
Several bottles of Yoghurt
Several bars of chocolate
One large bag of Trail mix
One box of breakfast cereal
One bag of milk powder
One large pack of baked corn chips
One large bag of baked tortilla chips
One bag of apples
One tin of hot chocolate powder
One jar of instant coffee
2 thermos flasks - to drink coffee and hot chocolate from.
"At least the food situation is not as desperate as I first thought", Harm thought to himself. "The yoghurt does need to be eaten first. We even have cereal and milk for breakfast. But there is definitely enough to last us for several days."
He went about placing the food in the cupboards, and the plastic cutlery and plates/bowls on the shelves.
Normally neither Loren nor Harm would touch instant coffee, but right now, it was the only source of caffeine they had.
He also set about placing some paper and wood in the fireplace to start a fire. Soon a warm fire was flickering. He filled up the kettle with water and put it on the fire to boil up some water.
Moving into the bedroom, he placed the blanket over top of Loren as she slept. He noted that she frowned and moaned every so often. He decided to see if he could find something to use as a splint for the arm to give it more support.
While the fire was warming up the cabin, Harm went for a quick walk around the outside of the cabin. He found the toilet was an outhouse a few metres away from the main cabin. He also found a good size pile of wood logs and some smaller branches that could be used for kindling. He found two stout twigs that could be used for splints and took them back inside.
After making himself a quick snack of yogurt and an apple, Harm sat down to think about their situation.
Loren had broken her arm. That in itself was not life threatening, but their situation - just the two of them being stuck out here (wherever here was) in a cabin without any modern appliances and conveniences - meant that normal actions would be twice as hard (if not three times harder) for Loren to accomplish.
She would be pretty helpless as she could no longer do most things that one does automatically with one's dominant hand. She couldn't write, couldn't shake hands, couldn't salute, couldn't dress herself. She would also not be able to go the bathroom without his help. She would need help to clean and wipe herself down afterwards. Yes this was a very intimate, personal private activity, but it was a fact that would have to be dealt with. Loren was certainly not going to like it.
Harm went red in the face just thinking about having to clean her up like a baby. But out here in the wilderness and in the outhouse, she would have no choice. And since there was no toilet paper, they would have to use either grass or some of that precious newspaper.
As for dressing her - everyone needs two hands to put on underwear, socks, pantyhose, shirts, trousers and brassieres. Loren no longer had 2 hands. Harm was probably going to have to dress her as well.
Harm sat on the couch staring into the fire thinking about Loren and their situation. While she had an ice cold reputation and had stated that she wanted to be the first female JAG - she was still a good lawyer with the potential to become a much better one. She did her research well; she was an excellent investigator and she stayed out of office politics - just choosing to not make any friends. However in a small, closed and even polarised environment such as JAG that option was not 'acceptable'. One either ran with the hare, or hunted with the hounds.
Loren's aloofness had been twisted into something it really wasn't, into malice. Colonel Mackenzie had possibly been the first to force the connection and had given Loren the label Lieutenant Witch and now everyone else used it.
Harm did not like derogatory labels applied to anyone with names, and discouraged others from referring to Loren as Lieutenant Witch whenever he heard the name being mentioned - not that his warnings stopped anyone. But Harm had recognised another survivor in Loren Singer. Like Harm, Loren too had put up emotional walls to prevent herself from being hurt - just as he did, and the hurtful labels aimed in her direction only caused the walls to become thicker and higher and more impenetrable.
Musing on the mystery of Loren Singer, Harm lay down on the couch and fell asleep.
Several hours later he woke up with a jerk.
"What, wha-?" he groaned as he was jerked awake. Then came the sound again. A loud moan - Help - coming from the bedroom.
Harm pushed himself up from the couch and moved into the bedroom. Loren's blue eyes filled with relief as she stared at him, and she smiled. "Thank god, you're here. I thought I was dreaming."
"How are you feeling, Loren?" Harm asked.
"My arm hurts so bad. I can't lift it, I can't even seem to get up. Can you help me to get up, please?"
Harm grasped her left arm and gently pulled her to a sitting position. Then he lifted her legs at the knees, and swung them around so she was sitting correctly on the edge of the bed.
Then came the dreaded words, "I need to go the bathroom. Is there a toilet around here?"
Harm could not help it. His face went red. "There is an outhouse separate from the cabin but I have to warn you, it is just a hole in the ground although there is a seat. No TP though. I'll show you where it is. I know this is going to be embarrassing but if you need me to help you with anything, please let me know."
Loren frowned, and nodded. But as she was looking downwards, she realised that there were no shoes on her feet.
"What happened to my shoes?" she asked. "I guess you are going to have to tie them for me as I can't manage them one handed."
Harm put her sneakers on her feet and tied the shoelaces, then stood back, giving Loren room to stand.
She pushed herself up from the bed with her left hand and moved to the door. Harm led her outside and around the cabin to the outhouse, where, red-faced, he handed her a folded up piece of newspaper.
"If you have any trouble, let me know."
"I don't need you to clean me up like a baby," she snapped. "I can clean myself up, you know!"
"Yes I know, but just in case..." Harms voice trailed off as he went red again. "God, this is embarrassing" he thought.
After a few minutes, Loren's voice called out. "Harm? Are you still there?"
"Yes, Loren."
"God this is so embarrassing, but I need your help."
Harm slowly opened the door, not knowing what to expect. Loren stood there with her jeans down around her knees.
"I can't pull my jeans up, nor can I do up the fly", she whispered, her face flaming crimson.
Harm stepped up close, bent down, grasped her jeans and pulled them up. He tried to ignore the way her hair smelled, and the way her skin felt against his thumbs as he dragged the jeans up over her hips. Then he had to put one hand down the front of her jeans while the other hand pulled up the zipper and snapped the button into place.
He stepped back with his face all red as well.
"Thank you, Harm" Loren whispered.
He nodded, turned and stumbled out of the outhouse.
Loren followed him out and together they moved back to the cabin.
"You hungry?" Harm asked. "You must be hungry, you haven't eaten."
"Starving actually" Loren sat down on one of the chairs.
"Well we have corn chips, apples, granola bars, chocolate, - things you can eat with one hand pretty easily. Also for drinks we have instant coffee, hot chocolate or water."
Loren chose an apple, a granola bar and some chocolate and a cup of hot chocolate.
Harm set about cutting up an apple for her, unwrapping a granola bar and making a cup of hot chocolate.
Harm helped himself to more yoghurt and another apple, and joined Loren at the table. After they had finished eating, Harm turned to face Loren, mentally running through the points he felt they needed to discuss.
"First off, I need to check and rebandage your arm. I have a couple of pieces of split wood I want to use as a splint, so when I unwrap the bandage, I need for you to try and straighten the arm as much as you can, so I can splint it and then re-bandage it. I'm sorry Loren, but this going to hurt, and the only pain meds we have in the first aid kit are Tylenol and Midol. Do you want some Tylenol before we start?"
Loren, already pale at the prospect of more pain, nodded and gratefully accepting the two pain pills, swallowed them and braced herself for what was to come.
Harm set about unbandaging and splinting Loren's arm. He had to take his time and work slowly in order to not knock the arm by accident, because the slightest jarring of her arm left Loren gasping in pain. Despite Harm's care, Loren's moans of pain were almost non-stop by the time by the time he had finished but at least now the arm had a splint of sorts on it. He carefully hung a new sling around her neck and she gave a loud sigh of relief as her arm finally got some support.
Harm took a deep shuddering breath as he let the tension flow out of his body, and wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead and managed a shaky grin as he and Loren sat silently for a few seconds just looking each other.
Then Harm spoke, "This is our situation. Your broken arm, and your footwear, means we cannot just hike out of here, which is what I would be suggesting if we were both able bodied people or if I was on my own. We are not expected back at JAG until Monday morning, so as of right now, NO ONE is looking for us and they won't be looking until Monday. My cell phone doesn't work. Yours probably won't either. Most likely no cell phone towers. The battery on the car was drained and of course we have no way of getting the car back up on the road.
"Right now we are warm and we are dry. We have food, water, fire, and a toilet; so while things are pretty basic, they also meet our immediate needs for survival. Our best bet is to stay here. Tomorrow I will lay out an SOS on the snow outside with some ashes from the fire, And for a change the snow will work in our favour, the white snow will make a high contrast background for the ash, so it should be seen quite easily."
While he'd been speaking, Loren had begun to frown and by the time he'd finished her frown had become more pronounced and it was clear that she was not very happy.
Do you want to add, anything, Loren?" Harm looked at Loren.
"No sir". Loren was slumped in her chair. "I am sorry for being such a bother, sir."
"Loren! Look at me!" Harm snapped it out like an order.
Loren raised her eyes automatically - and Harm smiled.
"This is NOT your fault. We don't control the weather. If it is anyone's fault, it's probably mine for not stopping earlier. But no, I had to keep driving. That was a stupid, dumbass mistake on my part, and one I won't be making again.
"Another thing, there are no ranks here. So please do NOT call me sir or Commander. We need to cooperate in order for us both to survive. I would prefer that you call me Harm. And I would like to call you Loren. OK?"
He raised an eyebrow and got a single nod in return. "Good. Now I know you are a very independent person, but I need to know that you will ask me for help rather than try to struggle on your own. Loren? Loren?"
Loren's eyes were already drifting closed, so Harm helped her up out her of the chair and back to the bedroom. As she sat down, she tumbled to one side and was asleep in seconds.
For the second time that day, Harm removed her shoes, and lifted her legs to lay her flat on the bed. He covered her up with the blanket and then stood there watching her.
With her blonde hair flowing across the pillow, Loren was actually a beautiful and very attractive young woman. But her habit of keeping her hair in a bun meant that others never got the chance to see it.
Checking his watch, Harm was surprised to find that it was already 1900 hours. Where had the day gone? He mentally checked back over all that he had done. Moved Loren from the car to the cabin, then gone back to get the food, blankets and his sea-bag, set up home in the cabin, had a sleep, taken Loren to the outhouse, rebandaged her arm, ate a dinner of sorts, and now briefly talked about their situation. These activities had all taken up time. Harm too felt tired. With so much to do, and with Loren to take care of, he had ignored – or rather tried to fight off - the effects of the concussion he received, but now those effects were beginning to make themselves felt and he too needed to sleep.
Harm debated whether or not to sleep on the couch, but decided to sleep on the bed. Since Loren had been upset when she woke up earlier that afternoon, with no one else around, it would probably be more comforting for her to know that he was there.
Harm cleared away the remains of the meal, went to the outhouse for his own needs and banked the fire so that it would die down - he would need to have cold ashes tomorrow to make an SOS sign. He checked that the outside door was locked and secure, removed his boots and then went to lie down on the double bed next to Loren. He was asleep within minutes.
