Author's Notes: Before I post this part I just want to say thanks for the
reviews, and explain something real quick.
While normally you can't stay in a hospital overnight, this is the children's ward, and when my brother had his procedures done last year they children's hospital actually had a place in the room for parents to sleep if they so desired. Yes, I'm stretching this adaptation a bit; I need it to work this way. ( This part should be a good not-too-depressing stretch here.
***
DECEMBER 25,2002 (0600H LOCAL) WASHINGTON GENERAL HOSPITAL
"Go, Go, Go!" Mac groaned as she did all but fall out of 'her' brown plastic chair. The harsh fluorescent lights offended her tired eyes, but in the last three days she had grown accustomed to they're presence. They were never shut off and the hallways were never still. Nurses no longer gave her or Mickey a second look as they bustled past.
She thanked god to all the gods for short hair and fingers and the pair of civvies she hadn't yet changed into but knew where in a duffle bag in her trunk. She thanked god for the shower she knew was in AJ's room, but hadn't yet utilized. She was sure she smelled, but she couldn't pull away. If she wasn't in uniform and Harm had been the one in the chair across the hallway from her she might have gone through with her dramatic of actually falling from her chair onto the white linoleum floor with the brown spackles.
Commander Turner had gone home the night before with a promise of a Chaplain and a smile in the morning. Harriett's parents were due on the 0900h flight into Dulles and Sturgis had willingly volunteered to pick them up.
The source of the noise that had awakened her was a wheelchair race in the hallway. Yellow-smocked children were racing towards the plastic Christmas tree at the end of the hallway, where even the poorest child was assured a gift. Suddenly the importance of the blue or pink paper angel that she took from the "Brighter Christmas' tree every year fell into place.
Gifts had been opened not though and children were being children for the one time in the year that they could without risk of discipline and they had instituted wild games amongst themselves. One child sat out. He couldn't play. She rubbed her eyes.
"Merridew, come over here." A child with a shock of black hair against his pale face shuffled over to her with his head hung.
"Missa Mac. You're still here?"
"Yes I am."
"Is AJ?"
"Yes he is. They say he just might make it."
"Good. I want to meet him."
"What'd you get from Santa?"
"I gotta a dump truck. I gotta a dump truck last year. I wanted a crane."
"Oh, well, maybe Santa forgot."
"There's no such thing. The crane just costed more. I'm justa poor kid in a hospital." Merridew's dark expressions and tired face set him apart from the others. He was kind enough, but he was years older than his age.
JAG OFFICES SPAIN (1100H LOCAL)
"Hey Mac, It's Harm. It's about 0600H your time. Just calling to let you know the verdict will be in in about an hour. Call me back. Bye.Hey Mac," he started again when her voicemail picked up again. "Are you okay? I haven't heard from you in a while, just wondering how things were going." He was silent for a long time, "Okay.Bye." He finally hung up. "Mac, call me back when you get this, please.okay, bye."
TWO HOURS LATER (1300H LOCAL-SPAIN)
"Hey Mac, it's me again, it's about 1300H. I pulled it off. I don't know how, but I got a lesser charge. Anyway.umm.call me back. 'K, bye." He hung up and stared at the phone. It was 0700H her time, and it was never like Mac to be out of cell reach, even at this hour. He called her house phone with similar results. Now he was concerned.
..
"Rabb."
"You're not worried about me are you?"
"Where have you been?"
"So your case is done?"
"Yeah. I think I'm gonna stay through the New Year, I don't want to fight the crowds.Mac?" He asked when she didn't answer, "You there?"
"Yeah, you might want to risk those crowds Harm. I didn't want to tell you during your trial, please don't be mad at me, but there's been an accident." she proceeded to repeat the details.
WASHINGTON GENERAL (0815H LOCAL)
"Okay. Commander Rabb is on his way as soon as he can get a flight." Mac rushed back into the room, "I've got to leave for awhile. I'll be back in an hour." Sturgis followed her out. "You're going to burn yourself out."
"Bud can't do it alone and you know it."
"I know he can't, but that doesn't mean you have to. You need to let me and my dad help too."
"You are helping Sturgis, more than you know. You've been helping me put together funeral plans with Bud's input and you're really the one holding this together for all of us. I have to do this though. I know more about death than any of you. I know how to do this better'n any of you, unfortunately."
"This is the first time you've left the hospital in three days. Where are you going?" He thought about his upcoming trip to pick up Harriett's parents. He needed to leave in the next twenty minutes to be there by nine.
"Home, I'm going to shower, change, and go the The Mall."
"What's there?"
"Lt. Harmon Rabb Sr. on Christmas afternoon."
"Oh. Need company?"
"No. I usually go with Harm, but I need to go alone this time. I'd like Mickey to try and take Bud home and get cleaned up. He need's a break."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks Sturgis." Mac reached up and hugged him tightly. "You really are a good friend." She caught his hand when he moved to reach around her to return the hug. "Was that me?"
"Yeahup."
"Wow. You shoulda said something, or thumped me on the head."
"Now, why would I thump you on the head? I've done worse to myself. Go, I'll take care of Bud."
0845H LOCAL MAC'S APARTMENT GEROGETOWN, VIRGINIA
She pushed her brass key through the lock and then annoyed that it had already jammed once, twisted much harder than needed. She imagined the key buckling and her crawling through an open window. She lightened her grip upon extraction and with a wooden 'thump-p-p' past the swollen wooden doorframe, pushed it open. It was really quiet without Jingo. She'd been forced to put him down. "Hey there Simon." She lightly scratched her new pet cat behind the ears, glanced at his food and water supply and the litter box in the corner. Yup, it'd been used.
She stripped her uniform as she walked and threw it all on her unmade bed and picked up a now stiffly dried, and previously used towel out of the same discard pile.
She thought of little while the water cascaded over her. A mass nudged between her legs. "Hey Simon, need a bath?" When the cat had stunk up her shower in a way that only a wet cat could, he hopped out and shook and licked violently at his fur and began to roll on her white carpet in and attempt to dry.
"NO!" That ended Mac's shower as she rushed to dry her cat and save her carpet.
While normally you can't stay in a hospital overnight, this is the children's ward, and when my brother had his procedures done last year they children's hospital actually had a place in the room for parents to sleep if they so desired. Yes, I'm stretching this adaptation a bit; I need it to work this way. ( This part should be a good not-too-depressing stretch here.
***
DECEMBER 25,2002 (0600H LOCAL) WASHINGTON GENERAL HOSPITAL
"Go, Go, Go!" Mac groaned as she did all but fall out of 'her' brown plastic chair. The harsh fluorescent lights offended her tired eyes, but in the last three days she had grown accustomed to they're presence. They were never shut off and the hallways were never still. Nurses no longer gave her or Mickey a second look as they bustled past.
She thanked god to all the gods for short hair and fingers and the pair of civvies she hadn't yet changed into but knew where in a duffle bag in her trunk. She thanked god for the shower she knew was in AJ's room, but hadn't yet utilized. She was sure she smelled, but she couldn't pull away. If she wasn't in uniform and Harm had been the one in the chair across the hallway from her she might have gone through with her dramatic of actually falling from her chair onto the white linoleum floor with the brown spackles.
Commander Turner had gone home the night before with a promise of a Chaplain and a smile in the morning. Harriett's parents were due on the 0900h flight into Dulles and Sturgis had willingly volunteered to pick them up.
The source of the noise that had awakened her was a wheelchair race in the hallway. Yellow-smocked children were racing towards the plastic Christmas tree at the end of the hallway, where even the poorest child was assured a gift. Suddenly the importance of the blue or pink paper angel that she took from the "Brighter Christmas' tree every year fell into place.
Gifts had been opened not though and children were being children for the one time in the year that they could without risk of discipline and they had instituted wild games amongst themselves. One child sat out. He couldn't play. She rubbed her eyes.
"Merridew, come over here." A child with a shock of black hair against his pale face shuffled over to her with his head hung.
"Missa Mac. You're still here?"
"Yes I am."
"Is AJ?"
"Yes he is. They say he just might make it."
"Good. I want to meet him."
"What'd you get from Santa?"
"I gotta a dump truck. I gotta a dump truck last year. I wanted a crane."
"Oh, well, maybe Santa forgot."
"There's no such thing. The crane just costed more. I'm justa poor kid in a hospital." Merridew's dark expressions and tired face set him apart from the others. He was kind enough, but he was years older than his age.
JAG OFFICES SPAIN (1100H LOCAL)
"Hey Mac, It's Harm. It's about 0600H your time. Just calling to let you know the verdict will be in in about an hour. Call me back. Bye.Hey Mac," he started again when her voicemail picked up again. "Are you okay? I haven't heard from you in a while, just wondering how things were going." He was silent for a long time, "Okay.Bye." He finally hung up. "Mac, call me back when you get this, please.okay, bye."
TWO HOURS LATER (1300H LOCAL-SPAIN)
"Hey Mac, it's me again, it's about 1300H. I pulled it off. I don't know how, but I got a lesser charge. Anyway.umm.call me back. 'K, bye." He hung up and stared at the phone. It was 0700H her time, and it was never like Mac to be out of cell reach, even at this hour. He called her house phone with similar results. Now he was concerned.
..
"Rabb."
"You're not worried about me are you?"
"Where have you been?"
"So your case is done?"
"Yeah. I think I'm gonna stay through the New Year, I don't want to fight the crowds.Mac?" He asked when she didn't answer, "You there?"
"Yeah, you might want to risk those crowds Harm. I didn't want to tell you during your trial, please don't be mad at me, but there's been an accident." she proceeded to repeat the details.
WASHINGTON GENERAL (0815H LOCAL)
"Okay. Commander Rabb is on his way as soon as he can get a flight." Mac rushed back into the room, "I've got to leave for awhile. I'll be back in an hour." Sturgis followed her out. "You're going to burn yourself out."
"Bud can't do it alone and you know it."
"I know he can't, but that doesn't mean you have to. You need to let me and my dad help too."
"You are helping Sturgis, more than you know. You've been helping me put together funeral plans with Bud's input and you're really the one holding this together for all of us. I have to do this though. I know more about death than any of you. I know how to do this better'n any of you, unfortunately."
"This is the first time you've left the hospital in three days. Where are you going?" He thought about his upcoming trip to pick up Harriett's parents. He needed to leave in the next twenty minutes to be there by nine.
"Home, I'm going to shower, change, and go the The Mall."
"What's there?"
"Lt. Harmon Rabb Sr. on Christmas afternoon."
"Oh. Need company?"
"No. I usually go with Harm, but I need to go alone this time. I'd like Mickey to try and take Bud home and get cleaned up. He need's a break."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks Sturgis." Mac reached up and hugged him tightly. "You really are a good friend." She caught his hand when he moved to reach around her to return the hug. "Was that me?"
"Yeahup."
"Wow. You shoulda said something, or thumped me on the head."
"Now, why would I thump you on the head? I've done worse to myself. Go, I'll take care of Bud."
0845H LOCAL MAC'S APARTMENT GEROGETOWN, VIRGINIA
She pushed her brass key through the lock and then annoyed that it had already jammed once, twisted much harder than needed. She imagined the key buckling and her crawling through an open window. She lightened her grip upon extraction and with a wooden 'thump-p-p' past the swollen wooden doorframe, pushed it open. It was really quiet without Jingo. She'd been forced to put him down. "Hey there Simon." She lightly scratched her new pet cat behind the ears, glanced at his food and water supply and the litter box in the corner. Yup, it'd been used.
She stripped her uniform as she walked and threw it all on her unmade bed and picked up a now stiffly dried, and previously used towel out of the same discard pile.
She thought of little while the water cascaded over her. A mass nudged between her legs. "Hey Simon, need a bath?" When the cat had stunk up her shower in a way that only a wet cat could, he hopped out and shook and licked violently at his fur and began to roll on her white carpet in and attempt to dry.
"NO!" That ended Mac's shower as she rushed to dry her cat and save her carpet.
