Two months later; AJ and Harm were officially moved in together, and were loving life together as it was. Harm's job was getting easier now that all the preliminary paperwork had been handled, and everyone was used to having Harm as their commanding officer.
It was past midnight now, and the pounding on the door woke AJ from a deep sleep, he trudged tiredly down the stairs in his boxers and pulled the front door open, an angry scowl on his face at whoever decided to disturb his peaceful rest.
"Admiral!" Jennifer gasped as she flew into AJ's body and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest as she sobbed loudly.
"Coates, what the hell is the meaning of this?!" AJ bellowed as he peeled the young petty officer away from his chest and stared down at the distraught look on Jennifer's face, "Jen, what's wrong?" AJ asked as he held onto Jennifer's shoulders, he could feel the tremors wracking her entire body.
Jennifer looked up at AJ with tears in her eyes "It's… It's Harm, sir…" Jennifer said shakily as the tears slid down her cheeks in rapid waves.
AJ inhaled deeply "What?! What the hell happened?!" AJ shouted as he pulled Jennifer into the townhouse and shut the door behind them.
Jennifer inhaled shakily as she shook her head "He… He was on his… way home… his car… it… he's… he got into a wreck… He's…" Jennifer stammered out, shaking her head as she began sobbing loudly again.
"Don't… Don't tell me… He can't be dead!" AJ shouted in disbelief as he hugged onto Jennifer, his own tears threatening to fall.
"No sir… NO! He's… He's not! He's not dead… But… He's… He's in… critical condition!" Jennifer wailed against AJ's chest, her tears riding down her cheeks and down onto AJ's bare chest.
"Okay… Okay… That's better…" AJ said calmly as he slowly released Jennifer, "Give me a few minutes… I need to get dressed, and you need to compose yourself Petty Officer!" AJ ordered as he quickly stood up and headed upstairs to the bedroom.
When AJ came back down in a pair of jeans and T-Shirt, Jennifer was waiting by the door, more composed than she had been earlier, he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder and headed out of the house "Which hospital?" AJ asked as he got into his SUV and Jennifer followed a few seconds later.
Jennifer inhaled deeply as she pulled the seat belt across her chest "He's at Royal London, Sir." Jennifer replied calmly, even though she didn't feel at all calm.
AJ nodded as he pulled up Royal London on the GPS system and began driving through the streets at breakneck speeds to get to the hospital "How bad is it?" AJ asked as he concentrated on the road ahead, weaving in and out of the minimal traffic on the road.
Jennifer shrugged her shoulders helplessly "Unknown sir, they wouldn't talk to me and tell me anything, they only knew to contact me… I'm his direct contact, at least since we came to London. But… You're his… Power of Attorney… So, they have to talk to you, don't they?" Jennifer asked as she looked up at AJ with new tears forming in her eyes.
AJ nodded his head slowly "Being in control of Harm's medical decisions and everything else, yeah, they have to talk to me." AJ confirmed as he pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, finding a spot relatively close to the doors; he and Jennifer quickly ran through the lot and into the emergency department.
Harm laid lifelessly on the hospital bed, attached to a ventilation machine, heart rate monitor and an EEG Machine, AJ stood in the doorway, his hands shaking as he carefully walked into the room and stood by Harm's bedside.
AJ clasped Harm's unnaturally cold hand and brought it up to his lips, gently kissing the battered knuckles of his lover "I'm here Harm, I'm right here…" AJ whispered as he leaned forward and kissed Harm lovingly on the forehead, which was bruised and cut up.
Harm's doctor came into the room and cleared his throat, AJ stood up straight, his fingers still wrapped around Harm's fingers as he looked at the doctor "What can you tell me?" AJ demanded as he stared pointedly at the doctor.
The Doctor shook his head "Well, Mr. Chegwidden, he is in a coma and… The outlook is pretty slim for survival. He's suffering from a severe concussion, all but three of his ribs are cracked, both of his legs were broken in the wreck, and we had to remove his spleen… It was completely shredded." The doctor reported as he stared at the older man before him.
AJ inhaled shakily "What… what are the actual… chances?" AJ asked, gulping down the lump forming in his throat.
The doctor sighed as he picked up Harm's chart at the foot of the bed "If I'm being realistic, I give him a twenty percent chance of survival right now. The doctor said quietly, his head lowering slightly in sympathy for the man before him.
AJ gripped Harm's hand a little tighter as a tear rode down his cheek, "Thank you, doctor." AJ said dismissively, the doctor nodded as he walked back out of the room "Jen, you can come back in now." AJ stated as he grabbed a chair and sat down beside Harm's bedside.
Jennifer came into the room and stood at the foot of Harm's bed, her tears still streaking down her cheeks "I need you to call Mac, and tell her what's going on so she can tell Trish and Frank… Then if you could call General Cresswell, Harriet, Bud… Anyone who needs to know, I need them told." AJ said firmly.
Jennifer nodded her head as she withdrew her cellphone and left the hospital room once again to place the calls.
AJ breathed out raggedly as he laid his head against Harm's hand, "Harm… You have to stay with me…" AJ whispered as he kissed the back of Harm's hand "You have to baby, I need you… You hear me? I need you!" AJ said as he gently tugged on Harm's hand "Please, Harm… I'm begging you… Don't leave me, not like this… You can't go out like this…" AJ continued, his voice low as he placed several kisses against Harm's hand.
Fifteen hours later, AJ was still at Harm's bedside, now lying down on the bed next to Harm's prone form, one arm wrapped lightly around his lover's chest, holding onto him protectively.
"We shouldn't bother him…" Mac whispered as she stared with bleary eyes at her best friend lying helplessly and vulnerable on the hospital bed.
"AJ needs to know that we're all here." Trish said softly as she took a few tentative steps into the room, her bottom lip quivering as she took the remaining steps to stand beside her son, a shaking hand reaching out to grab Harm's freehand. Trish leaned forward and kissed her son on the forehead, then turned to AJ as she set her other hand on AJ's shoulder "AJ darling, we're here." Trish said softly as she gently shook AJ's shoulder.
AJ groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, then sat up a bit, and looked around the room "Oh, you… you guys are here already… Wow… What time is it?" AJ asked tiredly as he scrubbed a shaking hand down his face.
Mac sat down beside AJ and frowned "Eastern, Western or London time, sir?" Mac asked quietly as she looked up at AJ with a sad smile on her face.
"London will do just fine, Colonel." AJ stated as he carefully stood up from the bed, stretching out his back and arms, a low groan escaping his lips as he released the stiffness from his back.
Mac nodded slightly as she stood up "Its 0733 Sir." Mac said as she wrapped her arms around AJ's body and hugged him closely.
AJ frowned as he wrapped his arms around Mac's shoulders and held her close "I failed Mac… I failed you… I failed him… I'm… I'm so sorry." AJ whispered as he laid his cheek on top of Mac's head.
Mac shook her head adamantly as she tilted her head to look up at AJ "Oh AJ, no… No you didn't… You couldn't have protected him from this! There was just no way!" Mac said as she grabbed AJ by the jaw, forcing him to look at her "This is not your fault AJ." Mac stated firmly as she released his jaw and pushed him to sit back down on the edge of the bed beside Harm.
AJ shook his head and rubbed his hands over his head, sighing raggedly as he looked over at Harm, tears forming in his eyes "What happened, AJ?" Mac asked softly as she sat down in front of AJ.
Trish, Frank, Jennifer, Harriet, Bud, Thomas Boone, and General Cresswell all filed into the room and took up seats in various locations in the room – Tom sat at the head of the bed beside Harm, tsking at the condition of the young man – everyone waited on bated breath for AJ to tell them what happened to Harm.
AJ inhaled shakily as he grasped Harm's hand, gently stroking his thumb over the back of it "The authorities said that it was a drunk driver that hit him… Harm had been at the Embassy all day… They were having a meeting of sorts, I don't know much about the meeting… Anyway, it was late when he was on his way home, and… some drunk idiot… slammed into the side of Harm's car. Sent it rolling down the street at rapid paces… The police said by the time they got onto the scene, Harm had been tossed from the car… Nearly fifty feet from the crash site… But… I don't get it, Harm always – I mean always – wears a seat belt… So… How all this happened, I just… I can't explain it!" AJ said with a heavy sigh as he looked over at his lover, gently stroking the back of his index finger down Harm's cheek, "I can't lose him… I just… I can't." AJ whispered as the tears streamed down his cheeks, turning back to Mac.
Mac nodded as she stood up and wrapped her arms around AJ, hugging him close and kissing the top of his head "I know… I know… and you won't lose him AJ… You know the man has nine lives… He's escaped death several times… He'll pull through." Mac said reassuringly as she brushed her hand down AJ's back soothingly. AJ nodded as he turned back to Harm's prone form, staring at him with free-flowing tears sliding down his cheeks.
Three weeks had gone by since Harm was in the accident. Everyone had kept a bedside vigil, Harm was never alone while he laid in the hospital. His condition was bumped from severely critical down to critical after two weeks of being in the coma. AJ constantly stayed within arms-length of Harm, and everyone they've known through the years had spent time at Harm's bedside, reliving memories of old, laughing or crying over said memories, begging Harm to stay alive, if not for himself, then for the people who loved him.
Harm's eyes started moving rapidly behind his eyelids, a low groan rolling in his throat, everyone's head shot up from their sleeping position and AJ sat up and turned towards Harm, taking up his hand "Harm… Harm can you hear me?" AJ asked softly as he reached his other hand up to gently stroke Harm's forehead, his eyes were still closed, but the slight nod of his head made everyone in the room let out the breath that they had been holding, "Someone turn off the lights." AJ requested softly as he stroked down Harm's cheek softly.
The lights in the room dimmed, all except the one over the sink, "Open your eyes Harm, please…" AJ asked softly, continuing to stroke. Harm's eyes slowly opened up, he stared up at AJ with tears welling up in his eyes, "Shhh, shhh, its okay. It's okay Harm, don't try and talk… and don't cry either… You'll only choke yourself." AJ said softly, chuckling slightly.
Harm nodded his head slowly as he reached up and gripped AJ's wrist, squeezing tightly "Okay, okay… Calm down – Someone go get the doctor!" AJ demanded as he carefully pried Harm's fingers off his wrist and linked their fingers together, "We'll get someone to remove the tube, I promise… Just relax, Harm… Just relax." AJ said softly, squeezing Harm's hand reassuringly.
Harm nodded again as he laid his head back, the tears sliding down the sides of his face as he looked up at the ceiling.
The doctor walked into the room with a smile on his face "Well now, this day is turning into quite a good day! Let's see if we can't get you talking, Mr. Rabb." The doctor said as he moved to stand at Harm's bedside and turned off the ventilation machine, carefully monitoring Harm to make sure his lungs would continue breathing on their own. The doctor nodded as he patted Harm's shoulder "Very good, Mr. Rabb – I'm going to pull the tube out now. You're going to feel a slight pull, but I need you to cough as I pull it out, okay?" The doctor asked in a gentle tone.
Harm nodded as he gripped AJ's hand a bit tighter as the doctor began removing the tube from Harm's throat. Once the tube was out, Harm turned his head into his shoulder and began coughing viciously, AJ grabbed a cup of water and brought it over to Harm's lips "Harm, drink this babe… Come on." AJ prompted as he helped lift Harm's head up and take a few slow sips of the water.
The doctor nodded approvingly as he examined his patient and looked up at AJ "Looks good. Just give him a few minutes to adjust to being awake again… We'll keep an eye on him for the next few hours, and if nothing gets worse, we'll talk about when and if he can go home. But, you all should know, especially you Mr. Rabb – The injuries sustained in the wreck-…" The doctor began but Harm cut him off with a shuddering gasp as he shook his head.
Everyone turned their head to look at Harm "Wasn't… a wreck…" Harm coughed out, his eyes watering up again.
"Harm, what are you talking about? Your car was hit by a drunk driver and flipped you over numerous times!" AJ said, confusion in his voice as he sat down in front of Harm, gently grasping his hand.
Harm nodded slightly as he inhaled slowly and evenly "That… part… is true…" Harm gasped out.
AJ sighed as he slowly sat Harm up and gently rubbed circles across his back "Breathe, take it easy." AJ whispered against Harm's head.
Harm nodded as he gripped the edge of the mattress tightly "The wreck… was a… set-up…" Harm coughed into AJ's chest, letting out a strangled sob as he clutched AJ's arm and the mattress a bit tighter.
AJ sighed as he wrapped his arms around Harm's upper body and gently carded his fingers through Harm's hair soothingly "Harm, stop talking – You'd be better off talking to the police about this. There is no reason to repeat your story more than once. Whatever it is, it can wait." AJ stated as he gently laid Harm back down on the bed and gently stroked the back of his index finger down his lover's cheek.
Harm nodded slowly as he took in a shaky breath as tears slid down the sides of his face again, "I… Tell me… what is… wrong with me…" Harm asked as he looked up at AJ with tear-filled eyes.
AJ sighed as he brushed back Harm's hair lovingly, "Maybe you should get some rest right now, you've just woken up and you're already stressing yourself out." AJ said calmingly as he stared into the pale blue eyes of his lover.
Harm nodded slightly as he looked down at his battered body, then his eyes flicked up to all the faces in the room "So many… people." Harm whispered, his voice sounding tired and his eyes growing heavy.
"And they will all be here when you wake up, now go to sleep." AJ stated in a firm tone as he stared pointedly at Harm.
Nodding his head, Harm closed his eyes and sighed softly "Yes sir…" Harm said groggily as he began drifting off back to sleep.
AJ shook his head, chuckling softly as he settled back down in the reclining chair beside Harm's bed "Had I known getting into a relationship with him would cause him to actually listen to my orders… I'd have done that ten years ago." AJ said as he gently held onto Harm's hand.
Mac smirked as she nodded her head "Would have made all our lives easier, sir." Mac agreed as she snuggled down beside AJ on the reclining chair and watched the even rise and fall of Harm's chest. AJ nodded as he wrapped an arm around Mac's shoulder and relaxed in the seat "He's going to be okay now, he has no choice but to get better. Not with all of us in his corner." Mac said as she hugged around AJ's stomach lightly, AJ nodded as he rubbed Mac's arm comfortingly.
A couple hours later, Harm was lying in the bed and staring at AJ who was stretched out on the reclining chair, which he'd taken up permanent residence for the past three weeks and Mac who was curled up against his side and been there throughout the entire time as well. Harm sighed as his eyes roamed the room slowly, taking note of everyone else who was in the room, Trish and Frank were in another corner on a second recliner and curled into each other's arms, both sleeping also. Then there were Harriet and Bud who were curled up on the couch together, snuggling and sleeping.
General Cresswell was also in the room, he was sitting in a straight backed chair with his arms crossed over his chest and also in a deep sleep. On the other side of his bed was Tom Boone, his dad's best friend, also in a deep sleep. Harm sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, he had nobody to speak to and it frustrated him to no end, his breathing started hitching and becoming erratic, senseless tears sprung up and he began silently sobbing into the bed, fighting his internal emotions. He started thrashing in the bed as the images of his attack began flickering in his mind, his entire body trembling as he tried fighting harder to erase the images, his silent sobs turning to full-fledged screams, both from the physical pain and the emotional pain.
"Harm… Harm… Calm down! Calm down!" a voice from just behind him commanded, a set of strong hands grasping his shoulders to pin him down to the mattress.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Harm shouted as he fought against the iron grip on his shoulders, tears streaming down his face as he continued trashing his body.
AJ shot up and grabbed Harm's arms, "Harm! It's okay… It's okay!" AJ shouted as he pinned Harm's wrists to the bed.
Another pair of strong hands pinned his casted legs down to the bed, and Harm's entire body stilled, "Harm… Harm look at me." AJ commanded as he stared down at Harm's terror stricken face.
Harm lifted his head up and took several shuddering breathes, the tears slowly subsiding, his eyes locking onto AJ's face "Oh god… AJ… What? Who…?" Harm asked, jerking his head to look at the person who was holding his shoulders "Tom…" Harm whispered hoarsely.
The three men released Harm's body and let out a sigh of release as AJ sat down beside Harm, gently taking his hand, "What happened Harm?" AJ asked softly as he kissed Harm's fingers lightly.
Harm shook his head as he took a deep breath "The wreck was a set-up… The driver, wasn't drunk… He was driving a huge truck… Sent my car into a barrel roll… By the time the car stopped rolling, landing on the hood… I was still in the car secured by the seatbelt." Harm stated, tears welling up in his eyes again "I need to talk to the cops AJ… This, this attack… It was personal AJ, it… it wasn't a random act!" Harm stated as he gradually calmed himself back down.
AJ nodded as he slowly stood up and leaned over Harm's body "I'll call, don't worry." AJ whispered as he kissed Harm's forehead softly and then turned to walk out of the room.
Everyone was now awake after Harm's episode and were all looking at him with sympathy and tears in their eyes, "I'm okay now…" Harm assured them with a half-hearted smile on his face.