Saturday Day 29
Harm was pale and still when Mac pushed open the door to his hospital room a little after 1000 Saturday . He turned his head towards her at the sound of the door and gave her a brilliant smile. She came in and laid a warm hand on his shoulder and bent over and kissed his cheek. He was startled by the gesture, but pleased she'd chanced it.
"How are you feeling?"
"Well this place isn't much better than the brig to be honest, but" he nodded at the door way "I get a way better class of visitors."
She slipped out of her jacket and hung it over the back of the a solid metal chair with a padded back and seat. Then she opened the bag she'd carried in and brought out the treasures she'd brought. "I brought mail" she said. I took the liberty of bringing only the magazines and personal correspondence, I thought the bills could wait a few more days."
"That depends," Harm chuckled and winced "Was the power still on at my place."
"Yeah the lights were still on and there was no eviction notice."
Harm took the stack from her and flipped though it one handed. There were 4 pale green square envelopes addressed in a familiar hand. He pulled one out and waved it at her as she scooted the chair a little closer to the bed.
"What's this?"
"It's old fashioned I know, but you were a little out of touch for a while and there were a few things I needed to get off my chest."
Harm shook his head and made to open the one he held. She put his hand over his. 'Not yet OK."
"OK"
Mac spent all that remained of the day in Harm's hospital room. She was so pleased that the embargo had been lifted from their friendship that she had arrived as soon as visiting time permitted and left only when he had other company or fell asleep.
At 2205 hours, Lieutenant Yeo came in. She gave Harm a fresh carafe of water, adjusted his blankets and eyed Mac's dozing figure curled up beside him on the cot with a wry smile. She turned the lights off when she left and hoped she wouldn't catch hell from the senior duty nurse. Awakened by the intrusion, Harm lay still listening to Mac's even breathing. They'd slept together in lots of places under lots of circumstances over the years. He wondered not for the first time, what it might be like to take her to bed. He thought of the letters then and so with his free hand he managed to turn on the bedside light and snag open the first of the 4 letters. None were very long but it was clear to him at least that she was finally willing after everything to let him into her life. The first one began:
"What the hell, Harm? I can't believe any of this is true and I can't believe I'm supposed to prosecute you. I've wasted so much time on regret and anger. Do you suppose we'll get one more chance?" M
"PS I called your mom and now she's as ticked at me as you're going to be when I see you in court."
The second one referred to her conversation with Webb.
"I saw Clay last night. What do I do next?"
M
"PS I can't remember why I dated him. What was I thinking?"
The next one he read said:
"Harm I hate this. I've picked up the phone three times today to dial your number. The case prep is stalled, we're waiting for some misfiled records to surface and the Admiral is breathing down my neck. I keep thinking if I could just talk with you face to face, I could sort this out."
M
"PS What I wouldn't give for an evening of Meatless Meatloaf now."
And finally:
"Harm
I can't figure out how to get the charges dropped. I've tried to pump Sturgis for hints, but either you're not telling him anything or he's being obtuse. Clay's not answering my phone calls."
M
"PS Have you given up on me?"
Harm snapped off the light, then took the sheets of paper and their envelopes and jammed them into the drawer in the bedside table. The motion gave him a painful jab in his shoulder that made him gasp and moan. The noise startled Mac. She lifted her head. It took her a moment to remember where she was but once she was oriented she nearly fell out of bed in her rush to extricate herself.
"What the hell?" She whispered through clenched teeth.
Harm chuckled. "You were sitting on the bed reading to me after supper and then you fell asleep. I dodged the book when you dropped it but I managed to catch you as you keeled over."
"Sorry Harm."
"When was the last time you had a night's sleep?"
"The night before you went to the Henry I think."
"Yeah me too."
"I've gotta get out of here." She was tiptoeing around in the dark trying to find and slip on her shoes without making any more noise.
She had her coat on and her purse slung over her shoulder when she came back to his bedside. "The letters" she said, "where are the letters?"
"In a safe place. "
"I want them back," she said.
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter. You're safe now."
"You can trust me with what you wrote Mac." He reached up and brushed the hair back from her face. " I trusted you with my life. You haven't let me down yet and I won't let you down."
"You read them."
"While you were asleep."
"Oh."
She took half a step back trying to remember what she'd said, but all she could remember was the pain of losing touch with him and the fear that bolted through her when she realized it might be permanent. He wrapped his big hand around her forearm and drew her back to the bed, back towards him.
"Kiss me goodnight" he said.
She leaned in aiming for his cheek and he caught her full on the mouth. It wasn't half long enough but she got the message loud and clear. The past was in the past and the future was full of possibilities.