Cailín's POV

We had finished at the funeral home and then picked up something to for dinner. No one felt like cooking. When we pulled into the driveway I noticed a familiar car. My heart stopped. We walked into the house and the guys were already home but there were two additions. Sam and Don.

"What are you two doing here?" Susan asked what I wanted to but couldn't.

"They figured we could use more support." Eric replied. He and Sam seemed to be very close, but I couldn't take my eyes off of Don.

"Cai…" He walked towards me. I could feel everyone watching us but I could only see him. He placed his free hand on my cheek and with that touch, my resolve vanished. I looked him in the eyes and then ran out of the room. I couldn't face him. I headed outside and out of view from everyone. "Cailín?" He had followed me.

"Did I ask you to come? Did I say anything on the phone that gave you the impression that I wanted you here?" I wasn't angry; I was touched that he had come but I couldn't and wouldn't let my guard down. I couldn't let him show how I truly felt.

"No, but it's not what you said… it's what you didn't say. It was how you said it." He stepped in front of me. "Tell me the truth: was Sam right last night?"

"Was Sam right about what?" I knew what he was asking.

"Have you been in love with me since we were kids?" I looked him in the eye.

"Things change. People change. That was then." My face was stern. I was hoping that nothing in my eyes betrayed what I was trying to say.

"So was she right?" Didn't he get it?

"She was right in saying that I had been in love with you since we were kids, but things change; people change. That was then." My gaze didn't waiver but my heart shattered. I only had myself to blame for this. "Things are different now. I'm not that naïve little girl anymore. I'm sorry you drove all the way down here. I'm sorry for everything." I turned and went back into the house. When I walked back into the living room there was a new face… well, a face I hadn't seen in a while.

"Hey, Cailín." He looked different in casual clothes. I was so used to seeing him in uniform.

"Harm, what are you doing here?" He hugged me. He was probably one of the only relationships I'd been in that wasn't a complete mistake. We had ended as friends when we both realized that we were both longing for someone else. "How's Mac?"

"Jason called me. Mac's doing well. She'll be here tomorrow. She had to finish a report on a case. How are you holding up?" He still had an arm wrapped around my waist when Don walked in. The room grew silent. I knew Harm could tell that I stiffened by the look he gave me.

"Who's this?" Don looked Harm over; there was an expression on his face I couldn't quite believe.

"Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. He's a friend of the family." Jason said. He looked at me with an unspoken question. I ignored him. Harm seemed to sense something and squeezed my side.

"Ahh!" It slipped out. I instinctually moved away from his hand.

"Cailín, what's wrong." Harm looked at me. He lifted up the side of my t-shirt and saw the white gauze. "What happened?" I looked down at it and saw splotches of red seeping through.

"Excuse me." I made my way to the bathroom.

"You didn't answer me." I could hear Harm following. He stopped the bathroom door with his hand when I tried to close it in his face.

"I was shot two nights ago. Okay, it was a grazing…" He lifted up that side of the t-shirt again. He then began to peel the gauze off. "Ow!"

"Some of the stitches have come out. Didn't the doctor tell you to take it easy?" Harm took a damp washcloth and started to gently wipe at the wound.

"Yes, but under the circumstances…" I really didn't want to go into details right now. Lacey came in and stitched me back up; she's a nurse.

"I hope that guy's in jail." Harm muttered.

"He's dead." I said through clenched teeth. "Don and I were at a hockey game. He was shot in the shoulder… I got a graze. The shooter is dead. Too many people in my life are dying…" I trailed off as I tried to fight another flow of tears. I pushed past Harm and went upstairs. I couldn't deal with it anymore.

Don's POV

"She was right in saying that I had been in love with you since we were kids, but things change; people change. That was then." Her gaze didn't waiver, but it felt like I'd been stabbed with a sharp knife. "Things are different now. I'm not that naïve little girl anymore. I'm sorry you drove all the way down here. I'm sorry for everything." I watched her walk back into the house. I stood frozen for several minutes, not really sure what to make of it. When I walked back inside and entered the living there was some guy holding onto her.

"Who's this?" I asked. I knew jealousy was probably written on my face. This guy and Cailín seemed a little too close for me.

"Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. He's a friend of the family." Jason replied. He looked at Cailín; he wasn't quite sure what was going on.

"Ahh!" She yelped when the Harmon guy squeezed her side. He lifted her shirt up and asked about the bandage. I hadn't even seen what had happened to her. All I knew was that she had been grazed by a bullet the other night and I only knew that because of what everyone else had said.

"Who is that guy?" I asked when he followed her into the bathroom.

"He's a friend of the family. He is also an ex-boyfriend of hers." I looked at Jason.

"Is he Navy?" I was curious.

"Yes, he's a lawyer with the Judge Advocate General's court. He used to be a Top Gun until a crash left him with night blindness."

"Who's Mac?" Sam asked. I was confused. "They were talking about a 'Mac'."

"Major Sarah McKenzie. She's a lawyer with J.A.G. a well. You'll meet her tomorrow." Lacey replied when she came back from the bathroom. She and Jason exchanged a look. Just then Cailín ran upstairs. Harm came back into the room.

"You must be Don?" He looked at me.

"Yeah?" I wondered what Cailín had said to him.

"So what exactly happened the other night?" Harm looked between me and Eric. I told him what I knew and then Eric filled in the rest. "She's having a hard time dealing with everything."

"She's been through so much over the years; so many people in her life have died. Our mom, Patrick, Matt, that shooter, and now Dad…" Jason put his head in his hands.

"It'll be a miracle if she pulls herself out of this." Eric commented. I sank into an empty seat.

"What did she say to you, Don?" Sam looked at me.

"She said that things change; people change…" I felt like a weight had settled over me and I wasn't sure I was strong enough to carry it.

"She's scared. Right now her world is crashing down around her… again. She doesn't want to let anyone in. She doesn't want to show that she cares; she's afraid that if she does that person is going to leave her too." Jason looked at me with understanding in his eyes. Cailín was shutting everybody out; not just me. "I just hope she'll pull out of this."

"Where's Sarah?" Lacey asked. I don't think any of us had notice that the little girl wasn't in the room.