(A what? Oh, my, god. He said 'an eternity'. Ok, I remember how this goes. Do I ever!) "Is that how long we're going to wait, Harm?"
(She picked it up. Ok, Navy. Let's go.) "No. It's how long I want...with you."
Mac's jaw drops. (Oh, my, god. He did it, he let go. He. Let. Go.) "Are you sure? I mean, every other time we've tried to have this conversation, something bad has happened."
(Am I sure? Yeah, I'm tired of holding back.) "Yes, I'm sure. It's past time we did this. But, this is probably not the best time, you should sleep."
"Oh, no you don't, Rabb. You're not wiggling out of this now. I'm perfectly capable of talking right now."
"I'm not trying to get out of it, I swear. I promise you, as soon as you're out of the hospital, we'll talk."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I haven't yet."(And I don't intend to...at least when it comes to you.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One week later...
"Harm! Put me down! I am perfectly capable of walking out of this hospital under my own power!"
"Actually, Col. MacKenzie is right about putting her down, but you need to put her in this wheelchair. Hospital procedure requires she be wheeled out.", nurse Davies stated calmly.
"Is that really neccesary, nurse? I feel fine, I just want to go home, and I hate feeling like an invalid."
"Ma'am, you suffered serious injuries a week ago, you need as much rest as you can get. If you insist on trying to do things your body is not ready for, I can assure you, home will be the last place you go. In fact, you'll find yourself right back in that hospital bed. I will call the doctor and I will have him revoke your discharge. Now, please allow the Commander to put you in the wheelchair."
"Marine, I believe you've just been given a non-negotiable order."
sighs"Fine, put me down, Harm and get me out of here. I want to go home now"
-
30 minutes later:
"Harm, where are we going? This isn't the way to my apartment."
"No, it's the way to mine. The doctor said you'd probably need around the clock attention, at least for a while. He suggested a hospice or home care nurse. I didn't think you'd go for either option, but I also knew you wouldn't want to stay in the hospital. So, you're staying with me until you're ready to be on your own again."
"No, way! I want to go home. 'Home' means my apartment and that means now!"
"Mac, you can't be on your own yet. You can't drive, you won't be able to cook, you won't even be able to shower or bathe normally until your arm and ribs heal. Unless you want to be in the hospital, you need someone with you. That's me."
"Fine, you're right, but why can't I be at my apartment for all this? I'd feel much more comfortable in my own home."
"Your couch is not big enough for me to sleep on, mine is, my apertment now has every kind of food I could get my hands on for you, and, do you really want me staying for weeks on end in your apartment?"
"You make valid points, counselor. Your apartment it is." (No way in hell could I handle you in my place for that long.)
-
At Harm's Apartment:
"So, Mac, you hungry?"
"Absolutely, I am so sick of hospital 'food'. It's the most bland, tasteless, disgusting stuff on earth. It should be considered cruel and unusual punishment to make anyone eat that stuff."
"It's good for you. It's healthy and nutritional."
smirks"So you eat it. I, personally, would much prefer a nice, thick, juicy steak, a baked potato with sour cream, and some kind of chocolate for dessert."
"God, that's about a hundred grams of fat in one serving. I can hear your arteries clogging from here. Can I at least interest you in a salad to try and balance out the rest of it?"
"If it makes you happy, flyboy, go for it."
"Then, maybe, after dinner we can have that discussion we 'tabled' at the hospital?"
(Wow, he brought it up himself, I'm impressed.)"Absolutely, if you're ready, so am I"
-
tbc...
(A/N Ok, ok, before the stoning, I'm sory it took four years to update this. As I mentioned in the A/N chapter, God's sense of humor has been in overdrive with my life. I solemnly promise to finish this story by the end of this year. Then I'll focus on finishing the other stories I let wither.)