what Mac and Harm did not expect when they made there way back inside the hospital was Mattie's nurse coming running up to them..
"Mrs and Mr. Rabb come quick Mattie is having another one of her nightmares…we need to calm her down.."The nurse said..
Harm went running..Mac could not because she was afraid that she would loose her lunch if she did..Harm knew that he did not have to explain to Mac and just went running up the stairs to Mattie room…He entered again hearing the dreaded sounds of Mattie's monitors going crazy…
"Hey sweetie daddy is here I need you to wake up Mattie…You are okay…mom and dad are sorry that we left you alone…you are safe…please wake up.."Harm said as he held her and tried to stop her from screaming.
Mattie finally woke up…she was sweating…Harm knew that something was not right…He just held her though, but knew that he would have to find out what is going on ..he felt his stomach drop when he saw Dr. Hart outside in a conversation with Dr. Matthews. He knew that Dr. Hart was not supposed to be on until tomorrow morning..
Knock…Knock…
"Come in.."Harm said.. Mattie did not move off of Harms chest…as doctor Hart came in Harm began to push Mattie back to laying down position. Mattie fought it and got so upset that she got into a bit of a coughing fit..
"Mattie Dr. Hart has to examine you I will be right here.."Harm said.. Mac was outside the door looking through the window. She was exhausted and could not be in there right now. The way that her emotions were these days she knew that she would not help the situation…Tears started to fall down her face again..next thing she knew there was a hand on her back… Mac turned around quick then she meant to..she was just a little surprised..
"Sorry Mrs. Rabb I did not mean to scare you.."Nicole said..
"Nicole what are you doing here?"Mac asked..
"don't worry about it…I want you to come with me…you need to drink and eat..come on…lets go and grab some food at the cafeteria.."Nicole said..
"I'm okay Nicole…"Mac said not really wanting to leave. As soon as she tried to move though she felt her body tell her that Nicole was right..
"Please.."Nicole pleaded..
"You know I don't know if I could make it down to the cafeteria right now..would you mind running to get me something.."Mac said as she walked with Nicole to the waiting room..
"Sure thing.."Nicole said a little concerned for Mac….seeing her color….Nicole went as quick as she could to the nurses stash and found some good things that would help Mac..she also grabbed her stethoscope and blood pressure bag…she just wanted to makes sure..
"Thank you Nicole…is this cafeteria food?"Mac asked thinking that it looked a lot nicer than that..
"Naw you deserve better than that…Mac would you mind if I took some vitals…you are just looking a little pale?"Nicole asked..
"Yeah that would be fine…I am sorry Nicole…I am going to be a good mom…I just went outside and then Harm came…I guess I lost track of time.."Mac said..
"Mrs. Rabb…I have no doubt that you are going to be a great mom…I see that in the way that you take care of Mattie…you have a lot going on right now.."Nicole said as she began to take Mac's vitals..
Back in Mattie's room..
Harm was final able to get Mattie to lay back down…Harm was surprised how quickly her fever must have come on. He could tell the fever was high because Mattie was really out of it… Dr. Hart started to move towards Mattie's bed after he felt that Harm had calmed Mattie down.. Dr. Hart took a seat on Mattie's bed..
"Mattie…We are going to have to run some more tests.."Dr. Hart said trying to go into doctor mode, but really struggling…He was so upset at what had happened even though he knew that there was nothing he could do to have stopped this..
"No….please….no…..I can't…."Mattie said tears just streaming down her face..
"Mattie I am sorry…we think that you might have some fluid in your lungs or an infected scar from surgery which is why you have such a high fever.."Dr. Hart said..
"I can't do this anymore…"Mattie said just so exhausted from being picked and prodded…
"I know Mattie….I know….this is going to help you get better though because we will know how to treat you…I am so sorry.."Dr. Hart said..
"Please is there any other way…"Mattie said pleading…
"I am afraid not…the nurse is going to come in and draw some blood and then give you some medicine and then we are going to go and do an MRI and some x-rays and then we are going to see where we need to go from there.."Dr. Hart said finishing up some notes and starting to make his way out of the room..
"Hey Dr. Hart…"Mattie said..
"Yeah.."Matt replied..
"Is Nicole here?"Mattie asked..
"Yeah she is.."Dr. Hart said knowing what was coming next. It was one thing that he loved so much about Nicole..
"Do you think that she could draw blood and bring me to all of my tests?"Mattie asked..
"I think that could be arranged…you hang in there… I will see you in a little bit.."Dr. Hart said..
"I will be right back.."Harm said as he followed Dr. Hart out of Mattie's room..
"Harm…"Nicole said..
"What's up? Where is Mac?"Harm asked and then saw the look in Nicole's eyes that made his heart sink and him taste his lunch…
"She is okay…she is down on the maternity floor…I wanted Jennifer to check everything out and then your mom Trish I believe is coming to get her…She is dehydrated and did not eat in a while…she is fine, but she needs to go home.."Nicole said..
"What should I do?"Harm asked now really confused and feeling so torn…
"Harm…Stay with us okay…we can't have you loosing it too…I am going to go and take care of Mattie…you go and stay with Mac until Trish gets here and then you can come back up here and hopefully we will be back from all of the tests.."Nicole said trying to be brave and in control…she really just wanted to loose it in Matts arms…
"Okay I can do that.."Harm said..
"Okay good I will see you soon..I will take good care of Mattie.."Nicole said. With that they all went there separate ways…even Dr. Hart did not talk to Nicole..Matt knew that both of them would break down if they talked to each other, so he went about his duties to go and talk to Dr. Matthews.
With Mac and Jennifer…
"So you are Mrs. Rabb."Jennifer said with a smile trying to keep things light..
"Yeah..I hear that you met my family one night.."Mac said..
"Yeah…they are great…your daughter Mattie…she was so excited that she was going to be a big sister.."Jennifer said as she continued to examine Mac..
"Yeah she is…am I going to be…..okay….the baby…"Mac said getting a little choked up..
"well the last thing to do is to check on the baby.."Jennifer said as she got the ultrasound set up..
"Can we wai….."Mac was just about to ask if they could wait for Harm when there was a knock on the door..
"Hey.."Harm said running to Mac's side..
"Hi Mr. Rabb.."Jennifer said..
"It is good to see you again….is everything okay?"Harm asked..
"So far so good…we were just about to hear your babies heart beat for the first time.."Jennifer said..
"I can't wait.."Harm said as he moved out of the way and grabbed Mac's hand..
"I wanted Mattie to be here for this…"Mac said..
"I know..she will be though…"Harm said..
"Okay Mac if you could lift up your shirt for me a little bit…this gel will be a little cold…"Jennifer said..
Harm and Mac just waited in silence while Jennifer found the heart beat…when she did it was the most amazing sound both of them had ever heard..
"It is so fast.."Harm said..
"yeah.."Jennifer said with a smile. This was one of her favorite parts of the job that she did..
Mac was speechless….her dream was finally coming through.. "Is everything okay?"Mac asked..
"Everything looks great Mac…looks like the baby here has no idea what is going on in the world out here.."Jennifer said..
"that's great.."Mac said…
"I love you so much.."Harm whispered into Mac's ear and then kissed her forehead…
"Mac come by my office on your way out and I will get you your babies first photographs.."Jennifer said..
"Thanks.."Mac said…
Jennifer finished putting the equipment back together and then she left the room. Harm helped Mac to a sitting position and she just pulled him close and lost it…
"Shhhh….Shhhhh…."Harm said rubbing her back..
Mac could not control all the emotions that were going through her. Harm knew that there was nothing he could do so he just held her and let her cry…. After a little while they headed and got the pictures and then they headed outside to meet Trish..
"Hey guys…"Trish said as she met them outside the hospital..
"Hi mom…"Harm said giving her a hug..
"Hi Mom…"Mac said…
"Hey…lets get you two home and to sleep…"Trish said..
"Hopefully some food some where in there.."Mac said..
"You bet…"Trish said..
Mac said her goodbyes to Harm… "I can't do this much longer.."Mac said..
"Do what?"Harm asked…
"Go home without you….we have got to get her better and get our family home together again.."Mac said..
"I know what you mean…you just worry about keeping both of you healthy okay."Harm said..
"Will do…"Mac said as she got in the car…
"We will take good care of her.."Trish said as she gave her son a hug..
"Mom…thank you….I don't know what we would do without you.."Harm said..
"You have lots of people who love you…I have enjoyed so much getting to know your JAG family too.."Trish said..
"I Love you mom…"Harm said as he gave her one final hug and opened the door for her.. Harm watched them drive away..then headed back up to the waiting room…
mean while with Mattie and Nicole..
"Hey Mats…"Nicole said as she came into the room..
"Hey Nicole.."Mats said…
"Oh Mats I am so sorry…"Nicole said..
"It's not your fault…"Mattie said..
'We will just make it as painless as possible.."Nicole said…
So Nicole got the blood work that she needed and gave Mattie the medicine too. Then she took her down to get the tests done and they were back up to her room to get some rest…
"Good job Mats…you are always trooper.."Nicole said..
"Hopefully I will not have to be one for long…"Mattie said..
"I will see ya in a little bit okay…you let me know if I can get ya anything…"Nicole said..
"I will…thanks…"Mattie said..
"Anytime…"Nicole said…
meanwhile with Harm…
Ring…..Ring…
"This is Harm.."Harm said as he picked up the phone..
"Hey Harm its John…I just wanted to check in on Mattie and see how she was doing?"John asked..
"Well she had to go for some more tests…"Harm said not really sure what to say..
"oh…is she going to be okay?"John asked..
"Well she has a high fever, but they are working on trying to figure out what made it spike out of no where.."Harm said..
"Okay…well will you call me when you know more?"John asked..
"I will for sure…do you want to come by the hospital? I am sure that Mattie would love your company.."Harm said..
"Maybe I will come by tomorrow, give the doctors sometime to figure out what is going on."John said..
"Okay I might have to hold you to that…I could use some time with Mac.."Harm said..
"Understood sir….understood…I will give you a call tomorrow…unless something worth reporting happens I will touch base with you in the morning"John said..
"Will do.."Harm said… Perfect timing he though as he saw Nicole come his way..
"Hey Nicole.."Harm said as he got up..
"Hey Mr. Rabb.."Nicole said..
"Nicole you can call me Harm.."Harm said..
"I'll try."Nicole said..
"So how did she do?"Harm asked..
"She did great…she is sleeping.."Nicole said..
"That is good..I think I will go and spend sometime with her.."Harm said..
"Sounds like a great idea.."Nicole said as she headed to the nurses station..
Harm went to Mattie's room and slowly opened the door..
"Hey.."Mattie said..
"Hey…sorry that I woke you.."Harm said..
"I was not really sleeping…have you heard anything?"Mattie asked..
"Not yet, but I think Nicole was going to get Dr. hart.."Harm said..
Knock….Knock….
"Come in.."Harm said..
"Jen.."Mattie said with a smile..
"Hey sis…I hear that you could use some cheering up.."Jen said as she came and sat on the other side of the bed..
"Oh I have missed you so much.."Jen said as she gave Mattie a huge hug..
"I have missed you too…how was your time with Tiner?"Mattie asked forgetting that Jen may not want to be that open with Harm in the room..
"It was great.."Jen said turning a little red..
"Oh Jen I'm sorry.."Mattie said with a little chuckle..
Harm was just about to get up so the girls could have some girl time when Dr. Hart came into the room..
"Hi Dr. Hart…I want you to meet a real close friend of our family… this is Jen.."Mattie said..
"Hi Jen I am Dr. Hart.."Dr. Hart said shaking her hand..
"So what is the damage?"Mattie asked..
"Well the good news is that there is not fluid in your lungs…"Dr. Hart said..
"So what is the bad news?"Mattie asked..
"Well I guess I did not phrase that well…there is no bad news …your scar has been infected from all of the surgeries. We are going to treat you with some antibiotics…I guess you could say the bad news is we are going to have to back off on the pain medicine…maybe it will be a good thing though…if you handle going off of the pain medication well then it is a step closer to going home…"Dr. Hart said..
"Okay let's do it.."Mattie said..
"Mattie I need you to be honest during check ups about your pain level.."Dr. Hart said..
"I know.."Mattie said.
"Okay..well I will see you in a little bit.."Dr. Hart said with a smile..
"Hi Nicole.."Mattie said..
"Hey Mats.."Nicole said..
"Nicole this is Jen.."Mattie said introducing them..
"I have heard great things about you.."Nicole said as she shook Jen's hand.
"Thanks.."Jen said..
"Nicole…are the antibiotics coming in shot form?"Mattie asked..
"Nope…thank goodness for both of us.."Nicole said..
"Well this day is getting better and better.."Mattie said with a hint of a smile..
"Well here is your first dose and some water…I am also going to turn down your pain meds a little bit.."Nicole said..
"I know Dr. Hart already told me.."Mattie said..
"alright well I will see you in three hours.."Nicole said..
"Nicole you don't have to do this.."Mattie said..
"Yes I do.."Nicole said with a smile as she made her way out of the room..
"Wow they are amazing.."Jen said..
"Well your sis here has stolen there hearts.."Harm said..
"I can't help it, I am a sweet kid.."Mattie said..
"That you are.."Jen said..
"Hey Harm what do you think about heading home to your bride and letting me take the night shift?"Jen said..
"I don't know Jen…with the pain killers being taken off and the infection.."Harm said..
"Dad its okay…I will be okay here with Jen…from what Nicole said mom could really use you right now.."Mattie said..
"I know…are you sure?"Harm said..
"Yeah dad I am sure…plus Dr. Hart and Nicole will be here all night I am sure, so I am in great hands.."Mattie said..
"Okay…I would love to go home to your mom…thanks Mattie.."Harm said..
"No worries dad…Hey dad have you heard from John at all?"Mattie said..
"Yeah…I think he might come by tomorrow."Harm said..
"That would be great..can you really encourage him..I miss him.."Mattie said..
"I will do just that…I Love you kiddo…you both know to call me if you need anything.."Harm said..
"Harm we will be fine…we are in great hands."Jen said..
"Okay…."Harm said..
"Good AJ is outside waiting for you.."Jen said..
"How did you know?"Harm said..
"A little bird told me that you needed sometime with your wife.."Jen said..
"Mats.."Harm said..
"Dad I was in tests all afternoon…"Mattie said coming to her defense..she wish she was the one who thought about this, but it was not her great idea..
"Then who?"Harm asked..
"Your mom called me at Mac's request.."Jen said..
"I am glad that she did.."Mattie said..
"Okay love you both.."Harm said as he said goodnight and headed out to the car..
"Oh Jen I have missed by sis so much.."Mattie said..
"I have missed you too…we have got to get you out of this place."Jen said..
"You are telling me, but we are putting me on hold…tell me all about your vacation with Tiner.."Mattie said..
"It was wonderful…I thought that it was going to be the trip that either made us or broke us.."Jen said.
"and?"Mattie said with great anticipation..
"It was wonderful….he was wonderful…"Jen said..
"So do we hear wedding bells?"Mattie asked..
"Not yet sis…not yet.."Jen said..
"Well I am very happy for you.."Mattie said with a yawn..
"Oh Mats why don't you get some sleep.."Jen said..
"I'm sorry Jen…I want to stay up and talk…its just all these meds and the infection and pain…my body takes quite a beating.."Mattie said..
"No worries my friend…there will be plenty of time to catch up.."Jen said..
"Jen….I Love You…"Mattie said..
"I Love You too kiddo…now get some sleep.."Jen said as she curled up herself in the chair…She was looking forward to some sleep and maybe even a couple of dreams…
"Good night sis.."Mattie said..
"Good night Mats.."Jen said with tears coming to her eyes…Just like old times…she was so lucky…everything was falling into place..
Meanwhile with AJ and Harm…
"I feel kind of horrible saying it, but I am glad to see you.."Harm said with a smile..
"It is much deserved..you need to take care of that wife of yours.."AJ said..
"I know that became very evident in what happened today."Harm said..
"So how are you doing?"AJ asked..
"I am hanging in there…"Harm said..
"Pretend that you still have to answer to me with your life.."AJ said with a smile..
"I am exhausted and scared to death…is that better?"Harm asked…
"Yeah much better…you really are human.."AJ said..
"Yeah I am…I thought you would have known that, by all the times you yourself or you had to send someone to come and save my butt.."Harm said..
"that is true..I have never known someone to get into as much trouble as you did.."AJ said..
"Yeah it seemed to follow me.."Harm said with a little bit of sarcasim..
"Yeah it pulled the trigger on the gun in the court room.."AJ said..
"Do you always have to bring that one up?"Harm asked..
"Yeah.."AJ said..
"I think that was one of the dumbest things that I have ever done.."Harm said..
"I think so too…I never thought I would have to get that mad at someone.."AJ said..
"Thanks.."Harm said..
"I am happy for ya.."AJ said..
"Thanks AJ that means a lot.."Harm said..
So Harm and AJ kept the small talk going until they got back to the house…They said there goodbyes as they entered the house and Harm went right to his bed room…
Harm tiptoed to the door and opened it quietly….he quickly got ready for bed and then climbed in slowly..
"Hey my love…"Harm said hoping not to surprise her to much..
"Am I dreaming?"Mac asked..
"No I am really here….I was sent home.."Harm said..
"By whom?"Mac asked trying to act like she had no idea..
"Jen…they blew your cover already.."Harm said..
"I don't care…you are home and I get to be in your arms.."Mac said..
"I know…"Harm said..
"Alright lets get some sleep.."Mac said..
"Your wish is my command.."Harm said..
"You know what I need.."Mac said..
Harm sang there wedding song as they both fell asleep..
