A/N: Welcome again to my unorganized posting schedule. Obviously times are weird, but I've also found that after I finish a big project, (Letters to Harm in this case) I find it hard to focus on the next "big" one—Gone. So, you might get a rotation of things before I settle in.

If you recall this started as a smut version of the episode "Miracles." Back when I started it I think I had a direction I wanted it to go, but damned if I remember it. So, we'll just have to see how it goes!

Miracles

Chapter 3: Trois

Harm's POV

The echo of the slamming door bounces around my loft for a few seconds as I sit on my floor, stunned. I remember taking my watch off as Mac and I climbed under the covers last night, but in my hurry to get out of there before Mic showed up, I must have left it on her nightstand. I rub my jaw, tasting a bit of blood in my mouth; with my tongue I search and find the source of the bleeding. My teeth sliced open my inner lower lip, but it isn't too bad. My jaw hurts but nothing seems broken or out of place.

I've always maintained that Brumby fights like a girl.

Slowly, I rise up off the floor, intent on rinsing my mouth out and then finding some ice for my jaw, but then it hits me…

Mac!

Oh god, did he hurt her? I've noticed he's become more possessive of her and, though god knows I've been a jealous bastard, that possessiveness has made me more apprehensive of the Brumby/MacKenzie union. I've wanted to talk to Mac about it, but I didn't know how to bring it up without upsetting her. Now I see I should have risked it. I frantically look around for my phone, realizing with chagrin that it's still in my pocket. I pull it out and flip it open, my thumb poised over the speed dial. Suddenly, I have an image of Mac curled up on her bed, her hands over her face, and I know it isn't enough to just call her. I close the phone and shove it back in my jeans pocket, reaching for my keys as I throw on my jacket. I'm out the door and on my way to Mac's apartment in less than two minutes.

I'm coming Mac…

Mac's POV

I'm coming Mac…

My head whips up at the sound of Harm's voice, but with my one good eye I see that I'm still alone. I'm disappointed and relieved at the same time; relieved because I don't want him seeing me like this, disappointed because I really want to be held in his arms while he soothes away the pain. On a practical note, I know I should go to the ER for this eye but there is no way I can drive myself there at the moment. I need to call someone and Harm's probably my best bet.

After I dragged myself off the floor, I went into the bathroom to survey the damage. My eye was watering profusely—still is— and was already bloodshot. The light in there also bothered it, so much so that I had to turn it off before I could get a better look. I then stumbled to my bedroom and sat myself in the middle of my unmade bed.

Now the pain seems to be worsening, though it's a different pain than the initial blast. Every time I blink it's like sandpaper is being scraped across my eyeball.

I know I need to get up and call Harm, but right now it seems too much of an effort. I can only flop back onto the bed and curl up into a ball, covering my face with my hands as tears of pain flow profusely.

Harm's POV

I make it to Mac's in record time, but it's still not fast enough for me. I barely have the car parked and turned off before I'm hopping out of it and running for the door to her building. I skip the elevator in favor of the stairs, taking the steps two at a time, finally arriving at her door to knock frantically. I wait a scant few seconds before I knock again, but this time I give her a little more time to answer the door. It's to no avail, however; there's only silence on the other side. I'm more than worried now—I've moved on to frightened…I swear, if that bastard hurt her…

I dig my emergency key to Mac's apartment out of my jacket pocket and am surprised when I realize the door is already unlocked. I'm greeted by an eerie silence; I know Mac's here; I saw her car in the lot, but she doesn't answer when I call out her name. I begin searching, looking first in her kitchen, calling out her name again urgently. I then run down the hall to her bedroom, a feeling of dread settling over me like a shroud.

Her bedroom door is slightly ajar and I make myself push it open. The lights are off and the shades are drawn, but I think I can just make out a form on the bed. I flip the light switch, squinting against the new brightness, and breathe a sigh of a relief that it is, in fact, Mac there in the bed. I rush to her side and put my hand on her shoulder to shake her gently.

"Mac?" I call to her, and it cuts me to hear her whimper and curl up into a tighter ball. My heart is pounding, my pulse rushing in my ears, and I call her name one more time. It's music to my ears when I hear her moan my name and I sit down intent on gathering her in my arms. I see her eyes flutter open, but then she suddenly gasps and cries out, her hand moving to cover her left eye.

"Mac. Mac! Did he hurt you? I swear to god, I'll kill him!" I run my hands over her body, looking for other injuries, and, seeing nothing obvious, I focus again on her

"I'm here, Mac. Baby, are you alright?" I rock her a little in my arms and she snuggles into me, and for a moment I just hold her. I'm still worried for her though, so I eventually lean away from her to get another look. It's then that she yelps and buries her face in my chest.

"Turn the lights off, Harm. Please…my eye…"

I reluctantly do as she asks, then return to the bed to pull her into my arms again.

"What happened, Mac?" I ask as I stroke her back, trying to get her to relax. She's so tense in my arms and I just know Brumby was the cause of whatever happened to her eye…and I'm terribly worried that he's done other things to her too. She doesn't answer me and she certainly doesn't relax, and my mind can't stop imagining all sorts of Brumby-perpetrated abuse.

"Mac, baby, please…" I beg her to respond. "Did Mic hurt you?" I wait a moment and then she slowly nods. I'm instantly in kill mode.

"He's a dead man," I say with barely controlled fury, and she shifts in my lap.

"No, Harm…my eye…it was an accident. He threw my key at me—it bounced and hit me in the eye."

"Mac…"

"It's true, Harm."

I don't know if I entirely believe her, especially when I see what's on her arms. Gently, I run a finger over a column of bruises on her left arm. They're obviously fingerprints, and she has a matching set on the right.

"These weren't an accident, though," I say softly, and she shakes her head, tears leaking from underneath her tightly closed eyelids.

"He knows about—" She waves a hand over the bed, the bed where only hours before we made love for the first time.

And then I just left her. To him...

"I know, Mac…Mac, I'm sorry I left you…"

"Harm…what else could you do? It would have been worse if you'd been here."

"He wouldn't have hurt you. I wouldn't have let him."

"I know you wouldn't have…but then you two would have ended up fighting. It would have been Sydney all over again, only worse." She buries her face in my chest again and I resume stroking her back.

We're both silent for a while and then she pulls away slightly. "Harm?" she asks.

"Yeah, Mac?"

"How did you know he…how did you know to come?"

My voice heavy with regret, I tell her about Brumby showing up at my door with my watch and his fist. She gasps and leans back to assess the damage, but her eye causes more pain and she whimpers. I caught a glimpse of her injured eye; it was completely red there was a hint of swelling around her orbit.

"Mac, we should get you to the hospital and have that eye looked at, okay?"

She doesn't resist; she merely nods against my chest. There's no 'I'm a marine' protests, nor does she tell me she can take care of herself as she is wont to do, and that worries me more than anything.

End Chapter 3