The next morning, Natalie was awake at seven thirty. She didn't want to wake the man up, but she was hungry. Mommy always had breakfast ready for her in the morning. So she walked into his room and shook him gently. When he didn't wake up, she shook him harder until he finally opened his eyes.
"Um…sir, I'm hungry. Can I have breakfast?" she asked timidly. Natalie was afraid that he might be like her dad and not like her very much, so she tried to be polite.
"Sure. Let me put on some different clothes and I'll make you something. And then we'll get you some clothes," he said as he got out of bed. "And you don't have to call me sir."
"Then what can I call you?"
"How about Harm?"
"Okay."
After Harm got dressed, he looked around his kitchen for something to give Natalie. When he realized there was no real food in the house, he decided to take her out to breakfast. "Natalie? I don't have anything here, so we're going to go out for breakfast. Go put on your clothes that you had on last night and then we'll find someplace to eat."
She nodded and ran down the hallway and slipped back into her pair of jeans and purple sweatshirt. She slid her long brown hair into a purple headband and ran back to where Harm was waiting at the front door.
When they reached the restaurant, Natalie climbed into a booth and ordered pancakes and eggs. "I don't like meat," she said with the first smile he'd seen on her face since she'd arrived.
"That's funny, neither do I," he said as he ordered the same in a larger portion.
While they waited for their food, Natalie asked him more questions as she got more familiar with him. "How did you know my mom?"
"Well, your mom and I worked together a long time ago. And we were good friends too."
"Really? She never said your name before."
"Well, when she married your dad, she and I stopped working together," he said carefully.
"Oh. Mom told me about when she worked at the place called JAG."
"That's where we worked together."
The waitress brought their food at that moment and Natalie quit talking to eat. When she was finished, Harm asked her if she knew what happened to her mom.
"The police officer said that she was in a car crash on the way to pick me up from day care. I had to go with them to the police station and then he took me to your house. He said mom was hurt and couldn't talk to me," she said as tears formed in her brown eyes.
"She is hurt, but she will get better. And until she does, we can visit her."
"We can?" she asked hopefully.
"Sure. But first, let's get you something new to wear. I guess we'll go shopping."
"But we can't do that," Natalie said with an alarmed look upon her face. "Mom doesn't like it when other people buy me stuff that she doesn't get for me."
"Well, I'll buy it now and later your mom can pay me back then, okay?" asked Harm as he paid the bill.
"Okay," she said, looking relieved.
Harm took her to a department store and helped her pick out a few pairs of jeans, a few shirts, and a nice jacket. By the time they were done, it was past lunchtime, but neither was very hungry. Harm knew it was about time he took her to saw her mother. So he brought her up to the hospital.
"Excuse me, is there a Sarah Mackenzie-Brumby registered here?" he asked the nurse behind the admittance desk.
"Let me check." The nurse turned to her computer and typed in a few things.
"Uh…Harm? Can I hold your hand?" she asked politely, holding her breath and waiting for him to say no like her dad always had.
"If you want to, that's fine with me," he said, flashing her his famous smile. Natalie held out her hand and he took it gently in his own.
The nurse turned back to them. "Sarah Mackenzie-Brumby is listed in critical condition. She's in the ICU. If you go up to the fourth floor, ask for Dr. Kayla Pendrey. She performed surgery to set her arm and leg. She can inform you of her condition."
"Thanks so much," he said as he flashed a grateful smile and took Natalie to the elevator. The nurse watched him take the little girl and commented to her coworker, "He's really cute, but I bet that lady is his wife and that's their daughter."
"How do you figure?" asked the other nurse.
"The concern in his eyes and the way he's taking care of that little girl."
Harm climbed on the elevator. Natalie followed still holding his hand. She was really beginning to like Harm. The elevator dinged and they got off. Harm led her down the hall where he asked another nurse about her mom and Dr. Pendrey.
"She's in the ICU, room 435. I'll page Dr. Pendrey for you."
"Thanks."
"Dr. Pendrey, please come to the admittance desk on the fourth floor," said the nurse over the loudspeaker.
A young woman came up and introduced herself to Harm and Natalie. "I'm Dr. Kayla Pendrey. I've been caring for Sarah since she was brought in yesterday evening. She's been through surgery to set her broken arm and leg. Lucky for her, she was wearing her seatbelt. She does have a serious head injury and she's in a coma, so we're keeping her in ICU for now. I'll allow you to visit, but I would like to warn you, she's pretty bruised up, so she might look a little scary."
"Okay. Lead the way," said Harm as Natalie and he went to see Sarah. "Here we are. I'll let you in for a short while." The doctor finally walked away, leaving Harm and Natalie to visit.
Natalie tugged on Harm's hand as they went through the door. "Harm? Is she going to be okay?"
"I think so. The doctors are doing their very best to make sure she's okay."
Natalie nodded and went into the room. Harm sat down at the side of her bed. She was pretty bruised up, but looked just about the same as he remembered her. Natalie took a place on the other side of her bed and looked over her mom. Then she spoke up. "Mom, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here. Your friend Harm is taking care of me. I like him; he's nice like I wish dad was. I want you to get better really soon, so we can talk again."
Harm almost felt like crying. Natalie was a smart little girl, just like her mother. She was looking at him expectantly. "Mac, Sarah, I know its been years since we talked. I didn't even know you had a baby. But if you had me as your emergency contact still, then I guess you hadn't completely forgotten about JAG and me. I'm still there. So are Bud and Harriet. They had another baby after Sarah died. Her name is Emily, and she's six. A.J. is doing great; he's about nine now. I'm Emily's godfather as well and she's a wonderful little girl. The admiral is still there, though he'll be retiring next year. I have a feeling he's going to make me the JAG after this. I can't wait for you to wake up. I know Natalie would like you to also. But until you do, I'll take good care of her."