Harm stopped speaking and looked at Natalie. She was crying. "I think we'd better go now Natalie," he said as he stretched his hand across to hers again. She nodded again and grabbed his hand tightly.
They left the hospital and drove to the grocery store to get some food in the house. After getting some things for a few of his favorite meals, they headed home.
After dinner, Natalie got back into her pajamas after a quick bath. She sat down on his couch and watched TV with him for a while. "Harm, when do I go back to school?" she asked.
"I hadn't even thought about that. Where do you go to school?" he asked.
"I go to Washington elementary. I'm in the second grade," she said proudly.
"I guess you won't have to go tomorrow, but I'll call your teacher and talk to her, okay?"
"Yep." She was silent as she watched a cartoon come on the television. Before long, she was giggling like any normal seven-year old would. He watched her, noting how much of Mac she had in her.
Harm shut the TV off fifteen minutes later saying, "It's time for bed. You've had a long day."
Natalie stretched and got up. He followed her into the guestroom and waited while she brushed her teeth. "Can I ask a question?" she asked, stifling a yawn.
"Sure, if it's quick."
"Do you like me?" she asked worriedly.
"Of course I do. Why are you asking?"
"Because, dad didn't like me a lot, so he went away. I don't want you to leave too."
"I promise you that I won't leave, at least not until your mom wakes up. Okay?"
"Okay. Can I hug you?"
"If you want to, I'd love to get a hug."
Natalie threw her arms around him and hugged fiercely. Finally she let go. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"Good night Nat."
"Night."
Harm turned out the lights. She was a precious little girl. Though he was worried about Mac and was sorry she'd gotten hurt, he liked spending the time with Natalie. He didn't have children, so Emily and A.J. were the only kids he had spent a lot of time with. It had been hard to see Mac today. He was worried that when she woke up, she'd immediately take Natalie and leave again. Now he was growing attached to the little girl. And seeing Mac had only made him remember how much he loved her as well.
****
Natalie was braver waking Harm up the next morning. She jumped onto his bed until he came awake. "Hi," she said cheerfully at seven twenty-three a.m.
He groaned inwardly. "Hi. Are you hungry?" he asked as he threw on a new shirt.
She nodded vigorously. "Can I watch cartoons for a while?"
"Sure. Don't make it too loud though." Natalie went into the living room and turned on the television while Harm showered and called work for the second time in a row.
"I'm sorry sir," he said. "But I can't just leave her. Thank you for understanding sir. Bye," he said hanging up.
Next he dialed Bud and Harriet's house. "Bud?" he asked into the phone.
"Yes sir?"
"Bud, you remember Colonel Mackenzie, correct?"
"Of course sir."
"Well, she was in a crash a few days ago. The thing is, she has a daughter who's about seven. I'm the emergency contact since she divorced Brumby, who's in jail. Natalie has been staying with me."
"That's a lot to take in. She had a daughter named Natalie?"
"Yeah. I'm taking the week off, but she's going to go to school again in a few days. If Colonel Mackenzie hasn't woken up by then, I've got to get her to school. And I know that A.J. and Emily go to Washington elementary. Apparently Nat goes there too. So…"
"You'd like to know if Harriet could take her to school with the kids?"
"Yeah. Do you think she would? I could pay gas money."
"I'm sure she won't mind sir. And you don't need to pay gas money. We wouldn't mind helping out."
"Thanks Bud. I've got to get her breakfast, so I have to go."
"Alright sir. Just let us know when she's going back to school. Bye," said Bud.
"Bye."
Harm hung up the phone and rummaged around the fridge for breakfast for Natalie. He finally found some jelly and made her toast.
"Here you go. You like grape jelly, right?" he asked as he handed her the plate.
"It's my favorite," she shouted.
"Good. Eat breakfast and we'll spend the day with your mom at the hospital. Okay?"
"Yeah," she said, her brown eyes lit up excitedly.
After washing the dishes from breakfast, Harm took Natalie to spend the day up at the hospital. Dr. Pendrey had said that Mac wasn't getting worse, but she wasn't exactly improving either. Harm was stressed and worried, but he didn't want Natalie to be scared, so he didn't voice any concerns.
Natalie started talking to Mac again. "Mommy, it's me again. Harm and your doctor said I could talk to you because you can hear me. I want you to get better fast. I want to tell you about what happened at school with my friends. Jean, Danielle, Sydney, and me got awards for helping clean the classroom. Our teacher said she was really proud of us too. I wanted to show you my award, but you didn't come pick me up."
By this time, Natalie was almost in tears again. Harm reached across to touch Natalie's arm. She instantly looked up at him and let the tears fall. She got up from her seat and went over to Harm. "Can I sit in your lap?" she asked through her tears.
"Sure," he said as she climbed into his lap.
"Harm, is mommy going to…to die?" she blurted out.
"No. She isn't going to die. It might take her a while to get better, but she isn't going to die."
"Okay," said Natalie as her tears dried up.
By lunchtime, Natalie was tired of the hospital room and wanted lunch. Mac's nurse, Carol, offered to take her down to the cafeteria so Harm could have a little alone time with Mac. He agreed readily and began talking as soon as Natalie was gone.
"Hey Mac, it's me again. God, it's been so long since I've seen you. We have some talking to do when you wake up." He pushed the hair behind her ears. "But I don't want to get into that right now. I can't believe you have a daughter. She's so much like you it's amazing. I'm really enjoying her company. I'm worried about you. I've thought about you nearly every day for the past eight years and now that I can finally see you again, it's like nothing has changed. I was so angry with you. I…I can't even tell you the emotions I was feeling. But when I saw Natalie, all of it just…went out the window. The doctor says you aren't getting worse. Natalie and I need you to wake up."
Harm stopped talking and watched her breathe. It was so silent in her room. He was scared, a fact he didn't want to admit. But he couldn't help it. Natalie needed her mother and he needed to talk to her again.
Harm didn't hear the door open because he was so lost in thought. "Harm?" asked a quiet voice.
Harm turned quickly from the bedside where he was holding Mac's hand. "Hey Natalie," he said in a light tone.
"Carol let me have a candy bar after lunch. Did mom wake up?"
"No. We can stay and visit for a while longer, then we need to go by your house and pick some of your things up, okay?"
"Okay. I guess I'll say goodbye."
"Me too. Bye Sarah," said Harm as he stood up.
Taking Harm by surprise, Natalie told her mother good-bye in Farsi then turned and walked out ahead of him.
His amazed look caused her to explain. "Mom taught me Farsi when I was little. She used to sing me a special goodnight song. It's really special to her," said Natalie as her eyes shone.
"I know," he said softly as he looked at Mac and then closed the door.