First, though I usually send out individual thank you e-mails to those who
write feedback for my stories, but with 20 different reviews, I felt the
responses would get redundant and impersonal anyway. So I'd like to thank
all of you guys that reviewed this fic. I hope to have more up soon (maybe
later today...) ~~Lissa
Part 3...Second Sight
April 27, 1999
0730 EST
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station
"When's mommy coming home?" Par asked Harm as he served her breakfast. She was
staying with him while her mother was out in California visiting her dying
estranged father.
"In a few days. Why--are you getting bored with me?" Harm teased tickling her
side.
"No. I like staying over here. You let me stay up later than mommy does," Par
teased back. She took a big bite of her sausage which made Harm grimace.
"I'm going to get ready for work while you eat your dead animal. When you're
done, just put your plate in the sink, squirt," Harm said playfully slapping
the back of her head before going to the shower.
April 30, 1999 (after Second Sight)
1045 EST
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station
"Your eyes don't look any different," Par decided straddling Harm's lap on the
couch and looking into his eyes trying to find a change in them from his surgery.
"The marks they took away were very small," Harm told her letting her finish her
inspection.
"So you can see in the dark now?"
"Yes, I can. Better than I ever could before," Harm told her patiently.
"Are you going to go back to flying now?" Par questioned in all her childish
innocence. She could never understand how complex of a question it was.
"I don't know," he admitted lifting her to sit on his lap.
"Do you want to?" she pried.
"I don't know."
"Do you want to stay here with mommy and me?"
Harm didn't know how to answer that. Yes, he did want to stay, but did he
want to stay enough to give up his lifetime dream? Could he leave and not
go crazy missing Pareerou and Mac? He just pulled Par close to him and kissed
the top of her head.
Do you--" A knock on the door interrupted her.
"Hey! Did you guys miss me?" Mac asked walking into the apartment. She was
dressed in a light blue sleeveless dress that ended just below her knees. A
huge burden seemed to had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Mommy!" Par ran over to Mac and jumped into her arms. "Harm got surgery on
his eyes while you were gone."
"You had surgery?" Mac looked at Harm in surprise. She hadn't really been
gone all that long.
"It was a small surgery," Harm told her quickly. For some reason, he felt
as if he needed to give her an explanation. There really wasn't a reason for
it--they weren't married or even involved really. He shouldn't feel any
obligation, but he did.
"Par, why don't you go grab your things?" Mac suggested putting her back on her
feet.
"You're not mad, are you?" Par asked her mother worriedly.
"No."
Still unsure, Par back slowly out of the room. She kept a wary eye on both of
the adults until she got to the step that led to the bedroom area. She turned
still fearing that she had said or did something wrong.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mac questioned as soon as her daughter was out of the
room. She still had to keep her voice down so she wouldn't be overheard.
"Mac, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was nothing more than a trip to the
dentist," Harm defended. He had a feeling this conversation would have a very
lasting effect on his life.
"I tell you when I have a dentist appointment," Mac pointed out.
"Mac..."
"So your eyes are fixed. Does that mean you're leaving JAG?" she asked tersely.
Her voice displayed no emotion. A person that didn't know her would believe that
she didn't care either way.
"I haven't made any decisions yet," Harm responded. He wanted her to understand...
He needed her to understand.
"What decision is there to make, Harm? The only reason you're at JAG is because
you *CAN'T* fly. Now you *CAN*. What do you have to decide?" Mac flung back
putting special emphasis on her words. She realized somewhere inside that she
was overreacting, but she couldn't seem to stop the words from coming out of
her mouth.
"It isn't that simple."
"How is it not? Because you feel some obligation to Par and me?"
Harm didn't respond. He turned around and sat down on the couch. He had no
idea what to say to her. Was it just obligation he felt? He knew he had a
"hero complex" as someone once called it. I any relationship, he needed to feel
needed. His usual girlfriend was the stereotypical Damsel-in-Distress. Was the
only thing that kept him with little Par and her mother that need?
"Par, are you ready to go?" Mac called up to the bedroom.
The girl walked slowly down the stairs and hesitantly over to Harm. It was
obvious to all that she had overheard their discussion. She gave him a tight
hug and whispered in his ear, "Bye, Harm. See you soon."
"I'll see you soon, sweetheart," Harm whispered back holding her tightly against
him. He released her and she backed toward her mom as if she were being forced
to chose between the two of them. "I'll talk to you later, Mac?"
"You can count on it."
The Next Day...
2045 EST
Mac and Par's Apartment
Georgetown, DC
Harm decided that delaying his conversation with Mac would only cause more damage
to their fragile relationship. He had come over with pizza--a peace offering of
food always helped when things involved Mac--around 1820, and the three of them had
relaxed in front of the TV watching a Disney movie. In many ways, it was like
nothing was different, but there was an undeniable tension beneath the surface
of the friendly conversation.
Since her bedtime on weeknights was set at 8:30, Harm was sitting on the edge of
Par's bed reading her a chapter of her favorite book this week, Moby Dick. He
closed the book and put it down on the night table.
"'Good night, sweetheart," Harm whispered to the little girl who had her eyes
closed and her face buried in her pillow.
"'Night, Daddy."
That one simple statement answered all his questions.
It made his decision for him.
He wouldn't go.
He couldn't.
TBC...
write feedback for my stories, but with 20 different reviews, I felt the
responses would get redundant and impersonal anyway. So I'd like to thank
all of you guys that reviewed this fic. I hope to have more up soon (maybe
later today...) ~~Lissa
Part 3...Second Sight
April 27, 1999
0730 EST
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station
"When's mommy coming home?" Par asked Harm as he served her breakfast. She was
staying with him while her mother was out in California visiting her dying
estranged father.
"In a few days. Why--are you getting bored with me?" Harm teased tickling her
side.
"No. I like staying over here. You let me stay up later than mommy does," Par
teased back. She took a big bite of her sausage which made Harm grimace.
"I'm going to get ready for work while you eat your dead animal. When you're
done, just put your plate in the sink, squirt," Harm said playfully slapping
the back of her head before going to the shower.
April 30, 1999 (after Second Sight)
1045 EST
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station
"Your eyes don't look any different," Par decided straddling Harm's lap on the
couch and looking into his eyes trying to find a change in them from his surgery.
"The marks they took away were very small," Harm told her letting her finish her
inspection.
"So you can see in the dark now?"
"Yes, I can. Better than I ever could before," Harm told her patiently.
"Are you going to go back to flying now?" Par questioned in all her childish
innocence. She could never understand how complex of a question it was.
"I don't know," he admitted lifting her to sit on his lap.
"Do you want to?" she pried.
"I don't know."
"Do you want to stay here with mommy and me?"
Harm didn't know how to answer that. Yes, he did want to stay, but did he
want to stay enough to give up his lifetime dream? Could he leave and not
go crazy missing Pareerou and Mac? He just pulled Par close to him and kissed
the top of her head.
Do you--" A knock on the door interrupted her.
"Hey! Did you guys miss me?" Mac asked walking into the apartment. She was
dressed in a light blue sleeveless dress that ended just below her knees. A
huge burden seemed to had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Mommy!" Par ran over to Mac and jumped into her arms. "Harm got surgery on
his eyes while you were gone."
"You had surgery?" Mac looked at Harm in surprise. She hadn't really been
gone all that long.
"It was a small surgery," Harm told her quickly. For some reason, he felt
as if he needed to give her an explanation. There really wasn't a reason for
it--they weren't married or even involved really. He shouldn't feel any
obligation, but he did.
"Par, why don't you go grab your things?" Mac suggested putting her back on her
feet.
"You're not mad, are you?" Par asked her mother worriedly.
"No."
Still unsure, Par back slowly out of the room. She kept a wary eye on both of
the adults until she got to the step that led to the bedroom area. She turned
still fearing that she had said or did something wrong.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mac questioned as soon as her daughter was out of the
room. She still had to keep her voice down so she wouldn't be overheard.
"Mac, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was nothing more than a trip to the
dentist," Harm defended. He had a feeling this conversation would have a very
lasting effect on his life.
"I tell you when I have a dentist appointment," Mac pointed out.
"Mac..."
"So your eyes are fixed. Does that mean you're leaving JAG?" she asked tersely.
Her voice displayed no emotion. A person that didn't know her would believe that
she didn't care either way.
"I haven't made any decisions yet," Harm responded. He wanted her to understand...
He needed her to understand.
"What decision is there to make, Harm? The only reason you're at JAG is because
you *CAN'T* fly. Now you *CAN*. What do you have to decide?" Mac flung back
putting special emphasis on her words. She realized somewhere inside that she
was overreacting, but she couldn't seem to stop the words from coming out of
her mouth.
"It isn't that simple."
"How is it not? Because you feel some obligation to Par and me?"
Harm didn't respond. He turned around and sat down on the couch. He had no
idea what to say to her. Was it just obligation he felt? He knew he had a
"hero complex" as someone once called it. I any relationship, he needed to feel
needed. His usual girlfriend was the stereotypical Damsel-in-Distress. Was the
only thing that kept him with little Par and her mother that need?
"Par, are you ready to go?" Mac called up to the bedroom.
The girl walked slowly down the stairs and hesitantly over to Harm. It was
obvious to all that she had overheard their discussion. She gave him a tight
hug and whispered in his ear, "Bye, Harm. See you soon."
"I'll see you soon, sweetheart," Harm whispered back holding her tightly against
him. He released her and she backed toward her mom as if she were being forced
to chose between the two of them. "I'll talk to you later, Mac?"
"You can count on it."
The Next Day...
2045 EST
Mac and Par's Apartment
Georgetown, DC
Harm decided that delaying his conversation with Mac would only cause more damage
to their fragile relationship. He had come over with pizza--a peace offering of
food always helped when things involved Mac--around 1820, and the three of them had
relaxed in front of the TV watching a Disney movie. In many ways, it was like
nothing was different, but there was an undeniable tension beneath the surface
of the friendly conversation.
Since her bedtime on weeknights was set at 8:30, Harm was sitting on the edge of
Par's bed reading her a chapter of her favorite book this week, Moby Dick. He
closed the book and put it down on the night table.
"'Good night, sweetheart," Harm whispered to the little girl who had her eyes
closed and her face buried in her pillow.
"'Night, Daddy."
That one simple statement answered all his questions.
It made his decision for him.
He wouldn't go.
He couldn't.
TBC...