Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, I'm only borrowing them for a short time & promise to return them as good as new J I'm not making any money from this & no infringement is intended.
Love Has Come
By Melanie-Anne
Part 2 – This Isn't Happening
Day 1
Grandma Sarah had been less than thrilled to have her grandson checking up on her. Not for one second did she believe that Harm had come to borrow a book. Still, he'd refused to leave, so she'd put up with his presence. First thing in the morning, Harm's mother arrived and he made a beeline for Mac's apartment, anxious to see her. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind – admittedly not an unusual occurrence – but this time, he hadn't been imagining kissing her. He'd been remembering. It was an experience he wanted to repeat as often as possible.
He knocked on Mac's door again, smiling as he recalled how nervous he had been in this same position the previous night. Patiently, he waited for Mac to open the door. He waited.
…And waited.
Maybe she's still asleep. Having always wondered what his partner looked like when she woke up, he decided that it was about time he found out. He searched for the key Mac had given him and unlocked the door.
It was very quiet inside but he wasn't worried yet.
He entered her bedroom very quietly, surprised to see the bed made.
Where is she?
Harm knew she didn't like being late for work but he didn't think she'd be there this early. Maybe she'd gone for an early morning run. Disappointed, he returned to his own apartment, hardly able to bare the wait until he saw her again.
Admiral Chegwidden called him into his office as soon as he arrived at work. It was only two hours later, when Mac still hadn't surfaced, that he started panicking. He and Bud went to her apartment when calling her had proved fruitless.
Her apartment was exactly as Harm had left it that morning. Or rather, as he had left it the night before he realized horribly as he caught sight of the two unfinished glasses of orange juice on the coffee table. While the part of him that was the man wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the couch in shock, the part of him that was the commander came to the fore. He studied the room, noting that there were no signs of a struggle which left him with two conclusions. Either Mac had run away to deal with their changing relationship or she had been abducted in the time it took for her to walk from where he had been parked to her front door. Finding her car keys still hanging on the key holder and seeing that nothing was missing, he was left with the latter option. It was, by far, the more terrifying option.
…And guilt. Guilt that he should have been there to protect her. Guilt that he had left her.
The commander disappeared and the man took over. Harm's knees buckled and he leaned against the wall for support. Sinking to the floor he looked up at his friend, the beginnings of shock setting in.
"She's gone. I left her and she's gone," he murmured.
"Maybe it's not what we think," Bud said, trying to stay positive.
Harm shook his head. "What else could it be?"
"I'll call the admiral."
*
Day 2
Harm woke up feeling empty. Mac had been missing for over twenty-four hours. Whoever had kidnapped her had yet to contact anyone or demand a ransom. Harm had spent hours the previous day trying to think of anyone who could have something against Mac, eventually falling asleep from sheer emotional exhaustion.
He took the day off to go to the police station. Not surprisingly, they had no new information for him. Desperate, he did the only thing he had left to do.
He contacted Clayton Webb.
*
Day 5
…No information from either the detectives in charge or Webb. Harm had started spending his nights at Mac's apartment, sleeping in her bed in an attempt to feel close to her. The admiral called each day, first asking how Harm was doing and then when he planned on returning to work.
Bud and Harriet called to see if he needed anything.
Chloe called to say hi to Mac and Harm had to break the news to her. She cried.
Harm felt as though his world had crashed down around him. He didn't want to get out of bed if it meant he had to suffer through another day without Mac. When Sturgis went around to suggest that he go flying, he stood silently for a moment and then, very slowly, shut the door in Sturgis' face.
*
Day 9
One week and two days since she'd disappeared. Harm wondered if, wherever she was, she knew how much time had passed. She probably did, with that internal clock she somehow possessed.
Please come back to me! I miss you! He prayed every night.
He wondered if she was still alive. The more time that passed, the less likely it was that she'd be found. He wasn't quite sure what he would do if she never returned.
If anyone at JAG headquarters had wondered exactly what the relationship between the colonel and the commander was, they now knew for certain that Harm was in love with Mac. They all wished that it hadn't taken this tragedy to bring that love out into the open.
*
Day 12
Mac's clothes still smelled of her, Harm discovered when he searched through her closet for a sweater. He started sleeping with the US NAVY sweatshirt that she'd borrowed from him ages ago and never gotten around to returning, praying for the day when he'd be able to sleep with her in his arms instead.
The admiral placed him on mandatory sick leave.
*
Day 14
Harm wondered how he'd managed to get through two of the worst weeks of his life. Harriet dropped by with food for him. It was the only reason he knew what day it was.
Two weeks and nothing to go on.
He accused the detective of not doing his job properly. He accused Webb of knowing where she was and not telling him.
He cried.
Searching through Mac's apartment for alcohol to numb the pain – not stopping to think that there was no alcohol in her apartment – he came across her journal. He couldn't bring himself to open it.
*
Day 19
Chloe came to see him. She and Harm spoke about a lot of things – sports, the weather, school – before they got around to talking about Mac. He held Chloe as she sobbed in his arms and told her that he loved Mac.
"I know," she said.
He told her that he'd kissed her on the night she'd disappeared.
"She loved you too," Chloe said.
He told her about the journal and that he was too afraid to read it. She told him to stop being a baby. Later, when Chloe had gone home, he lay in Mac's bed and started to read.
The healing process had begun.