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 8 – Walk The Rocks
Mac stood in the shower, her mind a thousand miles away. The water had long since run cold but she didn't feel it. She was back in that nightmare room.
My back hurts. I'm sure there's permanent boot mark on it from where he kicked me. Why are they doing this to me? What did I do to deserve this?
I'm yanked to my feet and force myself to look him in the eye.
Aah…why does it have to be you? You're always so rough with me. You're in charge, right? You're the reason I'm here, aren't you?
"How does it feel, temptress? How can you live with yourself, knowing what you did? You know, I feel sorry for Commander Rabb. He obviously has no idea what you're really like. But I know. And all for a case, to win a case. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
What the hell are you talking about?
"You think I don't know about you? About your husband and Farrow and all the others. I even know about your high school friend that you killed-"
"I didn't kill him," I mumble. What's happened to my voice? My throat is so sore. I shouldn't scream so much.
He pushes me against the wall. I feel his breath coming in hot, short bursts against my cheek.
Not again!
"I looked you up, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. You're not the little saint your partner thinks you are."
He says my name like it's a curse. Maybe it is. Maybe it's best that I'm out of Harm's life before I hurt him.
No! Don't think like that! I'm going to get out of here and I'm going to get back to Harm and everything will be fine.
If Harm will still have me….
Strong arms picked Mac up and wrapped her in a towel.
"Mac, you're freezing," Harm said, holding her against him. "Mac, honey? Talk to me, please?"
"H-H-Harm?" she whispered, her teeth chattering.
"Yeah, it's me. I've got you. It's okay."
The stress of the last week caught up with her and she started sobbing, her face buried in Harm's chest.
"What happened? Why'd you stay in there so long?"
Mac shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it.
"Hey, let's get you to bed." Harm carried her through to the bedroom. Like a child, she sat still while he dressed her and tucked her under the bed sheets. Slipping his shoes off, he stripped out of his uniform and climbed in next to her. He wrapped himself around her as best he could. She was still so cold.
It hurt him to feel so helpless; to know that all he could do for her was hold her.
*
Mac wasn't in bed when Harm woke up. Immediately thinking the worst, he jumped out of bed and called out Mac's name. The silence was frightening.
"Sarah?" Harm yelled. He ran into the living room and saw Mac standing by the window.
"Sarah?"
She slowly turned to face him, the shimmer on her cheeks giving away the fact that she'd been crying.
"I'm sorry about last night. I mean, the whole shower thing."
"Oh, Mac."
"It's just…that phone call just got to me."
"That's okay."
Mac shook her head and turned back to the window. Harm stood behind her and pulled her into his arms. She was stiff against him and when he looked down, he saw the photographs that he would have done anything to keep her from seeing.
"Where did you get these?" Mac asked.
"They, uh, they came in that envelope. I'm sorry that you had to see them."
She picked the photos up and looked at them again. Not that she needed to, the images were burned into her brain as they were on Harm's. He pried them out of her fingers.
"Harm-" she protested.
"I'd really like you to reconsider going into that safe house, Mac. These guys aren't going to just stop. I don't want you to have to listen to any more phone calls or see any more pictures."
Mac gave no sign that she heard him.
"Sarah?"
"I remember them coming in to take photos. I think they came more than once. They said…they said that they needed evidence…proof…so that you could finally see me for who I was."
"Sarah, I love you, okay?"
She nodded and turned around to face him. After a while she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him.
"Are you okay?"
"No, not really."
Harm pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.
"But I will be," she continued. "Just don't let go of me, okay?"
*
As stoic as Admiral Chegwidden was, even he was visibly affected by the photographs. He'd gone to Mac's apartment when Harm had called to say that neither he nor Mac would be at work, and had walked straight into a meeting between Harm and Webb. When he'd demanded to know what was going on, Harm had reluctantly shown him the photographs.
"Where is she now?" was all he managed to say.
"Resting," Harm replied. "We think that this is related to a case Mac and I opposed each other on. A case she won."
"Do you know how many cases you've opposed each other on?" AJ asked. "Are you going to investigate all of them? Do you have any idea how long that will take?"
"Sir, she's going to crack if we don't find these bastards soon."
"She's still seeing Annelie, isn't she?"
Harm nodded. "She has an appointment this afternoon. She wants to be hypnotized. She thinks that'll help her remember them. It was supposed be next week but she wants this over with."
AJ sighed. "What can I do?"
Webb handed him a pile of folders. "We're looking for anything suspicious in any of these cases. Assuming that it's a fairly recent case because, well, I don't think the men who did this would wait very long to 'punish' Mac, we're working from the last case backwards. Also, if the defendant was a female, then I think we can ignore the case."
"Why?" AJ asked.
"The man who phoned mentioned a brother."
The men worked in silence for a while. Every now and then one of them would comment on the file he was reading or ask a question about the case. An hour and a half after AJ's arrival, Mac walked into the living room.
"Are you ready to go?" Harm asked, looking up at her.
"Yeah."
"We'll be back later," he said to AJ and Webb. "Call me if you find anything, okay?"
Mac waited until they were in the car to say, "I didn't realize you'd asked the admiral to help."
"He just showed up."
"Oh."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm a little nervous. I've never been hypnotized before."
"You don't have to do this, you know. What if this just makes it worse?"
"Harm, I have to do something."
"I know." He took his hand from the gear lever and placed it on her thigh, smiling. He felt hopeful when she smiled back. "Do you want me to be there when-?"
She shook her head. "Nah. I'll meet you back at the car in an hour."
Harm's smile vanished. "Are you sure? But… but…."
"Harm, I don't want you there."
"Why? Mac, I-"
"Please… a lot of what might be said… well, I'd prefer it if you didn't have to hear it."
Harm pulled into a parking space and turned to face Mac, taking both her hands in his. "Are you sure?"
"Harm, I love you, but I need to do this alone. Please understand."
He wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I love you too, Marine. I'll be waiting."
She smiled and kissed him. "Thanks."
He watched to see that she made it safely into the building, then decided to do something special for her. He wanted to see her happy and thought that surprising her would take her mind off the situation for a while. Inspiration struck when he drove past a jewelry store and he suddenly knew exactly what he wanted to do for her.
An hour later, he was chatting to the receptionist when Mac left Annelie's office. He could immediately see that something was wrong.
"Mac?"
"Annelie wants to speak to you," Mac said.
She was waiting in the car when he returned. He switched the radio off and turned to face her.
"You know it's not your fault. Some people just can't be hypnotized," he said gently.
Mac sighed. "I really thought this would help. What a waste of time…."
"Well, I'm kind of glad it didn't work."
"What?" she looked up, shocked. "But-"
"That didn't come out right. I meant… I was just worried it would have a negative effect. Maybe there's a reason you don't remember what happened."
"What I do remember is bad enough. What difference would knowing the rest make?"
Harm shrugged. He wanted her nightmare to be over. Leaning forward, he kissed her softly on the lips. "I don't want this to get you down. We'll find these guys, I promise."
"My knight in shining armor." She smiled.
"Hey, I have something for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny box. "Open it."
Tears sprang to her eyes as she lifted out the plain silver band. "Harm, I-"
"It's a promise ring," he explained. "Whenever you feel down or you start having doubts about getting through this, I want you to look at this ring and know that I'm going to be with you every step of the way."
"Thank you," Mac whispered, battling to find words to express herself. She threw her arms around Harm's neck, hugging him tightly.
In a car three parking spaces away, a man slumped in his seat, scowling. Things were not happening the way they were supposed to. Perhaps it was time to pay the colonel another visit.
*
AJ and Webb had made a lot of progress in Harm and Mac's absence. They had separated the files they'd managed to get through into various piles based on what they felt was relevant. Mac sat on a couch, folding her legs under her, and picked up a folder from the unread pile.
"Uh, Mac-" Webb began.
"It's okay," she said, smiling. "I'm okay."
Missing nothing, the spy noticed the ring she now bore on her right ring finger. He kept his thoughts to himself and opened another file. He couldn't help smiling though, when he realized she hadn't been wearing it when she'd left.
Mac went to bed early with a headache. The men worked late into the night and it was just as AJ and Webb were leaving that they asked how the hypnosis had gone.
"It didn't work," Harm said. "Annelie said she was really upset. Mac really wanted it to work."
AJ put his hand on Harm's shoulder, speaking softly. "My grandmother always used to say that sometimes you have to walk the rocks to see the mountain view. Mac will get through this, and so will you."
Harm smiled. "Thanks."
He returned to the bedroom, looking down at Mac who, for once, was sleeping peacefully. He sat next to her, smoothing her hair away from her face. She smiled in her sleep. Harm wasn't tired but crept under the covers anyway. He couldn't think of anywhere else he'd rather be.