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 9 – Clear Skies
"Mac?"
"Mmm?"
"I'm going to get some milk and eggs for breakfast. I'll be about twenty minutes."
Mac opened her eyes and groaned. "You didn't have to wake me up to tell me."
"I didn't want you to wake up alone and confused." Harm smiled.
"Mmm." She stuck her head under a pillow with the intention of going back to sleep. Harm lifted the pillow and kissed her cheek before replacing it. She heard him moving around the room and then heard footsteps and a muffled thud as the front door closed.
When there was a knock on the door a short while later, she assumed he'd forgotten to take his key with him. Yawning, she pulled on a robe and made her way to the door.
The smile vanished from her face when she opened it to her worst nightmare.
She tried to slam it closed but he was quicker, blocking it with his body as he slipped inside.
"Colonel Mackenzie," he said, looking her up and down. "It's been a while."
Mac felt as though she were watching the scene from outside of herself. Harm will be back soon, she thought.
And then, what if he's done something to Harm?
"What do you want?" The words stuck in her throat. She was very aware of how weak and pathetic she sounded.
He lifted his hand as if to stroke her cheek. She was in shock, unable to move or respond and the part of her that was watching was yelling, 'Run! Get away from him!'
The slap across her cheek caught her off-guard but it had the effect of bringing her back to reality. There was only one of him. She could handle that. She wondered briefly where the other two were but decided it didn't matter. Right now, she needed to deal with this man.
She struck back, catching him unawares. Once the first blow landed, she hit him again and again, unleashing every pent up emotion and frustration of the past few months. He fought back, wondering where this fighting spirit had come from. When she'd been captive, they'd beaten and starved her into submission.
He pushed her backwards and she slipped, falling and hitting her head on the corner of the coffee table. She lay stunned on the floor and the man stood, turning away. He thought he'd won.
Mac landed on his back, propelling him forward. He tripped over the couch and the air was punctuated with the sickening sound of his nose breaking. She pinned him to the floor, pummeling his back with her fists.
Harm set aside his shock at walking in on this scene to gently pull Mac away from the man. Unconscious now, he wasn't an immediate threat.
She cried in Harm's arms as he called first Webb, then AJ, and then the police.
*
Dr. Barnard came out of Mac's bedroom. "I've given her a sedative. She should sleep for a couple of hours. Here's a prescription for some painkillers for when she wakes."
"Thanks," Harm said.
It had been an hour since he'd arrived home. The paramedics had taken the man away – his driver's license identified him as Steven Dyer – and Mac and Harm had given statements to the police. Mac had refused to go to a hospital despite her broken wrist, a mild concussion and the stitches she'd needed from when she'd hit her head on the coffee table.
Annelie walked out of the bedroom and collapsed onto the nearest couch. "She's asleep."
"Did she say anything?" Webb asked.
"She said she remembers everything now."
"I left her," Harm said softly. "I left her again."
"You had no way of knowing this would happen-"
"I promised to take care of her and then I left her alone and he came-"
"Harm-"
He wouldn't listen. He stood, angry with himself, and went into the bedroom. It had taken all of his restraint not to rip the man apart with his bare hands while they'd waited for the police to arrive. He lay down on the bed next to Mac. If Dyer had killed her, he would never have forgiven himself.
There was a bruise high on Mac's cheekbone and he bent forward to place a tender kiss on the spot, painfully reminded of an almost identical action earlier that day.
"I'm sorry, Sarah." He lay as close to her as he could, one arm across her stomach. Mac looked so fragile. He blinked back tears of rage and frustration. She must have known he was there because she turned onto her side and burrowed her face into his chest. He let out a shaky breath and kissed the crown of her head.
*
Harm stood in Dyer's hospital room, staring at the sleeping man. In her rage, Mac had managed to fracture his skull. It wasn't a serious injury but it was enough to keep him in hospital – and out of prison – for a couple of days. He was being kept under guard so there was no chance of him escaping.
Harm's hatred of Dyer had previously been tempered by his concern for Mac, but now it was just the two of them in the room. Balling his hands into fists, he shoved them into his pockets. The temptation to use them on this man was too great.
Studying him carefully, he noted that he was only slightly bigger than Mac. How had he managed to break her spirit? More importantly, why?
"What are you doing here?"
He looked at Webb, shaking his head. "I don't know."
"Where's Mac?"
"At home. Harriet's with her."
"We picked up his two brothers last night. Shane and Dean, both younger than him. They confessed to everything. Said Steven was in charge."
Harm's eyes narrowed and he unconsciously stepped closer to the bed.
"The thing is, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was twelve."
"So he'll get off on an insanity plea?"
"No. He knew exactly what he was doing. His basement was full of pictures of Mac. He'd been planning it for months."
"Why?"
"Do you remember Lieutenant Alex Dyer?"
Harm nodded. "Vaguely. I defended him on Article 32 charges. He'd been accused of drug trafficking. I lost to Mac."
"He's Steven's twin. From what the other two say, Alex was like a father to the three of them when their father was killed in a car accident."
"Well, forgive me if I don't feel any pity for them and their sob story! Was Alex in on this?"
Webb shook his head. "I spoke to him this morning. He was horrified when I told him what had happened."
"So now what?"
"The evidence is all there. As soon as Mac identifies the other two, we can prosecute."
The thought that it was almost over seemed to pacify Harm. He touched Webb's shoulder before leaving. "Thanks. You've been a good friend to us."
Now it was Webb's turn to fight the temptation to kill the man who lay before him. Mentally ill or not, Steven Dyer would not get away with what he had done.
*
Mac sat on the couch, watching AJ play with his X-Men toys on the living room carpet. Except for a missing vase, there was no sign of the struggle that had taken place the day before. Harriet sat next to her, handing her a cup of chamomile tea. Even though Mac insisted that she was fine, Harriet had refused to be swayed. In truth, Mac didn't mind being mothered for a change.
"Don't you ever worry about bringing up children in this world?"
"All the time," Harriet said, "but I can't imagine not having AJ."
"And the baby? Don't you worry about it?"
Harriet touched her stomach. "Yes. I worry that I'll miscarry again. I worry that something bad will happen during the birth. I worry about not being able to protect them."
"So how do you stay sane?"
They were distracted as AJ climbed up onto the couch and held his Wolverine action figure up against his mother's stomach, then against Mac's. He held it up to his own ear and listened intently for a moment, then hopped off the couch. Picking up another toy, he resumed his game.
"That's how I keep sane," Harriet said.
Mac smiled and sipped the tea, slowly getting used to the taste.
"What are you going to do now that it's over?"
Mac shrugged. "Go back to living, I guess."
"When are you gonna have a baby, Auntie Mac?" AJ looked up innocently.
Mac and Harriet shared an amused glance.
"I don't know, AJ."
"Don't you want one?"
"Uh, yeah, but-"
"I'll tell Uncle Harm to get you one." His mind made up, he turned his attention back to his fantasy world.
"AJ Roberts!" Harriet was embarrassed. AJ had obviously overheard her and Bud discussing Harm and Mac.
Mac laughed. "It's fine. He'll have forgotten by the time Harm gets back."
Harriet knew he wouldn't, but decided to let the matter rest. If AJ wanted to play Cupid, she wouldn't stand in the way. The sooner her two friends got their acts together and made it official, the better. She smiled when she heard a key in the lock.
"Uncle Harm!" AJ jumped up and ran to his godfather, flinging his tiny arms around Harm's legs.
"Hey, AJ. Have these two ladies been behaving themselves?"
"Yeah." AJ giggled as Harm swept him up. He leaned in and whispered something in Harm's ear.
From the look on Harm's face it was apparent that AJ had not forgotten. Mac looked away, staring into her teacup.
Harriet stood up quickly. "I'd better be going."
When the goodbyes had been said and Harriet and AJ had gone, Mac started clearing up. Harm caught her wrist, forcing her to look at him.
"Hi." She licked her lips nervously.
"Hi… You know, AJ said the strangest thing to me just now."
"Really?" Mac gulped.
Harm nodded, his expression serious. "He said that Wolverine told him you wanted a baby."
"Oh."
"Who's Wolverine?"
In her haste to be out of the way, Harriet had left AJ's toys behind. Mac picked up the action figure from the floor and held it towards Harm.
"He is."
"Ah." Harm sat down, pulling Mac onto his lap. "So does Wolverine know what he's talking about?"
Godson or not, had AJ still been there, she would happily wring his neck. "Wolverine's just a toy, Harm."
"You're not trying to get out of our deal, are you? We do have two years left." His face was inches from hers.
She could only shake her head.
"Good."
*
Much later, Mac finally felt brave enough to speak about what she now remembered.
"The other two never said much. It was always him. He said I was just like his mother. That I'd seduced you so that you'd lose the case. He blamed me for sending his brother away. One of the others told me that their mother had left them for another man."
Harm said nothing, stroking her back.
"Their father told them women were evil. They couldn't see what they were doing to me was wrong."
"It's over now. They can't hurt you anymore."
Mac smiled. "I know."
"Hey, how would you like to go away for a while? Just the two of us. We'll lie in the sun all day and I'll be at your beck and call."
"Harm-"
He put a finger to her lips. "Shh. I want to. You deserve to be treated like a princess for a change."
"What about work? I don't think either of us have any leave left."
He shrugged. "I'm sure the admiral will make an exception for a honeymoon."
"H-Honeymoon?" Mac sat up, her eyes wide. "Are you-?"
He nodded solemnly. "I love you, Sarah. If I get my way, I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
"This isn't because of what AJ said, is it?"
Harm shook his head, then got down on one knee, kissing Mac's hand. "Do me this honor. Let me love you."
She blinked back tears of happiness. "Looks like you win this one, Commander."
He grinned. "I thought you'd say no."
"Why would you think that?"
"Because you like to be difficult."
"Yeah, well, every now and then I like to surprise you."
He laughed and pulled her onto his knee. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips. The nightmare was finally over. The men who had hurt her would be punished and she and Harm could finally get on with their lives.
~*~
FIN