Disclaimer: As in Ch. 1

1830 Local

Okinawa Base Hospital

"I want see Daddy!" Young Harm pouted, standing stubbornly in the hallway, with his hands crossed defiantly over his chest.

Clayton Webb sighed. The kid reminded him more and more of his father every day. "Harm, can we do it tomorrow? Your mother will kick my six if she finds out you're still at the hospital."

"No! You promised that I'd get to see Daddy today before I went home."

"All right, all right. Let's go see Daddy." He sighed again.

The boy began to grin and held his hand out for Clay to take. Webb took it reluctantly, silently promising himself that Sturgis would get paid back for leaving him like this.

Little Harm almost skipped down the hall, dragging Clay behind until he saw some familiar faces in the distance. "Grandma! Mommy! Grandpa!"

Startled, the group turned to meet the bundle of energy who was racing in their direction.

"Hi, Darling. Why are you still here? Where is Grandpa Turner?" Mac asked as she released him from a bear hug.

"He went home with Andrew. Uncle Clay's there." He pointed out the man, who was currently huffing towards them.

"Clay, what are you still doing at here? Weren't you supposed to go back to the hotel with my father?" Elaine frowned slightly.

"I would've if your son here hadn't insist on seeing his daddy before going home. Sturgis left him with me while he took Andrew back to hotel. The poor boy was out like a light, while this one..." Clay narrowed his eyes at the youngster. "And I thought Ryan was bad. Why are all of you out here anyway?"

"Albert's checking on Trey right now." Harm said, rubbing his forehead wearily.

"Albert? You mean your son, Albert? How...?"

"They asked for a neurosurgeon from Bethesda. As it happened, they sent Albert over -- not knowing that he's related to both patients. Al only found out the names of the patients once he reached the base here."

"Oh, man! That couldn't have been good. How did he take it?"

"He was a bit taken aback, but it had a happy ending." Harm smiled at the memory.

Before long, Albert walked out of the room, looking wearily at his parents, not sure how to proceed.

"So, how bad is it?" Mac asked softly.

"I'm sorry, Mom. The bullet damaged one of his motory nerves. There's nothing I can do. I'm afraid, he will be wheelchair-bound unless a miracle happens." Regret was evident in his voice.

Harm and Mac both closed their eyes as the meaning of his words hit them, and they struggled to keep their tears at bay.

"Why don't all of you go back to hotel for some rest? I put him on a mild sedative to help him sleep, and I gave one to Matt as well. He was...very upset at the news."

"But I want see Daddy!" Little Harm whined, and Albert smiled at his nephew.

"All right. Why don't you go inside and say goodnight to Daddy? But after that, you'll have to go home with mommy."

The boy thought about it for a second. "'K, Uncle Al." He took off into the room, his mother -- holding his sister -- following.

"Go grab your gear, son. You're going to get some rest, too." Harm said decisively.

"But, Dad..."

"Do I need to make that an order, Major?"

From long years of experience, Albert knew he'd already lost the battle of wills. "No, sir." He said softly.

Harm's tone softened a bit. "You need to rest, son. Now hurry up; we'll wait for you in the lobby."

As Albert strode away, Harm saw Mac talking to Clay. Her face was full of sorrow and regret as they quietly conversed. He frowned slightly, wondering what they might be saying, but decided just to ask her later.

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2230 Local

Harm & Mac's hotel Room

Okinawa, Japan

Harm had been tossing around in the bed for quite a while, unable to get anywhere near sleep. Not wanting to disturb Mac, he slowly climbed out of the bed and retrieved his regular medicine bottle from the table top. Quickly swallowing a pill, he quietly sat by the window.

Soon, Mac woke up and realized that the comforting warmth of her husband was missing. Sitting up sleepily, she found him staring moodily into the distance. "Harm?"

He turned around and gave her a warm smile.  "I woke you up, didn't I?"

"No, I actually need to go to the bathroom; you not being here just surprised me. You ok?"

"Yes and no."

"Talk to me, Harm." His wife urged, getting out of bed and perching on his lap.

"I am so glad that everything turned out to have a happy ending. Well, at least I know that my sons are both still well and alive."

"We're both glad, Harm. We're both glad." She brushed a strand of graying hair gently off his face.

"I had a brief talk with Matt today...I can't forget how he sounded when we talked about Trey. His guilt-haunted eyes scared me, Mac. He blamed himself for what happened to Trey, even before Albert told us the news. At that point, I began to imagine the worst for Matt's conscience. I just can't stop thinking about it now. I don't want him to make himself feel so terrible about something he had no control over."

"I'll talk to him, Harm. He reminds me of you, you know. Righteous, noble, and always blaming yourself something you couldn't control."

"Really?" Harm grinned and grew serious, "Promise me you really will go talk to him. He might listen better to you than to me."

"I promise, Harm. In fact, I'll do it tomorrow. Captain Thern said that he's going to discharge Matt from the hospital in the morning. But, come on. Let's get back to bed. You need your beauty sleep, after all." She teased.

"Funny, Marine. Very funny."

"I am a funny lady." She deadpanned, echoing the old line she'd used so long ago on the USS Hornet during the Tate investigation.

"Mac, I want to ask you something." Harm said as they settled in to sleep.

"Go ahead."

"What were you and Clay talk about at the hospital. I notice your sad expression."

Mac sighed. "When Clay said that he thought Ryan was even worse than Little Harm, it just hit me that we'd completely forgotten about Grace."

"Grace!! How could I have forgotten about her!? Does she know?"

"I talked to Clay, and he said he'd sent a telegram to London but hadn't heard anything since."

"Trey and Grace...who would have thought that my son and Webb's daughter would fall in love with each other? What with our previous 'relationship' with the tin man." Harm shook his head as he remembered all the scrapes Clay'd gotten them into over the years.

"Life is just full of mysteries, Harm."

"That's for sure. I just hope that everything will turn out with a happy ending for both of them. Twelve years is way too long to be apart. Even you and I only took seven years to get our heads out of our sixes."

"I certainly hope so, Harm. I certainly hope so." She relaxed and gradually slipped back into sleep.

"Good night, Sarah. Sweet dreams." Harm gently kissed her forehead before he, too, drifted into a dreamless sleep.

TBC…

AN: As usual, drop me a word or two.