Sonnets of Life Part 7

Disclaimers in Part 1


As an unperfect actor on the stage,
Who with his fear is put beside his part,
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,
Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;
So I, for fear of trust, forget to say
The perfect ceremony of love's rite,
And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,
O'ercharged with burthen of mine own love's might.
O let my looks be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love, and look for recompense,
More than that tongue that more hath more expressed.
O learn to read what silent love hath writ:
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.
--Sonnet 23

Location Unknown
Time Unknown

Mac wandered through the darkness, searching for something that she recognized. She listened intently for the voice that had rescued her. That voice was something she would never forget. The husky timbre, the soft, loving tone... she shivered with the memory. She finally recalled why the voice was so familiar. 'It was AJ! He was the one that led me away from...' She shuddered. 'God, that was terrifying!' She kept up her search, but all she could see was the blackness surrounding her. Mac was starting to feel that she would welcome the light, even with the pain that accompanied it, if just to see something. There was no noise; all was silent. Mac took a deep breath, then called, "AJ? AJ, where are you? Why did you leave me here?" When she heard nothing, she started to panic, tears running down her face. The self-sufficient Marine façade was gone. Mac knew, by instinct, that she needed another person to lead her out of this infinite darkness. "AJ, please, help me! I don't know what to do! Please, I need your help!"

A low voice broke through her pleas. "Shhh, Sarah, I'm here. It's OK, darlin'. Don't worry. It'll be all right." Mac calmed, her tears ceasing to fall as the warm voice pushed away the darkness.



Tuesday, 5 November 2002
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, MD
1445 ZULU

Harriet listened to the lowered voices in the hallway. She was pretty sure of what the Admiral was saying to Harm. Threats of bodily damage were most likely included somewhere in the conversation. As she gazed at the prone Colonel, Harriet's eyes once more filled with tears; she whispered a prayer for her friend. She heard Mac start to moan; her hopes started to rise. Then, she heard Mac start to speak.

"AJ? AJ, where are you?" At this, Harriet jumped from the chair and started running down the hallway, calling, "Admiral? Admiral, sir! Mac--the Colonel--she's waking up, sir! She's calling for you!"

Harriet watched as AJ practically sprinted down the hallway, following at a slightly slower pace. She returned to the room in time to hear AJ say, "It's OK, darlin'. Don't worry. It'll be all right." Harriet watched her CO, gruff, no-nonsense Admiral Chegwidden, murmur comforting words to his Chief of Staff. She observed as he brushed a hand over her hair, clutching one of her hands in his large one. The look in his eyes was unmistakable. This was a man in love.

Harriet's eyes widened when this realization hit her. 'Oh, my God! He's... in love with her?' Harriet had suspected for a while that the feelings between her CO and her dear friend were not totally platonic; she noticed the looks that passed between them when they thought no one was looking. She also knew, however, that nothing would ever become of those feelings. These two were far too honorable for anything like that to happen. But she never suspected the feelings to be that strong. Harriet's mind started going a mile a minute, trying to think of ways to get her two friends together without breaking regs. She also took a moment to, for once, bless Commander Rabb's unperceptiveness in matters of the heart. She didn't want him to notice what she had; he would never be discreet about it.

Harriet glanced at Harm, who was standing just behind and to the left of her. His pained gaze danced around the room, settling anywhere but on his former partner and girlfriend. Harriet took a chance, and gently pulled the Commander out of the room; he didn't object. As they left, she said, "Come on, Commander, let's go find the doctor."



Tuesday, 5 November 2002
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, MD
1450 ZULU

The darkness gradually receded. The first sense to return was hearing. She could hear the soft hum of electrical currents, the beeping of the monitors to which she was attached, and the low voice that kept speaking to her. She slowly opened her eyes, but the bright light was blinding. She shut them again. Touch also returned. She felt his comforting hand in hers, another smoothing her hair and running across her face. Smells of disinfectant, hospital food, and illness were mixed with the scent of him: a warm, masculine scent that was soothing. She could also tell a female had been in the room recently; traces of a woman's flowery perfume hung in the air.

"Sarah? Sarah, are you awake? Please, open your eyes." The coaxing voice brought her back to the present. She opened her eyes. The light was not so blinding this time. In a hoarse, cracking voice, she asked, "AJ?"

AJ smiled, and replied, "Yes, darlin', I'm right here."

"Oh, my head... where am I? What happened? Why are you here?" Mac fired off her questions rapidly--well, as rapidly as a woman who had been unconscious could.

AJ chuckled in a mixture of amusement and relief. 'Yep, our Marine is back!' "Well, Sarah, you are at Bethesda, you were shot, and the doctors didn't want you to be alone when you woke up." AJ was going to wait to tell her how close she was to dying. He didn't know if he could get through it without breaking down.

Mac blinked, then gasped as she remembered the events of the previous night. "The ambassador. Sturgis. Are they OK?"

"Yes, both are fine. They got the ambassador out, and Sturgis is at JAG right now, although I told him to go home."

AJ looked up, hearing voices outside the door. Mac followed his gaze as Harriet, Harm, and the doctor entered Mac's room.

The doctor introduced himself. "Good morning, Colonel. It's nice to see you're awake. I'm Commander Harwood, and I'm the resident neurologist here."

"Hello, Commander, and I would have to say good afternoon; it's 1202 hours... and 47 seconds."

The doctor's eyebrows winged up, and he checked his watch. "Well, so it is! How do you do that?"

Before Mac could answer, the other three officers responded in unison, "She has great timing." They all burst into laughter. Mac rolled her eyes, and the doctor just shook his head. "Oookay. Well... Sarah... I need to check some things, alright?" He proceeded to examine Mac thoroughly. "That's quite a nasty bump on your head, Sarah. Are you in any pain?"

"Only my shoulder."

The doctor smiled. "Well, that's understandable; you were shot, after all. I'm going to schedule an MRI and a CAT scan for later today, to make sure nothing was permanently damaged. I'm also going to send up the physical therapist so that you can start therapy ASAP. I'll be by later to see how everything checks out. If you need anything, don't hesitate to use that call button, understood?"

Mac smiled tiredly. All she really wanted to do right now was go to sleep. "Yes, doctor." Harriet and Harm were surprised Mac acquiesced so easily. Commander Harwood noticed her exhaustion. "We'll let you get some rest now, Colonel," he said, gesturing for the others to precede him out of the room.

Outside of Mac's room, the doctor began to give instructions. "I really don't want to leave Colonel Mackenzie alone. Her pupils were still dilated; I'm afraid she may slip back into unconsciousness with that concussion of hers. I'm amazed that she recovered so quickly; most cases we get like this, the patient is under for at least two or three days."

AJ interrupted. "Well, doctor, you don't know Mac like we do. She can be one stubborn Marine." The others chuckled.

Harwood smiled. "Of course. I'm going to go schedule that CAT scan now, Admiral, and finish my rounds."

"Dismissed, Commander."

Turning to the other two, AJ said, "Harm, I was going to ask you to take acting JAG for a few days, but since the Colonel is awake, I'm going in to the office. If you could stay here with her until someone comes to relieve you, I would be grateful."

Harm hesitated. "Sir, I don't think I'm the first person Mac would want to see when she wakes up again." 'After all, whom did she call when she regained consciousness, huh, AJ?' he added bitterly in his mind.

"I understand that, Commander, but it can't be helped. Mac needs someone to be here when she wakes up, and I need to go into JAG." 'Believe me, I would love to stay here with Sarah.'

Harriet interrupted softly, "Sir? Perhaps I should stay here with the Colonel. I can arrange for the babysitter to stay with AJ for a little longer, and I could just bring him here later." 'Besides, it'll give me time to brainstorm some ideas on how you two can get what you want!' she grinned inwardly.

"That's a good idea, Harriet. I'm sure Mac would love to see her godson." AJ was relieved. He hadn't wanted to suggest Harriet stay with Mac; she probably would've taken it as an order.

"Well, then, Admiral, I'd better get back inside. We shouldn't leave Mac alone for too long, even if she is sleeping."

"Of course, Lieutenant. Dismissed."

"Aye-aye, sir." Harriet reentered the room, humming "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" under her breath.

AJ returned his attention to Harm. "Commander, my orders still stand. If you disturb the Colonel in any way, I will nail your six to the wall. Is that clear?"

"Clear as glass, sir." Harm was sweating bullets at this point. He had no doubt that the ex-SEAL would act on the threat. He would not get anywhere close to Bethesda; he planned on getting updates on Mac's condition from Sturgis.

AJ sighed. "Let's go, Commander; I'm sure we both have work to do."

"Aye, sir."