"Harm." AJ said as he entered the waiting room.
"Admiral." Harm said jumping to his feet.
"Sit down." Harm did as instructed. "How's she doing?"
"They're doing another scan to check she's not getting a blood clot because she keeps getting a sharp pain in her head. Other than that she's talking and she can feel everything. They're keeping her in the ICU for twenty-four hours if everything's fine they'll move her somewhere else for a couple of days and then she can go home as long as someone stays with her and she should be able to go back to work a week after that."
"And how are you holding up?"
"I'm fine." He said fingering Mac's dog tags; the action didn't go unnoticed by AJ.
"You've been hanging around Mac too long. Sturgis stole this out your car." AJ held up Harm's sea bag. "I thought you might want to change."
"Thank you sir." He said dropping it by his foot. "I talked to her she's not going to sue the Navy or JAG for her accident."
"That's good news." AJ smiled.
"When I told her I knew a good lawyer she said Sturgis was busy in court all week, and that was where I was supposed to be."
"I was going to talk to you about that. The court martial is going badly, Bud needs help, he managed to talk the judge into a continuance for a day, so you can stay with Mac until she's out of the ICU but I need you back in court first thing Thursday morning. I'm sorry Harm there's not much else I can do about it."
"I know if there was any other way you would have thought of it sir. I just wish there was someone to stay with her."
"I'm assigning Harriet to a duty station by Mac's side. She'll have someone by here when you can't be."
"Thank you sir." Harm still fingered the ring and tags.
"It's a nice ring." AJ commented. "You should put it on her finger one day. I talked to the SecNav he'll allow me to exercise Admiral's privilege to keep you both at JAG. He's says you both cause him a lot of hassle but your both good lawyers and good representatives for the Navy and the Marines."
"Thank you sir, but Mac and I talk about this after I asked I gave her the ring, neither of us is ready for that step yet, we're adjusting to there being an us, rather than us just being friends."
"Harm, I hate to be the one to point this out but you've never been just friends there was always a spark between you since the day you met. Why do you think I warned you not to get too close? The whole office noticed, Sturgis picked up on it the first time he saw you two together."
"Well Mac and I had a lot of miscommunication and times where one of us, usually me wasn't ready. It's easier to take things slowly so we don't screw it up."
"Six and a half years is a long time to take things slowly. What did you tell Harriet about it?" Harm was telling him what he told Harriet when they were interrupted.
"Harm?" The Doctor said stepping into the waiting room. "Sorry Admiral, I didn't see you there." She saluted him.
"Carry on." AJ encouraged.
"Admiral Chegwidden, this is Lt Commander Marie Jenson, she's been taking care of Mac since she was admitted. Marie, the Admiral is the JAG and my CO but you can talk in front of him."
"It's an honour to meet you sir." Marie replied. "I thought I'd come and tell you Mac's scans are clear. We've upped her painkillers again, but as I explained earlier we can't give her too much as it would make her drowsy and we need to keep her as awake and alert as possible with this kind of injury." Harm nodded. "They're settling her back in to her bed right now, you can see later as usual arrangement. But she's only allowed one visitor at a time, so if the Admiral would like to see her you'll need to wait out here."
"Can you give these back to her for me?" Harm held out the tags to her.
"Of course, I'm sure she'll be glad to have them back again." Marie took them securely in her hand. "Cmdr, Admiral if you'll excuse me." AJ nodded a dismissal.
"Usual arrangement?" AJ questioned.
"ICU policy, one visitor twenty minutes from the hour, which means we have ten minutes so I'm going to change, if I'm not back go in and see her. She'll want to talk about her cases, but don't the doctor wants to keep her blood pressure down. Sir " he added. AJ nodded.
~
"Mac." AJ said as he stood next to her bed.
"Admiral. I was supposed to have a meeting with someone this morning about the Felix case."
"Don't worry about that now, I'll have it taken care of. You just concentrate on getting better so you can be around to help me keep Rabb in order."
"Yes sir." Mac smiled.
"I see you got your tags and ring back."
"Sir, I'm just looking after it."
"Harm told me the truth. He should have put it on your finger not around your neck."
"Sir, don't push him. I already told him I would have said yes if he had asked, but he's not ready for that yet, it's taken me this long to get him to admit to anything, I'll take what I can get for now."
"He's a good man and he loves you a lot."
"I know sir, and I know he's not going anywhere anytime soon, so I can wait."
"He's probably waiting impatiently in the corridor for me to leave so I'll come back and check up on you tomorrow."
"Thank you sir." Mac replied.
"Admiral." Harm said jumping to his feet.
"Sit down." Harm did as instructed. "How's she doing?"
"They're doing another scan to check she's not getting a blood clot because she keeps getting a sharp pain in her head. Other than that she's talking and she can feel everything. They're keeping her in the ICU for twenty-four hours if everything's fine they'll move her somewhere else for a couple of days and then she can go home as long as someone stays with her and she should be able to go back to work a week after that."
"And how are you holding up?"
"I'm fine." He said fingering Mac's dog tags; the action didn't go unnoticed by AJ.
"You've been hanging around Mac too long. Sturgis stole this out your car." AJ held up Harm's sea bag. "I thought you might want to change."
"Thank you sir." He said dropping it by his foot. "I talked to her she's not going to sue the Navy or JAG for her accident."
"That's good news." AJ smiled.
"When I told her I knew a good lawyer she said Sturgis was busy in court all week, and that was where I was supposed to be."
"I was going to talk to you about that. The court martial is going badly, Bud needs help, he managed to talk the judge into a continuance for a day, so you can stay with Mac until she's out of the ICU but I need you back in court first thing Thursday morning. I'm sorry Harm there's not much else I can do about it."
"I know if there was any other way you would have thought of it sir. I just wish there was someone to stay with her."
"I'm assigning Harriet to a duty station by Mac's side. She'll have someone by here when you can't be."
"Thank you sir." Harm still fingered the ring and tags.
"It's a nice ring." AJ commented. "You should put it on her finger one day. I talked to the SecNav he'll allow me to exercise Admiral's privilege to keep you both at JAG. He's says you both cause him a lot of hassle but your both good lawyers and good representatives for the Navy and the Marines."
"Thank you sir, but Mac and I talk about this after I asked I gave her the ring, neither of us is ready for that step yet, we're adjusting to there being an us, rather than us just being friends."
"Harm, I hate to be the one to point this out but you've never been just friends there was always a spark between you since the day you met. Why do you think I warned you not to get too close? The whole office noticed, Sturgis picked up on it the first time he saw you two together."
"Well Mac and I had a lot of miscommunication and times where one of us, usually me wasn't ready. It's easier to take things slowly so we don't screw it up."
"Six and a half years is a long time to take things slowly. What did you tell Harriet about it?" Harm was telling him what he told Harriet when they were interrupted.
"Harm?" The Doctor said stepping into the waiting room. "Sorry Admiral, I didn't see you there." She saluted him.
"Carry on." AJ encouraged.
"Admiral Chegwidden, this is Lt Commander Marie Jenson, she's been taking care of Mac since she was admitted. Marie, the Admiral is the JAG and my CO but you can talk in front of him."
"It's an honour to meet you sir." Marie replied. "I thought I'd come and tell you Mac's scans are clear. We've upped her painkillers again, but as I explained earlier we can't give her too much as it would make her drowsy and we need to keep her as awake and alert as possible with this kind of injury." Harm nodded. "They're settling her back in to her bed right now, you can see later as usual arrangement. But she's only allowed one visitor at a time, so if the Admiral would like to see her you'll need to wait out here."
"Can you give these back to her for me?" Harm held out the tags to her.
"Of course, I'm sure she'll be glad to have them back again." Marie took them securely in her hand. "Cmdr, Admiral if you'll excuse me." AJ nodded a dismissal.
"Usual arrangement?" AJ questioned.
"ICU policy, one visitor twenty minutes from the hour, which means we have ten minutes so I'm going to change, if I'm not back go in and see her. She'll want to talk about her cases, but don't the doctor wants to keep her blood pressure down. Sir " he added. AJ nodded.
~
"Mac." AJ said as he stood next to her bed.
"Admiral. I was supposed to have a meeting with someone this morning about the Felix case."
"Don't worry about that now, I'll have it taken care of. You just concentrate on getting better so you can be around to help me keep Rabb in order."
"Yes sir." Mac smiled.
"I see you got your tags and ring back."
"Sir, I'm just looking after it."
"Harm told me the truth. He should have put it on your finger not around your neck."
"Sir, don't push him. I already told him I would have said yes if he had asked, but he's not ready for that yet, it's taken me this long to get him to admit to anything, I'll take what I can get for now."
"He's a good man and he loves you a lot."
"I know sir, and I know he's not going anywhere anytime soon, so I can wait."
"He's probably waiting impatiently in the corridor for me to leave so I'll come back and check up on you tomorrow."
"Thank you sir." Mac replied.