…Till Death Does Us Part Chapter II – Part 22/26
Disclaimer - See part one for all important informationBethesda
2:32 PM
Sturgis remained next to Mac's bed as she continued to sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what she had been going through in the past few months, especially the past few days. The father of her child, the man she told him she was in love with, basically said he couldn't stand the sight of her and shared untamed words of hatred.
To top it off, said father was one of his closest friends. But for some reason, Sturgis felt compelled to protect Mac and this baby. It was hard enough to watch Harm and Mac argue, but to throw the baby into it hurt. This child had done nothing, and here it was in trouble, because its mother was too stressed because of the father.
The father needed to be told, but would he listen to Mac? Sturgis wondered this again for the thousandth time. He looked up at the doorway of the room and there stood Harm, looking into the room, with a look of total hurt on his face. He also looked like he was out of breath.
"Is she okay?" Harm softly whispered.
Sturgis stood up and walked to the doorway. He made it outside and motioned for Harm to follow him. The two men walked into the reception area of the floor.
"The doctor said she's under too much stress. He wants her to cut back her work load and take a few days to recover," Sturgis explained.
"What caused this?" Harm asked.
Sturgis took a deep breath. "We all know she's been under stress lately from her cases, and it's got to be hard to take care of herself and the baby at the same time. But I'm pretty sure the argument you and she had this afternoon didn't help either."
Harm looked surprised at Sturgis. "You know about the fight?"
"She told me everything," Sturgis explained. "She's been keeping everything inside and it's hurting her. What hurts her, hurts that baby."
"It's her own damn fault," Harm muttered.
"Not all of it, Harm."
"Yeah, where's Clay? Shouldn't he be here?" Harm asked.
Sturgis looked at Harm with mild confusion but then remembered what he told him at the bar that night. "Clay doesn't need to be here. Mac doesn't want anything to do with him."
"Well, he should be; he got her here."
Sturgis was ready to snap, Harm was taking no responsibility in this matter. "He got her here?"
"Yeah. He's the father of the baby, and he should be taking care of her."
Sturgis took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to yell at Harm. "You really think you've figured everything out, don't you? Leave the father out of this. You need to understand something. Mac could have been seriously hurt today. She collapsed in her office and knocked her head on the floor. Luckily the fall wasn't too bad. She could have severely hurt herself or the baby, your argument with her didn't help."
"A lot of things aren't going to help with her Sturgis. She needs to understand she can't get things to go her way, just because she's pregnant."
"Mac has never expected things to go her way. And especially now that she is pregnant. She wants the same chances as before."
"Like hell. She's hoping everyone will play the 'poor Mac got pregnant and is on her own' card. She's got you eating out of her hand, man."
Sturgis felt his anger grow at Harm, and found himself pushing down his anger more and more.
But Harm continued to talk. "I can't believe this. After everything that has happened, you're sticking up for her. You know about the marriage and how she treated me. You've seen her in the office. She's trying to get away with something, but God help me, I'm going to figure it out."
Sturgis couldn't take it. "Damn it, Harm! There is a lot you need to figure out. Mac is pregnant and can't handle too much stress."
"Are you saying I cause her stress?!" Harm defensibly stated.
"Yes, you know what buttons to hit and play her like a violin."
"You're the one she's playing, Sturgis. If I didn't know any better I might think you're the father with the way you're acting."
"Well, no one would accuse you of being the father the way you are acting."
Harm scoffed. "I have no desire to have Train-wreck Mackenzie in my life anymore."
"Harm, are you here hoping to knock her down a few more pegs so you can feel better about yourself?"
"There is nothing left to knock down," Harm said without thinking.
However Sturgis was thinking and heard it. As a reaction to his friend's words he did something he'd never done before. He hauled off and hit Harm in the jaw. From the force, and the surprise of the punch, Harm found himself on the floor holding his jaw with his hand and glaring up at his old academy buddy.
Harm was about to get up when another voice entered the room. "Don't even think about it, Commander Rabb!" Chegwidden called form the elevator area as he walked towards the two men.
Chegwidden looked at both men and knew something had to happen to have Sturgis hit Harm like that. Harm's face was starting to turn red from the hit, and from his anger at Sturgis. AJ looked at Sturgis, "Commander Turner, check on Colonel MacKenzie."
"Yes, Sir," Sturgis said, but before he left the area he glared down at Harm. "Stay away from Mac or you'll answer to me." Then he left the room.
AJ looked at Harm. "Get up."
Harm stood up and didn't even try to explain what just happened.
AJ crossed his arms in front of his chest. "It must have been something to get that response from him. I don't think I've ever seen him that upset. Do I need to be involved?"
"No, Sir," Harm told him.
"Get out of here," AJ ordered.
"Yes, Sir." Harm complied before he walked to the stairwell.
AJ watched Harm leave and stared at the ceiling. Then he looked down the hall to Mac's room and walked that way.
End Part 22