The shipperness of the last scene of the season finale made me happy enough to post more. bg Thanks for sticking with this, and thanks for the feedback, y'all.
Chapter 13:
Aftermath
"NOW this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back—
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."
--Rudyard Kipling, "The Jungle Book"
1515 Zulu
4 February 2004
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Mac folded her arms over her chest and smiled. "Face it, Sturgis, your client is guilty; take the plea bargain now, and save him from ten years of hard labor."
"Now, Mac, my client says that he's innocent, and I believe him." Sturgis leaned back in his chair and smiled. "He doesn't want a plea bargain, and we're going to trial."
"Can't say I didn't warn you." Mac's smile turned into a predatory grin. "I'm going to kick your ass in court tomorrow, Sturgis," she informed him.
Sturgis steeped his fingers, leaned forward in the chair, and smiled. "You can try," he said.
"I'm a Marine, Sturgis--we don't try; we succeed."
Sturgis simply smiled. "According to Harm, that's what you always say."
Mac's face clouded over, and she bit her lip. "I can't feel him right now, Sturgis," she murmured.
A puzzled look spread over Sturgis's face. "What do you mean, Mac?"
"Ever since I 'found' him in wherever he was being held," she said slowly, attempting to explain. "I've kept the... connection between us open." Mac looked at him, pain darkening her eyes to almost black. "Where he usually is in my head is so blank; it's like he's unconscious or... dead." She looked terrified at the thought.
Sturgis sat up straight. "Mac," he began quietly, "scuttlebutt says that a rescue was being planned--most likely, he's under anesthesia or something."
Mac started to answer, but the phone rang, cutting her off. She held up one finger, then picked up the phone. "Mackenzie," she said.
"Colonel, we got him out, and we're at Bethesda."
"Beth, is that you?"
"Yes, ma'am. Harm keeps asking for you, Colonel. He's in surgery again right now; they have to extract some wire from his wrists and ankles, and I was hoping that you could get here."
Mac bit her lip. She knew that he must've been unconscious before they took him in surgery--she still held Harm's medical power of attorney, but right now it didn't matter. Harm needed her, and she'd be there for him. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Beth," she said. "I'll call you when I get close to the hospital."
"Thanks, Colonel," Beth said. "Please, hurry; he needs you here with him."
Mac heard a dial tone as the woman hung up. "Sturgis, something's come up; can we get into this later?"
"Sure, Mac," Sturgis said.
Mac stood and hurried out the door towards the Admiral's office. "Thanks," she called over her shoulder.
She hurried into Coates's domain. "Petty Officer, is the Admiral free?"
"Let me check," Coates said with a smile before she knocked on the Admiral's door. "Sir? Colonel Mackenzie needs to see you."
"Send her in, Coates."
"Yes, sir." Coates held open the door for Mac and gestured her to go inside.
"Thanks, Coates," Mac said with a smile. She walked into the Admiral's lair and came to attention in front of his desk.
"At ease, Mac--what can I do for you?"
"I just got a call from Beth O'Neil, sir," Mac said, fighting the urge to pace.
"Harm's partner in the CIA?"
"Yes, sir--Harm is at Bethesda, and he's been asking for me. Permission to go there, sir?" Mac locked her arms behind her back to stop herself from fidgeting.
The Admiral pulled a file out and held it out to her. "I need you to take a look at this first, Colonel. It seems that my pleas for another senior lawyer have finally been heard."
Mac accepted the file and looked through it, willing her hands not to shake. "We have him back, sir?" she asked, incredulous.
"Yes, Colonel." AJ allowed himself a wry smile. "It seems that he was too much for the SecNav to handle, so we get him again."
A smile lit up her face. "Sir, permission to go to Bethesda to debrief Commander Rabb."
AJ chuckled and gestured towards the file. "You didn't look at that very closely, Colonel. It's Captain Rabb, now. Apparently he impressed the higher ups, and they put him in for early promotion. And you're not going to debrief Rabb. You don't have court today, do you, Colonel?"
"No, sir," she answered.
"Then permission granted to go to Bethesda; I believe one of ours is asking for you."
Mac put the file down on his desk and snapped to attention. "Aye, aye, sir," she said, her smile widening.
"Mac, I want you to stay with him as long as they'll let you today, but I need you in here first thing tomorrow to give me a progress report. Is that clear?" AJ clasped his hands in front of him.
"Yes, sir."
"I'm sure his friends would like to visit him--dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Mac turned, hurried out of the office, and through the bullpen. She grabbed her belongings and hurried towards the elevator; she was determined to be there for her flyboy if he really needed her.
1545 Zulu
4 February 2004
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, Maryland
Beth paced back and forth in the waiting room. Harm had been in the OR for over an hour for what was supposed to be a minor procedure. She'd even had time to go call Mac for him, so that she'd be there when he woke up. She winced as she remembered his reaction when he'd woken up the first time; Harm had flinched away from all of them, including her.
Beth threw herself into one of the hard chairs to wait for word from the doctors. Both Jack and Webb had been forced to leave to go to Langley for debriefing, so she was waiting alone. By her calculations, it would take approximately forty-five minutes for Mackenzie to arrive in between having to get permission and traffic. She hoped that it would be fast enough for the Colonel to be there when he woke up, because he had been asking for her continually.
She sighed and stuffed her hands into her pockets as she slumped down on the hard plastic chair. He had to be okay. At any rate, she'd make sure that Mac wouldn't hurt him again. Harm had saved her skin more than once in their short partnership, and she owed him that.
Beth looked up as a Marine-green clad figure ran into the waiting room. "Is Harm okay?" the woman asked as she slid to a stop on the polished floor. "Is he out of surgery yet?"
Beth raised an eyebrow. "And you would care because?"
"Because it's Harm," Mac started to explain.
"Oh, yesss," Beth cut in. "This is the same guy who saved your ass in Paraguay, so you threw him over for Webb." She stood up and stalked over to stand near Mac. "I'm going to give you some rules here, Colonel. I refuse to let you hurt him again. I only called because Harm is a mess, and he's asking for you. Hurt him, and I swear by all that's holy that you'll be sorry." Beth crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her.
Mac glared back. "So what exactly is Harm to you, Beth?"
"My partner," Beth spat out. "The man has saved my life, and he saved my career once; I owe him." Beth raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if you've heard of this concept, Colonel, but partners take care of each other--just like you haven't done for him. He's been calling for you since we got him out. If you hurt him, what's been done to Harm will be a pale shadow compared to what I do to you. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," Mac murmured. "I'm only here for him, Beth; I've been sick with worry for him." She walked over and sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs.
Beth walked over and sat in one nearby. "If you don't hurt him, it's okay with me. I think he's needed you there since before he became my partner."
"That makes two of us," Mac whispered. "I know he's hurting, Beth," she said as she clenched her hands together.
The two women sat together in silence for a few long minutes. "How much do you know about his condition?" Beth asked finally.
"I know that Sadik was torturing him, and that he's in a lot of pain," Mac's voice petered out to a whisper.
"How do you know that?" Beth asked. "The mission that we were on was classified."
"I just... know," Mac said with a shrug. "I can't really explain it, but when it comes to Harm, sometimes I... know things without being told."
"Shame you can't see how he feels," Beth muttered. "Tell me something, Colonel--just how do you feel about my partner, and what are your intentions concerning him?"
Mac grinned. "What next, O'Neil? Are you going to ask if I'm planning on making an honest man out of him?"
"I might," Beth said with a smirk. "But now that you mention it, are your intentions towards him honorable, or are you going to run off with that smarmy son-of-a-bitch Webb?"
"Webb and I... never really got started," Mac admitted. "I was seeing him because he had information about Harm." She twisted her OCS ring around her finger. "It depends on Harm, really. I'll be here for him until he's okay again, and we'll see what happens from there."
"Not good enough, Colonel. Tell me, just how do you feel about my partner?" Beth demanded.
"It's--complicated. Harm is my best friend, my partner, and I... love him." Mac looked at Beth with a challenge in her eyes. "I want to have babies with Harm and grow old with him; is that good enough?"
Beth nodded, satisfied at last. "As long as you know that, and keep it in mind, then I'm okay with it."
Before Mac could say anything, a short, balding, chunky man wearing scrubs and a pristine white lab coat walked in. "Are you here for Harmon Rabb?" he asked in a soft voice.
Mac stood up. "Is he okay, doctor?" she asked quickly.
"Yes, he came through surgery fine, and we've just transferred him up to a room," the man said with a smile. "He should be coming out of the anesthesia any minute now, the man he came in with said that it shouldn't cause any reactions, and we've got him hooked up to a broad spectrum antibiotic."
"Where is he?" Mac asked.
"Room 515," he answered. Mac turned and hurried away, while Beth stayed to talk. She pushed the call button for the elevator and switched impatiently back and forth from foot to foot until it arrived.
Mac stepped inside and pushed the button for the fifth floor repeatedly until the doors closed and it started up. Barely waiting for the doors to open wide enough, she hurried out and down the hall and went into his room.
One occupant lay silently in the bed by a window, the sun bathing his still form in golden light. Mac walked over quickly and stood by the side of the bed. She winced as she noticed his battered condition before leaning over and brushing his hair back from his face. She'd never seen it as long as it had grown during his captivity, and there was something wrong with it.
For as long as she'd known him, he'd kept it cut short. "Wake up, Harm," she murmured. "I'm here for you, as long as you need me." Mac leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I promise, Harm; you're safe with me."