"Tested Hearts", chapter 8
A/N: I'm trying, in this particular chapter and in those that follow, to stay true to medical terms, symptoms, and what I've read are proper methods of treatment for what's now happening with Mattie. If you're a medical professional and see errors, please mark it down to the fact that I am NOT one, and that I'm simply trying to write a realistic-sounding FICTION story. My main goal, however, is to explore and reveal the relationships in this most unique family.
Reviews are heartily appreciated! Thanks to all who have done so already!
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL ER WARD
Drs. Gentry and Masters entered the curtained area where Mattie's bed was, and immediately went to work checking the readouts from the monitors, retaking vitals, and examining the changes in Mattie's condition. The nurse who had been tending to Mattie stood by, a worried look on her face.
"Doctors," she spoke, "her BP dropped 20% in the past few minutes. Now at ... 70/40, temp is holding at 103.1. For a few seconds, I thought she was regaining consciousness, because I heard her mumble a few words, but then she quieted and her vitals dropped."
Dr. Masters was listening to the nurse while at the same time checking Mattie's lungs with his stethoscope. Dr. Gentry took a swab of Mattie's mouth, sealed it in a plastic container the nurse held for her, and rechecked her EKG readout. She looked over at her colleague as they were laying Mattie back down on the bed, and started examining Mattie's pupils with her penlight.
"How does she sound?"
"She's got more fluid in her lungs ... breathing is shallow, and she's not getting enough ox in her system to rise to full consciousness. The pneumonia is developing." Dr. Masters answered. The doctors looked at each other for a moment, then Dr. Gentry went to the phone by the wall, and punched in an extension.
"Yes. This is Dr. Gentry in the ER. We're sending a patient down ASAP for a full chest X-ray series. Get someone up here with a gurney right away. Yes ... I know you have other people ahead of this one, but we're bumping her up to Alpha status as of right now. Do it." She hung up the phone before the other person could answer, and looked back over at Mattie's flushed form. Dr. Masters glanced at her concerned face, and then turned to the nurse, who wore a similar expression.
"Nurse ... please get her ready for the gurney. I'm going down with her, but first we need to speak to the parent. I'm going to—". He was interrupted by the entrance of the head nurse from the intake desk.
"Doctors, this girl's parent is insisting either on seeing his daughter or speaking with one of you. I'm not sure if he's going to wait much longer. Do either of you have a second to speak with him?"
"We were just heading out there," Dr. Masters answered. "Please call upstairs and have supplies sent up to her room for a pleural sample. After she has chest X-rays, she's going to her room where I'll take the sample. Prep for a chest tube as well, just in case."
Dr. Gentry looked up as Dr. Masters finished speaking. She was studying his face, and quietly asked, "Are you thinking empyema?" He met her gaze, and slowly nodded. After a sigh, he spoke.
"What I heard in her lungs ... she's probably got some pus in the pleural space. The sample along with the throat culture you got should tell us what bacteria we're dealing with. Depending on what I see on her x-rays, I may go ahead and drain her chest while I get her on antibiotics."
"I was hoping we wouldn't have to do anything invasive on this one. She's so frail as it is, and with that fever ..." Dr. Gentry murmured.
"Me, too. But I have a feeling we need to go on offense with her – the defense ain't getting it done."
"Yeah."
"Wanna go speak to the parent with me?"
"Sure."
ER WAITING ROOM
The four people waiting to hear about Mattie's condition from her doctors had been quiet and still since watching the nurse go into the area where Mattie lay, the levity from earlier gone away as if it never happened. Each one lost in his or her own thoughts, equally worried about and scared for the young teen they had come to love so much. Harm sat between Jen and Mac, with the Admiral on Mac's other side. Harm was holding both Jen and Mac's hands in his, and Jen's eyes were closed as she leaned forward slightly in her chair, a soft prayer moving over her lips. Harm glanced over at her, surprised to see her apparently in prayer. He hadn't seen any sign of religion in her before this night, and he gently squeezed her hand in thanks. A soft smile appeared on her face, he saw, without her opening her eyes or stopping her whispered prayer. He turned to glance over at Mac who was staring straight ahead. She seemed calm on the outside, but Harm could see the flashes of worry and anxiety in her dark brown eyes. She looked at him at that moment, meeting his gaze. They held each other's gaze until, after another couple of minutes, they heard padded feet and the sound of wheels approaching. As all four JAGs looked up in anticipation, they saw a male nurse push a gurney with an IV pole attached towards the curtained area where Mattie was, and Jen, Mac, and the Admiral followed Harm as he stood up.
As soon as the nurse and the gurney went into the curtained area, they watched both Dr. Gentry and Dr. Masters exit, walking towards them, whispering quietly as they approached. When they reached Harm and the others, Harm took note of the serious expressions on both doctors' faces, and quickly glanced at Mac, who stood close next to him, her hand still in his. Her face had turned white as a sheet, and Harm could feel the blood leave his own as well. He swallowed once, twice, as the doctors reached the group, but it was the Admiral who spoke first.
"Doctors ... how is she?" he demanded in his command voice.
Both doctors just stood there, eyebrows raised at this new member of the group, in full Navy uniform with his SEAL emblem and "fruit salad" on his chest. Harm knew he needed to introduce the Admiral as a family friend so that he could hear what they had to say, but he was interrupted before he could speak--this time, by Jen.
"Dr. Gentry...Dr. Masters...this is Rear Admiral Chegwidden, Judge Advocate General of the US Navy and our boss. Admiral...the doctors who have been treating Mattie."
The Admiral nodded at Jen, thanking her for her intro, and then turned to the doctors. "Pleased to meet you both. Please tell us how she's doing." Both doctors nodded their greetings in return, and then Dr. Masters began speaking. "Sir, I'm assuming you're a family friend as well as these folks' boss." Harm and Mac both nodded quickly. "Well, Mattie's pretty sick. Her fever hasn't abated much, and she hasn't regained consciousness. We were hoping to treat here down here, but she is being admitted and processed as we speak. Dr. Gentry and I both feel that her symptoms are sitting right on the border between bronchitis and pneumonia, and she has a fluid buildup in her lungs. We're moving her to X-ray right now to confirm that, and then she'll be taken upstairs to the patient ward on 4. We're still running tests to determine which bacteria her body's fighting, and once we find out, she'll be given antibiotics to treat it."
"So it is some kind of infection?" This from Mac.
"That's our guess." Dr. Gentry answered her. "That's where the fever is coming from, we're almost certain, and that fever along with her lungs filling up is probably what's kept her unconscious. The nurse is telling us she's been mumbling things off and on, but nothing she could make out. She's fighting the fever and infection, but she is dehydrated and having some trouble breathing, which is taking all of her energy. She doesn't have enough left to stay awake."
A sudden thud from nearby caused them to glance around, where they saw Jen had dropped back down into her chair, her shoulders slumped and shaking, her head drooping towards the floor. The Admiral went to her, kneeling down and whispering in her ear. Dr. Masters turned to Harm and asked, "Is she all right?" He spoke quietly in reply, "She's having a hard time with this. Jen is Mattie's roommate, and she's the one who found Mattie unconscious and came to get me." The doctor grunted, then moved over to kneel by Jen's other side, as the Admiral stood up.
"Jen...I'm Dr. Masters. Listen, I know this is hard for you," he spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, "but the was nothing anyone could have done, except what you did do-get her dad and call the EMTs to get her here. I've never seen something like this develop as fast as it has, and it's true that she's hurting right now, but she'll get past this. She'll need to see you there when she wakes up in that very expensive room we're moving her to."
Jen looked up into his face, a grin fighting its' way onto her face.
"And, when she sees my rates and charges, well ... she'll DEFINITELY need to see a friendly face! So, what do you say—you with me?" He held her gaze as he spoke to her, and she saw the care and confidence in his eyes. She nodded, the smile he'd prompted finally breaking through. He touched her shoulder once, and nodded at her again, then stood. She quickly stood as well, and when the two of them turned to look at the others, they were smiling as well. At that moment, the curtains parted, and Mattie was wheeled out, two nurses guiding her gurney, a couple of IV bags attached to a pole, and some monitoring equipment wired to various sensors on her, past the group gathered there. Harm whispered, "Mattie!" and immediately moved forward, taking up a position on Mattie's right as Mac went to her left side. They both took her hands in theirs as she was being wheeled past Jen, the Admiral, and both doctors. Dr. Gentry held up her hand to stop the nurses for a moment, giving Mattie's family some time with her.
Harm leaned down and brushed Mattie's wet hair away from her forehead, and gently kissed her there. She didn't open her eyes or acknowledge him in any way. An ox tube was in her nose, and she had been changed into hospital garb. Her pillow was soaked from the fever, and a slight wheezing sound could be heard whenever she took a shallow breath. She looked so small in the bed, Harm thought, his emotions catching in his throat as he looked over at Mac, who was softly crying and kissing Mattie's cheek. "We're all here, sweetie," she whispered in Mattie's ear, using the sleeve of her shirt to gently wipe the sweat from Mattie's face. "we love you, and we'll be here when you wake up. Just rest, honey, and we'll wait for you, okay?"
The Admiral stepped forward and laid a hand on Mattie's lower leg, stroking it slowly. "Come back soon, Mattie, you hear me?" He would have loved it if she'd woken at that moment, giving him a sharp "Yes, sir!" and a smile. But she didn't move. He sighed, and moved aside for Jen, who he sensed was moving up behind him. Her hands were clasped together in front of her, her nervousness and worry evident as she took Mac's place by Mattie's side. She leaned over, close to Mattie's face, softly kissing her cheek.
"M?" she whispered. "You, um ... you need to wake up soon. You're scaring me, and I don't like it. Plus, you know..." and she glanced over at Dr. Masters before looking down at Mattie again, "you're got a really cute doctor looking after you, so wake up soon so you can check him out, OK?" She heard Mac giggle by her side, and looked up to see Harm grinning down at her, shaking his head in bemusement. Turning back to her sister, she whispered, "I love you, M", before straightening up and moving aside so that the nurses could raise the metal guards of the gurney and start moving Mattie to the elevators. Harm and Mac took Mattie's hands again and held hers in theirs as they walked alongside, Jen and the Admiral following along with both doctors. Dr. Masters moved to slide into the elevator once Mattie had been rolled in, and turned back to speak to Harm. "The nurses will let you know when she's settled in her room, Mr. Rabb. I'll be with her all the way, OK? We'll see you in about 30 minutes."
"Thank you, doctor." Harm replied, stepped back reluctantly as the elevator doors started to close, his eyes never leaving Mattie's face. As the doors finally shut, Dr. Gentry spoke.
"Folks, may I offer you the use of the doctor's lounge until Mattie gets out of X-ray? I wouldn't wish those plastic chairs in the waiting room on my worst enemy."
"I thought that was off-limits to visitors," Jen answered.
"You're all active-duty military. My brother is serving in Iraq right now. My family supports him, and this is my small way of supporting you. Please?" She waved towards the lounge doors down the hall, and Mac smiled at the older woman. "You're very kind—thank you."
"It's my honor. There's a couple of coffee pots in there, and some couches. Help yourself. I'll let the nurses know you're in there on my authority, so there will be no problems. One of them will come get you when Mattie's settled in her room. Dr. Masters and I will have to speak to you again, Mr. Rabb, about another procedure we may need to perform, depending on the results of the X-ray.
"Okay," Harm replied. "Thank you both again. I must admit – Dr. Masters looks awfully young to me, which contributes, I'm sure, to the "hottie" factor Jen mentioned earlier," and at that everyone turned to look at Jen, who was blushing furiously and sending eye daggers to a grinning Harm, "but he seems very competent."
"He is, sir," Dr. Gentry replied, as she walked with them to the lounge. "You've all been talking to the best pediatrician in this part of the country. Did you know he was requested to treat President Bush's daughter when she fell ill last year?"
"I heard something about that," the Admiral answered. "What was wrong with her?" Dr. Gentry gave him a small smile as they entered the lounge.
"Sorry, Admiral...doctor-patient privilege."
"Of course, Doctor. My apologies."
"Don't worry about it, sir. If you need me, please have the nurse page me. Otherwise, I'll see you upstairs in a half hour." And with that, she left the lounge, her white coat flowing around her like a shroud.
"Gee, thanks a lot, Harm...everyone should have a friend like you who takes every opportunity to embarrass young impressionable women every chance he gets!" Jen threw a mock glare at Harm, who gave the assemblage his first "flyboy grin" in a long time.
"Don't worry about it, Petty Officer—when he inevitably goes for the first cute nurse he runs across in here, you can get your revenge then." the Admiral told her. She gave him a glorious smile in return.
Harm looked at Mac, who was sitting near him on one of the couches in the comfortable lounge.
"This is what I came back to the Navy for?" he asked her in mock annoyance.
"Suck it up, squid. The day's still young."
"Swell."
END OF CHAPTER 8
A/N: I'm trying, in this particular chapter and in those that follow, to stay true to medical terms, symptoms, and what I've read are proper methods of treatment for what's now happening with Mattie. If you're a medical professional and see errors, please mark it down to the fact that I am NOT one, and that I'm simply trying to write a realistic-sounding FICTION story. My main goal, however, is to explore and reveal the relationships in this most unique family.
Reviews are heartily appreciated! Thanks to all who have done so already!
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL ER WARD
Drs. Gentry and Masters entered the curtained area where Mattie's bed was, and immediately went to work checking the readouts from the monitors, retaking vitals, and examining the changes in Mattie's condition. The nurse who had been tending to Mattie stood by, a worried look on her face.
"Doctors," she spoke, "her BP dropped 20% in the past few minutes. Now at ... 70/40, temp is holding at 103.1. For a few seconds, I thought she was regaining consciousness, because I heard her mumble a few words, but then she quieted and her vitals dropped."
Dr. Masters was listening to the nurse while at the same time checking Mattie's lungs with his stethoscope. Dr. Gentry took a swab of Mattie's mouth, sealed it in a plastic container the nurse held for her, and rechecked her EKG readout. She looked over at her colleague as they were laying Mattie back down on the bed, and started examining Mattie's pupils with her penlight.
"How does she sound?"
"She's got more fluid in her lungs ... breathing is shallow, and she's not getting enough ox in her system to rise to full consciousness. The pneumonia is developing." Dr. Masters answered. The doctors looked at each other for a moment, then Dr. Gentry went to the phone by the wall, and punched in an extension.
"Yes. This is Dr. Gentry in the ER. We're sending a patient down ASAP for a full chest X-ray series. Get someone up here with a gurney right away. Yes ... I know you have other people ahead of this one, but we're bumping her up to Alpha status as of right now. Do it." She hung up the phone before the other person could answer, and looked back over at Mattie's flushed form. Dr. Masters glanced at her concerned face, and then turned to the nurse, who wore a similar expression.
"Nurse ... please get her ready for the gurney. I'm going down with her, but first we need to speak to the parent. I'm going to—". He was interrupted by the entrance of the head nurse from the intake desk.
"Doctors, this girl's parent is insisting either on seeing his daughter or speaking with one of you. I'm not sure if he's going to wait much longer. Do either of you have a second to speak with him?"
"We were just heading out there," Dr. Masters answered. "Please call upstairs and have supplies sent up to her room for a pleural sample. After she has chest X-rays, she's going to her room where I'll take the sample. Prep for a chest tube as well, just in case."
Dr. Gentry looked up as Dr. Masters finished speaking. She was studying his face, and quietly asked, "Are you thinking empyema?" He met her gaze, and slowly nodded. After a sigh, he spoke.
"What I heard in her lungs ... she's probably got some pus in the pleural space. The sample along with the throat culture you got should tell us what bacteria we're dealing with. Depending on what I see on her x-rays, I may go ahead and drain her chest while I get her on antibiotics."
"I was hoping we wouldn't have to do anything invasive on this one. She's so frail as it is, and with that fever ..." Dr. Gentry murmured.
"Me, too. But I have a feeling we need to go on offense with her – the defense ain't getting it done."
"Yeah."
"Wanna go speak to the parent with me?"
"Sure."
ER WAITING ROOM
The four people waiting to hear about Mattie's condition from her doctors had been quiet and still since watching the nurse go into the area where Mattie lay, the levity from earlier gone away as if it never happened. Each one lost in his or her own thoughts, equally worried about and scared for the young teen they had come to love so much. Harm sat between Jen and Mac, with the Admiral on Mac's other side. Harm was holding both Jen and Mac's hands in his, and Jen's eyes were closed as she leaned forward slightly in her chair, a soft prayer moving over her lips. Harm glanced over at her, surprised to see her apparently in prayer. He hadn't seen any sign of religion in her before this night, and he gently squeezed her hand in thanks. A soft smile appeared on her face, he saw, without her opening her eyes or stopping her whispered prayer. He turned to glance over at Mac who was staring straight ahead. She seemed calm on the outside, but Harm could see the flashes of worry and anxiety in her dark brown eyes. She looked at him at that moment, meeting his gaze. They held each other's gaze until, after another couple of minutes, they heard padded feet and the sound of wheels approaching. As all four JAGs looked up in anticipation, they saw a male nurse push a gurney with an IV pole attached towards the curtained area where Mattie was, and Jen, Mac, and the Admiral followed Harm as he stood up.
As soon as the nurse and the gurney went into the curtained area, they watched both Dr. Gentry and Dr. Masters exit, walking towards them, whispering quietly as they approached. When they reached Harm and the others, Harm took note of the serious expressions on both doctors' faces, and quickly glanced at Mac, who stood close next to him, her hand still in his. Her face had turned white as a sheet, and Harm could feel the blood leave his own as well. He swallowed once, twice, as the doctors reached the group, but it was the Admiral who spoke first.
"Doctors ... how is she?" he demanded in his command voice.
Both doctors just stood there, eyebrows raised at this new member of the group, in full Navy uniform with his SEAL emblem and "fruit salad" on his chest. Harm knew he needed to introduce the Admiral as a family friend so that he could hear what they had to say, but he was interrupted before he could speak--this time, by Jen.
"Dr. Gentry...Dr. Masters...this is Rear Admiral Chegwidden, Judge Advocate General of the US Navy and our boss. Admiral...the doctors who have been treating Mattie."
The Admiral nodded at Jen, thanking her for her intro, and then turned to the doctors. "Pleased to meet you both. Please tell us how she's doing." Both doctors nodded their greetings in return, and then Dr. Masters began speaking. "Sir, I'm assuming you're a family friend as well as these folks' boss." Harm and Mac both nodded quickly. "Well, Mattie's pretty sick. Her fever hasn't abated much, and she hasn't regained consciousness. We were hoping to treat here down here, but she is being admitted and processed as we speak. Dr. Gentry and I both feel that her symptoms are sitting right on the border between bronchitis and pneumonia, and she has a fluid buildup in her lungs. We're moving her to X-ray right now to confirm that, and then she'll be taken upstairs to the patient ward on 4. We're still running tests to determine which bacteria her body's fighting, and once we find out, she'll be given antibiotics to treat it."
"So it is some kind of infection?" This from Mac.
"That's our guess." Dr. Gentry answered her. "That's where the fever is coming from, we're almost certain, and that fever along with her lungs filling up is probably what's kept her unconscious. The nurse is telling us she's been mumbling things off and on, but nothing she could make out. She's fighting the fever and infection, but she is dehydrated and having some trouble breathing, which is taking all of her energy. She doesn't have enough left to stay awake."
A sudden thud from nearby caused them to glance around, where they saw Jen had dropped back down into her chair, her shoulders slumped and shaking, her head drooping towards the floor. The Admiral went to her, kneeling down and whispering in her ear. Dr. Masters turned to Harm and asked, "Is she all right?" He spoke quietly in reply, "She's having a hard time with this. Jen is Mattie's roommate, and she's the one who found Mattie unconscious and came to get me." The doctor grunted, then moved over to kneel by Jen's other side, as the Admiral stood up.
"Jen...I'm Dr. Masters. Listen, I know this is hard for you," he spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, "but the was nothing anyone could have done, except what you did do-get her dad and call the EMTs to get her here. I've never seen something like this develop as fast as it has, and it's true that she's hurting right now, but she'll get past this. She'll need to see you there when she wakes up in that very expensive room we're moving her to."
Jen looked up into his face, a grin fighting its' way onto her face.
"And, when she sees my rates and charges, well ... she'll DEFINITELY need to see a friendly face! So, what do you say—you with me?" He held her gaze as he spoke to her, and she saw the care and confidence in his eyes. She nodded, the smile he'd prompted finally breaking through. He touched her shoulder once, and nodded at her again, then stood. She quickly stood as well, and when the two of them turned to look at the others, they were smiling as well. At that moment, the curtains parted, and Mattie was wheeled out, two nurses guiding her gurney, a couple of IV bags attached to a pole, and some monitoring equipment wired to various sensors on her, past the group gathered there. Harm whispered, "Mattie!" and immediately moved forward, taking up a position on Mattie's right as Mac went to her left side. They both took her hands in theirs as she was being wheeled past Jen, the Admiral, and both doctors. Dr. Gentry held up her hand to stop the nurses for a moment, giving Mattie's family some time with her.
Harm leaned down and brushed Mattie's wet hair away from her forehead, and gently kissed her there. She didn't open her eyes or acknowledge him in any way. An ox tube was in her nose, and she had been changed into hospital garb. Her pillow was soaked from the fever, and a slight wheezing sound could be heard whenever she took a shallow breath. She looked so small in the bed, Harm thought, his emotions catching in his throat as he looked over at Mac, who was softly crying and kissing Mattie's cheek. "We're all here, sweetie," she whispered in Mattie's ear, using the sleeve of her shirt to gently wipe the sweat from Mattie's face. "we love you, and we'll be here when you wake up. Just rest, honey, and we'll wait for you, okay?"
The Admiral stepped forward and laid a hand on Mattie's lower leg, stroking it slowly. "Come back soon, Mattie, you hear me?" He would have loved it if she'd woken at that moment, giving him a sharp "Yes, sir!" and a smile. But she didn't move. He sighed, and moved aside for Jen, who he sensed was moving up behind him. Her hands were clasped together in front of her, her nervousness and worry evident as she took Mac's place by Mattie's side. She leaned over, close to Mattie's face, softly kissing her cheek.
"M?" she whispered. "You, um ... you need to wake up soon. You're scaring me, and I don't like it. Plus, you know..." and she glanced over at Dr. Masters before looking down at Mattie again, "you're got a really cute doctor looking after you, so wake up soon so you can check him out, OK?" She heard Mac giggle by her side, and looked up to see Harm grinning down at her, shaking his head in bemusement. Turning back to her sister, she whispered, "I love you, M", before straightening up and moving aside so that the nurses could raise the metal guards of the gurney and start moving Mattie to the elevators. Harm and Mac took Mattie's hands again and held hers in theirs as they walked alongside, Jen and the Admiral following along with both doctors. Dr. Masters moved to slide into the elevator once Mattie had been rolled in, and turned back to speak to Harm. "The nurses will let you know when she's settled in her room, Mr. Rabb. I'll be with her all the way, OK? We'll see you in about 30 minutes."
"Thank you, doctor." Harm replied, stepped back reluctantly as the elevator doors started to close, his eyes never leaving Mattie's face. As the doors finally shut, Dr. Gentry spoke.
"Folks, may I offer you the use of the doctor's lounge until Mattie gets out of X-ray? I wouldn't wish those plastic chairs in the waiting room on my worst enemy."
"I thought that was off-limits to visitors," Jen answered.
"You're all active-duty military. My brother is serving in Iraq right now. My family supports him, and this is my small way of supporting you. Please?" She waved towards the lounge doors down the hall, and Mac smiled at the older woman. "You're very kind—thank you."
"It's my honor. There's a couple of coffee pots in there, and some couches. Help yourself. I'll let the nurses know you're in there on my authority, so there will be no problems. One of them will come get you when Mattie's settled in her room. Dr. Masters and I will have to speak to you again, Mr. Rabb, about another procedure we may need to perform, depending on the results of the X-ray.
"Okay," Harm replied. "Thank you both again. I must admit – Dr. Masters looks awfully young to me, which contributes, I'm sure, to the "hottie" factor Jen mentioned earlier," and at that everyone turned to look at Jen, who was blushing furiously and sending eye daggers to a grinning Harm, "but he seems very competent."
"He is, sir," Dr. Gentry replied, as she walked with them to the lounge. "You've all been talking to the best pediatrician in this part of the country. Did you know he was requested to treat President Bush's daughter when she fell ill last year?"
"I heard something about that," the Admiral answered. "What was wrong with her?" Dr. Gentry gave him a small smile as they entered the lounge.
"Sorry, Admiral...doctor-patient privilege."
"Of course, Doctor. My apologies."
"Don't worry about it, sir. If you need me, please have the nurse page me. Otherwise, I'll see you upstairs in a half hour." And with that, she left the lounge, her white coat flowing around her like a shroud.
"Gee, thanks a lot, Harm...everyone should have a friend like you who takes every opportunity to embarrass young impressionable women every chance he gets!" Jen threw a mock glare at Harm, who gave the assemblage his first "flyboy grin" in a long time.
"Don't worry about it, Petty Officer—when he inevitably goes for the first cute nurse he runs across in here, you can get your revenge then." the Admiral told her. She gave him a glorious smile in return.
Harm looked at Mac, who was sitting near him on one of the couches in the comfortable lounge.
"This is what I came back to the Navy for?" he asked her in mock annoyance.
"Suck it up, squid. The day's still young."
"Swell."
END OF CHAPTER 8