"Tested Hearts", chapter 10
Author: Chicmns
Category: Drama, angst
Disclaimer: All main characters belong to DPB, CBS, and the fine folks at
Paramount. Thank you for letting me borrow them for a while. I promise to
return them none the worse for wear.
Rating: G
Author's Notes: This chapter brings in two characters; one from my story
series, "The Papers"; school guidance counselor Miss Barrows ... and a
character from the series episode, "A Girl's Best Friend", a friend of
Mattie's from her school, Andre Biggs.
MATTIE'S HIGH SCHOOL
Miss Barrows sat in the counselor/nurses office at the high school, thinking about the disturbing news she'd just received from the office staff. They'd fielded a call from someone who works with Harmon Rabb, Mattie Grace's guardian, who'd called to tell them that Mattie had fallen very ill from what looked like a serious case of the flu. She'd been taken to the GW hospital ER very early that morning...feverish and unconscious. 'Poor girl,' she thought. On top of everything else she'd had to deal with in her young life, now her health was an issue.
Sighing, she turned to look out of her window as she mentally reviewed Mattie's records and performance, after having started the school year later than the rest of her sophomore class. She'd proven to be a very self- assured, intelligent girl who was known as being friendly with a quick wit. "Friends..." Miss Barrows suddenly thought. "I wonder if Andre knows about this?" Andre Biggs was, to her knowledge, Mattie's best friend at the school to date. She made quite an impression on the young man after they'd met, and she'd heard that his grades had improved somewhat since they'd become friends. That wasn't surprising – Mattie was one of those people who seemed to make those around her better in whatever they were doing. A born leader, she thought...like her guardian, Navy Commander Harmon Rabb. Miss Barrows wondered if she should track Andre down, and talk to him about Mattie's illness. She hated to be the bearer of bad news, but she didn't like the idea of Andre being blindsided by what's happened to her. She decided that it would be better coming from her than the usual teenage rumor mill – which would probably be announcing Mattie's funeral or some nonsense like that before the end of the day. No, the best way to handle this is to find Andre and talk with him. After calling the office to get his schedule, Miss Barrows got up and left her office.
HIGH SCHOOL ART CLASSROOM
Andre knew one thing about art. Well, two things, actually. One, that he had absolutely no talent in it, and two, he had no desire to do anything about the first point other than learn to appreciate art for what it was (when he thought it was good, that is). The only reason he could tolerate the class was because it usually gave he and Mattie lots of opportunities to chat, write cryptic notes, and mock those around them. Speaking of his friend, he hadn't seen her yet today. They had a few classes together, so he usually saw her several times, as well as when they had lunch together. So far, the two of them weren't exactly knocking down the doors of all the important cliques at school...not that he cared about stuff like that, anyway. He knew Mattie didn't, either.
He did have other friends in several different social circles and cliques, and tried to introduce Mattie to as many of the decent kids as he could in order to help her settle in, but the two of them really didn't care much about the overwrought drama that took up so much of high school life. He had no patience for it, and neither did Mattie. That's one of the things he liked about her. That, and her sense of humor. He'd never understood the word "sardonic" until meeting Mattie Grace; the girl kept him rolling most of the time with her wry observations and witty remarks. Smart as a tack, and didn't suffer fools any more than he did, the two had quickly formed a close friendship since she'd started at the school. And now he was wondering if she'd even made it to school today.
He'd noticed yesterday as they left school that she seemed tired and "flushed", as his grandmother would say. Looked like she was coming down with something, and he'd joked about her catching some kind of bug caused by using too much wit. She'd just quirked an eyebrow at him, plastered a small smile on her face, and waved goodbye as she'd trudged off to the bus stop. Now that he thought of it, she really didn't say much at all yesterday...not as much as she usually did.
He sat there in class, bored and thinking about Mattie, when the door to the classroom opened up and Miss Barrows walked in, moving over to the teacher...who didn't seem happy about the interruption of her monologue about modern art. The two women whispered quietly for a couple of minutes, and then Ms. Barrows started scanning the room with her eyes, finally locating who she'd evidently come to see. He was surprised when her eyes stopped on him when she caught sight of him near the back of the room...the stool where Mattie usually sat empty beside him. She caught his eye and crooked a finger at him, motioning him to follow her. He placed his drawing pad and notebook in his backpack and headed towards the front, passing the frowning teacher who still seemed to be upset about something. Miss Barrows was waiting when he passed through the classroom door, shutting it quietly behind him.
"Miss Barrows? You wanted me for something?" he asked her.
"Yes, Andre. I need to talk to you about Mattie Grace."
"I haven't seen her at all today, Miss Barrows. She looked kinda sick yesterday – maybe she stayed home."
Miss Barrows took a deep breath before responding. "I have some news, Andre. Let's go back to my office so we can talk." He gave her a puzzled look, nodded and started walking by her side as they headed back downstairs where her office was located. "Is Mattie alright?" he asked, getting a bad feeling from the look on Miss Barrows' face.
"Something's happened. Mattie's pretty sick ... worse than when you saw her last, I'm afraid." Andre stopped walking, causing Miss Barrows to halt her own steps, and turn back to face him.
"Please tell me, Miss Barrows. Is she OK?" Mattie was already one of his best friends, and he liked her. A lot. Surprisingly, they'd found that they had a lot in common, and he'd never dreamed that one of his best friends would be a white girl from a military family. They made quite a pair, he knew.
Miss Barrows studied the young man's dark face, noticing the care and worry in the large brown eyes behind his glasses. Obviously, he and Mattie were closer than she'd realized, and she knew she had to be careful in how she explained Mattie's condition. "Andre, I want you to try not to worry, but Mattie has come down with a really bad case of pneumonia, and she was found unconsciousness this morning. Her roommate and guardian took her to George Washington, where she's been today. The doctors are examining her, but she has a really high fever and hasn't regained consciousness yet." Andre's face blanched at hearing this, and he went to lean against the lockers on the side of the hallway, crossing his arms over his chest...a scared look on his face. Miss Barrows went over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Andre, the doctors at GW are the best. They're taking care of her, and her family is with her. Once they get her fever down, I'm sure she'll be OK."
He didn't look up at her, but continued to stare down at the tops of his sneakers. "I need to go there...go and visit her..." His voice trailed off. Miss Barrows slowly shook her head.
"Andre, that's probably not a good idea right now. We should wait until she wakes up, let the doctors work, and give her family some space."
He looked up at her, then, and she saw determination in his eyes.
"She's my friend, Miss Barrows. I need to go and visit her. Maybe, um, I can take her homework assignments over...would that be OK, do you think?" He seemed unsure, but she sensed he also understood the need to give her family space right now.
"I could collect her assignments, and go see her tomorrow-maybe she'll be awake by then?" His eyes finally met hers, a hopeful look on his face. She was touched and impressed by his care and loyalty to Mattie.
"I think that might be a better idea, Andre. Why don't you speak with her teachers, and I'll try and arrange something, let her folks know you'd like to drop by to visit her Would that be OK?"
"Sure, Miss Barrows!" A smile had made its' way to his face, and she smiled back. "I'll...maybe come by and see you after last class, and we can talk about this some more—okay?"
"Sure, Andre. Now, you'd better get back into Art class before you miss the Impressionists." She gave him a wry grin, and he laughed.
"They'd have to make more of an 'impression' on me than they have up till now, Miss Barrows!" He grinned at the counselor. Verbally jousting with Mattie had sharpened his wit.
She laughed and pointed to the class door. "Go on, then, and come see me at 4. Hopefully, I'll have some good news by then."
"Sounds great. Um...thanks for coming to tell me, Miss Barrows. How did you know Mattie and I are friends, anyway?"
"We school counselors know and see all, Mr. Biggs—haven't you learned that yet?" She cocked her head at him, a small smile on her lips.
"I guess so. See you at 4." He reentered the classroom with barely a glance at her as the door closed behind him, but not before she saw the worry return to his face.
MATTIE AND JEN'S APARTMENT
"Thanks for the ride home, sir." Jen told her CO as she opened the apartment door and stepped through, followed by Admiral Chegwidden. He closed the door behind them and sighed, looking around the living room with his hands in the pockets of his Navy overcoat.
"Not a problem, Petty Officer. I'm going to head into the office now, but I expect three things from you." He fixed her with a stern look.
"Sir?" Jen had plopped down on the couch, pulling her legs underneath her, and ran her fingers through her unruly hair.
"One: you eat something within the next hour. Two: you catch a nap – and NOT on the couch, which doesn't look all that comfortable. And three...you call me when you wake up, so I can bring you up to speed on any changes, if any. Am I clear, Coates?"
"Crystal, sir. And, with respect, sir, if I knew you were going to insult our couch, I would have asked Harm to drive me home."
"I'm a SEAL, Coates. We go wherever the trouble spots are. Your couch looks like it qualifies."
"Very funny, sir. Would you like to stay for lunch? I'm not the cook Commander Rabb is, but I can make some sandwiches or something." The banter they'd fallen into distracted and comforted both of them from thoughts of Mattie, lying in the hospital.
"Maybe some other time, Coates. I need to get back to the office, since half my staff will be out this afternoon. You go ahead and get something to eat...I'll let myself out, and will speak with you later." He turned to move back to the door, and had his hand on the doorknob when he heard Jen's quiet voice reach him in the stillness of the room.
"She likes you a lot, you know. She thinks of you as a grandfather." He paused, surprised to hear what Jen had just revealed to him. His very first meeting with Mattie Grace hadn't gone well at all, and even though they now were friendly around each other, he'd always felt that she still harbored some resentment for how he'd treated Harm during that time. Truth to tell, he still hadn't quite forgiven himself, either. He grunted before turning around to face Jen, who was quietly studying her hands in her lap.
"Really? I like her, too, Jen. She's an amazing young woman, and I can see how much she and Harm love each other." He waited a few beats as she looked up and smiled at him, and then threw in the zinger he knew she'd be expecting. "Are you sure it's not as an uncle with, um, really short hair?" This was said with a quirk of his eyebrow, and it had the intended effect. Jen burst out laughing, one of her wide smiles that he liked seeing on her face blossoming before his eyes. She wiped her face, and chuckled before answering.
"I'll see what I can do to swing her over to that point of view, sir."
"You do that, Petty Officer. Meanwhile..." and he held up three fingers to her, reminding her he hadn't forgotten his orders from a few minutes ago. She nodded and grinned, standing up from her seat on the couch to head into the small kitchen off of the living room.
"I'm going to the refrigerator, see? Pulling out bread and sandwich meat, along with a wide assortment of condiments..."
The Admiral threw her one of his patented stern looks, but with a twinkle in his eyes. "I don't need a blow-by-blow description, Petty Officer! Just eat something, for Christ's sake!" he said in his typical gruff voice, but with an undercurrent of feigned frustration with her that she'd become adept at picking up on. "I'm leaving now. Eat. Sleep. Call."
"Aye, sir. Thank you, sir." She stood at the counter, looking distracted all of a sudden with a loaf of bread in one hand and a jar of mustard in the other...concern for Mattie etched on her face, as she held his gaze.
"Jen, we'll have her back soon. Believe it." And then he was gone, the door quietly latching behind him. In the silence of the suddenly quiet apartment, she whispered, "I hope so, sir...I hope so."
GW HOSPITAL Room 411
There were five IV bags attached to tubes attached to Mattie's arm as Mac held her hand, watching her face while sitting in a chair positioned close to the side of her bed. At the moment, she was the only one in the room with Mattie; Harm had gone downstairs and outside, using his cell to call his mother and Frank to let them know what was happening with their granddaughter. Then he had to try to reach Tom Johnson, Mattie's father, who was still in rehab. Mac sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand, never letting go of Mattie's. A strained grin appeared on her face as she whispered to her girl. "Your grandparents are not gonna like this, Mattie. See, grandparents don't like it when their grandkids are sick or in trouble. So, you should rest up now, cause when they get here, well...I don't have to tell you what's going to happen next. They'll spend one minute smothering you with love, and the next chastising you for getting sick and scaring them to death. And, after they're done with you, I'm going to have my turn. You're frightening me, Mattie...and Marines as you know aren't supposed to be frightened. So, you should go ahead and wake up soon so I can chew out your six, and then tell you how much I miss you. I love you, and love taking care of you every day. I'd just prefer you were awake to see it. I miss you, honey. I miss seeing those hazel eyes of yours, and that quirky smile. Yeah, I just called you quirky – wanna make something of it?" She sighed, squeezed Mattie's fingers, and then continued speaking in a low voice. "What I've never told you, though...is that that's one of the many things I love about you. You are your own person, a very unique girl, and I love you so much, Mattie." Tears were flowing down her face as she caressed Mattie's warm hand in hers, and she continued to whisper, watching her face.
"I don't think I say that enough, but I think you know how I feel every time we're with each other. I need to say it more, though. I need to tell you how much my heart has swelled in size to hold you ever since we met. I promise I'll say this again when you're awake. Just think...it'll be fun for you to watch a Marine blubber, I'm sure. But it'll be worth it. I just need to make sure you know...know how I feel about you." She got up from the chair and, being careful not to disturb the IV lines and monitor wires around Mattie, leaned over to kiss her wet, flushed cheek. As she started to straighten, Mattie's head slowly moved against her pillow and she moaned, her parched throat and lips forming the sounds, "haammmmmm..." Mac was caught by surprise, and she started grinning like a madwoman, waiting to see if she showed any more signs of waking. "Mattie?" she whispered, leaning closer to her. She noticed that Mattie's eyes were moving back and forth under her closed eyelids, the REM movements faster in the last few moments since she'd called out Harm's name. Suddenly, Mac heard a beep from one of the monitors, and turned to the screen...noticing right away that the temp display had changed. It had been at 103.1 since they'd moved her to this room, but now... "Oh, thank you Lord," Mac whispered, as her blurred eyes made out the new reading: 101.9! Not normal, but...getting there. Her temp was going down! Mac reached over to buzz the nurse, but before her fingers even made it to the cord, the door opened suddenly and the nurse rushed in, quickly approaching Mattie's bed and scanning the monitors.
"Miss Mackenzie, we registered a change in vitals..." Mac interrupted her, excitement filling her voice.
"Her temp is dropping! Look—it's dropped at least a degree! I was just going to buzz you! She's coming out of it—I heard her call her dad's name a minute ago! Can you page Dr. Masters?" The breath was rushing out of Mac's chest as she moved back from the bed, watching the nurse check Mattie's temp with a handheld electronic thermometer to verify the reading. The unit looked very similar to the one Mac had insisted Jen and Mattie get for their apartment, and she watched the nurse smile as she turned to look back at Mac.
"It's confirmed, ma'am. Her temp's dropping! The antibiotics look like they're taking effect!"
"Yes!!!" Mac pumped her fist once in the air, then looked at Mattie's face. "That's my girl!! I have to go find Harm..." She didn't have a chance to finish the sentence before hearing a noise at the door to Mattie's room. She turned to watch Harm enter, and pause at the entry before striding over to the bed.
"Mac? I'm back—what's happening?" Harm had picked that moment to return from making his phone calls, entering Mattie's room to see Mac and the nurse smiling at him. He looked down at his daughter's still form. "Mattie?" he whispered, rushing to the other side of her bed and taking her hand in his. He quickly glanced at the monitor and saw the change. "Her temp—it's lower!"
"Harm," Mac whispered, "she called out your name a few moments ago...she was moving around a little! I think she's coming out of it!" Harm looked up into Mac's teary eyes, drinking in her smile and relief, then turned back to his daughter, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Mattie, sweetheart? Can you hear me?" he whispered, watching her face. A soft moan came from Mattie's lips, and Harm felt the fingers in his give him a squeeze. He looked down at their joined hands, and then up at Mac. "She just squeezed my hand, Mac!"
The nurse started leaving the room, quietly saying, "I'm going to have Dr. Masters paged. Be right back."
Harm and Mac barely noticed her departure as they leaned over Mattie's still form, still holding her hands in theirs, smiling as Mattie's eyes slowly started to open.
END OF CHAPTER 10
MATTIE'S HIGH SCHOOL
Miss Barrows sat in the counselor/nurses office at the high school, thinking about the disturbing news she'd just received from the office staff. They'd fielded a call from someone who works with Harmon Rabb, Mattie Grace's guardian, who'd called to tell them that Mattie had fallen very ill from what looked like a serious case of the flu. She'd been taken to the GW hospital ER very early that morning...feverish and unconscious. 'Poor girl,' she thought. On top of everything else she'd had to deal with in her young life, now her health was an issue.
Sighing, she turned to look out of her window as she mentally reviewed Mattie's records and performance, after having started the school year later than the rest of her sophomore class. She'd proven to be a very self- assured, intelligent girl who was known as being friendly with a quick wit. "Friends..." Miss Barrows suddenly thought. "I wonder if Andre knows about this?" Andre Biggs was, to her knowledge, Mattie's best friend at the school to date. She made quite an impression on the young man after they'd met, and she'd heard that his grades had improved somewhat since they'd become friends. That wasn't surprising – Mattie was one of those people who seemed to make those around her better in whatever they were doing. A born leader, she thought...like her guardian, Navy Commander Harmon Rabb. Miss Barrows wondered if she should track Andre down, and talk to him about Mattie's illness. She hated to be the bearer of bad news, but she didn't like the idea of Andre being blindsided by what's happened to her. She decided that it would be better coming from her than the usual teenage rumor mill – which would probably be announcing Mattie's funeral or some nonsense like that before the end of the day. No, the best way to handle this is to find Andre and talk with him. After calling the office to get his schedule, Miss Barrows got up and left her office.
HIGH SCHOOL ART CLASSROOM
Andre knew one thing about art. Well, two things, actually. One, that he had absolutely no talent in it, and two, he had no desire to do anything about the first point other than learn to appreciate art for what it was (when he thought it was good, that is). The only reason he could tolerate the class was because it usually gave he and Mattie lots of opportunities to chat, write cryptic notes, and mock those around them. Speaking of his friend, he hadn't seen her yet today. They had a few classes together, so he usually saw her several times, as well as when they had lunch together. So far, the two of them weren't exactly knocking down the doors of all the important cliques at school...not that he cared about stuff like that, anyway. He knew Mattie didn't, either.
He did have other friends in several different social circles and cliques, and tried to introduce Mattie to as many of the decent kids as he could in order to help her settle in, but the two of them really didn't care much about the overwrought drama that took up so much of high school life. He had no patience for it, and neither did Mattie. That's one of the things he liked about her. That, and her sense of humor. He'd never understood the word "sardonic" until meeting Mattie Grace; the girl kept him rolling most of the time with her wry observations and witty remarks. Smart as a tack, and didn't suffer fools any more than he did, the two had quickly formed a close friendship since she'd started at the school. And now he was wondering if she'd even made it to school today.
He'd noticed yesterday as they left school that she seemed tired and "flushed", as his grandmother would say. Looked like she was coming down with something, and he'd joked about her catching some kind of bug caused by using too much wit. She'd just quirked an eyebrow at him, plastered a small smile on her face, and waved goodbye as she'd trudged off to the bus stop. Now that he thought of it, she really didn't say much at all yesterday...not as much as she usually did.
He sat there in class, bored and thinking about Mattie, when the door to the classroom opened up and Miss Barrows walked in, moving over to the teacher...who didn't seem happy about the interruption of her monologue about modern art. The two women whispered quietly for a couple of minutes, and then Ms. Barrows started scanning the room with her eyes, finally locating who she'd evidently come to see. He was surprised when her eyes stopped on him when she caught sight of him near the back of the room...the stool where Mattie usually sat empty beside him. She caught his eye and crooked a finger at him, motioning him to follow her. He placed his drawing pad and notebook in his backpack and headed towards the front, passing the frowning teacher who still seemed to be upset about something. Miss Barrows was waiting when he passed through the classroom door, shutting it quietly behind him.
"Miss Barrows? You wanted me for something?" he asked her.
"Yes, Andre. I need to talk to you about Mattie Grace."
"I haven't seen her at all today, Miss Barrows. She looked kinda sick yesterday – maybe she stayed home."
Miss Barrows took a deep breath before responding. "I have some news, Andre. Let's go back to my office so we can talk." He gave her a puzzled look, nodded and started walking by her side as they headed back downstairs where her office was located. "Is Mattie alright?" he asked, getting a bad feeling from the look on Miss Barrows' face.
"Something's happened. Mattie's pretty sick ... worse than when you saw her last, I'm afraid." Andre stopped walking, causing Miss Barrows to halt her own steps, and turn back to face him.
"Please tell me, Miss Barrows. Is she OK?" Mattie was already one of his best friends, and he liked her. A lot. Surprisingly, they'd found that they had a lot in common, and he'd never dreamed that one of his best friends would be a white girl from a military family. They made quite a pair, he knew.
Miss Barrows studied the young man's dark face, noticing the care and worry in the large brown eyes behind his glasses. Obviously, he and Mattie were closer than she'd realized, and she knew she had to be careful in how she explained Mattie's condition. "Andre, I want you to try not to worry, but Mattie has come down with a really bad case of pneumonia, and she was found unconsciousness this morning. Her roommate and guardian took her to George Washington, where she's been today. The doctors are examining her, but she has a really high fever and hasn't regained consciousness yet." Andre's face blanched at hearing this, and he went to lean against the lockers on the side of the hallway, crossing his arms over his chest...a scared look on his face. Miss Barrows went over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Andre, the doctors at GW are the best. They're taking care of her, and her family is with her. Once they get her fever down, I'm sure she'll be OK."
He didn't look up at her, but continued to stare down at the tops of his sneakers. "I need to go there...go and visit her..." His voice trailed off. Miss Barrows slowly shook her head.
"Andre, that's probably not a good idea right now. We should wait until she wakes up, let the doctors work, and give her family some space."
He looked up at her, then, and she saw determination in his eyes.
"She's my friend, Miss Barrows. I need to go and visit her. Maybe, um, I can take her homework assignments over...would that be OK, do you think?" He seemed unsure, but she sensed he also understood the need to give her family space right now.
"I could collect her assignments, and go see her tomorrow-maybe she'll be awake by then?" His eyes finally met hers, a hopeful look on his face. She was touched and impressed by his care and loyalty to Mattie.
"I think that might be a better idea, Andre. Why don't you speak with her teachers, and I'll try and arrange something, let her folks know you'd like to drop by to visit her Would that be OK?"
"Sure, Miss Barrows!" A smile had made its' way to his face, and she smiled back. "I'll...maybe come by and see you after last class, and we can talk about this some more—okay?"
"Sure, Andre. Now, you'd better get back into Art class before you miss the Impressionists." She gave him a wry grin, and he laughed.
"They'd have to make more of an 'impression' on me than they have up till now, Miss Barrows!" He grinned at the counselor. Verbally jousting with Mattie had sharpened his wit.
She laughed and pointed to the class door. "Go on, then, and come see me at 4. Hopefully, I'll have some good news by then."
"Sounds great. Um...thanks for coming to tell me, Miss Barrows. How did you know Mattie and I are friends, anyway?"
"We school counselors know and see all, Mr. Biggs—haven't you learned that yet?" She cocked her head at him, a small smile on her lips.
"I guess so. See you at 4." He reentered the classroom with barely a glance at her as the door closed behind him, but not before she saw the worry return to his face.
MATTIE AND JEN'S APARTMENT
"Thanks for the ride home, sir." Jen told her CO as she opened the apartment door and stepped through, followed by Admiral Chegwidden. He closed the door behind them and sighed, looking around the living room with his hands in the pockets of his Navy overcoat.
"Not a problem, Petty Officer. I'm going to head into the office now, but I expect three things from you." He fixed her with a stern look.
"Sir?" Jen had plopped down on the couch, pulling her legs underneath her, and ran her fingers through her unruly hair.
"One: you eat something within the next hour. Two: you catch a nap – and NOT on the couch, which doesn't look all that comfortable. And three...you call me when you wake up, so I can bring you up to speed on any changes, if any. Am I clear, Coates?"
"Crystal, sir. And, with respect, sir, if I knew you were going to insult our couch, I would have asked Harm to drive me home."
"I'm a SEAL, Coates. We go wherever the trouble spots are. Your couch looks like it qualifies."
"Very funny, sir. Would you like to stay for lunch? I'm not the cook Commander Rabb is, but I can make some sandwiches or something." The banter they'd fallen into distracted and comforted both of them from thoughts of Mattie, lying in the hospital.
"Maybe some other time, Coates. I need to get back to the office, since half my staff will be out this afternoon. You go ahead and get something to eat...I'll let myself out, and will speak with you later." He turned to move back to the door, and had his hand on the doorknob when he heard Jen's quiet voice reach him in the stillness of the room.
"She likes you a lot, you know. She thinks of you as a grandfather." He paused, surprised to hear what Jen had just revealed to him. His very first meeting with Mattie Grace hadn't gone well at all, and even though they now were friendly around each other, he'd always felt that she still harbored some resentment for how he'd treated Harm during that time. Truth to tell, he still hadn't quite forgiven himself, either. He grunted before turning around to face Jen, who was quietly studying her hands in her lap.
"Really? I like her, too, Jen. She's an amazing young woman, and I can see how much she and Harm love each other." He waited a few beats as she looked up and smiled at him, and then threw in the zinger he knew she'd be expecting. "Are you sure it's not as an uncle with, um, really short hair?" This was said with a quirk of his eyebrow, and it had the intended effect. Jen burst out laughing, one of her wide smiles that he liked seeing on her face blossoming before his eyes. She wiped her face, and chuckled before answering.
"I'll see what I can do to swing her over to that point of view, sir."
"You do that, Petty Officer. Meanwhile..." and he held up three fingers to her, reminding her he hadn't forgotten his orders from a few minutes ago. She nodded and grinned, standing up from her seat on the couch to head into the small kitchen off of the living room.
"I'm going to the refrigerator, see? Pulling out bread and sandwich meat, along with a wide assortment of condiments..."
The Admiral threw her one of his patented stern looks, but with a twinkle in his eyes. "I don't need a blow-by-blow description, Petty Officer! Just eat something, for Christ's sake!" he said in his typical gruff voice, but with an undercurrent of feigned frustration with her that she'd become adept at picking up on. "I'm leaving now. Eat. Sleep. Call."
"Aye, sir. Thank you, sir." She stood at the counter, looking distracted all of a sudden with a loaf of bread in one hand and a jar of mustard in the other...concern for Mattie etched on her face, as she held his gaze.
"Jen, we'll have her back soon. Believe it." And then he was gone, the door quietly latching behind him. In the silence of the suddenly quiet apartment, she whispered, "I hope so, sir...I hope so."
GW HOSPITAL Room 411
There were five IV bags attached to tubes attached to Mattie's arm as Mac held her hand, watching her face while sitting in a chair positioned close to the side of her bed. At the moment, she was the only one in the room with Mattie; Harm had gone downstairs and outside, using his cell to call his mother and Frank to let them know what was happening with their granddaughter. Then he had to try to reach Tom Johnson, Mattie's father, who was still in rehab. Mac sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand, never letting go of Mattie's. A strained grin appeared on her face as she whispered to her girl. "Your grandparents are not gonna like this, Mattie. See, grandparents don't like it when their grandkids are sick or in trouble. So, you should rest up now, cause when they get here, well...I don't have to tell you what's going to happen next. They'll spend one minute smothering you with love, and the next chastising you for getting sick and scaring them to death. And, after they're done with you, I'm going to have my turn. You're frightening me, Mattie...and Marines as you know aren't supposed to be frightened. So, you should go ahead and wake up soon so I can chew out your six, and then tell you how much I miss you. I love you, and love taking care of you every day. I'd just prefer you were awake to see it. I miss you, honey. I miss seeing those hazel eyes of yours, and that quirky smile. Yeah, I just called you quirky – wanna make something of it?" She sighed, squeezed Mattie's fingers, and then continued speaking in a low voice. "What I've never told you, though...is that that's one of the many things I love about you. You are your own person, a very unique girl, and I love you so much, Mattie." Tears were flowing down her face as she caressed Mattie's warm hand in hers, and she continued to whisper, watching her face.
"I don't think I say that enough, but I think you know how I feel every time we're with each other. I need to say it more, though. I need to tell you how much my heart has swelled in size to hold you ever since we met. I promise I'll say this again when you're awake. Just think...it'll be fun for you to watch a Marine blubber, I'm sure. But it'll be worth it. I just need to make sure you know...know how I feel about you." She got up from the chair and, being careful not to disturb the IV lines and monitor wires around Mattie, leaned over to kiss her wet, flushed cheek. As she started to straighten, Mattie's head slowly moved against her pillow and she moaned, her parched throat and lips forming the sounds, "haammmmmm..." Mac was caught by surprise, and she started grinning like a madwoman, waiting to see if she showed any more signs of waking. "Mattie?" she whispered, leaning closer to her. She noticed that Mattie's eyes were moving back and forth under her closed eyelids, the REM movements faster in the last few moments since she'd called out Harm's name. Suddenly, Mac heard a beep from one of the monitors, and turned to the screen...noticing right away that the temp display had changed. It had been at 103.1 since they'd moved her to this room, but now... "Oh, thank you Lord," Mac whispered, as her blurred eyes made out the new reading: 101.9! Not normal, but...getting there. Her temp was going down! Mac reached over to buzz the nurse, but before her fingers even made it to the cord, the door opened suddenly and the nurse rushed in, quickly approaching Mattie's bed and scanning the monitors.
"Miss Mackenzie, we registered a change in vitals..." Mac interrupted her, excitement filling her voice.
"Her temp is dropping! Look—it's dropped at least a degree! I was just going to buzz you! She's coming out of it—I heard her call her dad's name a minute ago! Can you page Dr. Masters?" The breath was rushing out of Mac's chest as she moved back from the bed, watching the nurse check Mattie's temp with a handheld electronic thermometer to verify the reading. The unit looked very similar to the one Mac had insisted Jen and Mattie get for their apartment, and she watched the nurse smile as she turned to look back at Mac.
"It's confirmed, ma'am. Her temp's dropping! The antibiotics look like they're taking effect!"
"Yes!!!" Mac pumped her fist once in the air, then looked at Mattie's face. "That's my girl!! I have to go find Harm..." She didn't have a chance to finish the sentence before hearing a noise at the door to Mattie's room. She turned to watch Harm enter, and pause at the entry before striding over to the bed.
"Mac? I'm back—what's happening?" Harm had picked that moment to return from making his phone calls, entering Mattie's room to see Mac and the nurse smiling at him. He looked down at his daughter's still form. "Mattie?" he whispered, rushing to the other side of her bed and taking her hand in his. He quickly glanced at the monitor and saw the change. "Her temp—it's lower!"
"Harm," Mac whispered, "she called out your name a few moments ago...she was moving around a little! I think she's coming out of it!" Harm looked up into Mac's teary eyes, drinking in her smile and relief, then turned back to his daughter, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Mattie, sweetheart? Can you hear me?" he whispered, watching her face. A soft moan came from Mattie's lips, and Harm felt the fingers in his give him a squeeze. He looked down at their joined hands, and then up at Mac. "She just squeezed my hand, Mac!"
The nurse started leaving the room, quietly saying, "I'm going to have Dr. Masters paged. Be right back."
Harm and Mac barely noticed her departure as they leaned over Mattie's still form, still holding her hands in theirs, smiling as Mattie's eyes slowly started to open.
END OF CHAPTER 10