A Man Called Ghost
Chapter 17
Beth sat and watched Harm working on the treadmill. He'd been at it for over an hour and didn't look like he was ready to stop anytime soon. His physical therapist had already tried to get him to knock off for the day but he merely shook his head no and kept going. He had made improvements since he began rehab on his leg two weeks before, and was no longer restricted to being on crutches. Beth was there every day to watch him. She was also well aware of his daily routine of going to rehab, and then losing himself in a bottle.
Standing up from the plastic chair she was sitting in, Beth crossed the room to stand beside Harm as he plodded away on the treadmill. "Whoa there, pilot. Power down for a little while."
"Not ready to O'Neil." Harm gasped between breaths.
"I think you're going to have to be, Harm. Your PT looks like she's about ready to do you serious damage requiring more rehab later."
Savagely, Harm hit a button on the console of his treadmill and slowly stopped walking. "Fine."
Beth silently followed him towards the section of the room set aside for weights. "You've already worked your shoulder there Hammer." Beth gently reminded him. "Why don't you hit the showers and then we'll go for dinner with Allison."
Harm nodded his agreement when the physical therapist walked over to join them. "Well Agent Rabb, I want to take a last look at that leg of yours, but I'm pretty much ready to sign off on you. I wish all my patients were as stubborn as you sometimes." The pretty young blonde said with a smile.
"Now?" Harm asked in reference to the checking out of his leg.
"Unless you have a hot date."
"Not likely. Let's get it over with." Harm answered quietly.
As the two of them walked over to an examination table, Beth called out, "I'll meet you outside when you're done showering Hammer."
Walking out the front doors, Beth saw a vaguely familiar looking woman crossing the parking lot towards the building. It took her a moment before she could place her, never having seen her in jeans and a t-shirt before, but she knew without a doubt that she was looking at Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie. 'Shit' she muttered to herself, just what she needed. Quickly, Beth stepped out to intercept Mac before she got to the doors.
"Colonel MacKenzie" she said calmly, stepping up beside Mac. "A moment please."
Mac turned towards the slender brunette who had spoken to her. There was something familiar about her but she couldn't place it. "Yes?"
"You don't recognize me do you?"
"I'm sorry, I do recognize you, but I'm not sure from where."
"My court martial. You were trying to pin me on sexual harassment. Commander O'Neil, retired."
"Beth O'Neil." Mac said as everything clicked into place.
"Nice to see you again Colonel." Beth said with a nod and a little smile. "We need to talk."
"I'm sorry Ms. O'Neil, but I'm hoping to catch someone before they leave the treatment centre."
"I was pretty sure you were, but I think you might want to talk to me first Colonel." Beth said steadily. "In fact I'm going to insist you speak to me before you go see Harm."
"You're going to insist?" Mac said with shock. Was she so mistaken about Harm? Had he found someone else? Was he seeing this woman?
"I know you haven't spoken to Hammer much recently, so I'm going to assume you aren't aware of our relationship." Beth said without thinking about how her statement would sound to the woman before her.
"Relationship?" Mac repeated hollowly. She had been wrong, Harm had moved on.
"Harm and I work for the same employer. We've become good friends over the last year, in fact, he started out flying missions with me before he moved to field ops."
"Good friends." Mac echoed softly.
Beth couldn't help but see the despair in Mac's eyes. She decided to take a more friendly approach to this than she initially intended. "Nothing like that Colonel, I assure you. Now, if I wasn't seeing someone, maybe I'd ask you out for a drink."
It took a moment for what Beth had said to sink into Mac's already racing mind. "Oh. Oh." She said with shock. "I see." Harm and Manetti's comments long ago about don't ask now glaringly obvious.
"Good, then you know I'm not a threat to you. I am only a good friend of Harm's, or rather, I would be if he'd let me get close enough. Now, let me ask you this. Why are you here, now, when Harm's therapy is finished? Why haven't you been here once over the last two weeks?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was called away for a investigation on the Wake Island right after Harm turned up again." Mac said with slight indignation in her voice. She would not allow her actions to be called into question by this woman.
"So it wasn't your choice to stay away?" Beth asked carefully. She needed to know she was doing the right thing for Harm, or it would all blow up in her face.
"No. Believe me, I wanted to be here, and it's gnawed at me over the last three weeks while I was at sea. I needed to be here for him. You said he's finished?" Mac asked earnestly.
"He's just going through his final check up with his therapist as we speak. He's going to be out in a few minutes, and I hate to say it Colonel, but I don't think you should be here when he does come out."
"Why not?" Mac asked angrily. She hadn't been able to be there for Harm, but now she was going to be and nothing would stop her.
"Don't get me wrong Colonel, I think you need to speak to him, and I think you need to speak to him soon. But now is not the time. He's angry and bitter, and to be honest I don't think you'd accomplish much."
"He's always angry and bitter lately." Mac said quietly.
"Can you blame him?" Beth asked, her voice equally low.
It was a moment before Mac answered her, her voice barely audible. "Yes and no. What are you suggesting?"
"I'm taking him to dinner to celebrate the end of physical therapy tonight with my partner. We're going to be at Ed's Embarcadero at six thirty. Are you following me Colonel?"
"Why there and not here?"
"Because maybe if you talk to him then, he won't curl up inside a bottle before he goes to sleep tonight." Beth said clearly concerned for Harm's welfare. "I'm hoping if we give him some time to calm down and have a relaxing meal he'll be more open to talking to you. Or at least, less likely to blow up."
"He's drinking?" Mac knew he'd been drinking some since her visit to his apartment that one time, but she didn't think Harm would give in completely to drink.
"Every night. It was bad before; he suffers from nightmares and I think it was the only way he could sleep without them. But it's a lot worse since he came back from Iraq. I'm worried about him Colonel."
"Please, call me Mac." Mac said softly. If this woman cared for Harm as much as it appeared, the least she could do was be friendly with her. "How bad is it, honestly?"
"He's not eating, and like I said, he gets drunk every night in order to sleep. Except, now he usually starts as soon as he finishes therapy, so it's more like he gets drunk every afternoon. It's bad Mac. He's smart enough not to show up drunk for his therapy, and I'm afraid for when he goes back into the field next week."
"He's going back so soon?" Mac asked shocked.
"This is Harm we're talking about. Being on medical leave has been driving him nuts and he's lined up an appointment with the Company docs next week to get cleared for field status again. His leg still isn't one hundred percent, but he's not limping that much anymore and he's done quite a bit to build up the new muscle tissue. He pushes himself too hard sometimes."
Mac sighed. She knew Harm had been angry and bitter, but she hadn't wanted to admit that he'd given in to his demons. She didn't know what she would do now, but she knew she'd have to help him through it. "Wouldn't they do something at the CIA if they knew he was spending all his time drunk?"
"Harm's smarter than that Mac. He doesn't drink on ops, and he never shows up for work drunk. And please, every field agent has nightmares they need medicine to get through. You should know that from your time with Webb." Beth knew that Mac wasn't with Webb anymore; she'd forced it out of Webb one day a week ago after she got back from watching Harm do his physio.
Blowing out a sigh through pursed lips, Mac thought quickly. "Six thirty, Ed's Embarcadero?"
"Yes." Beth said with a smile. It seemed Mac was willing to play ball.
"He hasn't been going through this alone?" Mac asked next.
"I've been here everyday that he has." Beth answered honestly.
"Thank you for that." Mac said contritely. "I wish it could have been me, but I'm glad he hasn't had to do this alone."
"You're welcome. Now, he's going to be out soon, and I don't think he should see you yet. Give him some time to unwind, he's usually pretty aggressive after his treatments. Has something to do with all that testosterone he stirs up pushing himself harder than a human should."
"I'll see you tonight Ms. O'Neil. Thank you for this." Mac said her gratitude evident.
"It's Beth. And just make sure you don't hurt him any more than he already is, or you and I are going to have words."
Mac nodded silently and then turned to walk back to her car. As she was walking away Beth called out to her "Mac?"
"Yes?"
"Do you love him?"
Mac bit her lip as she thought for a moment before answering. "More than anything."
"Good. Just make sure you remember that when you talk to him." Beth answered and then moved back towards the doors.
Chapter 17
Beth sat and watched Harm working on the treadmill. He'd been at it for over an hour and didn't look like he was ready to stop anytime soon. His physical therapist had already tried to get him to knock off for the day but he merely shook his head no and kept going. He had made improvements since he began rehab on his leg two weeks before, and was no longer restricted to being on crutches. Beth was there every day to watch him. She was also well aware of his daily routine of going to rehab, and then losing himself in a bottle.
Standing up from the plastic chair she was sitting in, Beth crossed the room to stand beside Harm as he plodded away on the treadmill. "Whoa there, pilot. Power down for a little while."
"Not ready to O'Neil." Harm gasped between breaths.
"I think you're going to have to be, Harm. Your PT looks like she's about ready to do you serious damage requiring more rehab later."
Savagely, Harm hit a button on the console of his treadmill and slowly stopped walking. "Fine."
Beth silently followed him towards the section of the room set aside for weights. "You've already worked your shoulder there Hammer." Beth gently reminded him. "Why don't you hit the showers and then we'll go for dinner with Allison."
Harm nodded his agreement when the physical therapist walked over to join them. "Well Agent Rabb, I want to take a last look at that leg of yours, but I'm pretty much ready to sign off on you. I wish all my patients were as stubborn as you sometimes." The pretty young blonde said with a smile.
"Now?" Harm asked in reference to the checking out of his leg.
"Unless you have a hot date."
"Not likely. Let's get it over with." Harm answered quietly.
As the two of them walked over to an examination table, Beth called out, "I'll meet you outside when you're done showering Hammer."
Walking out the front doors, Beth saw a vaguely familiar looking woman crossing the parking lot towards the building. It took her a moment before she could place her, never having seen her in jeans and a t-shirt before, but she knew without a doubt that she was looking at Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie. 'Shit' she muttered to herself, just what she needed. Quickly, Beth stepped out to intercept Mac before she got to the doors.
"Colonel MacKenzie" she said calmly, stepping up beside Mac. "A moment please."
Mac turned towards the slender brunette who had spoken to her. There was something familiar about her but she couldn't place it. "Yes?"
"You don't recognize me do you?"
"I'm sorry, I do recognize you, but I'm not sure from where."
"My court martial. You were trying to pin me on sexual harassment. Commander O'Neil, retired."
"Beth O'Neil." Mac said as everything clicked into place.
"Nice to see you again Colonel." Beth said with a nod and a little smile. "We need to talk."
"I'm sorry Ms. O'Neil, but I'm hoping to catch someone before they leave the treatment centre."
"I was pretty sure you were, but I think you might want to talk to me first Colonel." Beth said steadily. "In fact I'm going to insist you speak to me before you go see Harm."
"You're going to insist?" Mac said with shock. Was she so mistaken about Harm? Had he found someone else? Was he seeing this woman?
"I know you haven't spoken to Hammer much recently, so I'm going to assume you aren't aware of our relationship." Beth said without thinking about how her statement would sound to the woman before her.
"Relationship?" Mac repeated hollowly. She had been wrong, Harm had moved on.
"Harm and I work for the same employer. We've become good friends over the last year, in fact, he started out flying missions with me before he moved to field ops."
"Good friends." Mac echoed softly.
Beth couldn't help but see the despair in Mac's eyes. She decided to take a more friendly approach to this than she initially intended. "Nothing like that Colonel, I assure you. Now, if I wasn't seeing someone, maybe I'd ask you out for a drink."
It took a moment for what Beth had said to sink into Mac's already racing mind. "Oh. Oh." She said with shock. "I see." Harm and Manetti's comments long ago about don't ask now glaringly obvious.
"Good, then you know I'm not a threat to you. I am only a good friend of Harm's, or rather, I would be if he'd let me get close enough. Now, let me ask you this. Why are you here, now, when Harm's therapy is finished? Why haven't you been here once over the last two weeks?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was called away for a investigation on the Wake Island right after Harm turned up again." Mac said with slight indignation in her voice. She would not allow her actions to be called into question by this woman.
"So it wasn't your choice to stay away?" Beth asked carefully. She needed to know she was doing the right thing for Harm, or it would all blow up in her face.
"No. Believe me, I wanted to be here, and it's gnawed at me over the last three weeks while I was at sea. I needed to be here for him. You said he's finished?" Mac asked earnestly.
"He's just going through his final check up with his therapist as we speak. He's going to be out in a few minutes, and I hate to say it Colonel, but I don't think you should be here when he does come out."
"Why not?" Mac asked angrily. She hadn't been able to be there for Harm, but now she was going to be and nothing would stop her.
"Don't get me wrong Colonel, I think you need to speak to him, and I think you need to speak to him soon. But now is not the time. He's angry and bitter, and to be honest I don't think you'd accomplish much."
"He's always angry and bitter lately." Mac said quietly.
"Can you blame him?" Beth asked, her voice equally low.
It was a moment before Mac answered her, her voice barely audible. "Yes and no. What are you suggesting?"
"I'm taking him to dinner to celebrate the end of physical therapy tonight with my partner. We're going to be at Ed's Embarcadero at six thirty. Are you following me Colonel?"
"Why there and not here?"
"Because maybe if you talk to him then, he won't curl up inside a bottle before he goes to sleep tonight." Beth said clearly concerned for Harm's welfare. "I'm hoping if we give him some time to calm down and have a relaxing meal he'll be more open to talking to you. Or at least, less likely to blow up."
"He's drinking?" Mac knew he'd been drinking some since her visit to his apartment that one time, but she didn't think Harm would give in completely to drink.
"Every night. It was bad before; he suffers from nightmares and I think it was the only way he could sleep without them. But it's a lot worse since he came back from Iraq. I'm worried about him Colonel."
"Please, call me Mac." Mac said softly. If this woman cared for Harm as much as it appeared, the least she could do was be friendly with her. "How bad is it, honestly?"
"He's not eating, and like I said, he gets drunk every night in order to sleep. Except, now he usually starts as soon as he finishes therapy, so it's more like he gets drunk every afternoon. It's bad Mac. He's smart enough not to show up drunk for his therapy, and I'm afraid for when he goes back into the field next week."
"He's going back so soon?" Mac asked shocked.
"This is Harm we're talking about. Being on medical leave has been driving him nuts and he's lined up an appointment with the Company docs next week to get cleared for field status again. His leg still isn't one hundred percent, but he's not limping that much anymore and he's done quite a bit to build up the new muscle tissue. He pushes himself too hard sometimes."
Mac sighed. She knew Harm had been angry and bitter, but she hadn't wanted to admit that he'd given in to his demons. She didn't know what she would do now, but she knew she'd have to help him through it. "Wouldn't they do something at the CIA if they knew he was spending all his time drunk?"
"Harm's smarter than that Mac. He doesn't drink on ops, and he never shows up for work drunk. And please, every field agent has nightmares they need medicine to get through. You should know that from your time with Webb." Beth knew that Mac wasn't with Webb anymore; she'd forced it out of Webb one day a week ago after she got back from watching Harm do his physio.
Blowing out a sigh through pursed lips, Mac thought quickly. "Six thirty, Ed's Embarcadero?"
"Yes." Beth said with a smile. It seemed Mac was willing to play ball.
"He hasn't been going through this alone?" Mac asked next.
"I've been here everyday that he has." Beth answered honestly.
"Thank you for that." Mac said contritely. "I wish it could have been me, but I'm glad he hasn't had to do this alone."
"You're welcome. Now, he's going to be out soon, and I don't think he should see you yet. Give him some time to unwind, he's usually pretty aggressive after his treatments. Has something to do with all that testosterone he stirs up pushing himself harder than a human should."
"I'll see you tonight Ms. O'Neil. Thank you for this." Mac said her gratitude evident.
"It's Beth. And just make sure you don't hurt him any more than he already is, or you and I are going to have words."
Mac nodded silently and then turned to walk back to her car. As she was walking away Beth called out to her "Mac?"
"Yes?"
"Do you love him?"
Mac bit her lip as she thought for a moment before answering. "More than anything."
"Good. Just make sure you remember that when you talk to him." Beth answered and then moved back towards the doors.