Part 28: A Journey of Separate Hearts – Visions and Signs
AN: Wow, thank you again for all your reviews…you're just wonderful!! Hope you enjoy this part…two more to go!
February 16th 2003, Sunday
1126 Zulu (06:26 hrs EST)
Apartment "The Washington 2812"
Georgetown, Washington D.C.
Darkness. Light. Darkness. Light. … A family van on an empty street. The van was driven by someone Mac knew. Somebody, whom she was close. Slowly the picture became clearer – sharper. More details were in Mac's sight now. Blonde hair, blue eyes – a rousing, happy smile. She could hear laughter…pure, honest, enjoyable.
"How was daycare today, AJ?"
Harriet. It was her…she was still alive. Safe…secure...happy.
"Cool, Mommy! Where's Dadda?"
AJ. Little AJ…there he was – Mac and Harm's beloved godson. His unmistakable self…a whirlwind, but the sunshine in Mac's life.
Green light. Another car – a black pickup. It drove way too fast. Everything happened so fast. An icy street. It was raining. Harriet had no chance to stop in time – no chance to get out of the way.
"NOO, AJ!!"
"MOMMY…!"
Screams. A shattering noise – caused by a car crashing into another one. Silence.
Darkness again. Then white light… A street sign: a red cross on a white background…a hospital…Harriet…AJ… A doctor and nurses – all working frantically…
An old man with white hair and glasses… A man that gave Mac a creepy feeling, causing a cold shiver along her spine. He wore a white coat – a doctor! He treated Harriet…and AJ…AJ was crying… Pain. Fear. Anger.
Mac gazed around the examination room. Her eyes locked on a medical journal…a picture of that old man standing in front of a big building was on it. The headline said, "Dr. Fellon – the new man in Fairfax".
"Fairfax. They are at Fairfax Hospital! Oh God, nooo!!" Mac gasped.
Abruptly, Mac woke up. Panting and gasping heavily, Mac had to sit up. She tried to slow her pulse and breathing, knowing that she would need to relax again to figure out what that terrible dream was about. Dream? No, that wasn't a dream. Mac hadn't had just a simple nightmare. It had been a vision. She had no doubt about it. And that was worse. Worse than a nightmare, because a nightmare would have been just terrible fantasy, but her visions – she knew – reflected reality.
"Fairfax…they are in Fairfax…Fairfax Hospital…" While rocking back and forth, Mac repeated the hospital name over and over again.
Harm was awakened by Mac's first scream, sensing immediately that something awful had caused it.
He sat up, seeing Mac's all sweaty body shuddering and shaking. Something was terribly wrong.
Trying to reassure her, he enveloped her in a protective, soothing embrace.
His whispered "It's ok, Mac. I'm here… You're safe now… It's ok…" barely stilled her fear. Bit by bit his words fought their way through the restless state between dream and reality, finally reaching her mind and heart.
Tentatively she looked up at him – stains of tears on her face. There was still fear shining in her eyes, but she didn't look away, instead she held his gaze.
"She's hurt, Harm. Harriet's injured badly. Harriet and AJ were in an accident. She couldn't do anything, couldn't get out of the way in time…the street was too icy. Another car appeared suddenly. The driver was too fast and didn't stop, even though the traffic lights on his side were red… He just crashed into Harriet's car… Oh god, Harm…they are injured…"
"Shhhhh, c'mon honey…calm down, I'm here… I'm not leaving… Shhh." He tried to soothe her, not exactly knowing what she was talking about. How could she know that Harriet and AJ were in an accident? How could she know they were injured? How could she…?
'Of course, her visions…damn, Rabb. She saw it…Mac saw all that happening in her mind…'
"Oh my god, Sarah, you had one of your vision, didn't you? Sarah, do you know where Harriet and little AJ are? Do you know what happened?"
Harm's voice was a little bit louder than it should have been. He realized it when he felt her jump in his embrace.
He pulled her close and tried again, this time his voice was a calm whisper.
"Sarah, darling, what did you see?"
She didn't speak right away, and after a while when Harm began to think that she wasn't going to give him a response, then he heard her muffled voice answer.
"I saw Harriet driving along an empty street. It was dark – and then they were at an intersection when suddenly another car crossed the intersection but never stopped and crashed into the driver's side of Harriet's van without slowing down. The next thing I saw was a hospital, doctors, nurses… one doctor was on the cover of a medical journal. He's working at Fairfax. Harm, I'm sure Harriet and AJ are at Fairfax Hospital. You have to believe me, please."
"All right, honey. I believe you…of course I do." He smiled at her, trying to assure her that he really did believe what she told him.
"Harm, we need to call the Admiral and Bud. We need to get to Fairfax – now."
"Mac, we'll tell them when we meet with them at JAG. It can't be that long until we have to get up anyway…"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The annoying wake up call from Harm's watch replaced the silence in Mac's bedroom and both of them jumped at the unexpectedly loud sound.
Harm switched off the alarm.
"See, we already have to get up…C'mon, Mac … we'll take a shower first, then grab a light breakfast and drive directly to JAG. Ok?"
She just nodded and pulled away from him. The next moment, he saw Mac disappearing behind the bathroom door and shortly after, he heard the shower running.
"We'll find them…God, please, let us find them and let them be healthy and safe."
With that Harm got up, too, and walked to the kitchen preparing breakfast for both of them, figuring they would need the energy.
February 16th 2003, Sunday
1330 Zulu (08:30 hrs EST)
Inside Admiral Chegwidden's office
JAG HQ
Falls Church, VA.
AJ, Bud, Mac and Harm had met punctually at 7:30 in the Admiral's office. When he saw the lost look in Mac's eyes, AJ knew immediately that something had happened. It hadn't taken much convincing for Mac to open up. She told both – Bud and AJ – everything that she had seen, told them every detail she could remember: the black pickup, the look of the street, the surrounding area, the hospital, the examination room, even the cover of that medical journal she had seen there. And of course, the creepy feeling she had about Dr. Fellon. The Admiral had ordered Mac to give her description of Dr. Fellon to a professional sketcher and when they were finished, all four returned to the office to discuss what to do next.
"Admiral, we really should drive to Fairfax Hospital. Check to see if we can find that Dr. Fellon or just ask the hospital staff if they've seen either Harriet or AJ. Please, we have to go now. We've already wasted too much time…Sir." Mac was eager to get going. Her instincts told her the longer they waited and the more time they wasted, the more danger Harriet and little AJ were in. She didn't want to risk that and she urged them all to hurry up.
"Colonel, local police officers have already checked at every hospital in the whole area. They haven't found anything…"
"Then the police didn't searched thoroughly – they just missed them…Harriet and AJ are there, I know it. I feel it. Sir!"
"Mac…"
"With all due respect, Sir. It was you that suggested giving my visions a chance. Now that we may have something, you just deny it."
Mac was getting a bit angry. She couldn't understand why the Admiral preferred discussions. If her vision was enough evidence to take action, then just get into action. They simply had to drive to Fairfax, talk to the nurses and doctors that had worked the day that Harriet and AJ had vanished and ask for a Dr. Fellon. Nothing more…
AJ sensed the anger beginning to come from his senior officer. He knew she was right about what she just had said. Nevertheless, he also realized that Mac had put all her hope in that one single vision. If it turned out to be a dead end, it would probably take away all her trust in herself and her abilities, and break her completely. But he was also aware of the fact that no one and nothing could stop Mac from following this lead.
So he sighed and finally gave in, "All right, Colonel. Give it a try. Drive to Fairfax Hospital and take the Commander with you. Ask everyone and show them the pictures of Harriet, AJ and that ominous Dr. Fellon. Good luck!"
Both came to attention.
"Understood, Sir. Thank you, Sir." answered Mac relieved. Finally she had a task…anything was better than sitting around helplessly.
Quickly, Ham and Mac walked out of the office leaving the two men behind, both hoping and praying that Harm and Mac would return with good news.
February 16th 2003, Sunday
1430 Zulu (09:30 hrs EST)
Fairfax Hospital
3300 Gallows Road
Falls Church, VA
When they entered the emergency room of the hospital thirty minutes later, it was already filled with dozens of waiting patients. It seemed that even on a Sunday morning a hospital didn't have a quiet start.
Mac and Harm approached the nurse's station and an elderly nurse greeted them, "Good morning, I'm Mrs. Thompson. How can I help you?"
"Good morning, I'm Lt. Colonel MacKenzie and this is Commander Rabb. We both work for the JAG corps and are investigating in a possible kidnapping."
Both of them showed their identity cards.
"We are looking for Lt. Harriet Sims or Harriet Roberts and her son, AJ Roberts. They have been missing since last Friday, February 14th, around 1530. Can you tell us who of your staff was on duty then?"
"Of course, I can give you a copy of the duty list from February 14th until today. And there's a staff meeting in 10 minutes, where you could reach most of them…at least the ones who are on duty today. What do they look like?"
"Here are two pictures of them. Do you recognize them? It could have been that they were both badly injured."
The elderly woman looked at the pictures, but shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, Colonel. I haven't seen them here as far as I can remember. But I'll check up the patient's list for their names."
She walked to the computer and typed the names in, and again she shook her head.
"Sorry, no match has been found. But let's just go to the staff meeting."
Mac and Harm nodded their agreement and followed Mrs. Thompson.
When they reached the conference room, the nurse talked to a middle-aged doctor and explained to him the reason for Mac and Harm's presence. Then both of them approached Harm and Mac.
"Good morning, I'm Doctor Anderson. We'll do anything we can to help you. The best would be when we to begin this meeting with your request."
"Of course. Thank you, Doctor Anderson."
Fortunately they had made several copies of the two pictures and the sketch of that mysterious Dr. Fellon. So, when they told the staff, why they were there and whom they were looking for, they could pass the pictures around.
But unfortunately, Harriet and AJ hadn't been delivered to Fairfax Hospital – at least no one recognized them or remembered any patient who could have been Harriet or AJ.
Mac's hopes faded with each minute they stayed at Fairfax Hospital. She had been so damned sure that they would be successful here and would find Harriet and AJ. That wasn't the case.
As they were ready to leave, Harm remembered the sketch of Dr. Fellon.
"Oh, we forgot to ask if anybody knows a Dr. Fellon? We think he looks like the man in this sketch."
He handed out the copies of the sketch and as some of the older nurses saw the drawing, they gasped in surprise.
"Do you know him, Mrs. Thompson?" asked Mac, sensing that they might have a lead…the only one besides Mac's vision.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I used to know him. His name is indeed Dr. Malcolm Fellon. He used to work at Fairfax until the summer about two and a half years ago. He was well respected then. But then in July 2000 his medical license was taken away because of his drug and alcohol addiction. He wasn't able to treat patients correctly anymore, made many mistakes and nearly killed one in the process. He refused to attend therapy, so the hospital fired him and he was forbidden to practice as a doctor any longer. Since then, I haven't heard from him. I'm not sure if he still lives there, but I can give you the last address we have of his."
"Thank you very much. That would help a lot," Harm said.
'At least this Dr. Fellon exists…I won't give up until we've found them.' thought Mac, not willing to let her doubts and uncertainty win over her hope and belief in her abilities.
After the nurses and doctors promised to watch for anything that might help and to call then, Harm and Mac said their good-byes.
"Thank you for your assistance. You've helped us a lot!" said Harm before he left the room together with Mac and Nurse Thompson.
Mrs. Thompson quickly searched in the hospital computer system and wrote down the last known address the hospital record had for Dr. Fellon on a small on a piece of notepaper.
"Here you go, hope it will help."
"Thank you, Mrs. Thompson. Here're our cards. If you remember anything later that would help us, later, just call."
"I will, thank you."
With the note in her hand, Mac hurried to their car, followed quickly by Harm.
February 16th 2003, Sunday
1545 Zulu (10:45 hrs EST)
Last known address of Dr. Fellon
Not far away from Fairfax Hospital
Harm and Mac quickly reached the address that they had gotten from Mrs. Thompson. But what they found there shocked them and again took away the little bit of the hope that was left.
The house in which Dr. Fellon had once lived hadn't been occupied in years. Some windows were broken and the front yard looked more like a jungle than a beautiful place where children had once played years ago.
Nevertheless, they knocked at the front door, but nobody answered.
So, they asked people in the neighborhood if they knew a Dr. Fellon and showed the matching sketch to them. Even though some of them could remember him, none of them knew where the doctor was living now.
After over an hour of futile searching and asking, Mac and Harm returned to their car. Disappointed and sad, Mac looked out of the window while Harm drove silently back to JAG Headquarters.
Both felt helpless again. As if every lead they had gotten was fruitless…taking away bit by bit of their strength, hope and belief.
'God, why are you doing this? We can't return to Bud with nothing! We just can't! I promised him, we would find Harriet and AJ.' Mac asked herself, staring at the buildings that flew by while Harm drove.
'A sign would sure be helpful now.' she chuckled. How ironic was that? She had often asked herself if there was a God or something else above them, watching their lives, guiding them? Sometimes she had her doubts – not unusual, considering her tough childhood.
'Yeah, a sign is needed – now…' A sign?
"Harm, stop now!! I think I saw something…"