Alrighty people, one more to go after this one and there IS a sequel. The problem at the end of THIS part will be resolved in the sequel.

Having said that, please ready your pitchforks and torches, you're gonna need them. ;) Luckily, I won't be here tomorrow gonna go see Queensryche!! :) The final chappie will post sometime on Saturday if work doesn't get in the way. If it does, late Sunday night.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me an e-mail or published a review. If I have not responded to your e-mail, very sorry, I am having issues with my router and need to find my old usb cable to get to those e-mails. Eventually, you shall hear from me. ;)

(Takes a deep breath)

Here goes ;)

Jackie

PS: This part will be slightly jumbled. I wrote it that way to not have to have another filler chapter. Hope that makes sense!

Part 12 – Losses and Proposals

2100 Zulu
USS Seahawk

"There's a call for you ma'am." One of the crew members stated as they walked into sickbay. "You can take it in here." He pointed at one of the phones on the wall an quickly left.

Managing to stand, Mac picked up the phone and cleared her voice. "Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie."

("Sarah." A familiar voice said over the line. She should have been happy to hear it, but at the moment, she didn't want to know anything of what was going on at home. "Sarah, luv?")

Sighing, she managed to bring up some willpower to speak to her fiancé, he was the last person she wanted to speak to. "Mic."

("How are you doing?")

"I'm fine. . . a little sore but fine."

(Mic paused for a moment and sighed. "You don't sound fine, Sarah.")

"I went through a lot, Mic. . . much more than you think you know." The tone she used on him was harsh, but damnit, she wasn't in the mood for this, or for him. For the first time in ages, he was getting under her skin and not in a good way. "Listen, right now isn't a good time to talk."

("Alright. . . then just listen." Mic spoke quickly hoping that she wouldn't cut him off at any point. "I moved everything up to next weekend. . . I mean, everything should be fine by then right? So the church is available, even the reception hall and I even managed to. .")

Mac brought the phone away from her ear and looked at it in disgust. She and Harm had nearly died and all Mic could think about was a stupid wedding? "Mic, stop. . . I am not talking about this now."

("Sarah, we had plans. . . I know you went through hell. . .the sooner we are wed, the sooner we can start the honeymoon and you can start to heal.")

It occurred to her at that moment that he hadn't even bothered asking her about Harm. "Mic, screw the plans. . .Harm is hurt, he is in an out of consciousness. . . I don't have the time or the will right now to worry about a wedding. . . We'll talk whenever we get back home. . . goodbye." With a definitive thud, she hung the phone up and stared at it. Sighing, she laid back on the cot and curled up into a ball. Unfortunately, she would not get a chance to talk to Harm again until they arrived at Bethesda. . .

1301 Zulu
Two Days Later
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, Maryland

Mac took a deep breath as she pushed the handle that opened the door to Harm's room. She'd spent practically a whole day without seeing him as they were both being taken in for tests. Doctors had explained to her that he wasn't completely out of the waters, apparently, he was suffering from some sort of amnesia. Considering the fact that everyone at sickbay on the Seahawk thought they were engaged, it was probably a good thing that he didn't remember. Walking in, she noticed how small his usually large frame looked against the hospital bed. "Harm?" She said softly and smiled when he opened his eyes.

"Mac." Harm swallowed a few times, but his throat was still raw. Try as he might all he could do was whisper. "Nice of you to come on by."

Mac nodded as she slid into a chair by his bed. "You gave me quite a scare." She was hoping he wouldn't bring up the wedding plans as well, and luck seemed to be on her side for once.

"I'm sorry I went back to flying, Mac. . .I should've stayed here." He winced slightly as he tried to sit up, and look more presentable. "You know, you weren't the only one crying."

'Why is he bringing that up?' Mac thought with a small smile. Reaching across she took his hand in hers and stroked the back of his hand with her thumb. "It's past."

"I hear you jumped me in sickbay." He said with a soft chuckle and then added. "That isn't the way for a Marine Major to act." Looking around, he shook his head slightly to stop the wave of vertigo before settling his vision back on her. "So how's baby AJ? Is he crawling around yet? Is Brumby still at the office?."

Mac's mouth dropped open. At first she figured he was joking with her, now, she wasn't sure what to believe. "Harm, I'm a Lt. Colonel, AJ is two and Mic and I. . ."

"Commander." The Admiral, Bud, Harriet, Mic, Renee and Chloe walked into the hospital room followed by Harm's doctor. "You're looking good."

Harm's eyes scanned his surrogate family. All were in uniform except for Mic who quickly went and stood behind Mac, resting his hands a little too possessively on Mac's shoulders. "A little worse for wear, sir, but fine." Looking over at Renee he creased his brow. "Uh, hi?" Did someone else join the JAG family without him knowing?

Renee cut through the group of people and sat on the edge of his bed, taking his hand. "Oh God. . . I thought I'd lost you. . . You have to promise me to stop playing with those stupid planes of yours!"

Harm's eyebrows hit his hairline, who was that woman and why was she talking at him that way? "Umm. . . okay." He looked around the room, searched out Mac and questioned her. "Umm who is she?"

"You're girlfriend!" Renee said, seemingly about cry at the notion that her boyfriend had completely forgotten her. "Don't you remember me?"

Shaking his head slowly, Harm managed to straighten himself up more in the bed. His knee was screaming bloody murder and suddenly, his head was pounding. Bringing his hands up to his head, he slowly massaged his temples. Was he going crazy?

Dr. Sorenson stepped towards the bed and with a small flashlight looked into Harm's eyes. "Feeling a bit dizzy, Commander?"

"Understatement." Harm groaned.

"The Commander suffered through a severe case of hypothermia. It isn't uncommon for patients to go through some short term memory loss. . .I'm confident that he'll be just fine." The doctor assured with a smile.

Renee held onto Harm's hands and just smiled at him. "It's okay, Harm. . .It's okay."

But, Harm wasn't looking at her, his attention was fully focused on Mac and Mic who had left the room together with Chloe. If he didn't know any better, the way they were touching was almost. . . intimate? No! That couldn't be. "Why is she with him?" He asked Renee with a slight edge to his voice. Leaving JAG for flying he knew there was a slight chance that Mac and Brumby would get closer, but had she given into him? No, Mac was too strong for that, wasn't she?

Renee chuckled softly, before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. "Don't you remember? They're getting married."

Harm shook his head slightly, that revelation could not be correct. "But, she said she loved me. . .the nurse on the Seahawk told me. . .Mac said she loved me."

Angrily, Renee clutched the side of the bed, squeezing hard before letting go so that she could steel her nerves. Sarah MacKenzie had gone too far this time and it was time for her to use his current state of confusion in order to prevent the Marine from getting to her man. "Of course she loves you, Harm. . . you two are best friends. . ." Noticing that Harm wasn't paying much attention to her, Renee put her hand on his face, angling him so that she could look into his eyes. "She loves you as a friend. . .but, she is marrying Mic, they've been engaged for over a year now."

Something inside made him want to scream. Why couldn't he remember anything? It was as if time had stood still from the time he left JAG ops to return to flight status. There were bits and pieces from some sort of ride in a Tomcat, on a stormy night. An ejection. Someone holding him. But it all seemed like a dream. "Does she love him?"

"She wouldn't be marrying him if she didn't." Renee said with a bright smile as she ran her hands over his face, coming forward to brush her lips gingerly against his. "In fact, when you're up and ready, we'll go to their wedding together, wish them the best of luck." Evilly, she turned towards the door to see Mic and Mac come in together, stating that they had to go, but they would be back later.

There was a look on Mac's face that Harm couldn't read. It was a mixture of relief and sorrow, something almost like how she looked when Dalton had died, but this time, it was more pronounced. 'She loves you as a friend. . .but, she is marrying Mic, they've been engaged for over a year now.' Those words alone cut him straight to the core. They were getting married and his heart had broken into a million pieces.

One Day Later
1801 Zulu
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Bethesda, Maryland

"Hey there, sailor boy." Renee chirped as she walked into Harm's room holding a large fruit basket which she placed on the small table across from his bed. Happily, she came to his side, bending down to kiss him gently.

Looking up at her, Harm smiled sweetly. He hadn't seen Mac all day and though she had called, it wasn't the same. After finding out that she was marrying Brumby, he imagined she was working out the details and setting a new date. Frankly he didn't have much to say to her anyway. He still couldn't remember how the hell that had happened, but, according to the doctor, that memory would come back soon. It was all just a matter of time. "I am going stir crazy here all by myself."

Settling herself into bed with him, Renee reached over and ran her fingers over his facial features. "Well, I am here now." She held onto him as if he were her life raft. In her mind swam the horrible thoughts she had hour upon hour when she first heard of him crashing. Not being able to help it, tears and a soft sob escaped, which she tried to hide by burying her face into his chest.

"Renee, what is it?" Looking down at her, he saw her face lift, her eyes meeting his own. He was still coming to terms with this relationship, but the more she spoke to him, the more the pieces of their one year relationship started to fit.

"The night you went down. . ." Sobbing harder, she moved slightly away from him and sat up on the bed. "Every hour was worse. . . and all of your friends, they were looking at Mic and me as if we were not part of the family."

Harm creased his forehead, if anything he figure that would be the opposite. "I doubt that is true, Renee."

"It was. . . Your friends never will see me as part of their family, same as Mic."

Gently, Harm reached out and ran a hand down her back before tucking it at her waist so he could pull her back to his side. "I am sure they were just preoccupied in trying to find more information. . .it's over now, I am here, I am fine."

"No, it's not fine!" She yelled, standing up to pace in front of his bed. Angrily, she wiped at the tears before settling her eyes on him. "I almost lost you. Hell, for a moment there, according to what Mac said, you were gone." He was slightly disturbed by that confession. "Damnit, Harm, you almost died! I almost lost you for good."

"Renee, slow down. . . I am trained for. . ."

"And things still went wrong. . ." Softening her tirade, she moved back to his side, sitting on the edge of the bed. Taking his hand, she brought it up to her lips and kissed the back, before rubbing her cheek against it. "I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't."

"No, I won't." Sighing deeply, Renee closed her eyes for a moment. If ever there was a time to solidify their relationship, now was it. His mind still being so fragile with information would likely benefit it all. Besides, he wouldn't be with her for a whole year if he didn't love her. Softly, the words came out, one by one, catching Harm by surprise. "Marry me, Harm." When she didn't receive a response, Renee opened her eyes to find his as wide as saucers. "I know you love me. . . I love you, too. And after what happened, I don't want to take my days with you for granted anymore. . . It's time you and I do this right. . . so please, Marry me."

Harm stared at her for a moment. Was their relationship really THAT strong? The woman sitting in front of him was very much his type. Attractive, strong, willing, he could certainly see himself with someone like that for a few years. But, marriage? That was a whole different ball game. He couldn't lie to himself, the only woman he would consider marrying was the same woman he would consider having children with. But, she, his brain reminded him, was marrying someone else. 'She loves you as a friend. . .but, she is marrying Mic, they've been engaged for over a year now.' Smiling, he wrapped his hand a bit tighter around Renee's. If Mac could go on with her life, so could he. Besides, he wasn't getting any younger, he had a feeling that his mother liked Renee and she was right, it was time to stop taking things for granted. "Yes, I'll marry you."

AN: Originally, it did not end this way. Then again, originally, this story didn't have ONE ending it had about THREE because I couldn't decide what to do. That was until I remembered that I had another story sitting on the PC that starts where Adrift 2 leaves off. . . so they are gonna get smacked together. Which, I have to stop saying I'll prob never write a series, apparently, it's getting there. :P