…Till Death Does Us Part Chapter IV (The Conclusion) – Part 7/12
Disclaimer - See part one for all important information


WARNING –

The angst-o-meter is twitching a bit. If you have consulted your physician and he/she has mentioned the slight chance that you might experience angst-related problems. Problems might include heart palpations, dizziness, need for chocolate, peeing your pants, or falling out of your chair. You might want to skip this part.


Wednesday October 26

US Marine Base

Kabul, Afghanistan

5:19 PM (local time)

It was done and today was finally the day. 'Time to go home,' Mac thought as she made her way to the awaiting helicopter. 'About damn time.'

Harm and Mac had found out very quickly that the SECNAV was wrong about how long Mac's assignment would be. It has lasted two months, and not just one.

However, for Harm and Mac October ended just as quickly as did August and September.

Mac barely had time during the days to think about home since she was cluttered with work. And Harm still had to get acclimated with his new job, so the days had flown by to him as well.

Mac's early mornings and Harm and Ty's early evenings were always spent together with a web cam conversation. Bud helped Harm with the installment of the web cam and the messenger on his laptop. This way not only were he and Ty able to talk with Mac, but to see her as well.

Almost three hours a day were spent talking about everything and nothing at all. On some days Mac was able to join her husband with the reading of Ty's goodnight story. Very soon after they started the nightly chats their son got used to the new way of communication between him and his family.

Mac had to chuckle as she remembered the first time they had communicated using the web cam. As soon as Ty saw his mommy on the screen he started to squeak and called 'Mommy, Mommy' over and over again while throwing himself at the laptop, trying to give his mom a bear hug. Back then she had tears in her eyes while feeling so far away and out of reach.

"Time to go home, Sarah?" A voice asked from behind, bringing her back to the present.

Mac turned around and smiled at her friend. "You bet. I wanted to be outta here over twelve hours ago."

"Do Harm and Ty know you're coming home?"

"Yup. I called Harm twenty minutes ago," Mac replied cheerfully as they made their way to the helicopter. "So, how long do you have to stay here?"

"It's totally unknown for now. I guess I'll know five minutes before my takeoff. I mean, I didn't know I was going to be here till five minutes before my flight took off."

They both laughed before Mac threw her bags into the helicopter. "Is there something you want me to tell your fiancé?" Mac still couldn't believe that her friend was actually engaged. She felt truly happy for him.

"Just tell her I love her and I'll be home as soon as I can."

"I will," Mac answered gently with a smile before giving him a warmly hug. "Take care, Clay."

"You too, Sarah," Clay answered softly. "Say 'hi' to Harm and give Ty a hug from me, okay?"

"Will do," Mac promised and took her place in the helicopter.

Clay closed the door before giving Mac one last wave and moved away from the helicopter while its blades started to get into motion.

Mac put on the headset and waved back at Webb as the helicopter started to lift up from the ground and made its way to the Seahawk.

Wednesday October 26

Harm and Mac's House

McLean, Virginia

7:54 AM

"Okay, Buddy. Are we ready for daycare?" Harm asked his son as he got him out of his highchair and got an excited nod from Ty as response.

Harm chuckled at his son's enthusiasm. He wasn't sure if Ty simply was happy to get to daycare or if it had to do with the fact that his mommy was coming home very soon. He voted for the latter. "Then let's get going, Ty. And before we know it, mommy will be home again," Harm told his son before getting his cover and briefcase.

Somewhere south-west of Kandahar, Afghanistan

8:39 PM (local time)

"Sorry about the side trip to Jalalabad, Ma'am, but the Captain said he needed that package ASAP," the co-pilot, Lieutenant Sawyer, apologized to Mac for the tenth time.

"Its' alright, Lieutenant. We're back in the air and that's all that matters." Mac smiled.

Lieutenant Andrews, the pilot, and Lieutenant Sawyer exchanged an odd glance. "Not a lot of Colonel's would be glad to be delayed, Ma'am," Lt. Andrews stated.

"I just see no reason in getting upset, Lieutenant. At least I'm going home," Mac informed the men.

"Must be a nice feeling, Ma'am. My tour is up in six more months," Lieutenant Sawyer told her.

Lt. Andrews smiled. "You'll be home soon enough, Sawyer. Kelly will be waiting for you."

"Yeah." Lt. Sawyer smiled.

"Is that your wife?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, we were married for nine months before I was called back to duty. I was stationed stateside for six months, and then shipped over here for a year tour to play in the desert," Lt. Sawyer explained. "I can't wait to get home."

"How about you Lt. Andrews?"

"I just got here, Ma'am."

"Is this your daughter, Lieutenant?" Mac asked the pilot when she saw a picture of a little girl right next to the display.

"Yes, Ma'am. She's four years old and her name is Rose. In 5 months she'll have a little baby brother," Lt. Andrews told Mac proudly.

Mac chuckled. "I bet she's excited about it."

"Oh yes, Ma'am. At least now she is," the pilot said with a laugh. "At first she said she didn't want a brother, but when we told her she would be the big sister, she was fine with it."

"What about you, Lieutenant Sawyer? Any children waiting at home?" Mac wanted to know from the co-pilot.

"No, Ma'am, not yet," he answered with a smile. "How about you, Colonel?"

"I have a one year old son and I so can't…," Mac started to explain when a sudden loud beeping interrupted her. "What is that?" She hollered into the headset, trying to drown out the nerve-racking noise.

"We're being shot at, Colonel," the pilot told her before the helicopter suddenly started to sink and swirl around.

While the pilot was trying to get in contact with the Seahawk Mac closed her eyes and started praying, thinking of her boys back home. "Everything will be okay," she told herself. "Everything will be okay. I love you, Harm. I love you Ty." And then everything went black.

End Part 7


Hello Readers-

First we would like to thank those of you who have been reading and loving the FF. Thanks for the support.

We would also like to address another issue. We as authors are writing this story as we see fit, we cannot please everyone. We care for Harm and Mac and don't have a competition between them (ie., who gets certain assignments). We are doing what we see best for the story and as using AP (author's privilege) in the FF. Also if you are not a Mac fan or a Harm fan, we really don't want to know. We are fans of both.

We enjoy reading feedback as long it is about the story and supporting it in a positive way. If you have a negative comment please e-mail us, you can do this by checking the author information and locating an e-mail address.

For those of you who are enjoying the story we hope you like the rest of the FF and again thanks for being there.

Smiles-

Michi and Carol