Title : The Return
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Rating : G to PG-13 (Just in case!)
Summary : An alternative start to Adrift II when Harm is brought to the hospital. I wrote it a while ago, and found it in my files.
Naval Medical Center, Bethesda
Mac walked into the main entrance of the Naval Medical Center, heading towards the reception desk. The nurse on duty looked up at Mac's arrival.
"Colonel, may I help you?"
"Yes. You have a Commander Rabb and a Lieutenant Hawkes, transferred in from a carrier this morning. Commander Rabb is my partner, at JAG."
"One minute, ma'am." Taking a quick look down a list of names on her computer screen she nodded immediately. "Lieutenant Hawkes is in Room 1404, and the Commander is on the floor above, Room 1509. They were only brought in an hour ago. You must be the advance welcoming party."
"Excuse me?" Mac queried the young woman's attitude.
"The Commander, ma'am. He dumped an F-14 in the drink, and nearly killed his RIO. Scuttlebutt has it he's done this before." The nurse stopped talking as she saw Mac's eyes narrow, and her voice turn cold.
"You would be well advised to avoid scuttlebutt, Ensign. For the record, the Commander is an excellent pilot, and a holder of the DFC."
"My apologies, ma'am. It's just what I heard…"
Mac turned away from the desk and made her way to the bank of elevators and stepped into a waiting car. Pressing the button for Skates' floor first, Mac stepped back into the car's interior and waited while the doors closed and then the car moved.
Room 1404"Skates, it's Mac Mackenzie."
"Ma'am?" Skates tried to sit up in the bed, but Mac put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Shush, it's okay. I just dropped by to see you. I'm glad you're back safe, Skates. Harm will be so pleased."
"I haven't seen him…since we got airlifted. How is he?" Skates managed to talk hoarsely, still suffering the after effects of salt-water ingestion.
"I'm just on my way up to his room. The nurse on duty says he's doing fine. I'll see you again soon."
"Thank you, ma'am…"
"It's Mac, Skates. Take care. Does your fiancé know you've been transferred here?"
Skates shook her head, and then her eyes opened wide.
"Ma'am, how…how do you know about him?"
"I'm…I don't know. I guess Harm told me. Congratulations. I'll try to make sure he's informed."
"Thank you, ma'am."
It was only after Mac had waved as she left the room that Skates remembered something – she had only told Harm on board the carrier, so there was no way he could have told Mac!
Room 1509
Mac pushed the door open into Harm's room, and stood in the entrance. He looked exactly as she had pictured him back in the JAG bullpen, when the Admiral had informed everyone that he had been found, Mac had closed her eyes and his face had been there, bruised and battered but breathing. Alive!
Moving further into the room, Mac realized a nurse had been taking blood samples and observations. As the nurse looked up she smiled at Mac and then looked back at Harm.
"He's our star patient, right now, Colonel. I bet without those bumps and bruises he's quite the handsome officer. Even with them, he's been causing havoc on my ward!"
"How so?" Mac asked quietly, and then grinned as the nurse rolled her eyes.
"Six foot plus, and more handsome than he has a right to be, plus the rest!" The nurse had dropped her eyes to a certain part of Harm's anatomy, and Mac blushed. In a nurse's job, one naked man was as much a part of their day as another, but every now and again there had to be the exception to their daily routine. Harm was the exception to many a routine – Mac's included, if she were honest with herself.
The nurse left, turning at the door as Mac passed her and walked to the side of the bed. Without conscious thought Mac ran the back of her head gently over Harm's forehead, and the nurse caught the tender gesture. Raising an eyebrow in silent query, she moved out of the room and returned to the nurse's station.
Mac ran her hand gently down the side of Harm's face and neck, and along his left shoulder, only pulling away as she reached behind her for a chair to sit on. When she had turned back ocean-colored eyes found hers.
"Hi there," she murmured, dropping back on the seat in surprise. Harm's gaze never wavered, but he didn't speak either. Mac grew a little wary. "Harm?"
"Uni…form…why?" he asked. His voice was even worse than Skates', thought Mac, as she knew he had been in the waters of the Atlantic a lot longer than his RIO.
"I'm going in to work soon, Harm. I just…I wanted to see you before the others…I'll be back later with the Admiral, Harriet and Bud. I'll call Renee and let her know you're here."
"Renee?" Harm asked, and Mac looked at his face. There was no obvious recognition of the name in his manner. "The video woman?" That decided the matter; Harm had lost his memory, or at least part of it! Mac began to rise to go and find his doctor, but his hand on her arm stopped her. His grip was weak, but his voice was determined. "Don't leave me, Mac. Please?"
"I'm not going anywhere, Harm. At least not yet. I have a couple of hours before I have to be in work."
"Good. I need…to tell you…something." Harm closed his eyes briefly, as if he were tired, but he opened them again and looked straight at Mac.
"What is it, Harm?" Mac asked, leaning forward slightly to catch his words.
"Wedding…ring?" Harm suddenly realized that Mac had no wedding ring on her finger. That was what was bothering him? she wondered, but then his next words got her full attention.
"I still…have a…chance…"
"Harm? A chance to what? Harm? No! Don't fall asleep now…" Mac begged softly, even laughing at the irony of the situation. Here she was, all but married, and waiting for an injured man to wake up again and finish what had been about to be said.
"What are you…laughing at?" Harm murmured, the slightest hint of his usual smile on his lips. "I'm trying to recover here…and need…all the sleep I can get!"
Mac's laughter turned to sobs and she dropped her head on his chest.
"Hey, no tears…Sarah?"
At the question in his voice Mac raised her face to look at him.
"I still have a chance to tell you I love you." Harm's words came out clear, concise, and their impact was nothing short of explosive.
"You love me? You love me! Damn you, Harm, why couldn't you have told me before?"
"I thought you wanted this…to marry Brumby, and I just wanted for you to be happy."
"Even if you were miserable?" Mac answered softly, and then put her hand on his cheek. "Harm, the only way I'm ever going to be happy is by being with you. Twenty four, seven. I love you too."
"S'good…better do something then…" Harm mumbled, as he closed his eyes in concentration while he tried to sit up. Mac moved to support him, and before she could formulate any thought of resistance she was in his arms.
"Fooled ya!" Harm grinned against her lips as his mouth found hers.
"You…you're supposed to be injured!" Mac protested and tried to free herself; at least that's what she told herself before relenting and giving in to her feelings.
"I am," Harm defended, but then reaffirmed the strength he did have and pulled her further onto the bed. "This is therapy, it's good for my recovery! You're the best medication I could have, Sarah. You, and your love…"
Mac rested her forehead against Harm's, her eyes bottomless pools of chocolate, rich, dark and all his. Harm groaned, but it wasn't from his injuries. It was from the pain of knowing just how close he had come to losing this woman forever.
To be continued???
