Part 35

Naval Regional Medical Center Mac's room Camp Lejeune, NC 1645 Local

Harm stuck his head in the door and then looked over his shoulder, "Just a second." He walked into the room and stood for a moment, watching Mac sleep before reaching over and gently shaking her shoulder. Ordinarily, he'd be thrilled to find her sleeping so soundly, considering the problems she normally had, but this was worrying him. Granted there wasn't a hell of a lot to do, reading and television only went so far, but it was her overall attitude that was bothering him. Ridiculous as he would have found it a week ago, passive was the best way to describe Mac right now. He didn't like it, not one damn bit. "Mac? Mac, honey, you want to wake up? You've got a visitor."

She muttered something unintelligible and burrowed deeper into her pillow. Harm sighed and shook her a bit harder, "Mac, wake up. Kate wants to see you and she tires pretty easily."

That brought Mac's head up and she turned to stare at him bleary-eyed, "What?"

Harm gestured towards the door, "Kate's waiting to see you." He was almost relieved to see the flash of irritation cross her face. At least she was showing some emotion. She'd sat through that last ludicrous example of tabloid journalism without saying a word. Hell, for all the emotion she showed, she could have been listening to someone reading their grocery list.

"She's waiting? Out in the hall? You've got to be kidding. What idiot would let her get out of bed this soon?"

Harm shrugged somewhat helplessly as he went to the door. This had been Kate's idea. There had been no gainsaying her. She was as stubborn as Mac could be on her worst days. She wanted to talk to Mac and she had also come to the conclusion that appearances did matter. After being apprised of the latest accusations, Kate had decided that it would be better if she went to Mac. It was apparent that Mike had people keeping her informed of what was going on and Kate wasn't going to hand her ammunition to use against them. There would be no reports of Mac visiting her 'victim' in an attempt at intimidation.

Mac pulled herself into a sitting position as Harm opened the door. A few seconds later, Kate was wheeled in by Ducky. He positioned the wheelchair by the side of the bed, gave Mac a smile and exchanged a look with Harm. By silent agreement, the men left the room. The two women eyed each other for a moment and then simultaneously began to speak.

"How's your..."

"Are you... "

They both stopped and stared at each other until Kate began to smile, "Invalids first, Colonel." She paused and looked down for a moment, "I know I've said this before... well, I'm pretty sure anyway... but I need to say it again, thank you."

Mac shook her head, "Kate... honestly, there's no need. If you hadn't been there, I don't think I would have made it either." She took a deep breath and indicated the brunette's arm, "How bad?"

Kate glanced down, content to let Mac change the subject so long as it kept her talking, "Hurts but the doctors said there shouldn't be any lasting damage." She sighed, "I'll be wearing a sling for a good month though and that's going to be annoying as hell. Ever try working a PDA with one hand?"

"Can't say that I have," Mac couldn't help smiling a little. "Maybe Tony can help you."

"Bite your tongue!" Kate said in mock horror. "It's bad enough that he's gone through my purse before. No way will I let him get his hands on my PDA. He's worse than my brothers and that's going some."

Mac's smile grew a little wider, "What about Gibbs?"

Kate rolled her eyes, "Mr. Technology? No thanks. His version of rebooting is to bang it on a table and then fling it against a wall. No, I think I'll just have to muddle through on my own." She shifted a little, debating how to bring up the next topic and then decided to jump right in. She didn't have that much energy to waste. "The FBI should be arresting Elbert any time now. Gibbs and Nevers finally got the US Attorney's office off the dime and got them to issue the warrant."

Seeing Mac's smile vanish and her expression grow more guarded, Kate frowned at her, "All right MacKenzie, you want to tell me what's going on? You're starting to worry people - including me."

Mac scowled slightly, focusing her attention on her hands, "It's not... Look, can we just drop this? I really don't feel like talking about it."

"I don't care. You can talk to me or you can talk to Harm or you can talk to Ducky, but you're going to talk." Having heard about the interviews and later discussing it with Harm, Kate had a pretty good idea of what was going on with the Colonel. Elbert had taken dead aim at the chink in Mac's armor. What had surprised the NCIS agent was the lack of reaction. This was not the same woman who had kept them both afloat for hours on end. Fortunately, Harm was able to explain the apparent contradiction, pointing out that while Mac would go to great lengths to defend those around her, she seldom made the same effort solely for herself.

Kate braced herself for what she was about to do, reminding herself that this was for Commander Rabb as well. She knew it wouldn't be long before he tried something like this. She also knew that there was no way he could have this sort of confrontation with Mac without endangering their relationship. It wasn't like she was at her most rational right now. Kate could afford to be blunt where he could not. She glared at the Marine Colonel, "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"What do you think? Mac snapped, her temper was beginning to fray.

Kate took a breath, "I think you're putting too much stock in what that woman says."

"Yeah? Well, what do you expect me to do? Deny it?" Mac was growing angry. "Goddammit, a lot of what she's saying about me is the truth and you know it!"

"Like hell! What she's doing is twisting the facts around. I can't believe you've decided to become a doormat for her."

"And what do you suggest? I should call in a reporter and say, 'That's true and that's sort of true but that's not. Of course you can believe me, my side did. Did you see how fast they issued a warrant against the Congresswoman?' ...Oh wait. That didn't happen, did it?" Mac's tone was heavy with sarcasm. She folded her arms and looked away, "What's the point? The SecNav, who's not a big fan anyway, is going to see me as a public embarrassment. If I'm not asked to resign altogether, I'll probably wind up in a billet in the Aleutian Islands. That's assuming they don't ship me right to Iraq in hopes that I'll get my brains blown out."

"Coward."

Mac's head snapped around, "What?"

"You heard me. I can't even believe what I'm hearing from you. You should be mad as hell, not wallowing in self-pity. Fight back, goddammit. Just because the US Attorney doesn't have any balls isn't a reflection on you. Find some reporter and set the record straight. I know how persuasive you can be. Hell, I wouldn't be here yelling at you if you weren't. You can do this, Mac. You won't be alone, you know Harm and the rest of us will be right beside you." Kate could feel herself shaking from the effort she was making. She needed to finish this and get out before she collapsed and sent Mac off into another spiral of guilt. She took a deep breath and switched tactics, "Stop looking at the obvious, MacKenzie, and get your head back in the game. We've got Elbert on the ropes and she knows it. This attack on you proves it. She's running scared, probably for the first time in years. For godsakes, stop making it easy for her." Kate finally quit speaking and waited. If this didn't work, she wasn't really sure what they could do, short of sending in a shrink.

Mac resumed staring at her hands as silence filled the room. This whole thing was hopeless although she seemed to be the only one who was willing to admit it. Kate did have a point though, they'd been through too much to let Elbert go unchallenged. It was time to suck it up and slide behind that tough Marine facade. Once they had Elbert, she could sit back and watch the rest of her life unravel. The one comfort she allowed herself was the knowledge of Harm's constant presence. They'd been through hell both together and separately over the last few years and she could say with certainty that they had both finally learned their lesson. Whatever the future held, they would be there for each other. She looked over at the agent and her frown turned into concern. Kate was much too pale and a fine sheen of perspiration covered her face. Throwing off her covers, she swung herself out of bed and bellowed for Ducky.

- - - - -

Harm leaned against the wall of the corridor and looked over at Ducky, "This probably wasn't a great idea."

Mallard grunted, eyeing the impassive Marine guard standing by the door, "Probably not, but Kate was going to do this one way or the other. It's better to be here assisting rather than finding her facedown somewhere because she tried to do it on her own." He looked back at Harm and raised his eyebrows slightly, "She's a very stubborn woman."

They both paused as the volume of the conversation inside the room grew. Harm gave the Doctor a wry look, "And she just collided with an immovable object."

Ducky chuckled, "Just be glad it's not either one of us." He arched an eyebrow, "My money's on Kate."

Harm looked down at the floor. "Mine, too," he said softly. He hated seeing Mac this way. If Kate could jolt her out of this lethargy, even if it took baiting her into a fight, it would be worth it. They waited in silence as the volume went down again. After a few more minutes, Harm started feeling a bit nervous. What was going on in there? He jumped when Mac's voice was suddenly calling for the Doctor.

Mallard had excellent reflexes. He was across the hall and halfway in the doorway by the time Harm caught up with him. A few moments later, Ducky was crouched in front of Kate. He shook his head as he reached forward to check her pulse, "What did I tell you about overextending yourself?" He glanced over his shoulder at Mac, "She really shouldn't be out of bed."

"I'll be fine in a minute," Kate ground out slowly, trying to convince herself as well as Ducky.

Dr. Mallard gave her a look, "It will take more than a minute."

"Would it help if she laid down here?" Mac asked. Harm had brought her robe over when he came in. She was now wrapped in it and halfway leaning into his comforting presence.

Ducky glanced from the bed to Kate, "Well, it certainly couldn't hurt. I'm going to have to get a gurney to take her back to her room." He stood up and waggled a finger at Kate, "No more wheelchair rides for you, young woman. Not for a couple of days at any rate."

Harm stepped forward, "Let me move her." Kate started to glare at him and then closed her eyes instead. She had wanted to say that she could do it herself but that wasn't anywhere near true. Her head was pounding and she was feeling more and more disconnected from her body. She barely registered Commander Rabb's strong arms lifting her out of the chair and placing her on the bed. Lying down helped ease the headache and dizziness and Kate decided it was too much trouble to open her eyes again. Gratefully, she slid into oblivion.

"Ducky?" Harm wrapped a reassuring arm around Mac at the anxious tone in her voice. She dropped a hand on his forearm as they watched the Doctor continue his examination.

"Unconscious," Mallard sighed, "Hardly something to be desired." He shot a stern look at Mac and pointed a finger to emphasize his words, "You will not take responsibility for this. It's not your fault that Kate's too stubborn for her own good. This will push her recovery back a bit but that's all." He adjusted the covers a little as he straightened up, "Unfortunately, the worst consequence of Kate's intractability should be returning any time now."

Harm grimaced slightly, "Gibbs."

Ducky nodded, "Jethro will not be pleased. However," the Doctor's tone turned more brisk, "that will not concern you. I will be sure to emphasize that point with him. He will listen to me." Ducky glanced back down at Kate and muttered, "...and if he doesn't, I might just hit him in the head with a brick."

Harm grinned, hearing the Doctor's last soft comment but before he could open his mouth, Mac's elbow made contact with his side. She tilted her head to look up at him. "Behave."

"Awww, Mac," he began good-naturedly. Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by a quick knock on the door, followed by Gunny Walters striding into the room. Barely acknowledging the two officers with a 'Sir' and 'Ma'am', he made a beeline for the TV remote and switched on the set. Harm and Mac exchanged puzzled looks as he impatiently surfed through the channels. His attitude reminded them both of a kid about to open his Christmas presents.

"Gunny?" Harm didn't get any further as Walters stopped on a station and turned towards them with a triumphant smile. Feeling Mac stiffen, he focused his attention on image of the local anchorwoman.

"and the city of New Bern became the unexpected host for royalty today when King and Queen of Bacovia arrived at the Craven County Regional Airport along with family, our own esteemed Senator Morton, Senator Drury of Kentucky and members of the royal entourage. Bacovia is a small but strategically placed country in the Balkans. They are staunch allies of the US, ties that are made even stronger by the fact that the Queen is a former US citizen... "

While the anchorwoman droned on, Harm and Mac stared intently at the footage of a crowd of people disembarking the Lear jet. "There's Mo and Cat. Is that Nicky? He's grown since last year. El... there's Liz, Marius won't be far. Daniel... those two must be the Senators..." Mac turned her head to look at Harm, her expression somewhat dazed, "Did you know about this?"

He shook his head, tightening his embrace a little, "I knew that they'd heard what was going on and expected that they would want to support you. I didn't know they would come down here to do it." He nodded his head towards the screen, "Look, there's Emma." His eyes widened slightly, "Good grief, is that Tink?"

Mac couldn't help chuckling, "Know anyone else who could make a jet look too small? There's Pick. How did those two manage to come down here?" She gave Harm a worried look, "You don't think they did something stupid, do you? I don't want them up on charges on my account. ...Harm?" Mac frowned at the suddenly dazed look on his face. "What's wrong?" She turned back around and her own mouth fell open. Gus and Harley Montgomery were descending the steps and right behind them were Frank and Trish Burnett.