"Harm, what's wrong?"

Harm just sat there, gaping, with his mouth open.

"Harm?"

"Mac, I, uh…" He couldn't finish. He stared directly into her eyes.

"I'm ok, Harm. Really," Mac said softly.

"Uh, why don't I, uh, go find the doctor." At this point, Harm felt lucky to be forming coherent sentences.

"I don't want to talk to the doctor. I want to talk to you. I want you to take me home."

"Uh, we'll talk later. I promise. I'll, uh, I'll be back soon..." He had to work really hard not to say sweetheart. "I promise." He turned and headed for the door.

"Harm?"

"Yeah, Mac?"

"I love you."

Harm could only give her his flyboy grin as he walked out the door.

One Hour Later

Harm was sitting in the waiting room again. He was leaning all the way back in his chair, with his feet far out in front of him, his hands on his thighs, and his head resting against the wall, completely lost in thought. He suddenly heard footsteps, and turned to see Harriet, Bud, Sturgis, and Admiral Chegwidden walk in. Harriet spoke first, "How is she, sir?"

"I, uh, I don't know. They had to run some more tests. She's still gone," he replied with a completely vacant expression on his face.

Bud piped up, "Well, do they think something else is wrong, sir?" Harm didn't respond. He just sat there with that blank look on his face. "Sir?"

"Huh?"

"Do they think something's wrong?" the Admiral repeated.

"She's um, she's got amnesia, sir." He saw the shocked, questioning looks. "Kind of like I had. She seems to be able to recall the distant past but…She doesn't remember much since Paraguay, sir."

"Not a thing?" Sturgis asked.

"Well, one thing. Kind of." They all just stared at him. "She…she uh…she seems to think we're…" He gestured with his hand and said as quickly as possible, "She thinks we're engaged."

Shocked silence prevailed. The doctor's name being paged over the loudspeaker sounded like a train wreck the room got so quiet. The Admiral broke the silence first, asking the question that was on everyone's mind, "Harm…are you?"

"Am I what, sir?" Harm asked with a confused expression on his face.

"Engaged."

"No, sir! I, I didn't even know what to say to her, I just…" Harm's voice was getting higher, and he started talking faster, breathing harder. Sturgis interrupted him.

"Harm, you look beat. Why don't we go get some coffee?"

Harm stared at him, confused and wondering what Sturgis was up to. He was, however, thankful for the interruption, which allowed him to recompose himself. "Yeah, sure, Sturgis." He glanced at the others quizzically. After a chorus of "Black" he and Sturgis headed out the door and down the hall.

Sturgis glanced at Harm, who looked like he was about to take on all of Iraq by himself. "Hold up a second, buddy." Harm stopped and noticeably relaxed a little bit. "Look, pal, maybe I should have told you this a while ago…" He took a breath and paused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Not long after I arrived at JAG…You were out on the Henry…It was when Mac and I found out all that Uranium had been stolen…"

"Sturgis?"

"Mac told me she loved you."

"Come again?"

"She made me promise to keep it to myself."

"Then why'd she tell you!" Harm was practically yelling.

Sturgis shrugged. "She didn't mean to, I don't think. She asked me if she'd said it out loud. I had commented on how there seemed to be a lot of tension between you two at the time and why couldn't she just let it go if it was such a problem."

"It's not a problem!"

Sturgis laughed. "That's what she said."

"Ok. So let me get this straight. She told you when she was perfectly healthy, and when I wasn't even around, and she tells me when she has a serious concussion and seven stitches in her head?"

Sturgis chuckled. "I'm sorry, Harm. I gave her my word. I just hope she doesn't kill me for telling you now."

"Wow…I gotta be honest, Sturgis. It took every ounce of strength I had when she asked where her ring was to not tell her I love her too." Harm turned and started walking towards Mac's room.

"Where are you going?"

"To wait for Mac."

Harm ran into Mac's doctor, who was walking down the hall in the opposite direction. "Doctor? How is she?"

The doctor closed the door. "She's awake and alert. As you already know, she doesn't remember any of the recent past. However, she thinks it's May of 2003." Harm's face dropped. 'Paraguay.' "Now, I understand she was involved in a hostage situation around that time?"

"Yeah. She was held hostage by a terrorist."

"She kept asking to see her fiancé, but I also understand you two are actually not engaged?"

"No. We're not…"

"Were you ever involved?"

"No."

"Not at all?"

"Well, not in a physical relationship if that's what you mean. We're best friends…" Harm let his voice trail off, thinking of how different that could have been after Paraguay.

"Well," the doctor began, "This incident in Paraguay must have created enough stress in her life that her subconscious has simply blocked everything out since then. The situation with you is a little more complicated. The only reason something like this happens is if the patient is emotionally involved or attached to, well, in this case, you."

"Meaning…" Harm led the doctor on.

"Meaning that this is possible because her relationship with you is emotionally conflicting. It is either what she wants to have happen or it has happened in the past and has just resurfaced. Think of it as a piece of a puzzle suddenly removed and placed somewhere else, but that doesn't quite fit right."

"So what do I do?"

"Nothing. Since she has fabricated her own scenario of what her life is like, she won't understand that it isn't real…It's very real to her. I've requested she be transferred to a rehab center in Alexandria."

"Wait a minute. She's not going to remember the last nine months? Ever?"

"It's possible she will regain her memory, yes. However, until that time, she needs to be separated from people she knows so she doesn't get confused."

"What do you mean separated?" Harm was on the verge of losing control.

"No visitors are allowed at the rehab center. The program there is specifically designed for individual, and not group therapy. It's been proven effective for this type of amnesia in over seventy percent of the cases." The doctor smiled as Harm sent him a harshly sarcastic look. "Trust me, Commander. This is the best thing for her right now."

"Can I see her before she goes?"

"You can, but it's essential you remain emotionally neutral. She won't recover if her alternate reality is reinforced by the people around her."

"That might be a problem."

"What's a problem?"

Harm lowered his voice, "Let's just say I'm pretty far from being emotionally neutral."

The doctor nodded. "Well, Commander, you have to be." With that, the doctor continued walking down the hall. Harm saw Sturgis coming over to him.

Sturgis looked at him for a moment, contemplating what the best way to go about comforting his friend would be, or if it were even possible. Harm spoke first. "You heard?"

"Yeah," Sturgis replied. Harm put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "She'll be ok, Harm, just give her time."

"That's all we've ever had, Sturgis. And now it might be too late."