1636 Zulu
En Route to the Kelsey Rehab Center
Alexandria, VA
Harm was nervously tapping the door handle on the passenger side of the JAG car Bud was driving. He let out a huge sigh. Much bigger than he intended to, anyway.
Bud risked a glance to the side. "I'm sure she's fine, sir. I mean, she probably just went for a walk or something. I used to disappear all the time during my rehab to steer my wheelchair around outside. Drove my nurses nuts, sir."
Harm couldn't help but smile, and chuckle a little. "I hope so, Bud. I hope so." Harm finished as Bud pulled into a parking spot near the Rehab Center office. They both rushed out of the car and into the building, making a beeline for the front desk.
The receptionist immediately stopped typing and looked up. "Can I help you?" She asked politely.
"I'm Commander Rabb, this is Lieutenant Roberts, we were told to come out right away because a patient of yours, Sarah Mackenzie, is missing," Harm said in a tone that was deceptively calm.
Bud gave his superior a look of admiration. 'Always cool under fire,' he thought.
"Yes, of course, thank you for coming so quickly," the receptionist responded. "They found her outside in the garden just a few moments ago. She's upstairs in her room now packing her things, but we still needed someone here to sign her out." Harm quickly signed all the paperwork he was handed, got directions to Mac's room, and they headed upstairs.
Harm and Bud poked their heads around the doorframe to Mac's room. Mac was busy unloading her dresser drawers and dropping the contents into a suitcase on top of the bed. Harm knocked tentatively on the doorframe. "Hey… can we come in?" he said softly.
"Oh…Hey," Mac said, startled by both the knock and his voice. "Yeah, come on in. Nice time for you to visit, though, I'm ready to leave." She said somewhat sarcastically.
Bud stepped in, trying to cut some of the tension in the room away. "Um, well, we know ma'am. That's why we're here. Do you need anything?"
"No thanks, Bud. Everything's… fine."
"Seriously, Mac," Harm said, "A ride, a call to Chloe," he held out his cell phone and shrugged, "A beltway burger?"
That earned him the ghost of a smile. "I guess a ride and a burger would be nice." She grabbed her suitcase, walked past the two officers, and tried as hard as she could to forget her entire history with Harmon Rabb, Jr.
Mac's Apartment
Georgetown, Virginia
Harm and Bud followed Mac into her apartment, carrying her bags for her. Both men stopped after she closed the door. Both were uncomfortable, albeit for different reasons, and neither quite knew what to do.
"Just set them down there, I'll take care of them later."
And then…there was silence.
Mac started to move slowly around the apartment, immediately noticing how clean it was. She ran her hand over the mantel, revealing absolutely no dust whatsoever. She looked at Harm with a raised eyebrow.
Harm chuckled nervously and then shrugged his shoulders. "Mattie helped."
He got another ghost of a smile. "How is Mattie?"
"She's good. She's worried about you, though." He finished, his voice soft and gentle, and only a step above a whisper. Somehow Mac knew he was speaking for himself as well.
They both stood there, staring at each other, not quite sure which one of them was more confused or frustrated at the moment. Finally, Bud cleared his throat. "Um…sir? Didn't the Admiral want to see you later this afternoon?"
"Oh, uh, yeah." He answered Mac's questioning glance. "We were supposed to be in court this afternoon." Mac immediately felt guilty for disrupting everyone's lives even more than she already had. Especially Harm's, given this new… awkward… situation they were in. "Well, we'd better get back to the office. Call if you need anything, okay?"
"Yeah. Sure." They turned to leave. "Bud, Harm." They turned back. "Thanks for coming to pick me up." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"You're welcome, ma'am."
"Anytime, Mac."
And they left. Mac walked over and locked the door, then stood in the middle of the living room. The tears came slowly at first, and she eventually realized she was lying face down on the couch, clutching a pillow, and sobbing.
