AN: Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to write the next part but I had exams and I actually had to pack my computer away not to get distracted ;) I'm afraid the next part will take another week at least since my friend is coming to visit me all the way from abroad but after that I should be back to my normal schedule so that'll mean regular updates as well. I hope you like this part, let me know what you think.

Part 6

Harm's home
La Jolla
California
Wednesday 21 November 1984, 07:15 PM

"ring ring ring"

Trish picked up the phone and said: "Hello", then "Yes, hang on, I'll just go and get him."

She walked into the lounge room to find Harm and Sarah on the couch watching a movie. "Harm, Jake is on the phone." Harm stood up and said to Sarah: "I'll be right back." Walking into the kitchen he picked up the phone: "Hi Jake, what's up?"

"That's great."

"Yeah, I'll be there in about half an hour." Walking back into the lounge room he said to Sarah: "Hey, I'm sorry but I have to go over to Jake's, I'll probably be back in about 2 hours oke?"

"Yeah sure, don't worry about me, I'll just finish the movie and then go to sleep I think." With that she turned back to the telly. Harm kissed Sarah on the top of her head before leaving the house.

Jake's home
La Jolla
California
Wednesday 21 November 1984, 07:35 PM

Jake opened the door with a cheerful "Hi". Harm entered the house and together they walked into the dining room where Jake's parents were already waiting for them with tea and biscuits. They sat down before Jake's dad started speaking: "Jake told me you were looking for a marine major?"

"Yes sir, I am."

"Well, you're actually lucky since I know him but first I want to know what this is about. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that he has had a lot to deal with and I don't go around just distributing people's addresses."

"I understand sir." Harm started to tell Jake's dad about Sarah and everything that had happened to her. He also explained that he wanted to find Sarah's uncle because she couldn't go back to live with her father so he wanted to find out if she had any other family that might be able to take her in. when Harm had finished Jake's dad said: "Her mother's name wasn't Mary was it?"

"I'm sorry sir, I don't know. Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Here." He handed Harm a slip of paper with an address and a phone number on it. The smile on Harm's face grew as he said: "Thank you so much sir, this means a lot to Sarah and me.". Harm and Jake hang out for a bit before Harm went home.

Harm's home
La Jolla
California
Wednesday 21 November 1984, 09:15 PM

When Harm entered the house he heard voices coming from the lounge room so that was where he went. He found his parents sitting on the couch talking.

"Hey mum, can you do me a favour and take Sarah out tomorrow afternoon? I need to take care of some stuff."

"Yeah sure, I actually planned on taking her shopping tomorrow so she could get a outfit for the goodbye-party on Friday." Trish answered.

"Thanks mum"

The three of them talked some more until Harm stood up, kissed Trish on the cheek and said: "goodnight".

When he went upstairs he found Sarah in his bed wearing his shirt and sweats. She was sprawled across the bed clutching his pillow. Harm changed into boxers and a shirt before moving Sarah so he could lie behind her. He spooned up against her and softly kissed her cheek before saying: "Sleep well my Princess." He closed his eyes while a smile appeared on Sarah's lips.

Harm's home
La Jolla
California
Thursday 22 November 1984, 04:05 PM

Harm sat down at the kitchen table. He was at home alone with a piece of paper and the phone in front of him. His mum had taken Sarah shopping for the goodbye-party tomorrow. He picked up the phone and slowly started dialling the number on the paper. After a few rings the person on the other side picked up: "Hello."

"Hello sir, I'm Harmon Rabb. Are youLt. Col.O'Hara?"

"Yes, I am." Harm got kind of nervous from the fact that the major wasn't very talkative but continued anyway: "Sir, is it right that Sarah Mackenzie is your niece?"

As soon asLt. ColO'Hara heard Sarah's name he became concerned: "Yeah, she is, is something wrong, did something happen to her?" Harm continued to tell the major about what had happened to Sarah and asked him for help for when Sarah would go back to Arizona that saturday.

Shopping Centre
La Jolla
California
Thursday 22 November 1984, 04:15 PM

Trish and Sarah had been shopping for quite a while without finding anything that Sarah liked to wear to the party the next night. As soon as they entered the last shop in the shopping centre Trish saw the dress that would be perfect for her. She urged Sarah to try it on and waited impatiently for her to finish. When Sarah emerged from the dressing room she was wearing her normal clothes with a sad look on her face and said:

"I'm sorry, I can't wear that." Without another word she started to looking for other dresses.

Trish walked up to her and put her hand on her shoulder asking her: "Why, what's wrong with it?"

Sarah answered very low in almost a whisper: "It's too low."

That was when Trish realised what the problem was and she said: "Some on, put it on again and let me see what it looks like. Don't worry about the problem, I'll take care of it." Sarah was still hesitating but tried it on anyway. When she opened the curtain of the dressing room Trish saw shat Sarah meant. The black dress looked very beautiful on her. It had really thin straps and a deep V-neck which showed of her cleavage and there, on her left breast emerged an ugly cut from beneath the dress. It looked lots better than it had two weeks ago but there was a painful looking wound and it was still slightly bruised.

After a few moments Trish said: "You look really beautiful in that Sarah, and don't worry about the wound, a bit of make-up and it's all gone."

Sarah smiled slightly watching her self in the mirror. She felt slightly uncomfortable since she was used to wearing the jeans and shirt she came in and not really being used to wearing dresses but she had to admit that she looked nice. After paying for the dress they walked around the mall some more before going home.

Harm's home
La Jolla
California
Friday 23 November 1984, 05:30 PM

Last night Harm had asked Sarah if she would want to go somewhere for dinner before the party and she had agreed. So know he was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Sarah to appear. Finally he heard people walking upstairs, he quickly looked up and there she was, slowly making her way down the steps. Harm couldn't breath when he saw how beautiful she was. Trish had done a wonderful job with Sarah's make-up, even covering the bruise so it was barely noticeable.

When she had reached the last step Harm walked up to her and got a yellow rose from behind his back saying: "Here you go."

He could see Sarah's eyes light up when he said that, then she answered: "Thank you, it's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you." With a smile he took her arm and together they walked outside to go to the restaurant.

During dinner they talked about lots of stuff until Harm noticed that Sarah was preoccupied with something so he asked her: "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really"

"Okay, just know I'm here when you want to talk." Sarah reached across the table and squeezed his hand to show him she appreciated his support. Just then the waiter arrived with dessert and they started talking about other things.

After dinner they went to the party. Harm found out that Sarah was actually quite a good dancer.

When they sat down with drinks after dancing for most of the evening there was a comfortable silence until Sarah broke it: "Would you mind to have one more dance and can we go home after that?"

"Sure, you alright?"

"Yeah, I just want to talk to you before I fall asleep on you but not here."

"Okay, come on." With that Harm stood up, took her hand and together they walked to the dance floor where just a slow song started to play. Harm took Sarah in his arms and they gently swayed to the music. Sarah loved the feel of being close to him like this. Halfway through the song Sarah leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. When the song ended they said their goodbyes and went home.

When they got home Sarah went upstairs to get changed into sweatpants and an oversized shirt. As soon as she finished she went to Harm's room and knocked on his door.

When she heard him say: "Come in." She opened the door and found Harm in his PJ's sitting in bed. Sarah turned the lights of and got into bed, laying next to him on her stomach.

After a few minutes of silence Harm asked her: "You still want to talk?"

"Uhm, yeah." Came her whispered reply.

She took a deep breath before continuing: "I have to go home tomorrow."

"I know"

"It's just, even now I've dried out I still think about it you know, I want a drink every day, I know I can't do it, but it's still there. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah" Harm didn't want to say to much to interrupt her so he didn't say anything else. It took a few seconds of silence but then she said: "I'm afraid that I'll start again when I have to live in the same trailer as my dad with all the alcohol around and stuff."

Harm felt stupid for not realising that Sarah would be upset about that so he started to gently rub her back to reassure her when he said: "It was actually supposed to be a surprise but I called your uncle Matt. You can stay with him for at least until you start college."

Sarah turned around to look at him with big eyes. She tried to say something but she couldn't get the words out so instead she hugged him and didn't let him go for a few minutes. She kissed his cheek, whispering "Thank you" in his ear before laying her head down on his chest.

After a while Harm softly whispered: "You asleep?"

"Almost, why?"

"I just wanted to tell you something." He took a deep breath and continued: "I know that you probably don't really want to hear this right now with everything that's been going on but I'm going to tell you anyway." He tilted her face so she was looking into his eyes.

Then he said: "I love you, you don't have to say anything, just know that I love you and that I believe in you."

"Thank you."

With that she reached up and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips, she smiled, then laid her head back down on Harm's chest and had the best sleep she had had in ages.

end part 6