Ah, I need rest after this one I am giving myself a break LOL! People we have reached page 159. Harm and Mac need some sort of vacation after this one, don't they? ;)

They'll get one, don't worry. :)

Thank you for all of the feedback, even those of you who e-mail me your concerns of no light at the end of this tunnel, there is a light, and it's getting bigger. Harm and Mac might just be able to get out of this on their own. Ahaha. :)

Jackie

Thanks to: joanoa, smithknk, mariarita, xobabygurlxo, Brittany4445, starryeyes10, jnp, dansingwolf, LiseGirardi, Martini, JadeAlmasy, Dessler, BiteBeccy, aserene, LtjgMegAustin, cbw, southernqt, froggy, harmfan, Judy, jtbwriter, Abigaile, XBlueShadowX, jaggurl, Lurkz, alix33, Nix707, echorage, aserene, chantelmac, Ink, Wuchel, CarbyGurl, Cristina, Inkand,Feverish Dream, Wuchel, minorcadence, mechanical, mariarita, Tammy, bluejay, anyone else I missed for the feedback :)

PART 19 – Some Sort Of Impact

1726 Zulu
Location Unknown
Virginia

Mac had been asleep for nearly over four hours, her body had given into the exhaustion and tears. During her slumber there had been instances of good dreams, memories of her and Harm and the life that she was sure they'd slowly build for themselves. It was soon replaced with terrifying nightmares of her never escaping Palmer, of Harm still stuck in his personal hell with Temir. She'd tossed and turned, finally falling into a deep sleep in a tangle of sheets and pillow. Mac was mentally, and physically drained, which is why she didn't immediately hear the door being unlocked and opened.

"Hurry, he's waking up!" Halloren warmed Palmer as he worked his way across the catwalk trying to carry Harm's body fireman style.

Palmer glared up at his girlfriend, shaking his head in slight annoyance. "You think this is easy?" He grunted, then pointed at the door. "Just make sure she doesn't come out."

Halloren trained the gun at the door, but noted that the Marine was sleeping so deeply, she didn't even hear the commotion outside. "I got you covered."

Harm limply lay against Palmer, every time he tried to wake himself out of his bodily shut down, he'd pass out again. His body felt like it had been stuffed with thousands of tons of lead. His head felt heavy as well. When he was lucid, part of him wanted to laugh at this new, sticky situation. The other part just wanted to cry. Ever since Palmer had shot him up, Harm had fought against allowing it to take its toll on his body. Sure, he was lethargic and would, often, pass out, but something kept him from going under completely. Maybe he just should give in that would certainly stop the excruciating pain he was in.

A piece of glass from the vase he'd fallen on, had lodged itself in his left side. The ride over and the position that Palmer was holding him, only added to the agony, sending the shard even deeper into his side. Harm wanted to scream out from the pain, but it just wouldn't come out. Before he knew it, he felt Palmer moving him off of his shoulders and literally dropping him onto the floor. This time he did groan and through the fuzzy recesses of his mind he heard a voice, a familiar one.

Eventually, the commotion did rouse Mac, who was standing up, just next to the bed when Palmer carried in a body. She gulped slightly, not really seeing who it was until it was dropped on the floor like a potato sac. "Harm." Clenching her jaw, she glared up at Palmer with tears in her eyes.

She didn't have to ask, thankfully, he answered. "No, he isn't dead. . .consider that my gift to you. . . for now." And with that, he quickly left, locking the door behind him.

Mac came to her knees next to Harm, he looked awful. She cradled his head in her lap, noticing the ugly mark and the dried blood that had trickled down his forehead. "Harm. . .Harm wake up." She placed a hand on his head, grateful that he didn't have a fever, which mean there probably wasn't an infection. "Please?" Just in case, she reached down and pinched him, then touched his face, looking for some sort of seam. With a sigh, she was convinced that it was him. Now if he would only wake up!

Harm could hear someone speaking to him and slowly he started coming to. Opening his eyes, they befell Mac, her face washed with a sadness he hadn't seen in a long time. "Mac." He wanted to warp his arms around her, hold her close, make sure everything was going to be just fine. And then, he remembered one stupid detail – the woman he was with was not Mac. "No! Get away!" He yelled, pushing away from her when she ran a hand over his face. He groaned slightly, holding his side against the sharp pain that was driving him mad.

"Harm? What's going on?" She'd forgotten momentarily what they did to him, how he was toyed with and made to believe in some other woman. Frowning, she realized what had gone on and how miserable he had to feel. "I AM Mac, Harm. . .I'm Mac. . .Sarah. . . believe me."

But, as she tried to reach towards him, he backed away a bit more. "No. . .NO I am not listening to your lies!"

Mac couldn't take having him so close and not being able to touch him, so she tempted fate and moved in close to him. She placed her hands on his face, trapping him slightly, but he would just look away. "Listen to me, I am Mac. . .Believe me."

"What did you to do her?" He asked with tears in his eyes. "Did you kill her? Just tell me. . .FINISH IT."

"I'm not dead, Harm. . .I am here. . . I can prove it."

Harm shook his head. "Anything you say. . .you would have known about. . .You were watching us!"

Mac sighed, her hands shaking slightly, he was obviously hurt and she needed to make sure it wasn't serious. But, how could she when he was so vehement against her helping him. Quickly, she did the math as to when Harm first met Palmer, and decided to pick a topic that was in the history well past his inception into Harm's life. "The first time we went flying on 'Sarah'. . .He wouldn't know about that." Not many people did save for Bud who had, since then, start to become curious as to the nature of Harm and Mac's relationship and AJ, who had reamed out the two of them once Mac was back at the office. "I got shot. . .in the thigh, I still have a mark." She touched the area over her jeans and sighed. "I sent that night in your arms, remember?. . .You made us. . .a. .bed out of branches. . . before settling in you promised not to let them get us. . .I spent most of the night sprawled across your chest. . .you were running your hands up and down my back. . .It was the first time, in a long time that I'd felt safe, despite what was going on." Seeing he wasn't pushing her away any longer, she inched in closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Harm, it's me. . ."

His eyes were closed, almost as if he'd look at her, he would turn to ash. His heart wanted to believe that it was true, but his mind was still caught up in the lies he'd been fed by Palmer and Halloren, lies he believed. "I can't. . .believe."

"Believe this." She brought her left hand up, the one with ring he'd placed there. Mac was more than a little surprised that they hadn't taken that away from her. "You put it on my finger, remember? Your mother gave it to me when we thought. . .thought that you were gone."

Seeing that ring it dawned on him, Halloren didn't have the ring, she claimed Palmer had taken it. "Mac?"

She nodded. "It's me. . . I swear to God it is." Carefully, she moved even closer to him, "You know it's me."

This time, he glanced fully at her and he knew, he knew it really was her. His heart had told him so. "Oh God." He wrapped one hand around her, crushing her to him tightly as his body shook from emotion. "I thought. . . I thought I'd never see you again." Harm kissed her then, slowly and she returned every single one.

"That makes two of us." Though the circumstances were still against them, she felt better knowing he was okay. It would have been better if he were on the outside, but at least, together, they could come up with some plan, couldn't they? Mac ran her hands slowly over his body. As her hand passed his side, she noticed him wince, he hadn't removed is hand from that area since he'd been tossed into the room. "Harm, what is it?"

"Nothing. . .It's nothing." He didn't want his injury to ruin the reunion, but as her hand passed over the area again, he couldn't deny the pain that he was in.

"You wouldn't have winced if nothing was wrong." Gently, she pulled his hand away, lifting his jacket and shirt to find a rather ugly gash. "Oh God." She inspected quickly, finding a shard of glass still stuck there and that is when she registered how white he was and that Harm was losing more blood that he should have been. "Stay here, I'm going to patch you up." She headed into the bathroom and from under the cabinet, pulled out the bottle of vodka that Palmer had left along with a first aid and sewing kits. Returning, she placed the items next to him, flipping open the first aid kit to find a pair of plastic pliers. "You have a piece of glass in there, I have to get it out." Grabbing the vodka, she handed it to Harm who gave her a silent, questioning look. "A gift from Palmer, I swear, I didn't have any."

"Then I am not going to either." He replied, concerned about what the smell of vodka on his breath might do to her.

Still, she insisted, unscrewed the bottle and glared. "Drink it." Knowing not to argue with a Marine, he did as told, wincing slightly as the strong liquid washed down his throat. Taking the bottle, she used some to sterilize the pliers, then some more over the gash. Harm gritted his teeth against the pain, his body coming off of the floor slightly in an effort to ride it out. Then, just as quickly, he laid back down, his breathing short and ragged. "Don't pass out on me, flyboy." She needed him awake, just in case.

Harm nodded, then tensed his body as he felt Mac poking around at his side. He muffled his groans and screams by biting down on a towel that she'd given him. When she paused for a moment, he glanced up at her. "Just let me know when I can pass out, okay?"

"How about never?" She said with a sigh, then began to work on removing the shard, something that was becoming just a little difficult to accomplish.

He gritted his teeth. "You drive a hard bargain."

"It's the only type of bargains we Marines like." Finally, the shard was gone, but then came the need to sew up the gash in order to stop the bleeding. Sighing, she pulled out a needle, cleaned it with vodka and made sure it was properly threaded. "This is probably going to be the worst of it." She said with a frown, placing the towel over his mouth again. "I'll try to do this as quick as possible." And she did, trying to ignore his whimpers of pain as she did. The job wasn't pretty, in fact, it was a zig zag pattern, but she was more concerned with him bleeding to death than anything else. Using some more vodka, she cleansed the area, then dried it in order to put a gauze pad and tape.

Once that was done, she tried to get him up. "No, just leave me here." Harm pleaded with a weak voice, this all had taken everything out of him. All he wanted to do was sleep.

Mac shook her head, the floor beneath them was cold concrete, she didn't need him getting pneumonia as well. "Hell no, sailor. . .You're going to help me get you into bed, then you can sleep." With a grunt, she helped him to his feet, then led him slowly towards the bed, making sure he didn't lay on his injury. She adjusted the pillows, propping one just under him, lifting that side up so that it wouldn't hurt him anymore than it had to.

Harm smiled slightly when she joined him in bed. Though he was beyond exhausted, he couldn't fall asleep, not just yet. He was looking at her, almost as if it was the first time he noticed it was her. Taking in his surroundings, he saw that she'd been kept in a room and not a bad one at that. This worried him, from the little he'd dealt with psychopaths and kidnappers, the only reason they would keep someone hostage this way was because they wanted to romance the person, to get them to be theirs forever. "Did he?. . .He didn't. . .you, did he?" He couldn't quite get the word 'rape' out and in an instant he felt sick. If Palmer had touched her, even in death Harm would find a way to torment the bastard for the rest of his life.

"Palmer didn't touch me. . . I think he wanted me to come to him. . .Some sort of Stockholm Syndrome." She scoffed at the idea of people actually falling for their captors, it was just ludicrous. Then again, it had happened before and not just once. There had been some strong, willful people who'd fallen for the wiles of those who held them against their will. It brought on some sort of bond, one that would often turn to infatuation and then that of love. Mac found the whole idea just a bit disgusting, yet slightly interesting as to how the mind could make its owner believe a lie like that.

Sighing again, she glanced at him. It was good that he was alive, it was good that she could touch him and hold him. But, she'd gladly trade the last two parts if he could be outside of this mess and safe. Mac wasn't too sure how it happened that he wound up here, but it was obvious he knew about Nikki and that this wasn't part of Palmer's plan. That worried her. How would Harm factor in now? Leaning in slightly, she pressed a palm to his cheek, caressing his face with her fingers. "Are you okay?"

"Except for the fact that I've been lied to for weeks, I am dandy thanks." He said sarcastically, trying to make light of their situation.

"Don't joke. . .I am being serious. . .are you okay, with. . ." She didn't want to outright say that she'd seen him and Halloren, that she knew they'd been together intimately. Mac didn't blame him for it, the same thing could have happened to her, but she knew Harm too damn well, he would blame himself for it and she didn't want that. "I mean, I know what happened. . .I saw it and. . .I am not angry with you. . .It wasn't your fault."

Harm would have believed she was talking about the overall situation. How he'd let himself believe that woman was her. But, there was a way that she spoke to him, she was referring to something else. "What are you talking about?"

"It's okay, I understand. . . I am not angry with you."

"Understand what?" Even if he were falling asleep, right now he was fully awake and concerned. He nearly panicked when she turned to look away from him. What the hell had happened? "Mac?"

"I know you made love to her." God, 'making love' suddenly sounded dirty to her. The fact that she could forgive him so easily over the affair did bother her greatly. Part of her wanted to believe that he should have noticed the differences between her and Halloren. But, what if she were in his shoes? Mac could hardly say that she wouldn't have done the same thing. "I saw it. . .Palmer, he. . .had a surveillance kit, he would show me things that went on in your apartment or mine. . .I saw. . .not all of it but. . .Harm, please don't . . ."

Slept with Halloren? As far as he could remember, the only sleeping they did was in different rooms, save for that night he talked her into letting him use the bed. For that matter, that is all they ever did, sleep, and not in the biblical sense. "I never slept with her." As he noted Mac was about to argue, he jumped in, trying to clarify it. "I swear to God, Mac. . .she and I. . . I've kissed her, yes. . .but. . .I haven't slept with her. . .she tried, several times, to get me into bed, I pushed her away. . .I didn't know why it was so difficult, but now I know why." Sighing, he placed a hand over Mac's, holding it close to him as he thanked God for that miracle. Sleeping with Halloren, that would have been the nail in the coffin, it would have been the end of him if he'd given his body to the wrong woman.

"But, the screens. . I saw. . ." Mac trailed off, stopping to gauge what exactly she saw in the screens. Palmer had told her once that he'd taped everything for the past few months that involved her and Harm. That mean he had videos of her and Harm together. "He taped us, you and I. . .then played it back so. . .that I'd believe you cheated on me. . .Bastard!" She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling a coldness permeate her very soul. The things he'd done to get his kicks were disgusting. "I suddenly feel. . .so . . ."

"Violated." Harm offered, then pulled her close to him, careful not to hurt his side. "I'm so sorry, Mac. .forgive me."

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Harm."

How could she flat out say that he didn't need to be forgiven? The way he saw it, this was all his fault. Had he never gotten involved with trying to debunk the Bradenhurst Corporation, Palmer wouldn't have become his biggest fan. Course, he could have also spent more time in contact with Leavenworth, making sure the bastard was tucked away from reaching civilization. That whole, out of sight, out of mind thing rang just a little too close to home in the instance of the former DSD agent.

The worst, however, was that he allowed himself to believe another woman was Mac. Damnit, didn't he know Palmer better than that? "I should have know it wasn't her. . .I think I did know, but I was too. . .hurt."

"Harm. . .I don't blame you. . .Palmer, he. . .he's been planning this for so long. . .we didn't stand a chance." That was the reality that ticked her off greatly, the fact that they'd both been taken at time when they'd been working through a major issue, one that was handled pretty well, considering her outburst at his apartment over her lack of being able to have his children. Palmer had timed it perfectly, at a time when both of them were feeling vulnerable.

Frowning, he pulled her hand to his chest, resting it near his heart. "I want to tell you that we'll get out of this one."

"You can't and I don't expect you to. . ." Still, she was resolute in finding a way out and if that dripping hole in the bathroom meant anything, then she was, at least, breaking through the wall. "Get some rest, Harm. . .You need it."

His eyes closed and his breath evened out with a long sigh. He was exhausted, maybe a little sleep was a good idea? "Mac, I love you." He said with a soft voice as he felt her drape a sheet over his body.

"I love you, too." She decided to stay by his side, watching him sleep, taking his temperature in hopes that infection would not settle in. Mac had been by his side for nearly two hours when she heard the sound of something dripping in the bathroom. Gently, to not wake him, she waited for the camera to pan away, then quickly created a bundle next to his sleeping form, hoping that it looked as if someone were resting by his side.

As the camera started to pan back she hid in the shadows then bolted across the room and into the bathroom. Water was seeping in through the hole in the wall and onto the ground, wetting the whole area around the head. She grinned slightly, "At least I made some sort of impact." With one glance out the door and to the love of her life, she decided that there was a new reason to keep working on an escape. Reaching under the cabinet, she pulled out the spoon and went back to hacking at the wall as best she could, smiling broadly as larger pieces started coming away.

1756 Zulu
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station

"God damnit, Rabb, open this door up or I am going to break it open!" Clayton Webb threatened with gritted teeth as his tight fist slammed into the door once again. Okay, he'd find a different way to get in. Clay glanced around and produced a small case which held a lock picking gun. He slipped it into the keyhole, pressed down the button and felt the tumblers inside the locking mechanism fall into the correct place. With a satisfied grin, he pushed the door open and stepped in, noting an eerie silence. "Rabb, where the hell are you?"

Since the night Harm appeared at his doorstep and pounded him into a pulp, Webb hadn't had a chance to get to the bottom of things. Obviously it had to do with Sarah, he deduced, but wasn't quite sure what brought the attack on. It had left both him and Catherine perturbed and he swore he'd figure it out once had a chance. This day, as she was out getting their child, preparing him to meet his father, he took that brief moment to find out what Harm's problem was.

Slowly, he walked around the apartment, checking every nook and cranny. He ran his hand over the furniture, noting the semi-thick dust that rested atop of the pictures on Harm's bookcase. "That's odd." He thought, furling his brow slightly. Harm was an impeccably clean individual, it was branded into him at the Academy.

CIA agents, by nature, were taught to scrutinize everything about a location. He could tell you where certain things in Harm's apartment had been located the last time he was there. Too bad all of his training didn't help with particularly tough missions, he thought ruefully, still not fully pleased with himself over Paraguay. As he was buried in thoughts, his eye moved to a black spot on the trusses of Harm's ceiling. "That wasn't there before." He said out loud and used the barstools to hop up onto the kitchen island. It was a camera and, by the looks of it, not one put in by the CIA or any other organization, but one done so privately. Jumping back down, he scoffed slightly at the idea that maybe they liked to record their 'playtime' together.

Shrugging, he stepped out of Harm's apartment, locked the door and drove his car in the direction of Mac's. Neither of them had answered any types of calls. For the life of him, he really couldn't understand what the hell he did that had Rabb so pissed off. Even when Mac had flat out chosen him over the Commander, he'd known that one day, they would duke it out. When the day never came, he'd ignored all of that, until the night before. He could still see Harm's cool blue eyes wide with range as he pounded his fist downwards. You wouldn't get Webb to admit it, but he had been scared.

Arriving at Mac's place, he employed the same tactic to open the door, using the lock picking gun. He stepped in quietly, wanting to surprise them and launch into some tirade at Rabb. What he found though, shocked him. Mac's living room was a mess. Lamps were turned over, the sofa was out of place, but, the sight that disturbed him the most was the coffee table. It lay broken in a zillion pieces and on top were the remnants of a vase that was covered in some red liquid. It had to be blood. He walked towards the wreckage, kneeling down in order to touch the substance. It felt like blood, smelled like it too. "What the hell?" Straightening himself, he took out the pistol that lay concealed inside the pocket of his jacket and slowly, he made his way to the bedroom. The bed was unmade and from the bathroom was a familiar smell of vomit. What had happened?

Quickly, he pulled out his cell phone only to hear a voice from the living room. He launched himself towards the side of the bed, ducking down so that if the person walked in, he would not be seen. From under the bed, Clay kept his finger on the trigger of his pistol, waiting for the person to walk over, so he could shoot their ankles out. "Commander? Colonel?" Thankfully, he hesitated long enough, that voice was familiar. It was Bud.

Webb stood up from behind the bed, giving the Lt. Commander quite a shock. "Mr. Webb, you scared me." He glanced at the agent with a raised brow. "What happened? Where are Harm and Mac?"

Webb shook his head and opted to place the gun back into the holster. "I don't know, but the living room doesn't look too good." He glared at the younger man for a moment. "Why are you here Commander?"

Bud gave him his own glare. "The Commander and the Colonel were supposed to meet us for dinner. When they didn't call and we couldn't get them on their phones, I thought it might be a good idea to check it out. . ." He fished out his cell phone from his pocket and immediately began dialing digits.

Webb placed his hands on his waist wondering just what Bud was up to. "Who are you going to call?"

"Well, it isn't the Ghostbusters, that's for sure." He turned away from the agent, sighing slightly as the line came alive on the other line. "Yes, sir. . uh, I mean, AJ. . .It's about Harm and Mac. . .I think they've been taken." . . . .

Tina - LOL! Sprinkle the holy water! Hurry! ;)

Cristina - DOn't be too hard on Harm, he's had some issues. . .besides, I rather liked Mac taking are of him. :) Patching his sexy six back up. ;)

froggy - shrugs So I have a cliffhanger problem? MED's aren't working alright! sobs Eww, no he didn't do Mac2... ewww.

nk - Dood! I was a little pissed with him dying on DH. I rather liked his interaction with Marcia Cross. As long as the man doesn't end up somewhere playing opposite CB I am cool. ;) Sucky way to die, but that show is just woah!

jaggurl - It's ending soon, so that I can make headway on another story. :) Sorry, but all good things have to end:)

harmfan - Dead as a doornail, just not sure who is going to off him. Any suggestions? ;)

Feverish - Webb's an ass, he is. . .I hate him, but this way he had a priority to get the hell away from Mac for some reason. Just in case, cos, you never knw. ;)

Wuchel - Angst! Me! Why would I write angst! OO Thanks for the compliments and yes, Angst Junkie here. ;)

jtbwriter - It's not that much on high, trust me, the original story broke me angst-o-meter. ;)

LtJGMEg - But, Nikki is just a pawn, a stupid one, but a pawn. Wow, and I wrote her as a shrink didn't I? Scary huh? LOL!

XBlue - Kill me? Then how would I wrap up this story? Hmm... Calix, use more tape, huh? hands over fifty rolls ;)