Letters From Vietnam, a jag fanfic

A/N: I hope you guys like this one. It is a one-shot/song fiction…and any of you that know my style know that this is the first one-shot I have done. Anyway, I hope you like it. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!

The song used in this story is called Travelin' Soldier by the Dixie Chicks. I thought it was a beautiful song, and I thought it fit this story well.

Summary: Set in a different time period when Harm and Mac are a bit younger. Harm is a soldier going off to war in Vietnam. He meets Mac before he leaves, and events begin to unfold…Harm and Mac pairing. Character death. Please review.

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Letters From Vietnam

Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair

Harm frowned, plopping down into a booth at the local café. He looked down at the ground. Ever since he'd left his home, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He stared at the name tapes that were sewn neatly to the front of his shirt.

He leaned back, looking at the light fixture on the ceiling. Then he heard something he welcomed. Laughter. A sound he welcomed. He looked over, seeing a beautiful brunette waitress talking to the café cashier. When she saw him looking her way, she stopped talking to the cashier and quickly made her way over.

"Hello!" she smiled. "What can I get for you? We have the best cherry pie in the entire city." She whispered, as if it was a secret.

Harm could not manage to smile. "Can I just get a salad and a water?" he whispered.

Mac nodded slowly. "All right…" She looked down, noticing for the first time that the man, who could not be more than a year or two older than her, was clad in a military uniform. She smiled at him. "I'll be right back with your food." She nodded.

He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,
I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go

Mac returned, smiling at the soldier and setting his salad and water down in front of him. She was about to turn when Harm cleared his throat, and she pivoted back around. "Yes?" she asked.

"Sara, is it? Would you mind sitting down and chatting with me for a minute? You've been the first person to smile at me all day, and it's been a bit depressing if I do say so myself…" he smirked under his breath.

Mac gasped in surprise, but thought about his proposition for a moment. He seemed nice, and he looked decent enough. He must just be lonely. She flashed him another pretty smile, and nodded. "Call me Mac. Everyone does…and sure, I'd love to chat…but I still have a while left on my shift…"

"And I still have a salad to eat…" laughed Harm.

An hour later, Mac appeared in front of Harm. She was no longer in her waitress's uniform. She was now wearing dark blue jeans and a red t-shirt. She had tied a thick red bow in her hair, and it held her bangs out of her face so that Harm could easily see her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. He smiled.

"Ready to go?" Mac asked.

Harm blinked. "Where are we going?" he questioned. "I just wanted to talk to you…"

"Oh, I know." Mac shrugged. "You must not be from around here. The view from the pier is beautiful at this time of day!" She grabbed him by the hand, leading him away.

So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you

Dangling their feet in the water, Harm and Mac talked as the sun set into the horizon. Soon, the entire sky was a dark red color. Mac leaned back, placing her hands behind her, and ended up accidentally setting one of her hands on top of Harm's. The two of them stared at their hands before Mac blinked herself back into reality and pulled her own hand away.

"Sorry…" she blushed. "So...have you always wanted to be in the army?" Mac thought it would be best if she changed the subject as quickly as she could manage to do so.

Harm's response was his groan.

Mac jumped. "I'm sorry! I've hit a sore subject! Well…what do you want to do once you are done with your army career?" she asked instead.

Harm sighed. "Well, I want to go to college as soon as I get back. I wasn't planning on this draft interrupting all of my plans. I wanted to go to school to be a lawyer. Now that has to wait until I get back…"

"Please, be safe while you are gone." Mac whispered. "I've heard it's dangerous over there…"

Harm nodded. "So have I. Mac? Do you…do you mind if I write you while I'm in Vietnam? I mean, I know a girl as pretty as you probably has a boyfriend already…I don't want to impose…but I have no one to write to, and I've never been away from home, and you've been so nice to me…" he rambled.

"Harm…calm down." Mac laughed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Fist of all, I don't think you have to worry about boyfriends. I don't have any…and yes, I would love it if you would write to me." She flashed another one of her signature smiles at him. "You can keep me posted on all that's going on over there, that way I don't have to worry about you."

"Worry about me?" he repeated.

Mac opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but closed it quickly. An unmarked bus had pulled up in front of the diner. Its doors stood open, waiting for Harm. She sighed. "There's your ride. Write me as soon as you can…and be safe." She added, wrapping him in a hug.

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

Harm jumped off of the bus and looked around the base. All around him were men that looked exactly like himself…clad in army green and scared out of their wits. He dropped his bag off at a nearby army transport vehicle and made his way to the nearest building.

He read the papers handed to him by his superior officer and sighed deeply. He couldn't help but wonder what he'd gotten himself into as he read and reread his orders. He would be off to Vietnam at the end of the year…a lot sooner than anticipated. He thought they would at least give him time to recover from boot camp before shipping him off to a war zone, but he was sorely mistaken.

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of

'Dear Mac,

Thank you for all of your letters! I have reread them several times. I got my official orders a couple weeks ago. I'm deploying to Vietnam in December. They aren't wasting any time with this. Those soldiers must really need help over there. I'm worried about it a lot more than I'd like to admit. I'll have to send you another letter as soon as I get there.

…I miss you more than I want to admit, Mac. What do you say about that? What do you think it means? You have a special place in my heart, Mac, although I can't explain why…I have never been in love before. The thought of going to another country and leaving you here scares me, Mac…but I am going to be strong. I plan on coming back in one piece, so we can finish that nice conversation we were having.

Wish me luck,
Harm'

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'Dear Harm,

The Vietnam you have shown me in those pictures is beautiful. It is hard to believe that there is so much war and blood shed over there. I hope you're doing all right! You haven't been hurt, have you? There have been some terrible things on the news. I hope you're being safe over there. I'm thinking of you, Harm! Make sure you make it back to me!

Love,
Mac'

He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile

"This is an NBC special news report! We have more news on the war in Vietnam! Please watch the television screen. Reporters for the military's Stars and Stripes magazine have told of a recent slew of attacks on American soldiers in the war zone. The images you are seeing now were sent via satellite. They are real. The military reports that hundreds more American soldiers have lost their lives within the past month. Please stay tuned for further information…"

Mac stared at the television, clutching a small stack of letters in her hand as if she would die if she was to let go. Hundreds more dead just this month? But Harm was okay! He had to be! She had just gotten another letter…it was dated nearly two weeks ago…but that meant he was all right, didn't it? He had promised to come back to her, and he wasn't going to break it, was he?

One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead

Everyone had their heads bowed towards the floor. Mac, sitting in the stands, felt her heart doing flip-flops inside her chest. Her friends in the marching band were staring at her with sympathetic looks, and if her instrument could breathe, Mac was pretty sure she would be doing a good job of strangling it to death. She looked down nervously to her front pocket, where the top of the envelope from Harm's most recent letter was visible. She took a deep breath.

"Able, Anderson, Baker, Charleston, Denim, Duke, Hansen, Jackson, Landon, Marshall, Newton, Plessy, Preston, Rabb…"

Mac gulped, and a single tear slid down her cheek. They had said it. Harm was gone. He had died…and he wasn't going to be fulfilling his promise. They would never get to finish their talk. She was never going to see him again. She had to get out of this terrible place…but the farthest she could make it was the bottom of the stairs. She couldn't stand it anymore.

Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

Mac went out to the mailbox, and began to thumb through the mail. There was little of interest. A bill, another bill, a stupid carpet cleaner's advertisement, and…the small stack of mail dropped to the ground. All but the single article that Mac held in her trembling hands.

She stared hatefully at the letter. She felt the tears stinging her eyes. After contemplating it for a moment, she carefully ripped the envelope open, her hands still shaking as she did so.

'Dear Mac,

I miss you a lot. It is rough over here, but each time I receive one of your letters, it is a ray of hope that reminds me of what awaits me when I get to return home. I am so sorry I haven't been able to write you in so long! We have been on the move a lot lately, so it has been a little hard to send any mail out. I hope I didn't worry you too much. Please don't watch the television too much. I don't want you to get scared. I will be fine. I promise.

I have wonderful news! The commanding officer has told us that we finally get to come home, Mac! Can you believe it? Only a week left! I am so excited to finally be coming home to you! I will see you soon! Wait for me by the pier! I love you!

Love Always,
Harm'

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A/N: Done! I hope you liked it! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks a lot.