A/N: Um, this chapter starts off in Mac's POV. Thanks for all the great reviews I received and . . . here's the next chapter!

The Four AM Call

No good ever comes from a call at four am. Ever. I didn't know just how true that was until yesterday. I didn't know that your worst nightmare can come true in your best dream. I didn't know. I didn't know you can lose your whole future in an unstoppable instant. And it all began with a four a.m. wake up call . . .

Flashback

"Harm," I whispered his name, savoring its melodious ring on my lips. Harm stared at me with the flyboy smile that could melt ice in sub-arctic temperatures. He ran his hands through my hair, trailing his lips down the side of my neck. I continued to whisper his name over and over and over again.

"Marry me," he whispered forcefully, withdrawing his lips from my skin. I fused my mouth towards his in response. We clung to each other, his arm wrapped crushingly around my waste and my hands entangled in his hair. And then . . .

Rrriiinnng.

I opened my eyes and then blinked. I stared at the walls of my apartment. My blanket was thrown messily around my body and my pillows scattered so freely that none were under my head but several around my feet. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. It had been such a good dream.

Rrriiinnng.

I groaned and sat up in my bed. I stared at the digital alarm clock on my bedside table. It was four a.m. Four a.m. And you want to know the worst part about it? It was a Saturday morning. Four a.m. on a Saturday morningAs you can probably tell, I'm not the most cheerful morning person you'll ever meet.

I picked up the receiver with a snap and grumbled a 'Mackenzie' into the phone. The voice on the other end surprised me. "Colonel?"

I wiped my eyes with my hands. "Is that you, Bud?"

"Yes, ma'am." The voice sounded broken, oddly hoarse. Not at all like good star-trek-loving-Bud.

"Is everything alright, Bud?"

There was no answer. I became panicked.

"Is Harriet alright? What about AJ? Or Jimmy? Or–"

"They're all fine, ma'am," Bud replied. But there it was again – that odd, off key note in his voice. It sent shivers running up and down my spine.

"Then what's the matter?" I whispered, suddenly feeling sweat on my palms. I rubbed my bare arms. There was nothing in the world that could have prepared me for the following words.

"It's Commander Rabb, ma'am. He's . . . he's had a heart attack."

End of Flashback

I stood in the funeral feeling oddly separated from the rest. Bud stood off to the side with Harriet around one arm and Jimmy in the other. AJ stood very solidly in front of his family, looking terrifically like Bud, his face dark. Jimmy was wailing loudly but Bud made no move to hush him. He was lost in his own world.

I felt tears roll down my cheeks, hot and burning in the sun. I looked at his name on the gravestone and a vision of Harm entered my mind wearing his dress whites and gold wings, that precious flyboy smile breaking out onto his face. How he sometimes used to tuck a disobedient strand of my hair behind my ear whenever it got in my face too much. How he used to call me 'ninjagirl' or 'jarhead' or other stupid names that we used to have for each other. How he could talk me into or out of almost anything. How he could never understand my inhuman infatuation with Beltway burgers. How we used to argue in and out of the courtroom. How I could talk to him about almost anything . . . except perhaps how much I lo–"

No, don't think about that! I mentally screamed at myself. I felt another wave of tears coming on and I wrapped my arms around my waist in a sort of self hug. Harm, how could you do this to me! I screamed in my mind and then surrendered my body to a new rack of sobs.

"Would anyone like to speak?"

The question hovered in the air over me. I wiped a tear off my cheek and had the strangest feeling – the feeling that Harm was watching over me right at this very moment. I shivered slightly even though the sun was warm. And slowly – very slowly – I raised my hand. Reverend Turner nodded and I took the stage.

A long strand of hair blew from behind my ear and out in to my face but this time there would be no Harm to give a quick awkward glance at me and then brush it away, withdrawing his hand quickly before we developed an uncomfortable moment. A long tear rolled down my cheek and I fought to keep the others in place. I was a Marine, for God's sake.

I cleared my throat, more to see if my voice was working at all.

"Yesterday," I breathed, containing the sobs that were threatening to pound my body, "we lost someone special." A small sad smile graced my lips as a picture of Harm came into my vision – with his windblown hair, cocky flyboy smile, and those gold wings he kept pinned to his chest.

"Someone who fought and was continuously willing to fight for his country," I thought of Paraguay and how he was willing to fight for me. "Someone who cared so much about people and was willing to do anything for his friends." I thought of when I was getting court-martialed for Chris's death and Harm insisted on being the one to defend me.

"Someone who was courageous and caring, someone who always listened when someone else spoke." I thought of all those times I cried on his shoulder and all the times he just held me until I stopped. "He was a brilliant lawyer and a damn fine pilot, and he was someone that everyone loved," I choked as I realized what I just said. "Everyone."

A long silence enveloped the funeral and I took one long look at Harm's casket before I descended the stage and walked back to my spot of invisibility. A few more words were said and then sure enough, everyone departed. I stood there, routed in my spot, just staring at his gravestone.

"Ma'am," Harriet whispered in my ear. I stared where I was, not taking my eyes off his name. "Ma'am . . . Mac."

I turned around to look at Harriet. She smiled sadly at me and I fell forward into her arms, crying like a newborn child. Harriet held me sort of awkwardly – I am taller than she is. Another reason why I miss Harm, I let my pitiful self conclude. Who else is going to hold me when I cry?

"Harriet!"

There was a soft call from Bud and I released myself from Harriet's hold and dried my eyes with my hands. "Go, Harriet," I whispered softly, feeling cold even in the heat. "Bud's waiting."

"And Bud can continue waiting," Harriet pressed. "I want to make sure you're all right."

"I'm fine," I replied, sounding more reassuring than I felt. "Honestly, Harriet. I'm just . . . sad, that's all."

Harriet cast a long look at me but I shooed her away. "Seriously, Harriet. I'm okay."

I watched as Harriet walked down the steps of Arlington Cemetery and I felt more alone than ever before. I wasn't okay. I missed him. I missed him more than I'd ever missed anyone or anything in my life.

I kneeled down beside his gravestone and let my warm hand touch the cold engrave letters on his tombstone. A heart attack. That's what got him in the end. I felt another burning tear roll down my cheek. And I never got to tell him . . .

I wiped the tear away, standing up now on shaky legs. What do I do now? I felt small and girlish, with no where to go and no one to go to. Was this what it was like for Harm when I was in Paraguay?

I savagely brushed away the thought. Noooo! I mentally screamed at myself. He didn't know I was dead! He thought I was alive! I bent down as I reached the Arlington Gate, overcome with painful emotion. Memories . . .

And then it came over me. A sensation which made my heart jump into my throat. I felt his eyes on me, cool and emotional, and my hands began to shake. I stood up and as though pulled by an invisible force, my head turned robotically away from the gate and across the street . . . to a window.

And there he was, his figure drawn like a shadow across the pain of glass, his bright blue eyes mirroring my very emotions, and I felt drawn to him like never before. This can't be . . .

And then he pulled away, his torso fleeting from view. I stood there powerless, like a shell wandering eternally down the same road – farther and farther away from where I wanted to be.

"Colonel . . ." the voice seemed distant in my ear.

"Mac."

I turned around. AJ stood there, and I realized he must have lingered like I did to personally pay his respects. I couldn't thank him enough for it. And if Harm were here . . . don't think about that! I screamed at myself.

"Harm," I breathed, my mind whirling. I stared at the pane of glass, but it remained empty. I felt like I wanted to cry all over again.

AJ looked depressingly uncomfortable. "Colonel, it's hard on all of us . . ."

"No," I interrupted carelessly. I turned back to the window, my heart feeling wretched out of my body. "Harm . . ."

We stood there for the longest time, a heavy silence falling between the two of us until the Admiral put his arm on my shoulder, more fatherly than COish. "We're all going to miss him, Mac."

I stood alone in my apartment, looking out the window, my mind far away. The sunset was a deep red tonight, with the large glowing sun still hanging down in the sky. I thought of Harm and how much he would have loved to go flying on a day like this. How we would have sat outside, maybe in the park, and talked until the sky was no longer bright. I thought about these things, too far gone to even hear the click of a lock being turned and the muffled creak of my door being opened.

And then . . . an arm touched my shoulder.

I whirled around as though electrified. "Webb!" I screamed. I sucked in deep breath after deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart.

"Sarah," he breathed softly and put his arms around me in what was supposed to be a comforting embrace but I pulled away. I stood there, my chest heaving, and a new set of tears threatening to break.

"Just . . . just don't, Webb."

I sat down on the couch and put my head in my hands and began to cry again, softly. Clay sort of stood there in the room, gazing out the window awkwardly, unsure of what to do to comfort me.

"This can't work, Clay," I said slowly, my tears relenting slowly. "I just can't . . . be in anything right now."

Webb stood there, his face portraying mild shock. "Sarah . . ."

I shook my head violently. "No, Clay. I can't have a relationship now. I'm sorry. I just . . . can't."

He stood there for a while, looking at me and me looking at him. And then he put his arm on my shoulder and smiled softly at me. "Hang in there, Mackenzie." And then he left, swinging the door shut behind him.

Hang in there? What kind of comfort was that?

I stared at a picture of Harm which I always always always left on my bedside table (except when he came over, he didn't need to know that I stared at his face before I fell asleep). He looked so handsome.

I sighed and entered my room, changing into a long t-shirt to sleep in. And that was when my phone rang. Another call which would change my life . . .

A/N: I'm sorry I took so long getting this chapter to you! My computer crashed immediately after I posted the first chapter and so I didn't even receive your reviews until just a few minutes ago. By the way, I LOVED them.

As for the people that e-mailed me for the finale review, I'll get you a copy soon. I'm writing one copy and just sending it to everyone.