Hello all and welcome to part 9. It's been a rather eventful weekend. For those that do not know, we had a hurricane. And it wasn't something to sneeze at either. Sadly, or rather, as usual, our weather people and government people didn't prepare it's citizens since they believed it to be not a big thing. Well, one million people without power and zillions of flooded streets later, they'd wished they would have done better.

Hopefully my fellow Floridians on the list are doing alright. We, mercifully, got power yesterday though we were the firsts ones out of it since it crashed around 4pm on Thursday. Three of our fences are knocked down. Our pool (above ground) is slightly damaged and Katrina decided to do some pruning of her own and knocked down a helluva lot of trees. Our street looks like a war zone. Which all of us neighbors have been trying to clean up.

The condo they were building behind my house, plywood was flying out of it like a deck of cards in the wind and there were some rather LOUD explosions from the power transformers blowing up. A piece of a flyover of an expressway came down, no one was hurt. And in total, so far, they say 5 people have died, most because of debris falling on them. I got some video of the storm, eventually I'll put it on some format and stick it somewhere so you guys can see what it's like.

So, here we go. I'm trying to do a bit of writing. But I have a quiz on muscles on Monday so we'll see. Apparently the area around the school is without power and flooded so not sure if they are going to make us go in or not. We'll see.

Enjoy!

Jackie

PART 9 – Something For The Pain
0720 Local
Joint Legal Services Southwest
San Diego, California

The rain was still as relentless as it was the night before and though she didn't want to be in the office, that is exactly where she was, on a Saturday no less. Sighing, she glanced out the conference room window, mesmerized with the syncopation the raindrops kept against the window pane. Before her eyes had a chance to droop closed, she snapped herself up, catching the eye of Bud and Jen who had volunteered to finish the grunt work with her. It was almost too much effort to reach out and grab her cup of coffee. When she managed to pull it to her lips, she bit back in distaste as cold liquid trickled down her throat. Last night had been pure hell and no amount of coffee was going to keep her awake. Gory thoughts of the night before kept her concentration off of her work and more towards Harm. He'd saved her from getting badly hurt the night before and he'd paid the price for it in spades. Debris had clocked him on the head, knocking him out cold and giving him a rather large gash on the side. There were several cuts and scrapes over his body as well as hers. But the icing on the cake was that damned hell hole of a hospital the EMT crew took them too. It was like something out of a bad movie. . .

Earlier That Morning
Mercy Hospital
San Diego, California

. . . . . . . . .Mac had been patched up. Most of her cuts had received an antiseptic ointment, one of the larger gashes on her forearm had been bandaged. She'd be alright, there was nothing seriously wrong with her. Harm, on the other hand, wasn't doing too well. There was a concussion, which she figured out on her own from the moment she'd checked him on site. Some wood from the deck had fallen on them. His arm was probably broken as it had been on some unnatural angle from his attempt not to throw his full body weight on her. The blood that came from his mouth was a result of him biting it slightly, likely when he fell on her.

As expected, from the moment they walked into the hospital, they were split up and this had been the first time she'd managed to sneak away from her cot. It took Mac no more than thirty seconds to find him. Well, it wasn't all that difficult because Harm was singing some old Commodores song. "Babay. . .you bring me uuuuup when I'm dowwwwwnnnn." Tentatively, she walked around a curtain and stood to find her former partner waving his hand in front of his face. There was a glazed look in his eyes and a silly smirk that almost had her bowling over with laughter. "Harm?"

He dropped his hand, squinted a few times, then broke out a lopsided smile. "Oh, heya, Mac!" His hand droopily beckoned her over and she obliged, keeping a cautious distance. "Check this out." He waved his hand in front of his face again, then broke out in laughter. "Woooo. . .spacey!"

Okay, maybe this was cause for concern? "Harm? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing wrong, Mac. . I feel great!" He gave her a thumbs up then proceeded to play with the IV cord that was plugged into his vein.

"Hey, stop that." She slapped his hand away, frowning at this strange behavior. Glancing at the IV bag, she leaned forward to get a better look at the wording. None of it made sense, but as far as she could tell, he had either received the wrong thing or too much of the right one. Her face grew red with anger as Harm just chuckled and continued to play with anything he could find, like the buttons of her shirt. Mac slapped his hand away then glanced down, trying to project the same stern voice one would use on a child. "Stay here, I'm going to go find a doctor."

"Aye aye, sir." He sloppily saluted her with the wrong hand, then laughed like a loon at Mac's famous death glare.

Keeping an eye on him as much as possible, she stomped across the emergency room to the busy nurses station. God, how she hated hospitals, doctors, nurses being in the place literally gave her the willies. "I need the doctor that attended that man," She said pointing at Harm, "and I need him yesterday."

The nurse, a petite brunette who looked like she couldn't be more than 16 years old, turned to her and smiled. "Hello, I'm Nurse Wilkins, how can I help you?" The whole greeting reminded Mac of a MacDonald's drive thru operator.

She motioned towards Harm again who had struck up a conversation with another nurse. "Who's his doctor."

"Well, I'll have to check."

The trademark MacKenzie eyebrow shot up in annoyance. "Could you hurry? I think he's been given medication that he doesn't need."

"Oh, we wouldn't do that." Ms. 16 Year Old told her, a sardonic smile giving anyone the opposite impression. "I mean, not on purpose."

Mac was, literally, at a loss for words. This was quickly turning into the worst hospital experience ever. Well, second to worst because when you get stuck in a hospital full of terrorists, nothing can really beat that. "Will you get me the damned doctor! Now!" The hard glare was met by a look of indifference, something that screamed, 'Oh, you didn't go there.' Damnit, on top of hating hospitals, she hated not being in a military hospital where she would outrank most personnel and ORDER them about.

"Look, lady, you just can't go around yelling at people, that is RUDE."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times as words just failed to come to her. "Never mind." Frustrated, she turned from the station thanking God that some sort of doctor was discussing things with Harm. She stepped up to them, shaking her head as the doctor kept removing Harm's hands from his tie. "Umm, doctor?" Resisting the urge to smack the guy's eyes back into their sockets as he unabashedly checked her out, she extended her hand and grabbed his firmly, giving it an unfeminine shake. "Hi, Doctor. ." She literally had to pry her hand out of the man's grasp and then lean in to read his tiny name tag, "Fine. . .Doctor Fine?" What he probably thought was a charming smile was having a nauseating affect on her. Taking a breath to prevent herself from losing it, she gave him a pointed look. Mac wanted information and she wanted it now. "What medication was he given?"

"And you are?"

"Sarah MacKenzie, I came in with him."

Dr. Fine hugged a clipboard to his chest as he rocked back and forth. "Well, Mrs. . ."

"Miss."

Her admission made this disgustingly flirty smile crack out. "Oh, I stand corrected. Ms. MacKenzie." He grinned at her, leaning coolly against Harm's cot. "We gave him some pain medication. . .apparently his head and arm were hurting."

'Breathe, Mac, breathe!' Grinding her teeth, she took a few steps towards Harm and pointed to the IV bag which clearly stated she was correct. "Doctor, if you stop flirting for a damned moment and pay attention, you'll notice your patient is acting erratic!"

That whole cocky, flirty exterior completely dissipated. Irritated, he leaned over Harm. "Oh, my." He raised the clipboard to his eye level, quickly scanning page after page. "Heh. . ." His wry smile disappeared. Slowly, he raised his hand to his collar, running his fingers under it to stretch it out. "Seems he received someone else's medication."

Oh yea, she was definitely going to have to kill someone tonight. Well, maybe not kill, but maiming both Dr. Ego and that nurse wouldn't be such a bad idea. "I want you to go get the resident in here RIGHT now. . . Captain Rabb's had several concussions in the past, you do realize that. . ."

"Captain?" Dumbly interrupting), Dr. Fine stared at her. "What's he a captain of?"

"He's a Captain in the US Navy and I am a Marine Colonel and a Lawyer. . .Get me the resident NOW." Mac wasn't sure if it was the word lawyer or the word Marine, but something had Fine running as if his pants had been on fire. It was about ten minutes later when she discussed Harm's situation with a resident. A zillion tests, two arguments and about eight hours later, she was finally on the way to her place with Harm. The doctor had decided to release him to her care.

Luckily, she'd kept her car keys in her jeans pockets and not in her purse which was probably missing under all of the debris of Harm's home. The drive home had been slightly humorous. She wasn't too sure if the drugs were still affecting Harm of it was just that he wanted to screw with her, but it was damn funny. Mac had to continuously slap his hand away from the gearshift as he kept trying to shift the car for her. Getting him inside her house was sheer hell. It had taken about twenty minutes to get him up the steps and, when they'd finally made it inside, he'd collapsed onto her sofa in a fit of laughter. "That was fun!" He exclaimed, draping an arm over his eyes to cover the morning light which was seeping through Mac's windows.

"Oh yea, oodles of fun." She headed into the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of water, opening one and taking a long pull. "Aahh. . ." Consulting her internal clock had been futile, she was so mentally exhausted that she needed to peak at the time on her microwave's LED screen. As Harm dozed on the sofa, she prepared some bagels and cream cheese as well as a nice herbal tea for Harm. Coffee wouldn't be a good idea, she was slightly fearing what the combination of medication along with the java might do to him.

As she returned to him, she found Harm thoughtfully staring at the ceiling. "Hey, sailor, I toasted a bagel for you, cinnamon raisin, your fav, and I made you some nice herbal tea."

"Mac, do you have any idea how much tea I had in London?" He chuckled ruefully, that glazed look was still there, just not as bad as she'd seen it in the hospital. Despite himself, he sat up as much as possible, leaning against the arm of her sofa. "I don't even think we had a coffee pot at the office."

She studied him for a moment, that maternal instinct starting to kick in. That want to take care of him. She eased herself onto the coffee table and sighed. "Yea, well, I don't think coffee is such a hot idea for you right now. . . besides, the doctor said you didn't have to stay if you promised to get some rest. . ."

He eyed her for a moment, then relented, taking the proffered tea and sipping to find it was actually quite pleasant, not that he would tell her that. "It's not bad, but it's not coffee."

Mac eased the coffee table close to him, placing the plate of bagels there as she retreated to her bedroom. This just wasn't the type of day for the many adventures of Harm and Mac. Not that any day really was, especially considering that their adventures tended to take a turn for the not so amusing. Quickly she dressed in her Marine greens then headed into the living room. She glanced down at Harm's sleeping form, hating that she had to wake him and detesting that she had to leave him, but duty called. "Harm?" Gently, she roused him.

Sleepy, half-opened eyes glanced at her. "Mac? You going somewhere?"

"Unfortunately, I have to be in the office in about twenty minutes, the base CO has a bug up his six and insisted some of us go in today. . .It shouldn't be more than an hour, maybe two." Damn, she wanted to touch him so badly. To run her hands through his disheveled hair and hug him tight to her as a way to make sure he really was alright. Not willing to make a fool out of herself, she managed to keep her hands off of him. Well, almost. One of her hands, out of their own volition, was tracing the bump on his forehead, gently caressing the area.

Harm nearly moaned in pleasure as her fingers slightly grazed his scalp, pass the injured area that, thankfully did not need stitches. Every one of his nerves was on a hyperactive edge. He figured the drugs were making him so sensitive. Maybe it was his body revolting? He didn't care, what Mac was doing felt so heavenly...

"Harm, let me take you to bed."

Her words pierced through his sub-consciousness and before he could stop himself, sleep laden words poured out. "Mmm, that would a fantasy come true."

Mac breathed out, laughing nervously so that it came out more like a strangled chuckle. "Red light, flyboy." She continued her ministrations on his scalp until his breathing (and hers) evened out. . . . .

. . . . . .A hand, seemingly from out of nowhere, placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of Mac, startling her out of her thoughts. Yes, there had been some, what could be considered, jovial times. But, what had happed to him frightened her beyond belief. It just didn't hit her until the ride over, where she spent it in deep contemplation.

"Ma'am? Is something wrong?" Bud finally had the guts to venture out and ask, with hopes of not receiving the Colonel's ire.

Whatever he and Jen had been expecting to hear, Mac's revelation hit them like a ton of bricks. "I went to go visit Harm last night and. . .his place. . .it blew up."

"What!" The two yelled together in shock. "How? Why?"

Mac raised her hand to stop the slue of questions, then pushed herself back slightly from the table. Everything was hurting and she wasn't sure why her body chose this particular time and place to revolt against her. She'd been fine until she headed up into JLSS. "They're looking into it. . .I don't know it was. . .weird. . .Harm's okay though. Doctor says he damaged his bad knee, but it was repairable, he has a sprain on his wrist ribs and had a concussion. I was in the hospital with him all last night and early this morning which is why I got here late. . . Damned paperwork." She shoved a file slightly across the table, then sighed as she looked away.

Jen studied Mac for a moment, noting the other woman's disposition and obvious concern. "Um, Ma'am. . .how are you doing?"

"Oh, I am fine." She lied, not realizing just how out of it she looked to her coworkers. Her nerves were on edge, literally, and it had nothing to do with her life, but rather, his. For all of her bravado, for all of the times she swore she didn't care for him, for all of the times she wanted not to love him; at the moment of the explosion, all of her carefully guarded feelings bubbled to the surface with the force of an angry volcano. "I'm a little shaken up and I need a lot of sleep. . .Let's just try to wrap up as much as possible, the rest we'll finish on Monday."

1345 Local
Mac's Home
San Diego, California

"OWW!" Pain? Why the hell was he in pain? Harm cracked an eye opened and glanced around(,) realizing one key thing – this wasn't his place. "Where the hell am I?" Something about the coloring of the walls and the furniture stroked him as familiar. Why was that? Slowly, he lifted his body upright and into a sitting position, wincing as his ribs ached. Taking in a sharp breath, he noted a hint of a familiar scent, it was Mac's perfume. "Ahhh."

Like a flash, the memories beamed into him, threatening to overwhelm him. He couldn't remember how he'd arrived at her place, but he had a deep feeling that she was alright. As far as he could figure, any debris had landed on him. He had been conscious during the initial blast. In fact, he'd even cried out in pain the moment he flung himself on Mac. He'd tried as best as possible to curl them both up into a ball, hoping that some and maybe all of the flying debris would miss them completely. No dice. He still remembered, quite well, a sharp pain to the base of his skull.

"Harm?" Looking away from the spot he'd currently been staring at, he found Mac standing in front of him with a bag full of groceries. She placed the bag on the coffee table and took a seat. "How are you feeling?" Her hand came over his forehead and over his facial features. He could see her visibly relax when one of his hands laced with hers. "Talk to me."

"I'm alright. . .just a little. .. confused." He swallowed a few times, his throat feeling like sandpaper. "When, how did I get here?"

Gently she caressed the back of his hand with her thumb. "Early this morning. . .I wish I would have stayed but I had to head to the office for a few hours. . ." Releasing his hand, she motioned towards the grocery bag, pulling out a box of tofu. "I bought a few things I know you like. . .Seems like you're going to be staying with me for a while."

His heart leapt when those beautiful lips of hers broke out in a full out smile. "Total loss?"

"Yes. . . Nothing was left." It was painful having to see him so distraught. But, there was something else, almost a like a sense of guilt. Harm couldn't have felt guilty, what could he have done to prevent it? "Look, I also took a trip to your office before coming over here, I grabbed your seabag. . .Until we figure out what to do about your clothing situation."

That frown turned upside down almost immediately. Did she really care for him so much that she would go out of her way to make him so comfortable? "Thanks, Mac. ."

"You're welcome." Standing, she clapped her hands together. "Well, I need to go get the rest of the groceries, stay put and I'll draw a nice warm bath for you, how does that sound?"

The look he offered was almost comical. "A bath?" At her nod, Harm grimaced just a bit more. He hated baths, even when he was a kid. "A bath?"

Raising her brow, she stared a him for a moment, cautiously wondering if this was some joke of his. "Yea, it's when you fill the tub and sit in the water with some nice smelling oils."

"I'm a man, Mac."

Yep, that was something she certainly couldn't deny. "Yes, I hope you are. . .Unless there's something you never told me." She considered that last statement, carefully. 'Would make a lot of sense. .. naw.' She mentally shook herself in time to catch him grinning smugly at her.

"Real men don't take baths." He said, punctuating each word to let his meaning sink in. "We take SHOWERS."

As much as she was worried about him, those feelings were beginning to flea. If he was making statements such as those, then Harmon Rabb Junior was A-Okay. "Fine," She huffed, hauling the grocery bag into the kitchen. "Then you can take a shower sitting down."

The smug satisfactory grin was wiped the moment he registered she was serious. "What?"

Returning, she handed him a bottled water and took a swig from her own. "What what? I am not going to let you get into a shower, fall and then really do some damage to that knee of yours."

Staring down at his knee he frowned, finding it to be quite swollen. He lifted it up slightly and though it wasn't very painful, the whole area was very difficult to move. "Fine." He gave up, just like that, with no more arguments. "Draw me a bath." He waved her away from him, feeling slightly annoyed as she chuckled at him. "But I don't want any of those girly smelling thingies!"

Mac turned from the door and walked to stand in front him. "Girly smelling thingies?" She echoed, raising a brow in amusement. Men really were like little boys. She rubbed at the bridge of her nose in frustration wishing things would be just a little easier today.

"Yes. The oils, the candles. . . I don't care what mood you're trying to sell me, I just don't want to come out of there smelling like some sort of. . .of. . .FRUIT."

"Fruit?" Now, she was completely pinching her nose, willing herself not to outright laugh at him. It was no use, though. Before she could stop herself, Mac was bent over, laughing harder than she had in years.

"C'mon, Mac, it's not funny." Nope, it wasn't funny, which would be why he was laughing right along with her. "Okay, maybe it was. . .Look, I don't mean to sound like such a . . .well. .. guy. . I just don't want to smell all. . .all. . ."

"Fruity?" She offered, trying to control her laughter by breathing deeply. "Oh Jeez." Mac wiped at her eyes, clearing away the tears from laughing, then straightened out. "Okay, so. .. no girly smelling thingies, but what about Sandalwood?" His eyes grew wide with shock and she swore she was going to lose it again. Nope, Harmon Rabb junior was absolutely, positively, uneducated in the ways of aroma therapy. "Sandalwood is an essential oil, kind of musky, masculine smelling. . .It's an anti-depressant, a relaxant and can be used as an aphrodisiac." Mac rambled off the list, grinning like a Cheshire cat as she said the last one. "Not that you need an aphrodisiac at the moment."

Harm's mouth hung partially open as she excused herself and headed back downstairs to grab the rest of the groceries. "Aphrodisiac?" Suddenly, the thought of a bath was really starting to sound appealing.