Disclaimer: Though I wish they were mine, they're not...
A/N: Ah, drama - what wouldHarm and Mac's world be without it! You're right, navyjag13, we haven't had any in awhile, but we all knew that wouldn't last. Thanks for the reviews - it really makes my day to long on and see so many people interested in the story!
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Chapter 23:
She prayed the whole way to the hospital. "Please, God, don't let me lose him, not now, not ever…" The Sergeant hadn't been able to give her nearly enough information to satisfy her terrified mind, but knowing that Harm was alive was definitely better than wondering.
She sped into the parking lot at Bethesda, took the first space she found, and made it to the door as fast as her condition would allow. Thankfully she knew exactly where the ER entrance was, so she didn't lose any time trying to find it.
"I'm Colonel Mackenzie" she said as she arrived at the desk, pale and out of breath. "My fiancé was brought here, he was in an accident, Commander Harmon Rabb!"
"Oh, yes ma'am, we've been expecting you" said the lieutenant behind the desk. "Let me go see what's going on with him while you have a seat."
"I don't wanna have a seat, lieutenant!" yelled Mac. "I wanna see him, NOW! Don't make me make it an order!" Mac knew they had protocol to follow, but at that moment she couldn't have cared less.
"Yes, ma'am, I know you want to see him" said the lieutenant, "but I have to go see what the situation is before I can allow anyone back there." Mac's face was incredibly flushed and her cheeks were bright red. "You don't look too good, Colonel, I'd really like for you to sit down."
"And I'd really like for you to quit giving me a bunch of crap and go find out what the hell's going on with Commander Rabb!" Mac fired back.
"Ok, yes, ma'am, I'll be right back" said the lieutenant as she jogged down the corridor and disappeared. Mac realized right about that time that she didn't feel well, and she decided sitting down was a good idea. She felt the baby kick a couple of times, and she put her hand on her tummy. "I know, little one" she whispered, "I'm worried about your daddy, too." Less than 2 minutes later, Mac saw the lieutenant heading back in her direction.
"Is he OK? I wanna see him!" said Mac as she ran up to the desk.
"The doctors are working on him right now, ma'am" said the lieutenant, "but they want me to take you back to the family waiting area and as soon as they're done, one of them will come talk to you."
"Oh, no! It's bad, isn't it?" sobbed Mac. "This is how the whole 'we did everything we could' scene always starts! Oh my God, he's dying, isn't he!"
"I don't have any answers for you, Colonel" said the lieutenant, "but I'm going to walk you back to the waiting area and if you'd like, I'll sit with you until the doctor can come talk to you."
Mac was crying too hard to speak, but she nodded her head, and together they walked down the hallway.
Two hours passed before anyone came in to talk to Mac, the two longest hours of her entire life. She thought about everything she'd miss if her worst fears came to pass - his smile, his laugh, the way he treated her like a princess even when she didn't feel like one. She thought about their weekend in California, how his proposal had been the most amazing one in the history of the universe, how on their last night there they'd made love on the beach under the stars, something she'd never, ever forget. She thought back to the day they found out they were having the baby, and how excited he was when he recognized it's tiny hand on the ultrasound. "I can't lose him…" she said to herself as the sobs took over once again. The lieutenant put her arm around Mac and tried to comfort her.
"Colonel Mackenzie?"
Mac looked up to see a man in green scrubs and a white lab coat standing before her.
"Yes" she answered, doing all she could to brace herself for bad news.
"I'm Commander Stephenson" he said, "I'm one of the doctors who worked on Commander Rabb." Mac couldn't help but notice he used past tense, "worked", and her heart fell into her stomach.
"Just tell me everything" cried Mac, "I can't wait any longer!"
"Try to calm down, Colonel" said the doctor, "I can't allow you to see him when you're this upset, it won't be good for him."
"He's alive!" exclaimed Mac.
"Yes, he is alive" said the doctor, "I take it you weren't aware of that?"
"I knew he was alive when he left the scene in the ambulance" said Mac, "but that's all anyone would tell me!"
"I'm sorry you've been so worried all this time, Colonel" said Commander Stephenson, "but we needed to fully assess his condition and treat him accordingly, and that took longer than we expected it to when he first arrived."
"I would have appreciated it if someone had let me know that" said Mac in a very stern voice. "Is it common practice to keep the family in the dark and let them sit here and think the worst when there's even a little bit of news they could be given!"
"No, Colonel" replied the doctor, "it isn't, and again I apologize for not letting you know that he was alive, but like I said, it took longer to get him stabilized than we had planned."
"Whatever" said Mac, fed up with the issue. "Can I see him now?"
"Very shortly" replied the doctor, "but first I want to bring you up to speed on what happened to him and what we had to do."
"Alright" said Mac. She was anxious to see Harm, but she needed to know what to expect.
"According to the paramedics, he was conscious when they arrived on the scene. He was breathing on his own, but it was shallow, and they had to get him out of the vehicle quickly in order to help him."
Mac was picturing in her mind how horrifying the scene must have been.
The doctor continued "Once they got the brace around his neck and extracted him from the vehicle, he remained conscious but his breathing grew weaker. By the time he reached us, he had lost consciousness and was no longer breathing on his own. As a result, we had to artificially resuscitate him."
"How long did it take?" asked Mac as she wiped away a few tears. The baby, seemingly knowing Mac was upset, kicked just a little.
"Not too long" answered the doctor, "a couple minutes or so. Once we got his breathing going again, it remained stable, which is a very good sign."
"What are his injuries?" asked Mac, knowing he must have some.
"Aside from still being unconscious" said the doctor, "he's got a couple of bruised ribs on his right side from the seatbelt impact, both his knees are bruised from slamming against the dashboard, and he's got quite a nasty airbag bruise on his face."
"What's his overall prognosis? asked Mac, rubbing her tummy as the baby kicked again..
Commander Stephenson thought for a moment. "The biggest concern we have at the present time is the head injury. It doesn't appear too serious based on the CAT scan, but the fact that he hasn't come to yet does have me a little worried."
"So based on the tests, he should have been awake by now?" asked Mac, the fear evident in her voice.
"Not necessarily, Colonel" said the doctor. "We know he doesn't have any bleeding on his brain, and the swelling is minimal, but sometimes even under those circumstances it takes patients a good while to regain consciousness."
"I'll ask again" said Mac, "his overall prognosis?"
"If he wakes up within the next 6 hours or so" said the doctor, "I'd say he stands every chance of making a complete recovery."
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then we'd need to do another CAT scan and run some other tests to see if anything is going on that we didn't see initially."
"I see" replied Mac. "Can I see him now, please?"
"Do you feel like you're calm enough?" asked the doctor.
"I think so, yeah" replied Mac. She knew she'd cry again once she and Harm were alone, but she dug down deep and forced herself to keep it together until then, otherwise they'd not let her see him.
"Ok, right this way, Colonel" said the doctor. He led Mac to a private room where Harm was at. She thanked the doctor for his help, and he left the two of them alone.
Mac walked over to Harm's bedside and touched his hand, ever-so-gently. He didn't look good by any means, but he could have looked a lot worse. The bruise on his face gave her flashbacks to her accident, and she shuddered at the thought of how painful it had been.
"I'm here, babe" she said quietly, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. "Please wake up. I need to hear your voice, Harm. Talk to me." He didn't respond. She took his hand in hers, and began to pray again.
"Please, God, don't let me lose him, not now, not ever…"