See notes at the end of this chapter for a personal update.

Chapter 65:

"That was so much fun" said Mac as she and Harm walked hand-in-hand towards the theme park exit. They'd been there all day long and ridden nearly every ride that was operating.

"Glad you had a good time" he said. "I had fun, too."

"I could tell" replied Mac…

…flashback…

"WOOHOO!"

"AAHHHH!"

Their shrieks and hollers of exhilaration and delight were lost amidst the roar of Batman: The Escape. It was a stand-up coaster, full of twists and turns, loops and dives.

"THAT was awesome!" exclaimed Harm as they exited the ride. "What'd you think?"

"Loved it!" agreed Mac. "That's the first one of those I've been on, but it was great!"

"That horizontal loop was the best part" said Harm, running his fingers through his ruffled hair.

"I swore we were gonna brush the ground with that one!" laughed Mac. "It was the best part, though, you're right."

…later…

"I dunno about this, Harm" said Mac apprehensively as they neared the front of the line for "SWAT", a ride which resembled a large boat paddle suspended on a tall tower. With a couple dozen riders on both ends, it would repeatedly spin around a full 360 degrees, forwards and backwards, giving them the sensation of flight without the aircraft.

"You don't have to ride if you don't want to, babe" said Harm, "but I can't pass it up, it looks is it" she asked, "that you think this looks 'cool' and yet you freaked out about going on Dungeon Drop back there?"

Harm shrugged and smiled. "I'm a guy and we don't always make sense?"

"You can say that again, flyboy!" replied Mac with a smile of her own.

"You can wait back there and watch me if you'd rather" said Harm, "up to you."

Mac looked at the ride in motion one more time, spinning round and round, forwards, backwards, way up high.

She looked at Harm and smiled.

"Let's go for it."

…end flashback…

"Was it as crazy as you thought it'd be" he asked.

"Oh, much worse!" replied Mac. "As big a thrill junkie as I am, that's one ride I dare say I'll never get on again!"

"I thought it was great" said Harm, pulling his bride near. "But then I love barrel-rolling in 'Sarah' and you've always hated that, so…"

"Exactly!" laughed Mac. "But it doesn't matter, I still had a complete blast today and I have you to thank for that."

"Hmmm…" said Harm playfully as they walked along. "I'm not sure just saying 'thanks' to me is good enough. I'm not feeling the gratitude, for some reason…"

"Oh, really" replied Mac, raising a brow in his direction. "Well, what would you suggest?"

"They say" he answered, "that actions speak louder than words, my love."

Mac couldn't help but laugh just a little. She knew what he was up to, and she didn't mind at all.

"Well then" she said, playing right into his hands, "let's go find the car and get back to the hotel, and I'll show you some actions so loud that people in the hills of Borneo will wonder what we're doing."

He held her hand a little tighter as he noticeably stepped up the pace of their stride in search of "Bugs Bunny 9".

"There, they're off, they're off" said Mac. "I'm so sorry! Are you OK? Lemme see" she insisted.

"No" he said, his right hand holding his left wrist tightly against his chest. "It's OK, nothing too bad."

"Since when are you a doctor?" she asked. "Please let me see, babe. It might need stitches."

"I'm sure it doesn't need anything more than a washcloth and a band aid" argued Harm, obviously in pain.

"If I get a washcloth" she asked, "will you let me see?"

He nodded, moving his right hand a tiny bit while trying not to move the left one. She got up and hurried towards the bathroom, returning momentarily with a wet washcloth.

"Here" she said, "move this hand." He slowly removed his right hand from atop the injured wrist.

Mac carefully took hold of his left forearm, pulling it gently away from his chest.

"Oh God!" she gasped when the blood immediately began running down his arm and all over her hand. She quickly placed the washcloth against the cut and applied pressure.

"Is it that bad?" he asked, afraid to look.

"Yeah" she replied, "it's bleeding a whole lot. You need to go to the ER, babe."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I really don't care to explain to another living soul what happened here!"

"Sorry, Harm" she said, continuing to hold the washcloth tight against his wound. "I can't get a good look at the cut for all of the blood, which tells me it's big and/or deep, neither of which we can properly treat by ourselves."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, we'll go" he said, "but you'll have to help me get dressed."

"I will" she said. "Here, you hold this on there like I've been doing, let me get dressed real quick, then I'll help you and we'll go."

Harm nodded, placing his hand over hers as she slid it off the washcloth.

They found the hospital without any trouble. The hotel clerk had given them excellent directions, and that time of night there was almost no traffic. Mac parked the car in the first open spot she found, then helped Harm out of the passenger side and together they entered the Emergency Room.

"Can I help you?" asked the triage nurse.

"Yes" replied Mac, "my husband cut his wrist and we think it needs stitches."

"OK" said the nurse as she reached for a clipboard with several forms on it. "Fill these out, bring them back with his insurance card, and we'll get him taken care of."

"OK, thank you" said Mac, taking the clipboard and grabbing a pen from the container on the desk.

"You doing alright?" she asked Harm as they sat down in the waiting area. They were each wearing jogging pants, and Mac was in a gray "JAG" sweat shirt while they'd managed to get Harm into a plain white T-shirt and his right arm into his jacket.

"Mm-hmm" he answered as he looked down at the washcloth, which was now far more red than white.

Mac began filling out the forms:

Patient's name: Rabb, Harmon D., Jr.

DOB: 25OCT1964

Age: 40

SSN: 921-60-0814

"No, don't do that, babe!" she said when she glanced over and noticed Harm lifting the washcloth to look at his cut. "It'll gush all over again!"

"Alright" he sighed, obviously tense about the situation.

"Does it hurt a lot right now?" she asked as she continued writing.

"No more than before" he replied as he slouched back against his chair.

"That's good" she said. " I've almost got these finished. What should I put for 'cause of injury'?"

"I don't care as long as you leave specifics out of it!" exclaimed Harm in a loud whisper.

"Harm, you're gonna have to tell the doctor what happened!" replied Mac in a tone matching his. "We can't possibly avoid that and besides, it's not like you were involved in any type of illegal behavior or anything."

"That'd be less embarrassing than what really happened!" he retorted.

…flashback…

"Again?" he asked as she began nibbling at his ear. "Who's the insatiable one tonight, hmm?"

Mac laughed a little and continued nibbling. "Can't help it" she said. "I just can't get enough of you, Commander."

"I love it when you call me that" he purred, his hands sliding slowly towards her unclothed backside.

"Commander…" she said in her most alluring voice.

"Oh, you're bad…" he replied.

"Yeah" she answered as her kisses moved from his ear to his lips, "but I'm so damn good at it."

They kissed passionately for a moment before she spoke again.

"I'll be right back" she said, her warm, sweaty body sliding off of his.

"'K" he said softly as he tried to catch his breath. Upon her return, however, his breath was once again lost.

"Feeling naughty tonight, are we?" he asked as she climbed atop him holding the fuzzy blue handcuffs.

"Oh, yeah" she answered, "which means you, my dear, need to slide a little to the left."

… a few minutes later, amidst the throes of passion…

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" he yelled.

"What?" she asked, her body laying on his, her heart pounding. "What's wrong?"

"Move! Now!" he yelled. "I think these things just cut my hand off!"

"Oh, God!" said Mac, "should I take them off?"

"YES!" he yelled, "NOW! Oh, God this hurts!"

She immediately moved off of him and knelt beside the head of the bed, her fingers frantically trying to release the latch on the cuffs.

"Ah! Careful!" he exclaimed through clenched teeth. "Feels like someone's got a knife in my wrist!"

"Sorry!" said Mac as she did her best to undo the latch without hurting him any worse. "How did this happen?"

"I moved wrong" he answered, the pain evident in his voice. "Really wrong!"

…end flashback…

"How about I just put 'household accident' and leave it at that?' asked Mac.

"Works for me" he answered. "Of course they'll wanna know more once they take us back there, but the fewer people we have to tell about it the better as far as I'm concerned."

"Exactly" agreed Mac. "OK, I think that's it. Where's your wallet? I need your insurance card."

"Jacket pocket, I think" answered Harm.

Mac reached into his jacket pocket and pulled the wallet out.

"Right side, second slot from the bottom" he said as she opened it up to retrieve the card.

"Ah, here we go" she said, pulling out the proper card. "I'll be right back."

"I'm not going anywhere" he said with a small amount of his usual humor.

Mac returned several minutes later and flopped into the seat next to him.

"They said it shouldn't be more than a 30 minute wait" she said, "but you know how hospitals are."

"Yeah, I do" said Harm, repositioning his wrist a little while being careful not to get it bleeding again. He glanced up at the television in the corner.

"Why is the news all they ever have on in these places?" he asked Mac, as much to make conversation as anything.

"Good question" she replied. "You'd think they'd have a movie channel or something."

"Yeah" he said. "or a DVD player where they could show movies, just something better than all news, all the time."

"Harmon Rabb" called the nurse from in front of the double doors.

"Hey, that wasn't long at all" said Mac as she grabbed her purse off the floor.

"I'm glad" said Harm, leading them over to where the nurse waited.

"Follow me, please" she said. She took them back, did all the preliminary stuff, took down his vitals, etc…, then escorted them into an exam room to wait for the doctor.

"Maybe we'll luck out and get the doctor in here as quickly as we got called back" said Mac.

Harm laughed a little. "Might be hoping for a little much, there, babe."

No sooner did he finish that sentence than there was a knock at the door.

"Hi" said the doctor as he entered the room, grabbing Harm's chart from the holder on the front of the door before closing the door behind himself. "I'm Dr. Castro."

"Nice to meet you" said Harm, extending his right hand. "I'm Harm and this is my wife, Sarah."

"Hello, Sarah" said the doctor as he reached out to shake Mac's hand.

"Hi" she replied.

"Let's see here" said the doctor as he eyeballed Harm's chart for a moment. "Says you cut your wrist in a household accident. What kind of 'household accident' was it?"

Harm looked over at Mac, a look of impending doom on his face. He took a deep breath and was about to speak when she stepped in and took over.

"Well, doctor" she said, "we're on our honeymoon this week and - "

"Oh, congratulations!" said Dr. Castro. "Where are you from?"

"Washington, DC" answered Mac. "We're in the military. I'm a Marine and my husband is in the Navy."

"That's great" said the doctor. "Are you stationed at the Pentagon?"

"No" said Harm, "we're with the JAG Corps, Judge Advocate General, it's in Falls Church, Virginia."

"Fantastic" said the doctor, obviously intrigued by their story thus far. "I'm sorry, Sarah, please continue telling me what happened."

Mac looked at Harm and continued. "We were having an intimate moment and it went a little bit awry."

"I see" said the doctor. "I realize this is a very personal situation, but I'm afraid you'll need to be a bit more specific so I know what I need to do."

"I know" said Mac, "I know." She decided to just spit the rest of it out in a single sentence. "The cut on his wrist happened when he moved wrong while wearing handcuffs."

The doctor simply sat on his bench and nodded his head.

"It was bleeding heavily" Mac continued, "and I couldn't get a good look at it to see how bad it was, so we came in."

"Always the right thing to do in cases where the severity can't be determined" said the doctor as he reached for a pair of rubber gloves from the box next to the table. "OK, let's have a look here" he said.

Harm moved his right hand out of the way as the doctor took hold of Harm's left elbow, moving the injured wrist into a better position for him to examine.

He carefully pulled the blood-saturated washcloth away, exposing the cut, which began to bleed again. The doctor took some sterile 2x4 gauze pads and began to dab away the blood.

"Eeww" said Mac as she stood next to Harm and watched. "That's nasty, babe."

"Thanks for the editorial, my dear" he said, not yet looking at his injury for fear of becoming squeamish. He could handle the sight of other people's blood (except, of course, for Ainsley's) better than his own.

"You've got yourself an ugly gash here, Harm" said the doctor as he examined it more closely. "It's a good 3 inches across and it's deep, all the way through several veins, which accounts for all the blood."

"No wonder it hurt so much" said Harm.

"I'd say not" agreed Mac, feeling really bad for her role in the situation.

"I'm not too concerned that there's any deeper soft-tissue damage" said the doctor, "can you bend your wrist for me?"

Harm slowly and gingerly moved his wrist, wincing a bit at the pain.

"Good, great" said Dr. Castro. "Yeah, I think you're fine. I'll get this stitched up for you and we'll update your tetanus shot, and send you home with a prescription for some antibiotics. Sound OK?"

"Sounds great" said Harm.

"OK then" said the doctor, "I'll go get the nurse and we'll get you all taken care of."

"Well, that wasn't as bad as it could have been" said Mac as they walked through the parking lot after finishing up in the ER.

"It was bad enough" said Harm. The cut required 12 stitches and was wrapped now in what he figured had to be no less than 500 yards of gauze. It appeared as though his hand had been surgically reattached by the looks of the bandage, which he felt was overkill for the type of injury he had, but he figured they knew what they were doing.

"How's the pain?" she asked, unlocking the passenger door for him.

"So-so" he replied. "My ass really hurts right now though - those tetanus shots are for the birds!"

"Yeah" agreed Mac, "I always hate getting those. My ass hurts for days afterwards, and I get a huge knot."

The first few minutes of the ride to the 24 hour pharmacy were silent, each of them feeling extremely tired from the long day and being up half the night. Eventually, though, Mac spoke up.

"I'm really sorry about this, babe. I feel terrible."

"Please don't feel bad, Mac" he said, reaching his right hand across his lap to rub her leg as she drove. "It was an accident, and if anyone is at fault, it's me. I did it to myself."

"You did it on those stupid handcuffs that I wanted to use" argued Mac.

"You were just trying to make it adventurous" he said, still caressing her leg. "There's nothing at all wrong with that. We're married, we're on our honeymoon, we're supposed to be adventurous in all sorts of ways, that being one of them."

"Yeah, but - "

"No buts, Mac" said Harm. "It was an accident, we got it taken care of, we'll get this prescription filled and we'll call it a night."

"A couple more hours and we can call it morning" laughed Mac. "Hey, I think maybe my clock is starting to come back."

"Nah, I don't think it is" said Harm. "What time is it right now?"

Mac thought for a few seconds and couldn't come up with the answer. With a sigh, she admitted that Harm was right.

"Well, it may not be back just yet" she agreed, "but I really think it's getting closer!"

Harm laughed a bit. "Baby, by the time it gets on track down here, we'll be ready to go home and you'll have to reset it."

"Probably so" said Mac as she pulled into the pharmacy parking lot, "but even at that, I wouldn't trade this week for anything."

"Neither would I" said Harm, leaning over to give her a kiss. "Neither would I."

A/N: I shared early last week that after many months of being "on the bench" regarding our fertility treatments, we were finally back in the game and excited to be there. Unfortunately, we're now back on the bench and not taking it very well. Long story short, the injections I was giving myself all last week and the first part of this week didn't work as we'd hoped. The only decent follicle they produced was (of course) on the side with no tube, which meant it was no good.We were not expecting this, since my appointment on Monday had shown promising development on the right ovary. By Tuesday, however, things took a frustrating turn and knocked us right back out of the game. I spent hours Tuesday in tears, the kind where you can literally feel your heart crumbling inside your chest. The doctor said he'll let us try this same treatment up to 2 more times, but if the first one goes as this one did, or if after the second I'm still not pregnant, we'll be done. To say we're devestated doesn't quite cover it.

SO...please be patient with me if the next few chapters take a little while to get finished. On top of my latest personal tragedy, we've got family coming into town for the weekend, so that might eat up alot of my writing time. As always, though, fear not - the story will go on, I promise. :)