This is installment 7 in the Shattered Promises series.
Things Fall Apart.
Picking Up The Pieces.
(a & b.) Starting Over.
Getting It Right.
Getting To Know You.
Happy Endings.
Sleepless Nights.
See You In My Dreams.
Scattered Photographs.
Dreams Really Do Come True.
Celebrations.
Turning Full Circle.
Rating:T for minor adult themes (just to be on the safe side.)
Disclaimer: JAG and its main characters belong to the genius who is DPB and to CBS. I don't make any profit from writing any of these fics, but simply get to exercise my overactive imagination every now and then. Please don't sue me, as I'm just a student with no money and way too much time on my hands:0)
Summary: What do you do when you find it hard to sleep? Set after the events of SP 6: Happy Endings.
Spoilers: None. This isn't set at any particular point in the JAG timeline and there are no specific references to any episodes.
Feedback, as always, is very much appreciated. Please don't hesitate to press the 'review' button!
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Sleepless Nights
As she rolled over in bed, Mac's hand went instinctively to the pillow next to her. She let out a groan as she felt only the cold space beside her and realized that Harm wasn't there. He was on some aircraft carrier, halfway across the earth. Oh, how she hated it when had to leave her to go on assignment!
She pulled back the sheets and lowered her feet to the floor and made her way through to the kitchen to make herself some hot chocolate. Suddenly, she heard a loud gasp come from the living room, where Cathy was asleep on the couch.
"Mac!" the girl exclaimed, loudly, still in a state of alarm.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Mac asked her, walking through from the kitchen, "Are you having bad dreams again?"
"I don't know, I guess," Cathy told her, vaguely.
Cathy got to her feet, rubbing the side of her head, looking extremely confused.
"What's wrong?" she asked Mac, "Couldn't you sleep?"
"No, I guess it's because Harm's not here," Mac replied, "I was about to make some hot chocolate. Do you want some?"
"Yes, please," Cathy requested.
They walked through into the kitchen and Cathy perched herself on the worktop as Mac put the kettle on to boil. They remained in silence until Mac had poured the hot chocolate, then Cathy spoke up as Mac handed her the mug.
"Thanks. The dream I had tonight wasn't really the same as the others," she told Mac.
"In what way?" Mac asked.
"It was about the night in Miami," Cathy explained, "the night that the hurricane came and killed my family."
"You had a nightmare about the hurricane?" Mac asked
"No," Cathy told her, "not exactly."
After a moment, Cathy continued, "Mac, what I dreamed about was so real. I think I was remembering back to something that actually happened that night. Something that I've never been able to remember, up until now."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Mac asked her, quietly.
"I guess I should, my brain is telling me not to, but my heart's telling me that I can't keep it all inside. Perhaps, if I explain it, it'll start to make some sense in my own mind."
Mac put her mug down and took Catriona's hand in her own, urging her on.
"The dream starts as that night did, with my Mom shaking me awake. I don't know if it was just the dream or if I really like that, because I was in this sort of surreal state. It was probably because I was still half-asleep or maybe I was in shock. When my Mom and I ran out onto the landing, I remember seeing this big, gaping hole where the master bedroom used to be. That part of the house was an extension and it had been raining so much in the days before that it all just collapsed in on itself, under the pressure from the winds and the waves that were coming up the beach. I remember looking down at all the rubble and thinking that my Dad, Aunt Janice and Uncle Peter must be buried underneath it. I actually thought that was why we were getting out of the house, but as we were going down the stairs, the hall windows blew out. My Aunt Laura and Uncle Robb were behind me and my Mom and they got caught by the glass. They had to pick their younger kids up, because they had started crying. All the electricity and lights were out, so we were following my Uncle James, who had a flashlight. At first, he tried to get out into the yard to my cousins, who were camping in the back yard. But their tent had blown away and by that time, they had all run away to find a place to shelter. By then, the hurricane was on the beach, in front of the house. This is the bit that is new. I originally thought that I had been knocked out, but tonight, I remembered what I think actually happened. As the hurricane hit the house, my Uncle Steve and Uncle Robb were trying to find their car keys and the house keys... I think that they were hoping that we could still get out of the house, find my cousins and drive away before the hurricane hit us. But we were too late. My Mom and I were over by the staircase and my Aunts were sheltering under the dining table with the young kids. The house started creaking and suddenly, we heard this ear-splitting noise above us. My Mom and I fell to the floor and without any warning, the whole ceiling fell in. My Mom and I were right below the hallway, so I guess that's why we didn't really get hurt. But my Aunts, Uncles and cousins…the entire upstairs floor must have come crashing down onto them."
She paused a second, before hesitating, "Just a minute…I didn't get hurt. I got scratched by some shards of glass and a few splinters of wood, but other than that…"
Mac watched the expression on Cathy's face change dramatically, as it dawned on her why she had been unharmed in the disaster.
"My Mom was leaning over me…She was on top of me. I could still feel her arms around me as I passed out. I don't know what on earth happened to us next, but I'm sure that my Mom did her very best not to let go of me. And when I woke up and found my Mom, she kept telling me over and over again that she loved me and that I had to go and find help. Even to her last breath, she kept telling me that she loved me."
"And she always will," Mac assured her, "your whole family always will and your family at JAG will, as well."
They sat in silence for a while as Mac wordlessly rubbed Cathy's hand.
"Do you want to try and get back to sleep?" Mac finally asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Cathy told her, "I think I've finally laid some demons to rest tonight. Maybe a sleep without dreams will come easier now."
"Alright," Mac told her, leading her through to the living room. Cathy lay down on the sofa again as Mac sat on the coffee table and brushed back the hair from her face. Cathy's eyes slowly closed and then her breathing became relaxed, telling Mac that she was asleep. Mac got up and paused to look out of the window at the street lamps below, when her eye suddenly caught the reflection of her cellphone. It had been put on silent mode and placed on the unit some time before and Mac walked over to pick it up as she saw it light up, indicating that a call was coming through. She checked it to see that the call was coming from a private number.
"I wonder who would be calling at this time," she thought to herself.
She answered it to find the comforting voice of her fiancée on the other side of the line.
"So, how's my favorite Marine?" he asked her.
"Mmm," Mac expressed, "Better now that I hear your voice."
"Is everything alright at home?" he asked.
"Yeah," Mac told him, "Cathy and I have had a little bit of trouble sleeping. Me because you're not here, but Cathy's managed to get back to sleep now."
"That's strange," Harm commented, "Cathy's had all of those conferences this week. I would have thought that she'd be sleeping like a log."
"She had another nightmare, Harm," Mac told him, "only this time, it was actually a memory of the night her family died. She remembered things that never has before."
Mac paused for a second and Harm encouraged her, "Go on, Sarah."
"Harm, she said that after the hurricane hit them, the house fell in on them. It collapsed on top of them. The family inside was killed when the ceiling and upper floor fell on top of them and the children outside died after they were swept away in the floods and winds.
But Cathy survived because her Mother covered her with her own body."
"A Mother's love," Harm commented, when Mac had finished.
"Yeah," Mac agreed, "Cathy said that was the last thing her Mother told her; that she loved her."
"Yeah and so do we," Harm added, "We've all got each other."
"When are you coming home?" Mac suddenly asked him, "I can't stand sleeping alone in that bed when you're all the way across the world."
"That's what I was calling to tell you," Harm told her, "I'm in Naples. I'm catching a flight to Heathrow in London, and then I'll catch a connecting flight into DC. I should be home by tomorrow evening."
"That's great!" Mac exclaimed, "Now I won't have to suffer another sleepless night tomorrow."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Harm objected, "Didn't you say that Cathy will be spending the night at a friend's house, tomorrow?"
Mac chuckled and smiled in anticipation as Harm continued, "I'll have a lot more on my mind than just getting some sleep!"
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