OOOO

Keeter had meanwhile continued on and had located his sister and Valerie. Although they had both suffered from lacerations and knocks to the head and body, he was able to discern that they had no other serious injuries.

The field-trip coordinators had all, by this time, come to and were now checking on the children. The back of the bus seemed to be the least damaged, so seemed to be the logical escape route, although some of the younger children would need help to get out, if they were to escape further lacerations from all of the glass lying around. They took those able to walk first then came back for those who would need more assistance. All the children were sat down on the grass verge and motorists who had stopped to help gave assistance in reassuring them and calming them down. For some of these children, this had been a very rare day out, some had never visited a fairground before and few of them had certainly never experienced anything this shocking before.

Barbara Keeter was in the vicinity when she heard over the radio that a bus full of children had left the highway south of the I-20. She told the crew to hold on, turned on the siren and immediately took off, steering around the rush-hour traffic.

Once she got there, the sight horrified her, both as a paramedic and as a mother. There were many children already sitting or lying on the grass verge, some already being tended to by other paramedics, some sitting crying and shaking. All were bloody from cuts to their arms and legs. She was about to assess which unattended child presented with the most severe injuries, when she noticed an adult escorting children out of the underbrush wearing the t-shirt of the organization that she often volunteered with, the organization her children went with today. She soon saw somebody else, someone who was a regular and whom she recognized.

"Jake!" she shouted, making a beeline for him, "What on earth happened?"

"The driver lost control," Jake told her, shakily, "He suddenly accelerated then braked and tugged the wheel to the right…a medic's with him, but it looks like he might have had a heart-attack or something…"

"And Jack and Abi?" Barbara demanded, "Are they okay?"

"They're a bit bruised and cut," Jake assured her, "But they're okay. Jack is helping with some of the kids still in the bus…"

At that moment, Jake trailed off, because Barbara had run past him, catching sight of her son and daughter. Jack was helping his sister to walk, supporting her around the waist as they climbed up the embankment to where all of the ambulances were parked.

"Abi! Jack!" Barbara wasted no time in running and embracing them, before giving them a quick visual check.

It seemed that they were both okay, but they'd have to wait for a while because Barbara knew that there were kids more seriously hurt who needed her expertise.

"I have to go and check on the other kids," she told them, "but I'm going to be right back…Will you be okay?"

"We'll be fine," Jack assured her, pulling his sister into his arms where they sat on the ground, "There are some kids that are really hurt in there, they need your help more than we do, right now. I'll take care of Abi…"

Jack had never been so independent before he went to the Academy, but Barbara could tell that it was more than just this. There was no hint of vulnerability or doubt in his voice. It sounded more like that of a man, not the boy she still occasionally thought of him as. She knew that what he had seen in the bus must have shocked him into taking charge like this. His new training was coming into use and she could sense that he'd never really be 'her little boy' again, after this, not even when he was at back in his childhood home.

This new figure of a man in place of the boy would only be cemented after his father's death, just before his and Harm's graduation from Annapolis.

Barbara let the crew know where she was headed and took off. Jack's friend Harm wasn't anywhere out here and Barbara silently prayed he wasn't one of the seriously injured inside the bus.

"We need to stabilize this child," the first medics she came across told her.

He already had the equipment needed, placed next to where the child was lying, but needed the extra pair of hands and the manpower to accomplish what needed to be done.

She helped him fix on a cervical collar, rolled the little girl onto a back-board and secure the rest of her body in place so that she wouldn't move and potentially cause herself any more damage. As Barbara got further into the bus, she saw that there were less children still in here than she had feared. Some of the older ones were helping to administer to the injured, four children and one adult amongst them. Three were pinned underneath the seats, but two of them didn't seem to have received anything more than superficial lacerations and bruising. Trish's son Harm was helping care for a young teenage girl who was also trapped, but was bleeding heavily from a deep gash to her left side. The remaining adult had suspected fractures to a leg and arm, causing so much pain that the volunteers had thought it unwise to move him. One of Barbara's crew came to stabilize the fractures, while Barbara turned her attention to the young girl Harm was holding.

"How bad is the bleeding?" she asked Harm and he told her that it had slowed since he'd applied pressure to the wound, but was still pretty heavy, so the gash must be pretty deep.

"Honey," Barbara attempted to rouse the child, "can you open your eyes for me?"

The girl did so, sluggishly, so Barbara asked again.

"Can you tell me your name and how old you are?"

When the child didn't manage a clear answer, Harm told Mrs. Keeter.

"Her name's Sarah and I think she's around Abi's age…She's been getting more and more out of it as time has passed. I think she's in shock…"

"Yes," Barbara nodded, getting the required equipment out of her pack and giving Sarah something for both that and something mild for the pain. Until her condition was better assessed, something stronger would have to wait.

"I wanted to get her out of here and to a paramedic, but her leg's pinned by the seat and I didn't want to hurt her more by trying to pull her out," Harm continued, gravely.

"It's best to assess her legs, first," Barbara shook her head and went to do just that, adding, "Just keep a check on her pulse, if you could, Harm. I'll be right back."

A colleague joined her and they assessed that Sarah's leg was only bruised where it was pinned just above the ankle. But they'd need to shift the back of the seat a ways to be able to slide the child's leg out.

"It's going to be okay," Harm continued to speak to her, even now that she had closed her eyes again, "Mrs. Keeter will get your ankle out and then we'll be able to get you to the ambulance. It won't be long now."

The sound of his voice brought Sarah to and she just stared up at him, her expression dazed but compliant.

"Help me and we'll see if we can move this," Barbara told her crew-member and together, they used all their strength to try and budge the offending seat. When that didn't work, they tried lifting while pushing it towards Sarah's knee, to see if some of the twisted metal would bend further upwards. They were able to move it so that there was just enough space to slide Sarah's ankle out.

Harm looked to his friend's Mother, to see what he needed to do next.

"We're going to have to lift her between the two of us," Barbara told him, "The hill outside is pretty steep and it will hurt her if she's moved about too much. We've got to keep the area around the wound stabilized."

Barbara looked down to check the child over once more before they moved her and saw that the girl's gaze was fixed on Harm.

"I think you've got an admirer, Harm," the older women joked.

Harm thought it was a pretty weird time for humor, but if it helped keep Sarah conscious and settled, he'd play along.

"Kinda makes you want to play superhero every day of the week," Harm joked back, but looked at Sarah as he said this, "if it gains the approval of the ladies!"

Barbara gave a short laugh and they fumbled their way out of the bus wreckage and up the hill. Sarah was anything but heavy, especially between them, but Harm and Barbara still had a hard time with the steep incline. They immediately carried the girl over to the nearest ambulance.

Depositing her gently on a gurney, Harm made no move to leave Sarah's side.

"Is Sarah okay?" Abi and Jack came hurrying over, "Valerie's already on her way to the hospital…"

"Is she going to be alright?" Harm asked the medic, who was looking at the wound to Sarah's abdomen.

"She'll be okay," the man nodded, "but she's lost quite a lot of blood. Not sure yet if she'll need a transfusion, but I'll start her up on fluids and the doctor will assess her once she gets to the hospital. What's her name?"

"Sarah," Abi told them, "but I don't know her last name. She and her Mom are staying with her friend Valerie's parents. They're visiting from out of state."

"Did her friend go away in one of our ambulances?" the medic asked, showing Abi and Jack the symbol and name on the back of the ambulance.

"Saint Luke's? Yes, that's were she went," Jack nodded and his sister agreed with him.

"We'll check with her, if she's not in too bad a state," the medic assured them, "And there should be some of the chaperones around to get her friend Valerie's contact information from."

"Take good care of her," Harm told the man as he reached out and softly stroked his hand against Sarah's cheek.

She stirred and opened her eyes again, having drifted off.

"You'll be okay now, Sarah," Harm told her, "These medics will bring you to the hospital and take care of you."

"Thank you…for keeping…your promise," Sarah managed to mumble, so quietly that Harm had to lean in towards her and consequently only he heard her.

Harm gave her hand a last squeeze and she was lifted into the ambulance, the doors were closed and the vehicle set off.

"Have you two been checked out?" Barbara asked and her children nodded.

"How about you, Harm?" she asked her son's friend, "Are you in any pain?"

"No," Harm shook his head, "just a couple of cuts, but nothing serious…I suppose I should call my Mom, let her know what's happened and that I'm okay."

"I can drive you home, if you'd like?" Barbara offered, "But I'd rather get you back to ours and patch you up before we do anything."

"I'm sure my Mom and Frank would come and get me," Harm told her, "so going back to your house would be great."

He looked at the cuts he had to his hands and fingers.

"Some of these are starting to sting, now I'm sweating," he added.

"Let's get you all home," Barbara ushered them all into her now unoccupied ambulance, "We'll drop by the hospital then take my car home…"

OOOO

Present day…

Mac felt much better rested when she woke up again. And it seemed that her internal clock had sprung back to life, as well. It was amusing that it still fritzed occasionally, but considering the constant chemistry between herself and Harm, it was not surprising.

Her fiancée, the one who had caused her internal clock to malfunction in the first place, stirred beside her and pulled her closer.

"We should get up, now," Mac told him, "Or we won't sleep tonight. I've got court tomorrow and you'll have that big murder trial with Sturgis."

The visit from JAG Headquarters by their former colleague and friend had been a surprise, but made Harm and Mac think about righting the bad note they had left the friendship on. Maybe it wasn't entirely their fault in the matter, but did it really matter who had said what? Sturgis and Harm had a friendship that went back nearly as far as that between Harm and Jack Keeter. Harm was certainly willing to put some of their confrontations at JAG behind him, for the sake of salvaging an old and valuable friendship.

"Hmmm," Harm snuggled further into her neck, "Just a while longer…"

"Harm…" she smiled softly as she tried fight against his 'guerilla tactics.'

"Just a while longer," Harm tried to convince her, slipping his hand to her belly, "Junior here agrees with me."

"You want to call our baby Harmon Rabb the Third if we have a boy?" Mac asked, surprised, because it was something that they hadn't discussed yet.

"No," Harm smiled, "I was just joking. I think it's time for our baby to get his own name, not one he'll need to share with his Father and Grandfather. It was confusing enough, growing up."

"I'm glad you think that," Mac sighed as she gave in to Harm's persistence and settled back down, "Because I've been thinking about Daniel for a boy or Hannah for a girl."

"I like those," Harm nodded, trying both of them out, "Daniel Rabb…Hannah Rabb. They both sound good."

"Both will be suitable for the baby as he or she grows up," Mac added, "Neither are really babyish so that they won't like it when they're forty years old."

"That's good," Harm chuckled, "So they just might not end up hating us?"

Mac joined in the laughter and as it trailed off, Harm enfolded Mac back into his arms.

"Shall we get some more sleep?" he asked.

Mac laughed but agreed, wondering how Harm could possibly need more sleep. She had been wide awake, ready to face the day a few minutes ago and she was the one who was three months pregnant. Well, if it meant that she and Harm could snuggle, great and it wasn't like they really had somewhere they needed to be. They'd only planned to get some work on their cases done.

"Thank you," Harm mumbled into her ear as his body relaxed completely.

"For what, agreeing to stay in bed to sleep longer?" Mac asked.

"Yes, for one thing," Harm nodded, "but there are others too numerous to list."

"Thank you," Mac replied and it was Harm's turn to laugh.

"For what?" he asked, "For convincing you to stay in bed?"

"No," she laughed as she massaged the hand he had on her belly, "for our child…I never thought I'd ever be here, doing the motherhood thing."

"You're welcome," Harm told her kissing her on the nose, "but I've told you before; I never make a promise I can't keep…"

"No," Mac smiled as she closed her eyes and snuggled in, "you don't…"

FIN