*************
I posted a review (or two) to respond to some of your reviews, just to let you know. Now on with what you all really want to read....
*************
I flip Mac's phone open and answer it, "Rabb."
"Commander Rabb, this is Dr. Kevinson."
"What is wrong?"
"Sir, I am calling to inform you that Colonel Mackenzie is in a coma."
"Coma?"
"Yes. Her pressure and pulse started to drop, and the swelling increased as well, we had no other choice but to induce coma to try and minimize the swelling." He paused, when he didn't receive any answer he continued, "Commander? Are you still there?"
"Ye--yes. When I left she was okay. She was talking to me and she was okay."
"I know. Head traumas are always unpredictable, that is why we watch them so closely."
"Is there anything else I need to know? I am about to start on my way back to the hospital now."
"No, I don't think so. She is holding her own right now, but again it is a waiting game."
"Thank you Doctor. I will be there in a little bit."
"Commander, did you find the girl?" Dr. Kevinson asks.
"No-" I have to swallow before I can talk again, "We found some evidence of foul play, Colonel Mackenzie wasn't injured from a fall, she was attacked, and Chloe was taken."
"No...I am truly sorry Commander. I hope that you find her soon."
"So do I. Thank you Doctor. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
I shut the cell phone and just stand here holding it. I want to go to Mac, I have been ordered to go to Mac. Yet at the same time I feel as if I should go to the office and start the JAG investigation to find Chloe. Chloe...this wasn't right. Chloe had nothing to do with the death of Dalton Lowne, she hadn't even known Dalton. It is almost a blessing that Mac is not aware of what is going on. After Dalton died she blamed herself, it even drove her to drink again. It was hard, but she worked through it, she overcame it. Sarah Mackenzie came to realize that the actions of a man like Coster were not her fault. I tried to help her through it as much as she would allow me too. I sigh and run my free hand over my face. Come on Rabb, get it together. It isn't often that I lose control and focus, but right now I feel like the rug has been ripped out from under me, and then rolled up to beat me with. I have no control of anything right now, and I don't know what to do about it.
"Excuse me, Commander Rabb."
I look at the man standing in front of me. It is Sgt. Williams, Officer Yates is standing a bit behind him.
"We were just getting ready to leave, and we wanted to make sure you didn't need anything else before we left."
I just stare at him for a moment. It is like my brain is incapable of forming a coherent thought. I say the first thing that comes to my head, "I need to give this back to Chief Gallows." Holding out the cell phone to show them what I mean.
Yates steps forward to take the phone, "Yeah sure I can give this to him. Why don't you go with Willy here and sit down for a few minutes."
I watch Yates walk away, I still haven't moved.
Williams looks at me and seems to understand, "Com'mon man, I have a bottle of water in the car with your name on it."
Physically taking my arm he steers me toward the patrol car. I look over at him, "I'm sorry. I just can't seem to concentrate on anything right now."
"Don't worry about it. It is what we refer to as 'shell-shock'. You have been going at full steam for a while now and your body just crashed."
"I don't crash, I am not allowed to, I am a fighter pilot." I say more to myself than to Williams. I sit down in the passenger front seat with my feet still on the ground outside.
"I thought you were a lawyer." William looks at me with a curious expression. Leaning into the back seat and grabbing two bottles of water, he hands one to me. He then walks to the front of the car to lean against the car beside the open passenger door.
"I am. I flew years ago, I still fly F-14's occasionally. Well actually more often than I thought I would after joining JAG. But I lied to you, I do crash, well did crash."
"Really, when?" I know what the Sergeant is doing. He is trying to bring me out of my shocked state by getting my mind into the mundane, or at least away from the present. It may be working, my brain seems to be regaining its footing.
"Once about ten years ago, once about three years ago, and then the last time this past year."
"Good Lord, and they still let you fly?" Williams was openly shocked.
"The first one was due to an eye infection; I crashed my Tomcat on the deck of a carrier in the middle of a storm. The second I didn't really crash, I stole a MiG from a Russian Air base and was shot down. I probably shouldn't have told you that, it is classified information, so don't repeat that. The third was when I was trying to get home for Mac's wedding, we flew into a storm and then the plane malfunctioned, we had to punch out. I almost died that time. It was Mac who lead them to the general area were I was. She has saved my six more times than I can count."
"Wow, man you must be part feline. You have nine lives!" Williams laughed as Yates joined them at the car.
"Yeah, I do seem to have a lucky charm. I am just afraid that that lucky charm is laying in a bed at Bethesda in a coma." I know I sound miserable, but I don't care.
"Oh, man, I'm sorry Rabb. She's in a coma now?" Yates places a hand on my shoulder.
"Yes. Here I was worried about how I was going to tell her that Chloe is missing. Now I am worrying that I may never tell her anything again. I don't know what to do," I look at each of the men with me, searching their faces for answers, "I don't know if I should go to Mac, I want to. Then at the same time I feel like I should help find Chloe, although I don't know what I can do there. Why is this happening! Sarah doesn't deserve this, neither does Chloe. They are good people who have had to deal with so much sadness and hardship in their lives already! They don't deserve this." By the time I finish my tirade my voice is no more than a whisper.
Yates squats down in front of me, "Commander, the first thing you need to do is go and see Colonel Mackenzie. Tell her that Chloe is missing, then tell her what you plan to do about it."
"She is in a coma, what good would that do?" I am confused.
"It's not for her, it is for you. You need to see her, and let her help you decide what your next course of action should be. Don't give me that crap about her not being able to do that for you. She may be in a coma, but man, I have heard the way you talk about her, and the way you talked about Chloe. They are family, you love them and they love you. Just seeing her will do you a ton of good. So let's go, what do you say?"
"As weird as it sounds, you actually make sense." The more I think about it I know he is right. I need to see Mac before I can do anything else. "Let's go to the hospital fellas."
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL ICU Room 1121
I slowly push the door open and look in at my Jarhead. She is still painfully pale and fragile looking. Hooked up to more monitors than the last time I saw her, she looks like a science experiment gone wrong. I smile at the thought of how she would react to that last thought, science experiment indeed. I go to the chair that is sitting next to the bed and sit down. Never taking my eyes off her face I begin to tell her everything that has happened today.
"...so that is when I came back here. I need to tell you that you don't need to worry about Chloe. I am going to find her, and bring her home to you. I am not going to let anything happen to her, Mac-Sarah I promise you. Right now I can hear you tell me not to make promises I can't keep. I tell you again, I haven't yet. I mean that, not only about this but about the other promises I have made to you. I will keep them, so you need to just rest and get better. Besides who else is going to watch my six, if you don't? Mac, get better, I have to go meet Sturgis and get this investigation going." I stand up and lean over her, very gently I kiss her forehead. My chest constricts and I fight to control my emotions. "I'll see you soon, Jarhead."
I walk out of her room with purpose and determination, I know what needs to be done and I am going to do it.
JAG HQ FALLS CHURCH
"Commander, these faxes just came in for you."
"Thank you Petty Officer. Will you tell Lt. Roberts to come in here please?"
"Of course, sir."
A moment later there is a short wrap on the door. Sturgis looks up to find Bud standing at the door.
"Come in please Bud. I just wanted to get your opinion of Detective Mark Adams." Sturgis leans back in his chair bringing his hands up in front of him to steeple his fingers.
Bud enters and sits down comfortably in a chair in front of Turner's desk.
"He seems very efficient. He knows his job, asks precise and well aimed questions. He also seems forthright and open with information. I believe he truly only cares about getting Chloe back, and not who gets the credit for it." Bud said after thinking about it for a moment.
"Well put, Lieutenant. I agree with your assessment. Would you be good enough to fax this over to his office. We just received this information, and I think he would find it beneficial." Sturgis held several sheet of paper out for Bud to take.
Reaching to receive the papers Bud asks "What are they, if you don't mind me asking."
"Information about Dalton Lowne's older sister. It seems she was in the Navy."
"Really?" Bud asks incredulously.
"Yes. Chief Petty Officer Karen Lowne was discharged in June of 1997. It was an Honorable discharge due to medical illness. She was sent to a private mental health hospital after being release from a Navy clinic. She had a history of sudden violent outbursts. It was determined that she had a bi-polar disorder and mild psychosis that could be treated to some degree with medication. She didn't know of her brother's death until after she was released. She spent over four years in the hospital before being release in June of 2001."
"That was while the Colonel was TAD, just after Commander Rabb's crash." Bud tells Sturgis.
"Really that is interesting. That answers my question of why she didn't go after Mac then, when she found out about Dalton's murder. Since she couldn't get to Mac directly, my guess is that she studied up on her. Learned what she could about Mac while she was TAD. She planned the best way to get back at her, waited until the opportunity presented itself before striking." Strugis glanced up at Bud to gage his reaction to his theory.
Bud was thinking, nodding slightly. "That sound plausible, but how did she find out about Chloe. Studying the Colonel wouldn't be too difficult, she has appeared in the Navy and Marine Times numerous times, but those articles would never have mentioned Chloe."
"I don't know how she learned about Chloe, yet. But don't worry Bud, I will."
"I have no doubt of that Commander."
_____________________
UNKOWN CARRIER IN AN UNKOWN SEA
I am struggling to understand why I am here. I look around the empty carrier deck and wonder where everyone is. Even if there aren't any planes in the air right now, there should still be people on the deck. I hear nothing but the wind and the far off sounds of the waves against the hull of the carrier, far beneath me. I shouldn't be here, I should be...something tickles at the back of my memory. I should be....in a hospital? No, that can't be right. Why would I be in a hospital? As a Marine I try to make it a point to stay out of hospitals. I move toward the hatch when it suddenly swings inward to stand open. I look in to see Chloe standing there. I run over to her.
"Chloe what are you doing here. You can't be here." I step over the knee knocker turning to close and latch the hatch.
I turn to ask Chloe what she is doing here, only to find that she is gone. What the hell? I look down the passageways that are on either side of me, but am greeted by the sight of empty grayness. I glance at the stairs in front of me, and Harm is standing at the top of them, holding his hand out to me. He is saying something....why can't I hear him.
"Harm, I can't hear you. What's going on?" He doesn't respond. I look at his face now, he looks tired and very sad. He speaks again and I can hear him this time.
"I am going to find her, and bring her home to you. I am not going to let anything happen to her, Mac-Sarah I promise you." He used my first name...
"Bring who home? Do you mean Chloe? She was just here Harm, she couldn't have gotten that far. If we both look we should be able to find her pretty quickly. Harm why is she here?" He looks at me as if I haven't said anything. "Hello earth to Harm!!!" Still no reaction.
"Who else is going to watch my six, if you don't? Mac, get better, I have to go meet Sturgis and get this investigation going."
"Harm what are you talking about? Whose going to watch your six if I don't what? Get better? I feel fine. Sturgis is here? Where? And what investigation? Why are the two of you out here on an investigation without me?" Frustrated I look down at the deck to collect my thoughts before I go up those stairs and beat the tar out of my partner. I take a deep breath and look back up at him. Only he has now disappeared too. What is going on? This isn't funny, if they are playing a practical joke I am going to use everything the Marines have ever taught me and hurt all three of them. That is assuming Sturgis really is on the carrier. I need some coffee. Okay then, it's decided, I will head toward the officers mess, they always have coffee on in there. After I have had a cup or two I will decide how best to deal with the three stooges.
*************
and so concludes this chapter of The Battle Within. I decided that Harm and Mac are the only people that I am going to do first person with, so while I know it isn't the best of writing etiquette, I am going to do it anyway. So that is why it suddenly switched to third person in the scene with Bud and Sturgis. (Okay so I may do first person with Chloe as well...) I also wanted to thank you all again for your reviews.
~Fiona
*************
I posted a review (or two) to respond to some of your reviews, just to let you know. Now on with what you all really want to read....
*************
I flip Mac's phone open and answer it, "Rabb."
"Commander Rabb, this is Dr. Kevinson."
"What is wrong?"
"Sir, I am calling to inform you that Colonel Mackenzie is in a coma."
"Coma?"
"Yes. Her pressure and pulse started to drop, and the swelling increased as well, we had no other choice but to induce coma to try and minimize the swelling." He paused, when he didn't receive any answer he continued, "Commander? Are you still there?"
"Ye--yes. When I left she was okay. She was talking to me and she was okay."
"I know. Head traumas are always unpredictable, that is why we watch them so closely."
"Is there anything else I need to know? I am about to start on my way back to the hospital now."
"No, I don't think so. She is holding her own right now, but again it is a waiting game."
"Thank you Doctor. I will be there in a little bit."
"Commander, did you find the girl?" Dr. Kevinson asks.
"No-" I have to swallow before I can talk again, "We found some evidence of foul play, Colonel Mackenzie wasn't injured from a fall, she was attacked, and Chloe was taken."
"No...I am truly sorry Commander. I hope that you find her soon."
"So do I. Thank you Doctor. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
I shut the cell phone and just stand here holding it. I want to go to Mac, I have been ordered to go to Mac. Yet at the same time I feel as if I should go to the office and start the JAG investigation to find Chloe. Chloe...this wasn't right. Chloe had nothing to do with the death of Dalton Lowne, she hadn't even known Dalton. It is almost a blessing that Mac is not aware of what is going on. After Dalton died she blamed herself, it even drove her to drink again. It was hard, but she worked through it, she overcame it. Sarah Mackenzie came to realize that the actions of a man like Coster were not her fault. I tried to help her through it as much as she would allow me too. I sigh and run my free hand over my face. Come on Rabb, get it together. It isn't often that I lose control and focus, but right now I feel like the rug has been ripped out from under me, and then rolled up to beat me with. I have no control of anything right now, and I don't know what to do about it.
"Excuse me, Commander Rabb."
I look at the man standing in front of me. It is Sgt. Williams, Officer Yates is standing a bit behind him.
"We were just getting ready to leave, and we wanted to make sure you didn't need anything else before we left."
I just stare at him for a moment. It is like my brain is incapable of forming a coherent thought. I say the first thing that comes to my head, "I need to give this back to Chief Gallows." Holding out the cell phone to show them what I mean.
Yates steps forward to take the phone, "Yeah sure I can give this to him. Why don't you go with Willy here and sit down for a few minutes."
I watch Yates walk away, I still haven't moved.
Williams looks at me and seems to understand, "Com'mon man, I have a bottle of water in the car with your name on it."
Physically taking my arm he steers me toward the patrol car. I look over at him, "I'm sorry. I just can't seem to concentrate on anything right now."
"Don't worry about it. It is what we refer to as 'shell-shock'. You have been going at full steam for a while now and your body just crashed."
"I don't crash, I am not allowed to, I am a fighter pilot." I say more to myself than to Williams. I sit down in the passenger front seat with my feet still on the ground outside.
"I thought you were a lawyer." William looks at me with a curious expression. Leaning into the back seat and grabbing two bottles of water, he hands one to me. He then walks to the front of the car to lean against the car beside the open passenger door.
"I am. I flew years ago, I still fly F-14's occasionally. Well actually more often than I thought I would after joining JAG. But I lied to you, I do crash, well did crash."
"Really, when?" I know what the Sergeant is doing. He is trying to bring me out of my shocked state by getting my mind into the mundane, or at least away from the present. It may be working, my brain seems to be regaining its footing.
"Once about ten years ago, once about three years ago, and then the last time this past year."
"Good Lord, and they still let you fly?" Williams was openly shocked.
"The first one was due to an eye infection; I crashed my Tomcat on the deck of a carrier in the middle of a storm. The second I didn't really crash, I stole a MiG from a Russian Air base and was shot down. I probably shouldn't have told you that, it is classified information, so don't repeat that. The third was when I was trying to get home for Mac's wedding, we flew into a storm and then the plane malfunctioned, we had to punch out. I almost died that time. It was Mac who lead them to the general area were I was. She has saved my six more times than I can count."
"Wow, man you must be part feline. You have nine lives!" Williams laughed as Yates joined them at the car.
"Yeah, I do seem to have a lucky charm. I am just afraid that that lucky charm is laying in a bed at Bethesda in a coma." I know I sound miserable, but I don't care.
"Oh, man, I'm sorry Rabb. She's in a coma now?" Yates places a hand on my shoulder.
"Yes. Here I was worried about how I was going to tell her that Chloe is missing. Now I am worrying that I may never tell her anything again. I don't know what to do," I look at each of the men with me, searching their faces for answers, "I don't know if I should go to Mac, I want to. Then at the same time I feel like I should help find Chloe, although I don't know what I can do there. Why is this happening! Sarah doesn't deserve this, neither does Chloe. They are good people who have had to deal with so much sadness and hardship in their lives already! They don't deserve this." By the time I finish my tirade my voice is no more than a whisper.
Yates squats down in front of me, "Commander, the first thing you need to do is go and see Colonel Mackenzie. Tell her that Chloe is missing, then tell her what you plan to do about it."
"She is in a coma, what good would that do?" I am confused.
"It's not for her, it is for you. You need to see her, and let her help you decide what your next course of action should be. Don't give me that crap about her not being able to do that for you. She may be in a coma, but man, I have heard the way you talk about her, and the way you talked about Chloe. They are family, you love them and they love you. Just seeing her will do you a ton of good. So let's go, what do you say?"
"As weird as it sounds, you actually make sense." The more I think about it I know he is right. I need to see Mac before I can do anything else. "Let's go to the hospital fellas."
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL ICU Room 1121
I slowly push the door open and look in at my Jarhead. She is still painfully pale and fragile looking. Hooked up to more monitors than the last time I saw her, she looks like a science experiment gone wrong. I smile at the thought of how she would react to that last thought, science experiment indeed. I go to the chair that is sitting next to the bed and sit down. Never taking my eyes off her face I begin to tell her everything that has happened today.
"...so that is when I came back here. I need to tell you that you don't need to worry about Chloe. I am going to find her, and bring her home to you. I am not going to let anything happen to her, Mac-Sarah I promise you. Right now I can hear you tell me not to make promises I can't keep. I tell you again, I haven't yet. I mean that, not only about this but about the other promises I have made to you. I will keep them, so you need to just rest and get better. Besides who else is going to watch my six, if you don't? Mac, get better, I have to go meet Sturgis and get this investigation going." I stand up and lean over her, very gently I kiss her forehead. My chest constricts and I fight to control my emotions. "I'll see you soon, Jarhead."
I walk out of her room with purpose and determination, I know what needs to be done and I am going to do it.
JAG HQ FALLS CHURCH
"Commander, these faxes just came in for you."
"Thank you Petty Officer. Will you tell Lt. Roberts to come in here please?"
"Of course, sir."
A moment later there is a short wrap on the door. Sturgis looks up to find Bud standing at the door.
"Come in please Bud. I just wanted to get your opinion of Detective Mark Adams." Sturgis leans back in his chair bringing his hands up in front of him to steeple his fingers.
Bud enters and sits down comfortably in a chair in front of Turner's desk.
"He seems very efficient. He knows his job, asks precise and well aimed questions. He also seems forthright and open with information. I believe he truly only cares about getting Chloe back, and not who gets the credit for it." Bud said after thinking about it for a moment.
"Well put, Lieutenant. I agree with your assessment. Would you be good enough to fax this over to his office. We just received this information, and I think he would find it beneficial." Sturgis held several sheet of paper out for Bud to take.
Reaching to receive the papers Bud asks "What are they, if you don't mind me asking."
"Information about Dalton Lowne's older sister. It seems she was in the Navy."
"Really?" Bud asks incredulously.
"Yes. Chief Petty Officer Karen Lowne was discharged in June of 1997. It was an Honorable discharge due to medical illness. She was sent to a private mental health hospital after being release from a Navy clinic. She had a history of sudden violent outbursts. It was determined that she had a bi-polar disorder and mild psychosis that could be treated to some degree with medication. She didn't know of her brother's death until after she was released. She spent over four years in the hospital before being release in June of 2001."
"That was while the Colonel was TAD, just after Commander Rabb's crash." Bud tells Sturgis.
"Really that is interesting. That answers my question of why she didn't go after Mac then, when she found out about Dalton's murder. Since she couldn't get to Mac directly, my guess is that she studied up on her. Learned what she could about Mac while she was TAD. She planned the best way to get back at her, waited until the opportunity presented itself before striking." Strugis glanced up at Bud to gage his reaction to his theory.
Bud was thinking, nodding slightly. "That sound plausible, but how did she find out about Chloe. Studying the Colonel wouldn't be too difficult, she has appeared in the Navy and Marine Times numerous times, but those articles would never have mentioned Chloe."
"I don't know how she learned about Chloe, yet. But don't worry Bud, I will."
"I have no doubt of that Commander."
_____________________
UNKOWN CARRIER IN AN UNKOWN SEA
I am struggling to understand why I am here. I look around the empty carrier deck and wonder where everyone is. Even if there aren't any planes in the air right now, there should still be people on the deck. I hear nothing but the wind and the far off sounds of the waves against the hull of the carrier, far beneath me. I shouldn't be here, I should be...something tickles at the back of my memory. I should be....in a hospital? No, that can't be right. Why would I be in a hospital? As a Marine I try to make it a point to stay out of hospitals. I move toward the hatch when it suddenly swings inward to stand open. I look in to see Chloe standing there. I run over to her.
"Chloe what are you doing here. You can't be here." I step over the knee knocker turning to close and latch the hatch.
I turn to ask Chloe what she is doing here, only to find that she is gone. What the hell? I look down the passageways that are on either side of me, but am greeted by the sight of empty grayness. I glance at the stairs in front of me, and Harm is standing at the top of them, holding his hand out to me. He is saying something....why can't I hear him.
"Harm, I can't hear you. What's going on?" He doesn't respond. I look at his face now, he looks tired and very sad. He speaks again and I can hear him this time.
"I am going to find her, and bring her home to you. I am not going to let anything happen to her, Mac-Sarah I promise you." He used my first name...
"Bring who home? Do you mean Chloe? She was just here Harm, she couldn't have gotten that far. If we both look we should be able to find her pretty quickly. Harm why is she here?" He looks at me as if I haven't said anything. "Hello earth to Harm!!!" Still no reaction.
"Who else is going to watch my six, if you don't? Mac, get better, I have to go meet Sturgis and get this investigation going."
"Harm what are you talking about? Whose going to watch your six if I don't what? Get better? I feel fine. Sturgis is here? Where? And what investigation? Why are the two of you out here on an investigation without me?" Frustrated I look down at the deck to collect my thoughts before I go up those stairs and beat the tar out of my partner. I take a deep breath and look back up at him. Only he has now disappeared too. What is going on? This isn't funny, if they are playing a practical joke I am going to use everything the Marines have ever taught me and hurt all three of them. That is assuming Sturgis really is on the carrier. I need some coffee. Okay then, it's decided, I will head toward the officers mess, they always have coffee on in there. After I have had a cup or two I will decide how best to deal with the three stooges.
*************
and so concludes this chapter of The Battle Within. I decided that Harm and Mac are the only people that I am going to do first person with, so while I know it isn't the best of writing etiquette, I am going to do it anyway. So that is why it suddenly switched to third person in the scene with Bud and Sturgis. (Okay so I may do first person with Chloe as well...) I also wanted to thank you all again for your reviews.
~Fiona
*************