Chapter Nine:

2310 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

Mac watched in horror as they almost lost Harm in the ambulance. She felt so helpless and she started to let the tears fall. She reached over and held his hand to her heart. "Come back to me Harm."

The doctor ran out, "Ma'am can you tell me what happened?"

"Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. I found him like this on his grave. Please, just help him." She pleaded with him.

The EMT looked at the doctor and told him everything that happened while en route to the hospital.

"Ma'am, I need you to calm down. Is there anyone I can call for you?" The nurse said running out to assist.

"Nurse, we need to get this man in here fast." The doctor lifted Harm on to one of the ER tables.

"Ma'am what can you tell us to the extent of injuries?"

"I don't know anything. We thought he was dead up until 8 hours ago. He was captured in Iraq, but found here."

The nurse looked sympathetically at Mac. "You are looking a little green."

"Probably because I am 10 weeks pregnant and getting ready to lose my dinner." She turned and threw up in the trashcan. "Just take care of him. I need to call our CO. Is there a phone I can use?"

"Use the one at the nurses station."

Mac walked up to the nurses station, picked up the phone, and dialed the number to the Admiral Jonas.

Ring . . . Ring . . .

"Jonas residence."

"Hi Mrs. Jonas. This is Colonel Mackenzie. I need to speak with the Admiral."

"Mac, how are you doing dear? Hold on let me get my husband."

Admiral Jonas got on the line. "Mac, do you realize what time it is?"

"Sir, I'm sorry, Commander Rabb has been found, he is at Bethesda right now."

"I'll call AJ. I am on my way."

"Thank you sir."

Mac went over to the waiting area and put her head in her hands and started to sob. The love of her life was a few yards away fighting for his life. She didn't know if she should feel relief or if she should feel anger. While she was fighting her inner demons, AJ Chegwidden had slipped in and put a friendly arm around her shoulders.

"How the hell did Rabb wind up back here?"

"I have no clue. I found him on his grave, broken leg and bleeding. Talk about ironic situations, finding the man you thought was dead on top of his grave. He lost consciousness. How would you feel?"

"I honestly don't know. Mac, you have to stay calm for this baby, think on the positive side, your children will have a chance to be with their dad for a very long time."

"I am ecstatic that he is home. But right now, he is in for the fight of his life, trust me I know. Coming back from torture is a hard thing." AJ didn't think about the psychological implications of the type of torture that Harm had to endure, he knew that Harm had to go through it before. "I found him, battered and broken."

"Mac, Harm has faced torture before."

"But he should never have to face it again! Hasn't he been through enough?"

"Haven't you been through enough?" AJ countered back.

Mac was silent for a few moments and uncurled herself from the ball she had pulled herself into. "My fiancé is home."

"Yeah he is."

Admiral Jonas walked through the doors. "Do you know what type of paperwork hell this is going to be, how do you declare someone undead? Damn, Harm must have twenty lives."

The doctor walked out, "Colonel Mackenzie?"

"Yes Doctor?"

"Who did this to him?"

"I don't know. I found him like that."

The doctor started to fill him in. "His injuries are consistent with that of abuse."

"That is completely absurd!" AJ Chegwidden yelled. "Of course he was abused. He was a prisoner of war, and for some reason he was left for dead on his gravesite."

"Please, just help him. Please," She pleaded, starting to feel light headed, she staggered backward.

AJ caught her again. "Doctor, she is two and a half months pregnant, please do not upset her."

"Colonel, when was the last time you ate?"

"And kept it in my stomach? About two weeks ago." She answered.

"I'll have the cafeteria bring you something." The nurse replied.

"Anyway, Commander Rabb is going to need surgery to reset his leg, plus rehab for it. He needs exploratory surgery for internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, and to repair damage caused by the abuse. We are pretty sure he has a nasty concussion also. He is unconscious at the time being. Who holds medical power of attorney? We can't find his records considering he is technically dead."

"I hold power of attorney. I'm his fiancée. Just do what you have to do to save him, please!"

"Sign these papers, and we will take him up."

Mac gave the papers a quick glance and signed them. "I want to see him first."

"I can arrange that. We also have some personal affects of his that were in his pockets." He handed her a picture – it was her wearing his Navy ball cap on Thanksgiving day, Mattie was standing next to her holding Mackenzie. He had told her that he would carry it with him. She walked into the trauma room where he was hooked up to machines.

"Hey Baby. Do you know how much I love you?" She picked up his hand and placed it over her heart. "This heart is beating for you right now. You are my heart, and well, I just love you so much." She placed his hand on her stomach that was holding their child, "Did you know that on Thanksgiving, I found out that I was pregnant? I had decided that if it was a boy, I would name him after you, but we can talk about that."

A nurse had walked in, "Colonel Rabb, the surgeons are ready for him now."

She didn't bother correcting the nurse, and leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead. "I am walking up with him as far as possible." The nurse nodded. Mac held Harm's hand right up until they hit the surgery ward's door. "Harm, I love you. Don't forget it."

AJ Chegwidden and Admiral Jonas stood by the door waiting for Mac's eventual collapse. The pregnancy hadn't exactly been an easy one she had morning sickness and her doctor's had warned her not to let the stress levels escalate. Mac walked back to them.

AJ and Admiral Jonas watched the myriad of emotions wash across her face. Smiles mixed with tears, laughter mixed with cries. Then what AJ was expecting, rage. "He was alive, he spent nearly a month in that hell! This whole time I felt that he was alive, and everyone kept telling me to ignore those feelings! I could have found him, saved him, like . . ."

"He did for you." AJ finished. "Mac, no one knew. The identities of his remains were confirmed through DNA analysis."

"He was in Iraq, being tortured, nobody knew or cared! I felt that he was alive! People told me I was wrong, and I started to listen to them!"

"Mac, even if we knew that he made it out of his Tomcat, we didn't know where he was being held . . . you couldn't have gone in country and left your children behind . . . Colonel, you are pregnant, with his child, he left letters to both me and AJ telling us to convince you that he was gone."

"Your lying!" She screamed forgetting she was screaming at her CO. She blanched for a second. "Sorry sir." She said locking it in.

"Apology accepted Colonel. I am ordering you to go to the cafeteria with us to go get something to eat. I brought the letter that Harm left us for you to read. I thought that you might get angry with everyone pushing you to believe he was dead. Now, lets go get something to eat and then you can read what your fiancé practically ordered us to do." Admiral Jonas said smiling at her.

"I need to tell a nurse where I will be so they can contact me when Harm makes it out of surgery."

"Already taken care of Mac." AJ put a comforting hand on her back. "He is a strong man with three beautiful women to come home to and a new baby on the way."

"He also has a three year old ward to raise with me." Mac saw both of the older men's eyebrows rise, "Sir, you were going to get my papers for adding Brennen on to my dependent list. He is legally my ward starting the beginning of next year."

"I'm sure Harm will be thrilled not to be outnumbered anymore." AJ told her helping her into the elevator. With the drop of pressure, Mac got lightheaded and started to swoon.

"Steady Mac."

She put her hand on her stomach, "Listen here Trey, Mommy just got the shock of her life, and I need for you to ease up a little bit. I promise that I will feed you."

"Trey?"

"Harmon Rabb III, I was trying it out, with Harm declared dead, I felt that I should do something to have him carry on. But I see his personality shining through with Mattie and Mackenzie. His brother has many of Harm's mannerisms. Sergei has been a God send when it comes to helping out with the girls."

And on cue, Sergei came barreling around the corner, "Mac, is it true?"

"Sergei, I should have called you right away, I found Harm on top of his grave at Arlington." She started sobbing into his arms. He held her for a couple of seconds and rubbed her back.

"Sarah, look into my eyes." Sergei spoke to her, "My brother, my father, and I have all survived torture camps. We are Rabbs, we can make it through anything that life throws at us."

Jen was standing beside him putting a comforting hand on his back. "The hero made it home. He told us he would. We just have to be there for him and for you. Mac, it took you and Harm a long time to make it through your torture, and you still have flashbacks."

"Is it that obvious Jen?"

"You do well on covering, but Harm asked for me to look out for you."

"Did my fiancé ask everyone to look out for me? He makes it seem like I can't take care of myself!"

"Mac, we are all a family, and families look out for each other." AJ told her gently coming up with some food for her to eat.

Mac put her head in her hands, "I have to call Mattie, she has the right to know about Harm."