A/N #1: Drum roll please…. Your mystery woman is revealed. Please note that there is a second comment from me at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 6: Hope Springs Eternal
After Keeter has left the room, Harm starts talking to Mac. He doesn't know whether she will be able to hear him or not, but he is going to at least try. The first words he utters are teasing her, "You know, you didn't have to try and get hit by a bus just to avoid talking to me."
He audibly sighs. As expected, he doesn't get any kind of response from her. He decides to just keep talking, and wait her out. He wants to leave most of the personal stuff for when she is awake, but a trial run with her asleep would at least keep him from bodily injury. Although he's not sure if he can even have this discussion. He quickly seeks out her left hand, and thankfully finds no ring. Shit! Where did he put the bag of her personal items that the nurse handed him? He pulls it out of his pocket and quickly sifts through the pieces. He finds two pieces of jewelry, her Marine Corps ring, and a necklace that he gave her many Christmases ago. The fact that she still has it both warms his heart, and gives him hope.
As he goes over various words and phrases in his head, he realizes he has been out of the game too long. He has totally forgotten how to sway a jury with an emotional appeal. And this speech is infinitely more important. He really misses the courtroom and the verbal sparring matches they used to have, once upon a time. No other lawyer ever made him rise to the occasion like she did. He chuckles to himself as he realizes that statement applies both mentally and physically.
He wishes for a moment that he had the abilities of that guy in the movies who could see a few minutes into the future. Then he could visualize the various ways to start this conversation, and see how she would react without it having any repercussions. Lord knows his brain has failed to engage his mouth correctly way too many times in the past. He needs to ensure that he is articulate, not cryptic, and that she knows exactly what he is saying, and what he wants.
He rubs tiny circles over her hand with his thumb as he tells her the latest adventures of the Roberts clan, who have been stationed over in Italy for the last couple of years. Bud doesn't know it yet, but he is about to be frocked as a Captain. He will find that out shortly after he arrives back at HQ. Harm regales her with Jack's latest exploits, including the fact that he has been trying to charm the pants off of every woman in the building, except one.
He's been rambling on for a couple of hours, and she still hasn't stirred in the least. The nurses have come in periodically to check her vitals, and nothing is changing. The monitors have had the same steady beep the entire time he has been keeping vigil. They give him a slight nod to let him know that she is doing just fine outside of the fact that she is still unconscious. He decides to stand up and walk around the room for a few moments to stretch his muscles, and maybe hit the head.
He rises to his full height, and starts to remove his hand from hers, when her fingers instinctively start to curl around his hand.
He sits back down and quietly requests, "Sarah, open your eyes."
Mac hears someone calling for her by her given name, but it seems so far away. When her eyes flutter open, all she sees is a dense fog, with a big dark blob in the middle. Once her eyes focus on the object, Harm's caring face comes into view. He is sitting at her bedside, with his hand wrapped lightly around her own. Her brain screams, 'No! What is he doing here? He shouldn't be here!' She tries to turn away from him, but winces in pain the instant she tries to move.
Harm places a soft hand on her shoulder, "Easy there, Tiger."
She allows herself to relish in the feeling for just a moment. She had forgotten how the simplest touch from him could send a sense of warmth throughout her entire body. She had buried all those feelings long ago. How can one tiny bit of contact reawaken everything? But she needs to stifle them again. She can't allow all these emotions to come back to the surface. She looks down, and realizes that her arm is in a cast, and she has several electronic tabs hooked up to her. 'Great,' she thinks, 'I'm in the hospital again.'
She can't remember for the life of her why she is here, or what happened after she saw Harm on the street across from her hotel. However, she can find out the answers to that later, there is a more pressing matter that needs to be resolved first. She pulls her hand away, and asks, "Harm, what are you doing here?"
He quietly asks, "Where else would I be? You're hurt, I'm here."
She scoffs, "I may not be a Marine anymore, but I am still perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
Harm decides to inquire later why she resigned her commission. One of the many things that they need to talk about. He states, "What kind of Butch would I be if I didn't rescue my Sundance? What if I want to take care of you?"
She can't believe he is bringing up a conversation from the sands of Afghanistan. Can she still call down for a room divider? Some space away from him is definitely a requirement right now. He is so close that she can smell his aftershave, it's the same one he has always worn. If his simple touch wasn't bad enough, adding that spicy smell just makes things worse. She tries to keep her eyes from welling up as she answers him, "You have other obligations now. That is where you need to be."
Harm jests, "What other responsibilities? I've been excused from the General's retirement party, and that probably ended hours ago anyway. My schedule is free and clear."
Mac looks away from him, and mumbles, "Your son. Your place is with him, not me."
Harm's eyebrows reach his hairline as he exclaims, "My son?"
Mac is still facing the other direction as she continues, "Yes, the boy who wrapped his arms around your neck at the end of the ceremony."
Realization starts to dawn on Harm as to what she saw and how she interpreted it. Oh boy! This is going to be worse than he thought. She wasn't running from the ceremony for fear of seeing him. She was running because she thought he had moved on, and that he was with his family. He raises his voice a little, with a tone of frustration, "Um Mac…that's not my son."
Mac flips her head to look at him this time, "What? Don't feed me bull shit, Harm! He looks just like you. He's a perfect spitting image, right down to the heartbreaking smile."
With a twinkle in his eye, he leans towards her, "Heartbreaking smile? I always thought you were immune to my smiles, and my charm."
She still can't bring herself to look in his eyes, as the unshed tears in her own are starting to fall, "No.. I just learned to put a shield up to hide those feelings. However, I still stand by my firm belief that dress whites and gold wings are over-rated, regardless of who is wearing them. But what does it matter? You have a wife and a son to get back to. I'm not sorry I came out for the ceremony though, it was great to see you, even if I am several years too late."
Harm takes his left hand, and wipes away her tears. He takes a deep breath and then cups her cheek, "Sarah? Please turn around and look at me."
She is still afraid to look him in the eye.
He runs his hand down her uninjured arm, and interlaces his fingers with hers. He uses his right index finger to lift her chin, and places their entwined hands between them at her eye level, "Do you feel or see a ring on my hand?"
She can't catch her breath.
He repeats, "Sarah?"
Her voice can't get past the lump in her throat to verbalize her thoughts. What is he trying to tell her? She ekes, "No I don't, so you got married and then divorced?"
Harm brings his face closer to hers, "Sarah, I never got married."
The feisty Marine is back! She eyes him with utter disbelief, "You can't possibly be trying to tell me that you had a child with a woman and didn't marry her? Harm, I know you better than that. You would never willingly let any child of yours grow up without his father. Your sense of honor would prohibit it."
Harms allows her to finish her tirade before answering, "You are right. I wouldn't let any child of mine grow up without his father, as long as I drew breath. But, listen closely here Sarah, I don't have any children. The little boy you saw might be a spitting image of me, but he is also a spitting image of his grandfather. He is not my son."
Mac clamps her hand over her mouth as she realizes what he is telling her. The tears fall freely down her face. Harm wipes them away with the pads of his thumbs as he tells her, "Sarah, that little boy is my nephew. His name is Nicholas, and he is Sergei's son, not mine. And the woman you saw with us is his wife, Galina."
He implores, "Sarah, please open your eyes, and look into mine to see the truth. I've never gotten married, and to the best of my knowledge, I have never fathered a child."
When she takes a moment to rub the last of her tears out of her eyes, and glances into his breathtaking bluish greenish ones, she sees his soul open, honest, and inviting. He is telling her the truth.
A/N #2: Congrads to the two readers who correctly identified, and verbalized, who the blonde woman was after I posted the second chapter (first reader) and the third chapter (second reader).