Since someone asked - yes this story is complete and has been since 2004, heh! It was posted on a Yahoo! Group years ago. I honestly, forgot about it as I have repressed some of my JAG related things. I am posting them a bit slow because I have to edit some of it. The files are a little wonky and if I just copy/paste the formatting is all over the place. Thank you Witchy V for doing the beta for this bad boy so many years ago.

Not impressed with some of my writing back then but, I figure why should they collect dust on my drive? I do work super long hours, train for running races and have a life outside of the Internet so stories that I am currently writing will be posted as time allows. My goal is to not leave one unfinished.

With that said, on with the show:

PART 4

An hour went by and the dynamic duo was still stuck under rubble. "The sun will set in about an hour and forty minutes." Mac said with a sigh. She didn't want them to be left there after dark. There was a small amount of light peeking through the ruble, enough for them to see their surroundings now that their eyes were accustomed to it. Harm's hand was still in hers. His eyes would occasionally travel from the rubble to her hand and the up to the 'heavens' where he continued to say silent prayers.

At one point, Mac suggested that they pray together. "I don't remember how to." He confessed in a hushed voice that sounded more ashamed than anything else. "I prayed for so long with all of my heart and soul, he never listened. . . and Dad never came home. . . so I stopped praying and believing." Harm nearly cried at the admission, but she stayed strong then for him. Mac held his hand tighter as she started a prayer and helped him through the parts he didn't remember.

Then, almost like magic, a voice came from above. "Anybody down there?"

"Harm did you hear that?" Mac said, stopping her prayer abruptly as she felt Harm's hand leg go of hers.

He moved as much as he could and yelled upward. "Down here, Commander Harmon Rabb and Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. . . We were on the third floor when this came tumbling down."

From above the sounds of rubble being moved made them both breathe a sigh of relief. At least people were now looking for them. At least someone knew they were alive. "This is Corporal Martins, sir. . . Are there any injured down there?"

Harm got up as close to the ceiling as possible. "Yes, the Colonel might have some broken ribs. . . There's also a dead body in here."

From her side, Mac looked over to Jimmy's body and cringed, she closed her eyes to stop the wave of nausea and just focused her attention on Harm.

"Can you tell us what happened, Commander?" The voice was a bit louder this time.

"Petty Officer Jimmy Daniels. . . He blew up the building." Harm yelled upward.

The Corporal turned over to the other men in his team and nodded. "It WAS a bomb." He then turned his attention back to the rubble. "Hang tight, sir, we're going to get you out of there."

"Corporal! We found another live one." Came a voice from another side of the large rubble. Several men ran to the area and pulled out one of the residents from the BEQ. Luckily for them, not too many people were in the building at that time. Most were able to be saved.

Mac took a ragged breath and let it out slowly. The pain on her side wasn't getting any better and from the pool of blood that was forming around her, she knew that she didn't have too much time left. 'At least they'll get Harm out.' She smiled at that thought, which warmed her. She didn't mind dying as long as he was okay. But there were certain things that needed to be said, things that had to come out if that was her fate. He needed to know. "Harm. . . If I don't make it."

"Don't. . . Don't say that, Please." Harm cut her off. They were going to be rescued, there was a team just above their heads moving debris in order to find them. They were Batman and Robin, they had to make it.

"I have to. . ." Mac insisted. She wasn't going to let him stop her now, not when she was determined to get it out. So she ignored his plead and continued with a smile.

"Sarah, please." He begged her, not surprised at how his voice sounded.

Whatever she was planning on saying was deterred for a moment. The way he said her name was so sweet and tender. Harm gave feeling to her name. She recalled that night in Sydney when he'd called her 'Sarah.' "I've always loved the way you say my name. . . sounds so right coming from you. . . Why don't you call me that more often?"

Harm grinned. Mac and Sarah weren't two different people to him, they were what made up the woman he was in love with. "Because one time you chewed me out."

"When?" Mac furled her brow. One thing was for sure, she wouldn't ever tire of hearing him say her name. And she was sure that she never chewed him out about him calling her Sarah.

"When we first went flying in 'Sarah.'" He pointed out with a chuckle. "Remember? I told the plane to pull up and. . .well once we landed. . ." He didn't need to finish the story, because she also started chuckling at the memory. Or, at least she tried to chuckle, but the movement caused pain to her already sore side.

Mac caught her breath. "I'm sorry. . ."

"Don't be sorry, Marine. . . Just hang in there." Seeking out her hand again, Harm entwined their fingers together. He began rubbing the back of her hand again, reveling in the way that their hands fit. It was the things like that which he noticed about Mac. Like the times that they'd hugged, she seemed to fit so well in his arms. Their kisses. . .

"I need you to know something. . ." She interrupted his thoughts, still insistent on whatever it was that he NEEDED to know.

"Mac. . . Sarah, don't. . .not now." He pleaded. Harm didn't want them to share intimate conversations just because they were going through a near death experience. Things that were shared in moments like that were usually discarded and he didn't want that. Especially not with the intensity that she seemed to be wanting that conversation.

"I have to. . . Just please, listen. . ." Mac didn't get another argument from him. She took his silence as him backing down from fighting her, for which she was grateful. Mac didn't have a speech planned so she spoke from the heart. "First, thank you. . . for being my friend, for being in my life, for saving my life, thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. . ."

"Harm. . ." Mac's warning tone hushed him before he had anything else to say. She smiled at his respect. "Second, forgive me, for hurting you, for deceiving you. . "

Harm raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Deceiving me?"

"Clay and I. . . we only really started getting serious after Sadik reappeared. . . before that. . . I was just scared of spending time alone with you. . ." Mac hated that she could label her problems and only notice it now, when it didn't really matter. Why didn't she see things back then? Why did she have to break two men's hearts in order for her to figure out who her heart belonged to? "I didn't want to get sucked back into letting my feelings for you cloud my judgment. . ." Sighing, she shook her head at another thing, that ran a bit deeper and hit closer to home that she'd ever let him believe, until now. "I am sorry for arguing with you about Mattie, truth is. . . I am a bit jealous."

"Of a teenager?" Harm never thought of it that way. He'd made a comment once of her fearing that he was losing interest in her, but he never thought that jealousy over a child had plagued Mac.

"Of the situation. . . I wish had someone like you when I was her age. . . so many things" Holding her side, Mac coughed as some dust came down on the both of them. She looked up expectantly, but the rubble was still there, she was still pinned down. "So. . . many things would have been different. . . I wouldn't have been. . . so damaged."

Harm cringed when he heard her cough and then gasp at the pain. His heart broke when he found out what she thought of herself. Damaged? No, she wasn't damaged. She had faults, like everyone in this world, but she wasn't damaged. Not to him. Never to him. "Oh, Sarah. . . you aren't damaged. . . don't say that about yourself."

"We both are Harm. . . though we want to move forward, neither you and I can hide from the ghosts of the past, and that is fine. . . but it can kill us. . . Inside, it destroys your soul." She wasn't aware of the tears until she felt one slip past her cheek. It hurt her to think that she felt so empty inside because of things she couldn't control.

"I know. . ." Harm knew she was right, because it was those ghosts that prevented him from doing something in the past with Mac. He was so scared of going to her because she looked like Diane to notice that he was pushing her away from him. Then there was the ghost of his father. Had he really blocked himself off from loving anyone because he feared he'd lose them too? The answer to that was, yes. He waited in silence for her to continue, but she didn't. If he wasn't worried about her enough as it was, the silence rocked him to the core. "Mac?" He squeezed her hand a few times and was happy to hear her respond.

"Still here. . ." She said in a hushed voice. It sounded like she was far away.

Running his finger over the back of her had again, he noticed how cold her hand had become, but couldn't figure when that happened. "Your hand is cold. . ."

"I'm fine."

But, Harm wasn't too convinced about that. "Don't lie to me, Mac."

She smiled, sometimes Harm was like a dog with a bone. "Okay, I am freezing."

Harm held his breath for a moment and said yet another silent prayer. "Are you losing blood?" No, it couldn't be worse. God, please don't let it be worse.

"Oh yea." She tried to keep it humorous but it wasn't working.

Harm started to panic. "How much have you lost?"

"Enough. . . Are you still holding my hand?" She looked through the gap where her hand was and tried to feel him, but she couldn't. Part of her wanted to scream, but she wouldn't let herself break apart. She needed to stay calm for him, for them. For whatever time they had left together.

Harm looked down to where their hands were entwined, he squeezed hard and felt a tremor of fear when she didn't protest. "You can't feel that?"

"No. . ." Taking a deep breath she continued. There wasn't any reason to hold back anymore. "Some piece of metal impaled my side. . .I've . . I've lost a lot blood."

Not releasing her hand, Harm sat as straight as possible and took a deep breath before yelling. "CORPORAL, I NEED YOU TO HURRY!"

"We're moving as fast as we can Commander!" He heard a voice yell back. "Try to hold on."

Harm sighed and brought all of his attention back to the person on the other side of the wall. Slowly, he brought his other hand up and laid it on the concrete wall separating them. He felt a lump at the back of his throat and nearly choked when he called her name. "Mac?" But, she didn't answer and he felt another tremor of fear. "Mac?"

Opening her eyes, Mac looked towards the wall and let out a breath. "Sorry. . . dozed off a bit."

"Don't do that." He admonished, letting out his own breath that he was holding.

"Can't help it." Mac rasped. Sniffling, she looked at the wall again. He had to know what he was up against, she needed to prepare him. They were both fighters, they were both supposed to be strong. But even the strongest fighters knew when their time was up and hers was coming quickly. "I am not going to make it."

"Don't say that, Sarah. . . You are fighter, a Marine so FIGHT damnit. . ." Harm's voice took on a tone harsher that it should have, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't going to have her die, not today, no like that.

"Harm. . . I can't anymore. . . I'm sorry."

"Damnit. . . DAMNIT. . . You can't die. . . You can not die." One hand was still in hers, the other was pressed up against the wall between them. Suddenly, Superman didn't feel so super any more. How could it be that he was right next to her, but he couldn't do a damned thing? Desperately he looked around again, trying to find a way to get to her. To hold her and let her know he'd be by her side. That he cared for her more than he could say. . .

"I didn't finish telling you what. . . I was gonna say." Mac had unfinished business, things that he needed to know. "Harm?" She could hear him try to fight his tears. He sniffled a few times.

"Right here." He squeezed her hand again, more for his reassurance than for hers. He believed that somehow his energy would transfer to her. That he would keep her alive on willpower alone. Harm swallowed once again, trying to wash down that damned lump in his throat, but it wasn't going anywhere. It was all he could do before he broke down.

"I've wanted to tell you this for so long, I just. . . couldn't find the words so I'll keep it simple. . ." Mac took a breath as deep as she could and held it for a moment despite the pain. It was now or never. This time neither of them could run away. . . "I love you. . . I've been in love with you for so long that I don't remember when I fell."

Harm closed his eyes, but the tears that had been threatening to spill finally did. He wanted to slam his fist into the wall, to break it apart with his hands. If Jimmy were still alive, he would rip him to shreds for this. 'No, it wasn't supposed to be this way. . .'

"Harm?" Mac was concerned that she'd said too much. "Harm, talk to me. . . Please."

His throat was burning, his heart was aching. Harm could have sworn that his heart was officially broken and never to be mended again. "It wasn't supposed to be like this, Sarah. . . I was supposed to have some more time. . . For me to straighten up after Mattie left, for you to be okay. . . I wanted to give you time to grieve and heal. . . This isn't fair, Mac. . . It wasn't supposed to be like this. ." He cursed the heavens, and the being that seemed to throw death at his door.

"I know. . ." Mac occasionally let her mind drift into fairytale land when it came down to things about her and Harm. Think about it? They met in a rose garden, saved each other's lives, came to each other no matter what. And still they couldn't get it right. It took an explosion and tons of debris to get them to admit something.

Harm took a ragged breath. He had his own fairytales about her. His own plans of how it should be when they were ready to move together. Now the dreams were coming to an end. "I. . . I imagined myself trying to romance you. . ." He laughed through the tears when he heard her snort in protest. " I know you guys don't see me as a romantic, and normally I'd agree. . .but, I wanted it to be special for you. . . for us." His hand pressed harder into the concrete as he closed his eyes and imagined for the millionth time what it would be like with her. ". . . I wanted to take you to dinner, a fancy place so that I could see you in one of those dresses that makes you look that much more beautiful. . ." She sighed at that and he just smiled. "Although, doesn't matter what you are wearing, you still are beautiful. . . even in those drab Marine greens."

Mac chuckled and then groaned from the sharp pain on her side. "Don't make me laugh."

Harm took a breath and let it out quickly. If she had things to say, so did he. Hopefully what he had to say would make her want to live, to fight for something they both needed. "I wanted a walk along the reflecting pool, you wearing my jacket because you were cold. . . I wanted to take you to the wall, introduce you properly to my dad. . . tell him that I was bringing him the woman I love. . ." Harm stopped for a moment when he heard her sniffling. She was crying, he knew that she was and only hoped it was tears of happiness and nothing else. "I. . .I wanted to spend that night making love with you and then waking up the next morning just to make love again. I wanted to lay with you all night and wake up with you in the morning. . ." He'd spent so many nights cuddled up with his pillow pretending it was her. Imagining her scent on his sheets, his clothing. "I. . .I just wanted you, Mac." Harm took a deep steadying breath. "I love you, Sarah MacKenzie. . . So you have to hold on. . ." He commanded. "You have to hold on because I love you and I refuse to live in this world without you."

He figured that she would respond in kind or at least reassure him that she wasn't going to let go. It didn't happen, so he called to her softly. "Sarah? . ." Again, there was no response. "Mac? . . . Mac!" Clutching her hand tighter, he tugged a bit, hoping the jerking motion would get her to respond. "Mac please . . . Please wake up, Marine."

As if by magic, the concrete above him lifted up. Harm squinted his eyes against the light being shone into their hole. Swiftly, he got to his feet and jumped over the 'wall' that was still separating him and Mac. To the side he saw Jimmy's lifeless body and then focused his attention to the still figure in Marine greens.

He gasped as he saw her face looking so ashen. Her eyes were closed, head tilted just slightly to the side as if she were watching where their hands were entwined together. Getting to his knees, he removed his blouse, wrapped it up into a ball and pressed it to Mac's side as an attempt to stop the bleeding. Not knowing the extent of the damage, he didn't dare try to remove the metal rod impaling her. Instead, he checked for a pulse and found it non existent. "The Colonel isn't breathing!" He yelled as loud as he could and heard the Corporal call for a Corpsman. He opened up her jacket and used his hands to find the area he needed to start chest compressions. Taking a deep breath, Harm moved his head close to Mac's, pinching her nose in order to breath into her mouth.

Then he began the chest compressions again, hoping that it wouldn't cause her anymore injuries. "Sarah. . . Sarah, I am begging you to hold on, please. . . we had a promise. . . remember? To have a baby. . . Damnit Sarah, you have to keep that promise. . . You have to. . . PLEASE." Though tears, he breathed into her again as the Corporal and a few other man came into the space they were in. "Please. . ." He begged them, his eyes flashing a concern that went past that of just a friend or a colleague.

Two of the men helped Harm out of the rubble as the other stayed behind to start working on Mac. Harm tried to fight them so he could be near them, but they pushed him back and away. "You'll be in the way, sir." One of the men practically ordered Harm who stood by helplessly.