Disclaimer: They are not mine…just playing.

A thousand thank you's to those who sent me supportive reviews, PMs and emails - I won't name you all or I'll forget someone. Just let me say, you'll never really know what they truly meant to me.

-------------------------Blind Justice----------------------------

Three weeks later.

Mac's recovery had been going slowly but the ophthalmologist was pleased with the progress she had been making. Whilst he still was no closer to giving a definite opinion on whether the vision impairment was permanent or temporary, he was, in his own words 'guardedly optimistic'.

With this in mind and with four weeks before the wedding, Mac and Harriet spent a hectic afternoon looking after three young children while trying to compose a list of wedding preparations. The date had been set five months ago and the chapel at Falls Church booked then, so that was something. They made a proposed guest list and Harriet emailed it to Harm for his opinion and additions, if necessary. Mac rang the Admiral and left her request on his answering machine. With a guest list of about forty, they discussed venues. Not wanting to go formal, Mac wasn't sure about the restaurants Harriet was suggesting, but did allow Benzinger's to go on the list.

Harriet organised a sitter to come for the following day, so she and Mac could go looking for dresses and by the time Bud had arrived home, the wedding details had been fleshed out.

"Have the reception here," Bud offered when apprised of the earlier discussion.

"No, I couldn't. You two have already done so much for me. I couldn't ask you to do it."

"You're not asking, we're offering," said Bud.

"I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier," added Harriet.

"But…" Mac went to protest.

"Consider it our wedding gift," said Bud.

"Think about it Mac, you know this house, it's familiar. You'll feel more confident moving around in here than going to some strange place, wouldn't you?" said Harriet.

"Well, yes."

"So…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," they answered in unison.

"Well, we'd be honoured."

The shopping trip for dresses had not gone as easily as the reception venue plans. Eight shops, fifteen wedding dresses and Mac wasn't happy with any of them. She tried to imagine what she looked like in the gowns but despite Harriet's gushing version, just couldn't picture herself.

"I don't have to decide today, do I Harriet?" she asked nervously.

"No, of course not. We still have a month, there's plenty of time," Harriet soothed.

"A month? Your wedding's in a month and you still don't have a dress?" scoffed the assistant.

'She's had other things to contend with, not that it's any of your business," retorted Harriet and they left.

In the early hours of the next morning, the silence of the sleeping house was disturbed by a piercing and sustained scream. Harriet raced out of bed, pausing for a moment in the hallway to identify the room. The twins and Jimmy started crying across the hall and AJ appeared in his doorway, scared.

Harriet opened the guestroom door and Mac was sitting on the bed, knees drawn up to her chest, her hands covering her eyes, screaming out in pain.

"Mac! Mac, what is it? What's happening?" Harriet asked, climbing on the bed to hold her.

"My eyes…pain…my head's going to explode…oh god!" Mac screamed.

Bud stumbled to the doorway. "What is it?"

"Something's happening to her eyes. Call 911!" yelled Harriet.

Bud did and then attended to the screaming infants.

Harriet sat beside Mac and held her tightly, hoping against hope the worst was not happening. Though Mac had stopped screaming the pain was intense and excruciating. Long before the paramedics arrived, she had passed out.

Forty three hours later, Mac awoke. Her eyes were covered with thick padding and bandages, legacy of a six hour emergency surgery performed to reduce the pressure on her optic nerves and to stop the retinas from detaching, as they had threatened to do. She had been kept highly sedated to keep her still and to give her eyes every possible chance. It was dark in her world, but the absence of noise around her indicated to Mac that it was probably night time. She listened for a while and heard the distinct sounds of a hospital; trolleys, buzzers and nurses making their rounds. She tried to move her arms but found them feeling heavy and restricted, without any energy to do anything else, she drifted back to sleep.

Two hours later she woke again, this time feeling more alert. She listened and could make out the sound of someone sleeping nearby. At first she thought she may be sharing a room but when the person moved themselves in what sounded like an armchair, rather than a bed, Mac realised it was Harm.

"Harm, is that you?" she croaked, barely above a whisper. She got no response. She tried again. "Harm, are you there?"

"Mac? Did you say something?" came the groggy reply. She heard his footsteps coming to the bed and then felt his hand take hers and his lips kiss her forehead. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah. Am I okay?"

"Captain Richardson says you are doing very well. He was very impressed by the way you went in surgery and his optimistic about your recovery," Harm explained quietly.

'That's good. When do we find out?"

"The bandages have to stay on for at least ten days and you need complete bed rest too. After that, he'll remove them and see what's happening?"

"Ten days?" Mac asked, sighing.

"Yeah, ten days, it's not too long, Mac," he said, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I know but that would only leave two weeks to the wedding. There's still so much to do, maybe we should postpone it."

"Is that what you want?" he asked.

"No, I want to marry you but I don't want you to marry me like this. God knows how I'm going to look when these bandages come off."

"Mac, I'm not marrying you because of your looks. I'm marrying you because I love you and …"

"That's easy for you to say."

"Yes, it is easy for me to say because I do love you. I should have married you years ago but we never got our act together. Don't you think for one instant that I am giving up this opportunity. I am marrying you at the end of the month. I don't care who's there or what we're wearing. I wouldn't care if you wear nothing at all – actually, I might find that preferable." Harm laughed but Mac was not in a humorous or optimistic mood. She quietly started to cry.

"Oh, sir, you shouldn't be here," said a nurse, coming into the room. "It's 0315 and visitors are not permitted."

'I know but I've been in London and I just needed to be with Mac when she woke up."

"Well, she's awake now but she can't afford to be upset. She needs to remain calm and still. You will need to go."

"Please, I won't …"

"Sir, it's for the best. You can come back and visit later. Visiting hours are from 1400…"

"But…" Harm started.

"Harm, go. I'll be okay."

"But Mac…"

"Go."

When daylight arrived, the blackness of night remained for Mac. The pain from behind her eyes had been numbed but the pain in her heart, her soul, was bordering on torturous. She willed herself to stay calm, to not think about the bandages being removed in ten days. She didn't want to imagine them coming off and not being able to see Harm or anything else but worse she was scared of them coming off and being able to see the guilt she knew was now engraved on his face. She could hear it in his voice and knew that even with a full recovery his guilt would not fade.

She lay as still as possible sensing there was someone else there, not yet ready to speak about anything to anyone. She felt movement near the bed and then lips press down tenderly against her forehead, she'd know those lips anywhere.

"I love you, Mac," Harm whispered, kissing her again.

"I love you too, Harm," she whispered in reply, raising her hand to search for his. He took her hand and kissed it.

"How are you feeling today, baby," he said quietly, his fingers raking through her hair.

"Blind," she replied, trying to smile, it didn't happen. She felt his lips on hers.

"I'm right here, Mac," he whispered as his lips brushed hers. "Do you need anything?"

"You," she sighed. "Only you." She held out her arms and felt the bed shift under her as he moved in beside her. He wrapped her tightly in his arms and she willingly rested her bandaged head on his chest. In a world where everything was black and bleak, the steady rhythmic beating of his heart provided her with the comfort she longed for. It was the sound which reminded her that everything she needed was within reach.