Title: One
Fandom: JAG
Characters: General + (Harm/Mac)
Prompt: #30 – Death
Word Count: 258
Rating: PG
Info: Season 8, All Ye Faithful
If you've gotta know where I got the title, it's because I was listening to 'Bloody Sunday' by U2, so it's pretty unrelated to the story, other than in the obvious way.
A/N: If you are keeping track, they're on my short list of Christmas gifts I'd love. Right above the '65 Stingray I've been asking for.
Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time... It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other. -Leo F. Buscaglia.
She wondered how many times they could cheat death and come out relatively unscathed. The past few years hadn't been easy on them. They'd been faced with their own mortality more times than she cared to remember, and each time seemed to pull them a little closer to the brink, to the thin line that seems to separate life and death.
She'd met someone today at the Wall. Harm still didn't know that she went there to talk to his dad quite often. But today, there was a graceful older lady who moved with an odd combination of pride and sadness. For some reason Mac decided to talk to her, and ended up hearing a story that could've been her and Harm, if not for one vital detail. Andrea Smith's best friend had gotten called up one day and never came back.
So later on that night, when they were gathered at Bud and Harriet's for Christmas Eve, she would worry a little more when he ran late, her smile would last just a little bit longer when he finally got there. And when Bud said "God bless us... every one," they silently mouthed 'Merry Christmas' to each other, and she'd be just a little bit more thankful to be alive.
But later on, when they finally got a moment to themselves on yet another porch, she'd tell him everything.