Thanks for the feedback and for following along. The final edit of these early chapters has gone amazingly well - only a couple more to go - will continue to post just as quickly as I can. - Dix.
Chapter 3 - Harm Who?
Harm awoke shortly after midnight when the nurse was doing rounds. She held his wrist lightly in the dim light and watched the minute hand on her watch.
"Where'd the woman go?" He said in a whisper.
"That one?" The nurse nodded towards Mac who was slumped in the chair.
"She didn't leave." There was relief in his voice. He knew she was his connection. If there was a way to get his memory back Sarah Mackenzie held the key.
"She must be very fond of you."
"What makes you say that?"
"Sheriff phoned her when they brought you in. She was here in less than 2 hours all the way from Washington. Must have dropped what she was doing, put on her coat and come. And she hasn't left at all since then."
Harm looked at Sarah and wondered. She wasn't related to him. In fact she was engaged to someone else. If only he could remember so it would all make sense.
Sarah Mackenzie's internal alarm went off at 4:55 AM. She felt like she'd slept in a foxhole. She glanced at Harm. His eyes were closed, his breathing was even and his colour, she thought, had improved slightly from the previous evening. She got up slowly, stretching carefully. She headed for the ladies down the hall.
Harm was awake and sitting up when she got back. The nurse was efficiently rearranging the furniture beside his bed.
He smiled at her, genuinely glad to see her now familiar face. "You're just in time for the show. Nurse is going to let me go to the head."
Sarah gave him a quizzical look.
"What did I say?" He asked.
"Head." She replied. "It's a nautical term."
"How would I know that?"
"When you come back," she said. "I'll tell you."
Getting to the bathroom was a bit more difficult than he imagined. But coming back was a bit simpler. Harm was pale once he was tucked back into bed, but pleased to have this freedom.
"So," he said. "Am I a sailor?"
"You are" she said. "You're in the Navy."
"Navy." Harm searched his mind for what he knew of the Navy. It wasn't much.
"So I serve on a ship?"
Mac grinned. "No" she said. "You're a lawyer."
"A lawyer. Really?"
"Sure" she said.
He was quiet for a minute. Wondering if he could be a lawyer without remembering his life.
"Is that how I know you? Are you in the Navy too?"
She shook her head. "I'm a marine" she said "and a lawyer. That's how you know me. We work together."
His eyes widened. "Really?"
His breakfast arrived about then. Scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, toast, juice, coffee, and bacon. She eyed the tray enviously and wondered if this little hospital in the back of beyond had a cafeteria. She was going to have to find out. Supper yesterday had been nonexistent and so breakfast this morning would be mandatory.
Harm dug in. He polished off the fruit and toast, but only pushed the eggs and bacon around until they were cold and unpalatable.
After breakfast, Mac got up. "I'm going to find some breakfast. Will you be ok for an hour? Is there anything you need?"
"I'm thinking of talking the nurse into giving me a bath." He said with a grin.
Mac rolled her eyes. "Good luck."
"Oh" she said, turning back to him. "Just in case, your parents are on their way. They'll be here some time today likely."
"Thanks for the warning."
"I imagine you've had enough surprises already."
He nodded.
When Sarah came back into the room Harm was reading the local newspaper. Sunday something or other. She caught the headline. A photo of his Stearman was on the front page, but he was reading an article on the inside.
"Anything interesting?"
"No." he said and folded the paper closed and tossed it towards the end of the bed. He ran a hand over the stubble on his chin.
"So I know you from work." Sarah nodded. "Will you tell me about it?"
"The work?" She asked.
"Anything" he said. "Maybe something you say will shake my memory loose."
"Well" she said not certain where to begin. "We're both assigned to JAG Ops in Washington."
"Whoa." he said "Jag What?"
"Judge Advocate General's Operations in DC."
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter" she said "if it doesn't make sense. It'll all come back."
He nodded hopefully. "And I'm a lawyer."
"Yeah."
"The nurse said that you have power of attorney. We must be friends."
"We are."
"More that friends?"
"No." she said.
"Why not?"
"Well work for one. It would complicate that."
They sat in silence while Harm thought about what she'd said and what she hadn't said.
"You didn't say because you were engaged." He said finally.
"What?" she said.
"You didn't say that you're in love with someone else."
"No." she said and gave a little shrug.
"So am I seeing someone?"
"Her name is Renee."
"So somebody from my work shows up when I'm in an accident, but my girlfriend doesn't?"
"We haven't been able to contact her."
"We?"
"The Admiral, our boss and his aide."
"Maybe I should call her."
"You could try."
"You don't sound very certain."
"Well I don't know her number and I'm guessing you don't remember."
He nodded. "Got a phone? I'll give it a try."
"Sure" she said and dug around in her purse to find her cell phone.
He flipped it open and dialled. His face held an expression of joy when the phone began to ring and then a look of confusion passed over his face and he snapped the phone closed.
"Wrong number?" she asked.
"No" he shook his head. "Your number. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie."
"Well you've known me longer."
"Right." he said. But his confidence was clearly shaken. He didn't know who he was or what he wanted, and without his memory how could he ever know?
Mac could see his discomfiture. She wanted to restart the conversation. She glanced at the newspaper on the bed. She reached out and flipped it over so the photo was visible.
"What happened?"
He picked up the paper and read the caption. "Vintage airplane crashed in Bob Collin's pasture Saturday morning. No word on any injuries."
Sarah looked at him. "What happened to you?"
"Is this a test?" He asked tossing the paper down again.
She shook her head.
"I don't know. Nurse said an accident." There was an edge to his reply.
"This accident." she said and held up the newspaper.
"I was in that plane?" Sarah just nodded and he looked again at the photo.
"What happened to the pilot?"
"Broken leg," Sarah began. "Broken ribs, head injury."
"I was the pilot? No wonder it crashed."
"Actually you're a good pilot. Before you became a lawyer you flew jets off aircraft carriers."
His eyes widened. "Wow. That must have been amazing." There was awe in his voice, but just as quickly the joy evaporated. "Probably won't let me fly without my memory."
Sarah shrugged. "It'll come back."
"If you say so."
They were silent for a while. Sarah was searching for a topic neutral enough not to emphasize all that Harm had lost and Harm was searching for his memory.
"So tell me about you."
Sarah shook her head and smiled. "What would I tell you?" Harm shrugged.
"Well we've worked together for four or five years, I guess. I live in an apartment in Georgetown. I have a dog named Jingo."
"Tell me about your fiancé."
Mac glanced at the ring. "His name is Mic. He's from Australia. We live together."
"Do I know him?" Harm was thinking about the dream.
"Yes, he used to work with us at JAG. He's Royal Australian Navy. He came here a couple of years ago on an exchange. Now he's in private practice."
"He stayed because of you."
"More or less."
"Resigned his commission for you."
Mac nodded.
"Do we hang out - the four of us, you and Mike and me and Renee?"
"It's Mic." Mac said gently "and no. Hardly ever."
"Why? Don't I like him?" Harm was sure he didn't.
"Not much."
"But we're colleagues, you and I." Sarah nodded. "Friends" She nodded again.
"Do we hang out?"
"We go running together occasionally. You cook for me and we watch old movies at my place once in a while."
"Guess you'll have to take a rain check." She thought he meant the running, but he meant everything. There was an ache inside him. Harn wasn't sure if it was Mic or the person who used to be Harm who was the cause of it.
"Tell me about my girlfriend?"
Sarah thought for a moment.
"Renee is smart, tall, blonde, attractive. She's works as a director. That's how the two of you met."
"Like in the movies?"
"She got a contract to write and produce a television commercial for the Navy. You were chosen to appear in the commercial."
Harm's eyebrow arched and he grinned. "What an extraordinary life this guy has lived. It seems very odd that I don't remember a moment of it."
"It'll come back."
Harm nodded and closed his eyes. When Sarah said the word Renee he'd hoped to feel something; some connection to the past, but in fact the name elicited not a single useful feeling. On the other hand, the word Mic irritated him, like an itchy rash. Sarah wasn't much better than Renee. He could say her name, he could lay back in his bed and think it and nothing really resonated. But when he opened his eyes and looked at her it was as though nothing else mattered. She was here with him and it made him feel content, happy even. He could let go of everything he didn't know and just trust that the sight of her would get him through this bad patch. It was the oddest thing and he knew it for what it was.
When he opened his eyes again, Mac was reading the newspaper and a woman he hadn't seen before was standing in the gap in the curtain.
Chapter 4 - Wave Off coming next. Thanks for reading.