See chapter 1 for disclaimer and other info.

Here's the second part as promised… mushier H & M stuff to come. ;)

0957 EST

MARRIOTT HOTEL

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

Sarah MacKenzie awoke to the sound of someone rapping on the door of her hotel room. She slowly lifted her eye lids to see the flash of the television lights. "Uh," she mumbled as she lifted her head from the pillow, flipping off the television with the remote. Again a knock on the door, only louder this time. "Just a minute," she yelled in the general direction of the door. Reluctantly, she crawled out from under the warm sheets and set her feet on the carpet. Grabbing her jacket from the chair, Mac slipped it on over her pajamas and pulled the door open.

"Oh, Ma'am, I'm so sorry…." said the teenager standing in the hallway. "I was just going to change the sheets and wanted to make sure no one was still in the room." Her face turned a bright shade of red as she spoke and her voice cracked a bit. "I didn't mean to wake you. It's just my first day," she added, hanging her head.

"That's okay," Mac said, trying to make the young girl feel better. "I needed to get up anyway." The girl looked up at Mac and smiled slightly.

"If you come back in about thirty minutes, I'll be out of your hair," Mac replied with a smile.

"Thank you, Ma'am," the teen replied as she turned and began to push her cart down the hall.

Mac closed the door and pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. She blinked several times to clear the haze from her eyes and looked at the time on the phone. "10:00!" she said aloud. For the first time, her internal clock seemed to be off.

She pulled her jacket off, threw it on the unmade bed, went to the suitcase and began throwing her clothes onto the sofa.

"Hello….. Information?" she said as she dialed a number on her cell phone. "I need the number of a cab company. Indianapolis." A voice mumbled something in reply to Mac's request and connected her to the company. "Yes, can you please send a cab to the Marriott North?" Mac said to the man on the other end of the line. He mumbled an affirmative and Mac added, "Please hurry." She then picked up some jeans and a shirt off the sofa and ran to take a shower.

Returning from the bathroom only 15 minutes later, clean and dressed, Mac once again picked up her jacket and purse and dashed out the door to the elevator.

Mac was combing her still damp hair as the cab pulled in front of the hospice. After paying the driver, she took a deep breath and walked inside. Stepping into the elevator, she tried to steady her shaking hands as she pressed the button for the second floor. "Maybe I should have eaten something," she thought. As she walked out of the elevator and approached room 216, she began to feel her stomach gurgle. She opened the door quietly so as not to disturb her mother if she was sleeping. The room was empty, though; the bed was made and all of the life support equipment had been removed. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to see Dr. Williams standing in the doorway.

"Has she been moved?" Mac asked, approaching the doctor.

Dr. Williams shook his head. "I'm sorry, Miss MacKenzie. Your mother passed away just after three o' clock this morning."

Mac furrowed her eyebrows. "No." She shook her head. "Last night you said she would make it through the weekend."

"That was a possibility, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to give you any false hopes. Her lungs collapsed this morning and she went into cardiac arrest. We couldn't revive her."

Mac's eyesight blurred with unshed tears. "But, I didn't even…. This can't be happening again…" Mac's knees gave out mid sentence and she fell into the Doctor's arms.

"Miss MacKenzie? Sarah?" Mac opened her eyes at the sound of her first name. She was lying on a sofa in the waiting room of the hospital; Dr. Williams was sitting across from her on a coffee table. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Dr. Williams replied as Mac began to stand up. "I wouldn't do that too quickly if I were you," he said, laying a hand on her arm. "You'd better stay seated for a few minutes."

"I can't remember the last time I fainted," Mac commented, easing back onto the sofa.

"Well, considering my many years of experience, I'd say either a- your body's in shock; b- your blood sugar is low; or c- you're pregnant."

Mac quickly looked up at him, smiling slightly. "Considering my own years of experience, Doctor, I can inform you that it is most certainly not option c."

He returned her smile. "I knew I'd get you with that one…. Just a little hospital humor, I'm afraid. When was the last time you ate?"

"Umm, 1100.…. Yesterday," she replied.

Dr. Williams rose from the sofa. "I'll get you some orange juice. Stay seated, I'll be right back."

Mac nodded silently and laid her head back on the sofa. Her thoughts drifted to her mother and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. "Hold it together, Marine," she scolded herself and wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

Moments later, Dr. Williams appeared from around the corner carrying a bottle of juice and a straw.

"Thank you," Mac said, taking the bottle from him and taking a sip. He sat down beside her and she glanced over at him. "If you have patients to look after, I'll be fine," she told him.

"No, I'm good," he replied. "I'm off duty, getting ready to go home. I wanted to make sure you were okay first, though." He paused for a moment. "I really am sorry about your mother."

A lump formed in Mac's throat and she tried to swallow it with a gulp of juice. "How long did she…. Suffer?" she asked.

"Not long," he replied. "She came to us about a year ago after her doctor had found a tumor on her intestine. So, more tests were conducted and we found that the tumor was indeed malignant and that the cancer had also spread to her gallbladder, colon, and ovaries," he took a deep breath and began again. "She had surgery to remove the parts of the cancer that could be taken and then started chemotherapy. The surgery only destroyed about 15 of the cancer, though, and the portion left began to spread so rapidly, the chemotherapy couldn't do any good. So, she opted to quit the chemo and wait…."

"Wait to die," Mac finished for him.

Dr. Williams nodded. "Yes. I want you to know that your mother was only in pain for the last few weeks."

"That's good," Mac said, quietly.

"Is there anything else you wanted to know?" he asked.

Mac started to shake her head, but stopped. "Did anyone come to see her?"
"Hmmm…" he said, thinking. "Come to think of it there was someone… A young woman. She only came once."

"Did you ever speak with her?" Mac asked interested in who this visitor was.

"Yes… briefly. I happened to run into her in the hallway. She asked me where she could find Deanna and I told her. I'm not sure who she was. Do you have any idea? One of your mother's friends perhaps?"
"I wouldn't know… I never really knew my mother," she commented sadly.

"May be, but she spoke of you often."

Mac smiled slightly. "Well, Doctor, what do I need to do about funeral arrangements?" she asked, feeling her strength renewed- for the moment at least.

"I'm not sure. Why don't you come over to the desk and I'll have the receptionist fill you in," he said, helping her to her feet. Mac stood, with the doctor's help, and walked with him over to the nurse's station. She grasped the tall desk and balanced herself while the doctor informed the receptionist of the situation.

He then turned to Mac. "Maggie will give you all the necessary paperwork to fill out. I need to be getting home. It was a pleasure to meet you," he added, extending his hand.

"Thank you Doctor Williams," Mac said, grasping his hand in hers.

He smiled before retreating down the hallway.

1440 EST

MARIOTT HOTEL

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

Mac closed the door of her hotel room and bolted it behind her. She walked to an end table in the front room of the suite, sat down the bag of food she was holding in her hand, and then went to the bathroom to wash up a bit. She had been at the hospital for three hours signing papers and getting things in order. She was exhausted.

Returning to the front room a few minutes later, Mac kicked off her shoes, flopped down on the sofa, picked up her burger and fries and began to eat. No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn't manage to swallow one bite. She rubbed her tired eyes with her palm and a few small, hot tears escaped. Taking a deep breath and wiping the moisture from her cheeks, she picked up the remote lying on the table and flipped on the television. Just as she began to relax, the phone in the bedroom rang. She sighed and slowly pushed herself off the sofa.

"Hello?" she said, picking up the hotel phone.

"Mac? That you?"

"Yeah, Harm," she knew the voice on the other end all too well.

"Finally….. the hotel patched me in to two other rooms before finally getting me connected with you," Harm said. "I don't think the receptionist spoke English very well."

"Why didn't you call my cell?" Mac asked.

"I tried and it didn't work."

"It didn't?" she asked, taking the phone out of her pocket. She tried turning it on, but nothing happened. "Oh…." she said. "I guess I forgot to charge it."
"How is you mom?" Harm asked. He was answered only by silence. "Mac?" he asked again.

"She's gone, Harm," she finally replied.

"Oh, Mac, I'm so sorry," Harm told her. "When? Did you get there in time?"
"Yeah I got here…. She died early this morning."

"I'm sorry…" Harm said again.

"SAYING YOU'RE SORRY WILL NOT BRING HER BACK!" she yelled, a single tear falling from her eye.

Harm rested his head in his hand, pressing the phone closer to his ear. There was a long pause between them.

"Saying you're sorry won't bring her back," Mac finally spoke, quietly repeating what she had yelled before. She sighed as she sat back on the bed. "My dad said that to me after my mom left when I was fifteen….. Ironic the same words would come out of my mouth."

"Mac, I want to come out there," Harm said.

"No, I can take care of myself. I don't need you here," she said coolly. "I don't need anyone…." she said quietly, her voice cracking and the tears now streaming down her face. A quiet sob escaped into the receiver. "Oh, Harm," she whispered before slamming the phone back onto the nightstand.

HARM'S APARTMENT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

"Mac!" Harm called into the dead phone line, but it was no use. She had hung up on him. Told him she didn't need him; told him not to come. He quietly set down the phone, leaning his head back on his sofa and rubbing his face with his hands, thinking. Suddenly, he stood and walked out of his apartment and down the hall.

"Mattie, it's me," he called out as he knocked on the door. "Open up."

"Hello!" Mattie said as she opened the door. "What's wrong?" she asked as she saw the look on his face.

He stepped into the small apartment and closed the door behind him. "I just got off the phone with Mac," he said finally. "Her mom died this morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry."
Harm nodded. "Listen, I'm going to go to Indy."

"She needs you," Mattie said.

Harm gave her a surprised look. "Yeah, I think so. Is Jennifer here?"

"Yes, sir, I'm here," Jen said as she stepped out of the bedroom. "I heard it all, Commander, and I think it's a very nice idea."

Harm smiled and began to open his mouth, but she interrupted him.

"I'd be happy to watch out for Mattie while you're gone," she said quickly.

Harm stared at her. "Thanks. I'm going to leave right away."

"Right, sir," Jen said, then added, "I can call the airlines for you if you need."

"That would be great. Thanks. If you don't mind, I'll go pack…. And call the Admiral, just in case I'm not back by Monday," Harm said as he turned and opened the door. "Be back in a few minutes," he called.

2010 EST

MARRIOTT HOTEL

INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Harm knocked again on the door of 223. 'Maybe she's asleep,' he thought. Slowly, the door opened and a shadowy figure appeared.

"Harm?" Mac asked, opening the door all the way. "Come on in," she said, sternly.

He stepped into the dark room and set down his suitcase, Mac shutting the door behind him. "I know you told me not to come," he said as his eyes were adjusting to the dim lighting. Suddenly, she came into view. She was standing only inches away from him: hands on her hips, her eyes red and swollen, her face pale.

He reached out and touched her shoulder. "I wanted to be with you, though," he said. Mac put a hand over her mouth and cautiously crossed the distance between them, leaning against his chest. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"Thank you," Mac whispered, putting her arms around his middle. "I'm sorry about everything I said on the phone. I didn't mean it."

"I know," Harm replied. "It's a good thing I don't do what you tell me, MacKenzie," he added, softly.

She laughed lightly as her stomach rumbled.

"When was the last time you ate something?" Harm asked, still holding her, guiding her to the sofa.

"Lunch, yesterday," she said. "I tried to eat earlier, but I couldn't seem to get it down. How can I miss someone I didn't really know, Harm?" she whispered, her tears spilling down the front of his shirt.