Title – Déjà Vu Moment In The Afghan Mountains
Authors' Names – Carol & Michi
Spoilers: The season 7 episode 'In Country' but other than that, nothing that would really matter. This story happens after 'In Country' and before 'Enemy Below'
Disclaimer: JAG and its characters are the property of Bellisario Productions, CBS, and Paramount.
Summary: Harm, Mac and another journey through the Afghan mountains…
Beta-work: A huge thanks goes out to our beta-god Witchy V!
Feedback: Always welcome, very encouraging and for sure appreciated…
Originally written in 2005/2006
Thursday
May 16, 2002
Outside Kandahar
Afghanistan
3:56 PM
"Harm stop," Mac commanded as they drove through the desert landscape. They were driving for hours and so far they came across nothing but sand, dust, frightened animals and even more sand.
"Why?" Harm replied while he kept driving on. He quickly glanced at Mac who was looking around, obviously searching for something. "Do you see something?"
Mac took a nervous breath and slowly shook her head. "No. Nothing. But I've got this feeling."
Harm once more glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "The 'wish I wasn't here'-feeling or the 'uh oh, we're in trouble'-feeling?" He wanted to know and asked with a more or less neutral voice, not knowing how to read Mac's behavior at the moment.
"The last one," Mac retorted semi absently just to let a shiver follow. "Will you stop, please?" She once more asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
Harm saw her shivering and could hear in her voice that something obviously wasn't okay. Therefore, he lightly stepped on the break and the Humvee slowly came to a stop. "Okay, what's wrong, Mac?" He asked her in worry while shutting off the engine of their vehicle.
"Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" Mac looked around at the still desert landscape, the upcoming darkness making it nearly impossible for her to discern anything around them.
Harm sighed and started to look around as well. "That sand over there looks just like the pile over there," he told her half jokingly. "Quite frankly, the only thing that looks out of the ordinary here is us," he finished his statement as the distant sound of fighter planes could be heard overhead.
Mac followed the sound with her eyes and her face suddenly paled. "Mac, what's wrong?" Harm asked her once more as she took some calming breaths. "Mac?" He put his hand lightly on her left shoulder to give it a squeeze, hoping to get a reaction from her.
"We need to get out of here," she quickly told him.
Harm shrugged and took his hand from her shoulder. "Okay," he replied while starting the engine again.
Mac quickly touched his hand and shook her head. "No, not in the Humvee." She reached into the back and grabbed her pack.
"What?" Harm looked at her perplexed. "What do you mean? Why not in the Humvee?"
"Move, Harm!" Mac ordered in a voice that didn't leave any space for questions as she jumped out of the vehicle and buckled on her pack.
Harm shook his head in disbelief and watched her. Then he grabbed his pack and got out of the Humvee as well, even so he didn't understand what was going on here.
Mac started to walk away from the vehicle and Harm started to follow her. "You want to tell me what the hell that was about?" He asked while trying to catch up on her. "Why do we have to leave the Humvee behind?" Harm wanted to know but got no answer from her in response. "Mac!" He called after her, seeing that she started to quicken her steps.
Suddenly the sound of the fighter planes came back, this time a bit louder and much, much closer. Harm looked up and noticed that the planes were Tomcats. The planes got even closer and Harm at once saw when the missile broke away from the leader. "Holy shit," he muttered. "Mac!" Harm screamed, trying to her attention.
"I know!" Mac just said while they both started to run towards a ridge wall. They were about twenty feet away from the ridge wall when the missile hit their Humvee. The explosion rocked the ground and at once sent Harm and Mac towards the ridge. They rolled to the ground while pieces of debris landed around and onto them.
A few seconds passed before Harm slowly rolled onto his back with a groan, letting his mind locate any injuries on his body, just to find nothing alarming. He quickly took a glance over at the ball of fire that was once their Humvee. Then he brushed off the dust on him before he slowly let his eyes wander. "Mac!" Harm softly called her name, looking to his right just to see her about six feet away from him. She was lying face down in the sand and didn't move.
Harm slowly scrambled to his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness that passed through him. "Mac!" He ran to her as far as his groggy body was letting him and carefully rolled her onto her back. He could see that there were some scraps on her face and that her arm was bleeding, but as far as he could discern there was nothing broken. "Thank god," he murmured to himself in relief and exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding before lightly touching her face. "Mac? Come on. Wake up, Marine."
Just to make sure, Harm touched her neck, felt her pulse and then saw, based on her moving chest, that she was breathing. "Come on, Sarah." He gently stroked her forehead and then could hear her lightly moan. "That's it. Come on."
"Did you get the name of that truck?" She quietly muttered and slowly opened one of her eyes just to let another moan follow.
Harm nervously chuckled at her sense of humor. "Yeah, but the auto club doesn't come out this far."
She slowly opened her other eye and closely looked at Harm. "You okay?" She asked and moved her left arm with the intention to touch his head, only to let it drop at once with a loud moan as soon as the pain was shooting through her arm. "Damn," she groaned out through her clenched teeth and closed her eyes again.
"Yeah, I'm okay. But you're not," Harm softly told her in worry and then helped her to sit up.
Mac moaned again and left her eyes closed. "You're telling me. And could you please be still or at least talk with a lower voice?"
Harm looked at her with concern. "Dizzy?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Mac answered and tried to open her eyes just to close them again while taking some deep breaths. "Beautiful stars though."
"Stars?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm, that sounds somehow familiar to me," he continued, remembering the stars he'd seen a few days ago while sitting in the middle of a minefield. Then he started to chuckle as soon as Mac did. He carefully probed her head and felt a bump over her left eye near her hairline. "Nice bump."
"Well, it would hurt a whole lot less if you would stop touching it," she replied and tried to pull away her head from his fingers, just to be confronted with another spell of dizziness.
"Cranky when you have a concussion, huh?" Harm snidely said to her and gave her one of his flyboy grins.
"How are you?" Mac asked in worry as she overrode all her powers of sarcasm.
Harm shrugged and helped Mac to get her backpack from her shoulders. "I'm probably just bruised. Your arm is bleeding," Harm told her as she bent her legs with a mild groan.
Mac looked at her arm. "It's just a scrape." She touched the ripped material to revel a three inch gash in her upper arm. "And it doesn't hurt as soon as you get used to it."
"You're going to need stitches. No, don't touch it," Harm ordered when he saw her trying it. He reached over and grabbed his pack. He opened it and found the first aide kit.
"Always the boy scout," Mac muttered behind his pack and couldn't keep herself from smiling a little.
"I heard that," Harm let her know and pulled out the antiseptic wash. "Now hold still, Marine."
"I hate that stuff," Mac complained quietly when Harm poured it on the cut.
Harm grabbed a clean cloth and wiped the wound. "It's at least better than pouring bourbon over it," he said while both remembered their encounter with a few poachers in the Appalachian mountains many years ago.
"Only mildly better," Mac murmured with a quiet voice and opened her eyes as soon as the pain faded.
"Quit your moaning," Harm jokingly told her with a smirk as he wrapped the wound with fresh gauze. He knew just too well how much this liquor was burning while touching an open wound.
"You have a horrible bedside manner," she replied just as jokingly and gave him a little smirk of her own. "Has someone told you that before?"
Harm looked into her eyes with a glimmer in his own ones. "Is that an invitation into your bed, Marine?" He wanted to know and let his question be followed by a big flyboy-grin.
Mac rolled her eyes and regretted it immediately when yet another spell of dizziness hit her full force. "I walked right into that one," she said and slowly loosened her grip on his jacket after she'd gripped for it the moment everything around her had started to turn.
"Probably from the blood loss," Harm remarked to her. He gently brushed some hair off her forehead and got a sweet smile from her in response. "How far do you think we are away from base?"
"Three hours by Humvee," Mac answered at once.
"It's going to be a while on foot then," Harm concluded and started to repack his backpack.
"Let's get moving," Mac said to Harm and started to stand up.
She stood still for a second and Harm watched as she started to sway. He quickly moved next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I've got ya."
Mac took a deep breath and slowly re-opened her eyes after she'd closed them the moment she'd stood. "It's starting to pass."
Harm didn't let go of her. "Maybe we should stay here."
"No, I'm fine." Mac looked at him and saw the concern in his eyes. "We can take it at a slow pace 'till everything stops spinning."
He loosened his hold on her but stayed close enough so he would be able to catch her if she would have another spell. "You promise to tell me if you can't handle it?"
"Yes," Mac said and fought back the urge to roll her eyes while another part of her was simply moved about his concern.
Harm exhaled slowly. "Okay." He walked over to pick up both packs and guns. Harm shouldered both of their packs and handed one of the guns to Mac. He watched as Mac opened her mouth to protest and quickly stopped her. "Once I think you can handle a pack I'll give you one. 'Till then… march, Marine."
"Thanks, Harm," Mac gently said and took the gun from Harm before they started to move and passed by the smoking Humvee. "I can't believe this happened again."
Harm chuckled and nodded his head. "You're telling me. At least there wasn't a goat this time."
Mac agreed with a nod and then made a noise which sounded like a snort. "No, just some friendly fire."
"You think the Admiral is going to take it out of the budget?" Harm asked her and sounded deadly serious.
Mac smiled softly and gave him a wink. "Well, at least a Humvee doesn't cost as much as a Tomcat."
"You're not funny," Harm told her and couldn't hold back a chuckle.
"But I have a point," she concluded with a smirk before joining him and his laughter.
Somewhere in the Afghanistan Desert
6:16 PM
"You're starting to sway," Harm reported to Mac, keeping a hawk-eye at her.
"It's not my fault the road is moving," Mac retorted with a quiet voice, the tiredness seemed to be winning the fight against her.
Harm lightly touched her arm and made them both stop walking. "Let's take a little break."
"I'm fine," Mac lied in all the stubbornness she had in her, but one look at her was enough for Harm to see just how exhausted she was.
Harm chuckled since it was easy for him to read her when she was lying. "Then have your lip stop doing the turn up thing."
Mac glared as best as she could at him and then looked defeating down at the ground. "Fine," she responded and sighed.
They took a fifteen minutes break before deciding to continue their walk. By now the darkness was surrounding them, but other than that it was quiet and both didn't know if it was normal or an assumption.
"Favorite MASH episode?" Mac wanted to know while they kept on moving. For a few minutes now they were playing this 'question/answer-game', trying their best to distract themselves from the cold and tiredness they were feeling more and more with each step they took.
"Tuttle."
"Tuttle?"
"Yup, Tuttle. Remember? Hawkeye's imaginary friend that donates the money to the orphan," Harm explained a dumbfounded looking Mac.
"Huh?"
"At the end of the episode, Tuttle is supposed to get an award from the General. So Hawkeye and Trapper fake Tuttle's death by saying he jumped out of a helicopter without his parachute."
"Oh yeah, that is a good one," Mac agreed with a nod and once more looked around them just to be greeted by the pure silence and darkness of the desert landscape.
"How about yours? What's your favorite MASH episode?" Harm wanted to know and copied Mac's movement, trying to see or hear anything around them but came up empty.
Mac thought for a second and bit her lower lip in concentration. "Umm…. I think the one where the story is told from the patient's point of view. The camera is the patient, everyone talks to him and he is the only one who knows why Potter is upset."
Harm nodded his head, remembering the episode she was talking about. "Yeah, that was a good one too. It always reminded me of the one with the dead soldier that was looking for his buddy."
"Oh yeah, that was a good show."
"Yeah, it was," Harm softly said before they fell into silence again while feeling even more tired and cold.
Still somewhere in the Afghanistan Desert
8:14 PM
"How long have we been walking?" Harm wanted to know after a while, taking a deep breath while wishing he was home in his cozy apartment and in his even cozier bed.
"Four hours, eighteen minutes and forty-five seconds," Mac answered right away and closed her eyes for a moment. This time because of the tiredness she felt rather than the dizziness, which was still bothering her but she didn't tell Harm, not wanting to worry him.
"How do you do that?" Harm asked, still amazed about her talent to tell the time.
"Can you keep a secret?" Mac wanted to know with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes," Harm immediately told her, hoping that he would finally find out about her well hidden secret.
Mac smiled before it turned into a smirk. "Good, so can I," she said and quickened her steps to get away from him.
"Smartass," Harm murmured under his breath before quickening his own steps and caught up with her.
A few moments of silence passed through them as they both concentrated on the terrain, which was getting harder to see.
"How's Sergei?" Mac asked, trying to bring up another topic they could talk about. It was getting harder and harder to keep on walking and each diversion from reality they could get, they took in the magnitude of the situation.
"Getting married," Harm let her know and laughed. 'Lucky SOB,' he concluded his statement in his thoughts, not believing that his little brother took the step in front of the altar before him.
"Wow," Mac only commented, not knowing what to say while being too surprised about this news.
"Yeah, wow indeed. She's nice. But I can't help but thinking that he's rushing into it."
"Why?" Mac wanted to know and looked up at Harm. "Maybe he loves her."
"He's asked me to be his best man," he let her know and met her gaze and smile.
"The wedding is in Russia I assume."
Harm sighed. "Yes. The only down side to it."
"You're going, right?" Mac softly asked and both stopped their movement midway.
"Of course I am. He's my brother."
Mac laughed and shook her head. "I'll call Mark and warn him that you'll be in town."
"Funny. Very funny, Marine. And here I was thinking about asking you to be my date to the wedding," Harm said, trying to sound offended by her statement but failing terribly while starting to laugh too.
"Me?" Mac asked, feeling taken aback by his confession and flattered at the same time.
Harm shrugged his shoulders and then lifted his left arm to softly let his forefinger run over the soft skin of her cheek. "You know the language and you've been there before. Not to forget that Sergei really likes you."
"I can save your six when you get in trouble," Mac jokingly concluded his enumeration of reasons why she could and should go with him to Russia.
Harm nodded his head. "Exactly. Plus, how many women do you know who would go to Russia with me for my half brother's wedding?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow and smiled down at her, getting immediately a smile from her in response.
"You do have a point," Mac softly admitted and took his forefinger, which was still caressing his cheek into her hand to give it a gentle squeeze.
"So you'll go with me?" Harm hopefully asked.
"You need to get our leave approved by the Admiral," Mac pointed out and let go of his finger before starting to walk again.
Harm shook his head with a smile while letting his eyes follow her. "Great. Leave me with the hard job," he called behind her before once more trying to catch up with her.
xoxoxoxoxox
"How's Chloe?" Harm now wanted to know after another period of silence between them.
"In love," Mac gave him a short answer while keeping on walking.
"You sound like you don't like that," Harm said after hearing the sound of disagreement in her voice.
"I do and I don't," Mac replied before continuing to explain as soon as she saw the look of bewilderment on her partner's face. "She's only fourteen. She doesn't know what love is."
Harm nodded his head in understanding and then shrugged. "It's puppy love. He'll break her heart and then she'll be in love with another boy. That's how teenager life goes."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Mac frowned with a raised eyebrow.
"Is it working?"
"No, it's not."
"Sorry," Harm apologized half-heartedly and then smirked. "However, I bet you were at Chloe's age when a boy first kissed you," Harm interposed, trying to make her see that it was a normal thing of being a teenager, and at the same time it was his try to find out something new about his partner.
Mac made a quiet noise that sounded like a snort before it changed to a yawn. "No, I was Chloe's age when a boy tried to cop a feel."
"I didn't do that till I was fifteen," Harm let her know while their steps were getting slower with each one they took.
"Well, he didn't try it again till he was sixteen."
Harm raised an eyebrow and stopped midway to look at Mac. "Why?"
Mac sighed and stopped herself to look up at him. "I broke his arm in two places," she professed before letting out another yawn.
Harm looked around them, trying to figure out if this place was good enough to make their roost for the night. He knew that they were both walking on autopilot by now and should call it a night. "Hey Mac, you think that place over there is comfy enough for our roost for the night?"
Harm pointed with his forefinger at a space nearby that was surrounded by a few rocks. Mac looked at the place he was pointing at and only shrugged. "To tell you the truth, by now even a nail bed would look comfy enough for me," she admitted with a little smile and yet another yawn.
"Good, we'll camp there for the night and maybe by tomorrow the search party is so close that we don't have to walk for a long time," Harm said between a long yawn.
"I'm all for it," Mac agreed and together they made their way to the ridge.
Harm gave Mac her pack before placing his own onto the ground with a groan. While he and Mac settled in for the night he could see in the corner of his eye that Mac was leaving some room between them and their sleeping places.
"Umm… Mac?" Harm tried to get her attention.
Mac stopped midway in her motions and turned her head a bit so she could look at him. "Yeah?"
"Don't tell me you want me to call the front desk just to ask them to send a room divider," Harm commented with the same hint of teasing in his voice like he'd done it the last time, also intentionally using the same words like back then.
Mac chuckled softly and shook her head, remembering what happened just a few days ago. "I thought you'd want your own space," she gently said, hoping he would continue their game of 'Déjà Vu'.
Harm laughed and looked around, silently thanking the man above for her reaction and that she was remembering and liking to repeat what happened a few days ago. "How much more space do I need, Mac?" He asked her with a wink.
"Ahh… okay, fine," she said and scooted her pack closer to Harm's and started to settle down again. 'We don't want to skip a scene,' she thought to herself and smirked.
'Okay, Marine. If you want it the hard way,' Harm thought and shook his head with a sigh. He waited a few seconds just to let her wonder for a while before looking back at her. "You know, Mac, the temperature is going to continue to drop. So, if we don't share body heat, we're risking hypothermia," Harm said in all seriousness, hardly stifling a chuckle.
Mac knew what to say next and just like the last time she smiled up at him. "You make it sound so inviting, Harm," she softly said.
Harm grinned back at her and quietly chuckled. "You want an invitation?"
"Yes."
Harm nodded, knowing exactly what he had to say next. He looked deeply at her and could see her bright smile. "Why don't you come over here? It's a little bit better than sleeping with scorpions," he invited her with a soft whisper while letting his eyes speak too.
Her smile brightened even more and she remembered that she'd rolled her eyes the last time and decided to copy it too, bringing out a laugh from Harm in response. "All right," she said and pulled her pack even closer to his.
She scooted in closer until they were face to face just like the last time. Then she looked into his eyes, letting hers ask him if she should continue and copy her next move from back then. Harm gave her a short nod and Mac slowly tucked her legs in between his while he pulled his coat over her. "Okay?" Harm asked in a whisper.
"Yeah, very," Mac replied while they lay practically cheek to cheek.
Harm chuckled and looked up at the dark night sky with all the stars sparkling against the blackness, the only sound hearable was the sound of a cricket and its serenade. He smiled and closed his eyes for a short moment. "Mac?" He whispered into her hair.
Mac had her eyes closed, enjoying the closeness between them. "What?" She asked, knowing already what Harm would say next, at least if he would continue their 'Déjà Vu'-game.
"Do you hear that?" He asked, still using his whispering voice.
Mac sighed in pleasure. "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly," Harm replied and chuckled again. "Not many places left in the US where you can hear absolutely nothing," he concluded his statement before both continued to look up at the sky while enjoying the sound of silence. Then they both held their breaths, silently praying for their 'Déjà Vu'-game being over now and that the sound of 'nothing' would continue rather than hearing in the distance a boom off like the last time.
After a few seconds they both exhaled the breaths they were holding and laughed. "Thank God," both said at the same time, thanking the man above for sparing them another bombing, and laughed even harder.
"That was fun," Harm whispered next to Mac's ear.
"Yeah, it was," Mac agreed with a sigh just to let a moment of silence follow.
"Damn it's cold," Harm suddenly muttered and tightened his arms around Mac.
"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey," Mac concurred at once.
"What?" Harm asked in surprise.
"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey," Mac repeated her earlier words.
"Okay, Colonel. Let me repeat myself. What?"
Mac sighed and turned a little so that she was able to look up and into Harm's questioning eyes. "Back in the time that armies used cannons, they would pile the cannon balls in one pile. The pile was called a brass monkey. When it got really cold some cannon balls would fall off, hence the saying 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey'."
"Where did you learn that?" Harm wanted to know with a raised eyebrow.
Mac shrugged her shoulders and moved back into her old position while trying to scoot even closer to Harm's solid and warm body. "Just something I picked up a long time ago."
"That's my Marine, full of useless knowledge."
"Hey, at least it got your mind off the cold for a few minutes."
"Yeah, but there are many other things that could get my mind off the cold better than this weird saying you used."
"Like what?" Mac wanted to know and asked with a low voice.
"If I told you, you would flash me a red light."
"You never know unless you share," Mac quietly told him and once more turned to be able to look directly into his eyes, just to find that they were so close to each other that they could feel each other's breaths on their faces.
"Mac," Harm huskily whispered and started to move his head a bit forward when they suddenly could hear a boom off in the far distance.
Mac raised her eyebrow and groaned. "You got to be kidding me," she cursed and raised her head to look around. "Okay, I'm really getting tired of this."
"Which 'this' are you exactly talking about?" Harm wanted to know, not sure if she was actually talking about their being together.
"This," Mac said with a frustrated voice while gesturing with her hands into the air. "Us being in the desert while listening to another damn bombing run. All the while wondering if we should move or if it's better to just stay here where we are."
"I agree," Harm said and nodded his head. Just then a bomb exploded about a hundred feet away from them. Harm quickly grabbed Mac and rolled his body on top of hers as debris and dust were covering them. After a few seconds the air was filled with nothing but silence again and Harm pulled up from her, their faces just inches away from each other. "Are you all right?" Harm asked in a whisper, their hard and uneven breathing was the only sound disturbing the silence.
"I'm fine. What about you?" She asked while her arms rested on his sides.
"I'm fine too." They both fell into silence and that's when they finally noticed that there was no sound to hear around them, none other that wasn't made by them. "It stopped," Harm concluded, keeping a low voice.
"For now," Mac said with fear in her voice.
Harm looked at her face and brushed some hair off her forehead. "We'll be okay."
Mac smiled softly and looked deeply into his eyes. "I just got a MASH flashback."
Harm raised an eyebrow, never breaking their eye contact. "Really?"
"Yeah. Margaret and Hawkeye are trapped in an old house and there is a bombing around them."
"They both get scared and hold onto each other," Harm concluded Mac's review and suddenly felt Mac's hands on his back. "Margaret starts screaming and Hawkeye kisses her. They soon forgot that they were in a war zone."
"Yeah," Mac just brought out before Harm slowly leaned down and kissed her. "Let's forget where we are, Harm," Mac whispered as soon as they'd broken their kiss and looked deeply into Harm's eyes.
Harm looked down into her dark brown eyes and watched as a gaze full of passion washed over them. He slowly moved his lips down to hers and pressed the emotion from his soul onto hers. Mac tightened her hands around Harm and held him to her. They both felt with their hands and lips, heart and soul. The air around them jumped with the passion that was being spread among the two of them. The temperature between them grew as the one around them fell.
Before either one of them realized it they had successfully undone each other's jackets and blouses. Harm's hand moved under Mac's t-shirt and felt the smooth skin of her stomach. Mac quivered slightly, feeling his cool hand on her warm skin. Harm looked at her with mild concern, but before he could ask if it was alright Mac pulled his head down to hers and gave him a knowing kiss of approval.
They both led kissed down each other's necks and as soon as their shirts were off, the kisses led down all of their exposed skin. Time stood still for them while the moonlight was soon the only thing that covered their bodies as they expressed their unspoken love for each other.
xoxoxoxoxox
5:45 AM
Harm softly kissed Mac's temple and smiled when she opened her eyes and he could see the glimmer in them. "Good morning."
"Good morning." Mac smiled back and rested her head onto his arm, wrapping her arm around him while Harm moved their jackets over their naked bodies.
Harm softly brushed some hair off Mac's face. "I don't think I told you last night, but you are so beautiful."
Mac blushed at his words, but before she could say anything Harm softly kissed her. As he released her lips from his a million thoughts passed through his mind, but he only said three words. "I love you."
Mac softly smiled and knew the words he said were coming from his heart and not from the night of passion they shared. "I love you, too," she softly told him.
He gave her a huge grin. "I never expected to tell you that in the middle of the desert. I thought it would be over a candle-light dinner and dancing."
Mac's smile grew. She gave him a wink and smirked. "Well, there's plenty of time to do that once we get home," Mac told him.
"I hope there is. I also hope there is plenty of time to repeat last night."
Mac gave him a serious look. "No, we won't be able to repeat last night ever again." Harm gave her a look of shock and surprise. But Mac shot him a sly grin. "We can only improve on last night."
Harm quickly gave Mac a kiss filled with passion, desire and love. When he released her lips he looked down at her. "I like the way you think."
"That's good. 'Cause I think we better get dressed and start walking towards the base."
Harm looked towards the direction of where the base was located. "That might be a good idea, before the group looking for us finds us like this."
"Yeah," Mac said as they helped each other get dressed.
xoxoxoxox
8:29 AM
As soon as they saw a couple of Humvees coming their way in the far distance, Harm and Mac reluctantly let go of each other's hands with a quick squeeze. They'd at some time intertwined their fingers while they were making their way through the desert landscape and back to the base.
Harm didn't know for how long they were already walking, nor did he care, and therefore he didn't dare ask Mac, who seemed to enjoy their time together just like he was. He could see and read it clearly in her shining eyes.
They looked at each other and let their eyes speak out the love they felt before nodding quickly and turning their gazes back to the cavalry. The Humvees came to a stop right in front of them and a few soldiers got out of the vehicles and approached them.
"Commander, Colonel," the corporal greeted Harm and Mac with a little grin on his face. "Good to see you…," he started to tell them before his grin grew and he continued his greeting. "… again."
"Likewise," Harm and Mac replied at the same time and copied the corporal's huge grin.
"I never thought we would see each other again so soon. At least not this way," the corporal said and took a canteen from one of the corpsman to hand it Harm. "Here, I think you know the procedure by now, Commander, and have a seat," the corporal invited before handing Mac another canteen he got from the corpsman. "I hope you two are alright. The helo found a burned out vehicle and we gathered it was yours. Thought you guys might have been captured or even worse this time."
"Yeah, it was our Humvee, but we're fine," Mac told him as she sat down in the front passenger seat while Harm, just like the last time, perched on the back seat. "Not being captured or even worse."
"Yeah, we were hit by some friendly fire. The Colonel and I thought we should repeat our last excursion we'd spent out here. You know, just to bring back some old memories and to improve a few things here and there," Harm jokingly explained with a chuckle before leaning over to pour the water from the canteen all over his head. Then he looked up, met Mac's look and both could only smile about their Déjà Vu moment in the Afghan mountains.
"We already feared that a friendly fire incident happened after you two didn't get back to base last night and then the helo found the burned out vehicle. A JAG investigation has already been ordered and Admiral Chegwidden sent over Commander Turner to lead the investigation." The corporal let them know, taking a quick look at Mac, seeing that the corpsman had just finished cleaning and re-bandaging Mac's cut on her arm. "Oh, before I forget. Admiral Chegwidden wants me to let the both of you know, that the next time you two leave Washington, he's going to have a GPS implanted on one of your sixes," he told them in all seriousness. He tried to hide his smirk, while a few marines around him couldn't hold back and started to chuckle, just like Harm and Mac did. "His words, not mine."
Harm and Mac continued to chuckle at the Admiral's words. The corporal and corpsman excused themselves from the two officers to give them a moment to rest before the trek back to base.
"Hmm, I guess the next time we leave Washington, we're having a GPS implanted on your six then, Flyboy," Mac told Harm with a wide grin as Harm got up from his seat in the Humvee to reach into the back for something to wipe his face with.
Harm looked at her over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "Why on my six and not on yours, Marine?" He wanted to know before he gave her one of his flyboy grins.
Mac shamelessly turned in her seat to look at him, mostly his six, which was in prime view of her. "That's an easy one, Flyboy. Yours sits higher than mine. That's important for good reception," she told him with a smirk before turning around in her seat. She was going to add something else, but refrained herself as the other marines were starting to walk back to their Humvees.
"Very funny, Marine. Very funny," Harm said and shook his head with a laugh before getting back into the Humvee himself. 'I just hope there will be a switch to turn the signal on and off. I don't think I want us to be found too soon from now on,' he thought and a bright smile took place on his face as he remembered their night together, their Déjà Vu moment in the Afghan mountains.
The End