A/N: Were almost done :(, but as promised here is the next chapter I told you it would be a long wait.

Chapter 16

Hold On

"Uncle Matt." Mac cried throwing her arms around her uncle, she looked up at him and smile all of sudden memories from her early adulthood flooded her and for a moment she forgot everything. "Uncle Matt it is so good to see you!"

"Hello Sarah." He greeted noticing her long hair. "You've grown your hair out since I last saw you." Mac smiled and let her hair fall out of the ponytail she had pulled it back in.

"I did, do you like it?" She asked, her uncle nodded his approval. He sat down on the mountainside and patted the spot next to her.

"Do you know where you are Sarah?" He asked in a now serious tone.

"Back in Arizona, Red Rock Mesa." She replied matter of fact her eyes looking at the view, while Hawaii had a view it was nothing like the view in Arizona.

"No Sarah, this is your Heaven, you died." Suddenly every memory flashed in front of her eyes from Virginia to her wedding to Harm, the birth of her daughters, watching her daughters grow up, moving to Hawaii, her daughters being kidnapped, Mexico, and then her final moments. She remembered the gun shots, she remember Harm collapsing her final thoughts of Harm and her daughters safety, and the extreme pain…. She turned back to her uncle he was seated his legs pulled up close to him, almost in a childlike posture, his eyes concentrating on Sarah waiting for her to connect the dots.

"No." Mac cried standing up looking around. "I can't be in dead."

"You are Sarah how do you think I am able to be with you back here in Arizona?" He asked he then looked out across the desert the night sky turned to day again it was broad daylight and a pair of binoculars appeared beside him, he handed them over to Sarah. "Look off into the distance." He instructed, Mac snatched the binoculars from her uncle refusing to believe that she was dead, she raised the binoculars to her eyes and followed the direction of where her uncle was pointing. Out on the horizon there was a figure approaching, a man, Mac adjusted the binoculars and gasped at the man…Brumby.

"He can't be here, I don't want him to be here." Her uncle looked up puzzled.

"Is he not your fiancée?" Mac's hands started to shake.

"He was, but we never got married, he tried to kill Harm and my daughters I don't want him here." With that he disappeared, she looked back at her uncle for an explanation.

"It is your heaven, you can choose who you want here." He leaned back against a rock and crossed his arms. "So you married that sailor you found in a rose garden?" Mac smiled recalling how the stolen Declaration led Harm and Mac out to the desert on their first mission together and back to her uncle.

"That I did, and we have two beautiful daughters, Natalie and Lucy."

"And he made you happy?"

"He has been perfect for me." Mac started to cry. "Is he ok? Are my daughters ok?"

"If you mean are they dead look around, they would be here."

"But are they ok?" Mac demanded her uncle shock his head.

"I am not an angel Sarah, I'm only here to guide you through this." Mac backed away from him.

"I'm not dead, I can't be, the girls are only 11 I have to be there, who else will they be able to confess their crushes to? Be there to talk about their first kiss, when they go to prom, go to college, when they get married and when they have babies. I have to be there for them, I have to be there for Harm I can't be dead I have to go back!" Mac turned leave.

"Where are you going Sarah?" Her uncle called after her.

"I'm going back, I can't leave my family, they need me and I need them, I'm not ready!" She yelled back walking off toward the horizon, not sure exactly what she was doing.

Waiting Room

Tijuana General Hospital

1300 hours

Victor held the twins they had been escorted to the waiting room, while the colonel and captain had been taken to the OR. Victor had to place several calls and go through several channels in order to get medical information in order to fill out the forms for both of them, the twins did not know any medical detail, but he was able to fill them out. Now it was the worse part to sit and wait, sit and wait and pray for a miracle. He looked at Natalie and Lucy who were sitting either side of him; he was holding them close they were trembling. A nurse had offered to take the girls to get them cleaned up, but they had refused to leave Victor they were too afraid. Victor had called the US consulate in Tijuana for the twins safety he was having them relocated there, from there they would be escorted back to San Diego where they would stay until further arrangements could be made. Victor would also arrange for Harm and Mac to be transferred to a hospital in San Diego as soon as they were stable. He wasn't giving up hope, they would both pull through this, Mac was a Marine and she would survive. The sound of footsteps brought Victor's attention away from the twins, a man and women approached them escorted by three marines, he knew they were from the consulate. The man and woman were both dressed in civilian business attire a serious look on their face, Victor looked at the girls who did not acknowledge the American party approaching. He had only made a passing mention to the twins about the consulate he knew they would not want to leave, but for their safety he could not keep them here.

"Natalie, Lucy the people from the consulate are here." Victor informed, the girls snapped out of their concentration and looked over at those approaching.

"No Uncle Victor please we want to stay here!" They pleaded, Victor shook his head he wouldn't let the girls win this one, even with Palmer dead he couldn't risk someone from his entourage coming after the twins, Harm would kill Victor if he got his daughters this far and ended up getting them kidnapped or worse again. "No girls I'm sorry you have to go with them, they will escort you back to San Diego where you will be safe. I will call you with updates I promise." The girls tried to object as the American party from the consulate approached.

"I am Agent Dameon Ford and this is Agent Laura Patterson we are from the US consulate." Agent Patterson looked down at the girls and gave a comforting smile.

"You two must be Natalie and Lucy Rabb, you can call me Laura are you ready to go?" The girls tried to object, clinging to Victor, but he knew they couldn't stay, he pulled them off and handed the girls over.

"Take good care of them." Galindez instructed, he tried not to look at the twins' faces avoiding their look of disappointment and sadness. "I promise I will call as soon as I learn of something." He promised them, handing them his cell phone, the girls followed the group, and their heads hung low in one last objection.

ICU Unit

Captain Harmon Rabb Jr. Room 214

Tijuana General Hospital

1630 hours

Harm woke up feeling groggy his vision was blurred, from what he could make out he was in a hospital, and he could not understand what was being spoken around him. He turned to his left to see a petite Hispanic woman, standing at 5'2" and in a clean uniform next to him; she smiled at him and began to speak to him in Spanish. Harm shook his head, he wasn't able to make out what she was saying, she nodded in understandment, she then took his temperature and blood pressure and left the room. Suddenly memories of the past couple of days came flooding back, Harm sat up, still disoriented by the anesthetics he looked around, he looked down at the IV's in his arm, he was about to rip them out when he heard a voice speaking in English.

"We're glad to see your awake, you gave us quite a scare." Harm looked up and at his doctor approaching.

"Yes I tend to do that, where am I? Where is my family?" The doctor tried to have Harm lay back down.

"I am Doctor Rodriguez you are in the ICU unit in Tijuana General Hospital, you were shot you suffered from a lot of blood loss, it is a miracle in itself you pulled through." Doctor Rodriguez explained.

"And my family?" Harm demanded.

"Your daughters are safe they have already been escorted to the US consulate here in Tijuana they will be taken back to San Diego shortly. They didn't leave without objection mind you, they are very head strong and persistent." Harm smiled that was his daughters all right, he was getting very groggy but the doctor had yet mentioned about Mac.

"And my wife?" He asked trying not to give back into the sleep; the doctor avoided eye contact with Harm.

"She is still in surgery." He left out the detail she had arrived with no pulse. "I will go check on her, you just get the sleep you need." He instructed, Harm tried to fight the sleep, but was no stranger to surgery and knew it was best not to fight the drugs.

"Please God let my girls and Mac be alright." The prayer slipped his lips before he once again lost conscience.