Part Two

WEDNESDAY

EARLY MORNING

MAC'S APARTMENT

GEORGETOWN

Mac moved to the door, took a deep breath and held it as she looked through the peephole.

Seeing who her visitor was, she let out the breath that she was holding and swung the door open wide to greet him.

In a moment of extreme relief that had her not thinking clearly, Mac threw her arms around his neck.

"You're alive," she said as she hugged him for a moment, but pulled back almost as quickly, regaining her composure. However, still feeling the need to have contact with him, she grabbed his arm and tugged on his sleeve until he reluctantly stepped inside.

He'd neither pushed her away nor had he put his arms around her when she'd hugged him, and he hadn't offered any witty banter along the lines of her jumping his bones when she saw him at her door.

He'd taken only a couple of steps into her apartment and now he was just standing there, still not having said a single word. It also struck her as odd that he'd been reluctant to come inside her apartment.

Once she'd closed the door, thinking that he must be worried that she might be 'entertaining' a man, she said, "There's no one here but me, so please sit down and tell me what has you out at this hour," Mac said, moving past him.

Harm's head was down, and he seemed to be staring at the carpet, causing Mac to stop and reach for his hand. "I'm sure you're exhausted, so come and sit down with me." Mac was pleading, but Harm's feet were firmly planted where they were.

Her hand wrapped around his, and he pulled it back.

"I shouldn't have come here," he said without being able to mask the sadness that he was feeling from reaching her ears, even if she couldn't see his face.

The sadness in his voice had Mac feeling like an idiot.

She'd been so caught up in the fact that she'd been seeing his face all evening that she hadn't gotten passed the fact that he was here and that nothing had happened to him. However, there was more than one way for him to be hurt. Emotional pain can hurt as much as physical pain.

"Harm, how is Mattie doing?" Mac asked hesitantly.

"She isn't in pain any more," he answered, unable to say anything else.

"Harm, are you trying to tell me that she's..." Mac had to swallow hard, and she still couldn't say the word dead. "...gone?"

Mac knew that Mattie's condition had been critical, but the fact that such a young girl, especially one who she knew had died, was a shock to her system.

Harm could only muster an affirmative nod to Mac's question.

"When?" Mac inquired.

"A couple of hours ago...I sat with her for a few minutes right afterward, and then I went out to my car... and the next thing I knew...I was outside your apartment building. I'm going to go. It was a mistake for me to come here."

"Harm, it was no mistake that you came here. I can't bring her back, but I can help you get through this...and the first thing you need is some sleep."

"I can't. I have too much to do. I'm not her father, but I'm not leaving her funeral arrangements up to a drunk."

"No, you aren't, but you also aren't leaving this apartment until you've had some sleep. You're exhausted and in no shape to drive back to Blacksburg right now, and even if you did, there won't be a funeral home open at this hour, so you have time to get some sleep. Now, take off your jacket."

Harm, too tired to argue, complied with her request and removed his jacket.

"I'll hang this up," Mac said, moving towards the coat rack.

After hanging his jacket on a hook, she turned to see that Harm had finally made his way farther into her apartment and was sitting on her couch.

"Are you hungry?" Mac asked.

"No, just tired," he replied before adding, "Maybe a nap would do me some good."

"Then come with me, and let's get you settled into bed," Mac said, waiting for him to stand up.

"Mac, I'll be fine here," Harm offered in weak protest. A bed with a real mattress would be nicer than the couch, but he'd been dozing off in a chair for the last week, so even her couch would be more comfortable than where he'd been sleeping.

"No, you won't. That couch isn't long enough for you to be comfortable...now get up, get into that bedroom and lie down...and that's an order, Commander."

"I don't want to run you out of your bed. This couch can't be a good place for you to sleep either. It might aggravate that back pain of yours."

It was so sweet that he was thinking of her well-being at a time like this, but he needed the rest that only a bed would provide. Besides, she hadn't had pain in her back since she'd had the procedure about a year ago.

Where had the year gone? This was no time to think about that, she thought, reeling her thoughts back in before she spoke.

"I haven't had any back pain in quite awhile, but if it'll make you feel better, we can share the bed."

"You could let me leave since I do have my own bed just a few minutes down the road from here."

"You aren't driving another minute tonight, Harm. You're so tired that you're a hazard on the road to both yourself and others, and you won't do that to me. You won't have me attending two funerals. Do you understand me? So you can either take the bed alone or we can share." Her voice cracked at the word funeral, but she recovered to deliver her final sentence with authority.

He might have put up a bigger fight, but he could tell that she was worried about him, and he was tired. Perhaps it would be better if he took a nap before getting back behind the wheel.

"Share," Harm said in almost a whisper as he stood.

Mac felt that he might bolt for the door if she turned her back on him, so she reached for his hand. "Then come with me," she said, tugging gently on his hand.

He didn't resist and moved with her until they reached her bedroom and she let go of his hand.

"I was going to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea when you knocked on my door, so I'm going to go make it now while you get ready for bed. Would you like some tea?"

"No, I'm fine," Harm said, annoyed that she was making such a fuss over him.

"If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen making myself that tea. If you want to wash up, the clean towels and wash clothes are in the bathroom closet. Help yourself, and when you're ready for bed, just climb in and make yourself comfortable. I'll be in to join you shortly," Mac said, and soon she was out of the room.

Harm went into the bathroom and washed his face, and then, using his index finger as a make-believe toothbrush, he squeezed a dab of toothpaste out onto it before rubbing it over his teeth, more to freshen his breath than to clean his teeth since he hadn't planned on sleeping next to anyone tonight.

He stripped off his shirt and took off his shoes, socks and belt before lying down on top of the blanket on her bed and turning out the light.

He closed his eyes, but sleep didn't come to him. His mind was still focused on the events at the hospital several hours ago. He'd been at Mattie's side, talking to her when the alarms on her monitors had gone off, bringing a flood of medical staff into the room. He'd been ushered out of the room while attempts to revive Mattie had been made. The staff had spent forty-five minutes trying to resuscitate her before the doctor had come out into the hall and told him that they'd been unsuccessful.

Though his eyes were closed, he was still awake when Mac came into the room a few minutes later. He suspected that she hadn't made herself that tea. She was just giving him a few minutes alone with his thoughts.

Mac shrugged off her robe and got into bed. She pulled up the covers carefully so as not to disturb Harm, who she thought was asleep.

Mac looked towards Harm and whispered, "I promise that I'll get you through this Harm." Then she snuggled down in the bed.

Knowing that Harm was safe was the antidote to Mac's insomnia, and she drifted off to sleep within a couple of minutes of resting her head on her pillow.

For Harm, it took almost an hour, but, eventually, his exhaustion won out, and he too went to sleep.