Author: Nancy
Disclaimer: JAG and its characters do not belong to me so this effort
is not for monetary gain, just
for my own pleasure and perhaps a few who like to read about my
favorite show.
Classification: Harm and Mac Romance/Drama
Rating: PG
Summary: How many times can Mac deal with saying goodbye to Harm?
Will this be their last goodbye? This contains some of the current
events of the times. This was written October 2001.
PART 4
"I'm going to fly with you on this one." Harm dressed in flight gear announced at the preflight briefing. "There is a question about the location of the target being within the borders of Afghanistan. The region is mountainous and Pakistan officials are screaming that we have been firing into their borders. The Captain has directed me to evaluate the situation. I'll being shooting photos of our targets."
"But CAG, we have been hitting only the identified targets. The Captain doesn't think we can shoot straight?" Mustang asked incredulously.
"I've seen you in the head Mustang. You have problems hitting your target in there too. I guess the Captain just found out." Six Pack teased.
"Well at least I stand to take a leak instead of squatting!" Mustang rebuffed arrogantly.
"Hey, watch it. Squatting is definitely a sign of higher intelligence." Buffy retorted. She was the only female pilot in the squadron and was one of Harm's best. Buffy was short for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
"I'm not going there." Harm shook his head at the preflight banter. He finished their preflight instructions and they all headed to their tomcats. This was the last mission before they headed back home for a few months for repairs. He had not received a reply from Mac, but still maintained hopes that she would meet him. His RIO was Sherlock a kid from New York who was as sharp as they come and obsessed with mystery novels. He idolized Harm from the get go and talked with him about returning to college to attain a legal degree and joint the JAG staff. Harm had enjoyed mentoring his team over the past months trying to teach them judgement not just how to improve their flying skills.
Stacy Lockless the LOC and Tom Torre the Air boss found Harm to be a natural leader. The Captain depended on Harm to help determine strategy and deal with politics. They had no intention of him leaving the line to return to his legal world. His accelerated promotion came at the request of his CO.
Several nights before ...
"Okay Harm I didn't fish you out of the Atlantic to have you beat me again!" Stacy threw his cards down in disgust. Harm, Captain Tobias Ingles, Commanders Stacy Lockless and Tom Torre would share an officer's late night round of poker whenever they could. The Captain jokingly told him it was there bonding time.
"As I recall Commander, you broke nearly all the rules flying in that storm to save our CAG." Captain Ingles tauted.
"That was the damnest thing. How did they find you Harm?" Tom asked. He was the only one of the four who was not involved in Harm's rescue over a year ago.
"Colonel Mackenzie a JAG back in DC located him on a map and called in the coordinates. We found the raft ,and he wasn't far away." Stacy explained shaking his head.
"You were flying back to go to her wedding." Ingles recalled. "She didn't get married after that did she?"
Harm squirmed, "No."
"I wonder why?" Stacy chuckled at his friend who looked like he was trying to ignore the conversation.
"Are you two dating?" Tom asked innocently.
"Not exactly." Harm replied.
"Well are you or aren't you." Ingles pressed to Harm's surprise.
"We may have a date when I get back to Norfolk." Harm answered.
Ingles sat back in his chair and stared intently at his CAG. "Damn Harm, no wonder you aren't married, you don't know if you have a date or not." The others burst out laughing.
"Hey Stacy's not married!" Harm defended himself.
"I've already been put through this interrogation." Stacy held up his hands defensively.
"What was your defense?"
"I threatened to hire a legal weenie and sue for harassment." Stacy added matter of factly. "So I fished you out of the ocean, and I guess they believed me."
They all cackled and resumed their card game.
Harm smiled to himself remembering the banter from the poker game as he strapped himself into the cockpit and prepared for take off.
Meanwhile back at JAG headquarters Mac had settled back into a comfortable routine. She enjoyed her time at Pearl but nothing compared to the action at headquarters. Everyday she would start a message to Harm, but would delete it before she finished. She decided that she would know on the thirteenth if she wanted to meet him.
"Do you think we will draw fire CAG?" Sherlock was busy punching in the latest coordinations as they flew towards the target.
"What do you think Sherlock?" Harm said a with a little sarcasm.
"I know I know. No shit Sherlock." The younger man responded.
Harm smiled beneath his mask, "You nervous Sherlock?"
"Who me? No way Sir." Sherlock sounded unconvinced.
Harm decided not to press, "We're almost there. Be on the look out for ground fire."
Harm guided his tomcat through the maze of mountaintops flying low enough for the cameras to record any activity. He was making a return flight when he and his wingman began to take on ground fire. Harm banked hard starboard to avoid the ground fire when a he felt a sudden jar and heard a loud blast. His right leg exploded in pain as the F-14 dipped out of control. Sherlock screamed out, "Hammer! Hammer? I'm going to punch us out!"
Harm grabbed the stick and pulled the floundering tomcat back up. "No. I think we can make it back." He gasped.
"Are you okay?" Sherlock still sounded panicked.
"I'll be okay, just help me keep this bird in the air." Harm lied as he struggled to maintain control of the crippled aircraft.
His wingman, Buffy pulled up beside them. "This is Chevy two. Chevy one are you okay. You look like you took a missile strike to front starboard cabin. Over."
"This is Chevy one, I'm having some flight control problems, but I think I can keep her up 'til we get home." Harm sucked in a deep breath and focused on his flying. It seemed like an eternity before they reached the carrier. His hand trembled as he held tightly to the stick. His urges to throw up and sleep battled against his will to maintain his focus and land the craft safely. He didn't want to punch out. He had to get Sherlock home safely.
"This is Chevy one, I took a hit front starboard. I am not sure the landing gear is working. May have to eject. Over."
"Roger, reading you loud and clear. We have an angel standing by Chevy one. Over."
Harm released the landing gear, "Chevy two, this is Chevy one. Did my landing gear come down?"
"Chevy one, you are good to go. Over." Buffy visually gave Hammer the okay sign and pealed away.
"This is Chevy one, preparing to land."
Harm could hear Stacy's voice on his radio, "Hammer call the ball, we'll get you down."
The next few seconds were tense as the carrier prepared for a crash, and Harm struggled with the crippled tomcat. The sound of screeching wheels and the abrupt halt of the jet's forward momentum flooded Harm's mind with relief along with blackness.
"Hammer! We made it!" Sherlock yelled. "Awe shit! CAG!"
Harm woke up in the American Hospital in Germany. "Commander, welcome back." The doctor stood over him listening to his chest.
"Where am I?" He looked around not recognizing his surroundings.
"Germany, you took quite a hit a couple of days ago." The doctor removed the stethoscope from his ears.
"You lost a great deal of blood from that leg wound. They stabilized you and transported you here for surgery. We attempted a graft to restore the circulation to your right lower leg, but it failed. I'm sorry Captain, but we had to amputate."
Harm thought he didn't hear the man correctly, "What did you just say?"
The doctor move down towards his residual limb and uncovered it, "There was too much damage. You continued to bleed so that we had to remove you leg or loose you. We were able to perform a below the knee amputation so that you will eventually be able to walk again with an artificial limb."
Harm never heard the last words once he saw the results.
"I'll send the nurse in with something to help you rest." The doctor recognized his patient's shock and eased away to allow Harm a chance to grieve privately.
If Harm could have denied it he would have, but looking down to the foot of his bed reinforced the harsh reality. Tears flowed down his face as his world seemed to have fallen apart around him. His career was over, his ability to walk changed forever, how he saw himself changed forever. He felt no longer whole.
The next few days were nothing but a haze. With the increased military action, communication was severely restricted. Harm had begged the doctors not to notify his mother or anyone. He told them that he was concerned about their safety if they attempted to travel, but he really didn't think he could face them. Not like this.
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