A/N – Just something I’ve “dreamed up”. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer. Not mine. They’re just too much fun to leave alone.
Dream Weaver
Chapter 1
USAG Heidleberg
The sound of gunfire
flew at Harm from what seemed to be every direction. Smoke was blinding his eyes. The smell of war was burning his
nose. In the confusion of the
moment, he suddenly realized that he had no idea where his partner was. Panic built up in his
throat.
“Mac!!!
Mac!!! Where the hell are
you!!!! Damn it!” He continued to scream her name but
still could not locate her. The
sound of bombs exploding just meters away roared in his head.
The next thing he
knew, he was running up and down hospital corridors checking every room for
her.
“Mac!
Where are you! Are you
here? Mac!”
Suddenly, a man in a
surgical mask came up to him and guided him to a large room with double
doors. “Commander. Is
this whom you are looking for?” Harm exploded into the room and saw Mac
laid out on a table, deathly pale, naked underneath a sheet pulled up to her
shoulders. “No!!” he screamed. He ran towards the table but the man who
had led him to her blocked his way and removed his mask. It was Clay. Harm stopped short in his
confusion. Clay stared hard at him
and said with a smile in his eyes, “If I can’t have her, neither can you. You don’t deserve her. You idiot. You could have had her at any time. All you had to do was say the word. She would have been there in a
heartbeat. Now, there is no
heartbeat.”
Harm was overcome with
disbelief with what was happening.
Suddenly, a nurse that had been standing in the corner whom he didn’t see
initially started to head his way.
She too had a mask on but her eyes were familiar. Too
familiar. Harm stared at her
intently as she came near him. She
began unpinning her hair as she approached him, never releasing his eyes from
hers. As she reached her
destination, she shook her hair out, removed the mask and revealed herself. It was
Clay again appeared
front and center. “So, who do you
want? Pick. Go ahead. Pick! Now! Hurry up!” All of the women started to inch closer
and closer until each of their unique smells permeated his nose. But one woman stayed behind next to
Clay. It was Mac. Clay grabbed her by the hair and kissed
her intently. “Oh, I forgot to tell
you. You can’t have her. You screwed that up a long time
ago.” Clay and Mac all of a sudden
disappeared without a trace leaving him with the shadows of his past pawing at
him, each one begging to be picked.
Harm woke with a start and it took him a minute to realize
just where he was.
“
He had been in
For some reason, this assignment was really taking a lot out of him. At first, he was almost glad to go away and not have to feel the tension in the air every time he and Mac ran into each other at work but the depth and amount of work required to get to the bottom of this was wearing him thin. Not only was he talking to multiple people every day, it was also getting so complicated that he was spending hours mapping out what evidence he had collected and how each person was or was not related to the other. And he still had not found out exactly where it had started and who was responsible.
And although he was enjoying the beer, he was missing a lot of things the states can afford not to mention his apartment, Mattie, and he had to admit, Mac. Even though he and Mac had not been seeing very much of each other, he was missing her, even if their interaction of late mainly took place at the office, brief as it was. And then there was the guilt he carried over with him for not telling her that he was going away. Things were never so hard with her than they were now.
But the biggest reason he was ready to go home were his dreams. Maybe it was the undersized bed he was sleeping in, he wasn’t sure the cause exactly, but his dreams had become more and more plentiful, odd, and vivid as time went by. And they were all about Mac in some way.
They were beginning to disturb him. Quite a bit.
Chapter 2
Mac’s Apartment
She was dressed in a
very revealing black dress. Low cut
in the front and back and high cut from the bottom. Everything was perfect. Dress, hair, makeup, nails, shoes. Simply
perfect. She gave herself a
sly grin in the mirror, grabbed her purse, and headed out the
door.
Suddenly she found
herself standing alone at the door of a grand ballroom. Hundreds of candles lit the enormous
room. Mac made her way into the
room and stood at the center of the dance floor. From the shadows of the room well
dressed men started walking toward her.
“Who are these men?” she thought to herself. As they came closer, their faces became
clearer. Clay,
She found herself
looking frantically from one face to another. There was someone missing; someone who
she desperately wanted to see. “Where the hell are you Harm?” she thought in a
panic. Suddenly, she saw him standing outside the circle starting intently at
her. His eyes drove into her and
she couldn’t stop staring at him with a look on her face that seemed to cry out,
“Help me.”
But then she lost
him. Where did he go? All of a sudden the men started
talking. One after another, in
turn, around and around the circle, they were murmuring various phrases. “I want you. I need you. I’m yours. Please Sarah, come with me. Take my hand. This way,
Sarah. You’re mine.” Her head started spinning as she turned
around and around. Suddenly, Harm
was there again, on the outskirts of the circle. His eyes were still driving into
her. Then he spoke. “Not yet.”
The familiar feeling
of being emotionally crushed hit her in the chest. The men then came at her closer and
closer, crowding her, and began speaking again, this time all at once. Their voices became louder and more
demanding. Now dressed in a wedding
dress, she saw herself from above turning around faster and faster, frantic to
find a way out. She wanted to
scream but all she could do was whisper, “Harm.”
“Harm.” She woke up quickly when his name came out of her mouth. Staring at the ceiling with her heart pounding in her chest she said, “Damn you, Rabb.”
Harm had been gone almost two weeks and Mac was starting to miss him more than she could ever remember missing him. She hadn’t even known that he was leaving on an assignment. This saddened and hurt her greatly. In the past, they always knew where each other was and what the case entailed but this time was different. They were barely even speaking except for a casual conversation here and there at the office. She had to find out from Bud where he was when he hadn’t shown up at the office for three days.
As soon as she had discovered that he was gone, the dreams started. She never could claim to be the greatest sleeper in the world but these dreams were getting to her. Many were very vague but now they were starting to get very stark and she found herself distracted during the day trying to figure out what they meant.
She was starting to feel very screwed up.
Chapter 3
USAG Heidleberg
Harm was standing in
the
Mac held out his arm
to the bride. She stepped up, took
it, and the pair ascended to the reverend in standing at the
altar.
“Dearly beloved, we
are gathered here to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Marriage is not something to be entered
into lightly. This couple has come
full circle in their friendship and has come here today to pledge their love and
devotion to each other.”
The reverend then
turned to Harm. “Harmon, do you
take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in
sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I
do.”
Turning to the bride,
he continued, “And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to
have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall
live?”
The bride whispered in
a tone barely audible, “I do.”
“The wedding ring
symbolizes the circle of life. I
bless these rings in front of God and these witnesses. Harmon, please place this ring on your
bride’s ring finger of her left hand and repeat these words, “With this ring, I
thee wed.””
Harm held the bride’s
hand in his, slid the ring on and said, “With this ring, I thee
wed.”
The reverend then
handed the bride a ring and said, “Please repeat.”
The bride took the
shiny gold ring from the reverend, gently held Harm’s hand in hers and
whispered, “With this ring, I thee wed.”
“Why is she
whispering? I can barely hear her,”
Harm thought. He was starting to
feel very uneasy about the whole thing.
How could he be sure he was marrying the right woman?
“In the power vested
in me, I hereby declare this man and woman husband and wife. You may kiss the
bride.”
Harm went to lift the
veil from the bride but she held his hand to stop him. They gave each other a brief kiss
through the thin material.
“Why won’t she let me
see her? I have to be sure I
married the right woman,” he thought to himself. Suddenly, the bride grabbed Harm’s hand
and pulled him quickly down the aisle and out the doors. They were standing outside and the
sunshine briefly blinded Harm with its intensity.
He then stopped her
from pulling him away and spoke.
“Let me see you! Mac? Is that
you? I have to be sure! Mac?”
The bride stood still
in a halo of sunshine. She slowly
reached for her veil and started to lift it over her head but then stopped. She started running away from Harm and
he went running after her. “Stop!
Wait!” Meanwhile, in the
distance he saw Mac. She was
looking at him with tremendous hurt in her eyes. “How could you?” she
cried.
Harm feeling confused
turned back to the bride. The bride
then turned around and looked directly at him. She lifted the veil and revealed herself
to be Renee.
“Harm, I’m sorry. There was no other
way.”
Harm woke up with a start. “Rabb, you are one screwed up dude,” he said to himself. He looked at the clock and realized that it was almost morning. He decided to get up and go for a run to help clear his head before he headed back to work.
Chapter 4
Mac’s Apartment
Mac was standing in a
beautiful but unfamiliar room wearing her favorite red dress. Hanging on the door was a long dress
bag. She went over to the bag and
unzipped it. Inside was the most
beautiful wedding dress she had ever seen.
“Whose dress is this?” she wondered.
She heard a door open
and a beautiful woman walked in and smiled at her. The woman had her hair pinned up with
small blonde curls drifting down on either side of her face. “Mac. I’m so glad you’re here. I was afraid you wouldn’t come. Please, can you help me get
dressed?”
“Ah, sure,” Mac said
still wondering who this woman was and why Mac would not want to be at her
wedding. Whoever she was, she was
absolutely gorgeous and Mac was sure that she was marrying some equally gorgeous
man.
The woman went over to
the dress bag and took it down. Mac
went over to help her take the enormous dress out of the bag. Carefully, she slid the dress over the
woman’s head. For what seemed like
30 minutes, Mac carefully buttoned dozens of small pearl buttons up the bride’s
back. When she was done, the woman
smiled at Mac and went over to a small table to get her veil. She handed it to Mac and she gently
pinned it to the woman’s head. When
she was done, the woman smiled brightly at Mac and gave her a hug. “Thank you so much. You have been so good to me when you
really have so many reasons to hate me.”
“Why would I hate
you?” Mac asked the woman but she didn’t respond.
Suddenly, Mac found
herself standing outside of an enormous church. The bride was standing just behind
her. “I’m ready. Are you ready?” she asked
Mac.
“I think so,” Mac
replied suddenly feeling very nervous.
The doors to the church opened to reveal the glow of candles placed
around dozens of flowers. The glow
made it impossible for Mac to see much of anything inside the church. Mac then found herself holding a bouquet
of flowers as she slowly walked down the aisle. As she did, she saw dozens of people
standing at the pews starting intently, too intently, she though, at her. And then she started to recognize the
faces. One after another, she saw
all of the people she knew; Harriet and Bud, the Admiral, Jen Coats, Gunny as
well as many people from her past and from what she felt to be her
future.
She reached the end of
the aisle where the groom was standing.
But he was faced away from her and she couldn’t see his face. “Why won’t he look at me?” she
thought.
The bride then
approached the altar with a glowing look on her face. She walked up to where Mac was standing
and suddenly, she gave her a look that told Mac that this woman wasn’t her
friend. She was almost gloating at
her.
And that’s when the
groom turned around. Mac saw him
and gasped. It was Harm. He stared at her with a look of pity in
his eyes.
“What’s going on? This can’t be happening! No! Stop!”
“No!” Mac said in her sleep. She then sat straight up in her bed and stared at the wall at the other end of the room. She felt herself calm down after a minute and then laid back down and pretended to sleep the rest of the night.
Chapter 5
USAG Heidleberg
Harm was sitting at a
desk in some unfamiliar office wearing his running shorts and shirt. Piles of paper surrounded him and he was
frantically going through them trying to sort through what it all meant. His head was starting to hurt and there
was an urgency to his movements. For some reason, he had to get through
every piece of paper. If he didn’t
he would not be able to rest and he could never get home. On and on he went looking at the words
but not understanding the content.
His frustration level increased and his heart started
pounding.
Suddenly, his reverie
was broken by a knock at the door.
“Not now!” he snapped. “I’m
busy! Can’t you
see?”
Without looking, he
heard footsteps approach. They
sounded like high heels on a wood floor.
“Go away! Please. I’ll never get through all of this. I need to finish. I want to go home.” But the footsteps continued coming
slowly toward him.
All of a sudden, he
felt a gloved hand stroke his cheek.
His work panic was broken only to be replaced by a sexual panic. He looked up at the owner of the
hand. It was Mac. She was wearing a black satin dress with
long gloves that reached up to her elbows.
Her hair was just touching her bare shoulders. She slowly lowered herself into his lap
and looked straight into his eyes.
“Don’t worry about this. Let
me help. I’ll make it all go
away.”
The next thing he
knew, they were in a bed that he recognized as his own but it looked strangely
different. Mac was now wearing a
negligee and he was shirtless. He
was lying down and she was hovering over him. Slowly, she kissed him ever so gently on
the lips. Her hands were roaming up
and down his chest. He began to
breath heavy as she nibbled on his lower lip and then deepened her
kiss.
Seductively, Mac stood
up. He reached for her but she
stopped him. “Just watch,” she said.
Slowly, she started undressing in front of him and was suddenly back on
top of him snaking herself all over his body, kissing every inch of him. Harm began to come undone as her
movements became more and more alluring.
Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door. Then another and another until it was almost like someone was pounding from some unknown
place. And then he heard his
name. “Commander Rabb? Commander?”
Harm woke to the sound of knocking at the door. It was his assistant, Lieutenant Barkin.
“Yeah?” Harm barely managed to say.
“Commander! I’m so sorry to wake you but I think I’ve finally located Petty Officer Tyler.” They had been looking for him for almost a week now. He was making himself very hard to find once he found out that a full blown investigation of his gambling ring was ensuing and Harm was on his tail.
Harm shook the remaining effects of the dream out of his head. “Give me a minute Lieutenant. I’ll be right there.”
“Damn Mac.
You’re full of surprises aren’t you?” he whispered into the
air.
Chapter 6
Mac’s Apartment
She was sitting in the
middle of an enormous field at the crest of a hill wearing a thin, flowing
dress. The sun was shining and
there was a gentle breeze blowing through her hair. She took a deep breath and began to feel
herself relax.
Suddenly in the
distance, she saw a tall man walking toward her. He was holding a bunch of wildflowers at
his side. She thought it looked
like Harm but tried to convince herself that it couldn’t possibly be him. But as the man came closer, she saw that
it was indeed Harm. He was wearing
faded jeans and a black shirt. Mac
was moved by how sexy he looked.
“But he can’t possibly
be here for me?” she thought to herself.
“Why is he here?”
Harm reached the top
of the hill and sat down next to her.
Without speaking a word, he leaned in close to her, caressed her cheek
with the palm of his hand and started kissing her tenderly and slowly. Mac responded in turn. They continued kissing soundlessly and
slowly laid down together in the field. Harm began kissing her neck as she ran
her fingers through his hair. She
moaned softly as his kissing started descending lower and lower. He slowly pushed her dress off the side
of her right shoulder and began sucking lightly on her collar bone as he opened
the buttons on the front of the dress.
He pushed the dress away to reveal her truth to him. He raised his head to her and looked her
in the eyes. He then gave her a
kiss that she felt from her head to her toes. His hands explored every inch of her
body and she got the feeling that she had finally come home.
Quietly he spoke. “Sarah. Sarah. I…”
Mac’s alarm rang out with a hellish shrill and woke her. Although she was unhappy that she was woken out of the dream, she was very grateful that the dream itself was a good one. “Why are the good dreams always too short? Now if that dream could only come true,” she thought to herself with a brief smile. She gave a sigh, got out of bed, and started to get ready for work hoping Harm would be back soon.
“Good thing you’re not here Rabb or
else I don’t think I could look you straight in the eye after that dream,” she
said to the empty room.
Chapter 7
USAG Heidleberg
Harm was standing at
the kitchen counter of what to him appeared to be Bud and Harriet’s house. He was making what he assumed to be
dinner. As he worked, he heard the
sound of a baby crying from another room.
He stopped what he was doing and went up the stairs into a pink room
silhouetted in soft light. He bent
over and picked up a young baby girl and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning my
beautiful little girl.”
He turned to go back
downstairs when he peeked into another room. This room was bright blue and sitting on
an airplane throw rug was a boy of about 3 playing with blocks. “Daddy! Look at the city I built! It’s got houses, and stores, and a
school and everything!”
“Harm bent down to the
boy and said, “Hey buddy! This is
great. What’s the name of your
city?”
“Happytown!”
“That’s a perfect
name.”
The boy then turned to
continue working on his city. Harm
tussled they boy’s hair gently, left the room, and went downstairs back into the
kitchen. He was still holding the
girl in his arms when he heard the front door open. He then heard footsteps coming towards
the kitchen.
“Hello! Here are two of my three favorite people
in the world.” It was Mac wearing a
General’s uniform. She walked over
to Harm and took the baby girl from his arms. She too, gave her a kiss on the
cheek. “I see you’re wearing my
favorite apron.” She smiled at him
and he looked down to see that he was wearing a white, frilly,
apron.
“So, what’s for
dinner? I’m
starved.”
“What else is
new? Good thing your pay is so good
Ms. JAG.”
“Good
thing.”
Mac smiled at him and
walked over to stand just next to him.
She looked him in the eyes and said, “So, where’s my kiss?” Harm leaned over and gave her a gentle
kiss on the lips. Just then, the
boy from upstairs came running loudly into the room. “Mommy! You’re home!”
Mac leaned down and gave the boy a long hug and said, “I’m home. I’m home.”
Harm woke up smiling, grateful for a good dream. “Now that one was almost normal,” he thought, “except for that apron.” He got out of bed happy for the first time in a long time.
He had been on assignment in
Harm started putting the finishing touches on his final report. His goal was to finish it up by tomorrow morning, hand it off to the Commanding Officer, and go home the next day. He was more than ready.
Chapter 8
Mac’s Apartment
Mac was walking down
the street on a seemingly beautiful day.
All of a sudden, she’s on the floor in an unfamiliar office building
crying out in pain. She hears
people telling her to push.
Push? I’m having a baby?
She sees Mic and he says, “Wow, look at the size of you! What you got in there? A dingo or
something?” Mac’s face is
twisted in pain and in confusion.
“A dingo?
What?” She was in a state of
disbelief. “What’s going on? Isn’t Harriet the one giving birth?” she
thought to herself in a panic.
Before she could make
sense of it all, she’s in a hospital bed apparently still in labor. Feelings of confusion and happiness
overcome her. But then she sees a
man enter the room but can’t quite make out his features. He stands near the door and looks at her
from across the room. After a
moment, he says, “Huh, I’m surprised you didn’t get knocked up a long time
ago.” She recognizes the man’s
voice as that of her father. But in
an instant, he vanished only to be replaced with another familiar and unwelcome
man. She knows it’s Sadiq but he doesn’t look familiar. “He must be in another one of his
disguises,” she thinks. Then he
spoke, “What’s this? You’re barren
remember? This is a joke. You are still and will always remain a
poor excuse for a woman.” Then he
disappears as quickly as he had appeared.
“Knocked up? I want this baby. This baby means everything to me! I’m no poor excuse for a woman. I’m better than you all!” she yelled
into the air.
Once again, she finds
herself in different bed and she knows that the baby has been born. She glances at the door as a nurse comes
in holding her baby in a blanket.
She crosses the room and hands the baby to Mac and says, “I’m so sorry
about your husband. Does the baby
look like him? What are you going
to name him?”
Mac looks at the baby
and says “Harmon. And why are you
sorry? Did he miss the birth?” Mac struggles to remember the details
herself but she is surprised to suddenly find herself standing by a grave at
Arlington National Cemetery, still holding the baby in her arms. Clay appears next to her in a
flash. “I told you he would never
be there for you.”
Mac is then overcome
with extreme feelings of anger.
“No! You all get out and
leave me alone! This is real and
precious and good! Go away and
never come back you hear? Never!”
In an instant, she is
back in a hospital bed holding her son in her arms. Sitting on the bed next to her is
Harm. He is looking lovingly at the
baby as he strokes Mac’s head. “We
did it,” he says with tears in his eyes.
“I knew we could do it.”
Mac woke up. “Yeah, get the hell out of my head you bastards.” She got up with a sigh feeling for the first time in a while contented and almost happy. “Give them hell Marine. See what can happen if you do?”
Chapter 9
Mac’s Apartment
Mac unlocked the door to her apartment and slammed her body down on the couch. She was exhausted. With Harm being away for so long, more work had been piled on her and she was beginning to wear out. She had been working 12 hours a day for a month now and it was really catching up on her. She had heard rumblings here and there that he was almost done with his assignment and would be back soon. She hoped so for many reasons.
She decided to grab something quick to eat, take a bath and then go to bed hoping her dreams would be kind to her.
Mac slept on and off all night long. Thankfully, she didn’t have any
significant dreams but she was not feeling very rested. Knowing that she would be hard pressed
to fall asleep again, she decided to go for a jog. That always made her
feel better. Lately, she had
taken to running on the campus of
Mac was jogging on the trails that snaked around the campus. The day was not quite dawning yet and the streetlights had a soft glow surrounding them. Going on autopilot, Mac continued on her jog lost in her thoughts. Even though she didn’t have any dreams that night, at least none that she could remember, she was thinking about the ones that still remained with her. She found herself going over and over them trying to figure out what it all meant, if anything. Even now when she believed her head should be as clear as the fresh morning air, she was lost in thought over them and didn’t see the man in the shadows waiting for her to come closer.
Mac jogged to a slightly isolated part of the trail. From out of nowhere, a man jumped at her, dragged her into a wooded area just off the trail and threw her to the ground. She tried to break her fall with her hand but wasn’t very successful and the left side of her head hit the exposed part of a thick tree root with a loud thud. She felt something warm streaming down her face and was slightly dazed. She started to fight but the man quickly gave her two quick punches to the face which made her black out for a minute. She awoke with the man frantically searching all over her body saying, “Money, where’s your money? I need money damn it.” She woke up enough to start fighting once again and made a great deal of noise while doing so and luckily for her, a campus police officer heard the commotion and quickly put a stop to the robbery.
Mac was sitting on a bed in the ER while an intern stitched up the cut in her head. She was so mad at herself for letting this happen. Why the hell hadn’t she been paying better attention? She had been so distracted lately all because of some stupid dreams.
“Ok, we’re done here. We’re going to cast your wrist and then I’m going to see if the results from your CT scan are available.” The intern gave her a quick grin and disappeared outside the curtain.
Her head was pounding and she was sometimes having a little trouble focusing. “Great. Just great,” she thought. Suddenly she realized that she better call the office to say she wasn’t going to be coming in. Thank goodness she wasn’t due in court until the middle of next week. She reached for the phone and dialed Coates’s number.
“General Cresswell’s Office.”
“Jen, it’s Mac.”
“Good morning, ma’am.”
“Uh, Jen, I’m not feeling too well this morning and I won’t be in. Let me know if something urgent comes up.”
“I’m sorry ma’am. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Just then, there was a loud commotion coming from just outside the curtain where Mac was waiting for the doctor to return.
“Doctor! Vital signs are weakening! He’s in cardiac arrest! Sounds of equipment being moved around and people in action drifted across the curtain.
“Ma’am? Is everything ok? Are you home?”
Covering the phone slightly with her hand and speaking quickly Mac said, “Uh, I’m at the doctor’s office and it’s pretty crowded here. I’ll be home soon. Everything’s fine.” Mac hung up quickly hoping she had convinced the Petty Officer that she wasn’t lying through her teeth.
Jen hung up the phone thinking that something wasn’t quite right. But then the General called her into his office and she let the thought pass.
Mac sighed and sat back in the bed. Another doctor came in and started setting and casting her broken wrist. Then the first doctor came back into the room. “Well, we have the results of your CT scan. You have a slight concussion. So, you need to go home, stay off your feet and rest. Absolutely no driving a car until any feelings of dizziness, vertigo, and nausea have gone away. Tread lightly. Sudden movements can exacerbate the symptoms and make sure you don’t hit your head on anything. A nurse will come back in a few moments with a sheet explaining the condition and some things to look out for. If your symptoms worsen, you have to get yourself back to a doctor pronto.”
“I will. Thank you, doctor.”
“No problem. One more thing before we release you, there is a campus police officer here who needs to take your statement. I told him to make it brief.”
“Ok.”
She told the police officer what happened and he told her that the man who had attacked her was more than likely the same man that had been plaguing the campus of late. Evidently, he had quite a crack cocaine habit and was desperate for money. There had been quite a few assaults and robberies lately. They were glad they finally caught him.
“Unfortunately, it was my stupidity that got him caught. At least one good thing has come out of this whole mess,” she thought.
Chapter 10
USAG Heidleberg
Harm was almost gleeful when he stepped onto the plane to go home. This was one flight that he wouldn’t have missed for the world. Snapping himself into his seat, he grinned at nobody in particular and pulled out the copy of the Washington Post he bought just before he got on the plane.
Once in flight, he started combing through the paper to see what was going on back home. He pulled out the Metro Section. Like normal, he glanced at “Metro in Brief” on page three. While glancing at the District section, something caught his eye.
Jogger Attacked on
Early yesterday
morning, an unidentified woman was attacked while jogging on the campus of
Harm knew that Mac had been jogging at
JAG Headquarters
Harm stepped out of the elevator and his eyes immediately flew to Mac’s office. It was empty. As he turned to go into his office he ran into Coates.
“Sir! Welcome back! Things just haven’t been the same around here without you.”
“Thank you Petty Officer. It’s good to be back.”
Just then, the General came out from his office. “Commander! Well, I thought I’d never see you again. Funny how the simplest of assignments can turn into a big monkey on your back.”
“You can say that again. What a mess that was. Oh, and here is a copy of the final report.” Harm reached into his briefcase, pulled out a copy, and handed it to the general.
“Whoa, looks like a lot of trees met their demise on this one. Why don’t you go home and take a load off. You’re going to need some time to get over the jet lag. And while you’re at it, take tomorrow off as well. I’ll see you bright and early on Monday morning.”
“Thank you General.”
Cresswell went back into his office leaving Harm and Jen alone. “So, anything new going on around here that I should know about?”
“Not really sir.”
“Is the Colonel in court today?”
“No, the Colonel has been home sick since yesterday but come to think of it, and I had forgotten about this, when she called in yesterday she said she was at the doctor’s office but it sounded a lot like an ER to me. Something was not right about that call. Oh, excuse me Commander. Welcome back!” At that, Jen ran to her desk to answer her phone leaving Harm alone with his thoughts.
Harm’s Apartment
North of Union Station
Harm breathed a sigh of relief as he dropped his bag just inside his door. Home had never felt so good. “Now maybe I can start getting my life back in order. With no more crazy dreams,” he thought. He changed his clothes, unpacked, and started to make something quick for dinner. Even though his body told him it was the middle of the night, Harm was trying hard to force himself back into Eastern Standard Time.
Once the dishes were done, he took a brief shower and let himself fall into bed. He fell asleep almost instantly with the newspaper article and Mac on his mind.
It was a beautiful day
and he was jogging up some unknown hill in the country. Suddenly, he had the sensation that he
was in
Up ahead in the
distance, he was a figure sitting alone.
As he got closer, he heard the sound of crying. No, not crying, sobbing. Profuse
sobbing. Feeling concerned
for the unknown person, he quickened his pace. He approached the person, whom he now
saw to be a female. She was sitting
with her legs bunched up in front of her body, her arms holding them close, with
her face hidden by her knees. He
came towards her slowly and the closer he got, the louder the sound of sobbing
became. Then he noticed something
in the woman’s hand: an almost empty bottle of vodka.
He leaned down next to
the woman, put his hand on her shoulder and spoke to her, “Ma’am. Is something wrong? Is there anything I can
do?”
Harm waited for a
reply but none came. After several
seconds, the woman slowly lifted her head and looked at him through red
eyes. Her face was wet and blotchy
from crying. It was
Mac.
“Mac?
What’s the matter? What
happened?’
Curtly, Mac snapped,
“What the hell do you care, Mr. Perfect.
Mr. I Live My Life As Fits Me and Nobody Else. Leave me the hell
alone!”
“Mac, I don’t
understand. What happened? Why are you drinking? What’s going on?”
“Go
away!”
“I’m not going
away. I’m never going
away.”
“Well, then I’ll have
to be the one to go.”
With that, Mac got up
and shot away from him, running as fast as she could with all her might. Harm followed after her calling her name
as he went. Just then, Harm noticed
a steep cliff just ahead of them.
“Where did that come from?
There are no steep cliffs on the farm,” he thought to
himself.
Mac kept running as
fast as she could straight for the cliff.
Harm screamed after her, “Mac!
Stop! You’re going to
fall!”
Suddenly Mac stopped
just at the edge of the cliff, turned around and started at him. “Guess what? I don’t care if I fall. Watch me fall!” Harm was still running after her and
just as he approached, she jumped.
Harm watched her fall face down with arms outstretched like a bird in
flight. “MAC!”
Harm sat up in bed like a rocket sweating profusely. Feeling extremely shaken by the dream which he considered the worst one yet, he knew what he had to do. He had to go to her. No matter what the time, no matter what the circumstances, he had to go. He needed to make sure that she was ok. He didn’t care how silly it may look. He had enough of these dreams and that one was the final straw. Quickly, he jumped out of bed, threw on an old pair of jeans and a shirt and ran out of his apartment.
Mac’s Apartment
Mac was tossing and turning in her bed. She was having trouble sleeping since the attack. She was unnerved, she was afraid of the dreams that may or may not come, her head and wrist hurt, nothing was right. When she fell asleep, she dreamed strange, quick dreams which she often forgot the minute she awoke. She woke frequently during the night and was often times disoriented for a moment.
She had just begun to doze when she thought she heard knocking at her door. She vaguely heard it but dismissed it as being a dream. Then she heard it again and again. It became louder and more urgent. Suddenly, it became unbearable and she suddenly recognized it as being real. It startled her and she got out of bed quickly; too quickly. Her head started spinning from the sudden movement and as she made her way to the door, she started experiencing an extreme case of vertigo and nausea. She barely had the energy to ask who it was.
“Mac! It’s Harm! Let me in, please.”
“Harm? What’s he doing here?” she thought in passing as she struggled to open the door. When she finally got it open, she collapsed at his feet.
“Mac!”
Chapter 11
Mac’s Apartment
“Mac!”
Harm kneeled down next to her and just as he did, Mac was overcome with her nausea. She stumbled to get up and ran to the bathroom. Harm could hear her behind the closed door being sick.
“What the hell is going on?” was all he could think. With the dream that he just had, he couldn’t help hoping that she hadn’t been drinking. “It just can’t be,” he thought.
As he waited for her, he started pacing around the
apartment. That’s when he saw the
paper on her nightstand. He picked
it up and read bits and pieces of it quietly out loud,
“
Mac rested her head against the toilet for a few minutes. After getting sick, she was starting to feel better. She flushed the toilet, slowly got up, and cleaned herself up.
Harm heard her moving around in the bathroom and started to relax a bit. If she was in there much longer, he was going to go in there after her. He heard the door to the bathroom open and watched her come out and was startled at her appearance. She looked ashen with a big cut on her head, bruises on her face, and a cast on her left arm.
Mac walked out of the bathroom and headed for her bed. She didn’t even seem to realize that she was only wearing a camisole and panties and if she did, she didn’t care. She had to get back in bed. She just had to.
She reached the bed and lay down and started fumbling with the blankets. Harm kneeled down next to the bed and helped cover her up. As he gently stroked her hair, he said, “Mac? Are you ok? What happened?”
Quietly, her voice heavy with exhaustion, she mumbled, “Something very stupid. But I’m ok. I just need to sleep. I’m so tired all of a sudden.”
“Ok, sleep. I’ll let myself out.”
Slowly she responded through tired eyes, “No, please. Don’t go. Stay. With me. Here. Please.” With that her eyes closed and she fell asleep. With her words, Harm felt his heart would bust. He slipped off his shoes, crossed the room to the other side of the bed, got in and quickly fell asleep by her side.
As the sun started shining through her window in the morning, Harm woke first. It took him a few second to realize where he was but then it all came rushing back to him. He turned his head to look at Mac. She was laying on her right side with her head resting against the side of his shoulder. He gently pushed a stray piece of hair out of her face and then studied her closely. He saw the purple bruises on her face, the stitches on the side of her forehead, the look of her soft olive skin in contrast to the rough stark white of the cast on her arm, the cuts on her fingers which were just starting to scab over. He noticed how she cradled her hurt arm in her right hand. “What happened to you Marine?” he thought to himself. He felt a lump in his throat build and he was almost overcome with emotion.
Just then, Mac moaned slightly and began to move. She opened her eyes and after regaining her focus, saw Harm starting at her. At first she was slightly confused but then she started to recall the events of the night.
“Harm.”
“Hey. You ok?”
“Yeah, I’m ok.”
“What happened?”
“Something stupid. I was jogging and some guy caught me off guard.”
“So it was you.”
“What? How did you know?”
“I was reading the Post on the plane home and saw something about the attack and just had a feeling.”
“You’re getting like me. Too scary.”
He smiled at her words.
“So, what happened exactly?”
“Oh, just some guy who was in need of money for an apparent drug habit caught me off guard. I’m pretty mad at myself about the whole thing. I wasn’t paying attention.” Mac paused for a moment and then asked, “Look, can you give me a minute? I…”
“Oh, yeah, sure. No problem.” Harm got out of bed and headed to the
kitchen to put a pot of coffee on.
Mac slowly got out of bed not wanting a repeat performance of last
night. She headed to the bathroom,
took a quick shower and changed into lounge pants and a t-shirt. When she came out, Harm handed her a cup
of coffee and excused himself for his turn to get cleaned up.
When he came out Mac smiled at him.
“You’re looking much better this morning than you did last night.”
“Yeah, I got out of bed too quickly and my head started spinning and I kind of lost it. Sorry about that.”
“Hey, it’s ok.”
“Actually, I feel a lot better today. Last night is the first night in a long
time that I’ve slept well. I
haven’t been sleeping well since this all happened. Actually, I haven’t been sleeping well
since you left for
Shocked by this, he said, “That’s funny. I’ve been having some pretty strange ones myself since I left. Some were pretty interesting. Actually, it was a dream that made my come over here last night. It was, well, let’s just say it was pretty disturbing.”
“So, do you want to share the content of any of these dreams? I’m intrigued.”
“I bet you are.” He flashed her his full smile and gave her a sideways glance.
“Well, spill it. I’m listening.” It was now her turn to grin at him.
“Only if you spill yours. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Well, not all of them were bad. Actually, some were very entertaining. Namely you looking quite alluring in a little black satin number and I must say that you were quite the little seductress.”
Mac laughed out loud. “That really defines the phrase ‘in your dreams’ doesn’t it? Actually, it’s funny you say this because in one of my dreams you were quite the tiger yourself.”
“Ah, very interesting. I would have never thought that your pretty little brain had such dreams.”
“Everyone has those kinds of dreams. And I don’t have a little brain squid.”
“So, tell me another one.” Harm was starting to enjoy this conversation.
“Well, there was one where I was all dressed up for some event or another and I was in a huge ballroom all lit with candles. There was nobody there and then all of a sudden, all of the men that I was ever involved with were there begging me to come back to them. It was really strange.”
“Was I there?”
“Yes, but you were the only one not begging me to come to you.”
“Oh.”
They sat silently for a moment, both lost in thought.
“Actually, I had a similar dream in that all of my past girlfriends were in a room with me. You were there as well but Clay wouldn’t let me near you. All of the women were crowding me out asking me to pick them. It was very uncomfortable, especially since I didn’t want any of them.”
“So, who did you want?”
“I guess someone who wasn’t available for one reason or another.”
“Did you eventually pick somebody?”
“No, I woke up before that point.”
“Hmmm. Tell me about another one.”
“Well, there was the one where you and I were living in Bud and Harriet’s house and I was cooking in the kitchen wearing a white lace apron.”
Mac couldn’t contain her laughter. “That is just too funny. I can just see you standing there looking just like June Cleaver baking cookies with your lacy apron on. That is a dream I wish I had seen.”
“Actually, that one would have been a good one for you to see. It was almost like real life, not strange and disturbing like so many of the other ones.”
Mac smiled. “So why exactly were we living in the Robert’s house?”
“Well, I’m assuming that we were married since there were a couple of little Rabbs running around.”
Mac was startled by this. In the back of her mind she was thinking, “I wish,” but she wasn’t about to admit it. “Actually, I had a dream that we had a baby too. At first it was a nightmare where people were horrible and you were dead but I started yelling at them to get out of my head and then before I knew it, you were at my side in a hospital bed with both of us staring at our newborn baby.” Mac looked down forcing the tears that were trying to stream down her face to go away. She gave a sniff and a quick laugh.
Harm decided to break the silence first. “You know, all of my dreams were centered around you in some way or another. I had no dreams that didn’t have you as a main focus.”
“Me too, with you, that is, as the focus. It’s funny because we haven’t exactly been the closest and best of friends lately. Maybe we were both missing that. And maybe someone, somewhere is trying to tell us something.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right, on all counts.”
They sat quietly for a few minutes lost in thought once again. Finally, Mac spoke. “So, what’s for breakfast?” She smiled at him and he couldn’t help but smile back.
Chapter 12
After they both released themselves of their dreams by sharing them with the other, they suddenly stopped for both of them. Mac’s injuries were healing and they both went back to work on Monday. Now when they passed each other in the office, their interaction was more like it had been in the past. And most importantly, they started to become friends again.
Harm’s Apartment
North of Union Station
A Few Months Later
Harm was busy in the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. He crossed the room and opened the door to find Mac on his doorstep. For some reason, she looked more beautiful to him than she ever had.
“Something sure smells good in here,” she said as she walked into the apartment. “Are you expecting anyone in particular?”
“Nope. Just me, myself, and I.”
She laughed at that. “Well, it’s going to be pretty crowded in here with three of you. I’m not sure you have enough room for all of that ego in here.”
Harm smirked at her. “Funny. But since you’ve appeared, I think with just me and you being here it’ll be just right. So, what brings you here anyway?”
“I was just, uh, I mean, well, I guess I was missing you and just wanted to see you.”
Half surprised and half delighted Harm smiled. “So, are you hungry? Oh, silly question, of course you’re hungry.”
Mac gave him a sideways grin. “What’s cooking? I guess it’s safe to say that there’s not a pot roast simmering away over there.”
“Safe to say.”
“Well, if it tastes as good as it smells it can’t be so bad even if it’s probably just sticks and twigs.”
“Ah, sorry, no sticks and twigs tonight. Just pasta, homemade sauce, and fresh veggies. You game?”
“Of course.”
They sat down and had a quiet meal together. They talked lightly of things going on in the office and around town. Once they had eaten and were done with the dishes, they were both at a bit of a loss as to what to do with themselves. The whole thing seemed a bit too domestic but at the same time, very comfortable.
“So, you had anymore interesting dreams lately?” Mac ventured to ask.
“No, not really anything worth mentioning. They pretty much stopped after our talk.”
“Yeah, for me too. The whole thing was kind of strange. But at least it got us talking again.”
Harm smiled and didn’t need to say that he agreed. It was simply understood.
“How about a walk? It’s such a nice night outside.”
“Sure. Sounds great. Off we go.” Harm went over to the door and held it open for her.
They walked easily together and shared some more small talk. They soon found themselves at the doors of Union Station and decided to go in for a cup of coffee. They settled themselves at a table at the Corner Bakery sharing a large piece of cake which Mac couldn’t resist and two cups of coffee.
“You know, I could get used to this,” Harm said with a smile.
“Yeah, me too.”
Epilogue
I've just closed my
eyes again
Climbed aboard the dream weaver train
Driver take away my
worries of today
And leave tomorrow behind
Ooh dream weaver
I believe
you can get me through the night
Ooh dream weaver
I believe we can reach
the morning light
Fly me high through the starry skies
Maybe to an
astral plane
Cross the highways of fantasy
Help me to forget today's
pain
Ooh dream weaver
I believe you can get me through the
night
Ooh dream weaver
I
believe we can reach the morning light
Though the dawn may be coming
soon
There still may be some time
Fly me away to the bright side of the
moon
And meet me on the other side
Ooh dream weaver
I believe you
can get me through the night
Ooh dream weaver
I believe we can reach the
morning light
Dream weaver
Dream weaver
Dream weaver
- Gary
Wright
It had been quite some time since either one of them was plagued with a bad dream. They spent their days and nights content with themselves and the relationship in which they had repaired, grown, and nurtured together all thanks to their dreams. And before they knew it, they flew to the bright side of the moon and met on the other side. They helped each other to erase today’s pain and reached the morning’s light side by side. Together they realized that their dreams were guiding them to their destiny. They transformed those dreams and turned them into reality by choosing each other, making that choice lifelong, building their own fantasies, and starting their future together. As man and wife. And baby to be.