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	Updates:  Jan. 5

Five minutes later, Harm was back in the passenger seat and even more impatient than on the trip up. Sheriff Thompson and his deputies would be standing by, but this was the navy’s jurisdiction, their problem – Harm’s problem.

Palmer had been a thorn in his side for years, a recurring nightmare that kept cropping up no matter what he did. Locking the man up didn’t seem to be a deterrent, and Harm couldn’t help wondering what would be. Palmer was relentless and driven, qualities Harm could relate to on a very personal level – especially now.

The farther they got from town, the narrower the road became, winding through a dense forest. It was impossible to come up with any sort of game plan till they arrived at the cabin and knew what they were up against, but the moment they got there, a plan began to form in Harm’s mind.

Thanks to detailed directions from Deputy Ferguson, Bud knew exactly where to stop the car. They proceeded on foot, surveying the cabin from the cover of the trees. It was set in a small clearing, not far from the lakeshore. Harm scanned the area thoroughly, but there were no signs of movement around the cabin or in the two windows that faced the front.

He turned to Bud and the general. "According to Ferguson, the cabin is basically two rooms. The bedroom is at the back and I’ll bet you that’s where Mac and Mattie will be. You two concentrate on getting them out and leave Palmer to me."

Harm could see the general gathering for an argument and went on quickly. "Sir, Palmer is my problem. This isn’t the first time he’s put someone I care about in danger and put others at risk because of it, but it’s damn well going to be the last time."

Cresswell hesitated a few seconds that felt like forever, then nodded. "All right. We’ll work our way around back and see what we can do. Give us a few minutes before you move in."

Determined not to slow the general down, Bud focused on moving over the rough ground as they eased their way through the forest at the edge of the clearing. He had to concentrate even harder on the short dash across the open area behind the cabin. He made it without tripping and dropped down beside Gen. Cresswell beneath the only window on the back wall.

As one, they slowly rose to peer inside.

Waiting out front, Harm was finally able to get a brief glimpse of what that maddening internal time sense of Mac’s was like, for each second ticked off in his mind with the clarity of a church bell. One hundred and twenty agonizing seconds went by and he was sure the next one hundred and eighty would kill him, but somehow he made it through. Five minutes after Bud and the general moved off, Harm began a slow advance on the cabin.

Dropping down below one of the windows, he forced himself to pause, listening with every cell in his being. He could hear a faint sound, like a television or radio, but that was all. He had two choices now. He could go in blind, or he could risk taking a peek through the window. If Palmer was armed and Harm burst in there without knowing precisely where his target was... Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised himself toward the window. Lifting the last two inches, he grabbed a look that lasted no more than a second, but the image before him was burned into his mind forever.

Palmer sat on the couch, staring at a small portable television...and he was eating popcorn! Harm’s life had been ground to dust and the man responsible was calmly watching a movie and eating popcorn! Blind rage swept over him and he rose and spun all in one motion, slamming his foot against the flimsy door. It exploded into splinters and Harm’s momentum carried him through the opening.

Palmer jumped and spun around, but as he recognized Harm and the weapon trained on him, he recovered quickly, his expression changing to, of all things, indifference. He casually picked at the spilled popcorn on the couch seat beside him. "I knew it was only a matter of time till you showed up, but it took you long enough."

"On your feet." The voice that came from Harm’s lips was barely recognizable as his own.

Still strangely indifferent to his predicament, and the gun in Harm’s hand, Palmer rose to his feet. "So this is the part where you pack me off back to Leavenworth. You know, if we leave now, we can probably still catch a flight out of DC tonight."

A blur of motion caught Harm’s eye. Through a side window, he spotted Gen. Cresswell dart past, a curly-headed figure in his arms. Right behind him came a familiar dark head and a surge of emotion nearly drove Harm to his knees. He’d know that dark, flowing hair anywhere. Mac was alive! She was alive and safe!

That one burning reality threatened to consume him, but he couldn’t afford the luxury, not yet. Palmer was incredibly devious and Harm didn’t buy this feigned indifference for a minute. He was planning something.

Calling on every scrap of discipline he’d ever learned, he forced his attention back to the man in front of him. "Why?" he ground out. "Why did you do this?"

Palmer shrugged. "You still don’t get it, do you, flyboy? I did it because I can. I can do anything to you I want, and all you can do is track me down and drag me back to Kansas."

Something cold and hard took a hold of Harm’s heart and squeezed. Without his conscious permission, his thumb raised to cock the gun. "Not this time."

Palmer’s gaze snapped to the gun then back to Harm. "Oh, come on. We both know you won’t shoot me. You’re too consumed with things like duty and honor to shoot an unarmed man. You won this round but the game is far from over, so let’s get on with it. I’ll even let you play the triumphant hero as you escort me out of here. If you want, I’ll even try to look defeated, but we both know the truth, don’t we, flyboy? There’s only one way you’ll ever defeat me and your own sense of honor won’t let you take it."

So completely certain he was right, Palmer casually walked to the TV and switched it off, then turned back to the couch to gather a few personal items lying there, and that’s when the truth slammed into Harm. If he marched Palmer out of here, then the bastard would be right. The game would continue. He would go back to Leavenworth and start hatching his next plan and Harm would spend every waking moment wondering what it would be. Some bizarre twist of fate had given Mac and Mattie back to him this time, but what about next time? Sooner or later, Palmer would tire of simply tormenting him and would truly hurt someone.

"Palmer." This time, the voice that came from within him was completely unrecognizable.

Palmer glanced over, then did a double take and straightened. He must have seen something in Harm’s eyes, something that made him pause. For the rest of his life, Harm would wonder what was going through Palmer’s mind in that moment, and in the next, when a 9mm round slammed into his chest and drilled squarely through his heart.

Even as Palmer’s body collapsed in a heap, Harm heard the scrape of footsteps behind him. He turned slowly, still in a fog, and his gaze collided with the rich coffee colored eyes that had haunted him every single moment since this nightmare began. The delicate brow above those eyes folded into a worried frown. "Harm?"

Standing there in the middle of the room, Harm started to shake. The gun slipped from his hand and dropped to the floor, but he never heard the thump of it landing. His entire being was engulfed by the sight before him. Her voice, speaking his name, filled his ears, filled him to overflowing.

That frown of hers deepened. "Hey, are you okay?"

He tried to speak – tried and failed. Swallowing hard, he tried again, but it came out as a hoarse, grating croak. "No."

He never saw Mac move. One instant she was standing ten feet away, the next, she was gathering him in her arms. He crushed her to him, breathing in her scent and feeling the living heat of her body pressed so tightly to his, and something deep inside him let go with a brittle snap. He was powerless against the enormous sob that burst from his throat, or from the one that followed, or from the one after that. All the rage and pain, all the grief and sorrow and despair, it all crashed over him in one encompassing wave, slamming into him and rocking the very foundation of his existence.

Mac’s confusion turned to horror as Harm literally fell apart in her arms. Huge sobs wracking his body, he clung to her with a force that threatened her ribs. Her feet were barely touching the ground, but when she felt him sway, she forced his grip to ease enough to get her balance. Still holding him, she moved them both to the couch, urging him to sit down before he fell down. He sagged against her on the couch, burying his face in her hair.

Smoothing a hand over his back, she whispered softly to him, trying to find some words to break through the complete and utter meltdown. "Shh, it’s okay. I’m okay. Mattie’s okay, too. We’re both fine. It’s all right, Harm. It’s all right."

She sensed a presence and looked up into the haunted eyes of Bud Roberts. "Bud, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Why is Harm so....?" ‘Devastated’ was the only word she could come up with, but something wouldn’t let her speak it.

Bud drew a ragged breath. "He...he thought you were dead. We all did. The plane Palmer stopped you from catching exploded just after takeoff."

Mac struggled to deal with the horror rising inside her. "Palmer blew up the plane?"

Bud shook his head. "It was an accident. Palmer had nothing to do with it, but we all thought you and Mattie were on board. Recovery teams spent days looking for...remains, but the explosion was so violent, we thought there was nothing left."

Harm finally stirred in her arms, drawing back enough to gaze at her with watery, grief-filled eyes. "I...I thought I’d lost you...both of you... I thought I’d never...."

His voice cracked as a fresh flood of tears welled up. Pulling her close again, he continued in a raw, hoarse whisper. "I thought I’d lost it all, Mac. Everything we’d planned, everything we hadn’t had time to plan."

"Well, you haven’t," she replied softly, still struggling to imagine the pain he’d suffered. "I’m still here, Mattie’s still here, and everything’s going to be fine."

"Where’s Mattie?" he asked, his voice still rough and filled with grief.

"I’m right here."

Harm’s head came up fast. Mac also glanced up, to find the general standing beside them, Mattie still cradled in his arms. Sitting up straight, Harm silently held out his arms. Mattie reached for him too as Cresswell gently sat her in Harm’s lap.

He folded his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head. His eyes were squeezed shut, but nothing could stop the tears. They forced their way through and coursed down his cheeks. "Mattie," he breathed. "Oh, Mattie."

She held on tight a little longer, then forced herself upright, her gaze locked with his. "Gen. Cresswell told me everything that happened. I can’t believe the plane blew up. If that guy hadn’t kidnapped us..."

Gen. Cresswell’s gaze bored into Mac. "You both really would be dead."

The horrible irony of that settled on Mac with the weight of an aircraft carrier. She couldn’t decide if Palmer had done Harm a favor or perpetrated the cruelest joke anyone could ever conceive. Then she saw the haunted shadows still in Harm’s eyes as he glanced at the body on the floor, and she knew. Something fundamental had been stripped from the man she loved. She had come into the cabin in time to hear Palmer’s last words...and to see Harm’s reaction to them. He had gunned a man down in cold blood, and that was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life.

But he would learn to live with it – just as she had.

Clinging to Mattie for all he was worth, Harm tried his damnedest to pull himself together, but it wasn’t working. He finally drew back, kissed her cheek and slid her onto the couch beside him. "I...I need to get some air."

Shoving to his feet, he squeezed between Bud and the general and headed outside, not stopping until he reached the far side of the clearing. The only reason he stopped there was because he had no idea where to go. His thoughts and emotions were still on complete overload, raging inside him till he thought he would explode. He fought like hell to put it all into perspective, to regain his balance, but it wouldn’t come.

As he dragged in huge gulps of cool mountain air, the adrenaline slowly bled from his system and he started to shake all over again. Disgusted, he shoved his hands in his pockets, tipped his head back and concentrated on nothing more than each new breath.

Harm had no idea how long he stood there before he heard the soft rustle of footsteps and felt the gentle hand stroke across his back. Pulling in one more breath, he turned. She smiled up at him, but there was a shadow of concern in her eyes. "How you doing?"

"I have no idea," he admitted honestly. She nodded, rubbing his back a few more times as she continued to gaze up at him. There was something more in her eyes than simple concern and as the memory of what happened in the cabin sorted itself into proper order, he realized what was bothering her. "How long were you standing behind me, back there in the cabin?"

"Long enough," she replied softly.

He turned to face her. "You understand why I had to do it, don’t you?"

She looked him square in the eye. "Yes, I do."

He heard the significance in her tone, but it took him a minute to realize what it meant. When he finally did, all he could do was stare at her. "I’d completely forgotten about Saddik. You really do understand, don’t you."

"Yes," she whispered.

Folding his arms around her, he held her gently this time, simply absorbing the warmth and strength and love flowing from her. After what seemed like an eternity that would never be long enough, he leaned back. Capturing her chin between his thumb and finger, he tipped her face up and found her lips with his own. The kiss went on and on, growing in momentum as every last ounce of his love poured out of him. They were both breathless when he finally drew back. "I want to say I missed you, but that’s such a complete understatement it’s laughable. I didn’t just miss you, Mac. I was completely lost without you. I know now I don’t just want you in my life, I need you. When I thought you were gone, there wasn’t any reason to go on living. My life ended the day I thought yours did."

She blinked away a sudden sheen of tears in her eyes and lifted a hand to gently stroke his cheek. "Oh, Harm, I can only imagine what you must have gone through and I’m so, so sorry. If I’d had any idea you thought we were dead, I’d have done anything to get away. If I’d been alone, I might have been able to escape, but I didn’t want to leave Mattie."

"I know," he whispered. "You took good care of her and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that."

A slow smile tugged at her lips, her eyes lighting with a special glow. "I have a feeling you’ll find a way."

Harm found himself chuckling, but it stuttered to a halt when he realized how strange it felt. He hadn’t laughed, hadn’t even smiled, from the moment the padre in London said those awful words. How long ago was that? He had no idea now. It felt like a lifetime, a long, empty lifetime lived in grief and pain.

"Hey," she whispered, pulling him from his thoughts. "You were a million miles away. Where’d you go?"

"Somewhere I don’t ever want to go again," he replied, conviction ringing in his tone. A sudden urge seized him and he acted on it without a second thought. "Marry me, Mac."

"I already said I would," she answered with a laugh.

"I mean right now, tonight, just as soon as we get off this damned mountain."

Her smile slowly twisted into a frown. "Tonight? But there’s no possible way we can..."

"Wanna bet?" he countered. "Diamond Springs must have a justice of the peace."

"But..." She hesitated, her cheeks flushing as she glanced down at herself. "Do you have any idea when the last time was I had a shower? I need to get cleaned up and we really should have Mattie seen by a doctor. Harm, I know why you’re in such a rush, but I promise you, I’m not going anywhere. I’m never going to leave you again, and I promise you, I’ll marry you just as soon as we can pull it off. Okay?"

A part of him knew he was being unreasonable, a part of him didn’t care and another part of him didn’t feel like arguing. He pulled her tight against his chest. "Okay."

HARM’S APARTMENT – 21:40 EDT Three Days Later

Her heart filled to overflowing, Mac surveyed the subtle elegance of the table set before her. She had no idea how Harm pulled it off, considering most of his belongings were still packed away in the boxes stacked around the room, but the table was beautiful. Crisp white linen gleamed in the glow of tall, tapered candles, the dancing light glinting off crystal glasses and casting soft shadows over his features.

She was touched by all the trouble he’d gone to, but she was worried too. Sitting across from her, he gazed down at the poached salmon in front of him, picking at it with his fork. Stretching across the table, she brushed the tips of her fingers over the back of his hand. "Are you okay? You’ve hardly touched your dinner."

Snapping out of his reverie, he put down the fork and sat back. "I’m fine. I just don’t have much of an appetite. I...I haven’t exactly been eating regularly lately." A look of horror crossed his face. "What about you? Did he feed you all right?"

"Yes," she replied quickly. "We had plenty of food and water. In fact, he treated us very well. I don’t think he had anything against us personally."

"He didn’t," he muttered. "You were just a means to an end."

"Yeah, tormenting you," she said softly.

He waved a dismissive hand. "Forget it, okay? It’s over." His gaze darted to the unused place setting at the end of the table. "But I wish we could have convinced Mattie to join us. This was supposed to be a celebration for the three of us."

Mac couldn’t help smiling. "There’s nothing dumb about that kid. She took one look at this romantic setting of yours and knew three would be a crowd. I’ll bet she and Coates are having a blast, gabbing and giggling."

He cast a longing glance at the door, where Mattie had begged off a couple of hours ago, but then gave a quick nod. "You’re right. Let her have some girl-time."

Pushing his chair back, Harm rose and crossed to the small portable stereo, placed strategically on a stack of boxes. He flicked it on and soft jazz filled the room. Turning, he extended his hand. "There’s no point in wasting this enforced privacy. Come, dance with me."

Enchanted, Mac rose and stepped into his arms.

Holding her close, Harm rested his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes. Her warmth soaked into every cell of his being, bringing with it a feeling he thought he would never experience again: peace. "I can hardly believe we’re going to be walking down the aisle in only two days."

"Why is that so hard to believe?" she asked, leaning back to look up at him.

He smoothed a hand over her hair. "Because about a week ago, I was..." How did he tell her that only a few short days ago, he was sitting at what he thought was the site of her death and contemplating joining her? "About a week ago, I was convinced it as never going to happen."

"Oh, it’s going to happen all right," she said with a coy smile. "Nothing can stop us now."

He pulled her close and they melted into the music together. She was right, there was nothing that could get in the way of the future they’d planned. Breathing a long, slow sigh, he pulled her a little tighter. This woman and that kid down the hall were his whole life. These past nightmare weeks had proven that, but he’d learned something else as well. They were his whole life – and they made his life whole.

He sighed again, a soft sound of pure contentment. Mac stopped moving and leaned back to look up at him again, a gentle smile on her face. "It sounds like everything is right in your world."

"It is," he whispered, cupping her face in his hands. "It is."

His lips found hers unerringly, lingering for one of those long, slow explorations he’d only recently discovered she liked. There were so many things he still didn’t know about her, so many things left to discover. And now, now by the grace of God, he was going to have a chance to learn them all.

The End