Mac held Serena closer to her. These people, who hadn't said what they wanted with her and the girls, had the mother and daughter locked up in some sort of basement. She was scared, scared for her children, scared for Harm.

*God please keep him safe!* she pleaded.

"Mama," Serena whispered. "Is daddy okay?"

"Oh, angel, I'm sure he's fine."

"Fine thing to tell your daughter, Colonel MacKenzie." Mac looked up at the woman who walked in. She looked vaguely familiar. "You should learn to tell them the truth."

"The truth? What's that supposed to mean? Who the hell are you! Why are you doing this?" Mac exclaimed.

The woman laughed. "You'll learn in time, Colonel--"

"No!" Mac replied. "I need to know why you've kidnapped us!"

"Colonel, I really don't think you're in the position to decide what I should tell you and when. If I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut! There's another little girl around here who's all alone."

Mac gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"Maybe, maybe not." The woman headed to the door. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Commander Harmon Rabb is dead. Sorry..." With that, she left.

Mac could hardly breath. Harm... dead...

"It can't be!" she whispered.

****************

"Admiral Chegwidden, the doctor will see you now," a nurse told him. He nodded and followed her into Harm's room. "Doctor..."

"Thank you, Missy," he replied, turning to face the Admiral. "Sir, I'm Ian Masters, I've been taking care of Commander Rabb. Have a seat, Admiral."

Chegwidden did so. "How is he, Doctor?"

"To tell you the truth, I didn't think he'd make it. The blood clot in his brain was much worse than we had assumed. We were finally able to fix it and he's unconscious at the moment. I was afraid to give him pain medication because of his head injury. He also has a cracked rib and fractured wrist." Doctor Masters sighed. "That's not the hard part, Sir."

"The hard part is telling him about his wife and children," the Admiral answered with sigh.

"Would you like me to tell him, or would you?"

"I think it would be best coming from me, Doctor, but thank you." The doctor nodded and left to check on some other patients.

The Admiral sighed. He really hated to be in this position, but what else could he do? He couldn't wait until Harm's mother came arrived.

Harm was greeted with an immense amount of pain. He slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the onslaught of light. Finally able to focus, he noticed Admiral Chegwidden next to him. He knew that couldn't be good. "Sir...?"

"Harm, glad to see you're awake."

"Sir, where's Mac? The girls?" Harm asked. He seemed to be getting agitated. "Please, Sir, will you get them for me?"

"Harm," Chegwidden said, putting his hand on the Commander's shoulder. "I have something I need to tell you. I really don't know how I'm supposed to, but..."

Harm closed his eyes. "They were hurt, weren't they, Sir?"

"The car, there was a bomb in it..."

"And... and Mac and the girls? They were still in it?" The Admiral nodded slowly. "You mean, they're d-dead?"

Chegwidden saw the utter look of horror, pain, and loss in Harm's eyes. "Are you going to be all right?"

"They can't be dead, Sir! That can't be!" Harm cried out. He started to take the IV out, ignoring the pain in his head and chest. "I have to find them!"

"Easy, Harm!" Chegwidden grabbed Harm's hands and forced him back down. "You're not going to help yourself by not getting better."

"Who gives a shit about myself! I lost my wife and two daughters in a car crash! What do you expect me to do?"

Finally, the doctor and two nurses rushed in. They had been alerted by the machines of Harm's state. "Commander Rabb," the doctor said. "Just calm down. I'm going to give you a mild sedative, okay?"

Harm nodded reluctantly. He didn't want to be injected with one, but it was better than being awake, thinking about... everything. His last thoughts as the sedative took over was how he didn't get to say good bye.
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