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| Harm gently sat Maddie on her bed. She watched quietly as he went to her dresser to get her nightgown. He knelt down in front of her. "Maddie, everything's going to be all right." She nodded slowly as Harm brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. He could feel the heat from the fever. "Stay right there, I'm going to get a thermometer." "Daddy," she said, when he came back into the room. "I want Mommy." "I know, Maddie, she'll be home soon, I promise." Maddie nodded again. "No let me check your temperature." "Hold me?" Harm needed no urging. He sat down and pulled her into his arms, placing the thermometer into her mouth. A few minutes later, it beeped. "101. Not too high, but I'll have to keep an eye on it. Lets get your pajamas on and get you into bed." "Okay," she replied. As soon as Maddie was settled, Harm placed a kiss on her forehead then turned out the light. "Daddy!" "What is it?" he asked worriedly. "Come here." She stood up on the bed and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I love you!" she said, kissing his cheek. "I love you too, Maddie." ************** Evelyn trained her gun on him. "I won't hesitate to use this," she said, glaring at him. "Ah, just as tenacious as your mother, I see," Hodge said, taking a step towards her. "Why don't you just let me have the gun?" "Never gonna happen. You kidnap my little sister and my Mom and you want me to hand this gun over to you?" Evelyn shook her head. "No, you're dead." The two were so focused on one another that they didn't notice Mac coming around. Her eyes were blurry so she couldn't tell exactly what was going on. Blinking a few times, Mac focused on the woman standing next to the bed. "Evie!" she cried, sitting up with a start. Evelyn turned her back on Hodge. "Mom, you're awake!" Hodge took the opportunity to attack her. "No!" Mac ignored the pounding in her head, and jumped at Hodge. She slammed him against the wall. "Sarah, you shouldn't be doing this. You have a severe head injury." Mac glared at him. "No thanks to you. Evie, give me the gun." "But, Mom..." Evelyn said. "Give it to me!" She handed Mac the gun. Mac smiled at her, then focused on Hodge. "Good night," she said, hitting him across the head. Evelyn let out a deep breath. "God, I thought you were going to kill him!" "You know I'm better than that, honey," Mac replied. Pain chose that moment to explode in her head. "Mom!" Evelyn exclaimed, grabbing her arm. She led Mac to the bed. "Lay down, I'm going to call an ambulance." Mac's eyelids were getting heavier. "Evie, make sure he's tied up before you do anything..." "Don't worry about it, I'm going to take care of everything," Evelyn told her. She ran around the house searching for something tie Hodge up with. Evelyn found some rope in the garage, then she grabbed the cordless phone from the kitchen and raced up the stairs. "Mom, you still with me?" "Barely," Mac whispered. "Hang on," Evelyn said. "I'm going to get you to the hospital." **************** Maddie was able to convince Harm into letting her stay on the living room couch while he made her some soup. She was curled up under three blankets and she still felt cold. "Maddie," Harm called. "Do you want crackers in your soup?" Before she could reply, the phone rang. She realized that her Daddy had left the cordless on the table near the couch. "Hullo," she said. "Maddie?" "Evie!" "How are you feeling?" she asked. "Not too good. My tummy hurts and I got a fever. Daddy's making me soup. And we still don't know when Mommy's coming home," she cried. Harm rushed into the room. "Who is that, Maddie?" "It's Evie," she said, handing him the phone. "Are you all right, honey?" "I'm find, Dad," Evelyn said. "You need to get to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Mom's here... and there's something else you need to know, but I'll tell you as soon as you get here." Harm's heart jumped into his throat. "Evelyn Rose Rabb, why is it I think I know what you did?" "Because my parents are Harmon Rabb and Sarah Mackenzie," she replied. Harm just stared at the phone. "Daddy? What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong, Maddie. Lets get you dressed, we're going to see your Mom." |
