VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, [7], 8, 9, 10 ]



[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 17:17:35 06/27/13 Thu
Author: Nettie
Subject: Mountains and Molehills Part 1/2

Disclaimer: All the usual
AN: This makes a record 10 stories in one month from me!

Mountains and Molehills

Part 1/2

If she was cold, Sarah MacKenzie wasn't letting on. She was curled up tightly in a ratty old armchair under a thin blanket in a mountain hut trying her best not to make a sound and thus let Harm know just how cold and uncomfortable she was.

"I did offer to share body heat with you," Harm said, his voice breaking the silence of the past half an hour.

"I thought you were asleep," Mac said, pulling the blanket closer still.

"Your chattering teeth are keeping me awake," he said, propping himself up on an elbow. "Come on, Mac ..." he added, "It's not as if we've never shared a bed."

"I know," she replied, trying to remember why she had resisted his offer so adamantly when he had first made it.

"If I could," he said. "I would come over there and get you myself..."

Then she remembered his leg and felt bad all over again.

"Mac," he said slowly. "Are you going to come over here or am I going to have to get up?" he asked, knowing he was playing with her feelings but believing it was for the best.

"Harm, I'm fine here, really," she said, closing her eyes tightly.

"No, you're not," he said bluntly. "You're freezing."

"Harm, I'm fine," she repeated but all it took was for Harm to sit up and Mac was out of her armchair and padding across to his bed, bringing the blanket with her.

It took a few moments to be settled into the bed in a way which was comfortable for them both.

"You're cold," he said, rubbing his hand up and down her back.

"Just a little," she finally conceded.

"Feel better?" he asked a little while later.

"Much," she said dreamily, now warm, comfortable and sleepy.

"Why did you insist on staying over there?" he whispered, knowing she was almost asleep.

"Didn't want to hurt you," she muttered. "Hurt you already."

"Hey?" he said, tilting her head up. "I thought we resolved this?"

Mac's response was in the form of soft snores, so all Harm was left to do was hold her close and hope she'd be in a better frame of mind when morning came.

When morning did come, Harm woke first, pleased to find Mac still safely ensconced in his embrace, her fingers clutching his sweater, one of her legs slid between his. Slowly and gently, Harm rubbed her back, not sure why but just knowing it was soothing to him. The sound of the rain drumming on the roof and the wind still howling around them meant they weren't headed anywhere soon, so Harm closed his eyes and waited for sleep to come once more.

Absently, he pressed a kiss to her head as he drifted off, this action caused Mac to stir and as she lay there she recalled the events which had brought them to this place.

For the better part of the week Mac had been in a bad mood, while it changed in its intensity it had always been negative. There were several factors which had caused it; too much work, too little sleep, losing an unlosable case and Harmon Rabb. While she could handle the former, the fact that she thought they'd been working towards something a little more personal and then discovered he'd been dating someone else had sent her mood plummeting from bad to ghastly.

Thankful for a long weekend and three days of a Harm-free environment, Mac had planned to go hiking and camping in the outdoors. She had packed a backpack with all the essentials and let Bud and Harriet know of her plans, in case anything happened. Knowing she shouldn't go alone but hating the idea of being with anyone telling Bud and Harriet was a compromise she could live with.

Setting out Friday evening, glad for the extra hours of daylight, Mac drove into the national park car park and pulled her backpack from the trunk. All set to go, she was seriously annoyed when she saw Harm pull up in the car space beside hers. Rather than wait for him, and the inevitable argument that would follow, Mac simply turned towards the path and set off in a jog.

Calling her name didn't stop her, so Harm grabbed his pack from the trunk and set off after her. Not knowing why he'd been on the receiving end of several harsh barbs and a seriously cold shoulder nor the reason for her bad mood, Harm had planned on giving Mac a wide berth this weekend. However, after a discussion with Bud in the break room that morning, when the details of Mac's plans were inadvertently revealed, Harm had changed his mind. Marine or no marine, there was no way he was going to let her go off into the wilderness by herself, especially given her mood and the fact that her mind would be on whatever it was bothering her and not what she was actually doing.

"Walking off and not talking to me is not going to achieve anything, Mac," he called out to her once he knew she would hear him. "Ignoring me is not going to work either!"

Mac marched on through the increasingly rough terrain.

"I'm not going anywhere," he called out, only a few steps behind her. "So, whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be right here."

There was still no response and regardless of what Harm said over the next hour, Mac refused to respond. Then, when she stopped to fix her shoe, Harm walked up and stood in front of her, waiting for her to stand and make eye contact with him, to at least acknowledge his presence.

When she did, Harm's heart melted. Instead of the steely marine glare he was expecting was a tearstained face. Instantly, he softened his tone.

"Please talk to me, Mac," he said, reaching out to touch her arm.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, shrugging violently

."Mac, please," he begged. "Let me in...let me help."

"You?" she scoffed, and while Harm wasn't pleased with her tone, at least she had spoken.

"Yes, me," he said quietly, trying to stay calm and not let this blow out of proportion.

"You're the last person I would turn too," she said, storming off the best she could.

Not prepared to let it go, Harm continued to follow her.

"Why am I the last person you would turn to?" he asked and while she stopped momentarily, she didn't turn but changed directions on her path.

"Mac?" he said, following her change of direction. "I'm your friend."

Mac spun and glared at him.

"You are no friend of mine," she barked before turning around and stalking off.

With his mood changing from concerned to annoyed, Harm wasn't going to let her get away with such a comment. After all, up until this week he had thought they were well on the way to becoming much more than friends.

With a quick jog to catch up once again, Harm reached out and caught her arm.

"Mac, stop right there," he snapped, tugging her arm.

"Don't touch me," she said, trying to break his hold but not succeeding this time.

"I'll let go if you stop and talk to me," he said trying to bargain.

Not prepared to be forced to do anything she didn't want to, Mac used her position of being on higher ground to push Harm away from her. Shoving him with all her strength, Harm stumbled backwards before his right foot caught on vine-like undergrowth and he ended up sliding down the embankment of the trail a distance of fifteen feet.

"Son of a bitch!" he grumbled as his battered body came to a rest against a tree. Grimacing, he sat up and inspected his left leg; the shredded jeans testament to the force of the undergrowth impacting his leg.

Trying to free his backpack so he could get to his first aid kit, Harm found it was stuck on a branch and was having little success. With a string of profanities being uttered, Harm finally got to the kit and used the tweezers to pull out some of the splinters still embedded in the wound.

"Damn it," he said when he found the deep graze on his hand was preventing him using the tweezers effectively.

Having watched from the trail, Mac knew she should go and help him, and slowly made her way down the embankment.

"Let me," she said, holding her hand out for the implement.

"No, thanks," he said, not even looking at her. "Think you've made your wishes perfectly clear. Go on your walk."

"I'm not going to leave you here," she said, taking the tweezers anyway.

"Honestly, Mac," he said flinching in pain as she went to work. "I have ..."

His thoughts trailed as he concentrated on breathing through the pain.

"I think I have them all," Mac said before using some water to clean the area. "How does it feel?"

"Bloody sore," he said, moving his leg to see if he could ease the pain in his ankle.

"Did you hurt your ankle?" she asked, watching his face.

"I didn't hurt anything," he snapped, "You did it."

Taking his kit, Harm placed a dressing across his leg wound and used a bandage to keep it in place.

"Sorry," she said quietly, "But I told you not to touch me."

"Yes, you did," he said coldly. "And I won't make that mistake again."

Pulling himself up, Harm realised his ankle was probably in worse shape than his leg and leant against the tree as his head spun and pain ricocheted through his body. Reaching down, he made several attempts to scoop up his backpack, before looking around and seeing how he was going to get up the hill and back to the track.

"I can help you," Mac said, knowing he wouldn't ask for help.

"No, thanks," he replied. "You've made it perfectly clear I'm not welcome. I'll manage."

Harm got as far as the next tree before grabbing it as the pain shot through his leg. Realising it was going to be a very painful and slow trek back to the car, Harm contemplated his next move.

"Let me help you," Mac said from behind him as storm clouds gathered overhead in the growing darkness.

"What?" he asked, half turning his head. "You'd actually touch me?" he questioned sarcastically.

Usually, at this point, Mac would have told him to go reproduce by himself but she was feeling bad for his pain and knowing that she had caused it wasn't making it any easier.

Stepping around him, Mac stood face to face with Harm.

"Are you telling me you are capable of getting back to the car park on your own without causing yourself further damage?" she challenged and Harm shrugged.

"Maybe not," he replied. "Might be safer though."

"Look," she said, holding up her hands. "I'm sorry I shoved you, I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Apology accepted," he said, "I should not have touched you in the first place. I was just trying to get your attention."

"Well, you succeeded," she said, looping his arm around her shoulder as her arm slipped around his waist. "Let's take it slowly."

Slowly was an understatement and they found it easier to continue down the embankment as it had started raining making the ascent difficult and slippery. Spying an old worker's hut, Mac steered Harm towards it. The minute they were inside, the skies opened and a deluge of rain followed.

"Made it just in time," Mac said as she helped Harm into a rickety old armchair and elevated his injured leg on a wooden crate.

Muttering under his breath, Harm closed his eyes as the pain in his ankle hit home and not for the first time since his fall did he consider that it may actually be broken,

"You okay?" she asked, rubbing his back.

"Aha," he managed drawing a deep breath,

"Let me get that shoe off and see..." she started before undoing his shoe lace and easing off the shoe and sock.

Both of them were confronted with a swollen, discoloured mess.

"Oh, Harm, that looks bad," Mac said, the guilt factor rocketing up a few dozen notches.

"Feels wonderful," he replied gritting his teeth,

Fashioning a cold compress, Mac wrapped the cloth around his ankle, biting down on her bottom lip when he winced in pain. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," she muttered, truly not intending to inflict any further pain on him.

"It's okay, it's okay," he muttered in reply, gripping her arm when she pulled the supporting bandage a little too tight.

"Sorry, sorry," she whispered in reply.

Once Mac had finished tending to Harm's injuries, she ferreted about in her pack and found the pain relievers she always carried with her and picked up Harm's bottle of water before handing them to him and watching him digest the two pills.

"Now, you should eat something," she said, pulling out items from her bag,

"Not hungry," he replied, food the furthest this from his mind.

"Come on," she encouraged. "At least have a muesli bar so there's something in your system."

Begrudgingly, Harm took the bar and unwrapped it. "Thanks," he said, taking a bite. "Appreciate it."

There was a long, uneasy silence, which lengthened when neither wanted to be the first one to break it. Finally, Harm decided to talk.

"Are you planning on letting me know why you're so pissed off with me?" he asked, his eyes firmly on her.

"I'm surprised you need to ask," she said, looking anywhere but at him.

"Well, sorry to surprise you, but I've got no idea," he said truthfully.

"I'll give you a clue; five foot seven, brunette, dinner at Sapphire Garden..." she said, trying to keep the jealousy from her voice and not succeeding.

"Emily?" he asked, after all, that was the only brunette he'd dined with at Sapphire Garden in recent times.

"If that's her name, then yes," she said, folding her arms in front of her.

"This whole mood and physical violence is because I had dinner with Emily?" he said with a snort.

"Dinner and lunch the other day," Mac added, only compounding the humour Harm saw in it.

"You're jealous!" he said and while Mac denied it, both knew she was, big time.

After they'd reached an impasse, Harm decided to give Mac a little more information.

"Would you like me to tell you about Emily?" he asked, more than happy to know her mood was due to her jealousy and nothing more serious.

"Is there anything to tell?" she asked, feigning nonchalance, not succeeding.

"Oh, lots," he said in an exaggerated tone. If Mac wanted to make a mountain out of a molehill, who was he to discourage her.

"Then, I'm not interested," she said, kicking off her boots and tucking her legs up under her. If there was a lot to tell then she had her answer.

"Let me tell you about her," he said, knowing he was taunting her. "Emily's wonderful and..."

"Harm, stop," she said, glaring at him. "I don't want to hear the details of your conquests. I'd rather sit here in silence."

"Conquests?" Harm challenged. "Are you sure you're not jealous?"

"I'm going to check on the weather," she said, getting up and stalking to the door.

The weather wasn't any better than Mac's mood and there was no end in sight – for either.

"Well?" Harm asked when she reappeared.

"It's pouring and looks like it has set in for the night," she said with a resigned air.

"If you want to go..." Harm started but Mac shook her head.

"What? And leave you here?" she questioned. "Sure," she said, "And while I'm at it I'll become a vegetarian," she added, trying to illustrate to him how ludicrous a suggestion it was.

"Mac," he said slowly, "It's bad enough we're stuck here, could we call a truce on the hostility for a bit?"

Mac nodded before thinking of a different reply. "Don't you need to call Emily? Let her know you can't make your date tonight?"

"Emily and I don't have a date for tonight," he said and watched her face intently. "We did have tentative brunch plans for Sunday though."

Not quite knowing what to say, Mac uttered nothing more than a grunt.

"Mac, you're blowing this out of proportion," he said quietly. "It was a couple of meals with someone I've known forever and care about. It shouldn't have been the impetus for World War III."

"So, it is serious between you and Emily?" she half asked, her arms tightly folded.

"Serious?" he questioned, trying not to smile.

"Yes, serious," she confirmed. "Do you love her?"

"Yes, I do," he answered honestly. "Very much."

"Oh, okay," she said with a nod and there was nothing else to say about that little revelation.

Seeing her disappointment, Harm knew he should stop playing games. "Mac, Emily is my cousin," he said quietly. "She's been in town for the week and we've been catching up. We haven't seen each other in about ten years and I do love her. We spent a lot of time together when we were younger. When I was about 10, Mom started sending me to her family over the summers when I was getting too much of a handful. She thought Uncle Bill, her brother, Emily's dad, would straighten me out."

"She's your cousin?" Mac said in disbelief.

"She's my cousin," Harm confirmed.

"Then why make me think she was something more?" she challenged.

"I wanted you to at least acknowledge you were feeling a little jealous," he admitted. "After all, I thought we were getting a whole lot closer before all this."

"I thought the same thing but then ... I don't know...figured you couldn't be bothered with me," she said, trying to hide her hurt.

"Couldn't be bothered with you?" he questioned. "How could you say that?"

"Because we were getting very close, or at least I thought," she admitted. "And then all of a sudden I felt like I was persona non grata."

"Sorry," he apologised. "I guess I was trying to push you to get you to respond to me and ..."

"It backfired," she offered and Harm nodded.

"It backfired," he agreed. "And I'm sorry," he said again.

"We really suck at this communication thing," she said. "I'm sorry I pushed you...physically."

"Well, I should not have touched you," he said. "I should be able to make an argument without physically forcing you to stay and listen."

In the end they both conceded they had done the wrong thing, both had sought forgiveness, both had received it. And while they were back being friends, the atmosphere was still strained and nightfall saw them sleeping in separate places.

With Harm snoring, Mac used the opportunity to slide from his grasp and use the bathroom. Not that there was a bathroom with the cabin. She had to make use of a big shrub for privacy and some Kleenex. When she was finished, she used some of their drinking water to wash her hands and did a quick look around the area.

Going to the east, she was glad to spy a battered trail most likely used for forestry vehicles. This meant she'd be able to drive Harm's SUV down to the hut and he wouldn't have to walk that far. Knowing there was no turning circle nearby, she studied the path to work out whether she should drive in and reverse out or vice versa. She could probably manoeuvre her car in the confined space but she didn't think it would go all that well in the terrain.

"Mac?" Harm called and quickly she returned. "Are you okay?" he asked when she appeared at the door.

"Fine," she replied, walking over to the bed. "I was just checking out the best way to get you out of here."

"I can walk," he said, looking down at his foot and grimacing. It was now a mottled red – purple colour.

"Want to reconsider?" she asked, sure his ankle was broken.

"Did you find a way?" he asked with a resigned sigh.

"Yeah, I think I can get your SUV down the trail out back, I think it's used for forestry vehicles," she said. "Only thing is I don't think I'll be able to turn it around so we may have to reverse out."

"Or we could drive further in, see what's down there," he suggested and Mac nodded.

Packing up the few things she had, Mac got out a couple of protein bars she had and handed Harm one. "I'm going to hike back up along the trail to the car park and eat this on the way," she said, grabbing her bottle of water. "You are to eat yours and take a couple of pain killers," she said, handing him the bottle. "It might help when you try and walk in a bit."

Harm nodded. "You take care out there," he said, handing her his keys. "It's going to be very slippery because of the rain last night."

"I'll be fine," she said, dropping her backpack next to his. "Do you need anything before I go?"

"No, I'm okay," he said, with the shake of his head. Truth was he felt like crap and needed the bathroom, neither of which Mac could help him with.

"Okay, back soon," she said, heading to the door. "Don't you go moving until I get back."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a quick salute.

For Mac the next half an hour was quite good. The undergrowth wasn't as wet as she'd anticipated and walking at a faster pace than she normally would, due to the urgency of the situation, she felt energised and invigorated by the time she reached the car park. It was no surprise that theirs were the only two vehicles there, given the weather conditions and time of day.

Driving through the car park, Mac came to a gate at the far end which she figured led to the hut. Climbing out of the SUV she opened the gate before driving through. Moving at a very slow pace, due to the conditions, Mac navigated the trail slowly, grimacing every time a branch or shrub brushed against the car. She didn't want to imagine Harm's response if she scratched up his vehicle, it was bad enough she'd probably broken his ankle.

While Mac was busy getting to the vehicle and getting back to Harm, Harm was busy trying to organise himself. The instant he tried to put pressure on his foot he realised it was a bad idea and he muttered a string of profanities as he raised his foot once more. Knowing that he would most likely wet himself if he didn't go to the bathroom, Harm scanned the room to see if there was anything to help him, he found nothing. In the end he used the wall to hop around to the door and then used the door frame to support him as he hopped outside. Hopping to the edge of the building, he realised he wasn't going to make it any further and so relieved himself there. Feeling far better when he was done, Harm turned to go back inside but one hop told him the battle to get inside wasn't worth the effort. Slowly, he moved himself to the door before sitting down and waiting for Mac. While he wasn't a fan of the pain he was experiencing, nor being so dependent on Mac, he reasoned that at least it got them talking and, perhaps if he played his cards right, he could get Mac to look after him for the next couple of days and see what would progress from there.

"What are you doing out here?" Were Mac's first words after she climbed out of the SUV. "I thought I told you to stay put."

"I needed the bathroom," he said, "And couldn't wait."

Mac smiled at him sympathetically. "Okay, fair enough," she said. "How's the ankle?"

""I'm pretty sure it's broken," he said with a grimace as he used the door jamb to help him stand.

"Let me help you," she said, moving to him and wrapping her arm around his waist.

It took a few minutes for them to make it to the car and then another few minutes for Harm to be able to get into it. With the seat as far back as possible and reclined to stop his head spinning, Mac carefully lifted Harm's leg and placed his foot gently on the floor. With his shoe still off, she could see why it was causing him so much pain.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she questioned when she turned her head to find him with his head back and eyes shut tightly.

"Nothing a couple of shots of morphine won't cure," he said opening his eyes and giving her a weak smile.

Before long, Mac had their bags in the back and was slowly driving further down the trail as Harm had suggested. Twice, in the first fifty feet, he had tried to tell Mac to be careful, each one met with a glare, after all, she had little chance of avoiding the obstacles in their way. Eventually, they came to a clearing and Mac smiled in relief as she turned the SUV around and started the trek back up the trail.

Once she got back to the car park, she stopped the car so she could get out and close the gate once more.

"Where are you going?" he asked, watching her as she climbed out.

"I'm not going to leave my car here," she said, pretending to be serious.

"But..." he started to protest before he saw her grin.

"I'm just going to close the gate I opened to go down the trail," she said, walking behind the car to complete her mission.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]



Replies:

[> What a pair, good beginning, holding for chapter two, -- JoyZ, 11:27:01 06/28/13 Fri [1]


[ Edit | View ]
[> Nettie love this first part looking forward to part 2 you have done us proud and spoiled us with your wonderful writing keep them coming please -- Bev uk, 14:27:52 06/28/13 Fri [1]


[ Edit | View ]
[> Sooooo looking forward to more. I have a feeling I am going to want more than 2 parts. -- Shazamt, 17:30:42 06/28/13 Fri [1]


[ Edit | View ]



[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.