Author: Jubellant
Subject: HBX Challenge July 2008 - Don't Think

HBX Challenge July 2008 – Don’t Think

Have you ever had your life turned upside down?
Have you ever had your heart stop?

This is an alternate ending to Hail and Farewell Part Two.

All characters are property of the original creator, just fantasizing a little with them.


Don’t Think

Mac awakened and groped for the glass of water she kept at her bedside. This was strange, all she felt was air! Where was her nightstand and what was was that weight she felt across her stomach? Reaching down and still in a groggy dreamlike state, she could swear that thing she was caressing felt like someone’s arm, right down to the hairiness! Then she heard it, a soft snore. Bolting upward into a sitting position, her eyes came into focus as she glanced around her. This was no dream and this was not her bedroom. Glancing down she gasped as she found herself looking at the contented sleeping form of one Harmon Rabb Jr. She shivered a bit as the arm that had been keeping her warm had dislodged itself and was now resting on the bed. It was then she realized that she was in her birthday suit! She blushed as she remembered how she came to be in this predicament in the first place. On second thought she smiled, maybe it wasn’t such a bad place to be after all!

Mac had awakened in the middle of the night, deeply affected by a nightmare. Tears were streaming down her face and she felt a deep melancholy enter her soul. She had dreamt she had been sitting on a beach looking at footsteps that disappeared as they continued further and further away from her. They were large and deep but somehow looking at them she drew strength from their receding pattern secure with the notion they would eventually guide her to her refuge. Placing her hand in one of them, it got lost in its enormity. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow across the water, and the waves were coming closer now. Mac retreated a little higher up the bank. She watched as those firm footprints gradually eroded away against the soft but constant pull of the waves and eventually they disappeared altogether never to be seen again.

Never to be seen again, never to be seen again, those words played over and over in her head. She felt such a sense of urgency and panic that she found herself dressing, getting into her car and driving determinedly to her place of safe haven. She remembered knocking on the door with tears streaming down her face, a hand grabbing hers and leading her to where she now sat. What had she been thinking? She obviously hadn’t thought!

Harm had awakened to a soft but persistent knocking on his door. Who in the world he thought, would be doing that at three in the morning? It was Mac. He should have known. He had half a mind to turn around and head back to bed but then he noticed her pallor and tears? Yes, actual tears streaming down her face. He opened the door gathered her close, placed an arm around her shoulders and started to lead her towards his bedroom. He felt her resistance but quelled her protest before it even started.

“Mac, it is 3 am, I’m exhausted and it has been an extremely long and eventful day. I am willing to hear why you felt compelled to come here at this ungodly hour but I need to stretch out in the comfort of my bed and those terms are non-negotiable.“

To his surprise, let me rephrase that, to his utter shock, Mac did not argue or resist any further. Even in his sleep-drenched state it registered that whatever this was, must be pretty compelling. He wrapped his arms around her and was reaching to turn on the light when he heard her softly say, “Please leave it off.”

She seemed content just to lie there in the security of his arms and he was almost just as content to let her lie there but, if he let this opportunity slip, it might never surface again.

“Mac”, he said gently. “Spill it.”

She hesitated briefly then asked, “Have you ever had your life turned upside down?”

“Where would you like me to start, with my father’s disappearance, Diane’s murder, having her lookalike for a partner, Jordan’s murder, Sergei, my ex-girlfriend marrying a mortician?...” He smiled and paused to take a breath.

“Stop, stop, it was a stupid question.” Mac groaned.

“You think?” He asked a touch sarcastically.

“Well my latest upheaval came”, she paused, *when I realized I was ready.” She rushed that last part out as if she was afraid she would lose her nerve.

“Ready for what exactly?” He was leaving nothing to innuendo here.

“I’m ready for us, you and me.” She shot a tentative glance my way.

"And what brought this on?”

“Footprints”, she replied cryptically.

“Would you care to embellish?”

“After you walked away yesterday, until I was ready, you left your footprints in the sand. I had a nightmare that the waves washed them away. When I was ready, there were no footprints left to follow to find you.” She had never felt so vulnerable, as she tentatively glanced his way.

“Something tells me you are not the following kind!” he was grinning now.

“It depends who’s leading.” She grinned back.

He was looking at her intently and whispered close to her ear. “Have you ever had your heart stop?”

She vaguely remembered answering, “Like now?”, as he continued whispering.

“Well I have just the cure to get it racing again.” He turned her towards him.

“I bet you do, Sailor.” She really needed to get out of this bed.

Harm saw her reservations and desires duking it out.

As he lowered his lips to hers he instructed, “Mac, we both know I love you. Don’t think.”

And for once she didn’t. Okay, maybe more than once.