I Pray Another Love You So by
doc
AN: This is my answer to the September HBX
Fanfiction Challenge.
It takes place immediately following the
final scene of the episode ‘Shifting Sands’ from
Season 9. As a reminder, Mac is standing outside Clayton Webb’s
hospital room and overhears a conversation between Harm, Webb and
Catherine Gale about Harm joining the CIA.
The poem referred
to in this particular story is called ‘I Loved You’
by Aleksandr Pushkin. I found several different translations from the
original Russian, but this one was my favorite.
Special
thanks to Mom, my faithful finder and keeper of all things related to
spelling and grammar.
Disclaimer: I don’t own JAG or
any of the characters. I just take them out and play with them on
occasion before replacing them safe and sound back on the
shelf.
I Pray Another Love You
So
18:30
October 2003
Kresge Medical
Center
Pimmit Hills, Virginia
“Welcome to the
brotherhood.”
Mac rubbed at her chest trying to relieve
the crushing ache in her heart. The tears stung the back of her eyes
as she retreated into the hidden shadows of the hall.
THE CIA!
He was going to work for the company. The very thought made her
shudder in fear. ‘Welcome to the brotherhood,’ would he
be partnered with Webb? She wouldn’t be there as his backup,
who was going to protect him?
CIA…CIA…CIA…the
word echoed in her thoughts, taunting her, accusing her, pointing its
finger of guilt. It was all her fault. If he hadn’t resigned to
come after her, he’d still be where he belonged, safely behind
a desk at JAG.
Not Harm, her Harm, this was certain to be the
death of him…if not in the literal sense, than surely his
soul. ‘I hope he fairs better than your various boyfriends and
husbands.’ His words came back with blinding force and she
gasped for air. Her damned curse poised to strike again, only this
time…this time, it would touch the one closest to her
heart.
‘Never.’ With that one word, she had sought
to release him from his obligations, from the danger of her. He could
find another; she hoped…one more deserving, safer…one
to cherish and truly love. Maybe then, he would be free to say the
words.
“I pray God grant another love you so,”
eyes closed, she whispered the anguished plea.
The wrinkled
sheet of paper had once again found its way into her grasp. She had
read the poem years ago, but it had never seemed more poignant than
in these days following Paraguay. She nervously rubbed the fragile
surface of the tattered page. It had become her worry-stone of
late…an appeal to God on high, interceding on his behalf. A
sincere and heart-felt prayer for his happiness, safety and love…even
if it was to be with another.
She quickly turned to flee the
disturbing scene of the cheerful trio in Webb’s room. Halfway
down the hall she was stopped dead in her tracks by the sound of his
voice.
“Did you think you could sneak away without
saying goodbye?”
She barely turned her head, afraid to
let him see her troubled appearance, “What?”
“Didn’t
you come to see Webb?” he couldn’t hide the sneer in his
voice.
“I…um, I didn’t…um later,
I’ll come back later.”
He walked closer, “Don’t
leave on my account. I’m sure he could use a little more of
your ‘care ‘n concern’,” he made the words
sound suggestive and dirty.
“Harm,” she
warned.
He loomed over her, “Go back to Webb, Mac.”
“I
told you...I’m not with…” the words died on her
lips. What was the point, he was going to believe what he wanted to,
anyway. “Goodbye Harm,” she brushed past him to hurry
down the hall.
“Goodbye? That’s how you want leave
things?” When she turned back around, he continued his
sarcastic retort, “Why not good luck?”
“Good
luck?” the confusion evident on her face.
“Didn’t
you say that to me once before, when I was stupid enough to leave JAG
and go back to flying?”
“But….”
He
cut her off, “Yeah that’s right, I’m going to be
working for the company, now that I don’t have a job with the
Navy anymore…flying planes for the CIA,” he stalked
toward her. “After all we’ve been through, don’t I
deserve a little more than a simple goodbye? Or maybe words like
‘good luck,’ ‘best wishes,’ ‘hope to
see you soon,’ aren’t a part of your vocabulary,”
he turned his back and muttered under his breath, “…kind
of like thank you.”
She heard him none-the-less and
reached for his arm, “Harm, I am….”
“Save
it, Mac. It kinda loses its meaning when someone has to ask you to
say it.” He took a few steps away, “Or maybe you don’t
understand, because you’ve never chased halfway across the
world and put your life on the line for someone you lo…”
he checked himself, “…care about. Only to insure their
safe return, while you come home empty-handed…with nothing.”
He turned back to look into her eyes, “Or was that
‘NEVER’.”
Emotions flashed through her eyes;
hurt…sympathy…anger…love…sadness…rage.
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND?” He backed up at the
fierceness of her words. She paced the hall in circles, mumbling
under her breath, hands flying in frenzy. He caught snippets of
phrases and words as she marched toward him then back again, “Who
does he think…not once but twice…thinks I don’t
understand…no concern…better than anyone…dangerous,
how about war torn….”
Finally she stopped
directly in front of him, deflated, shoulders slumped, bravado gone.
He took in her defeated pose and it nearly crumpled the
self-righteous façade, he worked so hard to maintain. His
hands twitched at his sides, forcing him to slide them into his
pockets, before they betrayed him by taking her into his
arms.
“Mac…”
She shook her head, “No
Harm, you think I don’t understand what it’s like? What
do you call…” she bit her lip to stop the words.
“What
do I call what?”
She paused to swallow the lump in her
throat, and then continued on in shaky voice, “Not just once,
but twice…you asked me why?” She inhaled deeply
searching for the strength to say the words. Holding up one trembling
finger she reverently spoke, “Adeen…Ya tebya lyblyu.”
His brow furrowed in question. Brushing away a tear, she raised a
second finger, “Dva…Moya lyubov' ne znayet
granits.”
The frown deepened, “I don’t
understand, Mac. You need to speak in English not Farsi. Is this
about Afghanistan? Because orders issued for military ops are not the
same….”
“No Harm,” she shook her head
with a sigh, “…this isn’t about Afghanistan, Iraq
or any of the other missions that we’ve been sent on for the
military. It’s about you and me and…” she stared
into his eyes begging him to comprehend, to remember, “…it’s
not Farsi.”
“Well, whatever language it is, I
don’t understand it. You need to say the words in plain English
so I know exactly what you’re trying to tell me.”
She
chuckled at the irony, “Tell you what I mean? State the WORDS
clearly, in plain English, so you don’t misinterpret my
intentions? Who would have thought?”
His back stiffened
as he crossed his arms over his chest. Eyes icy gray, “Mac, I
don’t really want to have another conversation about stating
intentions. I thought you covered that pretty well with
‘NEVER’.”
Running a finger down his arm, she
grasped his hand and tugged it free. Peeling open his clutched
fingers, she stroked her thumb back and forth over his palm. “That’s
the problem, Harm. We both talk, but we don’t hear. That’s
why I said it would never work, because we don’t listen to each
other when it really counts.”
Her eyes rose to met his,
“Harm, we trust each other with everything, except, what we’re
most afraid to lose.” Tapping her finger lightly over his
heart, she sighed, “This is where the words should come from,
but we’re both so busy fighting not to be the first to say
them…that we miss out on what has already been given. I don’t
know if that’s a fight for the top or the bottom…I only
know it’s not right, and that I can’t do it
anymore.”
She watched his eyes cloud over with
unexpressed emotion. “It’s OK Harm, I know…I
know.” She withdrew the tattered paper from her pocket and
pressed it into the palm of his hand. Standing on her tiptoes, she
placed a kiss on his cheek and then leaned in to whisper in his ear,
“That’s why I’m setting you free…I hope you
find all the happiness you so rightly deserve. Be careful, be safe
and good luck. Ya tebya lyblyu.”
He watched as she
turned and walked away. Just as she approached the corner, he cried
out, “Mac…Sarah!” Her footsteps faltered just a
moment at the sound of her given name, before she continued on her
way.
He stood rooted in place, his mind and his heart warring
him into inaction. Just as he leaned forward to pursue, a voice
caught his attention, “Excuse me, Sir…but my grandmother
would like your assistance.”
He turned to look at the
young man standing in the doorway across the hall, “I’m
sorry?”
“My grandmother, she needs to speak with
you.”
He glanced back down the hall hoping to catch just
one more glimpse of Mac, but she was already gone. He shook his head
in frustration, “Look, I’m really sorry if we disturbed
your grandmother. I didn’t realize we were talking that loud.
I’ll see if I can find one of the hospital staff to
assist….”
“No Sir, Grandmother wants you.
She says it’s really important.”
He nodded in
resignation and entered the room. Perched upon the bed, he found a
small gray-haired woman with twinkling eyes and a pleasant smile. She
was practically engulfed in a mountain of pillows and wore an ornate
shawl around the shoulders of her dressing gown. He stopped at the
foot of the bed, “I’m sorry if we disturbed you, Ma’am.
I’m afraid Mac and I got a little loud.”
“Mac?”
questioned the heavily accented voice. “I thought for sure you
argue with a woman?”
He chuckled, “Mac…Sarah
is a woman.”
A bubbling laugh was returned, “You
call your wife Mac?”
“She’s not my wife,”
a blush rose up his cheeks, “…although, sometimes we
fight enough that I’m sure people wonder.”
“But
you love her, no?”
His eyes widened as his mouth gaped
opened and closed. Finally, he found his bearings, “It’s
not like that…I mean, Mac & I we’re partners. We
work together. Uh, we’re military lawyers.”
“I
see…than this…Mac?” The woman shook her head,
“Why you call a beautiful woman Mac? She is beautiful, no? I
could not see you…only hear you talk.”
“Ah,
yes…I ah, I guess she’s beautiful,” he stammered,
pointing toward the door. “I really should be going. I’ve
disturbed you enough.”
Just as he reached the doorway,
she froze him in place with her words, “I can tell you what she
say. I know the language.”
He turned back to find an
impish grin on her face, “You speak Farsi?”
The
grandmother threw him a ‘tsk-tsking’ laugh, “She
right, you no listen very well.” Shaking a finger in his face,
“She tell you it not Farsi. Come sit.”
“No
really, I should be going.”
She bowed her head, “I
sorry, I thought you care about her.”
He noticeably
swallowed as his eyes darted from the bed to the door, weighing his
options. Shoulders finally slumped in resignation; he took the
offered seat beside the bed.
She smiled in response, “I
thought I judge you right. This gray hair mean I know a thing or
two…I live a long life.” She extended a hand in welcome,
“My name is Elizaveta Zaslavsky, but you call me Liza.”
He
accepted the thin bruised hand with extra gentle care, “Harmon
Rabb, but my friends call me Harm.”
“Nice to make
your acquaintance, Harm. Now tell me about your love?”
“I
told you, we’re not…we work together in the military,
Navy and Marines.”
Liza gave him an all-knowing motherly
glare, “I no think the military let you just run away to save
someone you…how you said it…oh yes, care about. Least
not in my country.”
He glanced away and muttered,
“That’s kinda why I lost my job.”
“I
know I right,” she wiggled a bony finger his way and smiled,
“…you no quit a job to save some you no love.”
“I’ll
admit there’s different kinds of love,” he grinned back.
“I’m a lawyer, we can always find the loophole.”
He
watched her expression fall, “Is that why she not yours? You
always look for this loophole?”
He whispered back,
“She’s not mine because she said ‘never’.”
She
extended a hand and cupped his cheek, “I think you wrong. She
not yours because you no tell her.”
“Could you
please tell me what this says?” He handed over the wrinkled
page of paper.
She nodded, “Yes, if you give me my
glasses?” Once he handed over the requested item, she studied
the poem. Looking up with a sorrowful gaze, she asked, “I must
know if you really love her, first?”
“Why? Why is
that important? What does it say?”
“Because, I no
want her hurt no more. I tell you what this say & what she say in
the hall, if you make me believe you care.”
He studied
his hands and picked at his thumbnail trying to decide whether to
trust. In all his life, the grand gestures were somehow easy to give,
but the secrets to his heart, those were held in deep reserve. Well,
that was ever since a dark Christmas Eve so long ago. He glanced back
toward Liza and nodded, “I resigned my commission in the Navy
and went to save her life,” taking a deep breath, he plunged
ahead, “…because even if she’s not mine, I know I
wouldn’t survive if she weren’t here.”
“And
she do the same for you.” He shrugged his shoulders, unsure.
She sighed, “It hard to give away your heart, but she do it for
you. She travel across the world for you to a land called
Russia?”
His eyes widened, “That’s the what
she was talking about? Russian…that’s the language she
was speaking? I should have recognized that…how could I not
remember?”
She nodded, “And she come after you not
once but twice, yes?” He hung his head at the memory. “The
first time, one…’adeen’, she say she come because
she love you. ‘Ya tebya lyblyu.’ The second time she
travel far?” He nodded. “Ah, two…’dva’,
she say, ‘her love have no borders.’ ‘Moya lyubov'
ne znayet granits.’ That mean there no beginning and no end…she
never stop…even to the end of the earth.”
Tears
welled in his eyes, “But what does that say?” He pointed
a trembling finger toward the paper.
Liza held the page out to
him, “This mean she make you ‘free’…to love
another…to make you happy.”
The tears fell one by
one down his cheek. He pushed the paper back toward her, “Please,
read the entire thing so I understand.”
“It poetry
by Aleksandr Pushkin. I not sure I translate well into
English.”
“Please?”
“All right,
I try.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it in hers.
I
loved you; even now I may confess,
Some embers of my love their
fire retain;
But do not let it cause you more distress,
I do
not want to sadden you again.
Hopeless and tongue-tied, yet I
loved you dearly
With pangs the jealous and the timid know;
So
tenderly I loved you, so sincerely,
I pray God grant another love
you so.
Looking into his face, she asked, “So
you love her, no?”
“With all that I am and more
than I could ever show.”
Liza smiled and patted his
cheek, “I help you say to her. Lyublyu tebya vsem setsem, vsey
dush oyu.”
His eyes reflected fear, “First of all,
I don’t think she’ll listen to me. Second, there’s
no way I can say that in Russian.”
Her smile brightened,
reaching her eyes, ‘We practice…and I write it down. If
you no can say,” she pointed a finger, “…after you
try, then you give her the paper.”
***
Twenty
minutes later, Harm leaned over the bed of the wise old grandmother
and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, Liza, from me…and
hopefully from Sarah.”
Liza kissed him back, “You
bring her back to me. I want to meet this woman who capture your
heart. Dosvidaniya.”
“If all goes well, I promise
to bring her by in the next few days. Thank you, again.
Dosvidanya.”
Harm hurried from the room, with paper in
hand, on a mission to find his marine. As he stepped outside the
front entrance of the hospital, he noticed the lateness of the eve.
Dusk was already descending, the sky a mixture of orange and purple
as the sun dipped below the horizon. The lights in the parking lot
were buzzing into commission. He paused a moment to enjoy the autumn
night. The temperature was just this side of chilly, but pleasant all
the same. The trees on the campus were sporting shades of red, orange
and green. He realized, he hadn’t noticed any of those changes
before now. Funny, what a little attitude adjustment could do.
He
shook his head at the change in his demeanor. It would only take one
event, the declaration of a few words, to make things even better. He
walked briskly toward his car. As he neared the far side of the lot,
he backtracked an aisle and came upon a red corvette. Mac’s
corvette to be exact, her JAG HQ parking decal attached to the right
front windshield. He placed his hand on the hood. Cold to the touch,
that meant she’d been here awhile. Maybe she went back to visit
Webb like she said. And why not? You threw her into his arms enough,
he groused to himself.
He turned back to the hospital with a
determined stride. As he neared the building, a familiar color caught
his eye. He could spot her marine greens anywhere. Well, maybe it had
more to do with the way she filled them out, than the color itself.
She was sitting on a park bench in a side meditation garden. She was
unaware of his silent approach and he paused a moment to study her
form. She looked tired and sad. Her uniform hung a bit loose and her
shoulders sagged from their usual military bearing. Maybe it was time
he did something about that, he missed the light in her eyes and the
smile she reserved just for him.
“Here goes
nothing…well, nothing but my future that is,” he
whispered to himself.
“Mac,” he laid a hand on her
shoulder from behind.
She startled at the intrusion into her
quiet world and quickly turned. “Harm, you scared me!”
His
smile was gentle and warm, “I’m sorry, I just wanted to
talk to you.”
She gathered her things to leave, “I
think we’ve said enough for today.”
He knelt
before her and took her hands in his, cutting off her path of escape.
“Please, just listen to me for a minute.”
She
glanced away, “Did you come back here to find me?”
“No,”
he chuckled, “I never left. I was kind of held hostage by a
sweet old lady.” He motioned with his head, “I noticed
your car on my way through the lot. It was luck really; I was headed
to your apartment, anyways.”
“Why, so you could
yell at me some more?”
He noticed the redness of her
eyes and the tear tracks on her cheeks. “No, that little old
grandmother I was telling you about, she kind of sent me on a
mission. Our yelling by the way, got me in a heap of trouble…that’s
why I was in Liza’s room.”
“Liza?” she
stared in confusion.
“Yeah, Liza…the little old
grandmother. She’s a force to be reckoned with by the way, and
very protective of you.”
“Harm, it’s been a
long day, and I’m tired…and none of this is making any
sense.”
“OK, just give me a minute and I’ll
try to keep this brief. Liza, her real name is Elizaveta Zaslavsky,
did I mention she speaks Russian?” Mac bowed her head to escape
his gaze. “See the thing is, she wouldn’t tell me what
you said, or what this said,” he held up the tattered paper,
“…until I did some confessing of my own. She told me
that you had been hurt enough, and if I couldn’t convince her
that I cared about you, then I didn’t deserve to know what you
said.”
He placed a finger beneath her chin and pulled
her face to his gaze. “I’m sorry, Mac. I’m sorry I
didn’t listen…that didn’t understand…that I
didn’t remember…but most of all, I’m sorry that I
didn’t tell you.”
She wiped away a tear as it
escaped her lash, “Tell me what?”
Taking a deep
breath, he closed his eyes and pictured a cool rushing stream, and
jumped, “Lyublyu vesnah a mat…um, I kinda forgot the
rest.”
Her laughter filled the air. It sounded like
music to his battered soul, until he remembered what he was trying to
confess. “Uh Mac, that wasn’t exactly the response I
going for.”
She wheezed for breath, “Harm, what
does your loving the spring have to do with your mother?”
He
shook his head and joined in her mirth. “That wasn’t
exactly what I was trying to say. I knew I would screw it up; I’m
just glad I didn’t call your uncle a pig.” His smile
dimmed a bit with nerves, “Maybe you should just read it. Liza
wrote it down, but she said I had to try and say it first.”
She
accepted the worn paper and turned it around to read the back. Tears
began to fall in earnest down her cheeks. Worried, he reached up to
wipe them away, “Sarah, what does it say? Liza didn’t
tell me exactly, but it shouldn’t have made you cry.”
“What
did you want it to say?”
“Well, she asked me if I
loved you, and I told her…with all that I am and more than I
could ever show. What did she write?”
She nodded her
head as a bright smile appeared on her lips, “More or less what
you said.” She caressed his cheek with her hand, “Me
too…Lyublyu tebya vsem setsem, vsey dush oyu.”
“Are
you going to tell me what it really means?”
“Someday.”
He leaned into her touch and kissed her palm.
Looking into her
eyes with absolute seriousness, he asked, “Mac, can I ask you a
question?”
She brushed her thumb against his lip, “Of
course.”
“Are you a betting man…well, woman
that is?”
She sat back, “What? Harm, did you hit
your head?” She ran a fingertip over the healing cut on his
forehead, “Maybe we should get you checked out, you were
knocked unconscious in the plane crash, after all.”
He
pushed her hand away from his head, “I’m fine, Mac. I was
just wondering, do you play poker?”
She caught the glint
in his eye; he was up to something. “Listen flyboy, if this has
something to do with playing strip poker tonight!”
“Maybe
later, Mac…I’ll have to keep that in mind, though.”
He shook his head, “No, I was thinking more of the bet…you
know, raising the stakes?” He pulled his keys from his front
pocket and danged them in her face.
She stared on with
bewildered amusement, “Are you saying you want to make a bet,
your corvette against mine?”
“Hell NO! I’d
never take a chance with my vintage corvette, although,” he
paused a moment in thought, “…it’s kind of like
keeping it in the family, I guess.”
She scrubbed a hand
over her face, trying to clear the exhaustion, “Harm, you’re
not making any sense here, and I’m too tired to try and figure
it out.”
“OK, let me see if I can make it a little
clearer.” He shifted through the key ring, until he found what
he wanted.
“I see your ‘NEVER’ and raise
you a ‘FOREVER’.” He held the key ring up to her
gaze with a diamond solitaire pinched between his fingers. “What
do you say? I love you, Sarah. How about we make it forever?”
She
vigorously nodded her head, momentarily speechless.
“How…where…why…when?”
He
smiled, “The how is the usual way, I picked it out.” He
worked the ring off the key chain, “The where is my secret,
unless it doesn’t fit.” He placed it on her finger and
slid it into place, “The why is because I love you and wouldn’t
have lasted a day if you had died.” He leaned over to place
kiss on the ring, “And the when, was somewhere between the
Admiral harassing me about what I would do to keep you…and
finding you strapped to the table of that torture shed.” His
voice cracked at the last admission and he laid his head onto her
lap.
“It’s OK, I’m home safe because of
you.” She stroked her fingers through his hair.
“No
it’s not, I rescued you from death, but almost lost you to my
jealous stupidity. When I saw you strapped to that table, I was so
scared. But I still had to get both of us out of there alive, then
Webb started pushing my buttons, and we were fighting….”
“Ssshh,
it’s OK…let’s just agree that neither one of us
were at our best down there, and let it go at that.” She tugged
on his hand, “Harm, it can’t be comfortable down there
kneeling on the ground. Why don’t you come up here?”
He
shook his head, “I don’t mind, Mac. I’ll take the
bottom and you can have the top. As long as we’re together, I
don’t care.”
“I don’t want the top,
either. How about side-by-side, equals?”
He stood up and
pulled her into his embrace, “Sounds good to me. It’s
always worked well before…Butch and Sundance?”
“Batman
and Robin?”
He placed a quick peck on her lips, “Mac,
we have to come up with a better comparison. I don’t want my
better-half to be a guy.”
“Bonnie and Clyde?”
He
grinned, “That’ll work.”
“Harm, can we
go home, now? I’m beat, my feet ache, and I want to get out of
this uniform and into something comfortable.”
He pulled
her firmly to his side and wrapped an arm around her waist, “I
can help with that, Mac. That is the getting out of the uniform, not
necessarily the getting into something more comfortable…unless
it’s my….”
“Don’t say it!”
He
snickered, the old banter was back and it felt good. “We just
need to swing by Clay’s room first.”
She stopped
in place, “Harm, you are not going to gloat! The man is still
in the hospital.”
He pulled her forward in their trek to
the front door, “I’m not going to gloat, Mac. Well, at
least not yet. I just need to tell him I’m not going to work
for the CIA.”
“Thank goodness! What do you plan to
do instead?”
“Funny, you should ask…I was
thinking about being a kept man. You know, a stay-at-home Dad.”
She
stopped again, “You got some kids you haven’t told me
about?”
He dragged her forward again, “Not that I
know of.” At her pitched eyebrow, he laughed, “Of course
not, but you know, little AJ’s birthday is just around the
corner. We have a deal to fulfill. In fact, we better get
cracking…his birthday’s only 7 months away.”
“Harm,
I don’t recall the deal stating that the baby had to be born by
AJ’s birthday.”
He waved a hand, “Details…it
doesn’t really matter whether you’re pregnant by his
birthday or we get pregnant on his birthday. The way I see it,
practice makes perfect. And you know how I love perfection, Mac. So,
I say the more practice the better.”
As they stepped
under the awning of the front entrance, he pulled her behind the
Privet hedge. “Harm, what are you….” His lips
prevented further discussion.
When they broke for air, he
gasped, “Sorry Mac, I just had to do that.” He nipped at
her bottom lip, “All that uniform protocol stuff was driving me
crazy…I couldn’t wait until we got home. Of course,”
he waggled his brow, “…I’m not the one who would
get thrown in the brig for public displays of affection.”
Her
expression sobered, “I’m sorry about that, Harm.”
He
pushed the hair away from her face, “Don’t worry about
it, Mac. We’ll figure it out together. Maybe, you can break the
Admiral down…you always were his favorite.”
“You’ve
got to be kidding me. You weren’t the one that….”
He
stopped her protestations with another kiss. “It doesn’t
really matter, Mac. One of us would have had to leave JAG when we got
married, anyway.” He paused to stare at her face, “Liza
said I shouldn’t call you Mac.”
“What?”
“The
Russian grandmother…she says Mac isn’t a very flattering
name for such a beautiful woman. She thinks I should call you Sarah.
I’m not sure. I got to know you as Mac. My best friend and
partner is Mac. I fell in love with both of you…Mac the
marine…and Sarah, the incredible and beautiful woman. What do
you think?”
She wrapped her arms around his chest and
tucked her head under his chin. “Harm, you’re wearing me
out. You are all over the map tonight. Proclamations of love, poker,
engagements, children, careers, names. I think you should call me
whatever you want. I kinda like Mac when we’re working or out
in public; it makes me feel like your partner…your equal. I
never much liked it when other m…well, others called me Sarah.
But when you say Sarah, it sounds like an endearment. I always
imagined you were telling me…” she grew quiet.
He
squeezed his arms around her, “Telling you what?”
She
shook her head, “You’ll think it’s crazy.”
His
hands stroked her back, “Tell me, please?”
“When
you called me Sarah, it almost sounded like you were telling me…you
loved me.”
He tipped her face up to his and spoke with
sincerity, “I was…always, I was.”
She
whispered back, “I love you with all my heart, and all my
soul.”
He smiled, “The Russian translation from
Liza?” She nodded, love shining clearly in her eyes. “Perfect.
I love you too, Sarah.”
The End
AN:
The Russian dialogue I used in this story was the English phonetic
equivalent of the Russian words. Since the words were used in
conversation, I thought it was better that they be at least
recognizable in English form. No offense was intended to the Russian
dialect or its alphabet.
…Now, back to work on my
‘Recipes for Life’s Special Moments’ series. Thanks
for reading.