HONOR & BETRAYAL 45 / 58
*
-Honor and Betrayal PT 45
Author: Gabrielle T.
Stuart
*************************
INT
HARM'S HOSPITAL ROOM
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
12:32 HOURS
Commander Jordan Parker enters Harm's hospital room to find Helen
Malory (Lieutenant Malory's wife) standing silently at the foot of Harm's bed
observing him carefully as he sleeps.
JORDAN
(as she approaches Helen)
Mrs. Malory!
HELEN
(startled, as she gazes toward the voice and
recognizes Jordan)
Doctor Parker!
The two women walk toward one another and exchange a warm hug of
mutual affection
HELEN
(sincerely)
It's so good to see you again.
JORDAN
You too!
HELEN
When did you get back from Spain?
JORDAN
Just a few days ago. I'm temporarily assigned to duty
as staff psychologist at the Navy Yard.
HELEN
Let me guess, Colonel Lehmann sent you here to see how I was
holding up.
JORDAN
Well, ......yes, he did. So officially I am here to
counsel you if you need me in that capacity. But I'd be here
for you regardless......I hope you know that.
HELEN
You're a good friend, Jordan. And I appreciate it!
Thanks!
JORDON
(surprised)
Well, thank you! It's a good feeling to know that
a former patient of mine can come to think of me in that
way.
HELEN
(smiling gently)
Why should that surprise you, Jordan? You were my
therapist for over two years. If it hadn't of been for your help, I
seriously doubt I would have ever survived all those months of chemo and
radiation.
JORDAN
Oh, I don't know, Helen! There's a strength in you that I've
never seen before. So don't sell yourself
short. (she pauses for a long moment staring into Helen's blue
eyes noting the deep sorrow in their reflection)
How are you holding through all this, Helen?
HELEN
(turning away from Jordan and gazing to Harm as he
sleeps in his hospital bed)
I don't know. I don't think I'm feeling very much at
all. I guess I'm sorta numb, you know?
JORDAN
(noting the confused yet somber gaze in Helen's expression as she
observes Harm) How you're feeling is pretty normal, Helen. You're in
shock over what's happened. (she pauses for a long moment as she
observes Helen studying the face of the man lying in the bed)
Helen, is there any special reason why you're here in this
room?
Helen is silent for a long moment as tears begin to slowly well up
in her eyes.
HELEN
(Her words slipping sorrowfully from her
lips)
I was looking for someone to lay the blame on for all of my pain
and suffering. Someone I could truly hate for taking away my husband
and the father of my child.
HELEN
And did you find that person in this room, Helen?
HELEN
I seriously thought that I would. I mean whom better to
serve that purpose than the man who was prosecuting my husband on second degree
murder charges and whose argument against his release on bail put my husband at
risk.
JORDAN
(her eyes widening with realization)
Helen, I don't mean to sound insensitive toward you, but the
Commander was just doing his job. He can't be blamed for the actions of
others. It's just not fair.
HELEN
What's not fair, Jordan is that my husband is lying comatose
in the ICU from a beating he sustained while confined to a military brig and
somehow I feel that it could have all been avoided if someone had taken the time
to afford him the protection that he repeatedly requested.
JORDAN
Helen, I have to confess that I don't know all the details involved
in your husbands assault. But what I do know for certain is
that Harm, ..........Commander Rabb, was as much of a victim in all
this as your husband was. His body may not display the
severity of wounds that your husband does, but I can assure you that
the psychological trauma of what he experienced will be a long time in
healing.
Helen is silent for a long moment as she considers Jordan's
words.
HELEN
You called the Commander by his first name just now. Do you
know him personally in some way?
JORDAN
( reluctantly, her eyes wandering over to Harm)
We were seeing each other for awhile last
year.
HELEN
(surprised, yet concerned as she notes the sadness
in Jordan's )
Really!.....What happened?
JORDAN
(somewhat reluctantly, the pain of their break up
still evident in her demeanor and speech)
He wanted to pursue his dream.......and that dream
didn't include me......or at least I felt it didn't. So I broke it off.
HELEN
Were you in love with him?
JORDAN
(hesitating at first, as she successfully holds
back the tears that were welling up in her eyes)
Yes.......I was........and I probably still am! But
I've moved on and I believe he has too.
HELEN
Well, that is what's important, now, isn't it.......although
I've often found that it isn't very
easy.
JORDAN
With all the trials and tribulations you've been through,
Helen, I'm sure no one knows that better than you.
HELEN
I've had my fair share, alright. And you know,
for a while there I had actually come to believe that my bout with
breast cancer was God's ultimate test of my endurance and
faith in Him..... that somehow, the rest of my life would be easy and there
wouldn't be any more hurdles for me to scale. Wishful
thinking, hun?
Jordan only answers Helen with a slight smile.
HELEN
(walking away from the bed toward
Jordan)
Well, ........I guess I better get back down to the
ICU. It was good seeing you.
JORDAN
You, too! I'm always available for you if you need to
talk. Please remember that.
HELEN
Thanks......I will.
With that, they give one another a warm hug and then Helen gently
brushes past Jordan and walks toward the door.
JORDAN
(glancing after her)
Helen!
HELEN
(pausing as she gazes back to
Jordan)
Yah?
JORDAN
You came into this room looking for someone to blame.... someone
you could direct all of your bitterness and anger toward. Did you
find that person?
HELEN
Before Brian fell into a coma, he told me he loved
me. In his eyes I saw no fear, nor did I see any
animosity or hatred. Just peace........like he was accepting the
inevitable, you know?! I need to find that same
peace. I can't do that if my heart isn't right.
JORDAN
Then what you found was forgiveness.
HELEN
(gently, with tears slipping down her
cheeks)
Isn't that where all healing begins?
With that, Helen smiles gently then turns away and walks out
the room leaving Jordon with a tremendous sense of warmth running through her
being. Her eyes drifting over to Harm, she notices his
eyes wearily opening to the bright sunlight that's suddenly flooding through the
hospital room window and into his eyes. Jordan immediately walks to
the window and closes the blinds.
HARM
(gratefully, as he attempts to rub away his blurred vision)
Thanks.
JORDAN
(smiling gently as she turns away from the window
and approaches the bed)
Your welcome!
HARM
(recognizing her voice he gazes to Jordan as she
reaches his bedside, his vision now clear)
Jordon!?
JORDAN
Yep....it's me!
HARM
Hey.....hi!
JORDAN
(echoing with amusement)
Hey, hi yourself! How are you feeling?
HARM
Ok!..........other than a splitting headache.
JORDAN
Well, it's a good thing you have a hard head, Harm, I mean didn't
you take that blow to the head in almost the same spot as that
bullet?
Harm feels the bandage on the right side of his forehead, then
meets Jordan's amused eyes as she stares back at him.
HARM
Well.......yah!.....Now that you mention it! It does seem to
be in the same spot.
JORDAN
Then you do have a hard head.......and definitely in more ways than
one.
HARM
(laughing lightly)
Give me a break, Jordan! I'm a sick man,
remember?!
JORDAN
Hah! You know what I think? I
think you have a thing for hospitals. I mean you've been spending so much
time here lately that maybe you should consider a change in
designator.........Commander Harmon Rabb Junior........Medical
Corps.
HARM
No thanks, Jordan! I'm definitely not here by
choice, and the sooner I get out of here the better.
(his brow narrowing with confusion) Wasn't there someone else in here a
moment ago?
JORDAN
What do you mean?
HARM
When I started waking up, I thought I heard a couple of voices.
......Mac wasn't in here, was she?
Jordan
sucks in a deep breath at Harm's mention of Mac's
name..........disappointment immediately noticeable in her
demeanor.
JORDAN
No, she wasn't. It was the nurse giving me
an update on your condition.
HARM
(disappointedly)
Oh. (noting the change in
Jordan's demeanor) Hey.......are you alright?
Before Jordan is able to respond, a nurse enters the room
with a tray of food. She's of average height, slender build
and is an African American in her early twenties. She is wearing a bright
smile on her face as her eyes meet Harm's.
NURSE
(loudly, and zestfully)
Gooood afternoon, Commander! I'm so glad to
see that you're awake......finally! Now, I'm surely hoping
that you're feeling up to taking in some real nourishment other than
that junk the IV's been pumping into your veins?
Well......what'd yah say? Are you hungry?
Harm's eyes meet the optimistic gleam in the nurses dark eyes, her
contagious smile causing Harm to smile wearily back at her in spite of his
overall discomfort.
HARM
(laughing slightly as he surrenders to her
wishes)
Well, when you put it like that, (noting her name tag
on her white jacket) Nurse Tully, .......your wish has got to be my
command.
NURSE
(laughing robustly)
OOOH, I love it when a good look'n senior officer
talks to me like that! Oh....yah......I surely do!
She places the tray of food on the bed table and moves quickly
toward the head of the bed. Pressing the controls, Harm quickly
finds his bed rising up and finally coming to a stop in a fully upright
position. Tully then slides the bed table over Harm's lap and removes the
cover from the plate of food.
TULLY
You've got yourself some vegetarian vegetable soup, a nice chicken
salad sandwich and strawberry fruit jello for desert. Now.......you can't
beat that, can you Sir!
HARM
(somewhat overwhelmed by the nurse's sense of humor)
Ahh....no Ensign........I guess you really
can't!......Thank you!
TULLY
Now they gave you milk for your
beverage.......being a grown man and all, you may want some coffee or tea or
something else like that. If you do, now's the time to say
so.
HARM
Coffee........please........if it's not too much
trouble!
TULLY
No trouble at all, Sir! Be right back.
Ensign Tully quickly walks out of the room giving Harm a moment to
scan over the food on his tray with a disgusted expression on his
face. As he gazes up to Jordan, their eyes meet and they laugh
together.
JORDAN
(Light heartedly)
Well, she's definitely enthusiastic about her
job..... You've got to give her that much!
HARM
She has to be to get anyone to eat this ......
JORDAN
(interrupting, as she hears footsteps just outside the
door)
Shhhh!
Tully quickly returns carrying a cup and saucer and a pot of
coffee.
TULLY
(placing the cup and saucer on the
tray)
Here you go, Sir!.......(as she pours the
coffee) And if you need anything else, all you need to do to
get my attention is hit the nurses button on your remote.
(straightening her posture after filling the coffee cup and then indicating the
controls wrapped around the frame of the bed) It's right there beside
you.
HARM
(smiling with gratitude)
Yes, I know!.......Thank you Ensign.
TULLY
No problem at all! (she turns to walk out
of the room, only to turn back and return to the foot of Harm's bed) Oh,
Ensign Salyer told me to let you know that he'd be looking in on you sometime
this afternoon. He came by earlier, but you were asleep. You
do remember............
HARM
Yes of course. He was my physical
therapist.
TULLY
Well, I'm one up on you, Sir!
HARM
(his brow narrowing in confusion)
Excuse me?
TULLY
He's my fiancée! (she laughs robustly once
again) I'm sorry Sir! I guess I'm just a bit gidish this
afternoon. I'm usually not like this at all.......it's just that I'm
getting married on Saturday and I'm all excited and nervous all at the same
time.
JORDAN
Well, that's perfectly understandable then.
TULLY
Well, I'll stop talking and let you
eat!
With that, Tully begins to walk toward the door. As she
reaches the door, Agent Holland and Lieutenant Roberts enter the
room.
TULLY
(glancing back to Harm and Jordan)
Looks like you've got some more visitors, Commander.........of the
official kind that is! (addressing Holland) You just be sure to give
the man a chance to eat his lunch and kindly make your visit
short.......please! He needs his rest.
Holland smiles at Tully as she quickly brushes past her and out the
door. She then turns and walks into the room to Harm's bedside
followed closely by Lieutenant Roberts. As Roberts approaches the foot of
Harm's bed, an expression of concern passes over the Lieutenant's face as
he observes Harm's bandaged forehead and his bruised face.
HOLLAND
Well, tell me, Commander!......Is it
the nurses, the food, or a combination thereof?
HARM
Excuse me?
HOLLAND
Well, it just seems as though you're making a habit out of
finding new and inventive ways of landing yourself in the
hospital!
Harm only answers with light
laughter.
ROBERTS
(with concern)
Are you ok, Sir?
HARM
Yah, Bud!........I'm, fine!
HOLLAND
Well, the Lieutenant has good reason to be concerned,
Commander........because quite frankly, you look like hell!
HARM
Well, thanks for your honesty, ma'am.
Now, is this a social call, or are you here on an official basis.
HOLLAND
Well, let's just say a little of both,
Commander.
JORDAN
(turning to Harm)
Well, in that case, I better be going.
(She smiles at Harm as she gently squeezes his right
hand) Take care!
Jordan releases his hand and starts toward the door.
HARM
(gazing after her)
Hey!.......Will I see you later?
Jordan gazes back at Harm and nods affirmatively.
JORDAN
I'll be around!
With that, she walks out of the room.
HOLLAND
Well, where do you want to start?
HARM
(refocusing his attention on
Holland)
With Master Chief Durant. Have you taken him into custody
yet?
HOLLAND
How about we start at the beginning,
Commander. Being the only witness, I need you to tell me exactly what went
down in that locker room last night.
************ to be continued ******