"Renee?" came a sleepy question and then suddenly the weight moved quickly from him. "Renee? Is that who you thought I was?" the voice was hurt, wounded.

Harm blinked his eyes several times and shook his head, trying to bring into focus what was happening, complicated by a sharp pounding in his head, horrible bladder pressure and a sudden urge to be sick. "No Mac...I...Renee isn't...she doesn't...oh god excuse me." He ran for the bathroom, deciding to tend to the bladder urge first, which was a mistake as he began to heave, not successfully into the toilet. The room swam before him and he fell sideways, cracking the side of his head on the porcelain commode. His hand went to his head and came back bloody, and then darkness fell.

"Harm?" Mac said racing to the source of the noise. When she saw him she bit out, "stupid sailor" and quickly she rushed to apply pressure to the wound. Once she had managed to revive him somewhat she raced to get dressed and helped him do so as well and then she took him to the emergency room. She remained civil but quiet and she was determined that there would be no groveling on his part for he had made himself perfectly clear.

"Colonel you can come in now" the doctor motioned to her. "He's fine, no concussion, twelve stitches, gave him something for the headache and nausea and you can take him back to your hotel. If you're Sarah, he keeps asking for you anyway." Harm was sitting up on the exam table, holding a basin just in case. "Sarah...Mac I'm not sure what's going on here. Did I fall or what? And you were there?"

"Yes I was there Harm, fortunately for you," Sarah answered softly, "you were sick and you fell and hit your head in the bathroom." She hugged him gently then. "I'm glad you're okay."

"OK" he nodded, holding his head against the dizziness that caused. "I sort of remember that." "But why were you in my bathroom at this hour of the morning?" he frowned again.

"You were in my room Harm," Sarah said softly, "we'd been talking and you fell asleep in your mildly intoxicated state, stickboy."

"Yeah OK" Harm nodded, "I can believe that. Thank you for taking care of me. Can we get out of here now? I'll buy you some breakfast."

Sarah smiled but it didn't reach her eyes, "No, I'll get us breakfast in bed and you can rest..." she replied leading him out and signing his discharge.

"Mac I'm sorry to be so much trouble really" Harm protested as she guided him to the car, "but I am glad to be going back to rest I think. I just wish I could remember more about last night. I keep thinking I'm missing something that happened-like a chunk out of the night. I didn't do anything that I'm going to regret, or hear about from the Admiral did I?"

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know Harm...I don't know what you regret. I don't regret last night."

"I don't regret anything I can remember" Harm frowned. "Why don't you tell me what I did and then I'll tell you if I think I'm going to regret it."

"Well you kept me from drinking," Sarah began, "you walked me up to my room. I invited you in. We made a few jokes and then I pounced on you, we had a little wrestling match and then you leaned down and kissed me...we made love and then you accused me of being Renee." Sarah finished with lightening speed.

A sharp pain went through Harm's head at that news and he grabbed her arms. "We...you and I...we slept together-made love-had sex?" he gasped, trying to get a handle on what had happened. He ran a hand through his hair, "I do something I've wanted to do for the past three years and I can't remember it?" He searched her face, now a mask. "And then I accused you of being Renee? God Sarah how could I be such a jerk?"

"If I remember correctly you needed to pee and you have a hangover which means you were obviously fairly intoxicated in the first place. It's okay Harm, I don't regret making love to you one bit. Three years hmm...amazing." Sarah said calmly, "we'll just chalk it up to an experience, one that we both wanted very badly and enjoyed."

He was silent until they were about to pull into the hotel parking garage and then reached for her hand. "The night is fuzzy, but I don't think it will be once my head stops pounding. But I do know this, I don't regret it even if I can't recall it right now. I was serious about wanting you for that whole time. What I do regret is that I don't know where we should go from here. I mean I'm no more able to say what I think...what should happen." He took a deep breath and opened the car door before she had completely stopped. "I need some time alone I think to sort this all through" and he bolted away from the car before she could stop him.

"Damn you Rabb," Sarah cursed softly. He had run away again. She took the ring out of her jewelry case in her hotel room and slipped it back on. She didn't want it there but it would perhaps keep the pain at bay and resettle things between Harm and herself. Right now at this very moment he needed her to still be his support and after all he was here with Renee. Sarah sighed, she'd do what she had to, for now.

When he came back there the lobby was empty and his head was still pounding. Worse he was no clearer on what he wanted, nor had his memory yet returned. With a long sigh he opened the door to his room, finding Renee stretched out on the bed. She ran to him and he hugged her, then excused himself to get a shower. When he emerged he pleaded exhaustion to Renee and curled up in bed, wrapping his arms around an extra pillow. Just before sleep claimed him, there was a brief vision of a dark haired beautiful woman, making love to him with a passion and a sensuality he had never experienced.

That evening the big 747 returned them to D.C. As they were gathering their luggage, Harm's gaze fell to the ring on Mac's hand, still the right one he noted with relief. At the same time Mac could see Renee firmly wrap her arm around Harm's.

For a brief period in the grand scheme of things, time had stopped for Sarah Mackenzie and Harmon Rabb and all was right with the world. Time then restarted and what was normal for them restored.

However, Fate would soon intervene.

THE END