By Nicky Cubits

"Rose Red?" Harm chuckled lightly before the pain stopped him cold and he leaned his head back against the wall with a groan.

"Yes Chameleon, it's me," Mac answered into the radio, casting a worried glance at Harm.

"How are you, Rose Red?" said the female voice.

"No time to chat, Chameleon. We have a mayday here. We're trapped and my partner's hurt."

"Flyboy? Is he all right?"

Harm opened his eyes, this conversation making him very curious. "Huh? Who is she?"

"Shh," Mac admonished him gently. "He's hurt bad Chameleon. Shot three times."

"Oh my God! Protecting you, I bet? You must be worried sick."

"Mac?" Harm whispered. Just how much had Mac told this woman about him?

Continuing to ignore his queries Mac spoke into the radio again. "Stay calm, Chameleon. I need you to make a call to Quantico..."

"No!" Harm rasped out forcefully, grabbing Mac's hand. They both felt the familiar swell of electricity that happened everytime they touched. As she turned to him he explained. "They knew we were coming out here when we left. Someone set us up."

"Hold on Chameleon," Mac said into the radio before turning to her injured partner. He looked like hell. "That's possible. But we could have just stumbled into something."

"Who knows?" Harm pointed out. "But we can't risk calling anybody there. Unless you know somebody you can trust? Farrow?"

"He was transferred out a while ago," Mac informed him.

"Damn." Harm never thought that he'd *want* to see one of Mac's ex-lovers but he knew that Farrow would have helped them. Then he had another thought.

"Keely."

"Who?"

"Corporal Keely Woods," (remember him from "Front & Center"?) Harm replied, forgetting that his young friend was on leave right now.

"Is he the young marine you play basketball with?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, even beat him a few times," Harm crowed with his famous grin.

Mac smiled back. Even shot full of holes Harm was still his same lovable self. She watched as he leaned his head back against the wall again. Regretfully, she turned her attention back to the radio, her voice catching when she spoke. "We need you to call the Marine base Quantico, in Virginia. Ask for a Corporal Keely Woods. Don't tell anybody anything. When you get him on the phone, let me know."

"Corporal Keely Woods. Got it. Rose Red? Don't worry. He's going to be fine," she tried to assure her radio friend. She knew alot about how Mac felt about Harm, even if her beloved sailor didn't. "Hold on."

Not knowing that Woods was on leave, Mac finally felt confident that they would get out of there soon and she could finally get Harm to a desperately needed hospital. Casting a concerned look over him, she could see the sweat glistening across his bare shoulders and chest even in the dim light of the flashlight. My was he hurting.

Tenderly, she pressed her palm against his warm cheek and kissed his forehead, tears brimming at her eyes. "It'll all be over soon. Hang in there Flyboy."

"I'm all right," he lied, his husky voice stirring feelings deep inside her. He wanted to protect her, get her out of there, make her safe, hold her, kiss her... He took his chance to do the ones he could. He may not have another.

Reaching up a shaky hand, he pulled Mac gently to him. She offered no resistance. "I've wanted to do this since that night on the Admiral's porch," he whispered softly just before he touched his lips to hers.

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