Just Friends

By Jagfan724

AN: My solution to solving the Baby Deal. Mac's illness never existed.


Somehow, I never thought it would end like this. We both knew that it was over long before it even began. We just refused to acknowledge that tiny little detail. I feel really bad about hurting him, but he had to know that we just weren't meant to be.

Somewhere in the midst of all the drama between us, we both became caught up in everything. We forgot that there were others in our lives we were hurting by being together.

We tried, we really did, but it was just not meant to be. I don't love him. I didn't love him. Well, I did and I do, but just not in the way a woman should love a man she plans on spending the rest of her life with.

I don't know when the realization came to us. He was too devoted to his work to ever let anything else, anyone else, come first. I could never, I would never take 1st place in his life.

They say actions speak louder than words. All the signs were there, the words being spoken contradicted those actions. After all this time, one would have thought that we both would have known that it could never work between us.

Some thought it would. We've been friends for so many years. But that was the problem, you see. We're just friends.

Clayton Webb and I could never be anything more than just friends.

We realize that now. Sadly, it almost became too late. You see, we're both destined to be with others. My destiny lies with Harmon Rabb, Jr. and Clay's lies with a woman he met so many years ago.

She hurt him, badly. He was wounded, vulnerable, bitter, betrayed, hurt. He was not focused on our mission in Paraguay and I was there. I was hurt too. We turned to each other, tired of the rejection we were receiving from those we were destined to be with.


I've used that phrase to describe the relationship between Harm and I for years. Those two words, just friends, only barely began to touch the surface of what could be called our relationship.

We have become so much more than just friends. We depend on each other for everything. And not just in our jobs or with our lives. You see, I depend on him to keep me whole. Funny how easily I can say it now when I've been denying it for so long.

I don't know why neither of us ever said anything more. Well, I guess we did, but the timing was never right.

Missed chances and lost opportunities. An awful lot of tension built up because we claimed to be just friends.

Now it's all pretty much dissolved. It's all been about timing. I had no idea that an agreement I made five years ago would have caused my life to end up in this direction. I have very few regrets. A lot of mistakes were made, too many misunderstandings happened, but yet, we still came together.

A little deal. A little promise. One little agreement. It created such a miracle. Harm and I created this little miracle.

Actually, it was more than just a little miracle. It didn't take us that long to succeed in our goal. Well, not long after we fulfilled one condition that Harm added to the deal.

He wanted us to be married. This was a condition I was more than willing to agree with. We only waited a couple months to adjust to being married to each other (and yes, a lot of adjusting was involved) before trying to fulfill our deal. Not that we hadn't been preparing for it for quite a few months.

It was a good thing Mattie had decided that staying with Harm would be better than returning to live with Tom. Harm and I needed the help.

One baby would have been enough. We had waited so long to get together that having just one child would have been perfect for our lives.

Twins would have been even better. A little boy and a little girl would have fulfilled both of our hopes for the deal. A little girl with his looks and my brains. A little boy with my looks and his brains.

But triplets? I didn't know how that had happened. There was no history of triplets in either sides of our families. Two darling little boys and one adorable baby girl. All three had the dark hair and the dark complexions. One of the boys and the girl had Harm's eyes. The second boy had my eyes, which was good so we could tell the difference between the two boys. The two boys were absolutely identical, except for their eyes.

David, James, and Catherine were all their we as parents could have ever hoped for. They were only eight months old but already spoiled rotten by their parents, Harm's mom and Frank, Mattie, and their JAG family. AJ Chegwidden had become like a grandfather to the triplets, spoiling them more than anyone thought a NAVY SEAL could. His gruff exterior seemed to vanish when in the presence of the three little "angels". Bud and Harriet were busy with their four kids but still found the time to spend with their godchildren. Mattie was more than happy to be a big sister.

I remember that Harm and I had nearly fainted in the delivery room when I was giving birth. It seems as though during all the times an ultrasound was taken, one of the babies was hidden from view. So when the two little boys had popped out and I still felt the need to push, everyone was confused. Dr. Kendall had looked down to figure out why I was still experiencing contractions and announced to everyone that there was a third child waiting to emerge into the world.

A chair was immediately found for Harm before he passed out. I've never seen him look that overwhelmed before. Not even at our wedding. It had taken nearly two more hours before the little girl had popped out. It had taken nearly two hours after that for Harm and I to fully realize that we had three new babies to take care of.

Now it was eight months later and the we didn't ever think that the shock would wear off. Even with Mattie's help, it still wasn't enough. I decided that being a mother was more important than being a Marine and so I retired. The office had been sad to see me go, but it was more important to our family that I stay at home.

Clay had come by to visit one day, to apologize for the whole Paraguay incident. The next thing he knew, he was roped into helping Mattie baby-sit the triplets for a couple hours while Harm and I spent a couple hours out to get away from it all. We didn't plan that at all.

Clay thought that going to see Mac with her new family would have made him wishful for what he was missing out on, but it was good to see that admitting that they were just friends was the right decision to make. Mac was meant to be a mom, the mother of Harm's children.

As I sat on the bed, nursing my little girl, I couldn't seem to wipe the smile from my face. Harm and Mattie were on a blanket on the floor, playing with the boys.

Pretty good for just friends, huh?


One-shot fic. (So this is the end) I may add some more stories coming off this one, but don't know yet. Hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know what you think, if you liked it or if you hated it. Thanks so much!