Title: The First Step Towards the Rest of Your Life
Author: red rooster dawn
Pairing: Harm and Mac
Disclaimers: The characters of JAG are the property of Donald Bellisario and Bellisarius Production, Inc. Used without permission. No copyright infringement intended. May be reproduce if unchanged, author given full credit, and no financial transaction is involved.
Summary: It has been a long time since they have been together so Harm and Mac get together in a big way.
Feedback is welcome
part one
Saturday
6 January
Mac's apartment
The holidays had come and gone. It was a holiday season that that was both good and bad for Mac. The good part was spending time with Chloe. She had decided to accept the Anderson's generous off to spend the holidays with them.
It was both a thank you for bringing Chloe into their lives and a way to make Christmas even better for their new grandchild. They wanted to meet the wonderful woman who Chloe talked about glowingly and who made it possible for them to have more joy in their life than they thought was possible at this stage in their lives.
They had thought that they wouldn't live to see the day that they would have grandchildren. Their son was serving aboard a navy ship. He wasn't married and wasn't going to be anytime soon.
The bad part of the holidays was another one without Harm. She had gotten use to spending time with him over the three years they worked together. They would do many things including visiting friends,
but visiting friends without Harm was not something she liked to do. It was like a part of her was dead and she couldn't be happy. So it was better to stay home alone than to visit friends. She didn't need another reminder that she didn't have someone special in her life.
She heard the phone ring. She hoped it was Harm. She hadn't heard from him in over a month. She hoped he was alright.
"Hello." said Mac.
"Hi marine, how are you doing. I hoped that your holidays were good." greeted Harm on the other end.
"They weren't too bad. I went to Vermont to visit Chloe. She's doing very well there. She asked me about you. She wondered where you were and why you didn't come to visit." smiled Mac. "She loved the presents you sent her."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there Mac. I just thought it would be better that the pilots that had families be to be home to spend Christmas with them. They miss enough time being away from them as it is." sighed Harm.
"When am I going to see you again? I miss having you around for the holidays. They don't seem right when you're not here." wailed Mac.
"This is my last tour Mac. Next year I should be back in the states. I don't know where I will be, but it will make it easier to get together." replied Harm.
He didn't want to tell her that he would be back at Jag Headquarters in a few months. He wanted to wait until he saw her again and then tell her the good news. He wanted to surprise her on a very special night.
"So when will I be seeing you again Harm?" asked Mac.
"It won't be long Mac. Have to get everyone back and let settled back into their routines. Shouldn't be more than a couple of months. I miss you too." replied Harm.
Saturday
13 January
Angelo's Restaurant
Harriet Roberts was having lunch with an old friend that she hadn't seen in a few years. They had gone to college together, join the Navy together, and even went to boot camp and Officer's training together. It wasn't a surprise then when they both became Public Affairs Officers.
But that was where their careers separated. Harriet had shipped off to the Seahawk and her friend had stayed in the Washington DC area. Now five years later they found each other again in Washington. Her friend's name was Lieutenant Victoria Campbell.
She was on the fast track to be promoted to Lieutenant Commander, but in order to get the promotion she had to pull off a public relations miracle. She needed something for the upcoming Valentine Holiday season that would generate good press. She wanted to include all the branches of the services.
She had a few good ideas, but wasn't sure which one would be the best one to push at this time. She needed to bounce her ideas off someone. She remembered Harriet was in Washington now. They had always worked well together in the past. She thought she would talk to Harriet about it.
"It's so nice to see you again Harriet. We're finally in the same place at the same time. It must be nice to be married and have a child." sighed Victoria.
"I've missed you Victoria. It's been much too long. You'll have to come to dinner and meet my family." replied Harriet.
"So what do you think of the ideas that I have? Which one do you like the best?" asked Victoria.
"I'm kind of partial to this one. I've watched old reruns many times on the Game Show Network. They were so spontaneous and funny." smiled Harriet. It was nice to have someone asking her for her opinion about something again.
"So you like the idea of having a Dating Game show for the Valentine show." said Victoria looking for confirmation.
"Yes, yes. It's the easiest way to involve all four services without causing an uproar." replied Harriet.
"Now all I have to do is get some volunteers. Where to start? I don't know." sighed Victoria.
"The easiest way might be to first find out who the eligible men and women are that are currently stationed in the Washington area. You should be able to find eight or nine good looking men and women. See who wants to participate." replied Harriet.
"That sounds like an excellent idea Harriet. Of course they should be high people. Commander Rabb would be an excellent candidate for one of the bachelors. He'll have all the women drooling." sighed Victoria.
Harm was her idea of the perfect man. She was the one who had suggested a few years ago to make him a part of the recruiting promo campaign. He became the Navy Poster Boy.
"It's too bad that he's not in Washington Victoria. He's stationed in the Med on an Aircraft Carrier." replied Harriet.
"That should be easy to take care of Harriet. I'm sure he wouldn't mine coming back to Washington for a visit." countered Victoria.
"I think I have the ideal marine candidate for you Victoria. She's very beautiful and is well known in Washington circles." replied Harriet.
"Who Harriet?" asked Victoria. She wasn't aware of any marines that were very important never mind being beautiful. In fact she thought that was where the less than pretty young ladies went to find husbands.
"Her name is Lieutenant Sarah MacKenzie." replied Harriet as she showed a picture of her.
"You're right Harriet, the Colonel is very beautiful. I hope she isn't too busy and is willing to help out." sighed Victoria. She would put the Colonel in every promo. She would be the one to drive the ratings through the roof.
"I've seen her at many of the high ranking social events in the past. She draws a lot of attention when ever she attends."
"If you need any help Victoria, let me know. While I love my little boy, I do enjoy adult conversation ... from time to time." smiled Harriet.
Harriet sat there daydreaming. The thought of the Commander and the Colonel on opposite sides of a partition. The Commander asking the questions. The Colonel giving the answers. And in the end the Commander choosing the Colonel.
It would be the first step towards the rest of their lives.