AN: Kind of follows after Kissin' for Tickets but not really a sequel, just another step in Harm & Mac's growing relationship. Oh, and Mattie doesn't exist. It would just be too complicated to fit her into this story.
TITLE: THE CASE OF A LIFETIME DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing. If I did, Mac would have morning sickness (not some serious possibly cancerous disease) right now with her and Harm's third child and they would have gotten married years ago. However, until DPB decides to end their "dance" I shall have to make do with my own ideas and fantasies about the two finally getting together.
CHAPTER 1
JAG HEADQUARTERS
Mac and Harm were sitting in her office going over a file when she suddenly dropped the papers in her hand and sat up in her chair. He gave her a questioning glance before turning around to see what had caught her attention. Webb was walking through the bullpen towards the Admiral's office with the strangest look on his face.
"Sarah? You okay?" asked Harm, turning back around in his chair.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered quickly. She leaned down and gathered up the papers that had fluttered to the ground. What was he doing there? It wasn't for another one of his investigations, was it?
"I wonder why he's here," Harm thought aloud.
"Huh? What?"
Harm had never seen her so jittery. He didn't know what exactly had taken place when Mac had dumped Webb.
Webb had come back from some trip out of the country, one of many lately, and Mac had had enough of being left alone. When he had arrived at her door, she had reluctantly let him in. Webb was disappointed when she didn't greet him with a kiss but instead informed him that they needed to talk. They had sat down, he on the couch expecting her to join him there and was once again disappointed when she took the sofa chair across the room. She needed to put some space between them.
Mac told him that she needed someone that would be there with her when she needed him, not someone that was constantly out of the country and away from her. His first thought was to blame Rabb. Deep down inside Webb knew that he would lose her if Rabb ever got his head out of his six. But his job was also to blame, he knew that and he had accepted it. Somehow he thought that things would be better with Sarah Mackenzie, but then she told him that whatever kind of relationship they had was over. She was one of a kind and he was determined not to let her go, so he dismissed her mood as just that. A mood and nothing else.
Webb had left, parting kindly with her, and Mac thought that everything would be okay. But then he had called her the next day wanting to have lunch. She had refused, telling him that she had too much work to do. Mac thought that it was just a polite invitation. But then Webb had stopped by her place after work. He had almost gone in except he had seen Harm's car parked out front. Boy, he didn't waste any time, Webb thought.
Webb began to wonder how long she and Harm had been seeing each other behind his back. It became an obsession with him to get her back. She of course, had stopped him at every opportunity. Finally when she threatened to call the police he backed off. He would have to find another way to get her back into his arms again. It had taken a while before an idea had come to him. Get rid of Rabb and she would have no one else to turn to.
Now he stood in Admiral Chegwidden's office, ready to being his plan. Of course, that night was all innocent. At least as innocent as one can get with Harm and Mac. They were slowly working on rebuilding their friendship. That night that Webb had stopped by had been the first one in months that Harm and Mac had gotten together to work on a case. Secretly, Mac had just wanted to be with him. Webb was causing too much stress in her life and when she was with Harm, she felt protected. They had worked on the case, enjoyed a nice dinner together of devouring one extra large pizza before Harm had left for the night. She hadn't seen Webb for several days and now that he was here, at JAG HQ, she was worried as to what he was up to. Coates jumped as the Admiral's voice came through the intercom.
"Coates, get me Rabb. Now!"
"Yes, sir," she said, getting up and hurrying to the Colonel's office.
"Mac, are you okay?" Harm asked again.
She didn't have a chance to answer as Jen knocked on the door. "Ma'am, sir, excuse me, but the Admiral would like to see the Commander in his office ASAP," Jen told them nervously.
"Thanks, Coates." He turned to Mac, setting the file he was reading through down on her desk.
"This could take a while. Do you still want to have dinner with me tonight so we can finish going over these?"
"Yeah, I'll pack it all up and bring them over about 1900." She silently groaned as she looked around at the piles in front of her.
"Thanks, Mac," he said, stepping out of her office, shutting the door and heading towards Chegwidden's office. He knocked on the door and waited.
"Enter!" Chegwidden barked, glaring at Webb in front of him. He was tired of his senior officers being used for CIA ops. This was a military law office after all.
"You wanted to see me, Admiral?" Harm said. Then he saw Webb standing in the corner, the hint of a smirk on his face.
"Take a seat, Commander. Webb has something he'd like to tell you," AJ said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his large desk. No way was he going to take the blame for pushing this case on Rabb.
Harm sat down, eyeing Webb suspiciously as he proceeded to tell him about the case. There was a terrorist who was trying to buy military equipment and weapons. He had been successful in acclaiming several important pieces of new technology but now the CIA was onto him and needed Rabb to go undercover. They wanted Rabb to pretend to be interested in selling some nuclear weapons so they could trap the terrorist cell. When Webb was finished explaining, Harm was already mentally trying to figure out how to say no. Webb's plans usually had more than one catch that he just failed to let them know about. Too many had had ulterior motives and came with plans and secrets that he would not be privy to.
"Sorry, Webb, not this time," Harm said.
"Commander, I'm afraid the SECNAV has already approved it. You don't have a choice," Chegwidden told the younger man, still glaring at Webb.
"Sir?"
"Here's your cover and needed information," Webb said, throwing a file down on the edge of the desk.
"Needed information?" repeated Harm. He shook his head as he flipped through the pages. It was a rather thin file, too thin.
"We can't let you in on everything," Webb said, smirking once again.
"Webb!" AJ rose from his chair to stand directly in front of Webb. Webb would never let on that he was terrified of the two-star Admiral who was also an ex-Navy seal and now he fought his urge to step back, out of punching range.
"I am tired of you using my officers for your pet projects. If something goes wrong with this one, I will be holding you personally responsible. After what happened down in Paraguay, I would have thought that you had learned your lesson," AJ yelled.
"SECNAV approved it, Admiral." Webb's grin was triumphant and Harm ached to wipe it off his face. Preferably with a nice, hard punch.
"OUT, WEBB!" Webb was gone in a second.
"Commander, I know you don't want to do this, but once again Webb has gone over my head," AJ sighed.
"Is there any way I can get out of this, sir?" Harm asked hopefully.
AJ shook his head. "I'll redistribute all your cases. Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off? Your leave for this starts tomorrow anyway."
"Thank you, sir." Harm stood up, snapped to attention and waited for the Admiral to dismiss him.
"Dismissed. Oh, and Commander?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Good luck."
"Thank you, sir." Harm went to his office, gathered up his stuff and headed home.
