Nothing
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the JAG characters. I don't own any product or label mentioned for the purposes of telling this story. Any similarities to situations or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.
A/N: This fluffy little story takes place in the fall of 2003 between the episodes 'The One That Got Away' and 'Touchdown.' Keep in mind that the period of time in my little universe, for the purposes of this story was longer than one week between the two episodes. This is just another way to think about those two smiles at the end of 'Touchdown.'
A/N: This is a little play on words for me to get my creative juices flowing again and an attempt to write something entirely from one characters point of view.I don't think I've ever done that before. I've put the January 07'Challenge words in this story but they are in another tense and blended into the narrative.
Mac: Harm?
(Harm reaches out and tentatively touches her arm)
Mac: What are you doing?
Harm: (shaken) Making sure its you.
It was nothing.
To Mac's mind, they had decided with their words, spoken and unspoken, that this thing between them was, what it was and….
It was nothing.
She was past the point of believing that what she felt when Harm walked into a room, the flutter in her stomach, the increase in her heart rate, was anything other than admiration and of course, normal attraction between two mature adults of the opposite sex. She had to admit that she missed that feeling but that was to be expected, they'd worked together for a long time, after all. And so, all things being equal…other than that…
It was nothing.
She would glance at what was his office from time to time, during her workday, forgetting for just a millisecond that he no longer occupied it. The pain in her heart was sharp but brief and of course…
It was nothing.
When she had been tasked to meet with Marine JAG's on the ground in Afghanistan, in order to monitor their progress in training the ANA with their own form of the UCMJ, she had known she would see him. She wasn't sure how she would see him; she only knew he was there. Shortly after her arrival at Forward Operating Base Bravo, a flurry of activity surrounded the Commandant's office, indicating some type of trouble with operations in the field, her instincts told her Harm was involved. She shook it off; trying to make her self believe that…
It was nothing.
When she began walking toward the Commandant's door, seemingly before the thought even occurred to her, it seemed perfectly natural to do so. And when she neared the door and heard muffled voices through the closed door, she could only discern one name. Rabb. It was a name familiar to her and so Mac thought…
It was nothing.
When, against her better judgment, Mac knocked on the Commandants door and fairly barged into the situation that was causing such urgency at FOB Bravo, she thought nothing of it. Harmon Rabb and his partner Jack Keeter were missing and without really knowing why, she knew where they were. It was simple to Mac, after a quick phone call to Admiral Chegwidden, he explained to the Commandant Mac's ability to find Rabb in the past. When the Commandant understood, she'd been allowed to go. She only told the Commandant that they were connected, she and Harm, and that they always had been….it wasn't anything special, really…
It was nothing.
They located them more quickly than anyone on the patrol believed and when she'd come upon them, Harm and Jack in their hiding place, she'd known Harm was wounded. She found him leaning against the wall of the cave, when she said his name he opened his eyes for the first time in two hours. Jack told Mac that he couldn't believe it, he hadn't been able to get him to respond to him for some time. Mac only told him that her voice was familiar to Harm, she'd said, more than likely, her voice was probably an irritant and chuckling to herself, told Jack….
It was nothing.
As Jack and the other Marines in their patrol helped get Harm into the all terrain vehicle, he heard Harm say the word Sundance. When he asked Mac what Harm meant by that, Mac would only say it was a private joke, from a long time ago, and so….
It was nothing.
As they were being driven back to base camp, Harm steadied himself by holding onto Mac, his right arm braced around her shoulders. When fatigue and pain caused him to lean heavily on her, he seemed to try to sit more upright, pulling himself back from her. She told him to relax that he wasn't going to hurt her and that if he kept struggling, he might reopen the wound on his left shoulder. Harm glanced at his wounded shoulder and then rolled his head heavily back toward Mac, their faces nearly touching. With eyes that spoke to her and told her how much it meant to him that she was there, his words said only that he would be okay, that…
It was nothing.
When he seemed to have difficultly focusing, his head lolled to the side and into her neck. She felt his body go lax, she quickly checked his carotid pulse, and though it was strong, she barked an order for the Staff Sergeant to get them to base camp quickly. She knew they were moving as fast as they could. When a well hidden fear of truly losing him forever gripped her, she reasoned that this was concern for a friend and former partner, it was perfectly reasonable and therefore…
It was nothing.
While Mac waited for the corpsmen to tend and stabilize Harm, the Commandant asked again what her real connection to this spook was. She told him they'd been friends and partners for a number of years at JAG, nothing more. Jack was standing a few feet behind the Commandant and at her words he would only shake his head. It seemed to Mac that he believed he knew more about her and Harm than she did. She decided he was mistaken; they'd never been more than friends. It was an assumption that was made by a lot of people who knew them. They were all wrong, she decided for what seemed to be the millionth time….
It was nothing.
After what seemed to be an interminable wait, the corpsman came to let her know that Harm was stabilized and that she could see him, but only for a moment. The corpsman explained Harm had been sedated and he wouldn't be awake very long. When she and Jack walked into the cubicle, she felt slightly disconcerted that she didn't seem to be able to see anything the room but him, his eyes more specifically. They spoke to her as they always did but there were no questions this time and no recriminations. He was only asking her to come closer to him. When she reached his bedside, he lifted his hand and tentatively touched her arm and then closed his fingers gently but firmly around her forearm. Harm's eyes never left hers as he began to gently pull her toward him. When she asked him what he was doing he said only that he was making sure it was her. From what seemed to be far away, she heard Jack asking them what was going on with them; they did not turn to look at him, but both softly answered that….
It was nothing.
Jack excused himself from the cubicle and Harm asked Mac to come closer still. When she leaned down, her face just inches from his, she asked him why. He told her, just before he tasted her lips… that it was time and this time…nothing and no one would separate them again. Mac felt her ancient fear of opening her heart to the man she loved most, leave her, and for the first time, she knew that she could let it go because, after all...
It was nothing.
FIN
A/N And so shippers, that beautiful smile on Harm's face as he walked toward the camera on that carrier deck and Mac's secret smile as she stood in the bullpen watching him could be about a remembered kiss and anticipation of a, soon to be, homecoming.
A/N: You may have noticed that I didn't mention Webb in this little story and there is a reason for that…in my mind…he was nothing.