Title : SCRABBLING FOR WORDS
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount – and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Summary : Harm invites Mac to play a game of Scrabble.
Spoilers : Set in Season 10, after Four Percent Solution. No particular story, just following an idea from a game I'm playing online with a friend.
Rating : Up to T, to be safe. Feel free to use your imagination!
A/N : I can't access my research facilities at this moment, and I don't recall in which episode that Mattie went back to her father, so for this story she's still with Harm.
Harm's Apartment, Sunday Evening
"There is no such word as zoa," insisted Harm, giving Mac a sideways glance as Mattie dived for the dictionary, muttering under her breath. As her head came up from the pages with a yell of glee and a mutinous glare at her guardian, Mattie pointed dramatically at the board.
"It's a triple word score too, so I win!"
"Mattie…" Harm began, but the teenager waved the dictionary in front of him, grinning cheekily.
"Nope. No argument. I won, fair and square. Cough up…" Mattie put out her hand expectantly, right under Harm's nose.
"What's that for?" Harm gave Mattie a questioning look as Mac and Jen grinned in amusement. This was a regular thing, the game of Scrabble on most Sunday evenings between Harm, Mattie and Jen. An hour of fun before the working week began again. But this night was a little different. Tonight Harm had invited Mac to join them.
It had been a little over two weeks since Mac's accident, and while she was recovering well, her face almost devoid of the bruising from the airbag, there was still a residual stiffness in her joints and blurring in her right eye, as that side of her face had taken the brunt of the airbag.
"The deal is whoever wins gets the prize they put in for. Mine was a drive in your Corvette, so come on…the keys, please?"
"Well…technically it was a ride in my car…with me driving," Harm began, but he was soon being battered by a trio of cushion-wielding females.
"That's such a cop-out, Rabb," Mac spoke above the laughter, and in amongst the pummeling Harm's hand reached out in submission.
"Okay, okay! Uncle!" Harm grabbed at Mattie and tickled her until she dropped the cushion and fell against him in a hug.
"So I get to drive?"
"Yes, but I'm in there with you, and we're not near any public highway…"
"Right now?" Mattie's enthusiasm eclipsed her common sense slightly.
"Hardly, kiddo. It's dark out. We can go down to Blacksburg next weekend, and you can have a drive on the airfield."
"Can Mac come too? And Jen?" Mattie asked, and Harm laughed, glancing across at Mac, who was surprised by the teenager's request.
"Well, if we all go, we'll need the Lexus," Harm pointed out, the relief showing on his face that his precious Corvette might get a reprieve! No such luck. Mac grinned, knowing exactly what was going on in Harm's mind.
"I'd love to join you, and I could follow in my car, with Jen. If that's okay with you?" Mac turned to the young Petty Officer and Jen nodded in agreement.
"I'd love to, thank you."
"Yes! Thank you, Mac!" Mattie flung her arms around Mac in her excitement, forgetting about her injuries. Mac winced and Harm called out reflexively.
"Easy, Mattie!" Mattie let go, remembering belatedly, and her face showed her distress.
"Oh, Mac…I'm so sorry."
Mac put an arm round Mattie's shoulders and pulled her into her side. "It's okay, Mattie. I'm just a little sore still."
"You're sure I didn't hurt you?" Mattie asked once more and Mac smiled at her.
"I'm sure."
"Well, okay then. I need to go sort out my things for school tomorrow. See you next week, Mac."
"Yeah, next week."
Jen got to her feet and made to follow Mattie.
"Night, ma'… Mac," she corrected herself and smiled at Mac, then turned to address Harm. "Night, Harm."
"G'night, ladies." With a wave, both young women disappeared, closing Harm's apartment door behind them.
In the sudden silence that remained Harm moved to clear the Scrabble board, but Mac put out her hand to still his movements.
"Any chance of a rematch? Aside from Mattie winning, your score was higher than mine. I'd like another chance."
"Ah…sure!" Harm grinned, pleased to know that Mac didn't want to leave him as soon as the other two had. "Do you want another tea before we start?"
"I'll make it, you sort the board out." Mac's offer was taken up with a quick nod and a smile, and while she busied herself in the kitchen area Harm returned the tiles to the bag, and straightened up the board.
"Okay…" Mac returned with two mugs of tea, and seated herself opposite Harm with a smile in his direction. "You ready?"
"Ladies first," Harm answered, and Mac grinned.
"Are you trying to butter me up for the case tomorrow, counselor?"
"Absolutely not," answered Harm, right hand pressed to his chest. "I'm just being the gentleman my mother taught me to be. Your move."
Mac began the game, and within the hour she was clapping her hands in glee as she placed her last tile.
"I won!"
"We're drawn, remember? I got the higher score first time." Harm felt obliged to point out, knowing full well that Mac had wiped the floor with him. Mac tilted her head and gave him a gentle smile.
"We can have a tie-breaker, but it's late now. I…I'd better be going, before the weather worsens."
"One more game, and I'll drive you home."
"I'll need my car for tomorrow, Harm," Mac countered, not really wanting to leave, but not able to stay unless Harm asked her.
"I can drop by and pick you up tomorrow. Jen can take the Lexus in."
"Oh…" Mac nodded, knowing the idea was practical but still hoping for…
"Unless you want to stay…here, I mean…" Harm began nervously. For all that he had said he would always be there for her, Mac still had given no indication of what she wanted from him. As Harm fought an inner battle against pushing Mac too far, she was busy sorting through the game tiles on the board. When Harm realized what she was about to do, his heart jumped to his throat as he watched her place tiles on the board with slightly shaking fingers.
I-W-A-N-T-T-O-S-T-A-Y
I want to stay. Harm read the letters, made the sentence, and wondered 'for how long?'
As Mac watched the expressions chase across his face she added a few more tiles.
F-O-R-E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y
For Eternity…
"I love you, Harm," Mac murmured, her hands shaking in her lap, but her voice clear. "I know I've been pushing you away, and yet you've always been there for me. You always will be there for me. I don't want to push any more. I want to be there for you too."
Mac's declaration hung in the air for almost a second too long, but then Harm came to his senses and moved to lift her hands in his and draw her to her feet. An instant before his lips touched hers he framed her face in his hands.
"I love you too, Sarah…"
Harm's Apartment, early Monday Morning
From the depths of sleep Harm surfaced, but he refused to open his eyes in case it had all just been a dream.
Mac saying she loved him. Mac wanting to be with him. For Eternity. Mac in his bed. In his arms…
Mac lifted her head and looked at Harm, his eyes closed tightly but not in sleep. She had been awake a short while, and had been aware of when he began to wake up; of his reluctance to open his eyes. Lifting a hand, she gently palmed his cheek.
"Harm, it's okay…"
"It's not a dream?" Still his eyes were closed.
"Only if we're having the same dream," Mac answered softly, and was rewarded with a gentle kiss as he opened his eyes and reached for her.
A little later…
Some unknown instinct made Mattie look out over the parking lot before she ventured across to Harm's apartment. When she spotted the red top of Mac's Corvette a smile curved her lips.
"What's up, Mats?" Jen asked her, crossing the lounge to take a look at what had Mattie's attention.
"Mac's car is still here," Mattie whispered, and Jen turned to look at her with a smile.
"Why are you whispering?", she whispered, and Mattie laughed self-consciously.
"We usually go across there in a morning, Jen. What if…what if Mac really spent the night? Like, not on his couch."
"Then I suggest we wait until we're called for," Jen answered, giving Mattie a pat on the shoulder as she went off to start the day with a shower.
The End