Sometime next fall.
"What a week!" Mac thought as she stepped into the familiarity of McMurphy's. "Not to mention the last three weeks, going back and forth to Norfolk to talk to my guilty as hell client!" she reminded herself ruefully. "It's time to kick back and relax."
Grabbing a seat at the bar, she ordered her usual tonic with a squeeze of lime. While waiting, she looked in the mirror idly and grimaced at her weary face. As the barkeep set her drink in front of her, something else caught her eye however. "That gesture is so familiar, it reminds me of Harm," she thought wistfully. "But this guy has a girl with him, Harm's not seeing anyone."
Unable to resist her curiousity however, she leaned over the bar to check, catching the eye of one Harmon Rabb, Jr. Whipping her head around so he couldn't see her tears, Mac quickly finished her drink and walked out.
Harm watched the retreating form of his best friend with a sense of trepidation. "Well now you've done it, Rabb," he cursed himself. "You got caught with your new girlfriend before you had a chance to tell her. How are you going to get yourself out of this one?" He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice his date's attempts to get his attention until the third time she called his name. "Hm? Oh, I'm sorry Jess. My mind must have wandered. What were you saying?" he asked politely.
"Nothing important. Harm, is something wrong? You seem really preoccupied," the brunette questioned with concern.
"No, of course not," Harm quickly denied. At her look of disbelief he backtracked and said, "I guess I am a little tired. look, do you mind if we call it a night?"
"No problem," she replied easily. "I'll see you tomorrow night for supper?"
"Of course," he said as he bent to kiss her cheek. "Drive safely, ok?"
Two minutes later, Harm was in his Vette, speeding toward Georgetown. "I've got to explain, she's got to understand," he told himself desperately. "She can't stay mad at me!" When he arrived at his destination, he ran up the stairs, not bothering with the elevator, and pounded on her door. No answer. Trying again, he again got no answer. "Mac, c'mon open up! I know you're in there. we need to talk Sarah."
It was his use of her first name that convinced the angry marine on the other side to give him admittance to her apartment. She opened the door and glared at him. "I don't know what you think we need to talk about," she said coldly.
Harm's heart sank at those words, but he tried not to let it show on his face. "I want to explain. I know you're mad at me, but."
"I'm not mad Harm," she cut him off. "I thought we were getting back to the way we used to be. it just hurt to find I was wrong."
"What. what do you mean?" he asked slowly, the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach growing larger.
"I mean that the old Harm wouldn't have left me to find out about his new relationship through office gossip. I guess I should be grateful I saw you before someone told me, that would have been humiliating. So tell me Harm, when were you planning to tell me?" she asked.
"Mac, it's not like that! I was going to tell you, I just didn't want to give you anything more to think about when you were defending that SOB. I knew that if I told you before you got a chance to meet Jess that your reaction would be negative and."
"What's that supposed to mean Harm?"
"Crap! Betrayed by my runaway tongue again." Taking a deep breath, Harm chose to answer honestly. "It means that you've never given any of my girlfriends a chance. Annie, Jordan, Renee. you disliked them all before you even got to know them."
"Oh, you mean the way you 'got to know' Mic before you decided you hated his guts?" Mac hated herself for bringing this up, especially when her reaction had initially been the same, but she had to defend herself. He was getting too close to the truth.
"Ok, I deserved that. For the record, I'm sorry for my behavior when it came to Mic. I know that contributed to a lot of the distance that grew between us. Now before you say anything else or I say anything that can hurt you, may I please explain it all in one speech, no interruptions?" She just looked at him warily. "Please Sarah, this is important to me," he pleaded quietly.
Taking her slight nod as a gesture of acquiescence, he plunged in. "Jess and I met about a month ago. She was civilian counsel in a case I was prosecuting. When the verdict came back guilty a week later, she was suddenly without dinner plans-seems the guy had been so sure he'd win that he'd promised to take her out as a thank you. So I suggested we go grab a bite to eat. I was not thinking of romance at all at this point, just looking to not be alone for another meal. You were in Norfolk or I would have invited you to come too.
"Anyway, dinner was great. Jess is an amazing woman, strong and independent. Do you know she paid her way through law school by licking envelopes? She had a regular job for her living expenses, and then she got one of those "work from the comfort of your own home" things to pay for school. To make a long story short, we hit it off. The next day, I called her and we set a date for that weekend. we've been seeing each other ever since," he finished softly.
"So you've been together for about three weeks now? Why didn't you tell me before Harm? Were you really that afraid of my reaction?"
"Yeah, I was Mac. You're my best friend and your opinion is important to me. I want you to like Jess, I think you will if you give her a chance. In fact, why don't you come over to my place Sunday for supper and I'll introduce you?"
"I don't know Harm."
"Please Mac, just give her a chance."
"Why is this so important to you?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"Because I think she might be the one, and I want my best friend to like her." Too stunned to speak, Mac simply nodded her agreement. "Good. We'll see you at 19:00 Sunday then," he said and quickly left.
Part 2
Mac closed the door behind him and leaned heavily against it, mind whirling. "The One!? Did he actually just say that? Harmon Rabb, Jr, the anti-commitment guru claims to have found the one?" Slowly she turned away from the door, going to sit on the couch. "I should be happy for him right? My best friend just told me he's finally ready to settle down, and he seemed happy. why can't I be happy for him?" she wondered as she began to cry.
"Because I'm in love with him. because I wanted to be the one!" her breaking heart cried. "Damn you Harmon Rabb! For six years I wait for you to let go and then when you finally do, it's with a different woman. What is it she has that I don't? Why didn't you want me?" After she had cried all the tears she had in her, she fell into an exhausted sleep.
Meanwhile on the other side of the door, Harm was calling himself every kind of fool. "Smooth move, Hammer. That's the way to win a woman's heart, tell her you're falling for another woman." Then the insidious voice he'd been listening to all year reminded him, "But you don't want to win her heart, remember? You didn't want to risk her friendship."
Remembering his reasoning behind his actions, he slumped against the wall, defeated. "So this is it then. I walk away now, for a life with Jess. No more wondering about Mac." In a burst of momentum, he shoved himself away from the wall and started down the hallway. "It's time to let go of Sarah," he thought to himself as he reached the elevator.
But as his word choice sunk in, he found himself frozen in place. In a moment of decision, he whirled around and strode back to her door. Raising his hand to knock, his heart quailed for a moment at the thought of what he was about to do. "Do I really want to do this?" he asked himself. Then he remembered what had driven him to this point, and he knew that it wasn't a matter of want, it was a matter of need. His doubts resolved, he knocked twice, firmly and confidently.
After a brief pause she called out, "Just a second!" He heard the faint sound of running water before the door opened. "What can I do for you Harm?" she asked tiredly.
Looking at her intently, he saw the vestiges of the tear tracks she had tried to rinse away. "Why were you crying?" he asked quietly.
"I wasn't crying," she replied defiantly as she quickly turned away.
But she wasn't quick enough to hide the new tears glistening in her eyes. Catching her chin in his hand, he gently turned her face back to him. "Sarah."
Those two syllables told her she wasn't going to be able to hide behind her mask this time. Looking up at him, she let the pain show in her eyes. "Why did you come back, Harm?"
It was one of those moments in life that requires brutal honesty, and Harm knew it. "Because I couldn't let you think I didn't care," he said just as quietly.
For a moment, he saw hope flicker in her eyes, but then it died. "Right," she said sarcastically. "You care so much that you just got done inviting me to dinner with your girlfriend. who, I might add, is the only woman in your life who has ever earned the dubious honor of being referred as "The One."
"Not the only one," he corrected gently. "Just the only one I've ever let you hear of."
This time the flame of hope caught fire and seemed to build, but her words and tone were still cautious. "Oh really? So tell me, who was the other lucky lady?"
Tired of the double meanings, Harm let go of all pretense. "You Sarah. it's always been you. I'm only sorry I didn't tell you before."
"Why didn't you?" she asked faintly.
He shrugged, the reasons seemed so petty now, compared to how it felt to tell her. "I think at first I didn't realize that I loved you." Her quick indrawn breath at hearing those words for the first time didn't phase him. "And then when I finally realized I was, I was afraid to risk our friendship for something more. Three times I've been faced with that choice, and each time until now I've chosen to go the safe route." His lips twisted into a wry smile. "You know what they say-third time's a charm."
Overwhelmed by what he'd just told her, Mac simply stared at him for a moment. When she regained her voice, she said the only thing she could think of. "I was crying because I thought I'd lost you. We were finally moving forward in our relationship, or so I'd thought, and here you were telling me you were planning to maybe marry another woman. I've loved you for so long, and I've seen you with other women in that time, but you've never sounded so... serious about any of them."
Her voice trailed off when she realized that Harm looked pretty dazed. "Harm?"
Blinking, he refocused his gaze on her, and what she saw in those blue eyes took her breath away--fear, hope, but most of all, love. "You love me?" he asked with an almost childlike wonder.
"I love you... if you don't believe me, just ask Sturgis," she replied with a grin
"What a week!" Mac thought as she stepped into the familiarity of McMurphy's. "Not to mention the last three weeks, going back and forth to Norfolk to talk to my guilty as hell client!" she reminded herself ruefully. "It's time to kick back and relax."
Grabbing a seat at the bar, she ordered her usual tonic with a squeeze of lime. While waiting, she looked in the mirror idly and grimaced at her weary face. As the barkeep set her drink in front of her, something else caught her eye however. "That gesture is so familiar, it reminds me of Harm," she thought wistfully. "But this guy has a girl with him, Harm's not seeing anyone."
Unable to resist her curiousity however, she leaned over the bar to check, catching the eye of one Harmon Rabb, Jr. Whipping her head around so he couldn't see her tears, Mac quickly finished her drink and walked out.
Harm watched the retreating form of his best friend with a sense of trepidation. "Well now you've done it, Rabb," he cursed himself. "You got caught with your new girlfriend before you had a chance to tell her. How are you going to get yourself out of this one?" He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice his date's attempts to get his attention until the third time she called his name. "Hm? Oh, I'm sorry Jess. My mind must have wandered. What were you saying?" he asked politely.
"Nothing important. Harm, is something wrong? You seem really preoccupied," the brunette questioned with concern.
"No, of course not," Harm quickly denied. At her look of disbelief he backtracked and said, "I guess I am a little tired. look, do you mind if we call it a night?"
"No problem," she replied easily. "I'll see you tomorrow night for supper?"
"Of course," he said as he bent to kiss her cheek. "Drive safely, ok?"
Two minutes later, Harm was in his Vette, speeding toward Georgetown. "I've got to explain, she's got to understand," he told himself desperately. "She can't stay mad at me!" When he arrived at his destination, he ran up the stairs, not bothering with the elevator, and pounded on her door. No answer. Trying again, he again got no answer. "Mac, c'mon open up! I know you're in there. we need to talk Sarah."
It was his use of her first name that convinced the angry marine on the other side to give him admittance to her apartment. She opened the door and glared at him. "I don't know what you think we need to talk about," she said coldly.
Harm's heart sank at those words, but he tried not to let it show on his face. "I want to explain. I know you're mad at me, but."
"I'm not mad Harm," she cut him off. "I thought we were getting back to the way we used to be. it just hurt to find I was wrong."
"What. what do you mean?" he asked slowly, the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach growing larger.
"I mean that the old Harm wouldn't have left me to find out about his new relationship through office gossip. I guess I should be grateful I saw you before someone told me, that would have been humiliating. So tell me Harm, when were you planning to tell me?" she asked.
"Mac, it's not like that! I was going to tell you, I just didn't want to give you anything more to think about when you were defending that SOB. I knew that if I told you before you got a chance to meet Jess that your reaction would be negative and."
"What's that supposed to mean Harm?"
"Crap! Betrayed by my runaway tongue again." Taking a deep breath, Harm chose to answer honestly. "It means that you've never given any of my girlfriends a chance. Annie, Jordan, Renee. you disliked them all before you even got to know them."
"Oh, you mean the way you 'got to know' Mic before you decided you hated his guts?" Mac hated herself for bringing this up, especially when her reaction had initially been the same, but she had to defend herself. He was getting too close to the truth.
"Ok, I deserved that. For the record, I'm sorry for my behavior when it came to Mic. I know that contributed to a lot of the distance that grew between us. Now before you say anything else or I say anything that can hurt you, may I please explain it all in one speech, no interruptions?" She just looked at him warily. "Please Sarah, this is important to me," he pleaded quietly.
Taking her slight nod as a gesture of acquiescence, he plunged in. "Jess and I met about a month ago. She was civilian counsel in a case I was prosecuting. When the verdict came back guilty a week later, she was suddenly without dinner plans-seems the guy had been so sure he'd win that he'd promised to take her out as a thank you. So I suggested we go grab a bite to eat. I was not thinking of romance at all at this point, just looking to not be alone for another meal. You were in Norfolk or I would have invited you to come too.
"Anyway, dinner was great. Jess is an amazing woman, strong and independent. Do you know she paid her way through law school by licking envelopes? She had a regular job for her living expenses, and then she got one of those "work from the comfort of your own home" things to pay for school. To make a long story short, we hit it off. The next day, I called her and we set a date for that weekend. we've been seeing each other ever since," he finished softly.
"So you've been together for about three weeks now? Why didn't you tell me before Harm? Were you really that afraid of my reaction?"
"Yeah, I was Mac. You're my best friend and your opinion is important to me. I want you to like Jess, I think you will if you give her a chance. In fact, why don't you come over to my place Sunday for supper and I'll introduce you?"
"I don't know Harm."
"Please Mac, just give her a chance."
"Why is this so important to you?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"Because I think she might be the one, and I want my best friend to like her." Too stunned to speak, Mac simply nodded her agreement. "Good. We'll see you at 19:00 Sunday then," he said and quickly left.
Part 2
Mac closed the door behind him and leaned heavily against it, mind whirling. "The One!? Did he actually just say that? Harmon Rabb, Jr, the anti-commitment guru claims to have found the one?" Slowly she turned away from the door, going to sit on the couch. "I should be happy for him right? My best friend just told me he's finally ready to settle down, and he seemed happy. why can't I be happy for him?" she wondered as she began to cry.
"Because I'm in love with him. because I wanted to be the one!" her breaking heart cried. "Damn you Harmon Rabb! For six years I wait for you to let go and then when you finally do, it's with a different woman. What is it she has that I don't? Why didn't you want me?" After she had cried all the tears she had in her, she fell into an exhausted sleep.
Meanwhile on the other side of the door, Harm was calling himself every kind of fool. "Smooth move, Hammer. That's the way to win a woman's heart, tell her you're falling for another woman." Then the insidious voice he'd been listening to all year reminded him, "But you don't want to win her heart, remember? You didn't want to risk her friendship."
Remembering his reasoning behind his actions, he slumped against the wall, defeated. "So this is it then. I walk away now, for a life with Jess. No more wondering about Mac." In a burst of momentum, he shoved himself away from the wall and started down the hallway. "It's time to let go of Sarah," he thought to himself as he reached the elevator.
But as his word choice sunk in, he found himself frozen in place. In a moment of decision, he whirled around and strode back to her door. Raising his hand to knock, his heart quailed for a moment at the thought of what he was about to do. "Do I really want to do this?" he asked himself. Then he remembered what had driven him to this point, and he knew that it wasn't a matter of want, it was a matter of need. His doubts resolved, he knocked twice, firmly and confidently.
After a brief pause she called out, "Just a second!" He heard the faint sound of running water before the door opened. "What can I do for you Harm?" she asked tiredly.
Looking at her intently, he saw the vestiges of the tear tracks she had tried to rinse away. "Why were you crying?" he asked quietly.
"I wasn't crying," she replied defiantly as she quickly turned away.
But she wasn't quick enough to hide the new tears glistening in her eyes. Catching her chin in his hand, he gently turned her face back to him. "Sarah."
Those two syllables told her she wasn't going to be able to hide behind her mask this time. Looking up at him, she let the pain show in her eyes. "Why did you come back, Harm?"
It was one of those moments in life that requires brutal honesty, and Harm knew it. "Because I couldn't let you think I didn't care," he said just as quietly.
For a moment, he saw hope flicker in her eyes, but then it died. "Right," she said sarcastically. "You care so much that you just got done inviting me to dinner with your girlfriend. who, I might add, is the only woman in your life who has ever earned the dubious honor of being referred as "The One."
"Not the only one," he corrected gently. "Just the only one I've ever let you hear of."
This time the flame of hope caught fire and seemed to build, but her words and tone were still cautious. "Oh really? So tell me, who was the other lucky lady?"
Tired of the double meanings, Harm let go of all pretense. "You Sarah. it's always been you. I'm only sorry I didn't tell you before."
"Why didn't you?" she asked faintly.
He shrugged, the reasons seemed so petty now, compared to how it felt to tell her. "I think at first I didn't realize that I loved you." Her quick indrawn breath at hearing those words for the first time didn't phase him. "And then when I finally realized I was, I was afraid to risk our friendship for something more. Three times I've been faced with that choice, and each time until now I've chosen to go the safe route." His lips twisted into a wry smile. "You know what they say-third time's a charm."
Overwhelmed by what he'd just told her, Mac simply stared at him for a moment. When she regained her voice, she said the only thing she could think of. "I was crying because I thought I'd lost you. We were finally moving forward in our relationship, or so I'd thought, and here you were telling me you were planning to maybe marry another woman. I've loved you for so long, and I've seen you with other women in that time, but you've never sounded so... serious about any of them."
Her voice trailed off when she realized that Harm looked pretty dazed. "Harm?"
Blinking, he refocused his gaze on her, and what she saw in those blue eyes took her breath away--fear, hope, but most of all, love. "You love me?" he asked with an almost childlike wonder.
"I love you... if you don't believe me, just ask Sturgis," she replied with a grin