Out with the Old, in with the New - Chapter 2

A/N: Notes and disclaimers can be found in Chapter 1

1730 Zulu/ 1130 Local

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

Mac was looking at the transcript of the Ames Hearing when she heard a knock on her doorframe.

The Marine's beautiful brown eyes lifted to look at the open doorway. "Yes?"

Harmon Rabb stood there in his winter uniform looking good enough to eat. He was leaning casually against the doorframe the way he did when he wanted something. "You busy?"

She put the folder down and placed her hands interlaced on top of it. "It'll keep until after lunch, what's up?"

"What do you say we grab a bite to eat?"

She smiled. "If we can make it quick; I'm due in court in 45 minutes, 21 seconds."

Harm thought about this for a moment. "Beltway? I'll buy."

She got up from her desk picking up her purse and cover as she walked toward him. "Sure, let's go."

Harm and Mac stood at the counter waiting for their order. Presently Hal Jamison came back to the front with their lunches and gave both of them a quick smile.

"Here you go, Colonel, Commander." Hal gave Mac a quick sympathetic nod. "Hey Colonel, sorry about the car."

She smiled warmly at the man's sympathy. "Thanks Hal,"

Just as quickly he was back to being the super efficient counterman. "You're good to go; knock'em dead in court, ma'am. You too, Commander."

Harm gave him a wry smile. "How about just wishing me luck with my witness interviews this afternoon, Hal?"

Hal faltered for a moment. "Uh, sure, Commander,"

Mac threw the Commander a slightly annoyed look. "Don't mind him, Hal, he just likes giving you a hard time." She gave the counterman another warm smile hoping to irk Flyboy. "Thanks again, see you later." She winked at him for emphasis.

He gave her one of his best smiles, his chest bursting with pride at pleasing her. "I'll be here, ma'am." His smile quickly vanished when he saw a highly perturbed aviator/lawyer glaring at him. "Sir."

Harm, for his part, was still trying to communicate with his blue eyes his displeasure at Hal's antics. Mac giggled devilishly as she dragged the glowering Commander out of the establishment.

As they walked back to their building's courtyard, Harm took the opportunity to ask the question he'd wanted to ask as soon as they had left for lunch.

"So, what kind of car?" He began in the middle of his thought.

Mac was totally taken by surprise "Excuse me?" she blurted out.

Harm smiled at her confusion gently shaking his head. "Sorry, what kind of car, vehicle, are you thinking about?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him "Getting tired already of my company on the drive to and from work, Navy?"

Harm was immediately on his guard hoping he hadn't insulted her. "No, not at all Mac.

I just think you shouldn't wait too long."

She liked doing this to him. It was fun. "Why Harm? Are cars going out of season?" She smiled sweetly at him as she walked over to the shaded table and sat down.

That sweet smile of hers always threw him off balance. He sat down opposite her. "Um, no, I'm just saying ah, you might want to think about leasing before you, or I, get assigned to another JAGMAN investigation-"

She gave him a soulful look and batted her long dark lashes at him. "What, you won't lend me your Lexus if you go off to some carrier? You know I would take good care of it."

He tried to fight off her temptress charms and focus on the subject at hand. "You know that's not it Mac; what happens if you get assigned an investigation while I'm gone?"

She pretended to give it some serious thought. Then her eyes brightened. "You can get Bud or Sturgis to pick you up. C'mon Haarmm, you know you'll be too busy flying Tomcats or Hornets to worry about your car-"

It would have been tempting to give in to her charms especially the way she drew out his name. But Hammer had a target and he was boring in for the kill. "Mac now's the perfect time to get a car, dealers are eager to make deals this time of year… it's usually their slowest season."

She sighed giving him a small smile to let him know he had won this round. "You've got a point," she said as she unwrapped her sandwich and began eating. This unusually warm weather would disappear soon, so it was nice of Harm to invite her to eat out like this.

"So, what kind of car *do you* suggest?" She said between bites.

"Well, it's more a question of what kind of car *do you* like, Mac?"

It really made her feel good when he did little things like that.

"Well," she said after she swallowed her bite of sandwich, "I was thinking about either a Ford Thunderbird or maybe one of those new Ford Mustangs-"

Harm put down his cup. "Unt uh Marine," he said sharply.

Mac put down her sandwich. "Why not?" She bristled.

Harm quickly realized he had put his foot in it. "Mac, look, I want you to have vehicle that offers you more protection…."

She was intrigued. "More protection?"

"Mac," he took her hands in his and looked intently into her deep brown eyes, "You almost got yourself killed; I want something safer for you."

She felt the warmth in his hands and her skin tingled. "So that the next time I run into a tree I'll do more damage to the tree?" Her eyes sparkled.

Harm gave her a self-effacing smile. "If you want to put it that way, yeah. Mac, if it protects you, I'm all for it."

Mac started to pick up her sandwich again. "Okay, what do you suggest and if you say Humvee, I'm gonna slug you," she warned playfully.

Even when she was teasing, Harm knew the Light Colonel was to be taken seriously. "Easy Marine, I wouldn't do that…."

Mac was not ready for Harm being this caring. She put down her sandwich again. "Oh, okay, then what do you suggest?"

Harm set his briefcase down on the table, opened it, and pulled out a sheaf of papers. "Well I've done some research…."

Mac couldn't believe this. "You're serious, aren't you?" A small surprised laugh escaped her.

Harm wasn't about to be deterred. "Mac, transportation is a serious investment – look, I compared price, gas mileage, mechanical reliability-"

"-crash safety ratings?" She quipped lightly; giving him what she thought was a warm smile.

Harm gave her a look of mock annoyance. "Be serious Mac…yes, I figured that in too."

She giggled. "Harm, you are something else," She took another small bite of her sandwich as she looked at the figures.

The aviator/lawyer wanted her to take this seriously. "C'mon Marine, just take a look – I think you'll like some of these choices…." He took a bite of his sandwich and sip from his cup to wash it down.

Mac took the list Harm had handed her and began reading.

"Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator…."

"Those are the biggest…." Harm pointed out unnecessarily.

She shot him a sarcastic smirk. "Uh huh. Harm, I'll go along with a sport utility vehicle, but not a land battleship. Besides I'd need exclusive access to an oil-rich nation just to keep its tank full."

He hadn't expected that. "Okay, well how about these?" he said pointing further down the list.

Mac saw one particular choice that caught her eye "Mercedes? Humm, nice…."

"But expensive," Harm cautioned.

Mac raised an eyebrow in her classic quizzical look. "I thought you did a *comparison analysis* and that these were the *best* all around." She said pointedly.

"The Mercedes is on the low end," he casually explained, giving her another self-effacing smile as he took another bite of his sandwich and chased it down with another sip from his cup.

Mac shook her head smiling slightly at his logic and went back to reading from the list. "Because of its price…?"

The naval Commander nodded. "Yeah; but take a look here at the middle of the list…."

This time both of Mac's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Dodge Durango… Nissan Murano… Saturn Vue?"

"Hey, that's not a bad one." He said in defense of putting the Saturn SUV on the list.

She snorted her disbelief, "I'm *not* driving the same kind of car as Commander Coleman," she grumbled and continued reading.

Harm was about to say something in response when Mac's eyes seemed to focus on particular name on the list.

"Jeep Liberty…." The Marine Light Colonel seemed distracted as she finished saying the name. She took a quick sip of her drink.

Harm became concerned by her change. "Mac?"

She shook herself from her reverie and gave him a gentle smile. "Oh, sorry Harm; it's nothing…it's just…how did you know?"

Harm was confused. "Know what?"

Mac shook her head at his feigned confusion and rewarded him with a warm smile. "When I was first assigned to JAG I had a Jeep Cherokee, I…I bought it when I was stationed at Quantico…."

Harm being the type of guy he was had taken notice of everything about her the moment she arrived at JAG, including that nondescript Cherokee. It was a cinch that she liked off road vehicles so she could indulge in her hobby of paleontology. The Cherokee could do that and was a sensible and practical vehicle that appealed to her Marine sensibilities.

The Corvette that was right now in Toby's loving care was an indulgence, really. To see what Harm loved about Corvettes – that part was obvious. However it also satisfied her wild side and that need for an adrenalin rush. But the need for speed comes with a price as Mac found out. This vehicle would have a little of both worlds…or so he hoped.

"Well, the Liberty is a little peppier and little sportier than a Cherokee…." He said jocularly.

"Hmmmm…." Mac looked at the list again. She took another bite of sandwich, which finished it off. She upended her cup and finished off her drink.

He leaned in closer. He sensed time was running out. "What do you think Mac?"

She got up and tossed her empty cup and sandwich wrapper into the waste can. "I think I've got ten minutes and seventeen seconds to make it to Judge Helfman's courtroom."

Harm tried to stall her. "Mac, wait…."

Mac gave him a gentle warning look. "Harm, I don't want to be late…."

He had to try one more time. "But what about the car?"

She flashed him a seductive smile. "I'll think about it Harm, right now I gotta go…."

She hurried over to the entrance and caught the front door just as it was shutting. Harm sat there with his open briefcase and papers. As the door closed, he gathered up his papers and placed them back in the case.

Mac spent most of the afternoon in court. Harm was busy too, interviewing character witnesses for the upcoming Ensign Dawson murder case.

When 1730 rolled around, Harm heard Mac open her door, walk into her office, and shut her door. He immediately got up out of his chair, walked over to her door, and knocked twice.

A muffled invitation floated through the door. "Come in, it's open…,"

Harm opened the door and saw Mac sitting back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling.

"That bad?" He ventured.

She sighed heavily. "The worst; Bud made chop suey out of my defense," she said dejectedly as she continued to stare at the ceiling.

Harm sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "We've created a monster, haven't we?"

"Yep," she answered him back. Then she looked at him. "Look, I'm sorry for cutting out on you earlier today." She really meant it. Why she liked teasing him like that, leaving him the way she did at lunch, she'd never know.

Harm gave her a gentle smile. "It's okay Mac, I understand; you had a court date."

Mac laughed mirthlessly. "Don't remind me about that disaster, please." She wanted to change the subject. "So did you just come in here to torture me, or did you have something else on your mind?"

"Well, I thought I would check to see if you had given any thought to what kind of car you liked best."

"Haarrm," she groaned as she buried her head in her hands. "Please, not right now, okay?"

He got up from the chair and walked over to her chair and knelt down beside her. "Come on Marine," he gently coaxed, "Shopping for a new car can be therapeutic…."

Mac gently pushed him away. "If you don't mind I'd rather wallow in my grief and self-pity a little while longer…."

Harm stood up and shook a warning finger at her. "Maac,"

As Harm was trying to press home his point, Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts appeared at the door.

He threw both an uneasy smile as only Bud Roberts could do. "Commander; Colonel…."

"Bud," Harm said jocularly. "Heard you beat the Colonel in court today…." That earned the former Top Gun an evil glare from the Marine attorney.

Bud winced as Mac continued to glare at Harm. Harm chuckled at her attempt at the evil eye.

"Ignore him, Bud," she said pointedly, and then quickly changed the subject. "What do you need?" she said sweetly to him, ignoring Flyboy's antics.

"I just wanted to thank you…ma'am…." She gave him a puzzled look.

"For letting you beat me?" She jested.

Bud's innocent eyes went wide as he took her remark the wrong way. "Oh no, ma'am! Nothing like that…."

Harm smiled. Mac shot him a dirty look and then turned back to Bud.

"I just wanted…to thank you, for, you know, for warning me about Toby…." Bud said in his stumbling manner that seemed to come out whenever he talked to his two mentors about something delicate – or at least what he thought was delicate.

Mac smiled warmly at the junior officer. "You're welcome, Bud."

"Hey, Bud, don't I get any credit for helping?" Harm asked in mock petulance.

Bud nodded. "Oh absolutely sir. It's just that Colonel MacKenzie told me about what Toby tried to do to her. She said though, that you were a big help."

Harm was intrigued. "How so?" Mac saying nice things about his help?

"She said you threw him a 'mean look,'" Bud quipped.

That caught the aviator/lawyer flatfooted. "A mean look…." he repeated.

Mac snickered.

Bud smiled slyly. "Yes Sir." He quickly turned his attention to Mac. "Colonel, I'm sorry I beat you today."

The Marine in Mac was eating up this attention and the way Bud handled his old mentor. "Don't be sorry, Bud, we all win some and lose some." She said lightly.

Bud nodded sagely. "Yes, ma'am."

Still she couldn't let him get too comfortable. "But the next time we meet, I'm gonna kick your six around that courtroom."

Bud brightened at that. "Looking forward to you trying, ma'am."

Harm had had enough of this mutual admiration society. "Bud, shouldn't you be getting home to Harriet?"

Bud looked as if the general had just walked in unannounced. "Oh my gosh! Harriet! I was supposed to pick her up at the Y' twenty minutes ago!" He looked to the two officers for dismissal.

Harm chuckled at the former Seahawk PR officer now JAG attorney. "Go Bud,"

"Tell Harriet I said hello, Bud," Mac called after him as he started to leave.

"Yes ma'am, Commander," Bud excused himself and hurriedly stomped through the Bullpen, headed for the double doors and the elevator beyond.

"He's grown up to be quite a man, hasn't he?" Harm said lightly.

Mac rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Just take me home, please."

Harm shot her a long-suffering look. "Oh all right, spoil sport."

-TBC…