Mac drove, turned on the radio and drove.

She stopped and for coffee and gas after a few hours.

She looked at her cell phone, 10 missed calls. She knew who it was, she didn't care. She picked up the phone and called Chloe.

"Hello?" said the little girl

"Hi Chloe, how are you doing?" Mac asked.

"Great! So what's the date for the wedding?" Chloe asked excitedly

"Oh sweety, I don't want to talk about that ok, later. What are you doing this weekend?" Mac quickly tried to change the subject.

"Nothing, just going riding"

"Well what if I were to, sporaticly stop by?" Mac quizzed

"Sportaticly stop by, from Washington? Its nearly a 10 hour drive!"

"Well what if I said that I was already half way there?" Mac said excitedly

"No way! Is Mic with you?" Chloe responded excitetly

"Oh no honey, he's not here, he went back to Australia yesterday." Mac said, trying to avoid sounding to sad.

"Oh why?" Chloe sounded disappointed

"Umm, we'll talk about it when I get there ok" Mac countered, "I'll see you in a few hours, ok? Tell your Grandma I'm on my way"

"Ok see you in a few hours, love you!" Chloe said,

"Love you too honey" Mac flipped her phone closed, and slid it back into her purse.

As her hand slid from the phone she thought about calling Harm, but decided against it. Maybe once she got to the farm.

Harm sat in his apartment, looking over case files that Mac had brought him earlier in the week to prepare for returning to JAG. Currently he was trying to write some of paperwork that goes along with being a lawyer, so far it was not going well. He couldn't shake this huge cloud of worry that seemed to be hanging over him; since he'd woken up and she wasn't there, he didn't know anything could hurt this much. He worried about her, he knew how Mac was, he knew better then anyone... He thought back to that time when she'd shown up drunk to a meeting with a client, he just hoped that she would sooner turn to him them a bottle of vodka. She'd said Chloes, and he tried to think about how he could get there too, to be there for her... no, he couldn't. He had to give her space, and if she needed him she'd call. He sighed and tried, yet again, to focus on the papers in front of him.

Mac drove all day, and by about 5 o'clock she was pulling in to the familiar driveway of Chloes grandparents farm. She slowed, and came to a stop in front of the house, but not before she saw Chloe riding towards on her horse.

"MACCCC!!" She screamed, so excited to she her, even though it hadn't been that long at all.

"Ahh come here Chloe, I've missed you" Mac said, as she watched the girl dismount and sprint towards her.

The two embraced, and then headed over to the house.

Mac thought back to the last time she had been here, finding Chloe that night when she had gone missing after her horse threw her, at least this time was at least a little less depressing.

Martha welcomed Mac into their home "Oh my Colonel, would you like some tea? How was the drive?"

The three continued into the kitchen, and Martha pulled some cookies out of the the jar on the counter, and pored some water into kettle.

The three sat down at the table. Over looking the backyard of the house, and onto the farm, with the horses grazing in the far off field.

"So Sarah, what brings you all the way up to Vermont? Its a long way from Washington, and where is that lovely fiancé of your; Chloe has talked so much about him."

"Oh well... Ummm, Mic went back to Australia yesterday, and well, we're not really engaged anymore... taking time to uh, sort things out" Mac looked absently off into the field...

"But why?" Chloe pleaded.

"Well Chloe its complicated..." Mac tried to explain further, but couldn't manage the words.

"I know why" Chloe stood and stared towards the back, "Its because of Harm isn't it..."

"Well, yes and no... its... its just complicated..."Mac stood to follow Chloe, but Martha stop her.

"Oh, Sarah... just let her go; she needs time to think, like I'm sure you do. Now just sit, and tell me about it."

Mac resigned to the fact Chloe was entirely to much like herself, she didn't take things lightly, and just needed to figure them out on her own... Mac would give her a little while anyway. "Well, like I said, it's complicated" Mac took a deep breath "You know about Harms accident, and well after that, I guess things between Mic and I just kept going down hill. Harm is my best friend, and Mic didn't get that, although just the same Harm didn't see that I loved Mic, at least I told myself I did." Mac thought back to that night on the Admirals porch... whether she loved him or not was not something Harm got to ask. "Which doesn't really matter either way, but it doesn't really matter now, because Mic is gone and well, Harm is still Harm..." Mac took a sip of tea and stared back at the women sitting across from her. "I'm so sorry to dump this all on you. I Don't really have anyone to talk to back in Washington and I really miss having Chloe around, even though she doesn't understand, she was a good distraction when things weren't going well."

"Oh Sarah, it's ok, I asked after all. I know how it can be a single women, with a career, its not easy. Things will sort themselves out, if it was meant to be and all that." The older women took a bite of her cookie and looked out to the field where Chloe had now mounted her horse and was riding around the field. " Just like Chloe needed time after she moved up here, and away from you, she needs time to adjust to this change, and so will you."

Mac thought about it and sighed, she new the older women was much wiser then she. "Is ok if I go lie down for a bit, I didn't really sleep well last night."

"Thats fine Mac, you can go sleep in Chloes room, you remember where it is?"

"Yup, tell Chloe to come talk to me when she's ready, ok?" Mac said as she walked towards the kitchen door.

"Of course dear" she too stood and started to clear the table.

Mac walked up to stairs and laid down on Chloes bed, she looked around the room, and saw all the pictures, most of them from back in Washington, her and Chloe bowling, and visiting the White House, and all sorts of other activities they did through Big Brothers, Big Sisters, as well as the most recent frame, Mac recognized it, it was 3 photos in one frame, two bigger ones of her and Chloe and one of her, Chloe and Mic. Mac rolled over so that her back faced the photo... her head fell to the pillow and as soon as he eyes shut, she was asleep.

Harm had spent his day working on his car, after giving up on trying to look over cases and trying to stop thinking about Mac. He was staring at the wrench set before him when his cell phone rang from its resting spot on top of a tool. He wiped his hands and answered the phone.

"Rabb" he answered to the still unknown voice on the other end of the phone.

"Good evening commander" the male voice said.

"Oh, Hey Bud" Harm replied, half excepting it to have been... her "What can I do for you?" trying to hide the disappointment in his voice

"Well sir, I was wondering if you'd heard from Colonel Mackenzine" Bud said, "Harrietes worried and called her a couple of times today, and well, we thought if anyone knew anything..." Bud trailed off

"Well Bud, Mac went up to Vermont this morning"Harm replied... now sitting on an over turned bucket. "She went to visit Chloe."

"Oh, but what about the wedding sir?' Bud asked, a slight confussion in his voice, although this was not unusal for Bud.

"Well, I guess Bud, you'll have to talk to her about that" Harm knew very well what was happening with the wedding, in the near future anyway, a whole lot of nothing. "Look Bud I'm a bit busy, so if thats all, this car isn't going to fix itself, I'll see you in the office on Monday."

"Ok commander, see you then" Bud hung up the phone, more informed, but slightly confused by the Commanders tone; he knew something more, that he wasn't letting on, but the Commander was a hard nut to crack, so he figured better to just leave it.

Mac spent the next few days at Chloes, she called the Admiral, and he in turn allowed her a weeks leave. Mac spent most of that week riding, hiking, and just enjoying being alone. Chloe was still in school during most of the day so Mac spent the days alone, but at night the two "sisters" spent catching up, and having fun, just like before Chloe came to Vermont. Chloe had gotten over the Mic thing, in her heart she knew he wasn't good for Mac... she didn't understand why, but she knew. She knew who was good for her, but she didn't really want to talk about him, she had boy troubles all her own.

"Mac, why are boys soooooo frustrating!" Chloe pleaded as the two settled in for a goodbye movie marathon, up first Top Gun.

Mac stared at the screen, as some fighter jet flew across it, "They just, take more time to grow up then girls. What's his name?" Mac asked, hoping that Chloe had better luck with the opposite sex then her.

"Jeff, he's in my class at school." Chloe said, trying to hide at least a little of her excitement, "He's so cute, and nice."

"Don't you think you're a little young," Mac said, tickling the girls stomach.

"Hey!! No fair you're a Marine" Chloe laughed as her limbs flayed. The two laughed and laughed.

The went back to watching Top Gun, Macs stomach turned at the thought of being back in a fighter, her experiences with Harm, most notably in Russia, in that Mig... she put her arm around Chloes neck and the she closed her eyes.