Disclaimers: None of this is mine
Setting: Season 9
1800 local time
Jennifer Coates' apartment
Washington DC
Knock Knock Knock
Standing outside Jen's apartment, Harm toyed with the stems of the flowers he was holding while he waited for someone to answer the door. He didn't have to wait long. A moment later, the door swung open and Harm found himself looking down at a young woman with the brightest red hair he'd ever seen. Surprised, he tried to speak, opening and closing his mouth a few times, but no sound came out.
For her part, the woman took one look at him and half turned to call back into the apartment.
"Jen, your date's here!"
She stepped back and to the side, gesturing for Harm to come in. He stepped cautiously into the apartment, looking around curiously as the woman swung the door shut behind him. He'd been to Jen's apartment before but this was the first time he'd been inside it.
Jen stuck her head out of what he assumed was her bedroom, her hair wrapped up in a towel. "I'll just be another minute."
"It's okay. We've still got some time."
She smiled at him then ducked back into the room and closed the door. Harm walked into the living room, the redhead trailing after him, her hands shoved in her back pockets.
"I'm Marcie by the way."
"Hm?" Harm looked up from a picture of Jen at a party with the redhead, a blond when it was taken, and two other women. "Oh...Harm."
He shifted the flowers to his left hand and held out his right.
"I know." She said, taking his hand in one of hers. And she held onto it for a little longer than she needed to.
When Harm finally got his hand back, he turned back to the pictures he had been looking at, mostly Jen's roommates with various family members, and tried to ignore the way Marcie was looking at him.
They waited in silence for several minutes before Marcie spoke up again.
"So you're the reason we've barely seen Jen around here lately. Not that I can blame her..." She trailed off, then changed the subject slightly. "Jen told us you're a pilot."
"Um, yes. You could say it's something of a family tradition." Harm said but didn't elaborate.
"So I guess that means you're pretty good with your hands." She said with a grin. She laid a hand on his arm.
Shocked, Harm stared down at her, unable to believe that she'd actually said that. And when had she moved so that she was standing right next to him? He pulled away from her, trying to figure out how to respond. He was saved from having to come up with an answer, though, by the sound of a door opening. A second later Jen walked into the room.
Harm looked over at her, and promptly forgot all about Marcie standing there.
Seeing Harm staring at her, Jen stopped, toying with the hem of her t-shirt.
"You said casual. Is this too casual?"
"No. You look...wow." Never before had he found someone in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt so sexy. For a moment, he was tempted to reconsider his plans for the evening.
Jen blushed at Harm's appreciative gaze.
"He's a keeper Jen."
"Yeah," Jen said, speaking to Marcie but continuing to look at Harm. "I think so."
She walked over to the two of them and Harm held the flowers out to her.
"These are for you."
Jen brought them up to her nose, inhaling their fragrance, before standing on tip-toe to press a chaste kiss to Harm's cheek.
"Thank you. They're beautiful. Just let me put them in some water and we can go."
Harm nodded. He took a step to follow her so he wouldn't be left alone with Marcie again, but she waved for him to stay there, so with a sigh and a wary glance at the redhead he stayed put. Jen was back in less than a minute, though, and after grabbing a leather jacket slung over the back of a chair, the two of them headed towards the door.
Once they were out in the hallway, Harm turned to face Jen, wrapping his arms around her waist. Grinning, she wound her hands around his neck as he lowered his head and kissed her.
"I missed you." Harm said when they finally pulled apart.
"You just saw me this morning."
"For about two minutes before you left for work. You should have woke me when you got up." He grinned lecherously down at her. "We could have gotten a shower together."
"But then I never would have gotten to work on time." Jen said with a grin of her own.
Reluctantly leaving the circle of his arms, she took his hand and pulled him towards the stairs. Once outside, Harm opened the passenger side door for her before walking around and getting into the driver's side. He put the car in gear while Jen fiddled with the radio, trying to find a station she liked. Once she had, she turned the volume down so it was only a background noise.
"Your roommate is disturbing."
Jen looked over at him, frowning. "How so?"
"Leaving aside the topic of her hair, if you hadn't come out when you did, I really thought she was going to jump me."
"Oh, that." Jen said, giggling.
Taking his eyes off the road for a second, Harm glanced over at her, shocked. But Jen just waved dismissively at him.
"Don't worry, Marcie's harmless. She wouldn't have done anything. Her boyfriend was transferred to Okinawa about two weeks ago. They were going pretty hot and heavy there before he left and she's still...adjusting. She was the same way with the super just the other day."
Harm arched an eyebrow, not seeing how that particular argument made her case.
"He's pushing eighty Harm." Jen explained. "Trust me, Admiral Chegwidden could have walked in tonight and she would have reacted the same way."
Now it was Harm's turn to chuckle.
A comfortable silence descended on the car. They rode that way for a while until Jen finally spoke up.
"So are you going to tell me now where we're going?"
Harm shook his head. "Nope. It's a surprise. Though I will tell you that we're almost there."
Even more curious now, Jen started looking around, trying to figure our where they might be headed. When Harm took the turn off for the fairgrounds, she frowned, wondering what they would be doing there. Then she saw the signs for who was playing at the Amphitheater that night. She spun around to face him.
"No! Really? But you hate them."
Harm grinned over at her. "I never said I hated them, just that I couldn't believe you liked that song."
Jen smacked his arm playfully. "Does this mean that's our song now?"
Harm pretended to think about the idea as he pulled into a parking spot, prompting Jen to hit him again. He grinned and leaned over to give her a quick kiss. "That's fine with me. Happy one month anniversary Jen."
"Happy anniversary Harm." Jen said, pressing another quick kiss to his lips.
"Don't get your hopes up for front row seats though." Harm said as they got out of the car. At Jen's playfully pouty look, he smiled and unlocked the trunk. Reaching inside, he pulled out a big blanket. "Trust me, I have something even better in mind."
Harm's idea of 'something better' turned out to be the lawn seating in the very back. But as she sat on the blanket, leaning back against Harm's chest with his arms wrapped around her as they listened to the music, Jen decided that it was indeed better than any front row seats could have been. And sitting all the way back here, the music wasn't so loud that they couldn't hear each other talk.
She lifted one of his hands to her lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and looked up at him.
"Did you work today?"
Harm grimaced and nodded his head. "Flew some Deputy Director of something or other to New York for a meeting this morning."
Harm shook his head, as if to rid himself of bad memories. "I don't really want to talk about it. How about you? How was your day?"
"About the same as always. Except Lieutenant Sims brought baby Jimmy in this afternoon. You should see him Harm. He's so adorable.
Harm chuckled, enjoying the way her eyes lit up when she started talking about the baby.
"Spoken like someone who'd like to have one of her own someday."
"Yeah, I'd like to have a couple of kids someday..." Jen paused and glanced at him, a teasing glint in her eye. "If I ever meet the right guy."
Harm puts a hand to his heart in mock pain. "Ow. You wound me."
Jen elbowed him in the ribs. "There. Now you're wounded. And that's what you get for trying to change the subject."
"Change the subject?" Harm asked innocently, trying to play dumb.
Jen didn't fall for it though. "Yes change the subject. You know I'm not going to let up till you at least call Lieutenants Roberts and Sims. They're your friends Harm and they just had a baby. Lieutenant Roberts is always asking about you at work, about whether anyone's heard from you."
Harm sighed. "I know. And you're right, I do need to call them. And I will, I promise. Just...not tonight."
Jen nodded her head, accepting his words. They listened to the next couple of songs in silence until they heard the familiar opening notes to their song. Standing up, Harm holds out his hand to Jen.
"Can I have this dance?"
Grinning, Jen took his offered hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She wrapped her arms around Harm's neck while his went around her waist. They swayed together to the music until Harm reached up and took one of her hands, spinning her around before bringing her back close to his body. Jen rested her head on his shoulder and Harm started stroking her hair while they continued to dance.
"Jen?"
"Hmm?"
"Jen, I love you."
Jen was silent and for a moment Harm was afraid she hadn't heard him, or worse, didn't feel the same way. Then he felt her small frame start to shake in his arms. She looked up at him, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
"I love you too Harm."
Harm felt a smile tugging at his lips. Leaning down, he pressed a tender kiss to Jen's lips as they continued swaying to the music.
1030 local time
Somewhere on Rt 168
Northern Virginia
"You're angry."
Jen didn't say anything right away. Harm watched her work the gearshift. Her movements where jerky and abrupt, giving Harm his answer without her needing to say anything.
"I'm not angry. I'm upset. And confused." Jen said, finally speaking up. "Why would you ask to be taken off of probation?"
"Jen, this has nothing to do with our relationship or how I feel about you. I just..." Harm sighed. "I can't keep doing what I've been doing. Chauffeuring people around to high level meetings. I'm like a glorified taxi driver."
Jen gripped the steering wheel harder, staring straight ahead. "Okay. I get that. I do. But it's not okay for you to not talk to me about this. And I don't mean to get my permission or anything. You could have at least told me you were going to do this. Instead, the first I hear about it is when you call me up to ask for a ride to the airport!"
Jen stopped at the checkpoint and rolled her window down. Harm leaned towards her to show the guard his ID. The man, dressed in normal clothes but wearing a shoulder holster, examined Harm's credentials for a moment then waved Jen through.
Surprised, Jen slowly accelerated. "I can't believe they're going to let me go this far."
Harm pointed her towards a runway were the plane at the end of it was obviously prepping to leave. "Maybe it's cause nobody actually deploys on a mission from here. Or whatever the CIA term for it is. This is where you go to get to the place you deploy from."
Jen put the car in park a few yards from the plane. She popped the trunk then got out, watching with her arms crossed over her chest as Harm pulled his duffel out of her car. Harm slung it over his shoulder only to drop it at his feet after walking over to her. Jen looked away, still upset, but Harm hooked his index fingers through a couple of her belt loops and tugged her close to him.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you what I was thinking about doing. I guess I'm still getting used to having someone to share this kind of thing with."
Someone stuck his head out of the plane, looking around till he spotted Harm. "Wheels up in two Rabb."
"Okay." He called over his shoulder. Focusing back on Jen, he rested his forehead against hers. "Can you forgive me?"
Jen sighed and uncrossed her arms, wrapping them around Harm's neck. Harm's reflexively went around her waist. "Of course."
She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him. Harm brought one hand up from her waist, tangling his fingers in her hair.
"Wheels up Rabb."
Jen reluctantly disentangled herself from Harm's embrace. "I love you Harm. Stay safe."
"I love you too Jen."
Harm reached into his pocket for his keys, taking one off his keyring once he had them in his hands. He held it out to Jen.
"What's this?" Jen asked.
"A spare key to my apartment."
Jen smirked at him. "You want me to water your plants for you while your gone?"
"I don't have any plants."
The smirk slowly disappears. "Are you...are you asking me to move in with you?"
"I know it's kinda sudden. And that we haven't really been seeing each other all that long. But I know what I want, and it's you."
"Rabb, wheels up T-minus two minutes ago!"
Harm spun around. "Just give me a minute!"
Harm turned back to Jen. She was still looking like she had gotten hit by a Mack truck. "Look, you don't have to give me an answer right now. In fact, I don't want you to."
He placed the key in the pam of her hand and curled her fingers around it. "Just think about it. And let me know when you're ready."
Jen nodded her head jerkily. Harm pressed one last kiss to her cheek, then bent down and grabbed his duffel, slinging it over his shoulder. Jen watched him walk over to the plane waiting to take him who knows where, so he could do who knows what. In moments he was inside and the plane was all sealed up for takeoff.
She hugged herself, still clutching Harm's key tightly in her hand, as she watched the plane carrying the man she loved start to accelerate down the runway.
She was still standing there in that spot long after the plane was only a speck in the sky.
