Title: Broken Promises

Author: Tsarina Smith

Rating: PG-13/Maybe an "R" for bad language.

Disclaimer: JAG isn't mine. If it was, nothing after season 8 would have happened.

Spoilers: The whole series is fair game, but there are "spoilers" from my previous story Twenty-Six Weekends. You don't need to read that to understand this, but it might be helpful.

Summary: They had the perfect marriage until Harm makes a mistake that could cost him everything.

Authors Notes: Thank you to everyone who read & reviewed. It is definitely appreciated. I hope you all will continue to do so. And thanks to my new beta, Amber. I appreciate it so much!

Part Four

Mac tugged down her jacket and stepped out of the elevator. Everything at JAG was just as it was when she had left the day before, and yet everything seemed completely different. She smiled politely at a young officer and hurriedly made her way to her office. Once inside she shut the door behind her, sat her briefcase on the floor next to her desk and collapsed in her chair. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes momentarily before she forced herself to pull it together and straightened herself.

With her head facing forward, her eyes fell on a framed photograph that sat at the corner of her desk. The admiral and Harriet had joined forces and had thrown them a party once they returned from their trip to Greece. In the picture, they both looked tanned and gorgeous. She was cutting the beautiful cake and Harm had one arm wrapped around her waist and his lips pressed to her shoulder. She reached out for the photograph and shoved it in a drawer. Right now, the last thing she needed to be reminded of was how happy they once were. If she were going to make it through this day, she would have to pull it together.

She stood again and made her way to the break room. Coffee was the first requirement to make it through the day. When she got to the door, she noticed Lt. Commander Tillman in the break room and groaned. He seemed very nice when she first met him. He seemed to be a good, ethical lawyer. She just now didn't think that he practiced the same ethics in his personal life. The other night when the staff had gone out, they played a game of pool and while he didn't flat out say anything or show any inappropriate displays towards her, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around him. Glancing longingly at the coffee, she sighed and went inside.

He noticed her the second she walked in. "Good morning Colonel."

"Morning Commander." She grabbed her coffee cup and filled it to the brim. She could feel his eyes on her and grabbed a bagel before hurrying out of the room.


Loren Singer saw Mac scurry out of the break room and went to see what had caused a reaction in the normally level headed Marine Colonel. Her eyes widened when she noticed the only other person in the room was the newest incredibly handsome, sandy haired, brown eyed member of their team. "Good morning Commander."

"Morning Lt. Singer." He split open a bagel and smeared some cream cheese over the top. He noticed the way she was studying him and raised his eyebrows. "Is there something I can help you with?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Just curious about what's going on between you and Colonel Rabb."

"Lieutenant, the Colonel is married, as well as my superior. There is nothing going on between the two of us."

"You think people don't notice the way you look at her?" She had no clue if other people actually noticed, but she did.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant."

Singer smirked, knowing she had affected him and walked out of the room.


The rest of the day was uneventful, as was the next day. Not wanting to talk about her problems with her marriage, she hid in her office when she wasn't required to be somewhere else. But on Friday, when she was so close to freedom she could almost taste it, Harriet was fed up with her evasiveness and cornered her in her office.

"Colonel- Mac. I know something is going on. You can deny it all you want, and you can try and avoid me all you want, but neither of us are leaving this office until you tell me what's going on."

Mac sighed and leaned back in her chair. "You realize that you're essentially holding a senior officer hostage."

"I don't care. You're my best friend and I know something is going on." She sat down in the chair across from her desk. "And besides, the Admiral is worried about you too. So go on. Tell me."

Knowing she was caught, she straightened her posture and fiddled with the diamonds and platinum on her finger. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me one thing."

Harriet nodded. "Of course."

"What I'm going to tell you will probably affect your friendship with Harm. I don't want it to, but I'm logical and I know it will. Please just remember he's your friend, separate from our marriage. He's the godfather to your children, so don't shut him out, please."

Harriet's eyes were wide. "Mac, what is going on?"

"Harm and I have separated, as of right now anyways. He had an affair when he was in California and I asked him to leave the apartment."

Shock was the understatement of the century. She had known Harm as long as she made Mac, and she couldn't believe it. "Are you sure?" She asked softly.

Mac nodded. "Yes. He came home early from Miramar and told me that evening. He said it was a one time thing and that he was drunk and it didn't mean anything. But I needed some time to process, so I went out for air and asked him to not be there when I got back."

"Have you seen him since?"

She shook her head. "No. That was Monday night. I haven't seen him or heard from him since."

Harried nodded, her heart breaking for her friend- both of her friends. "So what are you going to do? Are you going to get a divorce, or do you think you'll be able to forgive him and work through this?"

Moisture pooled in her eyes. "I don't know what we're going to do. I can't picture my marriage being over, but how will I ever be able to trust him again after this?"


Loren Singer smirked as she walked away from Mac's door. No one could ever say she didn't have excellent timing. Their marriage was on the rocks. She couldn't believe it. As she walked back to her office, she noticed Brent at the fax machine.

"So I know something you don't know."

He glanced at her and sighed. "You've been here at JAG headquarters for a lot longer than I have. I'm sure you know several things I don't know."

"This pertains to a certain Marine Colonel."

Brent whipped around and his eyes narrowed. "Lt. Singer, I've told you there is nothing between us."

"There could be."

He rolled his eyes. "She's married and my superior officer. There is nothing there."

Loren studied him and smirked. "What if I told you that her marriage was on the rocks and that she had herself participated in an affair with a superior officer a long time ago?"

"How do you know all of this?" He asked, his curiosity having been peaked.

"I told you. I know lots of things you don't know."


Mac had never in her life been so relieved to be home. Her head was throbbing after her difficult conversation with Harriet, and she just wanted to curl up and hide from the rest of the world. She discarded her uniform almost the moment her front door was closed. She changed into navy running shorts and searched for a clean t-shirt to put on. After perusing her clothes, her eyes wandered to Harm's bureau. She opened a drawer and pulled out a familiar t-shirt, bringing the soft, worn material to her face and burying her nose in the clean smelling cotton. She shook out the t-shirt and slipped it on, feeling comforted by the familiar garment. After pulling her hair into a pony tail, she grabbed a blanket off of the foot of her bed and headed into the living room. After about five minutes of flipping through the countless channels on the TV, she tossed her blanket to the side and reached for her laptop. Once her password was entered and she was patiently waiting as she was logged in, the silence was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. With a sigh she got up and made her way to the door.

"Commander Tillman."

He flashed a big smile. "Colonel Rabb, I was wondering if you had a few moments."

She sighed and glanced over her shoulder at the clock on the digital cable box. "It's pretty late, Commander. Can this not wait till Monday?"

Flustered she opened his mouth, but words wouldn't come out. "Well, technically it could. But I have a free weekend and was hoping to get caught up on some cases. I won't take up much of your time."

Relenting, Mac opened the door wider and stepped aside to let him in. "I'll give you a few minutes." Once the door was shut, she noticed his eyes on her legs. "What did you have a question about, Commander?" she asked, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Oh. Of course." He followed her to the sofa and opened up his briefcase. He pulled out a file and handed it to her, studying her face as she read over the finer details. While she read, his eyes roamed over her body. The baggy t-shirt she wore, which was obviously her husband's as it proclaimed her as 'Property of the United States Navy', obscured her figure slightly, but she was still a beautiful woman. He almost began to salivate when she crossed her legs. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the toned, tanned skin. He reached out under the pretense of gesturing to something in the file and brushed his hand against her kneecap.

She jerked away as if she had been burned and stood, thrusting the file at him. "I can't believe I fell for that. Leave. Now."

"Mac, I know about your marriage. I'm here if you need someone to talk to."

Her eyes darkened and she took a step away from him. "My marriage is none of your business. And you don't want to talk. You're hoping I'm so distraught and pissed off at Harm that I'll fall into bed with you." She picked up his briefcase and handed it to him. "Get out before I have you forcibly removed."

Intimidated by the expression on her face, he took his briefcase from her and started for the door. He turned to look at her and smiled. "If you change your mind let me know." He opened the door and walked out.

She groaned and walked to the door, locking it behind him. 'That son of a bitch.' She had barely made it back to the couch when she heard a knock on the door, louder this time. She went back to the door and jerked it open. "What!" Harm's eyes widened and she sucked in her breath. "Sorry. I thought you were someone else. What do you want?"

"I came to get a few of my things. Is that okay?"

Mac nodded and stepped aside, letting him in. He shut the door behind him, and studied her for a minute. She looked tired, but beautiful. He also couldn't help but feel slightly comforted that she was wearing his favorite shirt. He stopped staring and headed to the bedroom. She stood there in the entrance before following him to the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as he put items in a duffel bag. The silence was nearly stifling. Both had so much they wanted and needed to say, but couldn't put their thoughts into words. After several minutes of silence, Harm turned from the closet and looked at her. "How are you?"

Her eyes began to water and she avoided looking at him. "I'm doing okay." After a moment she looked up, meeting his gaze. "I'm getting by. How are you?"

He shrugged. "I've been better. I'm… I'm getting by."

Mac nodded and they stared at each other in silence for a few moments.

"I miss you so much." He said simply.

The tears began to fall and she quickly wiped them away. "I miss you too." She watched as he timidly sat next to her on the bed. "This is the hardest thing I've ever been through." She said softly. "I don't even know what to do or how to act. I feel so empty inside."

He nodded. "I hate myself for doing this to you. And even if you could forgive me, I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself. I promised you my love and devotion and fidelity and I broke that promise. I never stopped loving you and I never will, but fidelity was a part of our wedding vows and I broke it." He looked at her and smiled softly. She still wore her wedding rings. That was at least something. "What are we going to do?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, Harm." She twisted her rings around her finger, a movement that had become a nervous habit for her the past few days. "I don't know where we should go, or what we should do. Or how we could move forward."

"Do you want our marriage to be over?"

Mac shrugged. "I don't know." She stood up and walked to the other side of the room. "I don't know if I can forgive you, but I'm not sure yet if I want to give up on us."

Harm stood and walked over to her. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No. Just give me some more time; more space."

He nodded. "I'll give you whatever you want. I know you might not believe this right now, but I love you so much, Sarah. So much. And I know we have problems, but I believe we can work through them. Please think about that." He watched her as she nodded. He smiled and picked up his duffel bag and left the apartment.

End Part Four

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