Chapter 7 -

"Do you have a minute?" Harm glanced up to find Sturgis standing at his doorstep. The last year between the two friends had been extremely tense and both missed the camaraderie. The awkwardness and disdain abated some when Sturgis offered the office back to Harm as an olive branch. To be fair, he really did enjoy the small supply room that he considered an office. The pipes and the overall industrial feel of it reminded him of the bubblehead life.

Harm waved his friend in. "Sure, what can I do you for?" His eyebrow rose in curiosity when Sturgis closed the door behind him and then settled into one of Harm's guest chairs with something of rattled expression. It was very odd to see the man out of sync and for a moment, Harm was very concerned. "Sturgis?"

With a sigh, his friend produced a small velvet box which he placed right in front of Harm. "For the first time in my life, I don't have the words to say."

Upon opening the box, Harm found a simple diamond engagement ring with a rock big enough it surely would consume most if not all of Sturgis' paycheck. "Awww, I didn't know you cared." He tried to joke but, at the serious look in his friend's eyes, Harm relented. "Sorry… I guess I don't have to ask how serious it is."

"I thought I was in love with Bobbi."

Harm snorted, "Bobbi only loves herself, Sturgis. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did. You're too good for her."

Sturgis took a breath and finally got the courage to ask the one thing he'd been curious about but, couldn't quite bring himself to ask. He knew that things and Mac were dicey after they had both disappeared to South America he just couldn't understand why Mac would go to Webb. "You resigned your commission for Mac, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Because you love her."

"Yes."

"Then why was she with Clayton Webb?"

Harm took a breath wondering for the zillionth time why she had gone to the spook. He wished he could turn back time and go back to that argument they had at the hotel in Paraguay. He wanted her then but, his jealousy got in the way. "Because I'm an ass who can't figure out my feelings for her until it's too late." He said in a rush and smiled sadly. "I have this beautiful woman who wants me and all I could do was push her away. Now she's the one pushing me away." They were quite a pair. Curiously, he kept his eyes on Sturgis as the man took back the velvet box and slipped it into the pocket of his trousers. "You thinking of leaving the Navy, aren't you? That's why you brought up my resignation."

"The more I spend time with Varese the more I consider it. She has a good life, a good career and after the past year, I'm not sure I want to do this anymore." He had taken a blow, a hard one and it had shaken his confidence greatly. With Varese he felt good, whole and happy, perhaps it was time to move life along. "Does Mac know how you feel?"

Harm glanced up to find the object of his affections walking through the bullpen with a stack of folders in hand. Did she know how he felt? "Not in so many words but, we're working on it."

Although Sturgis had never been the type to break a promise, he felt it was time. The secret he'd been hiding for nearly three years was gnawing on him. He couldn't see his friends hurting any longer or caught in a whirlwind relationship that took more hits than a submarine at war. "Mac's in love with you, Harm. She let it slip a few years ago I just… She promised me not to say a word and I… Webb's dead, neither of you are attached. Figure this thing out before you lose her forever."

'Mac's in love with you.' The words reverberated in his head and practically sucked the energy out of the room. Harm sat, staring wide-eyed at his friend. He knew, he supposed that she felt something more than friendship but, love and being in love were two very stark differences.

"We're trying to work it out, believe me." He offered his friend a grin and instantly Sturgis realized the pair had made some headway. "Took her flying with me this weekend. We just haven't exactly done the first date thing." He snorted at how that sounded and how to approach the new dynamic of his relationship with her. They had kissed a few times that weekend, once in Blacksburg and another time when he dropped her off at her apartment on Saturday night. On Sunday they had gone for breakfast and he managed to sneak in another kiss. They weren't exactly laced with passion but, they had been nice and promised so much more.

A knock at his door had both men glancing through the binds to find Mac waiting expectantly. She had a bright smile, something no one had seen from the Colonel for weeks and Sturgis knew it was time to make himself scarce. "At some point, I want details." He told his friend and opened the door to let Mac in. "Good morning, Colonel."

"Commander." She smiled at him before stopping at the edge of Harm's desk. "I thought Cresswell said he didn't want flowers?" Mac said, with an infectious smile. She was going to be tough with him and sternly ask that he not give her more flowers and cause issues with Cresswell but, she couldn't.

Harm leaned back into his chair casually pretending her nearness wasn't making his stomach do somersaults or that his fingers weren't aching to touch her skin. "He said he didn't want a jungle. I figure he could stand a dozen roses."

"Or two?" At his expression she chuckled, he was going to bankrupt himself on flowers alone. "There's two dozen roses there, Harm, not one dozen and they are not red." Most men she was involved with gave her red roses, the common type when you were in a relationship.

"No, they are not. Those roses are orange. At least, they should be orange. They are orange right?"

At the way he was practically panicking, Mac nodded. "They are. Why orange?"

He motioned with his index finger for her to wait and pulled out a little card from his breast pocket. "According to what I researched." He glanced at the card and read out the notes that he'd made. "Orange roses are supposed to mean enthusiasm, fascination and desire."

It was the way he said the last word and how he held her gaze that made Mac's pulse quicken. They hadn't slept together over the weekend, mutually deciding to wait a bit longer. After their kiss Harm was the consummate gentleman and Mac was glad for it. As much as she loved him, she wasn't ready for a sexual relationship just yet. "Do you desire me?" The question came out before she could stop it and she saw something in his eyes that he'd been hiding for months - a heady passion that was overwhelming yet needed.

"Pretty sure there hasn't been a time when I haven't found you desirable."

"You're pretty desirable yourself, flyboy."

They were holding each other's gaze, engaged in one of their famous silent conversations that both had missed. Harm's eyes couldn't help but glance at her lips recalling how it felt to kiss Mac. The memory of her full lips moving with his and the soft moan that she made had him thinking things that were better left out of the office. "Mac, will you…"

"Commander, the General will see you now." Coates' voice interrupted and Mac was visibly disappointed at whatever question he was about to answer.

Harm pressed down his intercom button and rolled his eyes. "Be right there." He stood and came around the desk, pressing his hand to the small of Mac's back as he escorted her out of his office. "I'll come find you a little later."

She shivered at the contact and gave him a soft peck on the cheek before retreating to her office. "Please do."

When Harm stepped into the General's office he was visibly nervous. The subject he was about to drift into wasn't normally the type to discuss with a commanding officer although he wondered a time or two how Chegwidden would have reacted. He closed the door behind him and stepped up to Cresswell's desk, his body coming ramrod straight out of habit. "I would like to speak to you privately sir. It's about a personal matter."

Cresswell knew that working with Squids would be a bit of a headache. They were too soft, to whiny and he was making it his personal venture to keep his command squared away. He didn't glance up at Harm simply kept working on the report in front of him. "Did your former CO often grant private conversations?"

"No sir, Admiral Chegwidden was a former SEAL. He rarely ventured into our personal lives unless warranted."

"Take a seat, Commander. This personal matter, have you discussed it with him previously?"

"No, General. Frankly, sir, it never really came up."

The General eyed the Commander wondering if this sudden conversation had to do with his sexual orientation. It was the way of the military these days and frankly, as long as the person was good at their job he didn't care what team his subordinates batted for as long as the drama was kept out of the office. He straightened in his chair and tried to find a delicate way to broach the subject. "But it has come up now?"

"Yes, sir."

"State your purpose." Cresswell said with a visible cringe. Perhaps Chegwidden had gotten it all wrong when the two had sat down before he took command of JAG.

"I ah… well." Harm swallowed nervously wondering if this was how a boyfriend felt speaking with his girlfriend's father. It wasn't necessarily a conversation that he needed to have but, Harm felt it would keep things with their commanding officer on an even keel. "I would like to change the status of my relationship with uh… Well, with Lt Colonel MacKenzie, sir… We're the same rank, so it's not necessary to air this out but… I would like to court the Colonel." Court? Who the hell used words like that anyway?

Cresswell let out the breath he was holding and couldn't help but grin at the younger man. In all of his years in command, he never had an officer ask to date one of his subordinates. The fact that Harm was being so forthcoming had painted him in a better light. As quickly as it came, Cresswell wiped the grin away and leveled Harm with a hard look. "And you felt the need to tell me?"

Harm shifted on the edge of his seat. "Yes sir… Lt Colonel MacKenzie and I have circled around this for nine years. It was just never the right time and.."

"And it is now under MY command?" The General interrupted with a gruff tone.

Harm cringed. "Our timing, sir has never been the greatest… We miss more than we connect."

Cresswell nodded in understanding. He too had missed a few times with his wife and this job had taken him away from her more times than he could count. Yet, he loved her dearly and they had made a life together that he wouldn't trade for anything in the World. "Do you love her?"

"Yes." Although Harm couldn't really figure out when it had happened only that it did. Sadly, it had taken him too long to figure out that the feelings he had around her was just that - love. It wasn't until her impending wedding to Mic that it started to make sense and by then, it was too late. They'd been on a roller coaster since with no definite end.

"Does she feel the same?"

"God, I hope so." He rushed out hoping he wasn't reading her signs wrong. When it came to Sarah MacKenzie, he wasn't lying when he told her that he needed operating instructions. She had kissed him, they had flirted somewhat but, was that enough?

At Harm's hesitation, Cresswell was instantly on alert. As as JAG he'd seen relationships go south one time too many when only one party held interest. He much doubted that Harm and Mac's dynamic was that macabre but, still, he would always protect one of his own. "This isn't one sided, is it?"

"I don't believe it is, sir... I came to you because of her past and your involvement in it. I need you to know there is no chance of impropriety here."

Ah, now Cresswell understood, clearly MacKenzie had told Rabb about her indiscretion with her commanding officer fifteen years prior. He had made it a point to ream Farrow, a well liked officer that should have known better but, any disciplinary action against Mac would have been light. Cresswell was not the type to scuttle a young officer's career. "Like with Colonel Farrow you mean? I could have brought her up on charges made the Colonels life a living hell but I didn't."

"This isn't fraternization, General. We've been an intrinsic part of each others lives since we met. It's not an infatuation or a whim. I love her more than I ever thought I could."

"I am not as heartless as you think, Commander...Mac was a young, female officer surviving in a man's military when she became involved with Farrow. He was a senior officer that should have known better. I can't fault her because many in the service join to escape a troubled past… She learn from her mistake if not she wouldn't be where she is today...Just like you probably learned from Tailhook being a pilot and all."

"I wasn't involved."

"No but it taught you that goldwings won't get you everything… taught you about consequences."

"That it did, sir." Although he practically did have a girl in every port during the start of his flying career, Harm respected women too much to be anything other than a gentleman.

"You know, Chegwidden told me about you and Mac… We sat down before I took command, he filled me in on the nuances of the staff."

"Oh God." Harm looked absolutely mortified.

"Funny, I said the same… He has a soft spot for the two of you… I believe the words he used were stubborn and stupid."

Harm chuckled, "That we are, sir."

"He also said that everyone knows you love each other but the two of you." The way Harm kept quiet was all of the answer that Cresswell needed. He really didn't care who dated in his chain of command only that they were professional at work. "Permission granted, Commander. Just keep it out of the office. I don't want to send a chaperone every time you go to the law library together."

"Understood sir. thank you." Harm stood up quickly and came to attention turning on his heel when he was dismissed.

"Oh, Harm? You do realize you want ro date a Marine?" Creswell couldn't help is grin and an amused expression at what a sailor dating a Marine would look like. "A female Marine at that. Good luck."

"Thank you, sir." With that, Harm left and weaved his way through the bullpen stopping by the fax machine where Mac stood reading a document that had just arrived for her. "Hey."

"Hey, everything okay?" She studied his expression unable to hide the curiosity as to why he was summoned to the General's office.

"Yeah, can we step into your office for a moment?" At her nod, Harm followed her there stopping to admire his handiwork. It wasn't one or two dozen orange roses, it was three and he hoped not to piss off the General too much. "Are you free for dinner tonight?"

Mac settled into her chair and smiled up at him. "I am. Wanna try that noodle place?"

"No. I was thinking something nicer than that." He leaned against her filing cabinet unsure how one goes about asking a Marine out on a date. It had been on his mind all weekend and a necessary move to further his relationship with Mac. He wanted to see her out of uniform, relaxed with him. He wanted the whole experience of their first date and how it would likely feel a bit awkward at first.

It was the shift in his body language and the expectant look in his eyes that had Mac realize what he was trying to do. It was sweet to see him this way around her, so careful and calculating so she decided to let him off the hook. "You asking me out on a date, flyboy?"

"Yes, I am… Only if you want to." He said suddenly.

"I do."

"Dress nice."

Mac raised her trademark eyebrow. "Dressy nice, casual nice?"

"Dressy nice." He punctuated and his flyboy grin went up in wattage.