Part Fourteen

THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY

MAC'S OFFICE

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VA

Since the door was open, Harm rapped on the door frame of Mac's office.

Mac looked up, and a warm smile greeted him.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey, yourself," he replied, stepping into her office.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been able to stop by to check on you, but I see that you've made it through your first week back."

"Yeah, I made it, which is why I stopped by. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me to celebrate."

"What are we celebrating?" Mac asked.

"Celebrating getting through my first week." Harm raises his hand so that his palm is facing her, signaling that she shouldn't say what she's thinking. "I know ... it's a small victory, but you should take joy in the little things until you get back on your feet."

"Where did you get those words of wisdom?" Mac asked.

"It could've been some pearl of wisdom that someone told me at the funeral, could've been something that I read on one of the sympathy cards I got...I don't remember," Harm said while shrugging his shoulders. "So, if you haven't been trying to avoid me and we're really okay, how about that dinner?" Harm said, switching gears to get away from thoughts of Mattie's death and her funeral.

"I haven't been avoiding you, though I can certainly understand why you might get that impression. However, the truth is that I've been in court all week. Sturgis has been at the top of his game and has been keeping me on my toes, so, if I haven't been in court, I've been coming up with ways to counteract expert witness testimony or find a way to rebut circumstantial evidence. In fact, I'm only in my office now because the judge called a recess to …." She left the cause go unspoken. "I'll tell you what, since I'm due back in court in nine minutes, why don't I give you all the sordid details over dinner?" she says with a warm smile.

"Sounds good...but if you're going to be in court the rest of the day, would tonight be good or is there a better time for you, tomorrow for instance?" Harm asked, hoping that her response wouldn't be something along the lines of 'when hell freezes over'.

"If Sturgis deals me any more surprises this afternoon, I'll need a break before I spend a weekend cracking the books to blow him out of the water on Monday, so tonight would be great, if you don't mind eating late. I probably won't be able to change and meet you anywhere until at least 1930."

"What do you say to me making reservations at Fresco's for 1930, and I'll pick you up at your place at 1900?'"

"If you're going to come by for me, make our reservation for 1900 and pick me up at 1830."

"Then I'll see you at 1830...and good luck in court this afternoon."

"Thanks. I'll see you tonight."

Harm turned and left her office. He had a date for dinner...with Mac. What a difference a week could make in your life, he thought, smiling for the first time in more than a week on the way back to his office.

THAT EVENING

Not wanting to be too early or late, Harm timed how long it took him to get up to Mac's floor by way of both the stairs and the elevator. After being sure that he had the timing down, he went to his car and waited until it was 1826.

He was out of his car and at the elevator at 1827, and thanks to his precise timing, he knocked on Mac's door at 1830 on the dot.

Mac opened the door. "Hey, Harm, right on time. I'm ready...just let me grab my purse and we can leave for the restaurant."

Harm was admiring the form fitting top of her dress and the flirty skirt as she turned to retrieve her purse.

"The wind has picked up out there, so you may need a sweater or a jacket, too."

"Then come in because I'll need a minute to I see if I have something that goes with this dress. If not, I might have to change," Mac said, heading off in the direction of her bedroom.

Mac returned with something in her hand. "Is it cold or just windy?" she asked Harm, who'd stepped in enough to close the door, but hadn't ventured any farther into the apartment.

"Just windy right now," Harm replied, glad that she hadn't put on some heavy jacket that covered up her nice dress.

"Then this wrap should be enough protection against the wind for the short distance between my building and the car, and the car and the restaurant," Mac said as she began to drape the wrap around her shoulders.

"You look beautiful," Harm said without giving it much thought, but once the words had left his mouth, he had second thoughts. He didn't want her to think that this evening was about getting her into bed.

Acknowledging his compliment, Mac said, "Thank you." Then she added, "I'm ready to go if you are, Handsome."

"Uh," he stammered. Well, it wasn't really a word since it had no real meaning, just more of a caught off guard, don't know what to say 'fill in'. She'd thrown him off by her comment. Was she flirting with him?

Regaining some of his equilibrium he said, "Yeah, let's go."

By the time they arrived at the restaurant, the awkwardness at her apartment was gone.

After they'd ordered, Mac asked if he'd been assigned any interesting cases, and he said that there was nothing worth mentioning, and then he asked her about the case that had kept her so busy this week.

As it turned out, the case that Mac was defending in court was a convoluted one, and with the interruptions of the waiter checking on them, it took Mac the rest of dinner to tell him about it.

During the drive back, they talked about how the evening had turned cold while they'd been eating, how nice their meal had been and other such idle chit-chat.

Being a gentleman, Harm got out of the car to escort Mac to her door. For Mac's part, she didn't object when he accompanied her because she was having a good time. She'd missed being able to talk to him this week.

Mac turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door.

"Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee or tea?"

"I don't want you to be able to pin any blame on me for not getting your closing argument written this weekend, so I should go and let you get some sleep so you can start on it fresh in the morning."

"Nonsense, come in. I have all weekend to get my work done. Besides, you know what they say, all work and no play..." Mac said happily as she stepped into her apartment.

"If you're sure," Harm said as he followed her inside.

"I'm sure. Now, did you want coffee or tea?" Mac asked as she removed her wrap and placed it on top of her purse.

"Tea."

"Then make yourself at home. I'll be back in a minute with our tea."

Harm watched as her turn made the skirt portion of her dress move like small, gently rolling waves coming to shore.

Once she was out of the room, Harm finally took a breath.

As Mac made tea in her kitchen, Harm was thinking about how much better Mac was handling their tryst than he was. The only explanation for her being so calm about it was that she didn't have feelings for him. Was this the same no-strings idea that she'd had in mind in Australia? Perhaps it wasn't. Maybe it was just that, being alone for the last year, she'd had a physical need and, since he'd been in need, emotionally at least, it was just as she'd said, a moment in time when they'd both wanted or needed the same thing, and now that moment was over.

Harm was sitting on her couch lost in thought when Mac returned with their tea. It was the sound of her placing the tray down on the coffee table that pulled him into the present once more.

Mac sat down beside him.

"Harm, I had an ulterior motive for asking you to stay for tea," Mac confessed as she offered him a cup.

"Really, what would that be?" His mind was hoping that she was going to say that she wanted to go out again, and not as friends.

"I took up all of our dinner time talking about my big case, which I want to thank you for because it felt really good to get it off my chest, but I didn't get a chance to ask how you're doing."

"I told you that I don't have any big cases...nothing to get off my chest," Harm answered, trying to divert her away from the topic that he saw coming.

Mac put her hand on his arm. "I'm not talking about work. It's been more than a week since you lost Mattie. How are you doing?"

He was staring at her hand on his arm. Even through his jacket sleeve, he could feel the warmth of her touch on his skin.

"I guess that I'm doing what's normal. I have this feeling that I haven't seen her in a while, and it's just like when she was living with her father. Then I'll want to hear her voice and I'll pick up the phone to call her before I realize that she isn't going to answer the phone."

"I'm so sorry, Harm. Is there anything that I can do?" Mac said sincerely.

"Monday afternoon, when I got home from work, I wanted to give her a call. I dialed the entire number, and it rang twice before it hit me. Earlier today, when I went to call her to let her know the date of my next carrier quals, I dialed only the first three or four numbers. So, I guess you could say that I'm doing better."

"Harm, can I ask you one more question?" Mac asked softly.

Harm nodded affirmatively, not wanting to risk his voice cracking since his emotions concerning Mattie's loss were so close to the surface.

Mac pulled her hand back and swallowed hard. This was a tough question for her to ask, but she had to do it. She had to know if she had more to worry about when he flew his quals.

"Do you think that, since Mattie died ..." Mac paused and started again. "Are you going to be okay when you fly your quals?"

"Mac, I've crashed before and I still fly. I wasn't flying the plane that Mattie was in. I wasn't even at the airfield. I'll be fine," Harm replied, though the truth was that he hadn't given the idea of flying much thought since he'd been sidetracked when he'd tried to call Mattie and realized that she was gone...again.

"Well then, what do you say to taking me up next weekend?"

Was Mac suggesting that he take her up in his plane next weekend? She hated to fly with him, and after their only flight together in 'Sarah' and their crash in a similar plane in Paraguay, he never thought that she'd ever agree to go up with him again, much less be the one to suggest the flight.

Should he let her off the hook by saying that her offer was touching, but wasn't necessary? If she suggested that he take her up, then she must be really worried about him. Should he agree to take her up to ease her mind?

He felt her hand back on his arm a moment before he heard her speak. "Harm, I want you to take me for a ride." Her words sounded like a plea.

He'd been taking too long to answer, but with her second request, he could answer only one way.

"Are you free next Saturday?"

"Yes."

"Then what do you say that I pick you up early? We'll stop for breakfast on the way to Blacksburg, and I know this place where we can pick up a picnic lunch. We'll get one, and then I'll take you for a ride."

"Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a Saturday to me."

Harm gave her a warm smile as he put down his tea cup.

"Then I'd better get out of here so you can get your closing argument written this weekend, or Cresswell may have you pulling extra duty next weekend as punishment," Harm said as he stood up. "I'll talk to you this week to confirm our plans and give you a specific time on Saturday for our departure."

"I'll be looking forward to hearing from you."

Mac walked him to the door, and they said good night to each other as he exited her apartment.

Once Harm got into his car, he wondered if he'd made the right decision by agreeing to take her flying.

Harm pulled away from the curb, still unsure about their plans for next weekend, but glad that he'd resisted the temptation to kiss her good night and feeling good that their friendship hadn't been irrevocably broken by them sleeping together.

'Now, I just have to find a way to get past that fact myself, to just leave it as a wonderful moment in time the way she has', he thought as he drove towards his apartment.