29
September 22, 1997
Mac turned the engine off and checked with her inner clock. She was only a few minutes late, thankfully. After the Admiral had sent her off to Norfolk yesterday, she had to cancel on dinner with Frank and Trish. Since neither had wanted to let the opportunity slip by now that they were in DC, they had agreed on lunch today, since their flight wasn't leaving until later in the afternoon.
She hurried inside, but, as she had thought, Harm wasn't there yet, either. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized to them both, as she slid into the chair the waiter held out for her. "Traffic was a bit heavier than I had expected."
"You're not late."
She smiled. "My idea of late is being five minutes early, Frank."
He smiled back. "Ah."
They ordered drinks and waited for Harm to show up. He shook his head at Mac, as he pressed a kiss to his mother's cheek and shook Frank's hand. Then he slid into the seat beside her and squeezed her hand. "Hi, you."
"Hi, yourself."
"How was Norfolk?"
"Fairly easy. The Admiral doesn't expect me back until Monday, so I'll finish my report at home later and enjoy a long weekend."
"Good." Harm let go of her hand. "Does that mean you can pick Talls up from Andrea? I have a feeling this last meeting is going to run later than we all want. We need to iron out some kinks and both Admirals are too stubborn for their own good to compromise somewhere."
"Of course. But that does mean Beltway Burgers for dinner."
"Wouldn't dream of anything else." He winked as he opened up his menu.
After they ordered, Frank leaned back in his seat and cleared his throat. "Did you speak to the Admiral?" he asked.
Trish saw Mac tense in her seat for a split second. She looked from her husband to her son and the Marine and back. There was something going on that they weren't telling her. But instead of asking, she waited for Mac's answer.
"I did," Mac confirmed. "He was… more supportive than I thought he would be. He took me seriously, which I'm very grateful for. Has he called you?" That last question was directed at Harm.
Harm nodded, sipping his water. "I talked to him yesterday. He was thorough, I have to say."
Frank seemed pleased. "What is he going to do? Are you pressing charges?"
"Unfortunately, we can't. The US and Australian Navy have an agreement in place that prevents either party from pressing charges on a member of the other Navy as long as they are temporarily assigned to the other side. The Admiral can, however, terminate his temporary assignment."
"And that is what he'll do?"
"That is what he'll do." Mac looked at Trish. "You have no idea what this is about, do you?"
Trish shrugged and shook her head. "My husband and son are quite good at keeping things from me," she said. "Most of the time for good reason. There are some things I'm just better off not knowing." But she could guess. "Are you in trouble?"
The look the Major shared with her son didn't go unnoticed. He gave her an encouraging nod and Mac took a deep breath. Although she barely knew the other woman, something told her that she could trust Trish. At least with some things.
"I'm not in trouble." Harm huffed and she rolled her eyes at him. "Sailor, I'm not in trouble. The Admiral is handling it. If all goes well, he'll be gone before the weekend is over." She turned back to Trish. "I've made a complaint with my Commanding Officer about a Commander who's been sexually harassing me."
Trish's eyes grew wide. "Excuse me?" Then something clicked inside her head. "Is that why you were out of sorts Wednesday?"
Mac looked down at her place setting and started playing with her fork. She paused. "I… Well, yes. He showed up at the apartment just as we were about to leave for Tally's recital."
That explained that. But Trish recognized the troubled look in her eyes, and she knew there was something else. "How long has it been going on?"
"A little over four weeks - more or less since he transferred here." Mac sighed. "It's not that I'm not used to remarks or anything, Mrs. Burnett, it's just that… This is different. He is different." She plucked at her napkin. "I'm not the type of person who goes to her CO the moment things might cross a line. But this is uncomfortable on so many levels. He even made a comment about Frank and me when Frank was kind enough to take me to lunch on Wednesday. I won't repeat it, it wasn't pretty. It was time to tell the Admiral and let him do something about it."
Trish looked at her son. "That means you've seen him. Please tell me you didn't go overboard…"
"Oh, no!" Mac was quick to defend him. "Please, Mrs. Burnett, you've raised a perfect gentleman. Harm is smarter than to get himself arrested for assault on my behalf."
Settling back in her chair, Trish took in the hand on Harm's arm and the fire in Mac's eyes. It wouldn't be the first time Harm found himself in trouble because he was defending someone he cared about. Either Mac didn't know that, or she didn't believe he cared that much. Maybe even both. Giving in, she nodded. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure."
"Harm had urged me to go and tell the Admiral, and told me to trust my gut." Again, her eyes settled on her plate. "But I'm used to doing things on my own, so trusting that there are people willing to help is… difficult."
Trish narrowed her eyes. Wait. This was not the confident Marine she had seen seconds ago, defending Harm. This was the same withdrawn, small girl she had seen on Wednesday. "Sarah… I don't mean to pry, since we barely know each other… I know Diane's life was fairly easy; her parents were there until she was at least nineteen, guiding her growing up. I take it that wasn't the same for you?"
Again, Mac hesitated. The hand that was still resting on Harm's arm squeezed. Perhaps she could share the highlights. "My mother walked out on me the morning of my fifteenth birthday. My father was an abusive alcoholic, and although he never raised a hand against me, seeing your mother… It wasn't pretty."
"What did you do after your mother left?"
"Pretty much the same thing Joe did: I started to hang out with the wrong crowd, turned to a bottle because that was the easiest way to deal with things. Pretend they weren't there. I dried out when I was seventeen."
"And you have no other family?"
"Well, there's Uncle Matt. He and Aunt Helen took me in to dry out and I lived with them for about a year, until I got married. Aunt Helen died a few years ago, and Uncle Matt is still a Marine on active duty, so we don't see each other a lot. There is the occasional letter and a visit when we're both stateside, but that is about it."
That was what Trish had seen. A scared, lonely, little girl. Now that she had Harm and Tally, she was scared to get too attached, thinking that it would be taken away from her, too, at some point. "Have you seen your parents since?"
"No." She shook her head. "I have no idea where my mother is, and Joe… Probably best if we don't see each other again."
Lunch arrived and the conversation halted. Trish saw Mac pick at the food on her plate and decided the girl could do with some encouragement. "Sarah?"
Mac looked up. "Yes?"
"I think you're awfully brave for turning your life around the way you did," Trish softly said. "A lot of people would've given up and decided that they don't deserve better. Yet here you are. I think you should be proud of that. I know I am."
Mac held her gaze, trying to gauge if there was a catch. There didn't seem to be one. "Thank you."
Half an hour later Trish and Mac were standing beside her car. "Take care of yourself, sweetheart. You've come this far, it'll be over soon."
"I will." Mac toyed with the car keys in her hand. "Thank you," she mumbled. "For being so supportive. Frank was the same, and I know that for all of you that's probably not something you think about, but it means a lot."
Trish felt her heart clench. Oh, the girl wasn't used to anything. So far they hadn't even really done anything. "Would it be okay if I hugged you?"
Startled, Mac bowed her head. "Yes, I guess."
Trish held her tight. "You're welcome. I know that us not knowing each other is on me, but you're important to Harm and Tally, so that makes you important to us. I'm late to the party, but still…"
Mac chuckled, letting go. "Don't worry. If it had been my son in that position, I probably would've thought the same, and I would want to protect him, too." Her eyes drifted in the direction where Harm and Frank were having an animated conversation. "I thought he was wrong defending his friendship with me to you. He threw you out of his apartment one of those first times, and I chewed him out. You're his mother!"
Trish laughed. "Yes, and you're his friend. Harm's like his father like that; stubborn and extremely loyal to the people he cares about."
"But you're his mother…"
"Sarah, even mothers can be wrong sometimes. We might pretend to be lionesses when it comes to our children, but we're all still human too. And humans can be wrong. In fact, I'm glad I was."
She saw the hesitation and confusion in Mac's eyes. "Why do you say that?"
"Because I would never have looked past your exterior if it wasn't for the fact that Harm insisted that you were important. And what little I know of you now, makes me really proud to know you."
That was more praise in the span of an hour than Mac had had lately, and she started to blush. "You don't have to say that."
Trish tilted Mac's chin up. "I don't give compliments when I don't mean them. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. And even if you need to lean on someone, don't be afraid to lean on Harm. Or us."
Again, Mac waited for the other shoe to drop, but there was nothing but sincerity in Trish's eyes. "Okay."
"Good." Trish leaned in for another hug. "You have Frank's number, right? Let us know how things go? I now for a fact Frank will be dying to know if it all worked out."
"As soon as I know what's happened, I'll let you know." Mac pulled her lips into a smile. "Have a safe trip home."
Trish watched her pull out of the parking lot with a heavy heart. Mac might seem confident, but there was a lot of self-esteem that could be reimbursed. She turned to Harm. "You take care of her, you hear me?"
Harm grinned. "What? First you don't want me to be friends with her and now I'm not supposed to let her out of my sight?" He wrapped his mother in a short hug. "Don't worry, Mom. I have her back."
