Bethesda Hospital

Corridor outside Captain Livingston's Office

After the Admiral excuses himself from Captain Livingston's office, he decides to give Harriet a call. He assumes that Mac probably hasn't had a chance to call her with everything else that has been going on. He wants to update her before heading back to Harm's room to see what other trouble his two senior attorneys have managed to get into during his absence. Hopefully, he won't return to find the Commander pinned to the floor.

Harriet picks up the phone, immediately concerned when she sees the Admiral's number on her caller ID. She doesn't even start with the pleasantries before inquiring, "What happened to Harm, Sir?"

The Admiral states, "Take a breath, Harriet. Harm had a little scare earlier with his blood pressure, but he is doing fine now. So far, so good, but the doctors haven't found anything that could have caused his blood pressure to spike, so they are just taking a wait and see approach right now. He is staying at least for the night. When I left him about half an hour ago, Mac was with him, holding down the fort."

Harriet lets out a deep breath, so happy with the good news that the next words fly out of her mouth without her even thinking, "Well that's fantastic news. I can't very well plan his wedding with him being out of it."

The Admiral shakes his head, wondering if over the course of the evening that he missed something. He exclaims, "Can't plan his WHAT?"

Harriet mutters under her breath, "OH SHIT, I forgot who I was talking to!"

Unfortunately, the Admiral hears her. He inquires, "Lieutenant, what on earth are you talking about. What wedding?"

Harriet stammers, "Um nothing, Sir."

The Admiral states again, a little more forcefully, "Explain yourself, Lieutenant!"

Harriet sighs, she is going to be in so much trouble. Bud is going to have to take emergency leave to come back to the states to defend her. She replies, "Well, it's just that Bud made some remarks about Harm seeming euphoric the last time he bumped his head. You know, when you were in New Mexico, and he was acting JAG, and he fell out of your chair. Between that, and the way he was looking at Mac earlier when they were here, I was thinking that maybe this time the two of them will admit what has been right in front of them all along."

AJ inwardly chuckles at Harriet's enthusiasm. She is always trying to play the matchmaker. He speaks quietly, "Harriet, even if those two do decide to give it a go, I don't think you need to start planning their wedding just yet."

Harriet rushes, "But, Sir. You have no idea how long these things take to plan."

The Admiral thinks to himself, 'I swear the planets must be out of alignment again! There are definitely days when I feel more like a middle school administrator than a commanding officer.'

He chuckles, "Actually Harriet, I do. But, considering they still haven't admitted how they feel to each other after all this time, it will probably be at least a decade before they would even be ready for a wedding. I've seen snails that moved at a faster pace than these two."

Harriet outrights laughs, "True, Sir. But it never hurts to be too prepared, just in case."

AJ resigns himself to the fact that he isn't going to talk her out of it, without actually ordering her not to interfere. He simply states, "You do what you need to do, Harriet. Just keep it out of my office! And don't push too hard, or you are liable to piss off a Marine."

Harriet smiles at her small victory before asking, "By the way, Admiral, how is Mac?"

AJ replies, chuckling, "The Colonel is doing just fine. I'd be more worried about the Commander right now."

Harriet says, "Well yes, he is the one in the hospital. Of course, I am worried about him too. I just figured if you are at the hospital, then Mac must need someone to talk to."

The Admiral lets his armor down for a moment, showing his soft spot for the woman he considers a daughter, "She did a little bit ago, but she is doing just fine now that Harm seems to be ok. I just hope he doesn't end up with any additional injuries from her kicking his six. I should probably go check and make sure that they are both still in one piece."

Harriet laughs, "I could easily see her doing that. Thank you for the call, Sir, and have a good night."

Chegwidden responds, "You too, Harriet. Give my namesake a kiss for me. Goodnight."

Bethesda Hospital

Back in Harm's room

The Admiral walks back into Harm's room to hear him teasing Mac, ""You're cheating!" The Admiral realizes that his principal role doesn't only apply to his junior staff, but to Harm and Mac as well, maybe even more so in the senior attorney's cases.

Mac giggles, "I am not! Just because you can't remember what pairs we have already played doesn't mean I am cheating!"

The Admiral inwardly smiles. He hasn't seen these two this carefree with each other in a long time. He really can't even remember the last time he saw Mac smile this much. Never, in all of her time with Mic, did she act like this. As he racks his brain, he realizes that it was definitely before Harm had returned to active flight status that he last saw her like this. He stands quietly in the corner continuing to watch their by-play.

Harm can't help the fact that he has been paying more attention to Mac than actually concentrating on the game. He laughs, "My memory is perfectly fine, thank you."

Mac banters, "Well it might have been good before you knocked your noggin on Harriet's floor, but now….I'm not so sure."

Harm squints his eyes at her, oblivious to the fact that the Admiral has come back into the room, as he challenges, "Alright Ninja-girl, quiz me!"

Mac pauses as she contemplates what she should ask him about. The UCMJ? Nah, too easy. Something personal from their past that only he would know? No, she doesn't want to get started on that subject again, both for the sake of his health, and for her sake of disappointment that he wouldn't remember right now. She notices out of the corner of her eye that the Admiral is standing there. She gets a wicked gleam in her eye, taking a gamble that Harm hasn't seen AJ come back in, and asks, "Ok. Flyboy. How many hairs does the Admiral have left on his head?"