A/N: I absolutely love the varied selection of reviews, PM's, and comments I received on the last chapter. It's good to know that I can still throw my readers for a loop every once in a while. Please keep in mind, the policy doesn't exist anymore as it was abolished in 2011, but at this point in the show "Don't ask, don't tell" was very much alive. This next chapter was getting way too long, so I had to split it up. I hope to have the next installment posted later today or tomorrow.
Of all the questions that Mac was expecting to be asked, that one came totally out of left field. The fates must be paying her back for the question she asked Harm about the Admiral's hair. It was pure karma biting her in the ass. Granted, she had developed the "Mac" persona to be treated like one of the guys, but she never imagined that people would think THAT. She idly wonders how many others have crossed her path that wondered the same thing, and just never voiced it.
Her eyes go wide, and she jumps off the chair, instantly ready to do battle, as she exclaims, "Absolutely Not!"
The nurse steps back, "I didn't mean to offend you, Colonel. And I'm definitely not propositioning you. But you are an apparently single, beautiful woman, and you are with the man every day…it must have some effect on you."
Mac flops back into the chair, realizing that the nurse means no ill will, and it is truly meant as an innocent question. Mac says, "I never said that he didn't. I also never said that he did. So, what exactly, may I ask, is your point?"
The nurse continues to further emphasize her point, "The man is not only handsome, but a gentleman as well. In fact, I don't think I've ever met a jetjock as nice as him. And I have met more than my fair share over the years. I seemed to get stuck with most of them because a lot of other nurses are either over the moon with the thought of 'dress whites and gold wings' or they can't deal with their attitudes. Normally they are cocky, arrogant, and completely full of themselves."
Mac thinks to herself, 'another woman snowed by Harmon Rabb, Jr.' before she grumbles under her breath, "Ha! Not cocky my big toe! Maybe you weren't as immune to his charms as you thought."
The nurse ignores Mac's muttered comment, and continues undeterred. She crouches down next to Mac, and simply asks, "My point is this. After being partnered with the man for nearly six years, you probably know him better than anyone. And you must care for him on some level, or you wouldn't be at his bedside at all hours of the night."
Mac replies with her standard mantra, one she has been perfecting for years, "He's my best friend."
The nurse eyes her warily, deciding that bluntness worked before, maybe she should try it again. She looks Mac directly in the eye and inquires, "Is that really all he is? I'm wondering why aren't you the one with him? You obviously aren't immune to his charms. And don't say it's because you work together because those hurdles can easily be dealt with."
Mac gives an exasperated sigh, her eyes giving her true emotions away. Harm has been sending her feelings in a whirlwind all night with his various comments, and she is just too tired to fight the truth anymore tonight. She buries her face in her hands, before she quietly mumbles, "Timing."
The nurse echoes questioningly, "Timing?"
Mac tries her best not to break down. It has been a hell of a night already. At this rate, she is going to end up in a hospital bed of her own due to stress, high blood pressure, or both. She thinks, 'I bet Harm would get a kick out of the irony of that one. Hell, maybe we can just share one bed.' How can she possibly explain her and Harm's convoluted history to someone who doesn't know the two of them? How can she explain what she doesn't even fully understand herself? But then again, maybe what she needs is an outside perspective. Someone who hasn't been close to them and their crazy, twisted, history. A completely unbiased objective opinion from someone who has no stake in the outcome one way or another. After all, regaling her story will pass the time until the much-needed caffeine delivery truck arrives.
She quietly relates what she believes are the important parts to the tale. "I tried once, to let him know that I wanted to pursue something more." Mac's eyes glaze over with a faint sheen of tears. "We were on a case in Australia. Well, he was on a case, and I was there to escort some remains back to their proper country, and to get away from the dismal DC winter."
The nurse gives her a questioning glare. Mac replies, "Don't ask, it was a complicated mess. In fact, the whole trip was one disaster after another! Why I ever thought that it would be the best time to address our complex relationship is beyond me. I should have known better. But, I figured that we were on a romantic ferry ride on a gorgeously warm night, under a million brilliant stars, and away from the craziness of our busy life in DC. You couldn't really ask for a more perfect setting to try and tell the man that you have been pining over for years that you wanted to move your relationship past the point of friendship. Unfortunately, as such is the case with us on numerous occasions, we were both talking in cryptic phrases that night, and not really listening to what the other had to say. By the time the night was over, I didn't think I had any tears left to cry. I didn't know how wrong I was."
The nurse can feel the pain emanating from Mac as she relays the course of events. She can only ask, "So, he rejected you?"
Mac blows out a full breath of steam, knowing this is where things get even more complicated. She answers, "Yes, and no. I thought he had pushed me away, and it sent me straight into another man's arms. A man that Harm despised by the way."
The nurse drops her jaw, completely flabbergasted. She immediately fires off her next question, "Who could you possibly know in Australia that you would have gone to? Someone else that you work with?"
Mac grimaces, "Not exactly. His name was Mic Brumby." Just saying the man's name still leaves a bitter taste in Mac's mouth. That coffee would be great right about now, something to wash away the tartness. She explains, "He was Harm's opposing counsel on this case, but we knew him from before. Let me see if I can give you the short version. Mic had been assigned to JAG HQ for a time as a foreign exchange officer. He and Harm butted heads from the git go. The downside to placing two Alpha males in small, confined spaces. However, it got much worse. Harm had left JAG to go back to an active squadron after he got his eyes fixed. Mic and I became closer, but only as friends, during Harm's absence. I needed someone to fill the gaping hole in my life where Harm's solid friendship used to be. After Harm returned to JAG, we still hadn't regained the trust and camaraderie that we had before he left to go soaring the unfriendly skies. Our rhythm was off, and Harm didn't care for the way Mic had begun chasing me, and that just added fuel to the already raging fire between them. Mind you, this all occurred before that ill-fated trip to Oz. Anyways, Mic went back to Australia and we didn't see him again until Harm got sent there for the case. After I thought that Harm rejected me, I went out to dinner with Mic the next night, in part to spite Harm."
The nurse just shakes her head, completely understanding the need to not want to be alone. She often flitted from one relationship to another in her younger years, before she met the wonderful man that she married. She gestures for Mac to continue the story.
Mac sighs, "This is where things get complicated. Mic surprised the hell out of me that night. He proposed."
The nurse exclaims, "What?!"
Mac chuckles, "Yes, it shocked the hell out me too! We had never dated, and his proposal came clear out of nowhere, but thinking that I would never have what I really wanted, I placed the ring on my right hand, and told Mic that I would consider it."
Out of the corner of her eye, the nurse spies Petty Officer Charles returning with the coffee. She tells Mac, "Our caffeine fix has arrived. What do you say we go grab a cup, and come back in here? I definitely want to hear the rest of this story."