"You cut your hair." Harm noticed when Mac walked into the conference room and took her usual spot next to him. It was just a little shorter than shoulder length and it was all he could do to not run his hands through the silky strands. As is, he reached out and pinched the tips between his fingers unable to stop himself from touching her. She had added a few highlights to it as well and he thought she looked damned cute. Delectably cute.

Mac nodded as she settled in and pulled a legal pad out of her briefcase. "Was getting tired of putting it up… You don't like it?" Why would it matter if he did or didn't? It was her body, her hair and he was not her boyfriend. Harm had no say in the matter.

It had been just over three months shy since Clay's death and she was trying to move on as best as possible and resort her life. Then why did she briefly panic like she had at the stylist two days ago when she decided, on a whim that it was time to change her look? The long hair, while nice when she was dressy was an absolute headache to maintain in the military. It was up in a bun most of her waking hours and required too many products and too much time to keep it manageable enough to keep it ready for work.

On top of that, it was the hairstyle that she used because Webb had liked it. He had mentioned to her at the inception of their relationship that most of his girlfriends had longer hair. Mac would like to think that she had let it grow out of her own volition but, it would be a lie. Her want to please him had turned her into someone she didn't want to be. It made her erratic and desperate not to destroy yet another relationship. That was over now and she found that moving forward and moving on dictated a new hairdo.

"I do like it!" Harm said quickly and just a little too enthusiastically catching the attention of Sturgis and Bud who were sitting across from them.

The woman could go to work wearing a paper bag every day and she would still be just as strikingly beautiful. "But, it matters more what you like, Mac." He just wanted her to be happy again, to see that smile of hers that could stop men at ten paces. And he wanted to be part of the reason she was happy and smiling. Damnit, he really needed a deadline from her, the waiting was starting to kill him.

"It's just the women you've dated always had long hair." Professor Montes has long hair. Mac almost said and bit down the urge to do so.

"We're not dating you and I." He said before turning to her with a full grin. "You're making me wait, remember?" Harm nudged her playfully and was happy to see a soft smile tug at her lips. Just as quickly, it went away and she sighed.

"Right." Mac scribbled something illegible in her notepad. "Clay liked it long." She groaned when the words came out despite them being low so he wouldn't hear.

But, Harm did hear them and he wondered how long she would continue to bring that part of her past up. Why couldn't she see that the man was a cancer? Why did she give so much of herself to him? The thoughts boggled his mind and then he recalled it had been his fault as well. He pushed her to him, didn't fight when he should have. He didn't answer her calls or care to be her friend because his male pride was hurt. "Well, I like it short. You look cute."

Cute? He called her cute? She couldn't help the bright smile that spread across her lips or the way her eyes lit up at his comment. "You think I look cute?"

"Yep." At her smile, Harm's own went up in wattage. He felt a little tug on his heart and that ever persistent urge to kiss her passed fleetingly through his mind. God, if they were alone he would have stolen a kiss and happily dealt with the aftermath. "The shorter hair frames your face better, shows off your eyes. Yeah, you look cute." And so damned sexy. Cute and sexy, Harm decided when those brown eyes held his own in a silent conversation that he missed so much. Part of their old dynamic was starting to fall into place again. Thank God. "Maybe more than cute? You're beautiful, Mac."

She sighed happily at his comment and how good it made her feel. Mac felt some of the fragmented pieces of her begin to heal like Harm had slathered a soothing balm over her soul. He always had this charming side that could make her forget even his worst misgivings. They way he was looking at her now made her feel wanted and loved. "Thank you."

Bud nudged Sturgis and motioned towards his two mentors with a look of absolute shock. He had never seen them that involved with each other, gazing unabashed as if they'd… "At ease, Commander. That's been a long time coming." Sturgis said quietly.

"Good morning." Harm rammed his knee against the conference room table when it took him a second too long to snap to attention as their commanding officer entered. He was so enthralled looking at the woman sitting next to him that he barely stood up in time.

"As you were." Creswell said before pulling out the chair at the end and settling into it. Meticulously, he laid out the files he had in his hands, settling them in neat piles just in front of him and then stared directly at Mac. The man did not seem pleased. "Lieutenant Colonel MacKenzie."

At the use of her full rank, Mac's spine stiffened and the stoic, Marine facade slipped into place. She sat straighter and would have come to full attention if she'd been standing. "Yes, sir?"

Creswell stared her down, his eyes casting an air of annoyance that made her wonder if their conversation a week prior was all for naught.

They had cleared the air, so to speak when the older Marine had caught on a tension around her when he was present. When she brought up Okinawa and her youthful indiscretion, he had taken a different approach. Although he didn't brush off her mistake, he had pointed out that she had been stronger for it and that working with the Navy had softened her demeanor. A true Marine would not be concerned with a sordid past merely moved onward and learned from it.

"Secret Admirer?"

"Sir?" Much of the tension that Mac felt had eased considerably which is why she was confused at the way he was glaring at her as if she'd done something wrong. And what in the hell was he talking about?

The look on her face must have been absolutely lost and confused because a second later, Creswell let out a breath of annoyance. "Have you been to your office?"

"No sir, I was stuck on the Beltway, running a little late and came straight to the meeting. Why, sir?"

His glare didn't abate and if anything, his annoyance seemed to grow by the second. It wasn't so much that the General minded the women in his command to receive flowers or gifts but, it was the quantity that he took offense to. "Your office, it looks like a jungle... Flowers. Every. Damned. Where." He punctuated his words, glare unwavering.

Harm could feel her tense next to him and offered a way to put her at ease. "Oh, I don't know, sir. It gives the Colonel's office some character." He grinned at his commanding officer only to be leveled with the same glare that instantly wiped his smirk off.

"Do you know who it was, Mr. Rabb?"

"No, sir." He cringed inwardly and hoped to God he kept his poker face.

"Because, my yeoman has spent the better part of the morning signing for them. Head of security is not pleased." Creswell shook his head at his officers and took a deep breath. He should have known working with sailors was going to be a nightmare. They just weren't squared away enough for his taste, he would fix that or they would feel his wrath. "Forget it… Colonel, get them out if your office by Monday. This is JAG headquarters not a banquet hall."

Once the meeting finished and they were out of earshot, Mac lead Harm through the bullpen towards their offices. "I could kill you for putting me on the spot like that." She said, leveling with an icy glare.

"Not sure what you're talking about, Colonel." He stopped just outside of her office when she opened the door and walked in.

"What did you… Oh!" Cresswell wasn't embellishing, her office really was a jungle at the moment. There were vases with flowers all over, on her filing cabinets, her desk, the window sill and even the small table in the corner. It wasn't a singular type of flower, either - not the roses that she'd come to expect from a man that she was involved with - not that she and Harm were involved. There was a little bit of everything, roses of different colours, azaleas, sunflowers and even a rather large arrangement with nothing but wildflowers and a teddy bear in the middle. She plucked a small white envelope out of a ribbon that was attached to the bear and opened up it up to find a simple message. 'I'll wait forever for you.'

Harm grinned at his handiwork and smiled when she turned to face him. Just in case anyone checked, he hadn't left a name or initial on the gift card but, the sentiment was real. "I didn't know which one was your favorite so…Maybe I went a little overboard." He admitted with a sheepish grin that won him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." And there was that smile from her, the one that tugged at Harm's heart. He should have done this weeks ago or maybe years ago. She brushed the lipstick stain away from his cheek with the pad of her thumb and then attempted to make some space in order to get to her desk. "I thought you said you weren't a romantic?"

"I'm not." He said, taking two of the vases and placing them at the small table in the corner. "You know, Mac, I was thinking, dinner at my place? You could help me with the Martinez case, kinda stuck on it." He wasn't but, it was an excuse to spend any time with her.

Mac slid into her chair and sighed. God, she wanted nothing more than to spend time out of the office with him. However, her inability to have a baby loomed over her head, a secret she needed to tell him about but, didn't know how to. So, she was throwing herself into work, something she could control, and avoided him.

Besides the night he spent at her apartment nearly three months prior, there was no interaction outside of work. They had settled into a routine and Harm hadn't pushed farther on her condition besides asking how she felt.

He was still being the consummate gentleman and it pained Mac to see him like that. He deserved to be happy. "I may have to stay late. Creswell has me going over the budget report." In truth, she had asked for the extra work in order to stay busy and keep her mind off of her current situation.

"It's Friday."

"And he needs it by Monday."

"Okay, how about a late dinner? I'll wait for you."

"Harm, by late I mean really late."

He figured she was trying to brush him off but, Harm couldn't help but push. It had been nearly three months since Webb's death. Hadn't she said he never fought her? Well, he was fighting now. "Dessert and coffee, then. Whenever you get off just come over, please."

Mac hadn't wanted to concede but, it was the asking in his eyes that made her give in. Desert and coffee did sound wonderful as did his company. "Fine, I'll see you tonight."

It would be close to 2230 when she finally appeared at his doorstep looking absolutely drained and exhausted. She had wanted to go home but, Mac's car had headed towards the Union Station area. Something had drawn her to him, perhaps it was the fact that she did not want to be alone on a Friday night.

Walking into Harm's apartment she found flowers on both the coffee and dining table. Candles were lit in various parts of the loft and some slow music was playing on his radio. If she hadn't known better, Mac could have sworn that this was a date. "I'm sorry I ruined your plans."

"You didn't ruin anything and you're here now." He noticed how exhausted she looked and frowned. "And you're dead on your feet." Damnit, he shouldn't have insisted not if she was going to come to him so drained. "I'm gonna go grab your seabag. Go shower Mac, then you can eat something."

"I'm not hungry." She tightened the hold on her car keys as he tried to take them from her eventually relenting.

"You need to eat something." Harm admonished and then motioned towards his bedroom. "Towels are in my closet. Make yourself at home. I'll be right back."

"Ok." She gave up the urge to resist knowing he wouldn't let it go and what was the purpose of arguing when she'd driven across town just to see him?

Mac took a quick shower and stepped out of his bathroom wearing only a blue towel to find her seabag placed on top of his bed. She fished out her underwear, shorts and a t-shirt - a common outfit she wore to sleep while away from home. Mac quickly dressed and then sat back on the edge of his bed.

She glanced around at his room as if seeing it all for the first time. Her fingers ran over the comforter and without much thought at her actions, she stretched herself out on the matress and laid her head on his pillow. Mac took a deep breath, taking in scent of his cologne and a smell that was very much all Harm. She hadn't intended to fall asleep and yet, that is how Harm found her when thirty minutes had passed since he heard the shower stop running.

He stopped at the edge of the steps smiling at what he found. This wasn't quite the way he wanted her in his bed but, he was happy that she had come to him. He quietly stepped up and drew the comforter over her, careful not to wake Mac.