Chapter Three
11,000 Is A Small Number

WEEK 1
JUNE 11TH, 2001

0930 EST
JAG HEAD QUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harm wasn't really sure what he expected to happen when he got back from Renee's father's funeral. Specifically, what would happen with Mac. Renee decided to stay in Minnesota for the time being, which was understandable, but Harm couldn't help but feel like she didn't come back with him because she knew something was up. Harm had a good poker face in court, but in his private life he was a horrible liar. It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if Renee suspected-or even knew-about him and Mac.

Things had been rocky between Harm and Renee ever since his stay in the hospital, but they never actually took the time to sit down and talk about their relationship status. Then Harm slept with Mac and Renee's father died all within the span of 24 hours, which made things exponentially more complicated.

Then Harm came back to JAG after being cleared for work, and Mac was gone. Not gone gone of course, but she was still gone. That made things more complicated than complicated.

Harm knew Mac was angry with him for going to the funeral with Renee, but in his mind his hands were tied. Renee's father had died, Renee had called him crying. What was he supposed to say? "Sorry Renee. It really sucks that your dad died, but I currently have Mac in my kitchen. Why? Because we just spent half the night having great sex. My condolences about your dad, though."

He couldn't say that.

Coming back, he knew Mac would be mad. Hell, he knew Mac was mad at him when he left. She made Harm well aware that he was-deservedly-in the dog house when she walked out of his apartment without letting him talk to her. He just wasn't expecting her to up and leave like this. All the way to the Guadalcanal. In the Indian Ocean. 11,000 miles away.

His first instinct was to call her, fully aware that he could be making a complete fool of himself. He had no idea what Mac's stance was on their one night stand (they couldn't even really call it a relationship), because they hadn't spent much time talking that night, but Harm would like to think he wasn't a rebound.

Was he a rebound?

Harm was sitting in his office, contemplating all of this. As much as he wished it not to be true, it made sense that he would be a rebound. They slept together the night her engagement ended, so was it possible that she just wanted...company?

Did Mac really just think he was a rebound? Harm's eyes narrowed. He would be lying if his feelings weren't a little hurt by that. He would like to think that the night they spent together meant more than just Mac trying to get over her engagement. Especially after all the years they'd spent dodging their feelings.

Harm's gaze drifted back to his phone. He should call her.

THAT SAME TIME
USS GUADACANAL
MIDDLE OF THE INDIAN OCEAN

In hindsight, if Mac wanted to get away, she should've gone to the beach. She had enough vacation days saved up, she could've easily just packed her bags and gone to Fiji for a month. Or Belize. Mac had always wanted to go to Belize.

Instead, she was on the USS Guadalcanal, which was probably the worst place she could be. Flight carriers automatically made her think of Harm. Then she remembered she was in the Indian Ocean, which was awfully close to Australia, which made her think of Mic. She took the temporary position on the Guadalcanal to get away from them,but they were still very present in her thoughts.

Well, Mic had gotten away from her, but that was beside the point.

It was 1830 where she was, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Mac had been on the Guadalcanal for a little over two days and was currently sitting in her room. She looked at her cellphone, which was sitting next to her on her bed, and instantly thought of Harm.

I should call him, she thought to herself.

He was probably back from the funeral and back at JAG-if he got approved for active duty-and probably knew by now that Mac was gone. She felt bad leaving, especially with giving Harm little-to-no explanation, but she needed to get away. As much as she cared for Harm and wanted to be with him, she couldn't just jump into something so soon after ending her engagement.

She needed to sort things out on her own, and the best way to do that was to get away. It was what she had done in Red Rock Mesa to get sober, and now it was what she was doing on the Guadalcanal to get over her old relationship with Mic and puzzle out her new relationship with Harm. Could it even be called a relationship, though?

It just now occurred to Mac that she could've just as easily sorted through this in Fiji. Or Belize. Preferably Belize.

As if by magic, Mac's phone began to ring while she was still staring at it.

"Hello, Colonel Mackenzie speaking."

"Mac, it's Harm."

Mac's stomach clenched. "Hi, Harm," she greeted, trying her best to sound cheerful, or at least amicable.

"Can we talk?"

"About what?" Mac asked, even though she knew exactly what he wanted to discuss.

Harm, per the usual, called her on her bluff. "You know what," he replied. His tone wasn't angry, but it wasn't happy either. He just sounded hurt, and that made Mac's heat ache, because she knew she was the reason why.

"How was Minnesota?" Mac asked in desperation. She knew she couldn't change the subject, but she was hoping she could at least stall until one of them had to hang up.

"I was there for a funeral, but I guess it was nice other than that."

Mac felt her cheeks grow hot. Did she really just ask him if he had a good time at a funeral? She ran her fingers through her hair, which was already messy from the sea breeze. Pull yourself together, Sarah, she told herself.

"How was the weather? I hope it wasn't too cold."

Mac knew from spending four years there for college that Minnesota could get brutally cold. Especially for a girl who'd spent her entire life up until that point living in Arizona, which had a completely opposite climate.

"It's June, so no. It wasn't too cold," Harm said. "Sarah-"

"Please," she interrupted. "Don't call me Sarah," Because I might fall even more in love with you.

"Alright, Mac. We need to talk."

She sighed. "I know, it's just...can we wait-"

"We've been waiting for years." Harm said, a noticeable edge in his voice. Why'd you leave?"

"Because, there are things I have to deal with. On my own."

"You could've done that here."

"No, I couldn't have."

"We can't keep running away from each other."

"You ran first, Harm!" Mac exclaimed. "We slept together, and then you ran to go be with Renee literally the next day."

"Mac, it was her dad-"

"You acted like what happened between us was nothing, Harm."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"It wasn't nothing, Mac," Harm finally said. His tone was soft enough to make Mac almost forget how mad she was at him. "You and I both know that."

"Yeah, we do."

There was a knock on the doorframe of Mac's quarters. She looked up. It was Gunny.

"What is it, Gunny?" she asked.

"The Captain would like to speak to us, ma'am," he answered.

"Alright," Mac nodded. "I'll be ready in a minute."

"Yes Ma'am," Gunny disappeared, but Mac was certain he was waiting right outside of her quarters, so she'd better hurry. If Gunny overheard any of her conversation, he hadn't made it obvious, which made Mac immensely relieved. That was one thing she liked about Gunny. He knew how to mind his business.

"Listen, Harm," she said. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"When are you coming home?"

Mac paused. It never occurred to her that Harm could be missing her. She hated to break it to him, but it could be a while before she came home. This wasn't just an investigation, it was a reassignment. A temporary reassignment, but a reassignment nonetheless. It would probably be a week or two before she came home, at least.

"I-I don't know, Harm."

She could hear the sadness in his voice when he said, "Alright," and hung up.

0330 EST
APARTMENT OF HARMON RABB
WASHINGTON D.C

Harm would like to think he was sleeping, but really he was tossing and turning with his eyes closed, trying to will himself to sleep.

When was the last time he lost sleep over a woman? High school, maybe.

It was Diane, actually. He'd spent many sleepless nights thinking about Diane, but that was different. That was greif. That was Harm mourning what could've been and the loss of a loved one.

He never told anyone, not even Mac, but he was planning on proposing. To Diane, when they went to her parents cabin up in Maine. Harm hadn't been planning on proposing marriage, exactly-though he wouldn't be opposed to marrying her. He just wanted them to be together, for them to try and have a relationship. But then Diane was murdered, and she was no longer able to accept any proposals Harm had in mind.

The dance he danced with Diane was eerily similar to the one he was currently dancing with Mac. It didn't help that Mac and Diane looked so much alike. Harm had Sturgis over for dinner that night as a sort of informal 'welcome' to JAG and as a chance for them to catch up, and when Sturgis saw a picture of Harm and Mac together, he remarked about how much she resembled Diane.

"You have a type," he'd observed jokingly.

Harm had avoided his feelings for Diane, and that left him grieving her and all the missed opportunities he had with her. Harm was finally confronting his feelings for Mac, and he wasn't about to miss any opportunities with her.

Finally resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, Harm turned over and picked up his phone. He didn't have the precise internal clock Mac had, but he figured it was at least daytime where she was.

As if by magic, Harm's phone started to ring while he was holding it.

"Rabb," he said, his voice a little hoarse.

"Harm?"

It was Mac. Harm instantly sat up. "Mac?"

"Sorry for calling so late. I know it's the middle of the night in DC."

Harm smirked and shook his head. Mac's perfect timing was something he would never get over.

"That's okay," he answered. It wasn't like I was sleeping anyway. "What time is it where you are?"

"1230. I had some downtime so I decided I was ready to talk."

Harm immediately felt the anxiety lift from him. She wanted to talk, she wasn't going to shut him out. This was progress.

"But I can call back later, if you're tired."

"No, no, I'm not tired," Harm insisted. "I'm perfectly fine. We can talk."

He threw the covers back and practically leapt out of bed. Three-thirty in the morning wasn't too early for coffee. He would gladly risk falling asleep at his desk at JAG the next morning if it meant he could talk things over with Mac.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"What should we talk about?"

Harm paused halfway between his room and the coffee pot. He certainly knew there was stuff he and Mac should discuss, but his mind was drawing a blank.

"I-I don't know."

Mac laughed. "Well, let me start. I miss you."

"You do?" Harm asked, completely unaware of how silly he sounded when he blurted that out.

"I do."

He smiled. She missed him. Harm didn't know why, but knowing Mac missed him made him want to melt.

"Do you miss me?"

"Of course."

"I'm sorry for running."

Harm sat down at his counter, suddenly forgetting all about the coffee. "It's okay," he said. "I ran first, and I'm sorry."

"I don't want to keep hiding my feelings for you."

"Neither do I."

"But I want to take things slow. You should too if you want things to work out between us."

"I do. We can take things as slow as you want, Mac. I'll do whatever you want."

"I'm not trying to get away from you, Harm. I just have some things I need to sort through."

"I know. It's understandable."

For the first time ever, Harm and Mac were discussing their feelings in plain terms, without long-winded speeches and declarations that ran the chance of sparking an argument. They just stated how they felt and what they wanted. It felt...refreshing. For the both of them.

Harm heard Mac take a deep breath on the other end of the line. "You're the one person I wanna be with."

After dodging their feelings for so long, finally embracing them felt like a fifty pound weight being lifted off their shoulders.

"I wanna be with you, too," Harm said, surprised to hear his voice catching. The near death experience probably put him more in-tune with his emotions. Keeter would probably just call him a sap. But Harm didn't care if he was a sap. He would gladly be a sap for Mac after keeping her away for so long.

Mac sighed. "I really wish I wasn't so far away right now."

"It's okay," Harm told her with a tired smile. "11,000 miles isn't that far if you're optimistic."

His smile widened when he heard Mac laugh on the other end of the line. "Yeah, I guess it isn't."

Harm yawned before he could stop himself. "You should probably go to bed, Sailor," Mac observed. Harm would have disagreed if he wasn't so tired.

"Alright, I will," he yawned again. "I just have one more question."

"What?"

"Mac...I'm not your rebound, am I?"

"Harm…" there was a pause. "Why on earth would you be my rebound?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, yawning for a third time. "It was just something that crossed my mind."

"I think you need some sleep," Mac said. "You're not my rebound, Harm."

"That's good to know. Goodnight Mac."

"Goodnight Harm," Mac replied, even though it was the middle of the day on the Guadalcanal. "I'll be seeing you."

"I'll be seeing you too. Remember, 11,000's a small number."

"I'll remember."

Mac's laugh was the last thing Harm heard before they hung up. Until that moment, it hadn't occurred to him how much he missed hearing it.