Chapter Eighteen
Idle Gossip

WEEK 13
AUGUST 31ST, 2001

0915 EST
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"As you all are well aware, yesterday Commander Rabb announced he'll be departing from JAG, but he's not the only JAG officer who has an announcement to make. Colonel?" the Admiral finished and turned to look at Mac, who'd been waiting anxiously to deliver the news.

Technically it was her and Harm's announcement, but she was making it by herself. Hey decided that it was best that they not advertise that they had fraternized, at least until after Harm transferred out. The only people who knew the entire truth were Bud, Harriet, and the Admiral. There was Renee of course, but she wouldn't be too much of an issue; neither Harm nor Mac had heard from her since she left DC.

It hurt Mac that she couldn't tell people the whole truth, but if it was going to keep them out of trouble, she could live with it. The hardest part wouldn't be not telling people Harm was the father, but having to deal with people thinking Mic was the father. That was something that made Mac's entire body cringe.

Mac felt herself grow nervous as everyone watched her expectantly. She found it ironic that, as a lawyer, she talked for a living yet found it hard to speak now. She might be a good lawyer, but she hated public speaking, and being in front of crowds in general.

"Well everyone...I have some news," she took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

She was never one to beat around the bush.

After receiving her congratulations from everyone, Mac finally turned around to face Harm. He'd hung back while she talked to everyone else, watching with a smile on his face.

"Congratulations on your pregnancy, Colonel," he said.

Mac smiled. "Thank you. Congratulations on your new position, Commander. I'm gonna miss

you."

She looked up at him with tears shining in her eyes and Harm felt an ache in his chest. The same ache he got whenever he thought about leaving JAG. He would still see everyone on a regular basis, but not coming into that office everyday was something he'd miss more than he ever thought he would. It was the only thing he'd been truly committed to other than flying-and Mac, of course.

"Mac," he said gently, trying to avoid getting misty-eyed himself. "We have the spare keys to each other's places. If you miss me, just call. I'll come over. Or, you can come to me, whatever works. And I'm not leaving for another week or so. There's paperwork that still needs to be processed."

"Harm!" Mac admonished, looking around to see if anyone was around close enough to hear. "I know we're still going to see each other but, like I said, JAG won't be the same without you."

Harm smiled. Mac wasn't helping to cure the ache in his heat. "You also said that this was for the best."

"I did say that, didn't I?" It was indeed for the best, neither of them could deny that. It still hurt like hell to be split apart, regardless.

"You're not gonna get rid of me that easily. I'll still be coming around," Harm gave Mac his signature flyboy grin, and hearing her giggle helped ease his ache.

Mac looked around the room at everyone. She couldn't help but feel like they were all talking about her, or at least thinking about her. It was the 21st century, a woman being pregnant without acknowledging the father (even if she really, really wanted to) shouldn't be scandalous at all, but Mac wasn't a fool. People were people, and people talked. Especially about a pregnant woman.

During her casual scan of the room, Mac's eyes landed on one Lieutenant who she was sure would talk. And it wasn't Bud or Harriet.

"I know one person who probably won't miss you too much," she murmured, and Harm followed her gaze to Lt. Loren Singer.

Harm smirked. "Yeah, I bet she'll throw a damn parade. Yesterday when I announced I was leaving her eyes went straight to my office."

Mac snorted. "The last thing she needs is an office."

"Yeah, good luck with that."

Singer looked up suddenly, as though she had bionic hearing and could hear what Harm and Mac were saying from across the bullpen. Harm and Mac froze until Singer looked away, and then they burst out into laughter.

Meanwhile, Tiner was sitting at his desk, alphabetizing some files for the Admiral.

"Tiner."

Tiner nearly jumped out of his skin. "Jesus Christ, Gunny!" he exclaimed, glaring up at him. Tiner had been so busy reciting the alphabet in his head that Gunny just walked up to his desk without him noticing. "How do you do that?"

Gunny shrugged. "It's a Marine thing."

Tiner rolled his eyes. "What do you want? I'm alphabetizing."

"I want my fifty bucks."

"What fifty bucks?" Tiner asked, his brow furrowing.

"Remember the bet we made?" Gunny leaned in close, lowering his voice. "About the Colonel and the Commander?"

Tiner's eyebrows shot up. "That? You-you were serious about that?"

"Uh-huh. Now pay up."

Tiner blanched, trying to remember if he even had fifty dollars worth of cash in his wallet. "Wait a second," he said. "The Colonel and the Commander aren't even together."

Gunny scoffed. "Yes there are!"

"Then why is the Commander transferring out?" Tiner asked. "Why would they want to be apart if they're together?"

"Because," Gunny said. "They didn't want to get caught fraternizing. Fraternization rules exist, Tiner. Or are you not learning that in law school?"

Tiner rolled his eyes again. "Very funny."

Gunny shrugged, smirking. "Thanks, I try. Now where's my fifty bucks?"

"Hold on, we don't have any hard evidence-"

Behind them, someone cleared their throat. Gunny and Tiner both froze and looked up to see the Admiral standing right behind them. How long he'd been standing there, they had no clue.

"Gentlemen."

Gunny and Tiner both scrambled to stand at attention. "Yes, sir."

The Admiral took a deep breath. "I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear the majority of that conversation."

"Aye, aye sir."

"My apologies, sir."

"With that being said, let me tell you this," the Admiral took a step closer to Gunny and Tiner, and they both swallowed. "If I hear either of you talking about Commander Rabb or Colonel Mackenzie in anything other than a work context, I'll bring both of you up on two charges of disrespecting a senior officer. You two can talk about that."

The Admiral didn't wait for a response before heading into his office and shutting the door, using a little more force than usual. Gunny and Tiner stared after him.

"I'll get back to you about the fifty dollars," Tiner murmured.

Gunny slowly shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

1310 EST
JAQ HEADQUARTERS CAFETERIA
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harriet was sitting by herself in the cafeteria, enjoying her BLT and french fries. She tried to eat lunch with Bud whenever they could, but he was in court with Mac, who was her backup when Bud wasn't available. So today she was eating by herself, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Things could get so hectic around the office that some peace and quiet was welcomed sometimes.

She knew Harm wasn't in court, and that he would gladly eat lunch with her, but he was nowhere in sight and Harriet wasn't desperate enough to go hunting him down just to guilt him into eating lunch with her.

Harriet had hoped the Admiral would let Harm and Mac stay together, like he did with her and Bud, but she supposed that this was for the best. Harm was a staple around JAG, and it was hard for anyone, just not Harriet, to imagine it without him.

At least there was a lot more to be excited now, so much stuff that Harriet could only be but so sad about Harm leaving. Mac was pregnant! Harriet was going to be an aunt!

"Do you mind?"

Harriet looked up, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. "Carolyn!" she said with surprise. "Of course you can sit down."

Great, Harriet thought to herself, Gotta get ready for another interrogation from the Gossip Queen.

Don't get her wrong, she loved Carolyn. She was her closest friend at JAG besides Mac, but she'd been terrorizing Harriet nonstop for information about Harm and Mac for the past few weeks. Harriet was patient, but she was also a terrible liar, and hadn't improved much despite her consistent efforts to do so.

Carolyn knew Harriet was keeping something a secret, and Harriet didn't know how long she could keep that secret a secret.

"So-"

"I don't know anything about Harm and Mac!" Harriet blurted before Carolyn could finish. Carolyn looked at her with wide eyes and some people at nearby tables looked over as well.

"I wasn't going to ask you about Harm and Mac, Harriet," Carolyn said slowly as she took the lid off her salad.

Harriet's face immediately turned red. "Oh I'm sorry I-What did you want to talk about? Instead of Harm and Mac?"

"I was gonna tell you that I'm taking a reassignment in Naples, but if you want to talk about Harm and Mac, we can."

"You're leaving?" Harriet exclaimed, her eyes widening, "Why?"

Carolyn shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted something new and the Admiral was offering, so I took it."

"Wow, you and Commander Rabb in one week. This place is gonna be a ghost ship by the end of the year," Harriet mused as she dunked a french fry into some ketchup.

"Well, don't tell anyone I said this but, this place can get a little drab," Carolyn said, leaning in close. Harriet leaned back, pulling her sandwich and fries back with her. "But it could be a little more interesting if you'd tell me what you knew about Rabb and Mackenzie."

Oh god, here we go, Harriet thought.

"Carolyn, I've told you a hundred times, I don't know anything about Harm and Mac." Harriet spoke with enough uncertainty that her two-year-old son would be able to tell she was lying.

"Then why is Harm transferring out?"

Dammit, how was she going to explain that?

Harriet took another bite of her BLT to stall, trying to think up a plausible response. She could take the high road and say "Carolyn, we shouldn't be gossiping about our coworkers" but that would be awfully hall monitor-esque of her, and Harriet had spent the majority of her life being a hall monitor-esque kind of person. So the high road was not something she wanted to take. At least at that moment.

"Well," she started, still trying to come up with an explanation. "Like you said, maybe things got to drab around here for him."

Carolyn raised an eyebrow. "And things at Annapolis are more exciting than here?" she shook her head. "I don't buy it."

Harriet shrugged. "Maybe he wants to relive the glory days of his youth."

There, that was a good comeback. I'll have to tell Bud about that later, she told herself. And the best part was that it probably had some truth to it. When she first met him aboard the Seahawk five years ago (God, was it that long ago?) Harm struck her as the Peter Pan type-a grown man who still wanted to be a little boy-and that impression hadn't changed much over the years.

That was part of the reason why Harriet was so happy for him and Mac. She hoped that settling down with a signifigant other and a baby would force him to grow up. Not too much to lose his Harmon Rabb-ness, but just enough to make him realize he wasn't twenty anymore.

"That could be," Carolyn admitted. "But I still think you know something."

Harriet wanted to scream. Can't a woman just eat her BLT in peace? Christ!

"Alright," Harriet conceded, and Carolyn's face lit up like Chevy Chase's house on Christmas. "I do know something."

Carolyn opened her mouth to speak, but Harriet held up a hand to stop her.

"But," Carolyn's face fell.

"But," Harriet repeated. "I'll tell you after you're safely in Naples."

Carolyn eyed Harriet for a moment to make sure she was serious. Harriet nodded to tell her Yes, I am serious Carolyn. Take it or leave it.

"Do you promise?"

"Scouts' honor," Harriet said, going the whole nine yards and doing the Boy Scouts salute. Bud had taught her how to do it on one of their endearing-yet-somewhat-awkward first dates. She would've done the Girl Scouts salute, but she wasn't even sure if there was one. The only thing Harriet remembered about being a Girl Scout was selling cookies and braiding the other girls hair, because she had the longest hair in her troupe and she was the only one who knew how to Dutch braid-

"Alright. Deal."

Harriet and Carolyn shook on it, and thus it became a deal. With Scouts' honor attached.

THAT SAME TIME
JAG THIRD FLOOR MEN'S RESTROOM

Harm decided to get a head start on packing up his office, but there was only one issue: he didn't have any boxes. Mac reminded him to take some to work with him that morning, but of course he'd forgotten.

In the meantime, he was going to try and figure out how to divide up his caseload. He was going to try and give an even amount of hard and easy cases to Bud and Sturgis so it wouldn't look like he had a favorite, and he knew he was going to give the impossible cases to Singer because...well, because of karma. With Mac, Harm was going to try and avoid giving her any cases at all costs, because her caseload was just as hefty as his. Harm figured that, since she was already carrying his child, she didn't need to also carry his caseload.

But Harm wasn't going to be the one to tell her to slow down or take it easy. Oh no, he would save that for the Admiral, someone she couldn't curuse at without having her six handed right back to her.

Harm was taking a break from packing, and he was standing at one of the urinals in the third floor men's bathroom. Sturgis came in, which wouldn't have been that big of deal if he hadn't decided to pick the urinal that was right beside the one Harm was standing at.

There were unspoken rules about this kind of stuff. It was guy code.

"Sturgis, what are you doing?" Harm muttered, keeping his eyes trained forward and on his own..person. Harm decided to give Sturgis the benefit of the doubt; maybe he was too used to the close quarters on a submarine.

"I just figured we could talk."

"Talk?" Harm exclaimed incredulously. "We can talk in my office. Or at least with one urinal between us."

Sturgis ignored Harm's quip about the urinals. "So, you're going to Annapolis?"

"Yes…" Harm answered slowly. "But Sturgis-"

"How are things going between you and Mac?"

Harm suddenly understood. Sturgis was trying to intimidate Harm into giving him information about his relationship with Mac. Harm usually didn't have a problem with using intimidation tactics. However, he was of the belief that encroaching on man's personal space by breaking the sacred always-use-one-urinal-as-a-cushion rule was uncalled for in any circumstance and should be considered a war crime.

"What-what things between Mac and me?" Harm sputtered. Something about Mac turned him into a horrible liar. "There are no things between Mac and me, Sturgis." He laughed nervously as he zipped up his fly.

"Harm, I've known you since the Academy. I can tell when you're lying," Sturgis said over his shoulder as Harm went to go wash his hands.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Harm spoke over the sound of the faucet.

"Oh, I think you do."

Harm turned the faucet off with more force than he was intending. "Fine," he said, turning around. "I'm in love with her, okay?"

Sturgis paused for a moment. "Well...that explains a lot," he finally said. "Does that mean you're-"

"The father. Yeah, I am," Harm finished. "Look, please don't go all hall-monitor-"

Sturgis laughed. "Harm, we're not still in the Academy. You're already transferring out. Me going all hall-monitor on you would be a waste of my breath. Can I at least tell you congratulations?"

Harm smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Sturgis," he said as he headed for the door.

"Harm, wait."

Harm stopped short of leaving and turned around. "Yeah?"

"If you need a box, I have one in my office."

THAT SAME TIME
JAG HQ THIRD FLOOR WOMEN'S BATHROOM

Mac rushed to the bathroom and entered the first open stall as fast as her Marine-issue heels could carry her. Apparently her body, in making room for her growing uterus, had reduced her bladder to the size of a peanut. It felt like she was in a constant state of either using the bathroom or needing to use it. And she always needed to use it at the most inopportune times. If the judge had waited another five minutes to call a recess, she probably would've peed her pants-well, skirt.

She was defending, Bud was prosecuting (which she didn't mind) and Singer was his second chair (something she certainly did mind). Mac knew Singer was itching to say something about her pregnancy. Singer was constantly out to take someone down a peg as a means to insure her own personal advancement, and Mac had thrown the gauntlet down on herself that morning by announcing her pregnancy.

While she peed, Mac heard another pair of heels clicking into the bathroom. Mac emerged from the stall to see Lt. Singer. Singer was pretending to fix her bun in the mirror, but Mac's Marine intuition told her she was her to talk to her.

This wasn't the first time she'd had a confrontation in this bathroom. This was the exact same bathroom where she'd gone verbally toe-to-toe with Caitlin Pike almost a year prior. God, was that really almost a year ago? Mac thought to herself, Time really does move faster after you turn thirty.

"Lieutenant," Mac greeted cooly as she washed her hands. Singer didn't say anything, and the silence only put Mac more on edge.

Mac straightened up. "Do you have something to say to me, Lieutenant?" she asked. She yanked a wad of paper towels from the paper towel holder.

"Yes ma'am, I do."

Here we go, Mac thought bitterly, I'm about to get read the riot act by a woman who's delusional enough to think she'll be the first female JAG.

"Well then, what is it Lieutenant? We're only in recess for twenty minutes."

Singer folded her arms across her chest and got the gleam in her eyes she got right before she tore into a witness. Mac had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Honey, I may be pregnant, but that doesn't mean you should be afraid of me.

"I believe what you did was completely unprofessional."

Mac did allow herself to snort. "It's unprofessional for a woman to get pregnant? That's a little sexist of you to say, isn't it Loren?" If Singer was going to talk about her pregnancy, Mac was going to drop formalities.

"I'm not talking about that," Singer said, as though she'd made her point obvious from the start, which she hadn't, "I'm talking about you getting pregnant by an officer in the same chain of command as you."

"What are you talking about?" Mac was incredibly thankful she'd remembered to bring her best poker face to work that day.

"Harm's the father, isn't he?" Singer demanded, her eyes shining maliciously with what she'd perceived as a victory. However, Singer should've known Mac wasn't going to crumble that easily.

"Excuse me?" Mac was taken aback. Not by the fact that Singer had them figured out, but by Singer's boldness.

"Don't play coy with me, ma'am," Singer snapped. Mac felt anger start to rise up in her, and it wasn't just pregnancy hormones.

"Commander Rabb announces he's transferring and the day after you announce you're pregnant," Singer continued. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put the pieces together."

No, Mac thought, all it takes is a judgemental bitch.

"Lieutenant, I don't appreciate your assumption," Mac said, her tone low and deadly.

"That's just it ma'am," Singer shot back, "I don't think it's just an assumption."

"Well what you think is different than what's actually true. I thought you were a lawyer, Lieutenant."

"I am, ma'am. And with the evidence I've been presented as of late -"

"The evidence?" Mac laughed incredulously. "You're not prosecuting me, Lieutenant."

"I know ma'am," Singer replied, her tone infuriatingly calm.

Mac had enough and was heading towards the bathroom exit when Singer spoke again, as if she hadn't already done enough talking. "If the father's not Harm, then who is it? Brumby?" she asked. Mac whirled around.

"What gives you the right to go picking around in my personal life?" Mac demanded, hoping some poor, unsuspecting enlisted woman didn't walk in and see two female officers duking it out like this.

Singer ignored Mac's question. "If the father's Brumby, and he doesn't know, you're a coward for not telling him."

"And if the father isn't Brumby?" Mac took a step closer to Singer, making the two of them practically chest-to-chest.

Mac watched Singer with intensity, daring her to answer. The lieutenant shrugged. "Well, ma'am," she spoke bitingly. "If the father isn't Rabb or Brumby, assuming those are the only two men you've been with in the past few months, still not knowing who the father is seems a little…." her voice trailed off.

"Finish that sentence, Lieutenant. That's an order," Mac hissed.

Singer took a deep breath and looked Mac dead in the eye. "Don't you think that's a little whorish of you, ma'am?"

Hearing that didn't hurt Mac as much as Singer thought-hoped it would. After your drunk father calls you a whore to your face when you're sixteen, not much can hurt you after that. Singer made her way towards the door, and Mac turned around to watch her go.

"Lieutenant?" Singer stopped as soon as Mac spoke and slowly turned around.

"Ma'am?"

"I may be a whore by your standards," Mac walked towards her. She swore she saw Singer flinch. "But at least I'm happy, unlike you."

Mac never stopped walking as she spoke, and she let the door slam behind her.

Karma's gonna get her one day, she thought as she walked back to court.

1800 EST
JAG HEADQUARTERS

Mac was sitting at her desk, positively exhausted. If she didn't still have her pride, she would curl up on the floor of her office and take a nice long cat nap before heading home. She was that tired. But alas, she still had some loose ends to tie up in the case she'd just won against Bud and Singer (she only felt bad for Bud), so she was still in the office.

Harm had offered to wait for her, but she told him to go ahead without her. She didn't want to keep him waiting, even though she was sure he wouldn't mind. She was also hoping that he'd get a head start on dinner so she'd have a nice, warm meal waiting for her when she got home.

She didn't tell the Admiral about her encounter with Singer, though she knew she should. A junior officer calling a senior officer a whore definitely called for a reprimand, but Mac simply didn't have the energy. Plus, she knew Singer would get what was coming to her eventually, especially if she kept up that attitude.

Mac was almost finished with everything when there was a knock at her door frame. She looked up to see Bud standing at the door.

"Hi Bud, " she greeted, giving him a tired smile. She loved Bud, but she wanted to go home more than anything in the world, so she hoped he wouldn't keep her long.

"Hey Colonel," Bud said, stepping into her office. "I was just coming to check on you."

"Check on me?" Mac asked. "Did Harm put you up to this?"

"Oh, no ma'am," Bud shook his head. "I'm here completely on my own accord."

Mac smiled. Bud had certainly turned into a great lawyer, but it was moments like these where she was reminded of the awkward and kind young man she met almost six years ago in the White House rose garden.

"Thanks for checking in on me," she told him. "But I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all."

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay because I know...some people gave you a hard time today."

"By 'some people', do you mean Lt. Singer?"

Bud chuckled and nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"That's nice of you, Bud," Mac said. "But I've made a habit of not letting her get under my skin."

"She, uh, she asked me what I thought about the whole thing, and I told her to start minding her business or I'd report her to the Admiral."

Mac laughed. She would've loved to have seen Singer's face when Bud told her that. Leave it to Bud to be her knight and shining armor.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," she said, feeling touched.

"It's the least I could do, ma'am," Bud replied. "Don't let people like Singer keep you and Commander Rabb from being happy."

"I will Bud, I promise," Mac said. If Bud wasn't such a good lawyer, Mac would suggest he make a move into psychology. He'd probably be damn good at it.

"That's good, ma'am."

"Bud?"

"Ma'am?"

"Tell Harriet I said she's a lucky woman."