Title: TV Style pt2
Author: Navygirl
Rating: PG-13
Classification: Harm/Mac
Spoiler: Capital Crime
Summary: Surprises all around.
Disclaimers: All characters of JAG belong to Donald Bellasarius and Bellasarius Productions; no copyright infringement intended.
1619 hrs. ET
April 5, 2002
JAG HQ
Falls Church, VA
Mac became curious later when Lt. Singer returned from lunch almost three hours late, but rather than admonish the woman immediately, she wanted to consider the repercussions of dressing down the lieutenant for coming back late from a lunch with Mic Brumby, Mac's own ex-fiance. She made a mental note to speak to Singer later. Something more pressing had Mac's attention, standing at Harm's door was a lovely dark-haired woman with a visitor's badge, annoyed and raising a stink.
"Can I help you Miss?" Harriett said.
"I have an appointment with Señoir Harm."
She used his first name. Mac's radar was up. Obviously, Harm had planned to meet with her and had left instructions for her admission and visitor's pass, or how else could she have gotten past the guard's gate? And equally obvious, Harm had forgotten to change the appointment when he rushed off to fill in at Gitmo.
"Your name, Miss?" Harriett asked.
"Maria Elenac Carmelitta Mareno Guiterezz." She said it indignantly. She was becoming angry, Mac could hear and see that much. The name seemed familiar. Had Harm mentioned her? Something from the past, in relation to Keeter? As Mac began to remember the little Hjarm had told her, she felt sick.
"I'm sorry, Cmdr. Rabb is out of the office for a few days, Miss Guiterezz," Harriett continued, keeping her patience.
"But, my Harm hasn't seen me in several years. He would not do this."
Mac walked up to the petite beauty and spoke. "I'm Col. Mackenzie, the Chief of Staff here, Miss Guitterezz. May I be of assistance?"
It was unmistakable. The woman recognized her name. "You are Col Mackenzie?"
"Yes, I am," Mac said with hesitation.
"I have heard your name, and you are an idiot." Maria spat out the words. "When I spoke to my Harm to make this appointment, he told me all about you. What a waste of his time you are. My Harm can do better than, than…."
"Excuse me, Miss," Mac interrupted hastily before any laundry was aired in public. "Is there something I, we, can do for you? Cmdr. Rabb is on assignment and will be unable to meet with you until he returns."
"Never mind," came the smart reply and she turned on her heels.
"Please escort her out of here, Harriett. We don't want her wandering around," Mac said to the lieutenant who raced after the vanishing woman, catching her at the elevator.
Mac's stomach was unsettled and that feeling was only compounded by the looks coming in her direction from everyone in the bullpen. She ignored the probing eyes and walked calmly back to her office. Someone will be getting a second email, she said to herself.
But as she slipped back into her chair, the humor of the situation struck her. This was someone from the past, she told herself. Obviously he wasn't too concerned about seeing her, he neglected to let her know about the change in his schedule or to reschedule the appointment. And the appointment was an office appointment, not a date, not coffee, not a movie. And, he had apparently told Maria Elena yada yada yada something about their relationship. This was not something to dwell on, not now, not in light of this morning's developments.
She was looking intently at her computer screen, unaware of the person standing at the door until she heard the soft knock. "Ma'am, may I speak with you?" Lt. Singer stood before her.
Come in dragon lady, Mac thought, but did not say. "Yes, Lieutenant, come in." Just what I need now, she thought, unsure whether she wanted to hear what Singer had on her mind. Then remembering the Admiral's instructions, she put up a hand to stop Singer from speaking. "Before you get started, Lieutenant, the Admiral asked me to assign you this case," she said handing Singer the Thompson file. "You will defend. Now what was it you wanted to discuss?"
"Ma'am, I went to lunch with, um, Cmdr. Brumby today as you probably know. And, I think I need to discuss what transpired with you, ma'am."
Mac's eyebrows shot up. What now? Some vane attempt to explain a nearly three-
hour lunch.
"Ma'am, Cmdr. Brumby spent almost the entire lunch fuming over Cmdr. Rabb. He said some things that, well, ma'am, if true, would be cause for alarm. About the two of you ma'am, you and Commander Rabb. As a couple. About possible fraternization."
What ploy is this? Is she warning me or threatening me? This is too much. With such thoughts, Mac had to struggle to keep her composure. "Lieutenant, have you seen anything to warrant such an inference? If you have, speak up."
"Well, ma'am, if I may speak freely?" When Mac nodded, she continued. "Today when Cmdr. Rabb was interviewed on television by the ZNN reporter…"
"Now what makes you think that Cmdr. Rabb's comments were directed to me? Do you have any direct evidence or are you inferring that Cmdr. Rabb's comments imply fraternization, Lieutenant?" Mac was beginning to boil.
"No, ma'am, not direct evidence, but Cmdr. Brumby said…"
"Whatever he said, Lieutenant, those were the words of my ex, my ex, fiancé, and he has many reasons to be malicious. We did not end our relationship on good terms and..."
"Yes ma'am, I remember, it ended right after the Cmdr. Rabb's plane went down and he was hospitalized…"
"Lieutenant," Mac said firmly. "As I was saying, Cmdr. Brumby and I broke off the engagement on less than friendly terms, and he may have reason to malign me. Not that this is any of your business. Now, I don't see any reason to continue discussing my personal life with you."
"Ma'am, begging your pardon. I was just concerned that you and the Commander could be in dangerous waters and wanted to warn you."
Ha, she's concerned about me, Mac thought. Not likely. "Well, what did Cmdr. Brumby say?"
"Well, ma'am, he said that he truly believes your feelings for Cmdr. Rabb kept you from committing to him, that is how he put it, ma'am. And, he said that the Commander has the same feelings for you, but that neither one of you are willing to admit it. He speculated that you had been, well, involved, at some point."
"Lt. Singer, these are the words of a scorned individual, you realize that, don't you?"
"Well, ma'am, but I remember when Cmdr. Rabb was lost at sea after his plane went down and you were extremely upset, irreconcilable, ma'am."
"Yes, I was upset when Cmdr. Rabb's plane went down, we all were. But, Cmdr. Rabb and I have been friends for years. We are very close friends. Have you ever had a close friend, Lieutenant?"
The Lieutenant blanched at the dig, but stood very still.
"Well, close friends do care about each other, but not in a way that is anything similar to fraternization. On another matter, Lieutenant, you were late returning from your lunch. Care to explain?"
"Yes, ma'am, my car stalled, but fortunately Cmdr. Brumby was able to help me, and I was able to get back within a reasonable amount of time."
"Nearly three hours late," Mac said flatly.
"Two hours and forty minutes late, I believe," Singer corrected.
"Two hours and fifty two minutes late, Lieutenant," Mac said and Singer did not argue, seeing that Mac was near a boiling point. "I am going to have to take this up with the Admiral when he returns, unless you are willing to work late tonight to make up the time, and to come in early tomorrow as well. And, I have some administrative paperwork I want you to handle, to remind you that timeliness is important around here. Do we understand each other, Lieutenant?"
"But ma'am…"
"Dismissed," Mac said very firmly.
"Yes, ma'am." Singer said and left quickly.
Fuming, Singer turned the corner, moving too fast to realize anyone was in her path, and ran into the shoulder of Cmdr. Turner who was walking to his office.
"Easy Lieutenant," Sturgis warned her.
"Sorry, sir." The anger in her voice was palpable.
"Lieutenant, is there a problem?" Sturgis asked, looking at the young woman's down-turned mouth and fierce eyes.
"No sir," Singer lied as she hastened away, barely able to keep herself from exploding.
"Wouldn't want to be the target on her radar," Sturgis mumbled as he watched her go.
Mac had turned her attention back to the computer screen and found an email waiting. In it Harm said simply, "I can't wait to see you. And, if need be, I'll send Brumby packing."
She chuckled. At least Harm had a new goal in his life, keeping Brumby thousands of miles away. It gave her an unfamiliar feeling, a glimpse of what it might be like to be loved by Harmon Rabb Jr. Was that possible?
She replied to his email: "Hey, I sent him packing all by myself. But he went to lunch with Enemy1 before he left." They had been using the term "Enemy1" as code for Singer for weeks. "I want to see you sooner, not later," she added. "When will you be back?"
She wanted to add one more thing, but was a little afraid to say it, especially given the discussion with Singer. Tentatively, she typed the word, testing herself. It didn't look as scary as expected, but it did look foreign somehow. "Love." She looked at it again. Would it surprise him or scare him to see that word at the close of her message? Was she saying more than what she meant? Thinking better of it, she started to erase the word, but fate stepped in, and, without realizing it, instead of touching the "erase" button, it was the "send" button that she touched. Oh my god, she thought, and immediately felt a nervous pull to her stomach.
"Love," the message said. Has to be one of the scariest words in the English language, she was convinced at that moment. Not a word she wanted to say first. But we've said it to each other before, in a way, she reassured herself, remembering the things said on the Admiral's porch. You have someone who will always love you. She relaxed at the memory.
She loved him. Even Sturgis was aware of it, given her revelation in an unguarded moment. She shook off all worries, ready to go forward.
As for his visitor, she had purposely left out any mention of that in her email. They could discuss it later, she decided. Knowing Harriet would mention it to him at some point, she would let him bring it up, if it was even worth discussing.
Turning her attention back to the pile of work on her desk, she flipped through pages of a deposition. Shortly after 1900 hours, Mac turned out the lights in her office, closed the door and went home. She was the last to leave, the last one out the door.
And the next morning, she was the first one to arrive. She started right to work, turning on the computer, chagrined to find no new email message from Harm. But, he was leaving Gitmo sometime today and would be back by evening, if not sooner.
When the rest of the staff arrived, Harriett turned on the TV monitors above the bullpen, and a ZNN reporter appeared, speaking again from Gitmo. Mac tried to act nonchalant as she walked into the bullpen, saying good morning to everyone and moving in the general direction of the coffee room. She stopped when she saw a young pilot being interviewed. She didn't catch his name, but the handle on the helmet under his arm said, "Blade Runner."
"Yes ma'am, I am here to fly security. I want to say hello to my wife and son back home."
Behind the young pilot, Mac could see a familiar figure, back in his summer white uniform, striding towards the helo deck. The reporter caught up with him, and several heads in the bullpen popped up when they heard the reporter call him by name.
"Cmdr. Rabb. Looks like you are heading back home today."
"Yes, ma'am, back to JAG."
"Oh, you're a lawyer?" She was completely surprised. "And a pilot. Impressive."
"Thank you ma'am. "
Don't get a big head, Harm, Mac thought briefly.
"We spoke to you yesterday. Anything more you want to say before you leave?"
"Yes, ma'am. Um, if you're listening. Got the email. I'll see you when I get back, and ditto the last word." He flashed a bright grin, but then, looking surprised, turned to his left and snapped a salute. "Admiral."
The camera showed the Admiral had walked up next to Harm and said something. Harm responded by standing at ease.
"Admiral?" The reporter asked, nearly falling all over herself to get the microphone close to him. She remembered him from a newscast the previous day concerning the planned tribunals. "Admiral, you are the JAG, correct?"
"Yes," he said seriously, but smiling at the reporter. She knew the answer, she just needed for the viewers to know.
"And you were here to make recommendations in relation to upcoming tribunals, is that correct, sir?"
"Yes, but I can't talk about that right now," Admiral Chegwidden said politely. Then, thinking of the opportunity before him, he added, "I do want to say something to my people back at JAG."
"Yes, sir, please go ahead."
"People," the Admiral said briskly. "Get back to work."