2130 London
Commons Hotel
London, England
A few minutes later they were back in their rooms. Their windows faced across the river toward Parliament. After he had put away the rest of his clothes and changed into a pair of navy blue gym shorts and a gray sweatshirt, Harm knocked on the door that separated their rooms.
"Hey, Mac," he called, "Let me in."
"Hold on a minute," came her muffled reply, "I'm changing."
Harm smiled, "I can help you with that." When Mac didn't reply Harm knew that she had just rolled her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened the door. She had changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that read 'USMC' across the chest. There was something about Mac that made anything she wore sexy, Harm thought.
"Well, are you coming in or not?" Mac asked giving him a look that said, 'grow up.' And Harm gave her a wide smile. Harm stepped into her room. Mac hopped onto the bed and grabbed the remote. She lay on her stomach facing the television. And while she flipped through the channels, which were all static, Harm sat at the desk, dialed room service, and ordered up a salad for himself and a cheeseburger for Mac. She dropped the remote, and rolled into a sitting position so she could face Harm. He was looking down at his hands folded in his lap, but his eyes were focused on something beyond them.
"Earth to Harm," Mac said playfully, "Come in, Harm."
Harm looked up at her, "Oh, sorry, Mac. I think I spaced out there for a sec."
"What were you thinking about?" Mac queried.
He paused a moment before answering, "Mac, why did you go TAD?"
Mac looked stunned. "Um," Mac began, "I think we talked about this once. I needed some time to figure things out, to get over everything."
Harm nodded solemnly, "Even now, though, it seems like you. well, you don't seem like you want our friendship to go back to the way it was. It seems like you don't want to get too close."
Mac took a deep breath before replying. It was true she hadn't wanted to get to close. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to be close to you again," she finally said, "I. we almost lost you."
Harm looked straight into her eyes. "Mac, I am so sorry, for scaring you like that."
"Then why did you go out there in the first place?" Mac asked angrily as she stood up, " You could have rescheduled."
"It would have taken another six months for quals to come around again," Harm replied defensively, but he remained sitting, "Plus, like I said then, the date was set before you set the wedding date."
Mac gasped in disbelief, "Harm, you only fly a few times a year, would it have made a huge difference?"
Harm returned her gasp of disbelief with one of his own as he rose from the chair. "Yes, it would have made a huge difference. I needed to keep something."
Mac, who had been pacing, stopped dead in her tracks. Her back was to Harm, but he could tell that she had just figured something out by the way her head straightened. But almost immediately, her head dropped again.
"Mac, what?" Harm asked, "What were you just thinking?"
Mac turned on her heel; she was just an arm's length away from Harm. She had a puzzled look on her face, "What did you mean by that? By 'keeping something.'"
Harm took a deep breath and let it out. He hadn't meant to say that. "I was. I felt like." he was trying to cover his tracks by mumbling something incoherent.
"Harm, what did you mean," Mac said.
"Mac, I had to do my quals then," Harm said, "I just needed to have them done."
"But why?" Mac persisted, "Why was it so important that you have them completed then? Was it the wedding?" Mac had added the last part hoping that the wedding was really the reason.
Harm bent his head. "Yes, it was the wedding," he said softly, "I needed to hold onto flying because I was losing."
"You thought you were losing our friendship," she said, her eyes filling with compassionate, but heart braking, understanding, and she reached out to pat Harm's arm. "Harm, you wouldn't have lost our friendship."
Harm shook his head, "No, Mac," he said, "I couldn't lose flying then because I was already losing you."
Mac was so surprised that she dropped her hand from Harm's arm. She hadn't dared to hope that Harm had done his quals right before the wedding because he was losing her.
"Sarah, flying has always been the most important thing in my life," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Until you. You're my best friend, not just my partner. And I was losing you to Brumby. I couldn't stand losing the two most important things in my life at the same time."
Mac smiled, but she looked like she was going to cry.
"I tried to tell you that the night Renee's father died," Harm said, "But then you left right after that and you refused to talk to me, and since you've come back, you haven't wanted to talk about it."
Mac nodded, "I was afraid that you didn't want to fix our friendship. Until the Jag-a-thon, I didn't know what your intentions were."
Harm smiled. Then, he reached out to touch her arm the way she had touched his. "Well, I guess we were both so upset at almost losing each other that we decided we were better off alone."
"Ah, 'what fools we mortals be'," Mac quoted, smiling back at Harm and patting him on the arm as well. They stood there, each with a hand on the other's arm, just looking at each other. Mac's stomach made a gurgling sound, and she and Harm both smiled broadly. Just then a knock sounded on the door, and they both smiled.
"We'd better get some food in you, Marine," Harm said flashing his flyboy smile before turning to let the room service guy in.
"Yeah," Mac replied, "I'll be having real food. I don't know how you survive on that rabbit food, stickboy."
"Maybe there's a reason women have more body fat than men," Harm quipped, and then raised his hands to catch the bottle of water Mac had thrown at him from the mini-bar.
"That definitely wasn't one of our high points," Mac smiled, remembering that night in the Appalachians.
"Well, that was the best part of that weekend," Harm replied.
Mac shook her head, "I guess you're right about that part. I could have killed you over that women in the combat comment, though."
"Hey, it worked didn't it," Harm said, as he sat back down at the desk to eat his salad. He continued playfully, "You know, that was the first time we slept together."
"I wouldn't call a cave and a bed of pine boughs sleeping together," Mac said.
"What would you call it?" Harm asked feigning injury.
They continued to make playful banter between bites of food. They teased each other about different cases they had handled. The machine gun incident, the dog Mac had defended, Harm's brig break, and Mac's 'spreading her wings.' They talked about Mac's Uncle Matt and their first mission, the first time they met Webb. The time they had shared quarters on the submarine. They talked about their times in Russia, the NATO Balls they'd attended, the time Harm broke Bud's jaw, the morning of Bud and Harriet's wedding when Mac had bailed Harm, Bud and the Admiral out of jail.
It was close to midnight, local time, when Harm seemed to drift into thought again. Mac hesitated for a moment before prodding him in the arm.
"What?" he asked.
"That's the second time you've drifted off tonight," Mac said, "What's up?"
"I was thinking about Miss O'Connor."
"Why?" Mac asked curiously.
Harm looked thoughtful, as though he wasn't sure how to word his thoughts. "I don't have a good feeling about her. She's polite and professional, but something about her just doesn't sit right."
"What 'doesn't sit right'?'" Mac persisted.
"The way she looked at me when I handed that paper back to her. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"Harm, she met us at the US Embassy," Mac said, "She must have been cleared through them, and she was carrying a report on the case. Plus, she's going to meet us tomorrow, so if you're still worried then, you can interrogate her." Mac smiled.
Harm smiled, but he still couldn't shake that nagging feeling. Together they cleaned up the dishes from their dinner and Harm put them on the tray in the hallway. When he came back, he saw Mac turning down her bed.
"Goodnight Mac," he yawned, "Thanks for dinner."
"Thank you, too," Mac replied smiling, "Close the hatch will ya. I want to sleep without listening to you snore."
Harm smiled back, "Goodnight, jarhead."
"G'night, squid,"
A few minutes later they were back in their rooms. Their windows faced across the river toward Parliament. After he had put away the rest of his clothes and changed into a pair of navy blue gym shorts and a gray sweatshirt, Harm knocked on the door that separated their rooms.
"Hey, Mac," he called, "Let me in."
"Hold on a minute," came her muffled reply, "I'm changing."
Harm smiled, "I can help you with that." When Mac didn't reply Harm knew that she had just rolled her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened the door. She had changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that read 'USMC' across the chest. There was something about Mac that made anything she wore sexy, Harm thought.
"Well, are you coming in or not?" Mac asked giving him a look that said, 'grow up.' And Harm gave her a wide smile. Harm stepped into her room. Mac hopped onto the bed and grabbed the remote. She lay on her stomach facing the television. And while she flipped through the channels, which were all static, Harm sat at the desk, dialed room service, and ordered up a salad for himself and a cheeseburger for Mac. She dropped the remote, and rolled into a sitting position so she could face Harm. He was looking down at his hands folded in his lap, but his eyes were focused on something beyond them.
"Earth to Harm," Mac said playfully, "Come in, Harm."
Harm looked up at her, "Oh, sorry, Mac. I think I spaced out there for a sec."
"What were you thinking about?" Mac queried.
He paused a moment before answering, "Mac, why did you go TAD?"
Mac looked stunned. "Um," Mac began, "I think we talked about this once. I needed some time to figure things out, to get over everything."
Harm nodded solemnly, "Even now, though, it seems like you. well, you don't seem like you want our friendship to go back to the way it was. It seems like you don't want to get too close."
Mac took a deep breath before replying. It was true she hadn't wanted to get to close. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to be close to you again," she finally said, "I. we almost lost you."
Harm looked straight into her eyes. "Mac, I am so sorry, for scaring you like that."
"Then why did you go out there in the first place?" Mac asked angrily as she stood up, " You could have rescheduled."
"It would have taken another six months for quals to come around again," Harm replied defensively, but he remained sitting, "Plus, like I said then, the date was set before you set the wedding date."
Mac gasped in disbelief, "Harm, you only fly a few times a year, would it have made a huge difference?"
Harm returned her gasp of disbelief with one of his own as he rose from the chair. "Yes, it would have made a huge difference. I needed to keep something."
Mac, who had been pacing, stopped dead in her tracks. Her back was to Harm, but he could tell that she had just figured something out by the way her head straightened. But almost immediately, her head dropped again.
"Mac, what?" Harm asked, "What were you just thinking?"
Mac turned on her heel; she was just an arm's length away from Harm. She had a puzzled look on her face, "What did you mean by that? By 'keeping something.'"
Harm took a deep breath and let it out. He hadn't meant to say that. "I was. I felt like." he was trying to cover his tracks by mumbling something incoherent.
"Harm, what did you mean," Mac said.
"Mac, I had to do my quals then," Harm said, "I just needed to have them done."
"But why?" Mac persisted, "Why was it so important that you have them completed then? Was it the wedding?" Mac had added the last part hoping that the wedding was really the reason.
Harm bent his head. "Yes, it was the wedding," he said softly, "I needed to hold onto flying because I was losing."
"You thought you were losing our friendship," she said, her eyes filling with compassionate, but heart braking, understanding, and she reached out to pat Harm's arm. "Harm, you wouldn't have lost our friendship."
Harm shook his head, "No, Mac," he said, "I couldn't lose flying then because I was already losing you."
Mac was so surprised that she dropped her hand from Harm's arm. She hadn't dared to hope that Harm had done his quals right before the wedding because he was losing her.
"Sarah, flying has always been the most important thing in my life," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Until you. You're my best friend, not just my partner. And I was losing you to Brumby. I couldn't stand losing the two most important things in my life at the same time."
Mac smiled, but she looked like she was going to cry.
"I tried to tell you that the night Renee's father died," Harm said, "But then you left right after that and you refused to talk to me, and since you've come back, you haven't wanted to talk about it."
Mac nodded, "I was afraid that you didn't want to fix our friendship. Until the Jag-a-thon, I didn't know what your intentions were."
Harm smiled. Then, he reached out to touch her arm the way she had touched his. "Well, I guess we were both so upset at almost losing each other that we decided we were better off alone."
"Ah, 'what fools we mortals be'," Mac quoted, smiling back at Harm and patting him on the arm as well. They stood there, each with a hand on the other's arm, just looking at each other. Mac's stomach made a gurgling sound, and she and Harm both smiled broadly. Just then a knock sounded on the door, and they both smiled.
"We'd better get some food in you, Marine," Harm said flashing his flyboy smile before turning to let the room service guy in.
"Yeah," Mac replied, "I'll be having real food. I don't know how you survive on that rabbit food, stickboy."
"Maybe there's a reason women have more body fat than men," Harm quipped, and then raised his hands to catch the bottle of water Mac had thrown at him from the mini-bar.
"That definitely wasn't one of our high points," Mac smiled, remembering that night in the Appalachians.
"Well, that was the best part of that weekend," Harm replied.
Mac shook her head, "I guess you're right about that part. I could have killed you over that women in the combat comment, though."
"Hey, it worked didn't it," Harm said, as he sat back down at the desk to eat his salad. He continued playfully, "You know, that was the first time we slept together."
"I wouldn't call a cave and a bed of pine boughs sleeping together," Mac said.
"What would you call it?" Harm asked feigning injury.
They continued to make playful banter between bites of food. They teased each other about different cases they had handled. The machine gun incident, the dog Mac had defended, Harm's brig break, and Mac's 'spreading her wings.' They talked about Mac's Uncle Matt and their first mission, the first time they met Webb. The time they had shared quarters on the submarine. They talked about their times in Russia, the NATO Balls they'd attended, the time Harm broke Bud's jaw, the morning of Bud and Harriet's wedding when Mac had bailed Harm, Bud and the Admiral out of jail.
It was close to midnight, local time, when Harm seemed to drift into thought again. Mac hesitated for a moment before prodding him in the arm.
"What?" he asked.
"That's the second time you've drifted off tonight," Mac said, "What's up?"
"I was thinking about Miss O'Connor."
"Why?" Mac asked curiously.
Harm looked thoughtful, as though he wasn't sure how to word his thoughts. "I don't have a good feeling about her. She's polite and professional, but something about her just doesn't sit right."
"What 'doesn't sit right'?'" Mac persisted.
"The way she looked at me when I handed that paper back to her. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"Harm, she met us at the US Embassy," Mac said, "She must have been cleared through them, and she was carrying a report on the case. Plus, she's going to meet us tomorrow, so if you're still worried then, you can interrogate her." Mac smiled.
Harm smiled, but he still couldn't shake that nagging feeling. Together they cleaned up the dishes from their dinner and Harm put them on the tray in the hallway. When he came back, he saw Mac turning down her bed.
"Goodnight Mac," he yawned, "Thanks for dinner."
"Thank you, too," Mac replied smiling, "Close the hatch will ya. I want to sleep without listening to you snore."
Harm smiled back, "Goodnight, jarhead."
"G'night, squid,"