Disclaimer: See Chapter one.
~~~~~
"The Gift"
Chapter Three: Girl's Night Out
By Ann Parker
~~~~~~~~~~
1700 Zulu
02 December 2002
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Lisa strolled into Headquarters wearing black sweatpants and a gray NAVY sweatshirt that looked a little faded. That was only because it was 10 years old. Before she could even reach Bud's office, Harm spotted her and laughed.
"Don't you look stunning," he said. She glared at him and walked over, jabbing him in his stomach lightly.
"Quiet you, at least I'm as fit as can be." She poked him once more. "You seem to be getting a bit chunky." With that she turned on her heels and headed to Mac's office.
"I'm not chunky!" he yelled at her as she walked away. She waved a hand at him, dismissing his comment. Harm muttered to himself as she walked until he noticed where she was going. "What are you up to?" She turned to face him.
"Going to talk to the Colonel. We are going out for drinks tonight, do you have a problem with that?" He walked over to her and lowered his voice so the rest of the bullpen didn't listen in.
"You're going out for drinks after her questioning this morning?" he asked, his voice hushed. Lisa rolled her eyes at him.
"Yes I am. You know just as well as I do that wasn't the real Mac asking those questions, and if you held that against her all day, which I'm guessing you are, you need to get over it, understand?" She barely waited for him to nod before turning and entering Mac's office.
Harm stood there for a second, digesting what she had said. He had been giving Mac the cold shoulder all day. He only spoke to her when it was absolutely necessary and then he was short with her. He could see the pain in her eyes when he did. Part of him wanted to apologize, but the other side of him couldn't, wouldn't. Maybe he had over reacted. Sighing, he turned and headed to his own office.
Lisa knocked on the wooden door frame of Mac's office. "Knock, knock." Harriet, who happened to be sitting in the office with the Colonel, and Mac both turned to look at the women in the sweats and smiled.
"Hey," said Mac. Lisa smiled and took a seat next to Harriet.
"Hey, I just came by to tell you that I'm taking Bud to train now." Mac nodded.
"I just have a few things to wrap up, so I should be able to show up in about a half hour. Where did you want to go afterwards?" Mac replied. Harriet sat quietly, wondering what they were talking about.
"It doesn't matter to me, I don't really know my way around here yet anyway." Lisa noticed Harriet looking at them both and motioned to Mac, who nodded in agreement. "Harriet, would you like to join us? I'm sure Bud wouldn't mind." Harriet's eyes light up.
"I would love to," she replied but then paused. "But I don't know if I should leave Bud alone with AJ." Lisa waved her hand.
"I'm sure I can convince Harm and Sturgis to help him out. Besides, it's a Monday night, I'm sure they can watch the football game and have a good time while us girls go out." Harriet smiled.
"Great. So where am I meeting you guys?" Lisa looked at Mac for her to reply.
"How about McMurphy's at…what time are we going to be done at the gym?" asked Mac. Lisa thought for a minute.
"No later than 1830, so how about we meet at 1915? That will give us plenty of time to change at the gym and get to the bar," replied Lisa. Harriet and Mac nodded. "Great, I'll see you then. Time to get Lt. Roberts to the gym." Lisa rose from her chair and headed out the door. She quickly spotted Harm, Sturgis, and Bud all around Harm's office. "Lt. Roberts," she said in a stern voice, reminding Harm of Mac's "drill sergeant" tone. Bud stood up straight and turned to face her. "Time to hit the gym."
"Yes ma'am." Bud turned to get his gear but Lisa stopped him.
"Before we go, I wanted to talk to you three. Mac, Harriet, and I are going to out for drinks after we train. However, Bud, Harriet doesn't want to leave you home alone with AJ." Bud nodded. "So," started Lisa, looking at Harm and Sturgis, "I was thinking that the three of you could get together and watch football and hang out while us girls go out." The guys nodded.
"Sounds good to me," replied Bud.
"That would be fun," agreed Sturgis.
"Count me in," added Harm. Lisa smiled.
"Good. Then with that settled, let's get going Bud. You two could probably meet at the Roberts' around 1900." Harm and Sturgis nodded as Bud and Lisa headed to the gym.
~~~~~
1730 Zulu
Rich's Gym
Falls Church, Virginia
"Good Bud, now let's try some upper body workouts," said Lisa. Bud and she had been working on strengthening his legs and he was slowly, but steadily improving. Lisa knew that in a few weeks he'd be able to pass his test easily.
"Okay," replied Bud, slightly huffing. Lisa was a great trainer, he decided. She was nice but still could be strict when needed, yet she didn't work him to the point of exhaustion. The pair went over to a machine to work on his biceps.
"Let's try 20 pounds, tell me if you need more or less," said Lisa as she set the machine. Bud nodded and tested it.
"That's good for now," he replied. Lisa nodded and started to work on the machine next to him when Mac walked up to them. "Colonel!" greeted Bud excitedly. Mac smiled.
"It's Mac tonight, Bud. How are you two doing?" she asked setting down her bag and stretching a bit. After a day like this she could really use a night at the gym. Bud nodded and continued to work, making Lisa smile in approval.
"We're great. Bud here, is the most determined client I've ever had," Lisa answered. Mac smiled.
"Glad to hear it," she stated and began to work out with them. After a few minutes of silence, Lisa spoke up.
"We're going to work out with the weights for about 15 more minutes and then it's off to the pool." Bud and Mac nodded and they all worked on their upper body strength.
1830 Zulu
The three climbed out of the pool. Mac and Lisa had decided to race Bud to see if he could go any faster in the pool. They succeeded. Each of them grabbed their towel and started to dry off.
"Well, Bud I can definitely see that the pool is going to be a common workout location," said Lisa, drying her hair. Bud laughed and smiled.
"What can I say, I'm a squid." All three laughed as they headed to their locker rooms.
"That you are, Bud, that you are," said Mac with a smile.
"Well, have fun with the boys Bud, and I won't keep Harriet out too late," said Lisa as she and Mac started to enter the women's locker room.
"I will. See ya," Bud said, and the group parted into their designated locker areas.
~~~~~
2000 Zulu
McMurphy's Bar
Falls Church, Virginia
In the corner of the dimly lit bar sat three women at a round black table. The blond was adorned in jeans and a red sweater. The one with dark brown hair was wearing a black skirt and a citrus colored blouse. The third had soft brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore khaki capris and a blue tee shirt. All the guys at the bar kept stealing glances at them, but the girls ignored all of them and focused on their conversation.
"So Lisa, anyone special back home?" Mac asked, still unsure about the relationship between her and Harm. Lisa smiled slightly and sighed. She took another sip of her drink.
"Sort of. He was a client of mine. He lives in Chicago and at the time had a girlfriend. I refused to allow anything to happen because I don't want to ever get involved with someone I work with. We really connected but the circumstances weren't right. He's come to visit me a few times since, and we both want to start something but with him living in Chicago and my traveling…" she stopped and took another sip, focusing on her drink. Mac and Harriet both looked at her with sympathy, particularly Mac. Harm and she were in a similar boat. Lisa sighed before continuing. "I think Dan and I could make it work if we tried a little harder." The other two smiled slightly at her.
"I'm sure you could. Bud and I had rough patches in the beginning but we made it work," said Harriet. Lisa smiled.
"Thanks. What about you Mac? Anyone special in your life?" asked Lisa, attempting to get the answer that she wanted to hear out of the woman next to her. She knew how Harm felt, and if she couldn't be with Dan then she was going to get these two together. Mac immediately looked down.
"Um…maybe. I know I want to be with him but I'm not sure about his feelings. That and our careers are in the way too," she replied, never looking up. Lisa shot Harriet a knowing glance.
"Well, maybe you should talk to him, I bet he feels the same," Lisa said, taking a sip and watching Mac as she looked up at her. Mac blinked, did she see right through her answer? More importantly, had Harm told Lisa about his feelings?
"Yeah, well, I don't know now. He didn't even speak to me today." Lisa rolled her eyes, she had a feeling Harm might have been an idiot today.
"Oh really? Well, Harm and I are going to have a little talk then." Mac's eyes widened when Lisa said his name. Harriet covered her mouth to hide her smile, she knew Mac was talking about Harm too.
"What? How…why do you think it's Harm?" stuttered Mac. Harriet and Lisa both giggled.
"Come on Colonel, the entire office knows you two have feelings for each other. There is even a pool going on to see when you will finally hook up." Mac coughed.
"WHAT?" This simply caused the other women to laugh more.
"Mac, why did you question me today the way you did?" asked Lisa but continued before Mac could respond. "You were jealous weren't you? You didn't know who I was and thought I was competition." Mac sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. How can it be that obvious though? Does Harm see it too?" she asked. Lisa laughed.
"Ha, you'd think he would but if you want him to know you better tell him yourself. When it comes to love Harm isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box," she replied. This caused more laughter. When they calmed down, Lisa continued, deciding to bring up something else. She felt Mac had a right to know. "I will give him credit in being a good kisser…" Mac's eyes grew wide. Lisa had kissed Harm?
"What?" asked Harriet, reading Mac's mind. Lisa smiled slightly.
"Yeah, Mac I think you should know that at one point Harm and I were romantically involved. It was only a brief time, when we really needed someone to lean on. We were support for each other. This was right after Hank died and Harm and Diane broke up. We were both heartbroken and for some reason our relationship took that turn. After about three months we both realized that it wasn't what we wanted out of our relationship and we've been nothing but friends since. He is more like a big brother to me." When Lisa finished Mac slowly nodded. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about." Mac smiled, she believed her. She didn't see Lisa trying to take Harm away. Hopefully Harm wouldn't do anything either. Deciding to lighten the mood Lisa changed the subject from love. "Hey did Harm ever tell you about the prank I pulled on him?"
~~~~~
2015 Zulu
The Roberts' Residence
Great Falls, Virginia
"So, Bud, how did your workout go tonight? Lisa didn't try to kill you did she?" asked Harm. Bud laughed as they went into the living room to sit down.
"No Harm. She is an excellent trainer," Bud replied, defending her.
"That she is," supported Sturgis, and Harm nodded. The men were sitting, getting ready to watch the Monday night football game.
"So, are you and Lisa close?" asked Bud, taking a sip of his pop. Harm nodded.
"Yeah. At one point we were even involved, but that was more out of wanting someone to be close to. Diane had just broken up with me and Hank had just passed away. We knew it wasn't going to last but it didn't damage our friendship. In some ways I'm closer with her than anyone else," he replied.
"Even Mac?" asked Bud. Harm glanced down at his pop and took a sip.
"Yeah. I've always been able to talk to Lisa about my feelings a lot easier then with Mac. I guess that's because my relationship with Mac is so complicated," he admitted. Sturgis took this opportunity to see if he could get the same thing out of Harm that he had out of Mac.
"Complicated? Why is that?" he asked innocently. Harm's eyes grew wide. How did they end up talking about him and Mac?
"Well, you see…we, um, there is…" he stumbled to find the words. Bud and Sturgis both exchanged glances.
"You love her don't you?" continued Sturgis. Harm sighed and nodded.
"With all my heart, but we've can never to seem to get anything right. Either there is someone from our pasts, Australians or directors, or our careers get in the way. I don't know if we can ever make it work."
"Harm, you could talk to the Admiral about your careers. If he found a way for Harriet and I, he can find a way for you and Mac. As for the rest of that, you two just need to sit down and talk," stated Bud. He couldn't stand to see his two best friends like this. Harm nodded.
"Maybe...maybe we will."
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~~~~~
"The Gift"
Chapter Three: Girl's Night Out
By Ann Parker
~~~~~~~~~~
1700 Zulu
02 December 2002
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Lisa strolled into Headquarters wearing black sweatpants and a gray NAVY sweatshirt that looked a little faded. That was only because it was 10 years old. Before she could even reach Bud's office, Harm spotted her and laughed.
"Don't you look stunning," he said. She glared at him and walked over, jabbing him in his stomach lightly.
"Quiet you, at least I'm as fit as can be." She poked him once more. "You seem to be getting a bit chunky." With that she turned on her heels and headed to Mac's office.
"I'm not chunky!" he yelled at her as she walked away. She waved a hand at him, dismissing his comment. Harm muttered to himself as she walked until he noticed where she was going. "What are you up to?" She turned to face him.
"Going to talk to the Colonel. We are going out for drinks tonight, do you have a problem with that?" He walked over to her and lowered his voice so the rest of the bullpen didn't listen in.
"You're going out for drinks after her questioning this morning?" he asked, his voice hushed. Lisa rolled her eyes at him.
"Yes I am. You know just as well as I do that wasn't the real Mac asking those questions, and if you held that against her all day, which I'm guessing you are, you need to get over it, understand?" She barely waited for him to nod before turning and entering Mac's office.
Harm stood there for a second, digesting what she had said. He had been giving Mac the cold shoulder all day. He only spoke to her when it was absolutely necessary and then he was short with her. He could see the pain in her eyes when he did. Part of him wanted to apologize, but the other side of him couldn't, wouldn't. Maybe he had over reacted. Sighing, he turned and headed to his own office.
Lisa knocked on the wooden door frame of Mac's office. "Knock, knock." Harriet, who happened to be sitting in the office with the Colonel, and Mac both turned to look at the women in the sweats and smiled.
"Hey," said Mac. Lisa smiled and took a seat next to Harriet.
"Hey, I just came by to tell you that I'm taking Bud to train now." Mac nodded.
"I just have a few things to wrap up, so I should be able to show up in about a half hour. Where did you want to go afterwards?" Mac replied. Harriet sat quietly, wondering what they were talking about.
"It doesn't matter to me, I don't really know my way around here yet anyway." Lisa noticed Harriet looking at them both and motioned to Mac, who nodded in agreement. "Harriet, would you like to join us? I'm sure Bud wouldn't mind." Harriet's eyes light up.
"I would love to," she replied but then paused. "But I don't know if I should leave Bud alone with AJ." Lisa waved her hand.
"I'm sure I can convince Harm and Sturgis to help him out. Besides, it's a Monday night, I'm sure they can watch the football game and have a good time while us girls go out." Harriet smiled.
"Great. So where am I meeting you guys?" Lisa looked at Mac for her to reply.
"How about McMurphy's at…what time are we going to be done at the gym?" asked Mac. Lisa thought for a minute.
"No later than 1830, so how about we meet at 1915? That will give us plenty of time to change at the gym and get to the bar," replied Lisa. Harriet and Mac nodded. "Great, I'll see you then. Time to get Lt. Roberts to the gym." Lisa rose from her chair and headed out the door. She quickly spotted Harm, Sturgis, and Bud all around Harm's office. "Lt. Roberts," she said in a stern voice, reminding Harm of Mac's "drill sergeant" tone. Bud stood up straight and turned to face her. "Time to hit the gym."
"Yes ma'am." Bud turned to get his gear but Lisa stopped him.
"Before we go, I wanted to talk to you three. Mac, Harriet, and I are going to out for drinks after we train. However, Bud, Harriet doesn't want to leave you home alone with AJ." Bud nodded. "So," started Lisa, looking at Harm and Sturgis, "I was thinking that the three of you could get together and watch football and hang out while us girls go out." The guys nodded.
"Sounds good to me," replied Bud.
"That would be fun," agreed Sturgis.
"Count me in," added Harm. Lisa smiled.
"Good. Then with that settled, let's get going Bud. You two could probably meet at the Roberts' around 1900." Harm and Sturgis nodded as Bud and Lisa headed to the gym.
~~~~~
1730 Zulu
Rich's Gym
Falls Church, Virginia
"Good Bud, now let's try some upper body workouts," said Lisa. Bud and she had been working on strengthening his legs and he was slowly, but steadily improving. Lisa knew that in a few weeks he'd be able to pass his test easily.
"Okay," replied Bud, slightly huffing. Lisa was a great trainer, he decided. She was nice but still could be strict when needed, yet she didn't work him to the point of exhaustion. The pair went over to a machine to work on his biceps.
"Let's try 20 pounds, tell me if you need more or less," said Lisa as she set the machine. Bud nodded and tested it.
"That's good for now," he replied. Lisa nodded and started to work on the machine next to him when Mac walked up to them. "Colonel!" greeted Bud excitedly. Mac smiled.
"It's Mac tonight, Bud. How are you two doing?" she asked setting down her bag and stretching a bit. After a day like this she could really use a night at the gym. Bud nodded and continued to work, making Lisa smile in approval.
"We're great. Bud here, is the most determined client I've ever had," Lisa answered. Mac smiled.
"Glad to hear it," she stated and began to work out with them. After a few minutes of silence, Lisa spoke up.
"We're going to work out with the weights for about 15 more minutes and then it's off to the pool." Bud and Mac nodded and they all worked on their upper body strength.
1830 Zulu
The three climbed out of the pool. Mac and Lisa had decided to race Bud to see if he could go any faster in the pool. They succeeded. Each of them grabbed their towel and started to dry off.
"Well, Bud I can definitely see that the pool is going to be a common workout location," said Lisa, drying her hair. Bud laughed and smiled.
"What can I say, I'm a squid." All three laughed as they headed to their locker rooms.
"That you are, Bud, that you are," said Mac with a smile.
"Well, have fun with the boys Bud, and I won't keep Harriet out too late," said Lisa as she and Mac started to enter the women's locker room.
"I will. See ya," Bud said, and the group parted into their designated locker areas.
~~~~~
2000 Zulu
McMurphy's Bar
Falls Church, Virginia
In the corner of the dimly lit bar sat three women at a round black table. The blond was adorned in jeans and a red sweater. The one with dark brown hair was wearing a black skirt and a citrus colored blouse. The third had soft brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore khaki capris and a blue tee shirt. All the guys at the bar kept stealing glances at them, but the girls ignored all of them and focused on their conversation.
"So Lisa, anyone special back home?" Mac asked, still unsure about the relationship between her and Harm. Lisa smiled slightly and sighed. She took another sip of her drink.
"Sort of. He was a client of mine. He lives in Chicago and at the time had a girlfriend. I refused to allow anything to happen because I don't want to ever get involved with someone I work with. We really connected but the circumstances weren't right. He's come to visit me a few times since, and we both want to start something but with him living in Chicago and my traveling…" she stopped and took another sip, focusing on her drink. Mac and Harriet both looked at her with sympathy, particularly Mac. Harm and she were in a similar boat. Lisa sighed before continuing. "I think Dan and I could make it work if we tried a little harder." The other two smiled slightly at her.
"I'm sure you could. Bud and I had rough patches in the beginning but we made it work," said Harriet. Lisa smiled.
"Thanks. What about you Mac? Anyone special in your life?" asked Lisa, attempting to get the answer that she wanted to hear out of the woman next to her. She knew how Harm felt, and if she couldn't be with Dan then she was going to get these two together. Mac immediately looked down.
"Um…maybe. I know I want to be with him but I'm not sure about his feelings. That and our careers are in the way too," she replied, never looking up. Lisa shot Harriet a knowing glance.
"Well, maybe you should talk to him, I bet he feels the same," Lisa said, taking a sip and watching Mac as she looked up at her. Mac blinked, did she see right through her answer? More importantly, had Harm told Lisa about his feelings?
"Yeah, well, I don't know now. He didn't even speak to me today." Lisa rolled her eyes, she had a feeling Harm might have been an idiot today.
"Oh really? Well, Harm and I are going to have a little talk then." Mac's eyes widened when Lisa said his name. Harriet covered her mouth to hide her smile, she knew Mac was talking about Harm too.
"What? How…why do you think it's Harm?" stuttered Mac. Harriet and Lisa both giggled.
"Come on Colonel, the entire office knows you two have feelings for each other. There is even a pool going on to see when you will finally hook up." Mac coughed.
"WHAT?" This simply caused the other women to laugh more.
"Mac, why did you question me today the way you did?" asked Lisa but continued before Mac could respond. "You were jealous weren't you? You didn't know who I was and thought I was competition." Mac sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. How can it be that obvious though? Does Harm see it too?" she asked. Lisa laughed.
"Ha, you'd think he would but if you want him to know you better tell him yourself. When it comes to love Harm isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box," she replied. This caused more laughter. When they calmed down, Lisa continued, deciding to bring up something else. She felt Mac had a right to know. "I will give him credit in being a good kisser…" Mac's eyes grew wide. Lisa had kissed Harm?
"What?" asked Harriet, reading Mac's mind. Lisa smiled slightly.
"Yeah, Mac I think you should know that at one point Harm and I were romantically involved. It was only a brief time, when we really needed someone to lean on. We were support for each other. This was right after Hank died and Harm and Diane broke up. We were both heartbroken and for some reason our relationship took that turn. After about three months we both realized that it wasn't what we wanted out of our relationship and we've been nothing but friends since. He is more like a big brother to me." When Lisa finished Mac slowly nodded. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about." Mac smiled, she believed her. She didn't see Lisa trying to take Harm away. Hopefully Harm wouldn't do anything either. Deciding to lighten the mood Lisa changed the subject from love. "Hey did Harm ever tell you about the prank I pulled on him?"
~~~~~
2015 Zulu
The Roberts' Residence
Great Falls, Virginia
"So, Bud, how did your workout go tonight? Lisa didn't try to kill you did she?" asked Harm. Bud laughed as they went into the living room to sit down.
"No Harm. She is an excellent trainer," Bud replied, defending her.
"That she is," supported Sturgis, and Harm nodded. The men were sitting, getting ready to watch the Monday night football game.
"So, are you and Lisa close?" asked Bud, taking a sip of his pop. Harm nodded.
"Yeah. At one point we were even involved, but that was more out of wanting someone to be close to. Diane had just broken up with me and Hank had just passed away. We knew it wasn't going to last but it didn't damage our friendship. In some ways I'm closer with her than anyone else," he replied.
"Even Mac?" asked Bud. Harm glanced down at his pop and took a sip.
"Yeah. I've always been able to talk to Lisa about my feelings a lot easier then with Mac. I guess that's because my relationship with Mac is so complicated," he admitted. Sturgis took this opportunity to see if he could get the same thing out of Harm that he had out of Mac.
"Complicated? Why is that?" he asked innocently. Harm's eyes grew wide. How did they end up talking about him and Mac?
"Well, you see…we, um, there is…" he stumbled to find the words. Bud and Sturgis both exchanged glances.
"You love her don't you?" continued Sturgis. Harm sighed and nodded.
"With all my heart, but we've can never to seem to get anything right. Either there is someone from our pasts, Australians or directors, or our careers get in the way. I don't know if we can ever make it work."
"Harm, you could talk to the Admiral about your careers. If he found a way for Harriet and I, he can find a way for you and Mac. As for the rest of that, you two just need to sit down and talk," stated Bud. He couldn't stand to see his two best friends like this. Harm nodded.
"Maybe...maybe we will."
~~~~~~~~~~