Title: Mine
Summary: Mac has a stalker… (Harm/Mac Romance, Drama)
Notes: Two POVs for this part. Hopefully, that isn't too annoying, but the alternative was splitting this into two really short parts.
Part Fourteen
Harm
Monday, March 11, 2002
"Sorry again for being late," I say as I enter my own office. She nods, and I smile. She's anxious, and I'd like to put her at ease. "Can I get you some coffee or water?"
"No thanks," she says. She glances at the window into Mac's office and then turns her focus back on me. "Actually, some water would be great. But I can get it myself if-"
I shake my head. "I'll get it. I'll be right back." I fill a paper cup at the water cooler, and once I hand it to her, I take my time settling in my own chair. She takes sips, and I take longer than necessary to look for the file I need while I give her a chance to regroup. She finishes the water, but still seems a bit on edge. "Are you okay?"
Erin nods and tosses the paper cup into the trash can. "Fine," she says briskly. I don't say anything and she sighs and folds her hands together. "Okay, I'm not. I mean, I am. But I saw my ex today, and it has me a little rattled."
I nod sympathetically and casually open the file I had retrieved from my briefcase. "Bad breakup?"
She glances towards Mac's office again and then swallows hard. She grips the cup and I watch it fold in her hands. "Yeah, you could say that." I raise an eyebrow and she shrugs. "I didn't realize that he worked here until I saw him when I was checking in."
I nod, not sure what to say next. She's my main witness, and I want her to relax, and she seems like she wants to talk about something. But I don't know her and I'm not a relationship counselor, and I don't know what to say. But before I can say anything, I hear a door slam and look up to see Mac practically running out of her office. I frown and want to go after her. But I don't. She would have come to me if something was wrong. I know that now; especially after this past weekend. I watch her until she's in the elevator, and then try to focus on my job and the nervous, young airman sitting in front of my desk. She's watching Mac too, and fidgeting with her own shorter hair, and something about her raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
I think she senses that I'm watching her, and she turns back to me and blushes. "Sorry," she mumbles.
"It's fine," I say, even though none of this really feels fine. "Shall we get started?"
She nods, and I reach for my list of questions and we get to work.
She seemed more at ease once we began to talk about her job, and what she had witnessed at Norfolk Naval Base. She stopped fidgeting, and she seemed more like the woman I had spoken to on the phone. She was confident and assertive, and I was relieved she was my witness and not a witness for the defense. We had been talking for nearly an hour when my phone rang.
"Excuse me one moment." She nods, and I reach over and pick up the ringing phone.
"Commander Rabb, the Admiral would like to see you ASAP. It's a time-sensitive matter."
"I'll be right there." I stand and flash an apologetic smile at Erin. "Excuse me; I'll be back in just a moment." She nods, and I brush a wrinkle out of my coat and hurry across the bullpen to Admiral Chegwidden's office.
Tiner watches me with a look of curiosity and gives me an uneasy smile. "Go on in, sir."
"Colonel MacKenzie is on the phone," Admiral Chegwidden starts, and I immediately frown. "She told Tiner it was urgent, and after our conversation this morning, I felt uneasy." I feel bile begin to rise, and he shakes his head. "You have to stay quiet. Completely quiet."
I want to argue, but on a good day, he's not a man to argue with, and I know better than to argue when he looks like he does now. I simply nod and hover by his phone with my hands shoved in my pockets. He hits the button on his phone and clears his throat. "What's going on, Colonel?"
"Sir, I got a call about a family member, and I had to leave quickly. I'm not sure how long this will take; maybe a day or two. But I have court at 1400, and I won't be there."
My blood runs cold. Family member? I know for a fact that the only family she has is her uncle in prison, and the mother she hasn't spoken to in years. I glance at the Admiral, and he's silently watching me. I shake my head, and he clears his throat and flattens his palms against his desk. "Colonel, I wasn't aware you had any family in the area."
"It's my uncle, sir. His name is Frank Coster. Commander Rabb has met him in case you have any questions." I straighten at the sound of an old nemesis, and I know what this means. I know what she's trying to tell him. I know that mentioning Coster and telling him to confirm with me is her way of getting a message to me. I want to yell out; I want to let her know that I'm here, but Chegwidden grabs my arm, and the look he gives me makes me want to take a step back. I know he's right – and I need to stay quiet, but it's so goddamned hard. I tug my arm free and watch as he scribbles a note on his desk pad.
"I don't doubt your integrity, Colonel." He says, "but leaving like this is completely inappropriate, and we will have a conversation about this when you're back."
He finishes the note and looks at me. 'Police. Now.' I nod and hurry out of his office, her last words to him filling the room and my head.
"I understand, sir. Thank you."
I burst back into my office, and glance at the phone on my desk before realizing there's no way I'll be able to just call the police and then sit back and wait
"Sir?"
I glance at Erin as I dig around my desk for my wallet and phone, and shake my head. "I have an emergency. We'll have to finish this at another time." I don't wait for her to respond, and now I'm the one running out of my office, dialing 911 as I go. I can't afford to wait for the elevator and take the stairs two at a time as I run for my car and tell the operator everything I know. Once I hang up, all I can do is pray that I'm not too late to get to her.
Erin
This whole morning has been strange, and I have to admit I'm a little relieved that I get to get out of this building. Maybe when the time comes for the Commander to continue our interview, he can come to my office. I don't want to be here – it just doesn't feel right.
Seeing her was startling. I mean, I'm not one hundred percent sure it was her. I wouldn't bet my retirement on it or anything. But I'm pretty positive it was her. I close my eyes and take myself back to the Surface Warfare Ball and remember the woman in the red dress that my boyfriend couldn't stop staring at. It has to be her.
My stomach flips thinking of Tyler. Is it a coincidence that he's here? Or did he take his fascination with this random woman to an unsettling level? He'd always been the type of guy to fixate on things, and I hadn't minded so much when he had been fixating on me. But her… it had all been so strange.
I get in my car and turn the car back toward the gate. I hold my breath as I approach, and when I notice there aren't any other cars waiting to come into the installment or lined up to leave I roll down my window and smile at the guard who checked me in.
"Hi," I say, "Is Tyler around?" God, just his name makes me feel sick. I don't know what I'm doing – what I'll say to him, but something tells me I need to see him.
"No ma'am," he says, and my smile fades. "He said he wasn't feeling well, and took off in a hurry. Seems like something must be going around. A few people have taken off like bats out of hell this morning."
I think of the Commander running out of the office, and the woman – Colonel Mackenzie - running out not long after I got there. "Other people?"
"Yeah," he says with a nod. "Colonel MacKenzie left right before Tyler. And Commander Rabb just took off. Weird day, I guess."
"Yeah," I agree. "Weird day." I sit there with my hands on the wheel, and I think about Tyler, and the last time I saw him. I've never put much stock into women's intuition or signs or anything like that, but something is wrong, and I know it has something to do with him.
"Is there anything else you need, ma'am?"
I swallow and shake my head. He raises the arm of the gate, and I pull my car through. I think of Tyler as I drive down the quiet street. I think of his fixation on her. It had started out harmless enough – just a little crush I told myself. Hell, she looked so fantastic in that red dress at the ball I'm sure most of the men there and probably a few women developed little crushes on her. But he didn't seem to be able to get over it. And then there was an article about her in the paper and some dangerous situation in Indonesia, and his crush turned into an obsession. I reach up and touch the ends of my hair, missing its length and the easy bun I used to pull it into every morning.
"This isn't right," I say to myself, and I turn the car around and head back to JAG Headquarters. I hadn't gotten too far, and the young guard smiles at me as I hand him my ID again. "I'm sorry," I apologize. "I think I forgot something in Commander Rabb's office. Is it okay if I go back?"
"Of course." He returns my ID to me and gives a crisp salute once I take it and drive away. I park in the spot I vacated not that long ago and head back inside. The Commander's office is empty, and I approach the blonde who helped me earlier, and she tells me he's not back yet. I nod and head back outside, needing to get some air. There are some tables off to the side, but I don't want to miss him once he's back, so I take a seat on the stone steps and wait. And watch.
And think. My mind keeps going back to the last time I saw him, and I really hope that whatever is going on doesn't end badly for any of the people involved.
End Part 14