Wow! I actually kept to my deadline... how bout that! Thanks for all the
help regarding the name of the bar; I did remember it eventually. Secondly,
thank you to all my reviewing angels... But without any further adieu, on
with the show...
* * *
In the bullpen, there were only two Lieutenants discussing a case, most others were behind closed doors in their offices, or had just left for the day. Harm walked out of his office just in time to hear the sound of the lifts beginning to close, whining slightly.
"Ah, damn," he cried, walking faster to try to get a hand to the doors... "Hold the lift!" he called a head, breaking into a run. He slipped his hands between the doors just in time, and they pulled back.
A hand moved away from the button panel and the figure that had stopped the doors for him stepped back. Harm let out a sigh of relief at catching the doors, then looked up.
"Oh... Mac... hi," he said, a tad breathlessly as he stepped into the lift beside her. A quick glance at the panel told him they were going to the same floor. She was staring straight ahead, a frosty glint to her eyes.
Remembering their earlier attempts at conversation that day, he decided rather foolishly to try again. "How was your day?" he asked her.
"Fine," she said, not taking her eyes off the lift doors.
Harm fell silent and the floor suddenly became very interesting. After another few seconds pause, he decided to try again.
"Good to be back?"
"Yes," she replied, a little more ice entering her already cold tone. It was a voice he had heard her use only a few times, flat, impersonal, devoid of any emotion.
He elected to take the hint this time, and didn't say anything more until they came out on the ground floor. The doors slid back and she stalked out of the lift. He walked out after her, trailing her into the parking lot. Her car was parked a few bays before his and she quickly positioned herself in the drivers seat.
"Have a nice evening," he called out to her. The only response was the angry rev of her engine and a slight squeal of tires as she pulled out of the lot and expertly steered the car into the passing traffic.
Harm shook his head and resignedly moved into his car. As he put his key into the ignition, every shred of hope of a friendly reunion fading from his mind with a depressing sense of finality.
He needed a drink. His foot eased onto the accelerator and he pulled out of the parking lot. Once on the road, he made a quick decision and made a left, steering his car along the road to McMurphy's.
* * *
Mac wove through the busy traffic. She gazed guiltily out at the black road in front of her. Slowly at first, but more and more rapidly, fat raindrops began to fall, sending up clouds of steam off the hot bitumen. As usual, she was hardly concentrating on the road in front of her at all, instead she was replaying the incident in the lift.
She wasn't entirely sure why she'd been so cold to him. When she had stepped in the lift, she had nearly relaxed completely and was glad to have avoided another confrontation with him, but then someone had told her to stop the lift and she had. It had just happened to be him. She'd then had a kind of panicky reaction and had frozen up. So she'd used the tried and true method of the one word answer to make him stop talking to her.
Sighing, Mac blinked a few times and returned her full concentration to the road. In the state she'd been driving around in lately, she was surprised she hadn't been hit, or hit someone else. Her eyes focused on her surroundings, and she knew that these were some she recognized very well. Unwittingly, she had driven herself to a familiar haunt, and the more she thought about it, the more she was glad she had. Pulling the car smoothly up to the kerb, she pulled her jacket up over her head and stepped out into the rainy night.
* * *
Harm sat alone at the bar. The lights were down low and a slight smell of cigarette smoke wafted through the air. The bartender finished serving two young women who Harm didn't think were of legal drinking age, then moved over to where the Navy Captain sat.
His hair and uniform was slightly wet, dampened by the rain in the short dash between his car and McMurphy's.
"Hey, Harm," the bartender greeted him. After Mac had left, Harm had spent a lot more time in this bar than he had ever done before, and he and Kenny had become quite good friends.
"Hey," said Harm dejectedly.
"The usual?"
"Yeah..."
Kenny slid the beer across the table at him. Harm reached out and caught it neatly as it sailed past. Kenny rested his elbows on the bar and leaned in to talk to Harm. The bar didn't get much business on a Monday night, and apart from the two girls, there were only five other people in the bar - a couple cuddling quietly in a corner and three men having a very lively game of cards while nursing beers.
"You still thinking about the pretty lady that left ya?" Kenny asked, wiping the bench down absentmindedly.
Harm let out a hollow laugh and took a swig of his beer. "You betcha," he said dryly, "only now she's back."
"Really! Whaddya know, ay?" Kenny grinned, revealing many missing teeth.
"Yeah... that's what I thought," Harm sighed and stared down the neck of his beer.
"Ah, I'd love to chat with ya, mate, but another customer's just walked in. I'll serve 'em and get back to ya, 'kay?" he drawled in his thick accent.
Harm tilted his beer slightly in acknowledgment and Kenny moved off.
He looked over at the two young girls giggling and sipping cocktails in the corner. He could hear the soft voices of Kenny and his new customer. He turned his attention to the card game as he took another sip. Two of the men were having an argument increasing in intensity. The third was trying unsuccessfully to act as a mediator. The whole bar tensed when a beer bottle smashed on the floor, but suddenly one of the men let out a hearty laugh, and the tension subsided.
Harm turned his head back towards where Kenny had gone and saw the big boned man walking back to him, away from a dark haired woman in a black jacket, her hair tousled and wet, nursing a dark coloured liquid.
"Sorry, but I had to serve a customer, ay?" he apologized.
"Nah, it's fine," said Harm, waving his beer in affirmation.
"Besides," said Kenny, with another one of his manic grins, "She was a real pretty lady, ya know?" He elbowed Harm playfully.
It was then that Harm recognized the woman with dark hair and a dark jacket from the brief glimpse he had gotten before.
He sighed.
* * *
I have no idea what the bartenders name is at McMurphy's... and if his name isn't Kenny, well... let's just use our imaginations and pretend the bar changed ownership or hired a new employee or something, okay? Please? I shall try very hard to have the next chapter up by at least the end of the week, if not sooner. But no promises because I have an exam or assignment due every single day this week! Happy reading!
* * *
In the bullpen, there were only two Lieutenants discussing a case, most others were behind closed doors in their offices, or had just left for the day. Harm walked out of his office just in time to hear the sound of the lifts beginning to close, whining slightly.
"Ah, damn," he cried, walking faster to try to get a hand to the doors... "Hold the lift!" he called a head, breaking into a run. He slipped his hands between the doors just in time, and they pulled back.
A hand moved away from the button panel and the figure that had stopped the doors for him stepped back. Harm let out a sigh of relief at catching the doors, then looked up.
"Oh... Mac... hi," he said, a tad breathlessly as he stepped into the lift beside her. A quick glance at the panel told him they were going to the same floor. She was staring straight ahead, a frosty glint to her eyes.
Remembering their earlier attempts at conversation that day, he decided rather foolishly to try again. "How was your day?" he asked her.
"Fine," she said, not taking her eyes off the lift doors.
Harm fell silent and the floor suddenly became very interesting. After another few seconds pause, he decided to try again.
"Good to be back?"
"Yes," she replied, a little more ice entering her already cold tone. It was a voice he had heard her use only a few times, flat, impersonal, devoid of any emotion.
He elected to take the hint this time, and didn't say anything more until they came out on the ground floor. The doors slid back and she stalked out of the lift. He walked out after her, trailing her into the parking lot. Her car was parked a few bays before his and she quickly positioned herself in the drivers seat.
"Have a nice evening," he called out to her. The only response was the angry rev of her engine and a slight squeal of tires as she pulled out of the lot and expertly steered the car into the passing traffic.
Harm shook his head and resignedly moved into his car. As he put his key into the ignition, every shred of hope of a friendly reunion fading from his mind with a depressing sense of finality.
He needed a drink. His foot eased onto the accelerator and he pulled out of the parking lot. Once on the road, he made a quick decision and made a left, steering his car along the road to McMurphy's.
* * *
Mac wove through the busy traffic. She gazed guiltily out at the black road in front of her. Slowly at first, but more and more rapidly, fat raindrops began to fall, sending up clouds of steam off the hot bitumen. As usual, she was hardly concentrating on the road in front of her at all, instead she was replaying the incident in the lift.
She wasn't entirely sure why she'd been so cold to him. When she had stepped in the lift, she had nearly relaxed completely and was glad to have avoided another confrontation with him, but then someone had told her to stop the lift and she had. It had just happened to be him. She'd then had a kind of panicky reaction and had frozen up. So she'd used the tried and true method of the one word answer to make him stop talking to her.
Sighing, Mac blinked a few times and returned her full concentration to the road. In the state she'd been driving around in lately, she was surprised she hadn't been hit, or hit someone else. Her eyes focused on her surroundings, and she knew that these were some she recognized very well. Unwittingly, she had driven herself to a familiar haunt, and the more she thought about it, the more she was glad she had. Pulling the car smoothly up to the kerb, she pulled her jacket up over her head and stepped out into the rainy night.
* * *
Harm sat alone at the bar. The lights were down low and a slight smell of cigarette smoke wafted through the air. The bartender finished serving two young women who Harm didn't think were of legal drinking age, then moved over to where the Navy Captain sat.
His hair and uniform was slightly wet, dampened by the rain in the short dash between his car and McMurphy's.
"Hey, Harm," the bartender greeted him. After Mac had left, Harm had spent a lot more time in this bar than he had ever done before, and he and Kenny had become quite good friends.
"Hey," said Harm dejectedly.
"The usual?"
"Yeah..."
Kenny slid the beer across the table at him. Harm reached out and caught it neatly as it sailed past. Kenny rested his elbows on the bar and leaned in to talk to Harm. The bar didn't get much business on a Monday night, and apart from the two girls, there were only five other people in the bar - a couple cuddling quietly in a corner and three men having a very lively game of cards while nursing beers.
"You still thinking about the pretty lady that left ya?" Kenny asked, wiping the bench down absentmindedly.
Harm let out a hollow laugh and took a swig of his beer. "You betcha," he said dryly, "only now she's back."
"Really! Whaddya know, ay?" Kenny grinned, revealing many missing teeth.
"Yeah... that's what I thought," Harm sighed and stared down the neck of his beer.
"Ah, I'd love to chat with ya, mate, but another customer's just walked in. I'll serve 'em and get back to ya, 'kay?" he drawled in his thick accent.
Harm tilted his beer slightly in acknowledgment and Kenny moved off.
He looked over at the two young girls giggling and sipping cocktails in the corner. He could hear the soft voices of Kenny and his new customer. He turned his attention to the card game as he took another sip. Two of the men were having an argument increasing in intensity. The third was trying unsuccessfully to act as a mediator. The whole bar tensed when a beer bottle smashed on the floor, but suddenly one of the men let out a hearty laugh, and the tension subsided.
Harm turned his head back towards where Kenny had gone and saw the big boned man walking back to him, away from a dark haired woman in a black jacket, her hair tousled and wet, nursing a dark coloured liquid.
"Sorry, but I had to serve a customer, ay?" he apologized.
"Nah, it's fine," said Harm, waving his beer in affirmation.
"Besides," said Kenny, with another one of his manic grins, "She was a real pretty lady, ya know?" He elbowed Harm playfully.
It was then that Harm recognized the woman with dark hair and a dark jacket from the brief glimpse he had gotten before.
He sighed.
* * *
I have no idea what the bartenders name is at McMurphy's... and if his name isn't Kenny, well... let's just use our imaginations and pretend the bar changed ownership or hired a new employee or something, okay? Please? I shall try very hard to have the next chapter up by at least the end of the week, if not sooner. But no promises because I have an exam or assignment due every single day this week! Happy reading!