Thank you sOoOoOoOoOoOo much for your reviews!!!!! And look! I'm a day early!!!
Pissed Off Poet: You know, poet, I had that idea originally in the third chapter. But I thought it would move it too fast. I've worked that into this chapter though. Thank you for coming back!!!
Pennithil: Thank you for the advice! I've been doing some thinking about how I could have this affect the future, but I've also thought...why change the future at all? What I sort of had in mind was to let Grace discover what life was like for her parents when they were young. But I don't really want her intervention to mess with the timeline. So when I think when Grace is eventually sent back, I'd like her life to be at the point where it left off...it's hard to explain, but I see this traveling back in time bit as a place in a different realm. Oh, my, I'm rambling trying to explain it. You'll see later on. Thank you for coming back!
Katherine: Thank you for such wonderful input. I had originally had a scene with Grace getting her blood drawn (the bit about Grace fearing needles was part of the original "script"), and then I thought it would be too much too fast. See, I try to picture what the JAG characters reactions would be to all this, and we know they would think the idea of a strange girl from the future to be preposterous. So, unless they actually believed Grace to be the daughter of Harm and Mac, why would they take blood at all? Wouldn't they see it as a waste of time since time travel would be considered impossible? Do not worry though; I've been saving the blood test for this chapter. Thank you again!!
Mia: Ah! You're lucky number 60 on the review list! ;) *does happy dance* THANK YOU MIA!!! Lol, it's like you're reading my mind! Yes, I do plan on her meetin' the gang at the office and adding in stuff like, "something's oddly familiar about that girl" or somethin' like that. Thank you so much for coming back!
ArwenUndomiel: LoL, yes, 'tis a crazy story!!! But don't worry, it'll slow down a little and start to make more sense in this chapter!!! Ah! And get some sleep!!!
sunchaser2: Outstanding?? Really??? Thank you!!!!!!!!!
pendray: Ahh, the core of the story I think is going to be spread out through a couple chapters, so yes....we've entered...THE CORE....lol, it sounds funny.............*cough*...yeah, anywho.....thank you so much for coming back, and I do realize this chapter was a little strange. Actually a lot of the stuff in this chapter was switched around and re-written, and I don't think it came out quite right, but hopefully good enough. Thank you!
SarahRabb705: Funny scenes?? Really?? I'll hafta read it again. Okay, well, with school, I should be able to get this out by Friday! Thank you so much for reading!
JagSister: Hey, thanks! I'm fairly certain I have the ending all sketched out, so now it's mostly all the fun stuff in between. Thank you so much for such nice comments!
emokid: LoL, thank you so much! It's been a lot of fun to write, and I had no idea so many people would like it! Thank you again for your continuing support! Oh, and I'm going to try and get new chapters out every Friday night or Saturday.
frances: Thank, fran! I've been having a blast writing it! Oh, and I'm gonna try to schedule this and say there should be a new chapter every Friday or Saturday. Thanks again!!!!
kiwi: LoL, happy dances and fun dances are cool!!! :D So glad you're likin' it cause I'm just havin' a blast writing it. Thank you!!!!!!
DD2: Ahh, do not worry! Where did you go on vacation? Did you have a good time? Thank you so much for such wonderful comments!
maggie: Wow! Thank you!! I can't wait to *write* the next chapter, there are just so many little things I can do with this. Ah! You're lucky number 70 on the review list! *does happy dance* THANK YOU MAGGIE!!!
jagchick105: oh, jag, I have to say, I've been trying hard just to be as good of a writer as you! I have great respect for your style and I only hope I'll some day reach that height. Thank you so much again, you and the others almost make me cry with all your motivating, nice comments. Thank you.
annebd: Oh, thank you. I'm addicted to proofreading stuff and I get *so* irritated after I've posted a chapter, but then still see a typo. Thank you for noticing though. Btw, I didn't see that you updated "Who's Baby" until I checked out ur profile and saw there was a third chapter, so I just read and reviewed. *salutes* You're doing an incredible job.
Emma15: Yay! Thank you! I'm glad you're likin' it! I try to update every Friday or Saturday. So expect the next installment by the end of the week!
Chloe1: LoL, when I was contemplating how the third chapter would run, and how it would affect the chapters ahead, I thought...what would put Harm in an unpredictable situation....and it just seemed the fit. Lots of laughs ahead because I couldn't resist torturing our favorite guy ;) Thank you so much for coming back!!
marineJAG: Thank you! I love writing it! I'm determined to have some sort of schedule and I'd like to get new chapters out every Friday or Saturday. So expect the next installment by the end of the week! Thank you so much for reviewing!!!!
Mimmi: Yay! I love that you love it!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!
Hazel: LoL, well, Webb does seem to have that problem with a receding hairline...but don't worry. I don't think we'll be seeing the older Webb in the story. Thank you so much for coming back!!!
pop1013: Ah! You shall see soon!!!! Don't worry, I'm addicted to writing it! And I'm gonna have so much fun writing all the interactions between the JAG gang and Grace! Thank you for reading!!!
CharmedMummy: Welcome back! Heehee, wellllll, this chapter is going stir a few things up. And the ending of the story (still some time away) is going to be a little unorthodox. But I have it clear in my mind...but I'm not sayin' just yet!!!! LoL, I had so much fun writing this chapter and the interactions between Grace and the JAG gang. Hope ya like it! Thank you so much for coming back!!!
Lisa Brown: Oh, I'm glad you stayed! I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I started writing this, but I'm having a whole lot of fun. Thank you so much for reading! I'm going to make a schedule and new chapters will be up about every Friday. Thanks again! Ah! And you're lucky number 80 on the review list!!! *does happy dance* THANK YOU, LISA!!!!!
ICABOT: Thank you! I'm having a blast writing is! My updates are usually every Friday and Saturday! Thanks again!
NadaZimri: Hey there, ol' buddy ol' pal (wink wink, nudge, nudge, har, har :D). Glad you think it's all great!!! Ah! Be patient, good friend! The ending you shall have!!! (btw, was there enough chicken for everyone??? *snicker)!
Deb: *grins manically* you shall see in the chapter!!!!! Thank you so much for coming back and for reading, Debbie!!!
AN: Just a quick note. I'm going to try and be all organized about this, so I'm making it official that new updates should come up every Friday night (EST). Because I'll try and post the new chapter in the morning, but it'll probably take all day before it actually shows up. Thanks, ya'll!
~sancti
Chapter 4: Rock and Roll0030 ZULU
Washington, D.C.
Grace sat slouched in the bucket seat of the Corvette with her arms crossed over her chest. She felt her father's sidelong glance every once and while as he drove. When they'd left CIA Headquarters, Harm had tried to make small talk, but he was having trouble deciding what to say. And Grace was fine with that. She wasn't exactly in the mood for talking. But the silence was agonizing as well, and the nervousness in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Finally growing restless, Grace let her eyes wander to the radio and she studied all the different dials. Seeing one she liked, Grace turned it and the old group Creed filled the car with guitar distortion as they entered into a solo. Harm immediately turned it down so the song could be barely heard. Grace's brow creased and she turned it back up. Harm gave her a look that said "Just what do you think you're doing?" and lowered the volume again. With a scowl, Grace turned it off and huffed a sigh as she slumped into the seat again. In her peripheral vision, Grace could see her father shaking his head. One thing she had to accept, was the fact that some things never changed.
The car slowed as it came to a long line of cars stopped at a red light. Finally getting bored from the silence, Grace decided to speak up.
"So do I get to go to the office, tomorrow?"
Harm kept his gaze straight ahead, studying the bumper stickers on the van in front of them. "I'll bring you in and then explain the situation to Admiral Chegwidden—he's the JAG."
Grace nodded. "I know who he is."
Harm tapped the steering wheel and kept his gazed glued to those bumper stickers. "I'm there pretty much all day and you'll probably be bored to death—"
"I can do filing."
Harm finally took his eyes off the car in front of them and looked over at Grace. "Don't expect to be paid."
Grace shrugged. "You never paid me anyway. You called it a 'family contribution.' " She said mockingly making her fingers into quotation marks.
Harm chuckled, but closed the smile when she gave him a nasty expression. "Sorry."
The light turned, and the bright green reflected off the cars as they all moved slowly forward.
***
0050 ZULU
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station, Washington, D.C
Harm unlocked the door and pushed it open, letting Grace go in. She hesitated at first but walked into the darkness. Harm reached for the switch and light flooded over the apartment. Grace squinted her eyes, but then took in all that was around her with great interest. It was like walking into one of those exhibits where they build a street or room and try to recreate it for a certain time period. Almost of all these objects she recognized because they had been locked away in the attic covered with dust. Grace remembered being little and going up there to fiddle with all the different things.
She suddenly spotted the stereo system. Compared to what they had in her time, this machine was ancient. Grace swept her hand over all the dials and buttons, feeling the coolness under her fingers. Harm glanced up from the kitchen and stopped flipping through the mail.
"Don't even think about it." He said wryly.
Grace snapped her hand away and walked across the room to the little silver television that the CIA had apparently provided for her father a while ago. Grace smiled. When she was about eight, her dad let her have it. Instead of trying to get it to work, Grace just wanted to see what it looked like on the inside. So she got his tools and completely took the little TV apart. By the time she was done, there were television parts and wires all over her room. She was never able to put it back together.
Grace brushed her hand over the leather chair near the desk. She was also given this chair and it rested in her room, covered with magazines and the old CD's that Grace collected. Grace almost told herself that it was like walking back in time, and it took her a second to remember she was walking back in time. She involuntarily shuddered.
"That sofa is a pull-out bed. I can sleep there and you can have the master bed."
Grace sat on the sofa, testing it out. "It's fine, I can sleep here."
Harm stacked the mail into a pile of papers on the counter. "You sure?"
She nodded.
"Okay, I'll get the sheets—"
The door made a loud buzz making Grace shoot up at the sound. "What's that?"
Her father cocked an eyebrow. "It's the buzzer...someone's at the door."
Grace relaxed slightly, but was still a little apprehensive. Who would be here at almost eight o'clock at night? Harm looked through the peephole and then opened the door. Grace's mother strode into the apartment carrying three big bags with her. Once she spotted Grace, the marine walked up to her and all but dropped the bags onto the couch because of their weight. Her mom sighed and smiled at Grace's puzzled look. Harm closed the door and walked over to the girls.
"What's all this?" He asked slowly.
Mac dug through the bags, stacking different clothes in Grace's arms. "I went shopping for you."
Grace marveled over all the things her mother had bought her as the stack grew higher and heavier. Mac continued to hold up certain clothes, displaying them for a moment, and then putting them back in the bag.
Harm rolled his eyes as Grace squealed when Mac held up a pair of leather boots, and walked away, leaving the two girls with the piles of clothes.
***
They all stared down at her, their eyes wide and anxious. Grace stared back and blinked. There they were. Mom, Dad, Jake and Isabel...all standing over the hospital bed.
What happened?Grace tried to say it, but no sound came out of her lungs. Suddenly, Dad shook his head.
"No, Doctor. This isn't our daughter."
Mom started to cry and buried her face in her husband's chest. Jake and Isabel simply stared, but Isabel held up a fake rubber rat and twirled around by the tail.
What do you mean I'm not your daughter? It's me! It's me, Grace!Grace kept opening her mouth, and she felt her tongue work to form the words, but still no sound came out. Grace tried to sit up, but her wrists were fastened to the bed. With her mother crying, and her father shaking his head, they all turned around and left.
Wait! Come back! It's me!Grace shook and her eyelids snapped open. Her eyes met the arm of the leather couch and then as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the rest of the living room formed a shape. Grace moistened her dry lips and put a hand over her chest, feeling her heart thumping rapidly. All of her senses began to work again, and Grace winced as the tag on the inside of the new pajama tank top scraped at her side. She sighed, remembering that she'd planned to cut it off before she went to bed. Tossing the covers off, Grace swung her legs to the wooden floor, feeling its cold surface beneath her toes. After running a hand through her brown hair to get it out of her face, she groggily went over to the kitchen, in search for the scissors.
It didn't take long for her to notice the light in the bedroom. She could see her father's figure, distorted by the vertical blinds that separated the bedroom from the rest of the apartment. He was sitting up in the bed near the end table on the left with the lamp on it. Doing what, she didn't know. Suddenly getting a chill, Grace went back for her duster-sweater. Then she stepped silently towards the bedroom and up the two steps.
He had her back to her and his head down. Grace couldn't make out what he had in his hand, but he didn't move, and he kept his torso bent forward. Grace shifted her weight to her other foot, which made the floor creak. He whipped around, surprised at first, but then his frame relaxed.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" His voice didn't sound right. It was strained and hollow. But perhaps that was because it was two o'clock in the morning.
Grace shook her head. "No, I woke up from a dream, then I saw the light on."
He kept staring at her, his brow furrowed.
"What?"
Harm blinked a few times. "I was just thinking how much you look like Mac."
Grace could have sworn she felt her heart skip a beat. Would he actually believe her? She stared down at her feet, looking at the shiny silver paint on all her toenails. Gaining her composure, Grace stepped into the room a bit more, trying to see what he had in his hands. Harm realized what she was trying to do and stood, tossing the photograph on the bed. It landed upside down and Grace stopped a moment, but eventually reached down and turned the photo over. She gasped. She had completely forgotten she had it with her! Picking up the photo, she held it in front of her with both hands, studying the faces on the paper.
"You must have searched my wallet." She murmured.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod. "If that was digitally enhanced, someone did a very good job."
Grace smiled at her father's stubbornness to accept the truth. This wasn't a fake. It was a formal photograph containing Grace, her siblings, and her parents. Grace realized it was taken a year ago, because Isabel's two front teeth had fallen out. But she didn't care and displayed a wide, toothy grin. The dark green background brought out the fiery red hair that had somehow slipped into Jake's genetic code. Jake was also still wearing glasses, because he wasn't old enough yet for the laser surgery to correct his vision. Grace didn't like her part of the picture. She thought she looked tired because her normally big chocolate eyes were half closed, and her smile was faint. Her mother had been disappointed that she hadn't let loose and displayed that big, beautiful smile she'd inherited from her father. And then there were her parents, standing behind the three kids, who simply grinned, proud of their little family. All in all, anyone who saw the photo would think these people were the happiest in the world.
Grace felt her father's eyes on her, and she looked up. She expected to see that confused expression. He swallowed and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
"What are their names again?" He asked after he cleared his throat. Grace sat down next to him and pointed at her brother.
"That's Jake. He's eleven now. And that's Isabel. She's eight."
The whole time, he had a hand over his eyes, obviously trying to steady his breathing. "And you're..."
"I turned sixteen in September...the 28th."
Her dad sighed, letting the air out slowly through his nose. "So you're really from..."
Grace knew it was hard for him to say, so she didn't specify it by speaking the word. "Yes, I am."
After a moment of silence, he suddenly shot up, ran to the bathroom, and retched.
***
1310 ZULU
Grace pushed the cereal around in her bowl, watching the cheerios jump to the surface of the milk despite how many times she drove them to the bottom with her spoon.
Her father emerged from the bedroom, tying his tie and placing his suit jacket over the chair at the table. After what happened early that morning, her father hadn't spoken much. Grace understood that he was probably embarrassed by his actions. After he'd violently lost his dinner, he seemed to go into denial. He'd told her to take the picture away and go back to bed.
He'd woken her up early because they had to leave the house at 0830. They now had twenty minutes. He drained his coffee at the counter and put the cup in the sink, then whipped around, leafing through the papers in his briefcase. After checking to make sure everything was there, he clicked it shut and put it at the door. He then disappeared back into the bedroom. Grace had watched him carefully, recognizing the same movements. One thing was for sure, he hadn't changed his morning schedule one bit.
Grace put the empty bowl and spoon in the sink and then went over to the couch. Her new backpack sat on the un-made bed and Grace considered carefully what to bring with her. Though she wasn't planning on just sitting around all day, she did want to be prepared if there was nothing for her to do. Wandering over to her father's desk, Grace spotted a thick book about Naval history. She might have been happier if she had a magazine to browse through, but her choices were limited. Grace grabbed the book and shoved it into the bag.
***
1350 ZULU
Washington, D.C.
The Corvette inched forward down the Beltway. Cars surrounded them on all sides and Harm kept checking his watch, knowing he would be late.
"Quite an accident southbound on the Beltway, cars are backed up for a couple of miles. So if you're headed toward Virginia, take some back roads, because the Beltway is a parking lot—"
Harm shut the radio off in frustration. Grace watched him, hugging the backpack to her chest.
"Are you mad?" She asked, though she already knew the answer.
Harm closed his eyes for a moment until a car behind them honked from impatience since the car in front of them had moved up a few feet.
"Well, considering it took you thirty-minutes just to decide what to wear, and now there's this goddamn accident, and now I'm going to be late—" Harm stopped when he felt his anger increasing to a breaking point. "No, I'm all right."
Silence.
"Well...I'm sure the Admiral will understand. You can't be blamed for traffic."
Harm slowly shifted his gaze to Grace. "Well, if we left on time, we probably would've been out of here before the accident."
She narrowed her eyes. "That's speculation. We had no way of knowing there was going to be an accident."
Harm rolled his eyes and the smallest of a smile curved his features. "What do you know...Mini Mac."
***
1447 ZULU
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Admiral Chegwidden took off his spectacles, placing them in the middle of the folder on his desk. He then eyed the Commander, as if expecting him to laugh and say, "Just a joke, sir." But his face was quite serious.
"So let me get this straight...this girl, Grace, waltzed into CIA Headquarters, started rambling about classified information, and now she lives with you?"
Harm had carefully left out the part about her possibly being genetically linked to him and her claims of being from the future.
"Yes, sir. The CIA thinks, judging by her appearance, that she does belong to someone. I've promised to keep an eye on missing child reports while keeping her in my care."
The Admiral stood and walked over to Harm. "Commander, you do realize this girl is not your responsibility."
He nodded. "I know, sir. But if I didn't take her, she'd be alone and cooped up in an eight-by-eight cell at CIA Headquarters."
The Admiral couldn't think of a retort, so he just sighed. "She's not here, is she?"
"Uh, yes, sir, she is. She's in my office."
A.J. sat back down with one of his grumpy expressions on his features. He then hit the com button on the phone. "Tiner!" He said bitterly.
"Yes, sir?" Came the cheery response.
"Bring the girl that's in Commander Rabb's office over here."
A pause on the other line. "A girl, sir?"
"Tiner!"
"Aye, sir!"
A knock was heard on the Admiral's door a minute later, and Tiner opened it, letting the girl come in first. After looking at Tiner with wide eyes, she turned to the Admiral and swallowed hard, as if she was trying to contain something and if she didn't, she'd burst. She stood next to Harm and laced her hands behind he back with her spine straight. On any other day, and if A.J. had seen the two separately, he probably never would have noticed the uncanny resemblance between the two as they stood next to each other. Suddenly, a funny notion crossed the two-star's mind, but he waved it away.
"So, you're Grace." A.J. finally said as he walked over to her. She sized him up and then gave the Commander a sidelong glance.
"Yes, sir."
"The Commander says you're going to be staying with him for a while."
"Uh-huh."
"How long?"
Grace shrugged. "Not sure, sir. But I plan on making myself useful. If there's anything in the office I can do, I'd be happy to help."
Even with the little interaction A.J. had had with teenagers, he was still fairly certain their behavior was different than this. His goddaughter was completely different. She had that "attitude." It was the kind of attitude that whenever you tried to talk to her, you couldn't help but always feel you were wrong and didn't know anything. That irritated the hell out of him. But this particular young woman seemed to understand that the adult was usually wiser than the child. This softened the Admiral a bit.
"Oh, and just what do you plan to do around here?"
"Filing. It's something simple, but it needs to be done."
"That's certainly true, but you need to remember, this is working environment where the people are responsible and mature—"
The buzzer on the Admiral's phone went off. "What?"
"Sorry, sir, but Miss Cavanaugh is on the line and wants to know where you bought her those, and I quote, 'beautiful pink roses that match my bed—"
"Fine, Tiner! Tell her I'll call her back."
The girl lowered her head to hide a smile. "You were saying, Admiral?"
***
1830 ZULU
Grace stared at the open drawer in the filing cabinet, and flipped through the "B" files. She started to shove the file in between the others, when she noticed the last name was "Griffin." She shook her head. Her mind was swimming with the day's events. Seeing the Admiral that morning was enough to shock her. Grace had to wonder if that man ever had hair. Otherwise, he was virtually the same. Throughout her life, A.J. was like a grandfather to her, simply because she had no other, and he was the right age. However, the ailments of aging caught up with the former SEAL, and he showed the early signs of Alzheimer's when Grace had turned fifteen. But he was holding up well, and with the modern medicine, the severe effects of the disease could be prolonged well into old age. But it still changed him in more ways than one. His short-term memory was shot, and he couldn't sit through a movie because by the end, he'd forget what it was about. He also often had trouble remembering Isabel's name. As Grace thought about all this, she realized her being here wasn't a curse. In a way, it was a blessing. She could see all the people she loved at a point when time didn't mean a whole lot to them.
When Grace had knocked into Bud and Harriet, she had to restrain herself from bursting to tell them they were going to be blessed with (besides the one Harriet was carrying at the moment) two more wonderful children. When Bud was promoted to Captain, he was chosen to be a judge and he loved it. Harriet resigned later on when the burdens of work simply became too much since she had four children to raise.
Grace hadn't seen Uncle Sturgis yet. At the moment, he was in the middle of an investigation on a carrier in the Adriatic. But she imagined him as he always was: a suit, a tie, and the rulebook in hand. But since Sturgis and Bobbi had their two children, he'd loosened up a little bit. At times, Grace even thought Sturgis was more entertaining than her own father. She suddenly felt a boil of frustration in her gut, thinking about how much her father had really become a stiff over time. But why was that? How come children seemed to loosen up Sturgis, but harden her father?
Grace jostled the Griffin file in between the other "G" files and grabbed another folder, but jumped when a hand fell on her shoulder. Whipping around, it seemed she also frightened her mother.
"Sorry, Grace, didn't mean to scare you."
Grace knelt down to pick up the papers that had fallen out of the file. "It's okay. How was your meeting with the witness?"
Mac groaned as she took off her coat and hung it on the coat hanger by her door. "He wouldn't talk. Said there wasn't any way he'd 'rat out his fellow sailors.' "
Grace put the file on Mac's desk and crossed her arms. "Doesn't that mean he could be charged as an accessory to the crime then?"
Mac shrugged. "We don't have any evidence. Even if we tried to deal using that, he wouldn't get much of a punishment. What are you doing in my office, anyway?"
Grace held up the folder. "Just filing. Some were in Dad—Harm's office and I was just...putting them back."
Mac nodded, but something else was on her mind and she closed her door. "Sit down, Grace."
She complied, still gripping the file. Mac sat down in her own chair and leaned forward, crossing her hands on the desk. "Harm told me about the photograph." She said in a hushed voice.
Grace pursed her lips and stared down at her hands. "When?"
"This morning."
Grace twirled the ring around on her finger. "Do you believe him?"
Her mother brought her lips in, contemplating the answer. "Grace, I need you to understand something. We don't know anything about you. What Harm is doing, letting you stay with him, is just to keep you safe. But that photograph really shook him up."
Grace grunted. "He threw up."
Mac's brows drew in. "He did?"
"Yeah."
Shaking the thought away, Mac continued. "Look, I'd like to have that photograph. I know someone who specialized in digital photography and I want him to take a look at it."
Grace bent a corner of the file in her hands. "Do you want proof? Proof that I am who I say I am?"
Her mother sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Grace, that possibility doesn't exist."
"Yeah...that's what I used to think." She grumbled.
"We know you're hiding something from us," Mac said, "And you can keep it locked away for as long as you want. But Harm can only take care of you for so long. So why not just stop it now?"
Grace tossed the file to the desk all but jumped to her feet. "Do a blood test! You can't get any better proof than that!"
Mac seemed surprised by the sudden outburst and scratched her head, thinking of what to say next. "You really want to do that?"
Grace's head bobbed up and down one too many times. "If it's the only way you'll believe me..."
***
2315 ZULU
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Washington D.C.
Grace nervously bit at a nail while rapidly tapping her foot. Harm glanced over at her from behind a magazine. Mac sat on the other side of the girl and patted her hand. Grace flinched at the contact.
The waiting room was scarce except for a woman and her son on the other side of the room. For some reason, it made Grace uncomfortable and she suddenly stood and dashed for the restroom. Mac smiled at Harm.
"Think she's a little nervous?"
Harm grunted but didn't look up from the magazine. "She made it clear yesterday that she had a problem with needles."
Mac's brow furrowed and she reached over to lower the magazine. Harm looked annoyed at first but his expression softened when he saw the concern on Mac's face.
"What?"
"Are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be okay?"
Mac took a moment to gather her words. "Grace told me you had quite a...reaction to that photo."
Harm closed his eyes and sighed. Apparently, he didn't want her to know about that part. "Grace and her mouth." He mumbled and Mac realized he must have gotten to know Grace pretty well, despite only meeting her the day before. Then again, they do say you only know a person once you live with them. Mac caught herself wondering if she would notice anything different about Harm if she lived with him. Like, did he have a favorite mug he drank his coffee from...did he stay up late to catch probably the only TV show he watched...what side of the bed did he sleep on—Mac stopped herself when she questioned Harm's bed. Suddenly feeling very awkward, the marine tucked a hair behind her ear and continued the conversation.
"It must have seemed very real." Mac said somberly.
Harm closed the magazine and tossed it to the coffee table in front of them. "Mac, it was two in the morning. I'm sure if I looked at that thing again, I'd notice something was off."
The marine nodded and fixed her eyes on an odd charcoal sketch across the room. Grace finally emerged from the head and she walked timidly into the room. Her face glistened a little from the water that hadn't been dried, but she looked a little calmer.
"Feel better?" Mac asked as the girl resumed her seat in between Mac and Harm.
Grace shrugged and tapped the armrest at a rapid pace.
Harm leaned over and whispered. "You know, it's really not so bad."
Grace made a kind of nervous/anxious giggle and tapped her foot as well. "Sure, having some stranger take a big piece of metal, shove it into your skin, violently pierce a vein, and just suck the blood out really isn't so bad."
Unable to come up with a comforting reply, Harm just glanced over at Mac, who was at a loss for words as well.
***
TBC
***
Whew, okay, that was fun. Hope ya'll liked it! See ya next week!
~sancti