Yay! Thank you!!!!!! And thank you all for sending good luck to the computer doctor!!!!! :D
beegirl: LoL, why thank you very much! I knew I wanted to do a couple scenes with Grace in the school, but I wanted to mix them up a little bit. At first, I had Special Agent Laux (the guy in the beginning of the story that first interrogated Grace) as the teacher, but I thought "nah, let's hit a little closer to home" and Webb seemed like the perfect choice. It's gonna be a blast writing more about that!!!! The scene is the car is one of my favorites in that chapter! I've been trying to make it hard on both of them to adjust to each other (one scene is like that in this chapter and I almost left it out, but couldn't resist). And Mac is pretty much in a denial state at the moment and kind of mad at the world and it's twisted little games. Anywho, thank you for "rambling," it really lets me see what you think on certain aspects of the story!!!! Thank you!!!!
ArwenUndomiel: LoL, thank you!!!! Hope the chair is okay!!! :D Heehee, oh, so many questions and so many answers I won't give you!!! Do not fear!! I know how this will end!!! As for Mac, she's going to lighten up a little bit in this chapter. As I was writing chapter 5, I really didn't like how rebellious Mac was getting, but I just let it go, knowing her attitude would improve in this chapter. And I couldn't resist putting the baby-deal in there. Thank you so much for reading!!!!!
Mimmi: Oh, stop it! lol! Thank you so much. I've completely fallen in love with these characters, and it'll be a sad day when I have to put them away again. But for the time being, playing with them has been a blast! I feel like Grace is my sister!!!!! Webb is just too funny not to write about, and I could not resist stickin' him in there for a few laughs. Thank you very much for coming back, reading, and giving so much support. You make me so happy!!!! See ya next week!
Pissed Of Poet: Yeah, there's Harm bein' Mr. Positive. I like him like that *snicker*. And don't worry about Mac...she'll come around. As for the Admiral, I love the fact that he's "always the last to know everything around here!" So I thought I'd keep that part of his character intact. Thanks for comin' back!!! See ya next week! Ah! And look! You're lucky number ~*110*~ on the review list!! *does happy dance* THANK YOU, POET!!!!
Mia: *waves* Hello, good friend!!!! Eric is cool to write about. He has a unique personality and what I did was combine the personalities of other guys I know. Don't worry, there will be a lot more of him, and I'll keep the flirting to a minimum. ;) The baby deal was fun to stick in there. Mac will find out eventually. This chapter is going to begin with a mother/daughter bonding moment that hopefully won't come out too corny! Webb as a teacher was a thought that just popped into my head right before I uploaded the chapter. I couldn't resist, it was just be too funny. That's a good idea with A.J. and Grace givin' our favorite CIA agent a hard time! I'm going to use that! Thanks! I tossed around the idea of Grace and flying. I figured maybe Harm could take her up and then have her surprise him with her skills. I'd have to do some research on biplanes though. I only know a little bit because of the watching the show, or asking my big brother who studied planes, but is now studying his little brain out in collage with architecture. I'm sure I can find something on the net. School I'm gonna do some stuff with. After Grace gets more comfortable in her surroundings, I plan on her getting a little more active. She's going to have her friend Eric there to steer her along, and maybe she'll surprise everyone in computer class. Then again, she might not know how to work the computer at all given the fact that they would be too "primitive." Great suggestion, though! Ah! Ah! That's GREAT with the suggestion with Sturgis or Harriet! I can see it now...have Grace strike up a convo with the two after Harm did, then flash that smile...have her walk away...then Sturgis and Harriet will look at each other in that "did you see what I just saw?" kind of way! Oh! oh! Yay! I'm gonna use that too!!!!!! LoL, well, since I still have some research to do, I don't know if I'll be able to get a chappy out by Sundays. I really do like having the whole week to add stuff, think about it, remove-or-keep it, and then move on. When I do it that way, I can really see if there are mistakes or if something doesn't make sense. So it's actually good that I take a whole week!! Thank you so much for giving reviews like this, it's so nice to know what ppl are actually thinking when they read this!! See ya!!
Eggy Weg: LOL, that's in this chapter!!!!! Hope ya like it!!! Thank you!!!!!
marineJAG: Ah! So many questions that shall be answered...not now, but soon! Thanks for reading!!!!!
DD2: Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! You came back!!! :D Thank you sOoOoOoOo much!!!!
Hazel: Hiya! LoL, when I thought about him being the teacher, I couldn't resist. Thank you for coming back!!!!
Chloe: LoL, thought it would be funny with Webb in there, cause I wanted more of him in it, but it would have been difficult, so this seemed the perfect way!
SarahRabb705: Yay! Thank you! The chapter was hard to write at first, I switched a lot around, but then it started to make sense, I hope. Thanks for coming back!!!
CharmedMummy: First, great questions. This really helps me know what the ppl are thinking. Webb as a teacher: I thought about it after I posted the chapter, and decided that the CIA would probably want someone in there. And I can just imagine Webb going, "uh-uh...that's my job. I want to know first-hand what she talks about." I realize now it is a little unrealistic, but I just couldn't resist! Harm/Mac discussions: Mac is obviously in a bit of denial. And that will be fully explained in this chapter where there will be a "touching mother/daughter bonding moment" that I hope won't come out too corny. When I wrote the 5th chapter, I was taking a chance, because I did leave some unanswered questions. But most of them will become clear in this chapter! School records: Wait till ya hear this: I had an entire scene written out explaining where Grace was before, and even said she was stationed with her parents in Australia, and that it would be 'too difficult' to get the school records. But it became too long-winded and I just decided to cut it from the chapter. So I thought of it this way: If the school asked for previous records, Harm could use his ties with the government, and just threaten to come back with a court order or something to allow Grace into the school. I suppose I could have done a scene with Harm and the principle talking this out...now that I think about it, I should've written that...well, maybe the school, after witnessing Grace's first day, will ask for her records again, and I can set up something with Harm coming back at them using his government ties. Great question though. Welp, thanks again! See ya next week!
kiwi: Welcome back, kiwi!! I love that you love it!!!!!! Thank you!!
Cassie: Thank you so much! The going-back-in-time bit wasn't even going to be the center of the story, it kind of just happened. But I have the ending planned out and some of it written, so I hope ya come back for more! Thanks! Ah! And look! You're lucky number ~*120*~ on the review list! *does happy dance* THANK YOU, CASSIE!!!
carby 24/7: LoL, no worries, it takes a lot for me to be offended! Great question too. I explained to another reviewer that I'd taken a chance with this chapter because I left a lot of unanswered questions. But it's not because I don't have the answers to them! To answer what's going on in Mac's head...it will be fully explained in the beginning of this chapter with a touching mother/daughter scene that I hope won't come out too corny!! Thanks again!!
cmaf: Hey! Welcome back! Thank you for coming back! I've made a schedule that I am determined to keep, and new chapters are every Friday night (I post them in the Thursday night, but it doesn't come up on the page until about 8 o'clock at night (EST), but u can still access it through my profile). Thanks again for such nice comments! Expect the next chapter Nov. 28th!
sunchaser2: Thank you so much! :)
NavyCB: My, god, Navy, thank you for such inspiring, nice comments. It truly means a lot! And thank you for reading. :) Expect the next chapter Nov. 28th!
frances: Hiya, frances! Thanks for coming back!!!! LoL, little known detail...*whispers* I didn't think it was gonna end up like this either! *snicker* But you can bet I'm going to continue this, I've already started writing the last chapter so I have something to work up to. Thanks again for reading! See ya next week!!!!
jagchick105: hiya, jag! Heehee, thank you so much!!! This chapter is going to answer a few more questions!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!
Ducks: LoL!!!!! No kidding??? You live there??? Omg!!! Do you go to the Fairfax high school by any chance??? Heehee, read this chapter and you'll find out a little bit more about the punch....
Moltron1: Thank you! I'm having so much fun writing it!!!! See ya next week!!!
Pennithil: Hey, there! Heehee, some laughs ahead concerning Webb as the new teacher!!! Thanks for reading!!!!
kstorm: Why thank you very much!!!!! Different and interesting is good!! Ah! And look! You're lucky number ~*130*~ on the review list!!!! *does happy dance* THANK YOU, K!!!!
r: Hey, welcome back!!! Thank you so much for reading!!!!!!
Moonlights Sundance: Hi there. It might have had trouble downloading, the site's been kinda slow the past couple days. Thank you for checkin' it out!!!
NadaZimri: Hold your horses, Sergei is in this chapter!!! I want chicken!!!! I can't make my own!!!! I love the phone thing! Now I know pretty much what everyone is thinking when they read it!!!! Hah, and lucky you for gettin' that sneak-peek!!!!
maggie: Hey there! Glad you like it! It was a fun chapter to write up. Webb being a math teacher totally didn't cross my mind until moments before I uploaded that chapter. Thank you!!!!
girlgunner: Heh, wow! Thank you for taking the time to catch up!!! LOL, yes, I realize time-travel is something we would love to see happen, but know it won't for some time. Which is why us writers have the power to change the Laws of Science and bend them at our will, muahahaha, :) !!!! Thank you so much for reading!!!!
Disclaimer: 'Tis true that I've again used the words of a song to title my chapter and I acknowledge that it's from the Beatle's "All Ya Need Is Love"...I think that's the title...Don't hurt me, Paul!!!
Chapter 6: All Ya Need Is Love...1230 ZULU
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station, Washington D.C.
Theorem 80...The angle bisectors of a triangle are concurrent...let triangle ABC represent any triangle. Let two rays bisect angle A and angle B and let their point of intersection be called P. Through P, draw line segment PD which is perpendicular to line segment AC—
Grace moaned, dropping the pencil. She watched as it rolled off the textbook and fell onto the wooden floor, and finally under a chair. Grace groaned again and flopped back onto the pullout bed. The smell of pancakes drifted into the room, making her sit up. Her father busied himself in the kitchen, pouring batter onto the griddle. He also started to whistle cheerfully. Grace stuffed the geometry book into the backpack and took out her chemistry instead. She softly read aloud the first question of her assignment.
"Give the balanced chemical equation for the reaction in which aqueous calcium nitrite reacts with aqueous sodium carbonate to produce solid calcium carbonate and aqueous sodium nitrite." Grace blinked.
I hate chemistry. She thought.
"Want some pancakes?" Harm called as he flipped them, each landing on the griddle, sizzling.
Grace looked up from her book, her eyes foggy. "No thanks. I'm not very hungry."
She watched his expression dropped a few degrees. "Why didn't you say so before?"
Grace shrugged. "You didn't ask."
Harm made a theatrical sigh as he continued cooking. "Good thing Mac's coming over then."
Grace's head whipped up. "Why is she coming over here at seven in the morning?"
"She's going to join us, or me, for breakfast. We're going to bring you to school, then we're driving out to Alexandria to meet a witness."
"Oh."
As if on cue, a knock was heard at the door. "Get that, will ya?" Harm asked as he poured the last of the batter onto the griddle. Grace slid off the bed and grudgingly went to the door, unlocking it and opening it to reveal her mother. Mac gave her a chilly smile as she walked past her into the apartment.
"Good morning." She said as she took off her tan marine coat.
Grace responded with an equally frosty smile. "Morning, Mac." Her mother looked like she wanted to say something, but shook it away and walked over to the kitchen.
Grace thought about asking her a question, but decided against it, and went back to her chemistry book.
Grace tried to block out her parents' conversation, but their words seemed to drift over as clearly at the smell of those pancakes. They discussed the case and how best to approach the witness. If Grace closed her eyes, and blocked out their words...just listen to their voices...she could almost imagine herself back at home. But the strange reality she was in kicked back into gear when the phone rang. Harm answered it, but took the call in his bedroom. Mac busied herself in the kitchen, washing the small amount of dishes and then put away the food.
Grace finally finished her homework and grabbed her backpack as it laid precariously on the edge of the bed. But she took it by the wrong end and all the books collapsed to the floor with multiple thuds. Harm poked his head out from the bedroom, the phone still glued to his ear, but then disappeared back in. Grace grunted as she reached down for her books, when a hand came into view holding her thick geometry book. Her mother forced a smile as Grace took the book slowly.
"Thanks."
Mac reached to Grace's face, but she pulled away. Her mother cringed. "Sorry, I just wanted to see how that bruise was doing." She said, then referred to the lock of hair that Grace had carefully brushed over her right eye. The girl bit her lip, and swept the hair away to reveal the black eye.
"I tried using make-up, but it didn't work too well."
Mac got her purse from the leather chair and took out her Cover-Up. "The fresh ones are the hardest to hide." She sat down next to her daughter as Grace tied her hair back.
"Who did it?" Mac asked as she started.
Grace winced when she dabbed the powder around her eye. "A stupid freshman that was about three feet shorter than me." She said sarcastically.
Mac smiled at that, then leaned back a little to examine her progress. Not completely satisfied, she went back to work. That's when Grace said something out of the blue.
"Why do you hate me?"
Mac brought her hand away and her lips parted in disbelief. "I don't hate you."
Grace shrugged a shoulder. "Okay, then why do you strongly dislike me?"
She was obviously uncomfortable with the line of questioning and was about to stand from the bed, but the look in her daughter's eyes told her to stay. "It's hard to explain—"
"Try." Grace urged.
Mac sighed, staring down at the floor. After a moment to gather her words, she finally spoke. "You're a wonderful girl, Grace. You're smart, beautiful, mature. Everything a parent would want from a child...everything I'd want from a child." When Grace didn't say anything, she continued, "But you can't stay here. And I won't let what's happened to Harm happen to me."
"What do you mean?"
"He loves you, Grace. After only...what, four days of knowing you...he's accepted you as his child, because you are. But I can't get attached, Gracie. And if you already didn't know, I'm terrible at saying goodbyes. But eventually that's going to happen. We're going to have to say goodbye."
Mac let it sink in, and saw in Grace's eyes that she understood. But there was pain etched in her face as well. And so with that, Mac stood, but Grace grabbed her arm, tears falling down her face.
"Mom!" Mac's frame stressed and she looked down at the girl, "He loves you, Mom. He always has. He'd do anything for you, you know that! And to prove it, he married you! He kept his promise and had a baby with you! He supported you and gave you everything you ever wanted! So whether you want to accept it or not, that's what happened! And I'm part of that!"
Grace let go of her mother's arm and leaned her forehead on her hand, concentrating on her breathing. Mac stared down at her in admiration. As she watched her cry, it reminded her of when she was a young teenager. She remembered sitting on the hard floor under her window, hugging her knees, waiting for the screaming to stop. It would, then the crying came, and the desperate attempts of her father begging her mother for forgiveness. It was the same every time. The picture was so clear now, and Mac wanted to hug that little girl who endured the years of verbal assault. Mac wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tight. Hugged all that pain away.
The girl's body stopped trembling from the tears, and Mac realized she wasn't hugging little Sarah Mackenzie, but Grace Rabb. Mac pulled away and looked at her, taking in the perplexity on her face. "You really are my daughter, aren't you?"
Grace used the back of her hand to wipe her own tears away. "You told me once you couldn't imagine your life any other way. Can you imagine now what you'd be doing in the next 16 years?"
Mac contemplated the interesting question. No matter how many different roads she pictured she could take, she saw Harm's face in each of them. She loved him. She always had. Chloe knew it. Sturgis knew it. Hell, the whole office knew it. But more importantly, Harm knew. The events at Sydney Harbor were all you needed to prove that. The memory burned her a little. She had given him a chance. She'd let down her guard, and he practically slapped her in the face. She hadn't approached him about it since.
Mac heard footsteps behind her and she turned around. Harm stood there with the phone in his hand, trying to figure out the situation. Grace stood, shouldering her backpack.
"I'm ready."
***
1300 ZULU
Alexandria, Virginia
Harm fiddled with the radio, trying to find a station that would give a weather report. Thick raindrops splat onto the window shield and lightening flashed in the distance, accompanied by a gentle rumble of thunder. Cars moved slowly through the town and police lights flashed in the distance, no doubt being called to an accident. Harm finally stumbled across a station giving a report.
"Expect mild thunderstorms all day, with a high of sixty-three degrees. The low tonight will be forty-five with heavy showers by midnight."
"Gonna be a gloomy day." Mac murmured as she watched the rain out the window.
Harm agreed with a nod of his head, but it was clear other things were on his mind.
"What happened in there?" He finally inquired as they stopped at a red light.
Mac continued to stare out the window so Harm wouldn't read the anxiety in her eyes. "Grace and I cleared some things up, that's all."
Harm's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "You two seemed pretty emotional."
"It was an emotional conversation about some things we cleared up."
Harm was starting the to see more and more similarities between Mac and Grace.
***
1320 ZULU
Fairfax High
Fairfax, Virginia
Grace gave the finishing touches to her doodle of a Tomcat as Webb drew a picture on the board of a triangle with several lines drawn through it. He labeled some of the angles, and then told the class to label the rest of the ten or so angles he'd left blank. The class groaned and the shuffle of paper was heard throughout the room as kids leafed through their notebooks and took their pencils and calculators. Grace colored in the nose of the F-14 before turning the page over to copy the triangle down. Eric looked over at her notebook before she turned the page and grinned.
"Nice plane."
"Jet." Grace corrected him.
Eric put his hands up in defense. "Sorry...jet. What kind of jet?"
"Tomcat F-14B." She said casually as she drew the triangle.
Eric blinked. "Oh...neat. You a plane-buff or somethin'?"
"My father used to fly them."
"Really? Used to?" He said as he folded a piece of paper into a plane.
"His eyes were screwed up. Had a ramp-strike a long time ago."
"Oh." Eric finished the plane and smiled over at Grace, "Watch this."
Eric curved in his bottom lip and closed an eye, aiming the paper plane. Then he drew his hand back and let it fly. It zoomed over the heads of the other students who ducked, and finally bopped into the back of Webb's head as he wrote on the board. His hand stopped moving, and he slowly turned around, his eyes glancing down at the paper plane that rested on the tile floor. A flutter of giggles rippled over the classroom.
Webb's gaze shifted off the floor and over the students who had all lowered their heads and pretended to be working.
***
1710 ZULU
Grace slammed her locker door, revealing Eric's face on the other side. He grinned. "Ready for lunch?"
Grace leaned her shoulder onto the lockers and sighed. "Can we talk about something?"
His brow creased as he put a couple books into his own locker. "What?"
"It's about Webb."
The grin reappeared on his face. "That was a great shot, huh?"
"You see...I kind of know him..."
Eric cocked an eyebrow. "How?"
"He's...a friend of the family. You know, one of those friends you don't introduce to other friends."
"Ohhkay." He said, not really understanding the problem.
"So could ya go just a little easier on him?"
Eric's lips parted as he finally grasped what she meant. "I get it. No more paper planes?"
Grace made a half smile. "Right...no more paper planes."
The two left the busy corridor off into the even busier cafeteria. Rolls of laughter erupted from several parts of the large room as Grace and Eric filed with the other students into the lunch line. They each took a tray, and started down the rows of unappetizing food.
"So, how do you know Webb?" Eric inquired as he took a plate of meatloaf.
Grace felt her gut twitch a little. Obviously the truth couldn't be revealed here. "My father worked with him."
"Webb was in the Navy?"
Grace took a bowl of soup and sniffed it. Her nose scrunched and she put it back. "Uh, sure. Enlisted. My dad represented him when he was falsely accused of insubordination." There. That worked.
"Oh." Eric said distractedly and Grace looked over at him.
"What is it?"
Eric leaned over and whispered. "There's some freaky janitor over there staring at you." Eric motioned with his head past her left shoulder and Grace nonchalantly turned to take a look. Grace blinked.
Special Agent Laux?! The tiny little man that had interrogated her at Langley? Laux looked away and continued to sweep the floor. This frightened Grace. Who else was here that was in the CIA? She swept the area with her eyes. Grace locked gazes with a lunch lady who looked away.
"You all right?" Eric asked as he paid for his lunch.
Grace forced a smile. "Sure."
***
2135 ZULU
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station, Washington D.C.
Grace bopped her head to the rap song on the radio. Somehow, it helped her study in the way that she could enjoy it. She found a technique where she could memorize a definition that went to the beat of the song. Or she could even make a rap out of it. But Grace could only do this when Harm wasn't at the apartment. He wasn't too fond of rap music. So, luckily, he was out doing errands.
As Grace tried to make a rap verse out of a chemical equation, the annoying buzzer went off at the door. Grace slid off the pullout bed (hardly ever used as a couch anymore) and slowly moved her hips in a rhythmic motion as she strode across the room. Grace busted one last dance move, and then opened the door. At that very moment, Grace knew in her bones that she'd laid eyes on the most attractive man she'd ever seen. But it only took a fraction of a second more for her to realize who it was. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she suddenly wanted to be swallowed up into the floor. Sergei's brow creased and he gave her a funny look.
"Who are you?" He said with that Russian accent, his expression turning into that of amusement.
She momentarily forgot her name. "Um...G—Grace."
Something clicked, and his puzzlement disappeared. "...Right, you are the child Harm is caring for?"
Grace resented the fact that he'd called her a child, but quickly got over it. "Yeah...that's me. You are..." She said, trying to sound innocent.
He stuck out his hand and smiled. "Sergei Zhukov. Harm's—"
"Half brother." Grace finished for him as she shook his hand. "Harm told me about you."
Sergei glanced over her shoulder into the apartment, where the rap music still played loudly. "Is he here?"
Grace shook her head one too many times. "No...I think he's at the store. Do you wanna come in?"
Sergei thought it over a moment, but then smiled. "Sure."
Grace fully opened the door to allow him in and watched his expression as the rap music got louder. His eyes narrowed and it looked like he was in physical pain.
"What is that?" The young Russian asked as he walked up the stereo.
"Rap." Grace replied.
He didn't seem to get it and his eyes widened when the rapper's lyrics sped up to an indecipherable speed.
***
2150 ZULU
King Kullen's Market
Washington D.C.
Harm had been in bad situations before. He'd faced-off a couple MIGs, survived punching out three times, and had done just about everything imaginable that took the strength of only the bravest men. But it couldn't get any worse than this. This was something no man should have to go through. But here he was, trapped, alone, and utterly lost.
An older store employee walked up to him, puzzlement in her eyes. She looked at him, at the list and box in his hands, and then at the shelves across from them.
"Can I help you, young man?" She asked cautiously, causing Harm to stir.
He forced a sheepish smile, but had a difficult time finding words. "I...I'm pretty lost."
The elder woman made a half-smile and crossed her bony arms over her chest. "New wife?"
"New teenager."
She nodded in understanding and motioned for him to give her the list. "Right, let me see that." She straightened her spectacles and whispered the words to herself.
"Ah. I see. Well, that's not what you need." She said, taking the box out of Harm's hand. She walked down the aisle a little and found the brand and type that Grace had specified.
"Here we are. Stayfree: Maxi." She tossed two bags into the cart and gave the list back to the still puzzled Naval attorney.
Harm breathed a sigh of great relief and grinned. "Thanks."
The woman reached up to pat him on the shoulder. "Mission accomplished, sailor." She added wryly, eyeing his uniform. She walked away whistling.
"Fancy meeting you here." Mac's voice rang out from further down the aisle.
Harm made a dry chuckle as he pushed the cart towards his partner. "Remind me again why she's not staying with you?"
"Because it's just too much fun watching you suffer." Mac said as she tossed a bag into her cart.
Harm made a half smile as she brushed past him. Harm followed her. "Why are you all the way out here, anyway?"
"This store carries my brand." She threw over her shoulder. Harm fell in step with the Marine as she walked briskly to the next aisle.
"Is this about this morning?" Harm asked, taking notice of how Mac distanced herself.
She examined a box of instant brownies, reading the nutrition facts. "What, just because that witness turned out to be about as useful in court as a donkey, you're expecting me to be angry? No, why would I be?"
Harm sighed, taking the box out of Mac's hand. "Look, we both know witnesses can be unpredictable. Just be thankful we found that out before we put him on the stand."
Mac grabbed the box back and cast it into her cart. "But now we're out of witnesses."
Harm eyed her curiously as she continued down the aisle. "That doesn't sound like you."
"I'm just presenting the facts, Harm." She snapped, her tone rising.
He caught up with her and grabbed her arm. She seemed annoying at first, but didn't wrench away. "What's this really about, Mac?"
The marine dumped a bag of cookies in her cart, and then leaned her elbows on the handlebar. "Grace said something to me this morning...it's had me kind of...itchy all day."
Harm chuckled. "I'll say—" Mac gave him a look that could kill and he quieted.
"Harm...would you marry me someday?"
The sailor felt his brows rise and his silence gave Mac her answer. She straightened and started to push her cart, but Harm put his in front of hers.
"I didn't say no, Mac."
"You didn't say yes."
"It's a big decision!"
"And it's supposed to be the easiest to make!"
Harm scoffed and lowered his head. "I dunno...maybe...someday, Mac, come on, you're puttin' me on the spot here."
Mac shook her head. "Don't you get it? Even if we were to get married, have kids, whatever. Wouldn't it seem like it was something we had to do? I mean, I don't think I'd ever get past a day wondering if I was living that life just because it was already written. And...even if we tried to live it out as Grace said we would...it'd be fake."
"Hm."
Mac blinked. "That's it? A grunt is all you can reply with?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "Harm, I just poured my heart out and you grunt? Why don't you tell me what you think?"
Harm chuckled dryly and moved his cart out of the aisle. "I'm not about to pour my heart out in a grocery store. Who knows who's listening?"
Mac stood there, her mouth agape. "You coward!"
Harm shrugged. "Call me what you will." He yelled over his shoulder as he exited the aisle. Mac pushed her cart after him.
"Chicken!"
"You're really not helping the situation, jarhead."
"Get back here, squid!"
***
2130 ZULU
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Grace had found she could study certain subjects in particular places at the JAG HQ. Chemistry was done in the conference room. History in an empty courtroom. Geometry in her dad's office. Creative writing in the bullpen. Though that room was pretty noisy with ringing phones and constant movement of the personnel, Grace found it a good place to come up with ideas. At the moment, she was exiting the conference room to take the elevator to the courtroom. But when she opened the large oak door, she bumped into a young, blond lieutenant. She wore a sour expression, and seemed quite annoyed by the encounter.
"Sorry, Lieutenant."
The woman rolled her eyes and brushed past her into the conference room. Shrugging it off, she had one foot out the door when a realization hit her. Grace didn't know that woman. She thought she knew every officer that worked here. Just for kicks, Grace turned around, closing the door.
"Excuse me?" Grace asked as she walked up to the woman who was at one of the bookshelves.
She turned around curtly. "What?" She hissed.
It didn't take long for Grace to figure out this woman was ill tempered. She probably wasn't liked by many here. "What's your name?"
The woman's face twisted into disgust, like Grace was some bug that had landed in her lunch. "Lieutenant Singer." With that, she grabbed the book she needed and strode swiftly out of the room. Meanwhile, Grace's mouth had gone dry. Her mother had told her about Lauren Singer...and what happened to her.
***
TBC
***
*sigh* Now this story is going to get serious. I have some of the very last chapter written out. I think we might expect this story to be over within a couple weeks. Depend on how far I want to go along with the Singer deal. Thank you so much!!!!!
~sancti