AN: I want to thank Cria for answering my questions about Heart and Soul
and also for beta-ing this part. I'm also so happy for all of the reviews I
get.
Unveiled
March 3rd 2003
Mac was looking through her notes for the case that she was presiding over. She hoped that being a judge would cause her less stress than prosecuting, defending and investigating cases and that she that way wouldn't repeat the trip to the ER. She was really happy about the fact that Harm wasn't involved in this case. On the other hand she didn't really like him going flying either. It always worried about him then and was so relieved when he got back on the ground OK. He was a good pilot; she didn't doubt that, he just always seemed to get into some trouble while flying. When he had the admiral behind him he might be more careful.
The rest of the weekend had been nice. Sturgis and she had been to there first Lamaze-class. It had been very interesting. He had been very worried when he found out about her visit to hospital. She feared he would start treating her even more like a porcelain doll. Sturgis was so exited when he found out about the baby being a girl and the joy had taken away some of his worries just like it had done for Mac.
She had decided not to tell him about the new and still somewhat indescribable status of her and Harm's relationship. The only thing she had told him that they were friends and he had stayed with her over night to incase she'd experience more pains. It wasn't so far off the truth and Sturgis had no problems believing it. He thought he'd might have been wrong about assuming Harm and Mac had moved past that friendship line.
It was time for the trial to begin and Mac got all of her things in order to go over to it.
By the end of the day Mac was exhausted. This definitely hadn't been any calmer than her usual workdays. She was glad that they had finally found the admiral and she could breath out. Wasn't it just typical for Harm to eject his CO from a plane in the middle of nowhere? At least they were both safe again. Harm had called her and promised to come over in a couple of minutes. She was happy because she felt like she needed to be able to see for herself that he was OK. Sure Harm hadn't been the one in serious trouble, but it was still him she had worried the most about.
Finally there was a knock on the door. She rushed over to open the door and hugged him quite tightly.
"Do you think I could get such a welcome every time I come to see you?" Mac silenced him by pressing her lips to his.
"You wish."
Harm came into the apartment, but didn't stay for long when he noticed that she was tired and had yawned several times in just a couple of minutes.
"I'll get going so you can get some sleep," Mac followed Harm to the door not really disagreeing with him. They kissed a long goodbye and at the same time Harm was reaching for the door to get out before it went to far and he wouldn't be able to leave at all. The door was opened but neither one of them let go until Mac sensed another person's presence. She jumped back from Harm.
She was still a little out of breath, but managed to get out "Sturgis, what are you doing here?" At the same time Harm turned around to face his former friend. Sturgis didn't say anything, he wasn't sure he had anything to say about this at all. The two men just looked at each other both very uncomfortable. Most uncomfortable however was Mac. Harm reached out his hand to her to make sure she knew he wouldn't leave her to deal with this on her own.
"Mac, I just came by to check on you. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who does that," Sturgis said to let Mac know he didn't have a problem with her and Harm.
"I'm fine, Sturgis, but next time maybe you can call first," Mac said and all three of them saw something extremely funny in the situation and the tension was released for a second, but it came back later just as strong.
"I think we should leave you to get some sleep, Mac," Harm said. He didn't want to leave her alone with Sturgis and decided to take it upon himself to tell him exactly where they were standing with each other. Both Mac and Sturgis understood that that was what he meant.
Mac looked a bit alarmed, but decided to leave them to themselves. Maybe if the two of them started talking, they would reach some agreement between them. It would probably be the first time they had spoken with each other about something that didn't concern a case.
Harm went out the door and closed it behind him. He started to walk down the stairs and Sturgis followed him. Neither one had said a single word yet.
"Let's go for a walk," Harm said once they were back out on the street.
"Harm, neither one of you need to explain anything to me really," Sturgis said "Once the baby is here of course it will be needed for Mac and me to know what's going on in each other's lives, since it will affect the baby. But she will always be a free person to do whatever she wants to do. As long as she doesn't put the baby at risk of course, which she would never do anyway."
"I just want you to know that we're taking things slow and don't really want anyone to know about this at this point."
"I'll respect that."
"The baby's well-being is most important, for me too."
Sturgis nodded, he had never known Harm to be so mature and honest about his feelings. He was like a different person from the one he had known and been so close friends with.
"I know we can't go back to the way things were, but I want you to know that I miss our friendship. That's my biggest regret in all of this," Sturgis said.
"Getting Mac pregnant isn't?" Harm asked.
"I still know that she wasn't planned and the fact that she existed was such a 'unpleasant' shock to us when we found out, but I can't really remember how that felt. She is just a wonderful being I'm looking so much forward to getting to know," Sturgis spoke from his heart and got a bit worried about how Harm would react to this. However, he did know, because of what Mac had told him, that Harm had never uttered one bad word about the baby's existence.
"I know what you mean," Harm said to put Sturgis at ease. No matter how he felt about what Sturgis and Mac had done, he didn't want to make either one of them suffer from it. The little part of him, who had argued with Mac the other night might want to, but he didn't. And to let the baby pay for her parents mistakes even if it was just in thought, had never crossed his mind.
"All children are miracles," that was how Harm felt and slowly this baby that Mac was carrying was becoming the biggest of them all for Harm.
"They are. So are we OK?" Sturgis asked.
Harm looked at him thoughtfully "I think we basically want the same thing, that Mac and the baby are well and happy, so we should be able to get along for their sake."
"Yes, we do and we should," Sturgis said and stopped in front of his car. Now he noticed Harm's car across the street. He hadn't seen it when he got there.
"See you around," Harm crossed the street and got into his own car. He realized that the close friendship he had had with Sturgis was forever over and it would never be possible for them to totally repair it. It wasn't because he blamed Sturgis more for what had happened or that he was really still holding a grudge against him. There were obviously such different emotions he had for Mac, than he had for Sturgis. The ones he had for Mac were forcing him to work hard on getting past all of their problems and he was incapable of doing the same with Sturgis at the moment. Maybe as his relationship with Mac progressed he would be able to get closer to Sturgis again or maybe nothing would change from the way things were now. Either way they were at a stage now that all three of them would be able to live with and he was glad for that.
TBC
Unveiled
March 3rd 2003
Mac was looking through her notes for the case that she was presiding over. She hoped that being a judge would cause her less stress than prosecuting, defending and investigating cases and that she that way wouldn't repeat the trip to the ER. She was really happy about the fact that Harm wasn't involved in this case. On the other hand she didn't really like him going flying either. It always worried about him then and was so relieved when he got back on the ground OK. He was a good pilot; she didn't doubt that, he just always seemed to get into some trouble while flying. When he had the admiral behind him he might be more careful.
The rest of the weekend had been nice. Sturgis and she had been to there first Lamaze-class. It had been very interesting. He had been very worried when he found out about her visit to hospital. She feared he would start treating her even more like a porcelain doll. Sturgis was so exited when he found out about the baby being a girl and the joy had taken away some of his worries just like it had done for Mac.
She had decided not to tell him about the new and still somewhat indescribable status of her and Harm's relationship. The only thing she had told him that they were friends and he had stayed with her over night to incase she'd experience more pains. It wasn't so far off the truth and Sturgis had no problems believing it. He thought he'd might have been wrong about assuming Harm and Mac had moved past that friendship line.
It was time for the trial to begin and Mac got all of her things in order to go over to it.
By the end of the day Mac was exhausted. This definitely hadn't been any calmer than her usual workdays. She was glad that they had finally found the admiral and she could breath out. Wasn't it just typical for Harm to eject his CO from a plane in the middle of nowhere? At least they were both safe again. Harm had called her and promised to come over in a couple of minutes. She was happy because she felt like she needed to be able to see for herself that he was OK. Sure Harm hadn't been the one in serious trouble, but it was still him she had worried the most about.
Finally there was a knock on the door. She rushed over to open the door and hugged him quite tightly.
"Do you think I could get such a welcome every time I come to see you?" Mac silenced him by pressing her lips to his.
"You wish."
Harm came into the apartment, but didn't stay for long when he noticed that she was tired and had yawned several times in just a couple of minutes.
"I'll get going so you can get some sleep," Mac followed Harm to the door not really disagreeing with him. They kissed a long goodbye and at the same time Harm was reaching for the door to get out before it went to far and he wouldn't be able to leave at all. The door was opened but neither one of them let go until Mac sensed another person's presence. She jumped back from Harm.
She was still a little out of breath, but managed to get out "Sturgis, what are you doing here?" At the same time Harm turned around to face his former friend. Sturgis didn't say anything, he wasn't sure he had anything to say about this at all. The two men just looked at each other both very uncomfortable. Most uncomfortable however was Mac. Harm reached out his hand to her to make sure she knew he wouldn't leave her to deal with this on her own.
"Mac, I just came by to check on you. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who does that," Sturgis said to let Mac know he didn't have a problem with her and Harm.
"I'm fine, Sturgis, but next time maybe you can call first," Mac said and all three of them saw something extremely funny in the situation and the tension was released for a second, but it came back later just as strong.
"I think we should leave you to get some sleep, Mac," Harm said. He didn't want to leave her alone with Sturgis and decided to take it upon himself to tell him exactly where they were standing with each other. Both Mac and Sturgis understood that that was what he meant.
Mac looked a bit alarmed, but decided to leave them to themselves. Maybe if the two of them started talking, they would reach some agreement between them. It would probably be the first time they had spoken with each other about something that didn't concern a case.
Harm went out the door and closed it behind him. He started to walk down the stairs and Sturgis followed him. Neither one had said a single word yet.
"Let's go for a walk," Harm said once they were back out on the street.
"Harm, neither one of you need to explain anything to me really," Sturgis said "Once the baby is here of course it will be needed for Mac and me to know what's going on in each other's lives, since it will affect the baby. But she will always be a free person to do whatever she wants to do. As long as she doesn't put the baby at risk of course, which she would never do anyway."
"I just want you to know that we're taking things slow and don't really want anyone to know about this at this point."
"I'll respect that."
"The baby's well-being is most important, for me too."
Sturgis nodded, he had never known Harm to be so mature and honest about his feelings. He was like a different person from the one he had known and been so close friends with.
"I know we can't go back to the way things were, but I want you to know that I miss our friendship. That's my biggest regret in all of this," Sturgis said.
"Getting Mac pregnant isn't?" Harm asked.
"I still know that she wasn't planned and the fact that she existed was such a 'unpleasant' shock to us when we found out, but I can't really remember how that felt. She is just a wonderful being I'm looking so much forward to getting to know," Sturgis spoke from his heart and got a bit worried about how Harm would react to this. However, he did know, because of what Mac had told him, that Harm had never uttered one bad word about the baby's existence.
"I know what you mean," Harm said to put Sturgis at ease. No matter how he felt about what Sturgis and Mac had done, he didn't want to make either one of them suffer from it. The little part of him, who had argued with Mac the other night might want to, but he didn't. And to let the baby pay for her parents mistakes even if it was just in thought, had never crossed his mind.
"All children are miracles," that was how Harm felt and slowly this baby that Mac was carrying was becoming the biggest of them all for Harm.
"They are. So are we OK?" Sturgis asked.
Harm looked at him thoughtfully "I think we basically want the same thing, that Mac and the baby are well and happy, so we should be able to get along for their sake."
"Yes, we do and we should," Sturgis said and stopped in front of his car. Now he noticed Harm's car across the street. He hadn't seen it when he got there.
"See you around," Harm crossed the street and got into his own car. He realized that the close friendship he had had with Sturgis was forever over and it would never be possible for them to totally repair it. It wasn't because he blamed Sturgis more for what had happened or that he was really still holding a grudge against him. There were obviously such different emotions he had for Mac, than he had for Sturgis. The ones he had for Mac were forcing him to work hard on getting past all of their problems and he was incapable of doing the same with Sturgis at the moment. Maybe as his relationship with Mac progressed he would be able to get closer to Sturgis again or maybe nothing would change from the way things were now. Either way they were at a stage now that all three of them would be able to live with and he was glad for that.
TBC