CHAPTER 5: FOOD FIGHT!!

Harm sighed. He wanted, no, he needed someone to fill that motherly role in Mattie's life. Jen was a great help but she was more like a big sister. He also knew that Mattie wanted Mac to fill that role.

"Harm?"

"Mattie, Mac is with Clay. Now is just not a good time," Harm said helplessly.

"No, she's not. She dumped him days ago," Mattie told him. "Why can't you just tell her that you love her?"

"Now is just not a good time." That stupid bet was getting in the way. If he told Mac now and she found out about the bet, she would think that him finally saying it was just all about getting Super Bowl tickets.

"Why not, Harm? Jen's told me how you two are always dancing around each other. Why don't you just stop?"

"Mattie! I told you, it's not a good idea at this time," he almost yelled, growing more and more frustrated.

"You love her, don't you?" she stubbornly continued.

"Yes," he answered quietly, yet without question.

"Then what is getting in your way?" demanded Mattie.

"I made a bet with Sturgis and Keeter," he admitted, deciding that telling her the truth might be the best route to go. If only he knew how wrong that would be.

"About what?" Mattie was almost dreading the answer.

Harm proceeded to tell Mattie the whole story. Once again, Mac just happened to be listening in. She had heard the raised voices, they were the only three left in the office, and she had come to investigate.

"Why can't you just not agree to the bet anymore?"

"Because I can't go back on my word, I already tried."

"Harm, this is dumb. It's a stupid bet, I don't see why you can't just stop being such a jerk and tell her you love her!" Mattie stormed out of the office, heading for Harm's car. Harm quickly gathered up his things and raced out after Mattie.

Mac followed him out of the building, stopping him before they got to his car. "Harm, maybe it would be better if I didn't come over for dinner," she suggested, placing a hand on his arm.

"No, come if you still want. I know Mattie would love to have you there." She could tell that he was stressed and overwhelmed. To go from being a 40- year old bachelor to the dad of a teenage girl must finally be taking its toll on him.

 "What do you want?" she was surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth, she had meant to keep them silent.

"I might need back-up," he joked, only cracking a small smile.

"Why don't I drive her to your place? Both of you might need some time apart," she said.

Harm nodded. He leaned forward to hug his best friend. "Thanks."

It was a silent drive home in both cars. Mattie really wasn't in a talkative mood, and Mac soon quit trying, knowing better than to push her too hard. In his own car, Harm was wondering how his week seemed to have gone downhill so fast. Monday had been great, and part of the reason why was because Mac had been in such a great mood. They had both been flirting back and forth all week long. What both of them didn't know was that everyone in the office was in on the bet, except for the Admiral. They had all been watching Harm and Mac all week long, most secretly pleased that there were no more heated arguments to listen to. But almost every time Harm had been provided with a chance to kiss her, they had all been surprised when either she had pulled away, he'd been too scared and didn't go for it, or the Admiral had interrupted. It wasn't really about the bet anymore, Harm just wanted his best friend back.

FLASHBACK

It was Tuesday morning and Mac was to be in court all morning. It was a big case that she was prosecuting and she was stressed about it, more so than usual. So when she sat down at the prosecutor's table before the judge would come in, she was nervously, unknowingly tapping her fingers on the edge of the table. Coates came in and placed a folded piece of paper in front of her. Mac stopped her drumming and looked up, confused.

"From the Commander, ma'am," Coates whispered, with a smile. Mac opened it up and smiled when she read the message.

          M
              Good luck, my Marine. (Not that you'll need it!)
                           H

It was short, but sweet, and somehow it cheered her up and helped to calm her nerves. The note was just the beginning. Over the next few days his behavior had become kinder and sweeter than he had been in quite a while. Too bad it was all for the bet, otherwise Mac would have thought it all quite romantic.

All kinds of rumors were flying around the office and thy only intensified when she received a dozen red roses on Wednesday. Then there was that one heated moment in the break room Thursday afternoon, where she had almost given in to him.

Mac had gone in to find something to snack on and was rummaging through the cupboards when Harm came in to get a cup of coffee. Neither spoke a word as he came up behind her and reached around her for a mug, pinning her against the counter. He noticed the sudden change in her breathing as he brushed up against her. But she wasn't the only one. She tried to move out from underneath him, but only succeeded in turning around to face him. His dark blue eyes seemed to see right though her, keeping her frozen against the counter.

"Mac..." he whispered, his voice deep. He leaned down and kissed her, nervously at first, but when she didn't resist, he became bolder.

Bud and Sturgis happened to walk in at that moment and saw them kissing. Bud's jaw dropped at the sight of his two senior officers making out. Sturgis, too, was stunned but he immediately looked down at his watch to time them.

After about 15 seconds, Mac finally regained her senses enough to pull away, albeit somewhat reluctantly. She did not want to be used for this bet, she didn't want him to win. Neither noticed Bud nor Sturgis as they continued to gaze at each other. To her surprise, he wasn't pressing for another kiss. Sturgis shook his head. Their kiss had obviously fallen short of the designated time but the weird thing was that it had begun with no witnesses. Was Harm just hoping that someone would walk in to see them and just continue making out with Mac until they were interrupted?

Bud, not knowing what to do or say, turned around to leave. "Admiral!" he exclaimed.

That broke Harm and Mac out of their daze as they realized they were not alone. Harm stepped back to an appropriate distance from Mac, both trying to appear normal.

The Admiral walked in, eyeing them all. He grabbed a muffin and stood there, looking at them all as he took a big bite out of it. Without ever saying a word, he left the break room, muffin in hand. Mac used that brief moment to escape back to her office.

Harm finally caught sight of Sturgis standing there, watching him, a huge smirk on his face.

"Too short, bud," he told him, tapping his watch.

"I don't care about this stupid bet anymore," Harm exploded.

"You seemed to be pretty into it a few minutes ago," he pointed out.

"That's not why I was kissing her. I feel like I'm using her and I hate this feeling, Sturgis. I want nothing to do with this stupid bet."

 "You can't back out now, you promised. You can't go back on your word, the great Harmon Rabb never breaks his word, remember?" Turner reminded him. There was no way he was letting Harm back out of this now. If he backed out, then he might pull away from everything, including the friendship that was rebuilding between him and Mac.

Harm glared at him and started to storm out of the small room.

"Harm?" Turner called out.

"What?" he practically snapped, turning around.

"You might want to..." he trailed off, pointing to Harm's mouth.

Harm guiltily reached up to wipe the traces of Mac's lipstick off his mouth and headed off to his office.

END FLASHBACK

Harm smiled as he remembered kissing Mac, probably the highlight of his week. Now it was Friday evening and in the space of one hour, his whole week had just seemed to go bad. He pulled up at his apartment building, Mac following close behind. On the elevator ride up, all three were silent.

Finally, Harm was brave enough to break the silence. "Do you want me to cook, Mattie? Or we can order out if you like," he tried tentatively.

"I'll cook," she answered shortly. "You two can do the dishes when I'm done."

Knowing that all the good, healthy food was in Harm's apartment, followed Harm and Mac down the hallway. Thinking that it was best to let her do her own thing, Harm and Mac stayed out of her way and sat down on Harm's couch. They didn't know what to say and finally Harm turned on the TV that Mattie had convinced him to buy to keep in his apartment.

About 1/2 hour later, Mattie announced that she was done. Harm and Mac both offered to help her serve up but she just told them to sit down. She brought over the pan of pasta, something that all of them would eat, but when she looked up to meet Harm's steady gaze, the pan slipped from her hands and she dropped it on the floor. His look was void of the anger and frustration that she thought she would find there and instead it was one of full of love and pleading. She realized that yelling at him had hurt him so much that he was afraid to approach her. She had never seen her own father with that look and it scared her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, running out.

She flew into her own apartment and into her room, slamming the door behind her. In that one look she had shared with Harm, she saw how much she had hurt him when she yelled at him. And now, she was afraid to face him. Harm and Mac sat there stunned at what had just occurred. He didn't know how to interpret Mattie's behavior. At least learning how to fly came with some training. Now he wished that there was a manual on how to raise and deal with a teenage daughter.

"Harm, go talk to her and I'll clean up here," Mac said softly.

"Will you go talk to her please, Mac? I don't know what to do or say," he openly admitted.

"If I go talk to her and start things off, will you come and talk to her when I'm done?"

"Yes," he promised.

MATTIE & JEN'S APARTMENT

        Mattie was lying on her stomach on her bed, looking at the floor when someone knocked on her door. She expected it to be Harm but was surprised when a female voice called out. "Mattie? Can I come in?" It was Mac.

"It's open," she called back, her voice somewhat muffled by the pillow she was resting her head on.

"You okay?" Mac started.

"Is he mad at me?"

 "Why would he be mad at you?"

 "For dropping the pan on the floor...and for calling him a jerk earlier."

 "He's not mad at you at all, he could never be mad at you. I've said worse things to him and we're still friends," she pointed out.

"What have you called him?" she asked curiously.

"It wasn't exactly what I called him, I once told him that I didn't trust him. Then there was that time when I was drunk and was just being cruel to him," Mac thought back. Even then, he'd still been there for her.

"Do you love him?" asked Mattie unexpectedly.

Mac smiled, remembering a time when she had told Sturgis she did. "Yes, I do."

"Then why don't you tell him that?"

"Because ...now's just not a good time, there's always something in the way...and I don't want to ruin our friendship by admitting something he doesn't want to hear."

Mattie sighed in disgust. "That's what Harm said, that the timing wasn't right. Then I called him a jerk for not going after you."

"Is that what you two were yelling about in his office earlier this evening?"

"Yeah."

 "Is that the only reason you called him a jerk?" she asked carefully.

"No..." Mattie didn't want to lie to Mac but she couldn't tell her about the bet either. Not when things were finally going so well for both of them.

"Mattie?"

 "I just want him to be happy, Mac," Mattie burst out.

"We both do."

"Then why do you treat him like you do? You didn't tell him that you broke up with Webb, you've never told him that you love him. Mac, he's in love with you, why won't you tell him the same?"

"Because it's much more complicated than that," stated Mac.

 "No, it's really not," Mattie argued. "I've never seen him so happy except when he's around you. When you appeared in the courtroom that day to help him out, suddenly he had more hope in everything. I was so scared that the court wouldn't let me stay with him but you told them what a great father he'd be, you should've seen the look in his eyes, Mac. And everytime you mention Webb, it only hurts him more. He won't ever be truly happy unless he's with you."

Mac was left speechless. Her first reaction was to be angry with Mattie but when she saw the truth in Mattie's eyes, she grew calmer.

"You don't know half of what's happened between us," said Mac.

"That's fine, it doesn't matter. Put the past behind you both and maybe you two will come to your senses," declared Mattie. There was no way she was going to stand down on this matter. But maybe she was pushing too hard. Her face softened and she pleaded with Mac, "Please, promise me you'll at least try and talk to him about this whole mess."

"I'll try," she promised. "If you promise me that you'll tell him why you're mad at him. The real reason, the part about where you just want him to be happy."

Mattie pulled a face. "Not tonight."

"It doesn't have to be tonight, but sometime soon. He's really worried about you."

"Thanks, Mac."

Mac hugged her tightly and helped her get into bed for the night. "Night, Mattie," she said softly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Good night."

Harm had been nervously waiting outside in the small living room of the apartment. He was too worried to be cleaning up the mess waiting for him back at his own place. Mac had been in there with Mattie for almost 20 minutes. Just when he was about to go in there, Mac finally stepped out, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Is she okay?" was his first question.

Mac smiled. "Yeah, she'll be fine."

"Should I go talk to her?" he asked, starting to move towards the door.

But she stopped him. "No, she's asleep right now, it's been a long week for her. But she said to tell you good night and that she would like to talk about it all in the morning."

"Thanks, Mac, I owe you one," he said.

"Come on, flyboy, let's go clean up that mess," she said.

They returned to his apartment and surveyed the kitchen. The other food had been left on the stove and the pasta seemed to have splattered everywhere possible on the floor. She was still in her uniform and there was no way he was going to let her get it dirty by cleaning up his apartment.

"Why don't you go put on a change of clothes and I'll get started?" he suggested, pushing her in the direction of his bedroom.

"Thanks, Harm." When she came back, she found him on the floor, picking up the pasta noodles off the ground and scrubbing the floor with a wet sponge. It was a funny sight to behold and she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"What?" he asked, looking up to find her wearing a pair of his NAVY shorts and a gray t-shirt. They were both a little big on her but nonetheless, she looked good in them. But she could only continue to giggle at him.

A mischievous look crossed his face and he gathered up a handful of pasta. She sensed what he was about to do and tried to move out of his range. But he had anticipated her movement and his aim was true. Pasta splattered over her clothes as she shook her head at him.

"I'm going to get you for that," she threatened, leaning down to gather up the fallen noodles.

"You, a Marine? Get the Navy? I don't think so," he laughed, gathering up some more "ammunition".

What started out as an innocent food fight quickly turned into all out war between the two. They were chasing each other around his apartment, pasta flying and landing everywhere, both shrieking with laughter. The game quickly changed when he managed to catch up to her. He reached out to grab for her, but tripped, sending them both falling down on to the couch. He landed on top of her, trying not to land too heavily.

"Harm..." she whispered, trying to control her breathing as he brought a hand up to gently run along her cheek.

"Sarah..." he said softly, leaning in to close the gap between them to kiss her. There was no way he was going to run from his feelings this time. This was one time that he was not going to let Sarah Mackenzie go.