A/N: Wow, so many wonderful reviews! The feedback really means a lot.
It's unbelievably encouraging to know that there are other people out there
who are enjoying this as much as I am. :-D
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1702 Zulu; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, Virginia
A stack of files under one arm, Harriet crossed the bullpen towards Mac's office. It was empty. Looking around for a moment, she turned and poked her head in her husband's doorway.
"Bud, have you seen the Colonel?" Engrossed in something on his computer, Bud didn't appear to hear her.
"BUD," Harriet tried again. Finally he looked up at her.
"What sweetie?"
"Have you seen Colonel MacKenzie? She asked me to pull some information for a case and I want to make sure she gets it before lunch."
"I think she and Commander Rabb just went out to grab something to eat."
Harriet stared at him for a moment before hurrying into the office, quickly shutting the door behind her. "Do you know how long ago they left?"
"No, I really couldn't say."
"Any idea when they'll be back? Or even where they went?"
"Honey, what's with the twenty questions?"
"They've gone to lunch together for the last three days straight."
"So?"
"So, Wednesday they were late for their 1300 meeting with the Admiral."
Bud shrugged. "They probably just got sidetracked."
"With the Colonel's sense of timing? How likely is that?" Harriet questioned. After thinking about it for a moment, Bud slowly nodded. His wife had a point.
"And," she continued, "yesterday I caught the Commander pacing in front of her office. He asked if I knew when the Colonel was going to be done with her interview because they were scheduled to go out for lunch and he 'really needed to talk to her'. Then when she finally showed up, she barely had time to drop her stuff before he whisked her away!"
"Harriet, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation," Bud replied. Quirking her eyebrows, Harriet put her hand on her hip and waited for him to elaborate. "He's probably just helping her on a case."
"And which case exactly would he be helping her with?"
"Well, what about. . ." Trailing off, Bud frowned. "Now that I think about it, she and the Commander aren't working jointly on anything right now. In fact, he's opposing her on every one of his cases, which means they *couldn't* be working together." A worrisome idea suddenly occurred to him. "Harriet, you don't think that one of them is leaving JAG, do you?"
"What?" Confusion crossed Harriet's face. "No, Bud, I don't think one of them is leaving JAG. What I think," she leaned closer to him with a conspiratorial whisper, "is that the Colonel and the Commander have finally come to an. . . understanding."
"An understanding?"
"You know, an agreement."
"An agreement? Harriet, I'm not quite sure I follow."
"It seems to me that Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie have *finally* admitted their feelings for each other and are making up for lost time," she said meaningfully.
Bud chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Sweetie, you've been hoping for the Colonel and the Commander to get involved for years. What makes you think they're anything more than good friends?"
"Tell you what," challenged Harriet. "The next time you see them together, take a good look and THEN tell me you don't think they're in a relationship. I'm willing to bet you'll change your mind." A hopeful grin shone across her face as she straightened up and gestured to the files in her hands. "And in the meantime I'll just go set these on the Colonel's chair, where I know she'll find them."
Bud watched as she turned and sauntered out of his office. *The Commander and the Colonel, dating? That'll be the day. I know they feel strongly for one another, but I doubt either would ever admit it.* Smiling to himself at the thought, he returned to the computer with a shake of his head.
* * * * * * * * * *
1847 Zulu; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, Virginia
"Face it, Mac, there's no way your client is going to get anything less than ten years confinement." Stepping out of the elevator with Mac close behind, Harm's voice carried down the hall towards JAG Ops. On the way back to Falls Church from Mac's apartment, their conversation had turned towards more professional matters, developing into a full-fledged disagreement by the time they'd passed through the security gatehouse outside.
"Five years and dishonorable discharge," Mac countered as they rounded the corner into the bullpen. "That's as high as I'm willing to go -- take it or leave it."
Whipping around to face her, Harm opened his mouth to argue. At that moment, Jennifer Coates came rushing around the corner behind them. Her vision obscured by the giant box of documents in her arms, she didn't see the pair until it was too late. Unable to slow down Jennifer plowed into Mac's turned back, pushing her straight into Harm's reflexive embrace.
"Oh my--" Jen sputtered as she realized what had happened. "Ma'am, sir, I am *so* sorry! Are you okay?" Caught off guard by the sudden impact, Mac could only grip Harm's arms while she struggled to regain her balance. In the aftermath of their lunchtime tryst, arguing over the case had helped both revert back to a more professional distance. However, neither had counted on being thrust unexpectedly back into each other's arms. Harm recovered first.
"What's the rush, Petty Officer?" he asked with a smile.
"Commander Turner asked me to pull these records for him, sir. He wants them ASAP," she hastily explained.
Mac kept her expression as neutral as possible as she pushed herself up and away from Harm. "Excuse me," she muttered to Jennifer before stalking off to her office. Bewildered by Mac's uncharacteristic embarrassment, Jennifer looked up at Harm questioningly.
"Don't worry about it," he reassured her and turned to follow Mac.
Two people had watched the unfolding scene with interest: Harriet, from across the room, and Bud, from his office nearby. Closing Mac's office door behind him, Harm saw Harriet glance furtively in their direction as she practically flew into Bud's office.
"Uh-oh," he sighed as he sat in one of the chairs facing Mac's desk. "We may have a problem."
"What's that?" Struggling to maintain an air of normalcy, Mac busied herself by intently flipping through a nearby stack of paperwork.
"Harriet."
"What about her?" Mac was afraid she already knew the answer.
"I think she's onto us."
"Really? How do you figure?"
"Well," Harm began, stretching out his legs in front of him, "for starters, she witnessed the Admiral chewing out our sixes for being late on Wednesday. Then yesterday, before you came back from your interview, she found me waiting outside your office to go to *lunch*. And I'm willing to bet that when I saw her running into Bud's office just now, it wasn't to tell him about the wonderful beef stroganoff they had down in the cafeteria today." At that, Mac looked up.
"She just ran into Bud's office?"
"Yup."
"I don't want to tell her anything unless she asks one of us outright. We'll need to be more careful next time." Harm nodded in agreement and gazed at her for a moment.
"I guess I should get back to work. You're coming over tonight, right?" he asked as he stood up.
A large smile spread across Mac's face. "Wouldn't miss it," she replied saucily. "It takes a *lot* to wear out this Marine."
"Don't forget, though, I have all weekend to try," he replied. Flashing her a "flyboy" grin, he opened the door and headed back towards his own office.
Mac watched him go with a satisfied smile. *I'm looking forward to it.*
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To be continued. . .
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1702 Zulu; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, Virginia
A stack of files under one arm, Harriet crossed the bullpen towards Mac's office. It was empty. Looking around for a moment, she turned and poked her head in her husband's doorway.
"Bud, have you seen the Colonel?" Engrossed in something on his computer, Bud didn't appear to hear her.
"BUD," Harriet tried again. Finally he looked up at her.
"What sweetie?"
"Have you seen Colonel MacKenzie? She asked me to pull some information for a case and I want to make sure she gets it before lunch."
"I think she and Commander Rabb just went out to grab something to eat."
Harriet stared at him for a moment before hurrying into the office, quickly shutting the door behind her. "Do you know how long ago they left?"
"No, I really couldn't say."
"Any idea when they'll be back? Or even where they went?"
"Honey, what's with the twenty questions?"
"They've gone to lunch together for the last three days straight."
"So?"
"So, Wednesday they were late for their 1300 meeting with the Admiral."
Bud shrugged. "They probably just got sidetracked."
"With the Colonel's sense of timing? How likely is that?" Harriet questioned. After thinking about it for a moment, Bud slowly nodded. His wife had a point.
"And," she continued, "yesterday I caught the Commander pacing in front of her office. He asked if I knew when the Colonel was going to be done with her interview because they were scheduled to go out for lunch and he 'really needed to talk to her'. Then when she finally showed up, she barely had time to drop her stuff before he whisked her away!"
"Harriet, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation," Bud replied. Quirking her eyebrows, Harriet put her hand on her hip and waited for him to elaborate. "He's probably just helping her on a case."
"And which case exactly would he be helping her with?"
"Well, what about. . ." Trailing off, Bud frowned. "Now that I think about it, she and the Commander aren't working jointly on anything right now. In fact, he's opposing her on every one of his cases, which means they *couldn't* be working together." A worrisome idea suddenly occurred to him. "Harriet, you don't think that one of them is leaving JAG, do you?"
"What?" Confusion crossed Harriet's face. "No, Bud, I don't think one of them is leaving JAG. What I think," she leaned closer to him with a conspiratorial whisper, "is that the Colonel and the Commander have finally come to an. . . understanding."
"An understanding?"
"You know, an agreement."
"An agreement? Harriet, I'm not quite sure I follow."
"It seems to me that Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie have *finally* admitted their feelings for each other and are making up for lost time," she said meaningfully.
Bud chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Sweetie, you've been hoping for the Colonel and the Commander to get involved for years. What makes you think they're anything more than good friends?"
"Tell you what," challenged Harriet. "The next time you see them together, take a good look and THEN tell me you don't think they're in a relationship. I'm willing to bet you'll change your mind." A hopeful grin shone across her face as she straightened up and gestured to the files in her hands. "And in the meantime I'll just go set these on the Colonel's chair, where I know she'll find them."
Bud watched as she turned and sauntered out of his office. *The Commander and the Colonel, dating? That'll be the day. I know they feel strongly for one another, but I doubt either would ever admit it.* Smiling to himself at the thought, he returned to the computer with a shake of his head.
* * * * * * * * * *
1847 Zulu; JAG Headquarters; Falls Church, Virginia
"Face it, Mac, there's no way your client is going to get anything less than ten years confinement." Stepping out of the elevator with Mac close behind, Harm's voice carried down the hall towards JAG Ops. On the way back to Falls Church from Mac's apartment, their conversation had turned towards more professional matters, developing into a full-fledged disagreement by the time they'd passed through the security gatehouse outside.
"Five years and dishonorable discharge," Mac countered as they rounded the corner into the bullpen. "That's as high as I'm willing to go -- take it or leave it."
Whipping around to face her, Harm opened his mouth to argue. At that moment, Jennifer Coates came rushing around the corner behind them. Her vision obscured by the giant box of documents in her arms, she didn't see the pair until it was too late. Unable to slow down Jennifer plowed into Mac's turned back, pushing her straight into Harm's reflexive embrace.
"Oh my--" Jen sputtered as she realized what had happened. "Ma'am, sir, I am *so* sorry! Are you okay?" Caught off guard by the sudden impact, Mac could only grip Harm's arms while she struggled to regain her balance. In the aftermath of their lunchtime tryst, arguing over the case had helped both revert back to a more professional distance. However, neither had counted on being thrust unexpectedly back into each other's arms. Harm recovered first.
"What's the rush, Petty Officer?" he asked with a smile.
"Commander Turner asked me to pull these records for him, sir. He wants them ASAP," she hastily explained.
Mac kept her expression as neutral as possible as she pushed herself up and away from Harm. "Excuse me," she muttered to Jennifer before stalking off to her office. Bewildered by Mac's uncharacteristic embarrassment, Jennifer looked up at Harm questioningly.
"Don't worry about it," he reassured her and turned to follow Mac.
Two people had watched the unfolding scene with interest: Harriet, from across the room, and Bud, from his office nearby. Closing Mac's office door behind him, Harm saw Harriet glance furtively in their direction as she practically flew into Bud's office.
"Uh-oh," he sighed as he sat in one of the chairs facing Mac's desk. "We may have a problem."
"What's that?" Struggling to maintain an air of normalcy, Mac busied herself by intently flipping through a nearby stack of paperwork.
"Harriet."
"What about her?" Mac was afraid she already knew the answer.
"I think she's onto us."
"Really? How do you figure?"
"Well," Harm began, stretching out his legs in front of him, "for starters, she witnessed the Admiral chewing out our sixes for being late on Wednesday. Then yesterday, before you came back from your interview, she found me waiting outside your office to go to *lunch*. And I'm willing to bet that when I saw her running into Bud's office just now, it wasn't to tell him about the wonderful beef stroganoff they had down in the cafeteria today." At that, Mac looked up.
"She just ran into Bud's office?"
"Yup."
"I don't want to tell her anything unless she asks one of us outright. We'll need to be more careful next time." Harm nodded in agreement and gazed at her for a moment.
"I guess I should get back to work. You're coming over tonight, right?" he asked as he stood up.
A large smile spread across Mac's face. "Wouldn't miss it," she replied saucily. "It takes a *lot* to wear out this Marine."
"Don't forget, though, I have all weekend to try," he replied. Flashing her a "flyboy" grin, he opened the door and headed back towards his own office.
Mac watched him go with a satisfied smile. *I'm looking forward to it.*
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To be continued. . .
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