AN: Thanks for all the nice and encouraging comments! Please, don't throw any tomatoes on me now... (it's not as bad as it may seem)
Part 2
"I think that was the last box," Mac said as she put the last of her coffee cups into the kitchen cupboard.
"Yep, so do you think Harm has dinner ready?" Mattie asked. She had been unpacking all of Mac's kitchen stuff together with her new roommate. Mac had pretty much moved all of her things into their new apartment. The things from her old guestroom were now in Mattie's room. She was going to have them for the while being. The whole apartment looked a little bit cramped with all of the things. They had however decided to move everything in at first and decide later if they wanted to put some things in storage.
"Well, he better have it," Mac answered Mattie's question and together they went over to Harm's apartment.
The dinner had just finished cooking on the stove and they sat down to eat eagerly. Mac had gotten the day off from work and Harm had just had to go into the office for a couple of meetings. Some of the things they had moved over yesterday with the help of some professional movers. Today Mattie and Mac had unpacked everything and tried to make the apartment as much as a home as they possibly could. They had worked really well together and though they were tired, they had finished everything they had decided to do.
"I can't believe I'm actually moving in here," Mac said in between eating "I mean less than a week ago, I hadn't even thought I'd be moving anywhere soon and here we are."
"Here we are," Harm agreed with her. The old friendship between them was slowly coming back in a new but equally strong shape. He felt good about sharing so many things with her outside the office. Something they hadn't done together in a really long while. The fact that Mac hadn't even known about Mattie before he asked her about testifying at the hearing was proof of that. Since Mattie was around a lot of the time and they were both making sure they weren't sniping at each other in front of her, they were also able to talk in a decent way to each other when she wasn't around. That didn't mean that they weren't competitive and didn't make fun of each other. It was obvious that they were laughing with each other and not at each other and that made it very pleasant to be around the two of them.
They continued to eat pretty much in silence. All three of them were so tired that they just wanted to get the meal over with so they could go to bed.
Just when they were about to be finished, there was a knock on the door. Harm went to open up and was rather surprised to see who was there. It was a man he hadn't seen for almost three months.
"Hey," Clayton Webb started "You don't happen to know where Mac is? I went by her apartment and the building is all deserted." Even though they had met several times at Langely after Paraguay, Webb was still uncomfortable coming to Harm to ask about Mac's whereabouts.
"Yeah, well... she lives here now," Harm said and opened the door completely so Webb could look into the apartment. Mac and Mattie were still sitting at the table, but when Mac realized who was at the door she got up from her seat. She threw an angry look at Harm for him not having let her break the news to Webb and then she walked out of the apartment closing the door behind her and Webb.
"What does he mean 'you live there now'?" Webb asked as the door had been closed. He couldn't imagine that she would move in with another man just like that when she was still seeing him.
"Let's go somewhere to talk," Mac said and Webb nodded. It seemed like they had a lot of things to talk about. "Wait a second," she said and turned around after a few steps down the stair.
Mac knocked on Harm door and opened it before anyone on the other side at a chance to react.
"Mattie, we're going out for a while, so you don't have to worry about going back to the apartment, OK?" Mac told Mattie who was helping Harm to clean up after the dinner. The young girl was obviously exhausted and just nodded glad to know that it was safe to return to the apartment.
"So?" Webb asked once they were sitting in one booth of the local pub. It was a place so far from where you'd expect someone with Webb's style of clothes and obvious attitude to be, but at the moment he at least didn't seem to notice that fact.
"Well, they're tearing down my old building... I guess you noticed that," Mac started saying.
"And you moved in with Rabb?"
"No, no," Mac denied "I'm not living with Harm. I moved in to the apartment next door. Mattie, Harm's ward, is going to live there with me. I didn't have much of a choice, they're going to tear down the building and we had to be out of there by today..." Mac explained and at the same time she felt a little bit guilty about saying that she had been forced to move in there. The way things had been with Mattie and Harm the last couple of days, she was really happy that she was moving in to the apartment with Mattie and not anywhere else. She didn't feel forced at all.
"Of course you had a choice. You could have moved in with me!" Webb said and the statement caused them both to fall deadly silent.
"Clay," she said and took his hand that was lying on the table "You know as well as I do that we aren't there yet."
"Yeah, I know," he stroked his thumbs over the back of her hand "I hope we'll get there eventually," he said hopefully. They were both contemplating the fact that despite seeing each other for six months and knowing each other even longer, they couldn't even imagine what it would be like living together. They rarely even spent the whole night together. What did that say about their relationship?
They sat silent for a while and Mac was having serious problems to keep her eyes open.
"Oh Sarah, you look so tired. Come on, let's go. I' follow you back to your apartment," Webb told her with a lot of concern in his voice. He left some bills to cover their sodas on the table and they walked towards the exit of the pub.
"Can I see you tomorrow?" Webb asked as they walked out of the pub arm in arm.
"Sure. I'm sorry about today. I've missed you and I want to see you, but I really don't think I can stay awake any longer," Mac tried to suffocate a yawn, but failed completely "We've been unpacking the whole day."
"Oh don't worry about that. I'll be home for a while now, so I'm sure we'll get to see a lot of each other," Webb said encouragingly and held on even tighter to her.
"You always say that."
"That's because I want it to be true so much," Webb said and smiled. He often wasn't allowed to stay as long in Washington as he'd want to.
"I do too," Mac smiled back at him.
TBC
Part 2
"I think that was the last box," Mac said as she put the last of her coffee cups into the kitchen cupboard.
"Yep, so do you think Harm has dinner ready?" Mattie asked. She had been unpacking all of Mac's kitchen stuff together with her new roommate. Mac had pretty much moved all of her things into their new apartment. The things from her old guestroom were now in Mattie's room. She was going to have them for the while being. The whole apartment looked a little bit cramped with all of the things. They had however decided to move everything in at first and decide later if they wanted to put some things in storage.
"Well, he better have it," Mac answered Mattie's question and together they went over to Harm's apartment.
The dinner had just finished cooking on the stove and they sat down to eat eagerly. Mac had gotten the day off from work and Harm had just had to go into the office for a couple of meetings. Some of the things they had moved over yesterday with the help of some professional movers. Today Mattie and Mac had unpacked everything and tried to make the apartment as much as a home as they possibly could. They had worked really well together and though they were tired, they had finished everything they had decided to do.
"I can't believe I'm actually moving in here," Mac said in between eating "I mean less than a week ago, I hadn't even thought I'd be moving anywhere soon and here we are."
"Here we are," Harm agreed with her. The old friendship between them was slowly coming back in a new but equally strong shape. He felt good about sharing so many things with her outside the office. Something they hadn't done together in a really long while. The fact that Mac hadn't even known about Mattie before he asked her about testifying at the hearing was proof of that. Since Mattie was around a lot of the time and they were both making sure they weren't sniping at each other in front of her, they were also able to talk in a decent way to each other when she wasn't around. That didn't mean that they weren't competitive and didn't make fun of each other. It was obvious that they were laughing with each other and not at each other and that made it very pleasant to be around the two of them.
They continued to eat pretty much in silence. All three of them were so tired that they just wanted to get the meal over with so they could go to bed.
Just when they were about to be finished, there was a knock on the door. Harm went to open up and was rather surprised to see who was there. It was a man he hadn't seen for almost three months.
"Hey," Clayton Webb started "You don't happen to know where Mac is? I went by her apartment and the building is all deserted." Even though they had met several times at Langely after Paraguay, Webb was still uncomfortable coming to Harm to ask about Mac's whereabouts.
"Yeah, well... she lives here now," Harm said and opened the door completely so Webb could look into the apartment. Mac and Mattie were still sitting at the table, but when Mac realized who was at the door she got up from her seat. She threw an angry look at Harm for him not having let her break the news to Webb and then she walked out of the apartment closing the door behind her and Webb.
"What does he mean 'you live there now'?" Webb asked as the door had been closed. He couldn't imagine that she would move in with another man just like that when she was still seeing him.
"Let's go somewhere to talk," Mac said and Webb nodded. It seemed like they had a lot of things to talk about. "Wait a second," she said and turned around after a few steps down the stair.
Mac knocked on Harm door and opened it before anyone on the other side at a chance to react.
"Mattie, we're going out for a while, so you don't have to worry about going back to the apartment, OK?" Mac told Mattie who was helping Harm to clean up after the dinner. The young girl was obviously exhausted and just nodded glad to know that it was safe to return to the apartment.
"So?" Webb asked once they were sitting in one booth of the local pub. It was a place so far from where you'd expect someone with Webb's style of clothes and obvious attitude to be, but at the moment he at least didn't seem to notice that fact.
"Well, they're tearing down my old building... I guess you noticed that," Mac started saying.
"And you moved in with Rabb?"
"No, no," Mac denied "I'm not living with Harm. I moved in to the apartment next door. Mattie, Harm's ward, is going to live there with me. I didn't have much of a choice, they're going to tear down the building and we had to be out of there by today..." Mac explained and at the same time she felt a little bit guilty about saying that she had been forced to move in there. The way things had been with Mattie and Harm the last couple of days, she was really happy that she was moving in to the apartment with Mattie and not anywhere else. She didn't feel forced at all.
"Of course you had a choice. You could have moved in with me!" Webb said and the statement caused them both to fall deadly silent.
"Clay," she said and took his hand that was lying on the table "You know as well as I do that we aren't there yet."
"Yeah, I know," he stroked his thumbs over the back of her hand "I hope we'll get there eventually," he said hopefully. They were both contemplating the fact that despite seeing each other for six months and knowing each other even longer, they couldn't even imagine what it would be like living together. They rarely even spent the whole night together. What did that say about their relationship?
They sat silent for a while and Mac was having serious problems to keep her eyes open.
"Oh Sarah, you look so tired. Come on, let's go. I' follow you back to your apartment," Webb told her with a lot of concern in his voice. He left some bills to cover their sodas on the table and they walked towards the exit of the pub.
"Can I see you tomorrow?" Webb asked as they walked out of the pub arm in arm.
"Sure. I'm sorry about today. I've missed you and I want to see you, but I really don't think I can stay awake any longer," Mac tried to suffocate a yawn, but failed completely "We've been unpacking the whole day."
"Oh don't worry about that. I'll be home for a while now, so I'm sure we'll get to see a lot of each other," Webb said encouragingly and held on even tighter to her.
"You always say that."
"That's because I want it to be true so much," Webb said and smiled. He often wasn't allowed to stay as long in Washington as he'd want to.
"I do too," Mac smiled back at him.
TBC