AN: Thanks for all of the reviews! You guys are great!

Part 14

Harm and Mac had decided to talk the next day, but it went by in such a rush that they didn't get the time to sit down and talk to each other at all except about the last preparations for the party. After dropping Mattie off at her school, they went in to the office for a two hours high-speed work session before they left to go home and get everything ready in Harm's apartment. The working colleagues of Mac and Harm were going to join them as soon as they could and Rick's mother was going to drive some friends of Mattie's over to the apartment. Mac and Harm would go and get Mattie at the school.

When they drove up by the school, Mattie was the only one still there.

"You're late," she said when she jumped into the car.

"We were working and lost track of time," Mac answered her.

"Is it OK if we just drop you off at the apartments before we head back to the office. You can order pizza if you want to."

"You know I could have taken the bus," Mattie said a bit disappointed with their seemingly lack of interest for how the day had been. She had thought they would at least ask to see her grades. They were in an envelope securely tucked in her hands.

"Why didn't you tell us that this morning?" Harm asked her and Mac tried to warn him that they were approaching going over the top.

"Hmpf," was Mattie's only answer.

They drove up and parked the car in front of the building and all three of them stepped out.

When Mattie looked at them puzzled Mac said, "I need to go up and get something from the apartment.

They walked up the stairs and Mac and Harm made it out so that Mattie was walking ahead of them.

"The number to that new pizza place is in my apartment if you want to get it," Harm told her hoping that she would fall for the bait.

Mattie didn't answer just stalked up the rest of the stairs took out her key and unlocked the door to Harm's apartment and swung it open angrily.

"Surprise!" everyone in the apartment shouted. Mattie's mouth opened and she was gaping in shock. They had definitely succeeded in surprising her.

"You did this," Mattie said looking at all of the food that was on the kitchen counter and all of her friends who were gathered in the apartment before turning around to look at Harm and Mac.

"Yes, but you're the one who did the really hard job with school this year," Mac said.

"Mattie, we're both so proud of you and everything you've accomplished these last months. We wanted to celebrate that with you and with your friends," Harm told her. Mattie threw her arms around both of them at the same time. The three of them stood together in this big family group hug and not one of them wanted to let go of the other.

Soon the party was in full blow. Mattie spent a lot of time with her friends, but sometime during the early evening she came up and talked to Mac, who had walked over to the counter to start putting some things away so they wouldn't be ruined. The Roberts-family had just left, but the rest of them were going to stay longer.

"So is Webb coming later? I was surprised you came home at all last night after he called and said he was back in town."

"No, he's not coming," Mac made a pause. She hadn't planned on telling Mattie about the break up today, because she didn't want her to feel like Mac was unhappy, but since she was asking she felt she had to tell the truth. "We broke up."

"I'm sorry."

"No it's OK. He probably won't be around so much anymore, but we're still friends so... so it's OK."

"You're the one that broke up with him?" Mattie asked.

Mac just nodded. Mattie gave Mac a quick hug.

"You know it's OK to be a sad even if you're the one who wanted it," Mattie told her.

"I guess I'm mostly sad about that there were so many things that were wrong with us being in a relationship in the first place, but it still didn't keep us from going through with it. I wonder if things had been different... better if we hadn't," Mac made a pause "I'm sorry, Mattie. I didn't mean to talk so much about me. This is your day."

"It's OK, Mac, more than OK. You're my friend and I care about you. Besides you're one of the two reasons that this day is 'mine'," Mattie looked at her for a moment "I'm really glad that I've got you," she said and nodded before she returned to her friends.

"What was that about?" Harm stepped up to Mac. He had seen the whole exchange between them, but he hadn't listened in on the conversation. He helped her getting the rest of the food away.

"I told her about Webb and me," Mac answered.

"Oh. How did she take it?"

"Wasn't much to take I guess. She just seemed to worry that I was OK with it."

"Are you? Breaking up with someone is never especially enjoyable, is it?"

"No, but I'll be fine. I am fine," Mac answered him looking straight at him "We need to talk."

"We can't right now."

"No, but we will later. Whenever you want to. I'm sorry about last night. I was so tired and I needed to be alone. Talking to Clay made me realize so many things about myself and about our relationship, I needed time to process."

"Mac, you don't have to apologize. I understand now, I do."

"Harm, where are we going?" Mac asked when Harm took a different turn off the highway then what would bring them to Falls Church. "We're going to be late for work."

"If I don't get to talk to you now, I won't get any work done anyway."

"Good point I guess, but where are we going?"

Once Harm had parked the car Mac saw where they were heading. It was the café across the street from Mrs. Lemoyne's office.

"I thought we were able to talk so well last time we were there," Harm said when he understood that Mac knew where they were going.

"We were."

They went into the small café and sat down on the same spots that they had had last time.

"So."

"So."

"Where do we go from here?" Harm asked.

"Anywhere as long as we go together," Mac said and added "I really want this. I really want us. Sometimes I wonder if I did something to make you doubt that."

"No you didn't. I don't. Not really. It's just... I don't want you to do this just because you feel obligated to and that's why I keep asking you if you're sure. All I ever wanted and all I want is for you to be happy, whether it's with me or with someone else... I know it might not have seemed that way always but... I guess I realized more how to show that the last couple of months with you and Webb."

"You did, you were wonderful," Mac warmed her hands on her coffee cup "And Harm, I want you to be happy more than I want that for myself, but I still think you should know that I am never more happy than when I am with you." Mac looked at him and laid out her hands in front of her on the table. Just before he was going to take them, he caught a glimpse of someone he knew out of the corner of his eye.

"Mr. Rabb, Ms Mackenzie what are you doing in this neighborhood? I thought you worked out in Falls Church," Mrs. Lemoyne had come up to them and started talking.

"We do. We just..." Harm hoped that Mac would know something to fill in that they could have been doing in these parts of the city. Mac quickly redraw her hands to rest on her lap.

"We have a witness to interview here, but we were early so we needed to do something in the meantime," Mac conjured up after a few seconds too much of silence.

"You know you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm really quite harmless."

"We'll try to remember that," Harm smiled at her.

"How is Mattie doing?"

"She's fine. Right now at home asleep, it's the first day out of school," Harm answered her.

"Right. And when is it that Mattie's leaving for... where was it?"

"She's going to stay with my mother in La Jolla, California. She's leaving in two weeks. We're going for a week vacation to the beach before that though."

"Oh, well I hope you have a nice time then," Mrs. Lemoyne said and walked back to her table where she was sitting with a colleague of hers.

Mac and Harm just looked at each other and then decided to get up and leave the café.

"I guess we need to go to work now," Harm said once they were outside the café walking towards the car.

"Harm, do you ever have the feeling that we're in a movie and the director really doesn't want us to get together? All these people who suddenly show up when we are starting to get somewhere, Webb at that hotel in Paraguay, Mrs. Lemoyne right now."

"I haven't really thought of it that way."

"Remember when we saw that movie with Jim Carrey about that guy who's whole life was built up in a studio and they had to take all of these measures to keep him in there so he wouldn't find out about it."

"Yeah... But as far as I recall he did eventually sail off and discovered the end of the horizon."

"He did."

"Well we'll get there too. We're just a few feet away," he stretched out his hand to her and they stopped walking. "Mattie's going to that party tomorrow and she won't be home until it's really late so I was thinking... we could go out and have dinner and... maybe call it a date."

"Definitely call it a date," Mac surprised him by sneaking up and putting her hands on his face to give him a kiss.

TBC