A / N - This is all post-hotel room, as you can probably guess :)
"Sir, I don't believe that Lieutenant Gray is guilty," Mac said from her place on the desk to the telephone, which was on speaker mode.
Harm arched an eyebrow from the chair that was placed directly in front of the desk. "Admiral, I disagree with the Colonel. The Lieutenant knowingly disobeyed Captain Dawson's orders when he was relieved of his helmsman duties."
Mac sighed, knowing that Harm's argument was textbook. "Yes, but were it not for Gray's first rate navigation skills, the USS Jackson might have had an extremely injurious accident."
"Colonel Mackenzie is totally blowing the situation out of proportion, Sir. Yes there were a few miscalculations, but nothing the crew couldn't handle without Gray taking charge."
Chegwidden's gruff voice could be heard for a moment. "I think-"
Mac unknowingly cut him off, "The Lieutenant steered the ship clear of a possible collision with the refueling carrier. They were at rough seas, and things were getting a bit messy when the Jackson was going faster than was required. The Captain was alerted and blamed Gray, at which point he wanted to replace him with another navigator. Gray, however successfully got the ship out of its crux before the Captain took forceful action to get him out."
"Well, Colonel-" Chegwidden starts.
Harm interjected their CO once more, "That doesn't matter. He disobeyed Dawson's order, so at the very least, an article 32 is needed."
Rather than letting Chegwidden speak, Mac stared at her partner in disbelief. "I can't believe this. The man saved hundreds of thousands on board that vessel. He should be getting a medal, not a reprimand! Especially not one that could have such a detrimental effect on his career."
"Mac-"
"Stand down!" Chegwidden said sharply before either officer could put another word in. "I don't see why I must be present right now, since you two seem to be having such an involved conversation about this case."
Harm glanced at Mac and smiled nervously. Neither lawyer wanted or needed to get in the way of such an irritated Admiral Chegwidden. "Sorry, Sir. We apologize."
An audible sigh could be heard on the other end. "I'm sure you are. I'm assuming Colonel Mackenzie will be defending the Lieutenant?"
"Yes, Sir…if the Commander really sees it fit to take this to an article 32."
Chegwidden ignored her final attempt to keep the Lieutenant out of the limelight. "And Commander Rabb, your…zeal has lead me to believe you want to prosecute."
"Of course, Sir," Harm said.
"I'll see you both at JAG on Monday."
Before either lawyer could respond, a tiny click was heard as Chegwidden terminated the line.
"That went well, don't you think?" Harm said as he got up.
"Marvelous," Mac replied, "but you can't be serious, you know Lieutenant Gray is just a scapegoat for the near accident. If anyone is to blame, it's the Captain for giving to okay to the given speed of the USS Jackson."
Harm gave her an obvious fake smile. "Regardless of what he did or did not do, Lieutenant Gray disobeyed orders, it's as simple as that."
"Your argument is weak and you know it, Commander."
"I see," he said, crossing his arms and furrowing his brows, "I'm sure that will be decided in court by the members."
She put up her chin in defiance, "I'm sure it will. But now, let's go – I am totally exhausted."
"That makes two of us," Harm agreed, "barely any sleep on the road, and an ongoing investigation – the perfect recipe for death by fatigue."
Mac grabbed her briefcase from the temporary desk they had been provided to them and started out the door with Harm trailing right behind her.
"Your last chance," Mac said as she and Harm ventured down the hallway of the hotel towards their rooms.
"For what?"
"To drop the article 32."
As Mac slid in the keycard to her hotel room and opened the door, Harm leaned against the wall to the left of her nonchalantly and gave a lopsided grin. "I can't believe this…no deal, Mac." He enunciated the last three words.
"Fine, prepare to be defeated during the trial." Mac took a step into the room and turned around, letting the corners of her lips perk up.
She let an awkward moment wash over them as Harm pushed himself off the wall and stood at the door uncertainly; she slowly slid her cover off her head just to fill the strange stillness with some sort of movement. He shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced behind her into the room.
"You want to come in?" she whispered, unsure of how to proceed with the situation. "If for only a bit."
"I thought you were tired," he said. Despite himself, Harm took a step forward and locked her in an intense gaze which she couldn't tear herself away from.
Mac backed away slightly to give him entrance to the room. "We can talk. I mean, it was nice at the Downsview the other day, between the blackout, stubbed toe and food poisoning."
He smiled and accepted her invitation. "The food poisoning being the worst?"
Mac groaned as she remembered the nauseous feeling and brought her hand to her stomach instinctively. "By far."
She led them to the couch and flopped down carelessly. Harm, with much more restraint of course, did the same.
"We should leave around 1100 tomorrow, right?" he asked.
"Then it's back to the road," she whined.
"Hey, but then we have two days of weekend between us and our desks at JAG. I guess that's a good point."
Harm, who had neglected to take off his cover, stared at the door in contemplation. "We should probably get some sleep."
Mac frowned inwardly. "If that's what you want."
"I said that's what we should do," Harm breathed, his low voice sending shivers down her spine. "Not what I wanted to do."
His gaze had suddenly shifted from the door to her, she realized, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He made no advance, but she could feel a certain yearning emitting from him – one that she definitely reciprocated. However, Mac made no move to accept his growing temerity, so he followed his initial instinct and turned away. He hesitantly took off his cover and placed it between them.
"Sorry…" he whispered.
Before he could let himself be pushed away, she explained her hesitation hastily, "It's just that I can't yet Harm."
"Are you sure it isn't your belief that there can 'never be anything between us'?" Harm reiterated her words from Paraguay while staring at his hands.
Mac sighed and closed her eyes. "No, I meant…I need to sort some things out in my life before I can take such a big step."
"You never needed to wait for Webb in Paraguay," Harm stated. Unlike in the hotel room three days before, he made no attempt to keep his voice steady this time. "You and I have worked with each other nearly nonstop for nine years. Then after Webb waltzes in and shows his gratitude once, you leap into his arms. I'd classify that as foolhardy, not…us."
Mac got up from her relaxed position on the couch as Harm did the same. He stood up to his full height, and as much as she hated to admit it, he dwarfed her in presence.
Before she could respond and clarify the situation, Harm continued. "Fine, sort some things out, Mac. I mean, you're skilled in military litigation and solve other people's problems – how can you do that when you can't even solve your own?"
"Get out." Mac said simply as she stepped forward and decided that she didn't need Harm's height to look imposing.
Harm frowned. He watched her for a moment as she took a step back and opened the door of the hotel room for him expectantly.
"Fine," he said. "I can't wait for you to sort out your whole life and frankly, neither will anyone else."
Outside the door, a cleaning lady just finished exiting the opposite room and asked Mac, "Will you be leaving? Or you don't want me to clean the room yet."
"Go on in, I'll be going to the bar for a while," Mac said. She turned to Harm. "Can you take the first driving shift tomorrow?"
"The bar?" he questioned.
Mac made no move to explain that she wasn't going to get plastered. She crossed her arms and waited for an answer to her previous question. The look of surprise washed off Harm's face when he nodded abruptly and spun on his heel, brushing past the maid as he went towards his own room. Mac gave the maid entry to her room and smiled, going in the opposite direction towards the elevator.
As she pressed the button with a bit more force than necessary, Mac bit her lower lip and silently cursed Harm. As she boarded the elevator that held two men in their mid-twenties, she was reminded that she had failed to change out of her uniform when they threw her strange looks. She shrugged it off and decided she couldn't be bothered with going back to her room.
Downstairs, Mac slid into a bar stool and buried her face into her hands after letting out a great sigh.
"Tough day?" the bartender asked, startling her out of the temporary daze.
"Isn't it always?" she laughed back somberly.
The bar was dead, having only a group of young friends celebrating by getting drunk at the back wall and a short man in a trench coat three spots to the right of her. The bartender leaned over and rested himself on his elbows.
"I'd say it would be for you military types."
Mac smiled, "I guess the uniform is a bit more than…eye catching. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, Marine Corps."
He grinned and turned around. "A marine, eh? What'll it be?"
"Tonic water, twist of lime," Mac breathed. She rested her head on her open left palm. The words rolled off her tongue so easily now, it was like second nature for her to do so in a bar.
"What's your problem then?" the bartender asked as he slid a glass over to her. "Military just…getting to you? My brother resigned a few months back, he was Navy."
Mac furrowed her brow, Navy, she thought. "Let's just say…people in the military sometimes get to me."
"Well, for now I think I'll just call you Sarah, if that's alright."
Harm, meanwhile, had ventured downstairs to catch a glimpse of what his disgruntled partner was doing in the bar. He knew he had crossed the line, made her snap, and didn't know if it was possible to go back again. He sneakily walked past the front desk into the recreational area, where the bar was behind a small waist-high wall. Harm sat down at a plush lounge chair and squinted through the plants and flowers that decorated the area to see Mac laughing and smiling with an equally ecstatic bartender. He rolled his eyes and pushed himself up, turning around to go back up to his room.
TBC
