AN: Thanks for all the reviews. I am going out of town this weekend, so hopefully this will tie you guys over till I can write some more. Enjoy.

Just as Harm predicted, the days flew by for the both of them. When Harm wasn't flying, he was sleeping. The skipper kept him flying any chance he got. Both knew there was no room for error when he flew. Most of the missions were reconnaissance, but then there were the risky ones. The covert operations were the hardest. He would provide close air support for the insertion teams. Many of those times he found himself being fired upon. He had to decide quickly what course of action to take. When he wasn't thinking about missions, he was thinking about Mac. The traded email back and forth, but he missed her voice. He had finally gotten a day off, and he decided to call her. He needed to hear her voice. He figured he would call her later when he knew she would be back at the hotel.

Mac, however, was getting nowhere in this investigation. Everywhere she turned, there was a dead end. Bud had gotten the background information on Corporal Bell. There was nothing significant in it. His record was spotless. He never even got a traffic ticket. He joined the marines right after September 11th. Once he completed boot camp, he was sent to Camp Pendleton to be a part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (aka. Task Force Yankee). He and his unit were deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom from Jun to December 2002. He returned to the states, and was deployed again in February 2003 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. He had returned in May 2003. Since then, he had been at Camp Pendleton continuously training with his unit. Mac had interviewed the people who knew him, and they all said the same thing. He was a guy everyone got along with. He always followed orders and helped out when needed.

There was only one thing that did bother Mac. Corporal Elliot had been a little quick when she questioned him. She didn't realize it till she sat to review all her interview notes at the end of the week. Something just didn't sit well with her. She decided to see what information Bud could dig up on him. Since it was Friday, she decided to give Bud and herself a break. They had been investigating this case for almost two weeks. They both needed a break. She decided that since Harm wasn't there to help her relax, she would take a hot bubble bath. She had just relaxed into the tub when her cell phone rang. Luckily, she had it with her and reached to grab it.

"Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie."

"Hello there, sweet thing."

"Harm!"

"I take it you miss me?"

"You know I do. Email can only help so much."

"I know how you feel. How are you doing? How's the investigation?"

"To answer your first question, I'm doing fine. As for you second, lousy."

"What's going on? You still can't find a suspect?"

"No. Corporal Bell was liked by everyone, but there is somebody that rubs me the wrong way."

"Who?"

"Corporal Elliot. He was Bell's roommate. I interviewed him early in the investigation. I was reviewing interviews tonight, and something doesn't feel right about him."

"What do you mean?"

"He seemed to answer the questions a little too quickly. I also remember he did seem a little uneasy, but I thought it was nothing."

"You usually pick up on those things, Mac."

"I know, but I was a little off. I had trouble concentrating on the investigation because a certain flyboy kept invading my thoughts."

"Sure. Blame it on me."

"Of course."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to question him again and see what bud can dig up on him."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Enough about me, how are things there, Harm? Any idea when you'll be home?"

"Everything is going as well as can be expected. We've been flying everyday. This was my first day off. Still up in the air as to when I'll be home. It could be another 2-4 weeks."

"I wish you were home now. I miss my sidekick."

"Sidekick, huh? Is that all I am to you?'

"No you are many other things to me, but I'm not going tell you what they are. I'm going to wait till I see you and can cover your body with mine."

"Sounds very tempting. I can't wait to see you again."

"Me too."

"I hate to say this, but I have to go, Sarah."

"I know how you feel, but I can't have you tying up all the phone lines."

"I'll try to call you soon. If I can't, just look for my email."

"I will. I love you, Harm."

"I love you, Sarah."

"Be careful."

"I will. Follow your instincts."

"Bye."

"Bye."

With a soft click, she was gone. He sighed and headed back to his quarters. He still had time for a power nap before going up again. Mac also sighed and slid further into the bubbles in the hopes of relaxing.

Meanwhile, back at JAG, all hell broke loose. No sooner did Mac and Harm leave did the Admiral come in and reorganize things. Before anyone was allowed to begin work, he had role call. He inspected all employees, and he wrote them up if their uniform was out of line. He left a memo stating that everything had to go through him first, and he expected all rules and regulations to be followed. Those who broke the rules would be written up. It had gotten so bad that the staff felt they couldn't go to the bathroom without permission. No one knew how much more he or she could take. They know he was assigned permanently, but maybe there was a catch to this assignment.

Bud seemed to get the brunt of it. The admiral didn't see why Bud was allowed to stay in the military. He tried to find fault with Bud's work, but he couldn't. There was nothing wrong with his work. Bud was good at what he did. Besides, he had good teachers. Bud tried to deal with it, but he found it difficult. His wife was no longer at JAG, and his two best friends were unavailable. Besides, he figured they would be too busy to give him advice. He arrived Monday, on time as usual, and prepared for the day's torture. He hoped Mac would have some investigative work for him to do. That way, he would have an excuse to leave the office. He had just sat at his desk as the phone rang.

"Lieutenant Commander Roberts."

"Hey, Bud! How are things at JAG?"

"Oh hi, ma'am. You really don't want to know."

"What's going on over there?"

"Ma'am. I don't want to worry you."

"Bud, tell me what's up."

"It's the admiral, ma'am. He had us report for role call in the morning and inspect our uniforms. If they aren't perfect we get written up. To make matters worse, we can't even get a legal pad without him knowing about it."

"You have to be kidding."

"I wish I was. I also get the impression he doesn't like me. He tries to find fault with everything I do."

"I wonder why he's doing this?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think it's because of you and Commander Rabb."

"Us? What do we have to do with it?"

"Well, Petty Officer Coates overheard the admiral talking about you two. He didn't seem too pleased with the both of you. He said he hoped Commander Rabb gets stationed permanently on the Henry, and he wanted to send you out to California just to get rid of you for a while."

"Why?"

"I think it's because he wants to change t whole office into what he wants it to be. With you two gone, he can do it without protest."

"Yeah, I can see Harm not liking to report for role call."

"Exactly. I think it's a tactic to get rid of the Commander and possible you."

"Well, we'll just see about that."

"I'm sorry to dump all this on you, ma'am. Was there something you needed?"

"I'm glad you told me, bud. With AJ here, maybe we can figure something out. I do need you to do something though."

"Fire away."

"I need you to do a background check on Corporal Elliot. He was Corporal Bell's roommate. There's something not right about him."

"I see what I can do, ma'am. It may take a while. The admiral has us reorganizing the filing system."

"You have to be kidding me. Get back to me when you can. I'm going to question him again."

"Ok, ma'am. By the way, have you heard from the Commander? We got another email from him today."

"I actually got to talk to him on Friday, Bud."

"Really! How is he doing? When is he coming home?"

"He's fine, Bud. He's not sure when he'll be home though."

"I hope it's soon. Take care, ma'am. I have to get ready for role call. I'll call you as soon as I can with the information you requested."

"Thanks, Bud."

The line disconnected. Mac sat back in her chair and sighed. She reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out the one thing that was always with her. She took a moment and ran her fingers over the wings. She knew it was silly, but she always felt closer to him when she had them with her. With a silent prayer, she put it back in her pocket, gathered her things, and went to look for Corporal Elliot.

Well there it is. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I will update as soon a possible. Now all you have to do it hit the little lilac button and review. You know you want to. (evil grin)