AN: First off. Thanks everyone for the reviews. Your support helps me to continue to write. Secondly, I apologize for taking so long to update. This part of the trilogy only has a few more chapters possibly, so I promise to throw in some action the next chapter. Enjoy.

Mac awoke the next morning feeling rejuvenated. She hadn't slept that well in quite some time. The only thing that still bothered her was her stomach. This always happens when she and Harm have been separated. Her body told her she was hungry, but she couldn't find her appetite. With Harm flying into dangerous situations, she found her appetite lacking. She knew she didn't need to worry about him, but that's just like telling her not to breathe. She loved Harm so much that, to her, it seemed worrying was only a natural reaction to the situation. Also, this case has been slowly driving her insane. If she didn't get a break soon, she was going to lose it big time. Checking her internal clock, Mac realized she had 5 hours till she had to meet AJ for lunch. She figured she had enough time to have a morning run and consolidate her notes. Mac quickly got dressed and headed out for her run.

It was 1130 when Mac showed up in the lobby. AJ was already seating in one of the oversized chairs reading the sports section. He glanced up as Mac made her way to meet him. Pleasantries were exchanged and they made their way to the café. Mac was first to speak after they ordered their meals.

"I'm surprised you're still here, AJ."

"Me too. Francesca insisted on staying longer than we planned. She loves the diversity of the clothes people war. Besides, the weather is great here."

"It certainly is much warmer."

"It sure is."

Silence loomed for a few minutes until the waiter arrived with their food.

"Have you heard from Harm?"

"Yeah. He called me Friday."

Mac chose to not mention last night's conversation with AJ. Although she couldn't help the blush that appeared on her cheeks as the memories of last night surfaced. AJ noticed the blush, but decided not to pursue it. He had an idea what brought that on, and he didn't want to embarrass Mac. He remembered how lonely it could be without the one you love beside you. He and his ex-wife shared many intimate conversations while he was away. Those conversations were his driving force to complete the mission and get home.

"How is he doing?"

"Sounds like he's been real busy lately. He did tell me that if things remain quiet, he maybe home in a couple of weeks."

"Sounds like good news to me."

"Yes, sir. It's the best news I've heard in a while."

"I take it the investigation isn't going so good."

"I actually have a lead on that. I was talking about JAG."

"What's going on there?"

"What isn't? Bud said it's pretty bad there. Admiral McIntyre has role call every morning. Bud makes it sound like you have to put in a requisition to use the bathroom."

"I had a feeling this would happen."

"What do you mean?"

"I know Admiral McIntyre. He was on the JAG selection board when I was picked to be JAG. He didn't feel I would make a good JAG. He thought I should've stayed with the Pacific Fleet."

"Really? No wonder he's acting like he is."

"Yeah. I heard he was my replacement. He made his feelings known as to how he disliked how I ran JAG. He thought I let the staff get away with too much."

"Bud mentioned Harm and I aren't too high on his favorite list."

"That's because you and Harm do what is necessary to find the truth. You both attempt to follow regulations, but you both are not afraid to break them."

"Thanks, AJ. I'm not sure what to do. Coates overheard him say that he wants Harm to stay on the Henry, and that it takes awhile for me to solve this case."

"I take it he never mentioned the conversation the SECNAV and he had."

"No, sir. What did the SECNAV say?"

"Well to make a long story short, he aggravated the SECNAV to the point that he decided to give McIntyre a shot, but with a catch. He told him that he would have a fit rep whenever the SECNAV wanted. If he didn't make high enough marks, he would be replaced."

"So you think he is doing all this to make a good impression?"

"I would put money on it."

"Then I guess there isn't much we can do."

"I wouldn't say that, Mac. There is something McIntyre doesn't know."

"What's that?"

"The SECNAV will be interviewing randomly selected staff members to gauge how they feel about McIntyre."

"I've never heard of him doing that."

"He wants to make sure he had the right person for the job. I'm willing to bet he doesn't know his ulterior motives for you and Harm."

"I don't see where that would make a difference."

"You and Harm made a powerful ally when you helped the SECNAV during his trial. He hasn't forgotten that."

"Well maybe there's hope for us yet."

"There's always hope, Mac."

"I never knew you were an optimist."

"Well don't tell everyone. It'll ruin my grumpy disposition."

"You got it."

Mac and AJ continued to talk for the next hour. AJ told her, as they were leaving, that he would be in town another couple of weeks. They agreed to get together again. Mac made her way back to her room and decided to email Harm again. They usually wrote once a day, but she wanted to tell him what AJ said.

TO: Stickboynavy.mil

FROM: Ninjagirlmarinecorps.mil

Harm,

I just finished having lunch with AJ. If you remember my last email, I told you what Bud said about Admiral McIntyre. I told AJ about it, and get this. The SECNAV is going to be doing a fit rep on him. Big deal, right? Well, what he failed to mention was that he will also interview members of the staff to get their impression of him. AJ also said we have an ally in the SECNAV. Scary, isn't it? It should be interesting to see what happens.

I hope this finds you well. I had pleasant dreams last night thanks to you. I hope you are being careful. I can't wait to see you. I'm going to sign off. I have a couple of errands to run before I get the sack. Take care, Harm. I love you.

Love,

Your Sarah

Mac grabbed her purse and left her room. Meanwhile, Harm had a couple of hours till his next mission, so he decided to check his email. He was surprised to see one from Mac. He quickly opened it. He couldn't believe what he read. He remembered Mac writing him about the situation at JAG. This definitely changes things for them. Maybe things would wok out after all. He saw an email from Bud and Harriet. It was a picture of Bud, Harriet, and the boys. Harm felt a pang of jealousy towards Bud. To him, Bud had everything he wanted. Bud had a wife, 2 beautiful children, and 2 more on the way. Harm always dreamed of having children. He wanted to be the father he never had. With Mac's condition, the chances of them having a child dwindled.

The funny thing was that Harm didn't care if he was the biological father of his children. As long as Mac was by his side, Harm would adopt every child he could. But first, he had to ask Mac to marry him. He conveniently forgot to mention the engagement ring he bought. An old friend of his makes jewelry, and offered to make Harm's. Harm designed the ring and hoped his friend could make it. It was 2 ½ carat diamonds joined together to form a heart perfectly. Surrounding the heart were 9 smaller diamonds. One diamond for each year they've known each other. He carried the ring every time he went up. Somehow, the thought of marrying Mac gave him the strength to accomplish the missions.

Harm decided to respond to both emails starting with Mac's.

TO: Ninjagirmarinecorps.mil

FROM: Stickboynavy.mil

Sarah,

I have a break between missions, so I decided to check my email. I've never heard of a fit rep including subordinated. Judging be what you're saying, Admiral McIntyre has no idea about that part. I'm glad though. I understand his intention, but he's going about it the wrong way. I'm a little surprised Bud hasn't mentions any of this to me. I get emails from him all the time. I figure he doesn't want me to worry. I think I'll email him and let him know to hang in there.

On a better note, everything is going well. I have a mission tonight and tomorrow night. Not sure what the future holds after that.

On a more personal note, I enjoyed our conversation last night. I'm glad I was able to give you pleasant dreams. Mine were pleasant also. I love hearing your voice, especially when I am giving you pleasure. I can't wait till I see your gorgeous face, and kiss your sweet lips, and hold your beautiful body next to mine. I'm counting down the days till we see each other again. I'm going to email Bud now. Take care, Sarah. I love you.

Harm

Harm quickly emailed Bud to let him know that he was there for him and could email him anytime. He then decided to catch a little power nap before going up.

Mac came back from her errands and found an envelop on the floor just inside her room. She opened it to find a short note.

'Midnight, men's barracks.'

Checking her internal clock, Mac figured she had an hour till she had to leave. Mac decided to take a quick shower and spend sometime going over the case. Maybe there was something she missed. 45 minutes later, Mac wasn't any closer to figuring out what the stranger wanted. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She got the men's barracks with 5 minutes to spare. She looked around to see if her mysterious guest showed up yet, but she didn't' see anyone. Suddenly, Mac felt an hand on her shoulder and gasped.

Purely reacting on instinct, Mac grabbed the hand and flipped her would-be assailant over her shoulder. The guy landed on the grass with the wind knocked out of him. Positioning her feet on the man's neck, Mac spoke.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the one who sent you the note, Colonel."

Mac quickly released him. The man stood up, brushed the grass of his BDU and saluted Mac.

"Lance Corporal Jackson, ma'am."

"At ease, Corporal. I figured you would know better than to sneak up on a marine."

"I should have known better. Me six is definitely going to feel sorry in the morning."

"That it will. You mind telling me why you sent me the note?"

"Certainly, ma'am. I have some information I think Corporal Elliot failed to mention to you, ma'am."

"And what exactly is that?"

"The girlfriend."

"He mentioned Corporal Bell had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, but did he mention he was dating her first?"

"No, he didn't mention that. How do you know this?"

"I use to be Corporal Elliot's roommate while he was seeing Gabrielle"

"So her name is Gabrielle."

"Yes, ma'am. Gabrielle Turner."

"I can see why he may keep that from me. It would lead to motive."

"Especially if I told you that they had a huge fight over her."

"Why wasn't there any incident report?"

"That's because there wasn't on file, ma'am. I don't think Corporal Elliot wanted to draw attention to himself."

"Why do you say that?"

"There's always been something a little off about him, ma'am. Like he's hiding something."

"Ok. Is there anything else, Corporal?"

"No, ma'am. That's about it."

"Ok. Thanks for the information."

"No problem, ma'am. Just glad to help."

With a salute, Lance Corporal Jackson turned and left a very puzzled Mac. The information he gave her only seemed to validate her suspicions. She headed back to her room and emailed both Bud and Harm her findings.

The next morning, Bud awoke with a feeling of dread. He always loved going to work, but now he despised going to work. His new CO made physical therapy look like fun. Bud wasn't sure how much longer he could take this. He knew he couldn't leave because Harriet was pregnant, and he had a family to support. He decided to go into work early so he can check his email. Once he got there he booted his computer, and he noticed an email from Mac. He read the email and agreed with Mac's suspicions. He decided to see if he could locate Gabrielle. At least he would feel he was doing something productive. He had just hit the send button when Admiral McIntyre entered his office. Bud immediately stood at attention.

"You're here early, Commander."

"Yes, sir. Just wanted to get a jump on things, sir."

"Well make sure to see me after the staff meeting. I have some files I need to review."

With that, McIntyre left. Bud plopped down in his chair and sighed. This week would make a month since the admiral arrived. Since he got here, Bud had yet to be sent on an investigation. All the admiral had him do was chart reviews, filing, and write wills. He was getting tried of it. He knew he was a damn good lawyer. He didn't know what to do anymore. That's when he noticed the email form Harm. It warmed his heart to know Harm was offering his help. He didn't think he would want to be bothered with his problems. After all, he's flying in a war zone, and he is in the beginning of a new relationship with Mac. He decided to take Harm upon his offer and replied to the email. Once he was done, Bud gathered his things; relieved he had people like Mac and Harm in his life.

Well there you have it. I hope you enjoyed it. As I said. I have some action instore for the next chapter. Now all you have to do is hit the lilac button and reply. You know you want to. (evil grin)