Reaching Out – Chapter 9
Author: Arian
Rating: PG13
Disclaimers: Don't own them, and after several fabulous episodes this season, I can live with that. Until DPB throws another wrench in the works, then I'll try to hijack them.

A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone again for the support. I would also like to take just a second to say thank you to all of the amazing writers that share with us on a regular basis. While this is not my first fic, it reminds me how much time and effort it takes to write a story. Thanks for the great reviews Maria, Mari, Little Eirtae, lumosgirl03, SarahRabb705, zoomie, Navy Babe, Jackia, maidenpride21, guitarvixen (I hear ya, I just took down my pumpkin lights yesterday :), aserene (whoo hoo, I agree about a scruffy Rabb), and froggy0319 (thanks for continually reviewing and for all of the encouragement.)

October 30th
St. Regis Hotel
923 16th and K St. NW
2351 EST

Mac didn't even pause. As she saw the ghost of Lt. Lee turn and move away from the window, she knew she couldn't lose her. The woman hadn't moved on to the next phase of life for a reason; something was still holding her here. Scared she would disappear completely, Mac quickly made her way to the patio doors and stepped out into the cold night air.

The just-past-full moon hung in the sky, casting deep shadows around the patio. Glimpsing Lt. Lee moving along the side of the hotel toward the back, Mac took off after her. Turning the corner, Mac stepped around the low balustrade lining the patio and looked into a utility parking lot. She stepped onto the pavement and out of the light from the windows just as Harm came out of the ballroom.

Seeing a red flash toward the back of the building, Harm took off. It was extremely cold for an October night in DC, and he could almost see his breath in the air. He couldn't understand why she hadn't waited for him, and the thought of losing her in the darkness quickened his pace even further. Reaching the parking lot in the rear, he couldn't see Mac anywhere. What he did notice sent a chill down his spine. A long alleyway split off from the open space, and he could hear footsteps at a running pace moving away from him.

'This has to be the darkest alley in DC!' Mac thought as she made her way around a dumpster. As if in response to her wariness, the misty woman in front of her turned and beckoned. Knowing Harm had to be right behind her, she plunged into the darkness after the spirit.

As Harm ran across the lot he juggled their coats to pull his gun from his waistband. Something about this situation did not sit well with him, and the fact that he couldn't see Mac ahead in the darkness unsettled him further. Suddenly the sounds in the close space changed. He slowed his steps, trying for silence. And silence was what he heard. Mac's footsteps no longer beat against the pavement. Suddenly he heard the tearing of fabric and it spurred him once again to motion.

What he saw ahead in the faint light from the next street made his stomach clench. Mac was struggling with a man dressed completely in black. Their arms were locked together and while normally she wouldn't have had a problem taking down someone twice her size, the train attached to her wrist was encumbering her movements.

Time slowed. He saw the man's leg come out and reach under Mac's, tripping her sideways. Using her dress to his advantage, he managed to turn her around and get and arm across her chest, while reaching behind him for a sick looking blade. Harm knew he had to do something, had to help her somehow.

At the same time Mac had only one thought in her head. 'Don't let him turn you toward the street. He wants you to see the escape to freedom when you die, he won't do it until them. Use his pattern against him.' So instead of struggling to get free she turned into him, spinning them away from the opening to the street. It was then she caught sight of Harm silently making his way toward them.

Taking a deep breath, Harm tried to gauge the situation. The killer now had his knife in hand, and was struggling to turn Mac away from him. Fighting with everything she had, she managed to turn back in the direction she had come, catching Harm's eye. There was no fear in her gaze, only determination and longing. Her bravery caught at his heart.

"Things just aren't going your way this time, are they?" he spoke aloud. The killer spun around but maintained his grip on Mac, now bringing the knife to her throat. She stopped struggling, realizing the outcome of the situation would depend on Harm's quick wit and silver tongue.

"This one can't look like the others now. You've got a witness and a compromised crime scene." Harm was trying to speak calmly, but the sight of the knife near her neck was unhinging him.

"What makes you think that will stop me?" With a cruel smile the man moved the knife slightly against her neck, and Mac gasped as the smooth edge of the blade bit into her skin. She swallowed and took a deep breath, staring into Harm's eyes. She drew strength from them and blinked calmly to let him know she was ok.

Harm got her message. "So who were they to you? Stacey, Darcy, Amanda. Girlfriends? Someone you wanted and couldn't have?"

"Sluts, that's what they were." The man snarled. A streetlight behind him flickered on and while the alleyway remained dark, it was just enough for Harm to make out his features. The man looked familiar, and after struggling to place him for a second, Harm suddenly realized it was one of the waiters from the party.

"So you could have them? Did have them?" Harm just wanted to keep him talking. They had been brought here and Mac had been placed in danger for a reason. He needed to find out that reason.

"I wouldn't have touched them with a ten foot pole." He backed away from Harm a little, and put more pressure on the weapon at Mac's throat. She winced and gritted her teeth, but didn't make a sound.

"But you did touch them. You held them as you killed them. Just like you're holding her right now." Harm knew he was taking a chance by challenging the man, and as he took a step closer fear settled heavily into his chest. The man's eyes were completely wild, and Harm could see madness in them that made the situation highly unpredictable. He tightened his hold on his sidearm, hoping it wouldn't come down to him firing in Mac's general direction.

"Well I guess we have to endure some things in life to make the world a better place." Suddenly the man's voice changed, taking on a whining, pleading note. "You don't understand, they were just like her. She," and he shook Mac with his arm, "is just like HER!"

Harm didn't know what to do. A single drop of blood dripped down her neck and settled in her collarbone. Waiting for the right moment, he knew he had to keep the madman talking. He wanted to cry out 'like who?' but instead settled for something unthreatening. "How do you know they are?"

"Because they do the same thing. And if I didn't kill them they would probably have brats of their own and then leave them. Just like she did. She didn't care about me and Dad. Instead she turned to one of her own. Like the slut she was, she left us to run off with another officer. My 'mother' didn't love us, and it broke his heart. I grew up without a real mother because she fraternized. Isn't fraternizing something you're supposed to do with the enemy? Of course it is." During the man's rambling, Harm was moving closer. "Don't you come any nearer!!! Don't you see? Women shouldn't be in the service because they can't keep their damn legs closed! I watched them all. I watched them smile and laugh their fake little laughs because the man they were with wore a uniform. Well I'm not going to let it happen again. She won't leave ME AGAIN!!!"

Mac had stopped listening long ago. She could get the cliff notes from Harm later. Instead she closed her eyes and focused her awareness on every movement the man holding her made. As he screamed into the sky at the injustice of his life she felt the blade at her neck inch away minutely. Realizing if she made the wrong move she would be dead, she opened her eyes and looked at Harm for only an instant.

He watched as she looked at him and began to move. Her neck and head pushed down to her chest, onto the blade and then whipped back into the man's face. The man's arms loosened further in shock from the head butt giving her room to elbow him in the head and step hard into his instep. Spinning out of his grip she sank low, and thankful of her loose skirts swept his feet out from under him. The man went down hard, smashing his head on the wall of the alley and coming to rest in a motionless heap.

Keeping his aim trained on the waiter, Harm moved to help Mac from her crouched position. Putting an arm around her waist, he heard movement at the end of the alley and saw police rushing into the area. The man's final scream had alerted everyone within a block radius that something wasn't right. Keeping his vigilant stance until he was sure the man was secured, he turned to look at her.

Feeling his gaze she lifted hers from the man at their feet to Harm's face. Her hair was completely disheveled, falling out of the pins that held it in place, and her face was smudged from struggling with the maniac. What pained him the most was the cut across her throat, which had been made deeper by her defensive actions. While still only a flesh wound, it dripped blood down her neck and he grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket to hold against it. She winced and then smiled at him before they were overwhelmed by agents.

0238 EST

Mac sat quietly in a lobby chair, watching the activity around her. Harm was near the front desk speaking with several NCIS agents, including Kate Todd. She heard a chair shift next to her and turned to meet the gaze of her new commanding officer.

"Colonel MacKenzie, I hear that you disarmed and took Mr. Connors out by yourself. Have you received medical attention yet?" The man's open and frank gaze took her by surprise.

Nodding slightly, then realizing she was addressing a Major General and a Marine she nodded again more sharply. The motion caused the bandage at her neck to pull, but maintained her eye contact. "Yes, sir."

"Good. What you did tonight it a testament to your training and your courage. You're a good Marine, Colonel. I can't wait to see what you can do in the courtroom." His understated smile surprised her. "Commander, what can you tell us?"

Mac had missed Harm's approach, and he now stood stiffly in front of them. "Sir, Mr. Connor's mother was in the Navy. His father was not in the service, and apparently resented his wife's involvement in the military. After the marriage collapsed, Connors' father poisoned his mind, telling him that his mother left them for another officer. The lie was unfortunately reinforced when after several years Connors' mother married a fellow Marine in a different chain of command.

At the breakup of the marriage, his father started drinking heavily, and it eventually killed him. Somehow Connors believed his father died of a broken heart caused by his allegedly philandering mother. NCIS has pulled her service record, and there is no mention of any impropriety. Ensign Rice, Petty Officer Holmes and Lieutenant Lee were last seen with male members of their unit. It's assumed that Connors saw them, believed they were fraternizing just like his mother supposedly had and he snapped. NCIS is looking to see if they can link any other murders to the case." Harm delivered the report without looking at Mac. The entire situation revolved around the concept of conduct unbecoming and fraternization, the very core of Mac's apprehension about working with the General.

General Creswell cocked his head slightly. "And apparently he saw you tonight, and believed the same thing of the Colonel. How did you end up outside in the alley?"

Mac's stomach clenched at the implication, and wondered quickly how to explain that she had visions on a regular basis that ended up assisting her. Deciding to bypass the topic completely she simply stated, "Gut feeling, sir."

"I see. And do you act on these gut feelings on a regular basis Colonel?"

"Sometimes sir. I believe it is what makes me a good lawyer." She lifted her chin defiantly.

Harm had been proud of her courage in the alley, and was a little shocked at it now. When he saw the General's eyes narrow, he mentally prepared himself for the ass-chewing about to be delivered to his Marine.

"I see. Carry on." With that he stood and left the lobby, surprising them both. Mac let out a pent up breath and turned to Harm.

"How am I supposed to take that? He almost came right out and said we gave the impression of impropriety, and then just accepts my gut feeling as a reason for rash action?" She was bewildered and completely thrown off balance by the man's reaction.

"I'm not sure Mac. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. But can I suggest that we get you home?" Holding out her cape, he placed it over her shoulders and guided her out of the hotel.

Mac's Apartment Parking Lot
Georgetown
0312 EST

"So what about the knife? It was a military issue blade, where did he get that?" Mac was still trying to find any holes in the case against Connors in order to make it air tight in the end. She wanted to make sure the man spent a very very long time in prison getting the help he needed.

"It is, but we're not sure where it came from. The boots either. Online site, Army/Navy store who knows? The first murder seems to have been spontaneous, so it's unlikely he planned to frame the Marines. Maybe he just liked combat boots and carried a knife. Could be it made sense to him to have Marine gear since his mother was Navy. I'm not really sure. But it's a good thing the case doesn't have to hinge on circumstantial evidence like a Marine issue knife." Harm pulled the vehicle into her parking lot and put it into park.

"True. And it's really all just speculation at this point anyway until Connor's wakes up and makes a statement. I'm just glad it's over." Slipping out of the car Mac suddenly felt a little dizzy. While her training had kept her together up to this point, coming home had cast everything in sharp relief. Grabbing on to the side of the Lexus, she closed her eyes quickly to clear her head. Walking around the vehicle to help her out, Harm watched her shake her head and was immediately at her side.

"You ok Marine?" He grabbed on to both of her arms to steady her, and was relieved when she looked up at him.

"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed. Give me a minute." She closed her eyes, and with her disheveled hair and bandaged neck she looked vulnerable and lost. Harm quickly pulled her into his arms. She shuddered a little bit, and then wrapped her arms around him.

Holding her close, he worried but didn't push her. After a while she began to pull away. "Sorry Harm, I just got a little dizzy. Not such a tough Marine after all, huh?"

He kept his hold on her arms and pulled back enough to look into her eyes. "Mac, I have never been more proud of anyone than I was when you took that creep out. You always say you can take care of yourself, and you sure as hell did." She smiled a bit at that. "But let me tell you, if you EVER do anything crazy like that again I don't know what I'll do. For a second I thought you were saying goodbye with that look you gave me."

She shrugged and frowned. "I knew it could go wrong, so maybe I was. But I had to take the chance. I couldn't let him kill anymore women. Are you mad?" She looked up at him calmly, with her head tipped to the side. The adrenaline still in his system made him hyper-alert to the way her chest expanded with each breath she took, the way her soft hair trailed across his hands on her shoulders, and the way the remaining moonlight highlighted her skin.

"No. I was just scared of losing you. And I'm tired of being scared of it." With that he lowered his head to claim her lips.

While in the middle of the dance floor he had wanted to kiss her out of passion, there were so many more feelings involved now. He kissed her with the fear he had felt seeing her in Connors' grip, with the relief he knew when she was safely back in his arms. Sliding his hands up to cup her face, he tried to show her how much he loved her, and how much he didn't ever want to lose her.

She felt all of it, his fear, relief, anger and passion. And movement for movement she matched it with her own. Somewhere in the very back of her mind a tiny voice reminded her that things would get very complicated with their new CO, that this evening should have shown her the danger of getting involved. But the love she felt in his kiss drove that voice out of her head. She simply didn't care, because this was right. Of everything in the world, this was absolutely right. And she was ready for it.

Breaking apart only slightly, she smiled up at him. "Happy Halloween Harm." He chuckled softly, and kissed her lightly on the nose. Slipping his arm under her coat and around her waist, they both turned to walk towards her building. As they approached the door, they caught a movement in the shadows. Turning as one, they met the gaze of the woman standing before them. Lieutenant Darcy Lee smiled softly and placed her hand over her heart in a silent thank you. As she faded into the night, Harm and Mac snapped a smart salute to the fallen officer.

"I guess it's finally over." Harm mused as Mac unlocked the front door.

Turning to take his hand she looked up at him. "Maybe. I prefer to think that it's finally starting." With a smile of her own she drew him past the jack-o-lanterns on the stoop and into the building.

The End.