A/N - I felt very shippery (inventing adjectives is a hobby of mine), and wanted this chapter to start a slightly lighter side of my story. I've been trying to post this up for some time, but the recent downtimes on haven't helped. :)

Mac managed to shift the folders from under her arm into the box on her desk before letting her briefcase down beside her. After a moment of juggling, she placed all her belongings onto the cardboard box, slid her hands into the slots on the sides, and picked it up with a groan.

The snow had started to fall earlier that day, leaving a thin layer of frost on the ground. Most of the flakes melted instantaneously after hitting the ground, but many continued to float down lazily, taking their place.

Finally, after much exertion, she had managed to bring the files outside and was starting towards her 'vette. She put the box down for a moment and sighed, swallowing hard and straightening her cover on her head.

Harm stood at the JAG building steps and watched as she bent over to get the box again. He jogged towards her as his feet crunched against the icy ground, rounded Mac's front and grabbed her suitcase from the top, considerably lightening the load.

"I have weak wrists," she heaved as she continued on her way, "and I remind you that I pushed a goddamn car."

"I know."

Mac opened her car door, slid the box into the backseat and closed it, turning around and leaning against the car door. "Have a nice time with Mattie?"

He nodded and stepped back towards his Lexus. "Why the box?"

"I'm convinced that I need to re-organize my caseloads. My desk looks like a mess."

"Scared of Cresswell?"

"Hell yes," she breathed. "Need to impress him with something."

Harm opened her car door and smiled, throwing the briefcase into the passenger seat. "I thought so. But you even admitted today that you were being paranoid and you just won a high-profile murder trial."

Mac rounded him and went to close the door. She swung her arm against it with a frown and sighed. Harm yelped in surprise and pain, withdrawing his hand from the car door and cuffed it gingerly. "The door!"

"Oh, God. Harm?" she hurried over to him and examined his right hand, where a long cut left the flesh torn and frayed along his index and middle finger. The blood had already started to drip down his wrist and stained the white shirt of his uniform that peeked from under the jacket. "I'm so sorry! We'd better get you to the emergency room."

He hissed in a breath and pulled his hand away from her. "I just need a bandage."

She pushed him to his Lexus, grabbing the keys from his pocket as she went. "Get in."

Mac slid into the driver's seat after ushering him to the passenger side. She leaned towards him, seeing a tissue box between the two seats. She grabbed several and pressed them against his fingers, and watched with unease as the light color of the tissue quickly succumbed to the inky blood. "We'll go now, alright?"

He nodded and leaned back in the chair, squeezing the tissues to his hand and sighing heavily. "Fine. My it's starting to go numb anyway."

She adjusted the seat in the vehicle to her own stature before she sped out of the lot and onto the virtually deserted road.

Five stitches later ("It didn't hurt!" Harm had insisted), they were in front of Harm's apartment. The white, unattractive bandages made his two fingers appear swollen, and diminished his motor skills considerably. He fumbled with the keys for a moment, cursing under his breath as he tried to hold them properly between his forefinger and thumb.

She leaned against the wall, studying him and restraining herself from snatching the keys from his hand and opening the door herself. Finally, he turned them in the lock and pushed his way inside, taking another few seconds to get a grasp on the keys and pull them out.

Mac followed, holding his suitcase in her right hand, and hers in the other. She went to the couch and dropped their things and spun around, preparing to leave before she would need to free herself from any awkward moments. Harm closed the door behind him slowly and watched her as she eyed the door with interest.

"You want some tea? I mean, it's late. Just something before you drive home."

"We weren't there for that long."

"More like two hours."

"One hour and forty-six minutes," she sighed, taking off her cover and studying it in her hands. "Those hospital chairs should be…illegal. My back is killing me."

He walked towards the counter and opened a cupboard beneath the surface, pulling out a box of Tetley. "I'm not much of a tea-enthusiast. Don't have all those weird assortments."

"Neither do I." She conceded defeat and followed him. She gently pried the box from his grasp and arched an incredulous brow. "I'll get it ready. It's been a tough night for you."

Harm furrowed his brow, studying his clumsy looking hand and prodding at his index finger. "I've been through much worse."

"Stop that."

He shrugged off his jacket and carefully removed his arm from the sleeve before throwing the clothing across the room to the couch. He missed the target by about three meters; the jacket was left in a messy heap beside the window.

Mac laughed and started up Harm's stove before filling his kettle with water. "I'm really sorry, you know."

"Don't worry about it."

"Really," she maintained, "if I wasn't so careless-"

"Fine then," he interrupted, irritated by her unrelenting apologies, rounding the counter to sit on one of the barstools, "you'll owe me. Are you happy now?"

Mac shot him a pointed look before readying the cups in front of her. He looked perfectly serious, and decided to elicit a carefully though out response upon seeing his face. "That depends."

"On what?" his eyebrows shot up, not expecting such a reaction.

"Well, if you wanted to get even and slam my finger in the car door, I'd say no deal."

"That wasn't what I had in mind," he muttered, watching her as she poured the freshly boiled water over the teabags.

"I'd like to know what you do have in mind," she said, pushing the cup towards him.

He blew over the steaming mug before using his good hand to hold it to his lips. "I'll think of something when the circumstances arise."

"You don't leave all these open opportunities to Squids and hope they'll do the right thing," she murmured, "because they never do."

Mac traced his previous path and took a place on the barstool to the left of him. He eyed her thoughtfully before continuing. "So, you think Cresswell's alright now?"

She considered for a moment, weighing all the factors in her mind, as she peered at him through her lashes. "Now that I know he's not going to make life hell…I guess so."

"But still…" Harm prompted, feeling her trail of thought was not yet complete.

"With a new guy here, the Admiral really being gone hits you," she finished. He nodded and continued to sip the tea mindfully. "With Sturgis in his spot, it was a bit different, that's all."

"The whole office misses Chegwidden," Harm agreed, "and we were all a bit anxious. You just showed it more than everyone else."

Her initial reaction was to debunk his statement, but she realized it was true. Through the corner of her eye, she could see the glow cast off by the street lights below, and the jovial bouncing of the snowflakes as they whirled around, getting caught in the updrafts, and falling victim to gravity at the same time.

"It's coming down harder," Harm said, noticing her gaze linger at the window, "driving is going to be a pain."

"But Christmas is closer," Mac reminded him of his words the other day. She shifted her cup to the table, noticing she had been left with the last dregs of her tea for some time; she tucked the thought away at the back of her mind.

"Looking forward to it now, I see."

"I just hope it's…satisfactory," she admitted. "I mean, I'm setting my standards low. Things haven't been exactly going my way lately."

He nodded and put his own mug on the table, propping his head up with his arm. "Maybe I can use your 'IOU' now."

Mac bent her head towards him with interest. "Go on."

"You owe me…dinner on Christmas Eve."

"Oh." The shape of her mouth mirrored the sound perfectly.

"Unless you have plans."

"You and the girls…you're a family, and I-"

"If you're really so uncomfortable you should know…" Harm swallowed hard. He hadn't told her yet. "Jen's taking Christmas off and going out with a few of her friends from her classes. Mattie is spending the Christmas break with her dad, back at Blacksburg." He changed the subject before she could question it further. "If you don't want to, that's fine. I just thought we could talk."

"Wait," she said, ignoring the second part of his response, "you and her…"

"Mac…" he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Harm."

"She's happy. That's all that matters. And what we had was great while it lasted." He rubbed the back of his neck and flexed his bad hand on the counter in front of him.

Mac shifted her cup around in small circular pathways on the counter in front of her, unaware of the unnerving scraping noise that filled the room. "I think she really helped you overcome everything. Of all things, she was probably a positive influence on you."

"Was I really that incorrigible?"

"I never said that," she smiled, "but I'm proud of what you did for her."

"Thanks," he said genuinely.

"Not that you need my praise, Harm. You've never needed it to do what you believe in."

Both of them were done with their drinks, but neither made a move to end the conversation.

"That's not true," he said immediately. "You don't know what your support means to me, Mac. The lack of it nearly killed me after Paraguay."

Her breath caught in her throat and she got up, taking her mug with her. She went to his sink and washed it out absentmindedly. "Paraguay was a mistake. You know I'm sorry for it all, right?"

He didn't respond. She turned around and saw he hadn't budged, hoping that he wasn't still resenting her. "I should have been there for you when you went to the CIA. I knew the Navy was what you lived for."

"I'm sorry also."

"What for?"

"Things just went downhill when we didn't talk to each other properly. That's my fault, too."

Mac sighed and leaned forward on the counter slightly while rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I was stupider."

"I could argue with you for days about which one of us is at fault more, but I think we'd go around in circles," he groaned as he pushed himself up. "I guess the whole 'talking' thing is why I tried so hard after the investigation that day, with the pizza and all, to get the ball rolling."

She nodded and started to her discarded belongings on the couch. "I understand."

"I guess I kicked the ball the other goddamn way, huh?"

"If you did, I think we just got it back on track." She smiled as she hung her coat on her arm as Harm went to the door and opened it for her, watching her as she stepped into the hall.

"Goodnight, Mac."

"I'll see you tomorrow," she nodded, "and about dinner?"

He had almost forgotten and tried to hide the surprise (and overwhelming elation) from his face. "Yeah?"

"I'd like to talk, too. About everything."

Harm decided to walk her to the elevator and followed her as she went down the hall. Each quiet click of her heels made his spine tingle; maybe everything was finally working out. She went into the elevator car, and he helped her close the door. The loud squeaking and scraping of the hinges nearly made her jump, but she managed to feign nonchalance, shifting her belongings in her arms.

"I like it more when we end our day like this," he said.

"Me too," she acceded, taking a step towards him and putting her hand up to the heavy metal grate.

He mirrored her move with his good hand and squeezed her fingers through the tiny holes. He was in a sudden state of euphoria, and before he could form a coherent thought in his head, he reached further, brushing his fingers to her wrist. He was then aware of each pulsing beat that emanated to the tips of his fingers as his heart stepped it up a notch.

Mac withdrew, extricating herself from his grasp and let out a great sigh. "I'd better get to bed. Need to impress Cresswell, remember? Can't very well do that when I look all haggardly and drowsy."

"Bye."

Harm finally closed the full outer door as she waved back and pressed the button to descend. The elevator moaned softly before moving below, but she kept her gaze on him until he was out of sight.

TBC