Title : All that matters…
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Rating : T (In line with new ratings.)
Spoilers : None specific, but set in current series, and covering previous events.
Okay, so the reviews I got prompted a third chapter, and no end in sight, yet! This one is from the point of view of Jennifer, as she sees more of Harm and Mac out of the office than most of the others.
To all who reviewed the first two chapters, thank you.
Thanks in particular to Manda, froggy0319, jtbwriter, Lisa, JAGfanatic, Bite Beccy, Beach chickJASSNL, cbw, JAGJenni, starryeyes10, snugglebug, Princess-RainbowRose, LiseGirardi, Beach chickJASSNL and XBlueShadowX
They're doing it again.
Standing close together. The way they used to, when they were friends. It hasn't been that way for a long time, and it makes me wonder just what happened at Christmas, when Mac…well, I suppose I should call her Colonel, but this is my mind talking here, and not my mouth, so I'll stick with Mac. It's easier.
Where was I? Oh, yes…Christmas, and they had drifted apart again, and then Harm got a call to go to the hospital in Sleepy Hollow because Mac had been in an accident. Somehow she had managed to write off her Corvette in an instant of missed concentration. Not something that was associated with Mac in recent months. If anything, she had been too precise with everything and everyone. Especially Harm. Even when he wasn't doing anything, he was her target for snide comments, and innuendo. It was so unfair, I thought, that he had lost Mattie to her father, Sergei to his new family in Russia, and Webb – although Webb had actually faked his death (a second time, so I was told by Bud) – as a friend. As for Mac, nothing he did seemed to please her; if he ignored her she was mad, and if he tried to talk to her she was mad. In the end, he gave up, and communicated through others. That made Mac mad too. But I digress…
When Harm got the call from the hospital he rushed over there, risking his own life on the same road Mac had nearly lost hers. The road crew were just putting to rights the damage the Corvette had caused, broken barriers, and parts of the tree, not to mention the car itself, sitting crumpled and forlorn on the back of a flat bed truck. As Harm passed the remains of the red sports car his eyes widened. No one should have survived that! His thoughts turned to what the hospital had told him again. Patient Sarah Mackenzie. His name mentioned over and over. His card in her purse. The concerned paramedic who found the card, and associated the name Mac muttered with the name on the card. The paramedic who had convinced the nurse on duty to call the number on the card.
Since that night, and the many that followed Mac's release from hospital and return to active duty, she and Harm have spent a lot of time together – ostensibly working on current cases, and catching up on other files that Harm took on while Mac was on medical leave. There are nights when I can hear them laughing, talking animatedly, arguing even. There are nights also when I hear nothing, but I know they are both in there; in Harm's apartment. On those nights I take a look out of my window, and I see Mac's rental parked up next to Harm's SUV. It's always gone in the morning though, when I catch up with Harm for our usual ride into work. As Harm says, it seems a little pointless me taking a cab when he's right on my doorstep and going the same way! I don't know how Mac does it, but she's always in JAG ahead of us, and Harm can only smile and nod his head as I point out this fact, day after day.
And here we are. I'm sat at my desk outside the General's office, and the pair of them are stood by the photocopier, heads together, talking quietly. It might be about a case, for all I know, but I'm sure it isn't. It seems a little too cosy for that.
"Coates, ask Rabb and Mackenzie to come see me," asks the General, through his open door. Damn, I didn't see that! I was too busy watching for more signs…Strike one!
"On my way, sir," I respond crisply, and hope that I'm not going to get another reprimand for that little lapse in concentration. Problem is, since I've noticed Harm and Mac noticing each other, I've been neglecting other duties, such as fetching the General his morning coffee, and bringing in the mail on time. Well, I was unable to get near the coffee machine one morning, as Harm and Mac were in the break room, and if I didn't know better, they had been doing something other than making coffee! To look at them, you'd never have guessed, but I know them better than most – except maybe Bud, and Sturgis – and there was a definite rosy glow to Mac's cheeks, and an extra lift to the corner of Harm's mouth. What really gave the game away, however, was the smudge of brown lip gloss on the edge of that smile he gave me as I excused myself and returned to my office empty handed. The General was there, waiting for me.
"My coffee, Coates?" he asked, and I pretended to be out of step and returned to the break room for a second attempt at the coffee machine. Harm and Mac had left the room, ostensibly to return to their offices, but somehow they still ended up walking side by side as they passed Bud. Their greeting was friendly, as always, asking about Harriet and the twins, and the two older boys. As Godparents to all four Roberts children, Harm and Mac keep in constant touch with the couple who are their friends as well as work colleagues. I was reminded of my task by the sound of a throat clearing, and I hastily entered the break room and poured the coffee. Strike two!
I get to my feet now and head toward the two offices, side by side, about to pop my head around each door and summon the occupant to the General's office. I'm beaten, however, by both Harm and Mac opening their own doors and coming out of the offices in perfect coordinating movements.
"Coates?" They even speak together!
"Er…I…The General, sir, ma'am. He'd like to see you in his office."
"Good," answers Harm, smiling briefly at Mac. "We need to see him, too."
"Oh. Right. After you, then." I wait until they pass me, and then I follow them back to my office, watching carefully as they enter the General's inner sanctum. Harm, as usual, knocks once against the solid wood of the door frame, and then steps back to let Mac precede him into the office. As he follows her, he closes the door with one hand, but I have time to notice his other hand lightly pressing against the small of her back. I hear his voice say the usual : "Rabb and Mackenzie, as ordered, sir."
"Take a seat," replies the General, and then the soundproofing takes effect as the door closes fully, and clicks shut. Harm and Mac are in with the General for the better part of an hour, and when they exit the room, with the General following right behind, he is smiling. Smiling! At this time in the morning? It's unheard of since I became the General's Yeoman. We have a fair minded working relationship, he and I, but I know that I am not irreplaceable, and I do like my current post at JAG. I rise to my feet as the three of them pass my desk.
I sit down at my desk once more, and try to decipher the signals my senior officers, and friends, are giving to each other, and I come to only one conclusion.
I need to call Harriet!
"Roberts' residence; AJ speaking," says a little boy's voice, and I smile at the thought of the blond haired youngster answering the telephone.
"Hello, AJ. This is Jennifer. Is your mommy there, please?"
"Yes." I hear the receiver being thumped down on a hard surface and I cringe at the resulting noise, before cringing once more at the loud bellow. I'm surprised such a deafening sound can come from such a small, angelic looking child. "Mommy! It's Jenfer!"
What seems like seconds later, I can't be sure – my ears are still ringing! – I hear Harriet's voice.
"Hello? Jennifer? Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine, Harriet. No problem at JAG. Well, not exactly, anyway…" I tail off as I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. "Listen, Harriet, let me call you back on my cell phone. I don't want to be caught by the General making a personal call."
"Oh, okay. You're sure nothing is wrong? Bud's okay, isn't he?"
"Bud's fine, Harriet. It's the Colonel and the Commander…"
"What about the Colonel, Coates?" The General is stood in front of my desk, and I replace the receiver, hoping that Harriet has caught his voice too, and understands why I'm hanging up on her!
Strike Three!
To be continued...? (Please say 'yes'; I've written another chapter! :o) )
