Title : When You're Ready...
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 : G to PG-13 (Just in case!)
To all the readers/reviewers shown – thanks for the support, and hope you like what's coming up!
cbw; cool cat; froggy0319; Lisa Brown; ryne'smom; anna7; harmsgirl-03; Dana; suz573; Grace; jaggurl; Nikki; Kirsty; kirsten; ss; Arian04; GuitarVixen; iammusic; JennaTripped; JagFan; starryeyes10; Kavi Leighanna; SarahRabb705; BrokenSkye; NavyCB; SailorGirl; moe; katydid13; serendipity112233; Dreamer20715
Outside the Courtroom – JAG Headquarters
"See you around," Alicia murmured as she began to walk away from Harm. At the sound of his voice, she paused and turned back to look at him.
"If you find another miscarriage of justice to right, yes."
"Oh? And here I was thinking our dinner was more than a business affair. I was wrong?"
Harm nodded.
"I see. Then may I know the name of the woman who is lucky enough to take my place?"
"No-one has 'taken your place'," Harm repeated Alicia's own words back at her. "The relationship I have has been long-standing."
"Then you shouldn't have encouraged me, Commander," Alicia berated gently, but Harm shook his head in denial. "You didn't state that you were involved with anyone," she added a little petulantly
"I didn't have to. What we had was a necessary meal of the day, at which time we chose to discuss the case at hand. A business dinner: no more, no less."
Mac's Apartment – Georgetown
"Hi. Can I come in?" Harm stood in Mac's open doorway, and she could only stand and stare at him. "Mac?" Harm prompted, his smile wavering slightly at her continued staring, as though he had grown two heads, or something.
"Oh...er...yeah, sure," Mac stepped back and Harm walked into the apartment, standing to one side as Mac closed the door. Moving back to the couch, Mac dropped to her previous position of leaning against the arm of the couch, her legs pulled up, her chin resting on her knees.
Harm followed her, and took a seat in the chair opposite.
"Mac, what happened today? Bud said his client gave you a hard time about his having four wives. Why did it bother you so much?"
"It didn't...at least, not the way he thought. I just...I believe in the sanctity of marriage, between two people, not five! I might not have got my marriage right, but at least it was only Chris and I."
"To his mind, he was with one wife, at any one time..." Harm paused at the expression of disgust on Mac's face. "I'm not defending him, Mac, just pointing out the obvious. He was only with one woman at a time, it just happened that he had four different women in different locations, that's all."
"That's all!" Mac almost bounced off the couch in her indignation, and Harm's neck went back when he tried to look up as she stood over him.
"Would you do that?" she asked, and Harm looked straight at her. The sudden realization hit him. This wasn't just about Bud's client, this was about him, and Alicia Montes, and Mac.
Getting to his feet and fielding Mac's burst of energy, Harm put his hands on her shoulders. Mac tried to move away, but Harm held her firmly, and as she raised her face to his the fight went out of her at the expression in his eyes. Mac realized she had been spoiling for a fight of some sort, verbally, but as she saw the look in Harm's eyes she knew there was nothing to fight about.
Without words, without any obvious acknowledgement, they came together in a kiss that started out in soft reassurance from Harm and ended in heated wanting from both of them, broken only by the need to breathe!
"Wow," mumbled Mac, from somewhere in the region of Harm's collar, and he grinned down at her.
"Yeah," he responded softly. "Wow!"
"I don't know where all the anger came from, but if this is the outcome, I'd quite happily go through it all again!"
"Do you want to talk about anything? Anything at all?"
"You had dinner with Alicia."
"Working dinner, that's all."
"Are you going to see her again?"
"Only on a professional basis, if necessary. Nothing else."
"Oh..." Mac murmured, lifting her head to look at Harm. "Does she know you're 'involved'?"
"She does now," Harm confirmed, grinning at Mac. "I put her straight, outside the courtroom this afternoon. After she kissed me..."
Mac began to stiffen in rejection of his embrace, but Harm held tight and finished his sentence.
"...on the cheek." Mac relaxed as Harm dropped a kiss on her forehead before speaking again.
"Just so you know, Sarah, and before you drop me where I stand, I should tell you that there are five women in my life already..." Harm laughed as Mac made a face of complete horror at his words, and then he explained. "There's you, without question, then Mattie, Chloe, Jen and Harriet, of course."
"You forgot one, or perhaps two, maybe even three?" Mac joined in Harm's teasing, and laughed at his confused expression in return. "There's your mother, and then perhaps another daughter, or two..."
"Heaven help me!" Harm groaned, and then dropped his head once more as Mac raised hers and their lips met.
To be continued
