Title – Through The Eye Of A Shipper – S10 E08 There Goes The Neighborhood

Author Name – Michi and Carol or Carol and Michi

E-mail – Michi at catherinebellfan 'at ' gmx.de or mp111275 'at' yahoo.de

Carol at writestories315 'at' yahoo .com

Rating – PG

Paring – Harm & Mac

Spoilers – Season 10 Episode 08 - 'There Goes The Neighborhood'

Disclaimer – JAG belongs to DPB, CBS, and Paramount.

Summary- How 'There Goes The Neighborhood' should've been continued when you saw it through the eye of a shipper… (Okay, this one actually happens before the last scene, so technically it's a 'missing scene'-story. Confusing, isn't it?).

Author's Notes-

1 - The plan is it to revisit every episode from season 10. However, this series doesn't have any strict rule. Sometimes it may be a follow-up, sometimes it could be a changed scene, or even a change to the entire episode. And if that doesn't work we could always do a 'missing scene'-story. This means the length of the story is based on the way we want to 'handle' the revisit. But don't worry…we plan to use more than 150 words!!!

2 - Thanks to Acer and Vered for the great beta work!!! The warning from last week is still necessary since none of us can say English is our native language – it's a true lie. (Carol is even claming English as her second language.)

3 - Since this series will deal with a just aired episode, it means that we risk having a FF that might seem like someone else's. There's hope that our ideas are unique, but should that not be the case we apologize and swear to our god and the chocolate that we did not know it or do it on purpose.

4 - Feedback is always welcome.

Harm's Apartment

North of Union Station

Washington, DC

8:53 PM

"Any idea when you want to start searching for a new apartment?" Harm asked Coates while opening the door of the elevator after its arrival on their floor.

They had just returned from the police department where Coates' nightmare finally found an end. She was told that the DNA from the hair on Vince Dolan's dead body didn't match her own and that she was free to go.

"As soon as possible, that's for sure," Jennifer answered determined as she walked out of the elevator. "Oh, good evening, Ma'am."

Harm walked out of the elevator and followed Jen's gaze to see who she had greeted. "Mac? Hi. This is a surprise. What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised to see his partner standing in front of his apartment door

"Hey. I'm here because I've tried to reach you for past several hours without any success and I got a little bit worried," Mac explained with relief in her voice. "Is everything okay, Jen?"

"Yes, Ma'am. My nightmare is finally over," Coates tiredly explained. "The Commander told me that you would have taken my case if necessary and I wanted to thank you for that."

"No need to thank me, Jennifer," Mac responded softly. "That's what friends are for."

"Why didn't you call me on my cell phone?" Harm asked interested, still finding himself in a minor shock to see Mac at his apartment for no apparent reason.

"I did, actually more than once. However, I kept getting your voicemail."

"That's odd, since I had my cell phone with me," Harm declared and took the cell phone out of his coat pocket. He looked at it carefully and chuckled. "Great, the battery is dead. Guess that explains why you couldn't reach me."

"Don't worry, it happens to the best of us," Mac assured him. "Just don't do it again, Sailor."

"Yes, Mom." Harm started to laugh as Mac and Jen soon followed him.

Jen stopped laughing as she suddenly yawned. "Well, if you would excuse me, I think I'll take a hot shower before calling it a night. This day was way too long for my taste. Good night, Colonel. Commander, thank you so much for your help."

"Just like the Colonel said earlier, there's no need to thank me, Coates," Harm assured her with a smile. "And whenever you need help with your search, just tell me, okay?"

"Will do, Sir. Good night," Jen said and walked to her apartment.

"Good night, Jennifer." Mac smiled.

"Night, Coates," Harm said before devoting his attention back to Mac. "There goes the neighborhood," he muttered while unlocking his apartment door.

"I guess that means I didn't misinterpret your comment from earlier. She really wants to move out?" Mac asked softly.

"Yeah, and I can't really blame her. This isn't the safest place to live." Harm closed the door behind them and placed his cover on the table.

"It was safe enough for you to let Mattie live here," Mac disputed while taking off her coat. "I think it has more to do with Coates wanting to forget what happened here and move on. It's not the first time where someone leaves everything behind just to forget."

"Sounds like you're talking from experience," Harm said softly. He took Mac's coat and hung it together with his own on the coat rack. "Did you ever think about moving after the incident with Coster?"

"No, by then I already knew that moving wouldn't make me forget what had happened. But I do understand Jen's reaction nonetheless."

"What is it with ex-boyfriends and ex-husbands coming back to get the women around me into trouble anyway?" Harm asked exhausted as he flopped on the couch and looked up at Mac.

Mac chuckled. "Sorry, but I don't have an answer for that question. However, if it makes you feel better, I can tell you that there are no ex-boyfriends or ex-husbands left who would get me into this kind of trouble again."

"Are you sure?" Harm wanted to know as Mac sat down next to him on the couch.

"Very sure. There are only two ex-boyfriends left and neither Mic nor Clay would do something like that."

"Why are you so sure about it?"

"Because they both know you enough not to get near me," Mac explained with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"So I'm your caretaker and everybody is afraid of me?" Harm asked astonished.

"Yup, that's more or less a given." Mac took off her shoes and sat back against the cushioned armrest of the couch.

"What about John?"

"What about him?"

"You didn't mention him." Harm pointed out.

"No, I didn't. There's no need to mention him since he was already a part of the mess with Chris. Now move closer. You look like you need something to help you relax." She stretched out her right leg on the couch and then tapped the space in front of her.

Harm looked at her and seemed slightly worried. "What do you have in mind, Colonel?"

Mac chuckled. "Don't be afraid, Harm. I just want to use my magic fingers and give your shoulders a massage. I'll be gentle."

"Magic fingers, huh?" Harm looked at her with a raised eye before finally moving closer to her. "How could I resist then? But don't be gentle, be good." Harm smirked before turning his back to Mac.

"I can be both," Mac replied quietly. "And now lie back and try to relax, okay?"

"Okay," Harm said tiredly before he lay back against Mac's torso, with his head against her chest. Then he raised his legs, so they could lie between hers. "This is really comfy."

"Good, now close your eyes."

Harm did as he was told just to feel Mac's arms going around his neck. "Umm Mac, what are you doing?" Harm asked surprised.

"I'm just loosing your tie. I thought this would be the first thing a man would do to relax," Mac responded as she started to untie the tie.

"Yeah. I guess I'm too tired to even care. Hopefully I won't fall asleep on you."

"Don't worry about it. If you fall asleep I know my way out," Mac whispered as she pulled the tie from his collar and laid it on the coffee table.

"Hmmm, maybe you should tell me a story while you work your magic fingers."

"A story? You don't want me to tell you a chapter out of Little AJ's favorite book 'Ten Minutes Till Bedtime' now, do you?" Mac asked softly as she started to massage his shoulder.

"No." Harm chuckled. "I was thinking more about a story that would keep me awake. Why don't you tell me about the case that you helped Bud? Ooooh, that feels good," he moaned as Mac hit a certain tensed spot.

"There's not much to tell. Lieutenant Wall's grounded for taking a civilian on an unauthorized flight in an F-18, which said civilian bought on the internet. Bud found out that she didn't do it for the money and that the civilian wasn't anybody less than her own father."

"Her father bought an F-18 on the internet? Wow, what a way to woo your child. I didn't even get a pony when I was four years old," Harm chuckled and brought a short laugh out of Mac with his statement.

"A pony, huh? I learn something new about you every day, Flyboy."

"Yeah well, a man needs to have some secrets."

"Just promise me you'll never get the idea to take one of our children up with anything faster than your Sterman, or else…," Mac threatened quietly.

"Or else what?" Harm asked and turned his head slightly to look into her eyes.

"Or else you'll have one pissed Marine on your hand, Sailor," Mac said and emphasized the statement by giving him a mild glare.

"I better watch out then. Can you go a little more left, please?" Harm always admired the magic work her hands were doing, but today it felt a little better than usual. He felt more and more relaxed with every movement of her hands.

"Oh, you better watch out. Here, is that better?" Mac asked as she moved her hands near his neck.

"Perfect," Harm whispered before closing his eyes again.

"Anyway, at first I thought the same thing that you did. That her father wanted to woo her in a very unique way. However, Bud found out that it wasn't Lieutenant Wall's thrill-seeking father's idea, but rather her own."

"You mean she wanted to woo her father?" Harm asked astonished.

"No, she didn't want to woo him, at least not the way you think," Mac started to explain softly, never stopping the kneading on his shoulders. "Her father has brain cancer and apparently, he never told her about it. Lieutenant Wall told Bud she didn't want to say goodbye to her dad at his funeral and when she saw the F-18 on the internet, she came up with the idea. She never told her father she knew about his illness."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, she thought she was doing the right thing."

"Was she?" Harm asked as he started to subside into Mac's ministrations.

Mac took a second to answer. "I think she did. She wanted to say goodbye in her own way, many of us don't have that option."

Harm closed his eyes and was silent for a few minutes. Mac's hands glided over his tense muscles. "Promise me you'll never do that," Harm said as he started to float in the land between dreams and reality.

"Do what?"

"Keep anything big like that from me," Harm told her with his voice getting softer.

Mac smiled. "I promise."

"Good. You can hold our kids when we go flying in Sarah."

Mac hid her chuckle as she felt Harm's head rolled lazily onto her chest. She glanced down at his face and saw his eyes were closed and he was asleep. A peaceful look crossed his face as she kissed his temple. Very carefully she moved her arms from his shoulders and wrapped them around his chest, holding him to her.

"I love you," Mac whispered into his ear. She then leaned against the couch and closed her own eyes to join him in sleep.

Harm heard the words and thought they sounded too real to be a dream, but he couldn't stop himself from saying the most important words in his opinion. "I love you, Sarah."

THE END