Title – Through The Eye Of A Shipper – S10 E10 The Four Percent Solution

Author Name – Carol & Michi or Michi & Carol

E-mail – Carol at writestories315 'at' yahoo . com

Michi at catherinebellfan 'at' gmx.de or mp111275 'at' yahoo.de

Rating – PG

Paring – Harm & Mac

Spoilers – Season 10 Episode 10 – 'The Four Percent Solution'

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

Summary- How 'The Four Percent Solution' should've been continued when you saw it through the eye of a shipper…

Author's Notes-

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!!!

Thanks to Chip and Chap for the great beta work!!! However, Chip and Chap are from Duckburg; a city where English is not the native language. Take this as a warning!

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.

Feedback is always welcome.

December 24, 2004

Pennington Medical Center

Sleepy Hollow, Virginia

8:41 PM

Harm ran his fingers across Mac's hand. His mind wondered to the miracle that she was still here after her accident. Her car was totaled, but she wasn't. He looked up at her bruised face and his heart fell a little. Her marks would go away in time, but they didn't diminish who she was.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like a used punching bag," Mac told him with a very small grin.

Harm gave her a full smile. "But a beautiful punching bag."

Mac chuckled softly. "Just what every girl wants to hear."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze. "The bruises will fade in a few days."

"I know, and so will the pain."

"Is there anything I can do to help the pain go away?" Harm asked.

Mac gave his hand a gently squeeze. "You're doing it."

Harm looked back up at her and was about to say something when the nurse came in. "Excuse me; I just needed to see if there was anything you needed."

"I'm okay," Mac told her.

"If you need anything just press the call button and one of the nurses will report to your room," the nurse said with a smile.

"Thank you," Mac softly said and the nurse left the room.

Mac looked at Harm and for some reason the only thought in her head was that of a cat. "What do you think of cats?"

"Cats?"

"Yeah."

Harm thought for a second. "They're small and kind of cute. Why?"

Mac shrugged. "I was thinking about getting one."

Harm titled his head and looked at her with a questioning look. "Are you a cat person?"

"I don't know. I've never had one. But I was thinking that cats are more independent, so it could handle being alone all day."

"Good reasoning. Are you going to get one?"

"I don't know. I've just been thinking about it."

"Hmm," Harm said. "Do you miss Jingo that much?"

"I miss him, but I know he's happier with Chloe."

"How is Chloe?" Harm asked.

Mac sighed. "She's good. She was going to come down, but her dad got leave and is visiting. How's Mattie?"

"Good. Real good. She and Tom are going to New York to spend New Years with some friends."

"That sounds nice," Mac said with a yawn.

Harm looked up at her face and could tell she was exhausted. "Mac, go to sleep."

Mac blinked her tired eyes at him and was about to argue, but she knew he was right. "Are you going to be okay?"

For the first time Harm let go of her hand and leaned back into the chair. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you sleeping than myself."

"Okay. Goodnight, Harm," Mac said before she closed her eyes and fell into dreamland.

"Night, Mac," Harm said as he watched her drift off.

3:12 AM

Harm's last thought before he fell asleep was Mac and she was now his first thought as he woke up. He looked around the room and wondered what woke him. His eyes feel upon Mac who was mumbling something in her sleep. She turned her head and let out a small moan. Harm quickly moved to the side of the bed and started to wake her up.

"Mac," he said softly. "Mac, wake up."

Very slowly Mac opened her eyes. She looked at him with a bewildered look. Before she could ask anything Harm ran his hand over the top of her head. "You were having a bad dream. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Mac said softly. "It was just a whole bunch of things."

"Are you okay?" Harm asked, looking down at her with concern.

Mac shook her head and Harm returned back to the chair without a word. Harm sat down and watched Mac. She closed her eyes, but couldn't fall back to sleep. Her mind drifted back to the images that woke her. They were the same ones she was having after the accident. Her mind wondered to the choices she has made in her life and realized that not all of them were right, but not all of them were wrong either.

Mac turned her head and looked over at Harm. His eyes were open and watching her. She felt warmth come of her as she noticed Harm protecting her in his own way.

"Go to sleep, Mac," Harm instructed.

"I can't. I keep thinking about…" Mac trailed off.

"Thinking about what?" Harm asked from the chair.

"Things. Life. My choices," Mac softly told him.

Harm moved to the edge of the bed and sat on it. He took her hands into his. "There is nothing you can do about any of those things. The best thing for you to do right now is to go to sleep and rest."

"I can't go back to sleep." Mac looked up into Harm's eyes. "Will you stay with me?"

Harm looked over at the chair. "I am with you."

"With me, up here," Mac told him.

Harm looked at the bed. "It's going to be cramped."

"I just don't want to feel alone."

Harm shook his head and knew suddenly that whatever Mac was thinking about was something that scared her. He gently nudged Mac and helped her move over in the bed. He then slid into the bed and wrapped an arm around her. Mac sighed into his arm and was instantly asleep. Harm as going to say goodnight, but when he noticed she was already out, he kissed her forehead and joined her in sleep.

8:05 AM

Harm felt someone nudging his shoulder. He moved his head and looked up. He slowly focused on the face of the same nurse from the night before.

"You're going to have to get up, Sir," she smiled.

Harm shook his head and carefully untangled himself from Mac. He was still on his side and Mac remained on her back. He carefully looked down at her face, some of the swelling had gone down, but he would bet it still stung like the dickens. Harm moved out of the bed and sat down in the chair.

The nurse looked at Harm. "The doctor will be in about half an hour to check on Ms. MacKenzie. We were just about to deliver breakfast, would you like one?"

"Sure and can I have some extra coffee?" Harm asked.

The nurse shook her head positive and gave him a soft smile. "I'll also bring you some Tylenol. Your back must be hurting."

"You're not going to charge me for it are you?"

The nurse chuckled. "No, we'll say Santa left it for you."

"Thank you," Harm said as the nurse left the room.

Mac slowly woke up and looked over at Harm who was wincing. "Morning."

"Hey." Harm scooted closer to the bed. "How are you?"

"Sore. You?"

"A little sore, but I'll be fine. The nurse is bringing breakfast and the doctor will be in to check on you in about half an hour."

Mac shook her head and closed her eyes for a few seconds. "Harm?"

"Yeah, Mac."

Mac turned her head and looked at him. "Thanks for staying."

"No problem, Mac," Harm said as the nurse and the doctor walked into the room.

Mac's Apartment

Georgetown, DC

11:23 AM

Harm carefully helped Mac into her bedroom. He sat her down on her bed and was glad that she was at home. The doctor had said that Mac was fine enough to go home as long as someone was with her. Harm quickly agreed to be that person and found himself surprised when Mac didn't offer any argument.

"What do you want to change into?" Harm asked.

Mac looked down at the hospital scrubs and Harm's 'Go Navy' hooded sweat shirt. "I've got a long flannel nightgown in the bottom drawer."

Harm shook his head and retrieved the gown for her. "I'll be in the living room, call me when you're dressed."

Mac looked at the nightgown in her hands. "You don't need to stay, Harm. I can take care of myself."

"I know I don't need to. I want to." Harm took a breath. "I told the doctor and the nurse I would be here for you. And I believe that I've said that to you before."

Mac looked deeply into his eyes and felt the emotion behind those words. "Okay."

Harm shook his head and leaned down. He softly kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

Mac carefully got undressed and dressed. She was about to call for Harm to tell him she was done, but there was a knock at the bedroom door. "Mac, are you done?"

"Just finished," she said as she settled back into bed.

Harm opened the door and walked over to the bed where Mac was pulling the covers over her. Harm quickly helped her. "Tired."

"Yeah."

"I need to go run to my place for about an hour. Can I leave you alone for that long?"

Mac was going to say something sarcastic, but stopped herself; knowing that Harm was concerned about her. "I'm just going to fall asleep."

"Okay. I'm going to shower, change, and see what I have at home that I can use for dinner tonight."

"Dinner?" Mac asked.

Harm gave her a soft smile. "We have to have Christmas dinner. I was going to go out, but I think I have leftover veggie lasagna in my freezer. Is that okay for dinner?"

"Sounds fine."

"Good." Harm smiled. He kissed her forehead. "I'll be back in an hour."

"Okay."

Harm started for the bedroom door. "If you need anything, just call me."

"I will," Mac smiled as he walked out the door. "Harm?"

Harm walked back into the room; a little worried that something was wrong with Mac. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for doing this. For being here."

He looked at her face and noticed she looked a bit like a scared little girl. "You're welcome, Mac. I'll be back in an hour."

Mac shook her head and Harm left the room and then the apartment.

1:34 PM

Harm had returned to the apartment in record time, but Mac was sound asleep and he didn't feel like waking her. He figured it was best to let her rest. He stood up and walked into the bedroom to check on her. As he opened the door Mac started to stir.

She looked at the door and noticed Harm peeking in. "Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," Mac softly said. "Did you take care of everything?"

Harm smiled. "I did. We'll have lasagna for dinner, if you feel up for it. Mattie called me while I was home, she hopes you get better and wishes you a good Christmas."

"She's a nice kid."

"She is. She also wanted you to know that she wants to go to Potomac Mills with you again, but after your better."

Mac carefully sat up in the bed with Harm's help. "She and I found out both of us love shopping," she told him with a grin.

"Tom's happy that she has you and Jen to help him out with that." Harm chuckled.

"Did you call your mom?"

"I'm going to do it later." Harm paused and thought about what he had in the living room for Mac. "Do you feel like opening something?"

Mac gave him an odd look. "We exchanged gifts yesterday at the office."

"This is something else," Harm told her before he left the room and retuned with a medium sized cardboard box. He sat the box on her lap. Mac looked at the box and slowly took the lid off of it. She looked into the box and smiled as a little kitten looked up at her and softly meowed.

Mac picked the kitten out of the box and held its small and delicate body in her hands. She moved the kitten towards her face to get a better look at it, as the kitten got closer to Mac's face. They were soon nose to nose. The kitten looked into Mac's eyes and then licked the tip of Mac's nose, causing Mac to giggle.

Mac looked at Harm for an explanation as he placed the box on the floor. "My neighbor's cat had kittens a few weeks ago. He was able to give all of them away, except for this little one. She's the runt of the litter and if no one was going to take her he was going to give her the pound. I stopped by his place while I was home and told him I had a friend who was thinking about getting a cat." Harm ran his hand over the head of the kitten and let his hand trail down Mac's arm. "I figured the both of you are trough and right about now you need someone besides me to love you."

Mac's eyes lifted from the cat and into Harm's. His words echoed in her ears, but she didn't know how to respond. Harm didn't say those words to get a verbal response, he just wanted to official let Mac know where they stood.

The small kitten broke the mood by giving a very content purr and causing its new owner to sigh and hold her a little closer.

"So, what are you going to name the little gal?"

Mac lifted the kitten and looked into its dark eyes. "She needs a strong name."

Harm shook his head. "Yeah, what are you thinking?"

Mac placed the kitten in her lap. "I know three very important words which are faith, hope, and love. I have faith that she'll be a good cat and I have love for her already. Along with the person who gave her to me. So I think I'm going to call her Hope. Because I'm hoping that this is the start of something very important."

Harm smiled at his friend and her new pet. "I think Hope is a very good name." He petted Hope who licked his finger. Then he looked at Mac who was staring at her new pet. "Merry Christmas, Mac."

"Merry Christmas, Harm," Mac said before their lips meet in a very soft kiss.

THE END

Merry Christmas and have a safe and happy holiday season. Michi and Carol