Disclaimer: Do I own them? No. Would I like to own them? Yes. Have I accepted this and moved on? Sort of.

A/N: I'm happy to see that some people are still reading (Bite Beccy, Radiorox, and anyone else who's reading or hasn't commented yet), and I'm really working on posting more frequently. Thanks for all your support and happy reading!

2343 ZULU

HOTEL ST. REGIS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

It was the night of the ball and the sisters were preparing in the suite at Dani's hotel. Both Mac and Harm received a call from Webb at 0900 informing them that they had captured the leader of the Kazakhstani rebels and that Dani was out of danger. With Dani safe, Harm would not be attending the ball, and Mac was able to drop her guard and just have fun with her sister. She imagined that this day was a lot like preparing for a senior prom, something in which she had very little interest when she was actually in high school.

"What do you think of my eyes?" Dani turned to Mac and fluttered her lids.

"They look great," Mac swiveled in her vanity chair to check on her sister's eyes, "What about mine?"

"Beautiful, they really match your robe," she teased.

"Hey, you're the one who insisted that we wear them," she played with the sash on the satin robe that matched Dani's.

"Well, we can't be expected to prepare in our dresses."

"Of course not," she rolled her eyes, "You know, I never realized you could have a professional make-up consultant 'creat your image' for a private event."

"You'd be surprised what people will do for money," Dani laughed lightly, "But this is one of those frivolous expenditures that is totally worth it."

"Like you need help with wooing Tiner."

"Well you need help with Harm."

"For the hundredth time, there is no Harm and me."

"Then what was with the tension all through yesterday's sightseeing?"

We were focused on keeping you alive, Mac thought, "There wasn't any, you're just fabricating it to entertain the bored little socialite inside you."

"You're in denial," she returned to her make-up.

"Harm's not even coming tonight," she did the same.

"That's not my fault. I told you to invite him."

"It's not that simple," Mac told her when actually it really was. She and Harm would never be more than business partners, so there was no need for him to be her escort for the dance. Although she could have really gone for those dress whites and gold wings.

"It never is," Dani could tell her sister's mind was stuck on gold wings.

"Drop it, please."

"Fine," she put on her lipstick, "I know this is my 'suggested color,' but frankly I'm not impressed."

"Me neither."

"You're supposed to accent either eyes or lips, or you'll look like a hooker," she scrutinized her reflection and wiped off the lipstick, "But this color is just too subdued."

"I think I have the perfect shade in my purse," she stood up and headed toward her room.

"Thanks," seconds after Mac walked out, her cell phone range and Dani answered, thinking it was her own, "Hello."

"It's Webb. We have a problem. Your sister is still in danger. The–"

"Could you hold on one second?" she interrupted when Mac returned, "I thought it was mine, sorry."

"Okay," she watched Dani stoically return to her make-up, "What's going on Webb?"

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" he answered as she stepped into her own room.

"Webb, you have to tell me exactly what you just said," Mac responded tersely, wondering if she and Dani really sounded that similar on the phone.

"I said we had a problem and that your sister was still in danger. What's going on?"

"My sister answered the phone, not me," she groaned but shook it off knowing she would have to deal with that after Webb, "What went wrong?"

"After interrogating our guy, we learned that he's not who we wanted. He's too low in the chain of command, so the threat to the countess still exists."

"Great," she paused a beat, "You still think tonight is when they plan to make their move?"

"Yes we do. We believe that the rebel forces hacked into the embassy's computer system. If we find the type of bug and the connection, we'll be able to determine who is the actual head of the organization."

"So how do we found the bug?"

"Rabb will handle it for the most part. He'll brief you on the details when he gets to your hotel."

"You called him already?"

"Yeah, he's probably on his way now."

"Okay."

"Your main objective will be keeping Daniela safe. We don't want to do anything that will encourage Arkada to hand over the money."

"Where will you be when all of this goes down?"

"At JAG with the admiral and Arkada."

"Okay, I'll get back to you when Harm gets here," she napped close the phone and prepared to confront Dani. She returned to the common room to find Dani meticulously finishing her make-up, "Hey."

"How's Webb," she turned on her stool, "Who's Webb?"

"He works for the state department," Mac sat opposite of her on the other stool. She decided to get straight to the point, "Rebel forces in Kazakhstan have been threatening the standing government. They need money and have been holding your safety over your uncle's head in hopes of him funding their efforts. The state department does not want the money handed over and has been working to help keep you safe while trying to find the men behind the plot."

"Is that why I was sent to France?"

"Yes," Mac reached out to take Dani's hand, but she jerked it away.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Webb said about five months."

"How long have you known?"

"Since shortly after you first called me on Thursday."

"Oh," Dani stood suddenly, "Why am I attending a ball at the embassy of a country whose people want to kill me.?"

"We hoped the publicity would draw out the rebels, and it did," she remained seated and watched her pace, "Unfortunately, the man we got was a decoy."

"So you used me as bait?" she stopped her pacing to stare at Mac.

"Harm and I were looking out for you," she countered gently, "You were never in any danger."

"I was in danger because no one told me I was at risk!" she returned to pacing.

"You weren't at risk because Harm and I have orders, and we always follow orders," Mac stood up and tried to lighten the mood. When that failed, she witched back to sincerity, "More importantly, I love you and I won't let anything happen to you."

"You love me, but you don't trust me."

"I trust you, but this wasn't about trust. It's about safety, and your uncle insisted we did not tell you."

"And if I hadn't picked up your phone, you probably would not be telling me now."

"No I would be telling you now either way."

"Right," Dani rolled her eyes, "But you had your orders."

"I mean it! Your uncle wanted you not to worry, so yes I followed his orders, but he ultimately left it up to my discretion."

"He did, did he? Well, my uncle keeping this from me I understand. I may not like it, but I understand. He's my uncle and is over protective to fault, but that's how our relationship works. It's in his character to withhold the truth from me. Now with you, I thought the relationship was based on sharing things like sisters do."

"It is," Mac could see this was getting out of control, but was not sure how to stop it.

"You know, Sarah, I have told you things that I never told anyone before , and I thought it went both ways."

"It does!"

"No, because you could not be bothered to tell me that my life is in danger," she stopped pacing and stared at Mac icily, "But hell, I'm only the bastard little sister."

"Dani!" she gasped, "I don't--"

"Hey, I understand, you had your orders," she walked over to pick up Mac's lipstick, "Thank you, Major," she handed it over to a stunned Mac and walked to the door to her room, "I assume you'll be watching my door."

Dani closed the door behind her, leaned against it, and sunk down to the floor. She was so overwhelmed by everything and could hardly believe half of what went on in the other room. A rebel group was targeting her, and her sister kept it from. She needed to vent to someone she could trust, so she pulled herself off the floor and picked up the phone, "Hey, can you come over? I need to talk."

Mac stood alone in the common room in a stunned silence. Before she could begin reacting, there was a knock at the door, "Who is it?"

"Harm."

"Hey," she opened the door to let him in. As she had hoped he wore his dress whites and gold wings, but even that could only brighten her mood slightly, "You look good."

"Thanks, so do you," he flashed a smile, "But I don't think that robe is appropriate for an embassy ball."

"You're funny," she smirked, adjusting the robe to ensure that she was fully covered.

"Where's Dani?"

"Her room," she answered distractedly.

"Really? I figured that I would find you two getting ready and doing girlie things together."

"Well, we're not," she snapped.

"Did she not take it well?"

"You could stay that," she glanced distractedly at Dani's closed door.

"Mac, what happened?"

"She called me Major."

"What?" he could not follow her erratic chain of thought.

"Dani called me Major. Not Sarah, not Mac, but Major," she elaborated walking into her room of the suite.

"That bad?" he followed her.

"She answered my cell phone on accident, and Webb thought it was me. I explained everything to her after hanging up with Webb, but she still thinks that I would not have told her if she hadn't picked up my phone."

"Well, I'm not going to say I told you so."

"Good."

"But we did know Dani finding out was going to be bad."

"Yeah, but I had no idea how bad," she groaned in frustration, "If you could have heard the things she said…"

"She'll get over it," he assured her.

"God, Harm, she's so upset with me, but at the same time I know that she's terrified. I just don't know how to help her."

"You can help her by keeping her safe," he scanned the room and saw the changing screen set up in the corner, "Get dressed and then we'll go over the plan."

"Okay," she took a deep breath, "I'll be just a minute."

"Take your time."

"Thanks Harm," she told him gratefully and stepped behind the screen. As she slipped off the robe, Mac noticed she was shaking slightly and willed herself to stop. With that under control she toke the dress off the hanger and stepped into the cool material. She reached around to zip up the back, but it caught on the fabric halfway up, "Shoot!"

A/N: Who did Dani call? How will Mac zip up her dress? Will I continue updating at a reasonable pace? Review to find out!