Finally she managed to shake herself out of her trance and ran after him.
He was a few feet from the main door when she reached the lobby.
"You haven't lost me." She shouted.
He turned. His shoulders were still slumped and he was still hunched over with the same defeated look on his face. He said nothing.
Mac approached him. "You wanted to talk. Let's talk."
"Why?" He asked.
"We need to settle this." She insisted.
Harm laughed a bitter laugh, "I didn't see us making much headway back there, did you?"
Mac stopped and stared for a moment. In a few short minutes he had changed. That was not the cocky self-assured aviator turned lawyer who had been her partner, her friend and fantasy for so many years. Instead there stood a broken man, who had seen all that he cared about suddenly and viciously ripped away.
Was there nothing left of him? Nothing left of the man she knew, the man she loved.
'Love? Where did that come from?'
Then for the first time since this whole ordeal had started, Mac decided to be completely honest with herself. She still loved him.
Harm took her silence to be an admission. He shook his head. "You were right Sarah."
'Sarah.' Mac nearly fell over from shock when he used her real name.
"About what?" Her voice was hollow.
"About us. Things can't work between us. One of us does something, the other reacts, we fight or don't fight, but the result is the same regardless and we end up at the same point in our relationship."
Mac was stung. "So this is your solution?" Her voice began to rise. "Give up on our friendship. Give up on everything we've been through together?"
"Don't you see. I can't be friends with you."
"Why?" Mac demanded.
"Because I…" Harm paused. Could he tell her? Why not, what had he to lose?
"Because I love you Mac. I guess that's moot at this point, but I love you. I've tried to rationalize it. I've tried to fight it for the greater good, for the sake of our friendship, but I can't. I haven't been able to do it for years and I can't do it now. But I can't ask you to love me when you don't."
'Oh God', Mac thought, 'He can't honestly think that can he?'
'Well,' That nasty voice reminded her, 'You did kind of say 'not now or ever'. That doesn't sound like a declaration of love to me.'
Harm went on, "But even if you don't, I can't deny it anymore and I won't. So my only option left is to leave and let both of us get on with our lives."
With that he turned.
'I can't lose him.'
"You're wrong." She called.
Again Harm turned. "About what?"
'It's now or never.'
Mac looked Harm square in the eye. "I do love you." She told him, "And I was wrong too. We've been through every possible ordeal people can face, from trials at court to battles in war zones. We've been to the far reaches of the Earth together. I chased you to Russia and you chased me to the South Pacific. We've fended off the mafia, drug barons, ex government agents, spyhunters and terrorists. And after all that, if we think that we can't overcome each other's arrogance and assumptions, then the only logical conclusion is that we are completely crazy."
Harm stood still. Mac held her breath.
Finally Harm spoke, "Say it again." He said.
"Which part?" Mac asked hopefully.
"The first part."
"I love you."
For the second time, Harm changed right before her eyes. He stood up straight again and the spark returned to his eyes, as he grinned his trademark grin. In a few short strides he closed the distance between them. He stopped just short of their bodies touching. He lowered his head towards hers.
"Then what the hell are we arguing about?" He asked as he lowered his lips to hers.
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Fourth chapter coming soon.