A/N: Okay, I'm leaving for my fieldtrip to Calgary tonight so this is the last chapter you'll get for five days. I'll try and update as soon as I get back but I'm making no promises because, as my motto goes, quality of the work is better than quantity. (But quantity's pretty great too, though).

Special thanks to: Bite Beccy, Bail's Other Daughter, Steelo, Starryeyes10, Kitty X, martini1988, QueenOfAces, froggy0319, alix33, mjag, moonlight, nursejay80, AnMaDeRoNi, snugglebug, jaggurl, Anne, ficchic, dansingwolf, Radiorox, cbw, wishwaters, Rocket Rain, sgcgirl52, tlk29, JJScottishGirl, Blueangel, aj, French-navy girl, Marge, Jane, Tina Frank, highplainswoman, mac AND harm fan, Ali Baba, super ducky, tumblebuttons, AB, Abigiale, macandharmlover, jazzy, vhosek malacath, your fan (or is it my fan?), Britainy, MartiniMac, HighHeel Shoe Lover, Sirus 745, Fan, Pissed off Poet 1, southernqt, and BrittanyLS!

Note: This starts off in Mac's POV because, even though I did do a little bit of her flashback in the last chapter, we didn't great a really great storyline for her so . . . this chapter's completely dedicated to her POV so . . . bring out the party hats people! (Yes, I'm aware of how completely dorky I sound . . .)

Tooth and Claw

"Mac, you've been followed."

I can feel the words plunge through my heart and my hands turn cold. Everyone stands there, bated breath lingering thickly in the air. I look at Harm and try to read his expression. It's stony, passive, but there's something in his bright blue eyes, something strange and unfamiliar, but haunting. Fear. My eyes shift to Clay. He stands rather unimpressively, his arms folded across his chest and though his eyes say 'I told you this would happen' his lips are thin, folded into a grimace. Both Jake and Vera are hard to read, but both expressions seem to be reluctant.

"Will someone just tell me what's going on?" I pleaded, running my hands up and down my arms to keep myself from shivering. "Why is Harm even hiding at all?"

The air suddenly changes. It goes from thick somber to intense curiosity. I can literally feel everyone's eyes narrowing in on my own. Vera shifts from her leaning position on the wall and walks over to me. "You mean, you don't know why Harm's here?"

Clay's eyes way heavily on my shoulder. I cast an almost frightened look at Harm but for once he doesn't send back a reassuring gaze. He's just plainly incredulous. "N – no . . ." I trailed, casting a wary eye around the room. Am I supposed to know why he faked his own death? "Why do you think I asked?"

"Then how'd you find him?" Jake exploded. Everyone stared at him. I guess Jake was known to be a smart ass, but a quiet smart ass.

And now I knew I was in trouble. I'm a Marine. I'm a lawyer. And to add to that, I'm smart. Taking anonymous tips from callers is not exactly a daily routine. And I should have known better, I know that. But I was just so damn desperate. And now . . . I feel like my heart's been wrenched in two again. It's almost better knowing that Harm was alive but that I wouldn't be able to see him than being with Harm and knowing he was in danger. "Someone told me where he was . . ." I said unsteadily and the eyes traveled around the room.

"Who?" Clay asked, leaning in. His grey eyes were filled with intensity, intensity I'd never seen before. It then struck me that though Harm and he have had their differences, they've managed to stay friends. Barely. But they were friends. And if Clay was in trouble, I knew Harm would go to save him. But that was the sort of person Harm was. It only truly struck me then that that was the type of person Clay was too. And not realizing that sooner made me regret my own thoughts.

"I don't know," I whispered. "He just sort of . . . called."

The intensity in the air is almost suffocating. Literally everyone is hanging off my very word. I'm so self-aware I'm sweating. I squirm uncomfortably in my chair. The pressure's intense.

"And who is he, Mac?" Harm spoke so gently the words literally floated into my heart. His eyes were desperate. I stared into the sea blue orbs and felt an internal cry break out within me. How could I have done what I did? The only thing in the world that mattered to me was Harm being safe. How could I have jeopardized that? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in.

"I don't know," I whispered. "He never told me his name."

Vera sighed heavily and Clay turned away, wincing at the sound of my words. Jake stood rooted in his spot, his arms folded across his chest. I stared at Harm, my brown eyes sinking into his blue ones. He squeezed my hand reassuringly, but in a way that was comforting himself. I tried to squeeze back but found that I had no grip. I just completely melted every time he looked at me.

"And you never happened to trace the call, did you?" Jake asked quietly but everyone already knew the answer. I just shook my head. The silence that flooded the room was unbearable.

"What's going on?" I whimpered, my eyes pleading with Harm. "Why did you fake your own death?"

"That's classified," Webb snapped from his corner of the room but I paid him absolutely no attention. I turned back to Harm, tucking a strand of brown hair behind my ear.

"We've always told each other everything," I whispered fervently. Well, not EVERYTHING. I can think of one or two feelings of mine that I've never quite shared with him. "Why can't you tell me this?"

I stare into Harm's eyes and I can tell he's breaking inside. I feel bad, but I know this is necessary. I need to know and there's no one I'd rather have tell me than Harm. It sounds stupid and so incomprehensibly mushy, but it was how I felt. And I guess Harm understood that. We are able to read each other so thoroughly that it's hard to try and keep any secrets from each other. Harm held my hand, gripping it gently but firmly. "Let's take a walk."

"Rabb," Webb warned, stressing his last name with extra emphasis.

Harm turned around to connect his eyes with Webb's. "She need to know," he said firmly, his voice gentle but strong.

Webb opened his mouth to speak but – and I did not imagine this – Vera put her hand on his shoulder and literally steered him away, whispering something into his ear. Harm's mouth molded into a grin of amusement and Jake turned to us, winking once before helping himself to the fridge.

"Come on," whispered Harm as he led me outside and into the wide open sun filled street. A light breeze floated pleasantly in the air and despite the dead seriousness of the situation I couldn't help but let my mind float to Harm, how incredibly hot he looked in the sunshine, how far we had come in our relationship compared to before he "died". Perhaps that was all we really needed after all – a little space.

"So . . ." I trailed, as we walked through the busy market place. Harm and I locked eyes before I turned away, almost threatened by the gravity between us. "Why'd you die?"

The question didn't even sound funny when I said it, even though the words traveling through my brain reeked with hilarity. My arm wound its way around Harm's almost naturally, something I never would have dared to do before. But we had come to an unspoken understanding. Somehow, sometime in those six months our feelings towards each other had changed. Or maybe they hadn't changed – they'd just deepened. It was no longer an eternal attraction. It was a can't-keep-your-hands-off-each-other-for-one-moment longing.

"When I went to work for the CIA," Harm breathed, squeezing my hand as we walked along the dock, letting the sunlight fall gently upon our shoulders, "there was a case that involved my flying to Manila. Special Agent Beth O'Neil was with me." He turned to me. "You remember her?"

I paused, my mind flying backwards a few years. "Yeah . . . sort of."

"Well, she flew with me," Harm continued. "It was supposed to be a simple flight. Drop of a package and that was it. Get in get out." He sighed. "But it didn't happen that way. There were terrorists and the package got lost and . . . let's just say a lot of unexpected stuff happened." I nodded. I knew exactly what he was talking about. "Well, it came down to a shoot out. Us against the terrorists . . . and well, we won."

"Congrats."

"Well, we thought we won." Harm's voice dropped to a dramatic note. "Apparently one lived. He hired an assassin named Ali Abbas – supposedly the best male assassin in the world. He . . ." Harm's hesitation was obvious. "He's apparently very good."

I felt a knot grow within my stomach. I attempted to swallow my fear but I only managed to get it stuck in the top of my throat, making my voice unusually high. "How good?"

Harm shook his head. "Pretty damn good."

A long silence took over our conversation. We continued to walk but it was no longer a leisure stroll. We both knew what was going through the other's mind. This could be one of the last walks we'd ever take together.

"So . . ." I trailed. My eyes felt teary even though I knew I wasn't crying. I was trying to be strong – even though I knew I wasn't fooling Harm. "Why am I in danger?"

Harm stopped walking. He stared at me intensely, his blue eyes focusing on me. He flashed me a small saddened but definitely a Rabb smile and touched his hand to my cheek. "Because he likes to drive his victims mad before he kills them." His breath grew thick and I could see the fear in his eyes, the hesitance in his words, the alarm of letting me know too much and the risk of letting me off with too little. "Because he likes to kill those close to the victim . . . he kills the people he loves."

I can feel his eyes directly boring into me and I look away from the sheer pressure of it all. It can't happen. We couldn't happen. All those years we knew each other, the years we'd kept up the flirtatious office banter and the slightly-more-than-friendly chats we'd share while jogging or watching tv all lead down to this moment. The moment where we truly realized how much we meant to each other and knowing that this was the end of the road. Nothing more could exist from this.

"So, you're in hiding, I guess," I whispered and then looked away, praying that I could keep my tears at bay and my heart hidden. He didn't need to know how I felt – it could only lead to more pain. To be reunited with a person that loves you only to have them disappear right before your very eyes, never to be seen again. Both Harm and I are strong, but to be emotionally beaten over and over again is more than anyone could take.

"The plan was only for a year," Harm whispered and I turned around, trying to keep the desperate hopeful longing that threatened to melt into my features back. "But now . . . I guess it has to be longer."

I stared into his eyes. "Forever?" I whispered brokenly.

Harm shook his head, the sunlight casting a younger but wiser look upon his handsome face. "I don't know."

"Will you move?" I asked, almost dreading the answer. "From Venice?"

"Probably."

I knelt my head down, taking in the wood of the dock and the waves of the soft water lapping up onto its surface. "Well, Vera will be with you." My voice is so broken, so cracked; I barely sound like me at all. "She seems nice." I smile for the first time. "And she won't put up with any of your crap."

Harm chuckled along with me though I can hear the tears that melt into his voice even though they're not outwardly visual. "No, Vera is definitely not one who puts up with any crap."

We settle into a sad but comfortable silence. The hours seem to melt away but we walk and we sit and we spend the afternoon in pure elegant bliss. The sun moves and brightens, living only to fade with the growing cloud. The afternoon wears thin, the sky washes over with an orange glow. I'm entranced by Harm's eyes like never before. How easily they take to the blue of the water and how readily they shine in the setting sun. He looks incredibly handsome and smart and courageous, the beauty of his strength but the magnitude of his bravery remarkably portrayed in the smallest smile, the slightest touch.

"Mac," he whispered, his voice low and husky, but never losing the perfect Harmon Rabb tone. I look up to meet his eyes and find myself biting my lower lip at the sheer magnitude of it all. The weight of our feelings, the setting beginning to shine upon the feel of the moment. "I . . ." his voice dies but our eye connection never breaks. I want this moment to last forever. This split second, the one minute before our lives once again take on their separate course. I want time to freeze in this one moment. "I want you to know that . . . wherever you are . . . I'll always be thinking about you."

The line doesn't even sound movie-like at all. It sounds incredibly sweet and sincere and I can feel my body being eternally drawn to him – the sweet sound of his voice, the sensitive look in his eyes. Features I'd never noticed before are suddenly surfacing in one beautiful moment.

"Harm," his name on my lips sounds so full and rich – I take a moment just to savor the feel of it. "This is . . ." I'm trailing so much I'm afraid I'm going to break. The one sentence I've wanted to say since the moment I met him, I suppress. It does no good now. "We have been through so much together, you and me. We've faced terrorists, killers, the KGB, our own damn CIA, and just general asses." I don't break the bridge our eyes seemed to have formed. "And we've gotten through it all. This is just another twist in the road."

I wish I could believe my own words. I wish Harm could believe my words. But we both know what's happening. We're going to part our ways, we're going to lead our lives down separate paths that may end up never intertwining again. We're about leave each other for maybe the last time. And the magnitude of the emotion that is racing through our hearts is portrayed in the features upon our face, the softness of our touch, the depth in our words.

We walk down the path back to the house, our hearts heavy and our minds full. We don't say a thing to each other, they way we hold each other's hands speak louder than words will ever. And the one simple sentence that races through our mind, that bores upon our shoulders and that connects us far deeper than we could ever imagine surfaces once again only to be suppressed by us for another unmentionable reason. Our love for each other.

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"What are we going to do?" Vera whispered, resting her head in hands, her vision boring holes into her coffee cup. She heard the shuffling of feet behind her and then the impact of strong hands on her back. She moaned in pleasure. "Dammit, Webb, you give one hell of a backrub."

"And you've got a few hellish knots," Clayton Webb whispered into her ear, his hands working wonders against the stiffness of her back. Webb heard Vera sigh out of either sheer stress or long forgotten pleasure. Both sent wrinkles of worry creasing through his forehead.

"I'd love to be able to blame Mac for all of this," Vera confided, her tone low and her eyes closed. Webb pulled his chair closer to hers, but his hands never stopping for a moment of rest across her back. "But I see the way she looks at him and the way he looks at her. She didn't know. Hell, she still probably doesn't know everything. And Harm's so afraid of hurting her that in order to ease her pain he only ends up hurting himself."

Clay sighed with a low chuckle. "Welcome to the persistent world of Rabb and Mackenzie."

Vera lolled her head back so that her vision was facing Webb's. "Have they always been this way?"

Clay shrugged. "Probably since birth."

Vera sighed – quite pleasurably, Webb noted with some satisfaction as his hands continued to explore the knots of her back. "Some people," she whispered. "Just have that chemistry."

Webb shot her an inquiring look. "That chemistry?"

"Yeah," Vera nodded. "They love each other so much that they can't tell each other due to fear the other will get hurt. They put aside their own feelings for the sake of the others."

"You sure that's a good thing?" Clay asked, his voice inquisitive but not unkindly.

Vera sighed. "I think having any kind of bond that strong is a good thing."

"How very poetic of you, Miss Azhad," Webb noted, flashing her a charming smile.

Vera shrugged. "I try."

"So," Clay trailed, his hands moving onto a different part of her back. "How can one tell when it's that kind of love?"

Vera shrugged. "I guess you just know . . . when you can't stop looking at them or thinking about them or . . ."

"Fight with them?" Webb interjected half mockingly.

Vera shot him a pointed stare. "Fight but almost immediately make up."

Clay shook his head. "That doesn't sound like any fun to me. I think if you're going to fight someone, you might as well go tooth and claw."

Vera laughed. "No offense, Webb, but you don't have the makings to go tooth and claw."

Webb's hands stopped roaming her back and he pulled her to him, their bodies only inches apart. "What do you mean I don't have the makings to go tooth and claw?"

Vera's dark eyes danced. "I mean you don't have the guts to do it, and you don't have the power to pull it off."

Clay grinned at her, their lips a bare inch apart. "Those are fighting words, Azhad. And I'm taking them into offense."

"Don't," Vera whispered, her smile widening. "Take them as a challenge."

Webb's interest was suddenly overpowering. "What do you have in mind?"

"A competition."

Clay coughed. "Forgive my surprise."

"First one to drive the other insane wins." There was a dangerous glint in Vera's eyes.

Webb cleared his throat, "How do we determine when one's insane?"

"They give up."

Clay nodded. "Pretty straight forward."

Vera smiled up at him. "Harmless pranks only."

"Harmless pranks."

Vera drew her face up to Webb's, her eyes drawing shadows across her face in the setting sun. "And remember, Webb," she whispered, her breath hot as it played across his face and wound his way to his lips. "Tooth and claw."

One of Webb's arms snaked around Vera's waist, almost crushing her body to his. "Tooth and claw," he determinedly repeated.

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A/N: Alright, tonight I'm off to Calgary and I'll return only on Thursday night so the earliest I can post by is Friday so . . . keep your fingers crossed! (P.S.: the magnitude of the reviews I receive for this chapter will determine how long the next one is and – being the tenth chapter and all – can we expect a little romance? I do believe so . . .)

In other words, to all you people that read and don't review (I used to be one of you myself), review and you will get a better, longer, and more romantic chapter! It's quick, it's easy, just touch that little purple button on the side and type what you want. It really only takes a few seconds. Nix, out!

Froggy0319: Oh, you'll get your romance. You can count on it.

Brittany LS: I won't give you too much insight on what happens in the next chapters because then where would the fun be in reading it! lol, thanks for reviewing.

Radiorox: thanks for boosting my self-confidence. I really didn't like last chapter. It was kind of pointless, if you know what I mean. I DO like writing Mac's POV, though. It's great to have a bit of feminine fun. And cliffhangers do happen to be my favorite. I use them way too much in my 'author's privilege'.

AB: Heh heh, the suspense is waiting to kill you, eh? Well the drama might kill them! Joking, joking, I'm way too much of a shipper to kill either one of them off . . . (yet . . .?) I'm just messing with your head again. Sorry, I love doing that. But yes indeed, the future is grim for our favorite couple.

Bite Beccy: Yes, the following added another twist to the story. A more serious one, I'm afraid. How's your story coming?

(squiggle):I like to think that my story has an equal part for both Mac and Harm. Harm is in danger because he's the one the assassin's after, but Ali Abbas – the assassin in question – likes to torture his victims by killing off the people close to them first. That's why Mac's in danger. Thanks for reviewing.

Rocket Rain: thanks for the morale booster. Messages like yours help me get through the following chapters. Happy with the new update? And I promise you I'll have fun on my trip. lol

Abigaile: sorry I couldn't post two chapters today, but even as we speak I'm writing the tenth chapter. Besides, wouldn't you rather have the chapters spread out evenly instead of all coming out at once . . ? Wait, what am I saying. Nix that. I'd rather have the all come out at once. lol. Thanks for reviewing.

Starryeyes10: thanks

KittyX: thank you.