PART TWO

The next day dawned clear and cold, and to say that Harm was up at the crack of dawn would have been understating the truth. He had a lot of things to prepare before Mac and Webb showed up, and not just the food–that was the easy part. Seeing the two of them together as a couple was going to be a real test of his resolve. He didn't know whether he was going to be able to accept it, and hoped he could maintain his composure.

By the time Mattie woke a few hours later, Harm already had things well in hand. The food was cooking. He hadn't planned on spending Christmas with anyone, so he had no turkey, but on the way home from the Mall the night before, he had stopped off at an all-night grocer and picked up a ham. It wasn't something he would normally have bought, but he wanted so badly for Mattie to have as normal a Christmas as possible that he was willing to make the personal sacrifice for her sake.

Harm checked the sweet potatoes that he had roasting with the ham and closed the oven door as Mattie made her way slowly into the kitchen. "Hey," he said. "I thought when you said you didn't want me to be groggy in the morning that it applied to you, too?"

Mattie gave him a wicked stare and he burst out laughing. There really was nothing quite like a teenager. "It's too early," she groaned, reaching for the coffee pot.

"Good morning to you, too, sunshine," Harm said as he placed his oven mitts on the counter.

Mattie grunted a response and sat down next to the island sipping her coffee. Harm smiled and came over to sit beside her. Resting his elbows on the counter he reached for his own mug of coffee and took a quick sip. "You ready for today, Mats? Mac'll be here in less than an hour."

Mattie looked over at him, slowing sipping her coffee. "Ask me again after I'm awake," she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand.

Harm chuckled and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Well, don't wait too long, okay? I was hoping you could at least be out of your pajamas by the time Mac gets here."

"Yeah, yeah, sailor boy, I'm going." she quipped, placing her now empty mug on the counter. Rising from her barstool she went to her bag in the corner, and rooted through it for a minute before coming up with an armful of fresh clothes. "I need a shower–badly."

"I thought you might," Harm replied, standing. "There are fresh towels by the sink, and a new toothbrush in the medicine cabinet." He looked at his watch. "You've got forty-five minutes before Mac gets here, so you better get a move on."

Mattie snapped a mock salute. "Yes, Sir!" she bellowed, and Harm nearly doubled over in laughter. He was going to love having her around. Maybe with luck she would fill some of the emptiness not having Mac in his life anymore left in his soul.

As Mattie disappeared into his bedroom, Harm made his way to the dining room table, and checked the settings for the third or fourth time. With everything on autopilot he was starting to feel apprehensive about seeing Mac and Webb together. He puttered around, trying to keep busy and distract his mind from the uncomfortable situation he knew was coming, but it was no use. All he could see was Webb kissing Mac in the hospital after they had returned from Paraguay; all he could hear was her voice from the night before: 'I have a date with Webb.'

By the time Mattie emerged from the bathroom–freshly dressed in dark blue jeans and a fluffy red sweater–Harm was busy rearranging the pillows on the couch and the flowers on the coffee-table.

She must have sensed his anxiety because she came over to him and wrapped him in a warm hug. "Relax, Harm. Everything's going to be fine. She wants to be here–with you. Just try to remember that."

"I know, Mats, but I just can't make myself believe it. We've spent so much time since I went back to JAG at each other's throats that I have forgotten how close we used to be. I'm not sure that we can ever get that back, no matter how much I want to. Everything changed between us after Paraguay. I can't tell you what happened, but I can tell you that I lost her there."

"Does that Webb guy have anything to do with that?"

Harm frowned, she was way too perceptive, and sometimes it was difficult to remember that she was just fifteen. "Yes, but I can't tell you about that, either."

"Why not?"

"It's classified, Mattie. It comes with the territory when you are in the military; sometimes you do things that you can't tell anyone about."

"Is that Webb guy in the military, too?"

Harm snorted derisively. "Hardly, Mats. He works at the State Department." It wasn't exactly the truth, but it was the lie that Webb had used for years, even long after everyone knew he was with the CIA. Harm figured it could explain enough about Webb without having to delve into the cloak-and-dagger world that was Webb's life. Besides, Webb was the last person he wanted to talk about at that moment. There would be enough awkwardness when he and Mac arrived to last a lifetime.

Before Mattie could speak again, they were both startled by a knock on the door. Harm glanced down at his watch: eleven hundred on the dot. That's my, Marine. Only, she wasn't his anymore, was she? And he doubted whether she ever would be.

Mattie smiled excitedly and shooed him towards the door. Harm paused and took a deep breath before he plastered a smile on his face and turned the knob, pulling open the door.

In the hall, Mac and Webb stood side-by-side. Webb had a huge grin on his face, and Harm couldn't help but notice his arm draped around her waist, his hand resting on her hip. "Hey, Rabb," he smirked hugging Mac closer. "I was pretty surprised when Mac told me you had invited us over for brunch today." He turned and kissed Mac on the cheek. "Well, I hope the food is good."

Mac looked at Harm with uncertainty as Webb led her into the room. Harm closed the door behind them, and made his way over to where Mattie was standing.

"And who's this?" Webb smirked. "A little young for a new girlfriend, isn't she, Rabb?"

"Clay!" Mac said, her face flushing in embarrassment.

"Oh, come on, Sarah, Rabb knows I was just kidding. Don't you, Rabb?"

Harm pushed down the growing ball of anger that was welling up inside him. He would control his temper today, for Mac's sake and Mattie's. He stepped up beside Mattie and put his arm around her shoulders. "This is Mattie, Clay. I'm her guardian."

"Guardian, holy crap, Rabb, when did you have time to adopt a kid?"

"Uh...I worked for her, after I left my... uh... last job." This was getting very uncomfortable. Harm hadn't really discussed what he had done before coming to work for her with Mattie, and he wasn't quite sure that he wanted her to know.

"Too bad about that, Rabb. You were a hell of a pilot, but getting your face plastered all over ZNN wasn't the best career move in your line of work. I had to let you go."

Mac turned in Webb's embrace. "You fired, Harm, Clay?" She asked incredulously.

Now it was Webb's turn to look uncomfortable, and if not for the hurt look on Mac's face–this was probably the first she had heard about Webb's involvement in his dismissal from the Company–Harm would have been happy watching the spook squirm.

Backpedalling quickly, Webb plastered a syrupy smile across his face. "It wasn't personal, Sarah, I had to let him go. We can't have agents whose faces are shown on the nightly news. You know that."

Mac didn't look very pleased to be told what she should or should not know. "That may be true, Clay," she said acidly, "but you still should have told me."

"I couldn't, Sarah. It was need-to-know."

"Wait just a minute," Mattie broke in. "What's all this 'need-to-know' crap? Harm, just what were you doing before you came to work for me?"

"What," Webb said, "Harm never told you about the time he spent working for the Company?"

Mattie turned to stare at Harm in shock. "'the Company' as in the CIA?"

Harm nodded. The cat was out of the bag now, so there was no use covering it up. He shot Webb a withering glare before he spoke. "Yes, Mats, I flew for the CIA for about five months before I came to fly for you. It was mostly just delivery missions–taking cargo from one place to another and dropping it off." It was a lot more than that, but there was no way he could tell her about the time that he flew the Aurora at Mach five. Even Mac didn't know about that, and since the plane didn't officially exist, there wasn't any way he could tell her, or anyone else about it.

Mattie waved her hand at Webb. "He said you were shown on the news and so he had to fire you; what happened?"

"Well I can't really tell you specifics, Mattie. Let's just say I was flying an Op out of North Africa and ran into some trouble. I had civilians on board, women and children. We were over the Med and didn't have enough fuel to reach land, so instead of ditching in the water, I kinda... well, landed a C130 on the deck of a carrier."

Mattie was no slouch when it came to aircraft knowledge; she knew exactly what a C130 was. "Holy cow, Harm! Is that even possible?"

"Well, it had never been done before, if that's what you're asking, but it was either that or all those people would have died. I couldn't let that happen."

Mattie turned her attention back to Webb. "He saved all these people and you fired him for it?" Mattie was in full on hero-worship mode, and even Webb took at step back as she stepped closer to him, pulling Mac back with him.

"Well, you see, he was seen by a film crew from ZNN that was doing a story on the carrier at the time. His face was shown all over the world. We couldn't have an operative that was known everywhere; it would risk not only his life, but those who worked with him as well."

The explanation sounded good, even to Harm's ears, but Mattie didn't by it. "So you just dumped him? Cut him adrift without anything?"

"Uh... well... we had to do it; it's the way the game works. Harm knew that going in."

It was amusing to see Mr. Super-spook knocked on his heels by a fifteen-year-old girl, but Harm wanted this day to be about him and Mattie and Mac, not about the past. "Mattie," he said forcefully. "Let it go. It all worked out for the best in the end. If I hadn't lost my job with the CIA I would have never met you, and would never have gone back to JAG." He turned to look Mac in the eyes. "And JAG is where I truly belong."

Mattie started to protest, but Harm pulled her into his arms to silence her. "Let it go," he whispered into her ear. "This is supposed to be a happy day."

Mattie hugged him back tightly. "Ok, but I can see why this Webb guys ticks you off."

"Hey, now, none of that." He released her and turned back to Mac and Webb. "I hope you two are hungry. It was a bit of a rush, but I think I managed to lay out a fairly decent spread for us."

"You know better than to ask if I'm hungry, Flyboy," Mac said, grinning.

Harm was warmed to hear the friendly banter from her. It was almost like nothing had changed between them, but when Webb pulled her close and plastered a sloppy kiss onto her lips, he was reminded again just how much things had changed.