By: Liz D
A Future Fic based on the AU created in Old Friends and Old Friends, New Relationships
Chapter Six
Written: Fall 2005
Disclaimers: No disrespect to JAG's cast, crew, creators or characters. With love and thanks.
You people crack me up … thanks for the reviews and the hits … keep reading … I am hoping this one will be fun.
Letting The Days Go By
Chapter Six
1145 Local – January 8, 2008JAG Headquarters
Okinawa, Japan
"Ma'am." The petty office knocked on her doorframe. "There is a Commander Rabb here to see you – from JAG HQ."
Mac stood up immediately. They hadn't spoken since New Years Day (she never had the nerve to ask about Nea) and she had no idea that he was coming to Japan. "Show him in."
Harm stepped through the doorway looking like a very wonderful sight for some very sore eyes.
"Hi." She said tentatively.
He smiled back. "Hi."
Colonel Livingston stepped into the room behind him. "Colonel … I told you I would get the best defense for Silvers." He stated clearly. "I believe you two have met."
Harm and Mac exchanged a look.
Mac's eyes darkened. "Commander, would you care to explain?" She glared at Livingston as she spoke.
Harm was very familiar with that glare; had been on the receiving end a lot many years ago. It was really too bad that Livingston was the kind of guy that read it as a come-on. Clearly he didn't know Mac very well, but Harm did. "Certainly Colonel." Harm tried to break the tension. "I was asked to represent Gunnery Sergeant Silvers in this matter by General Mahoney."
Mac knew Mahoney by reputation, but he was very influential with the administration. "General Mahoney?" She questioned.
Livingston stepped in. "The Gunny served with the General too … he knows trumped up charges when he sees them."
Mac snapped her attention back to Livingston.
Harm felt a 'riot act' coming down. "Colonel." He turned to Livingston. "Why don't you find out what is taking so long with Silvers transfer?" He was hustling him out of the room. Harm smiled. "It will give the colonel and I a chance to catch up on our JAG days." He winked at him.
"I'll do that." Livingston was out the door before he caught on to Harm's 'game'. "Right, right … let you two catch up." He winked and nodded and walked away thinking that Harm would be able to use his history with Mac to facilitate the situation. Livingston had no idea of the extent of Mac and Harm's history and he had no clue how ineffective it would be on that case; in fact it might be detrimental.
Harm closed the door behind him. "OK?" He gestured toward the door, basically asking if she had an issue being behind closed doors with him.
"I don't like that man." Mac stated and shook off the door inquiry.
"He likes you." Harm sprawled out in one of her guest chairs.
Mac also sat down. "Oh?"
"He said that you have a rep for being a by-the-book bitch – but that with a body like yours - he would let you bitch him up one side --."
"Harm." She stopped him.
"Just repeating what I hear, Colonel." Again with that Cheshire cat grin.
She shook her head and smiled. "What are you doing here, Harm?" It didn't matter really; it was nice to see him. It was nice to see a friendly face – but it was particularly nice to see his.
"Like I said … a little string pulling."
"Who was pulling the strings?" She secretly hoped that some how Harm had figured out how to get there legitimately.
"Not me … though not for lack of trying … must have been Silvers … probably has friends in high places … of course maybe it's Livingston." He animatedly looked over his shoulder at the closed door, then back at her and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "And you may want to think about that, Colonel … he could certainly help you career."
"Harm … enough."
He laughed. It was fun playing with her. It was fun being with her knowing that he was following orders. "Truth is … Mahoney and I worked together on the task force … he called me when this Silvers thing came up … not sure who brought it to him … he pushed it through Schnarr's desk and here I am."
"You could have called."
"No time." He smiled and got up to stroll around her office not looking at her. "It is great to see you Sarah."
She leaned back in her chair. "You are really enjoying this," she moaned.
"You bet your sweet ass." He confirmed and turned to her with the picture of them from Afghanistan taken too many years ago to mention, the one she tossed at him and nearly took out an eye. "You may want to secure this." He said playfully and rubbed the scar above his eye.
She took it out of his hand and placed it on her desk. "Why?"
"I am here to do a job, Colonel." He smiled and nodded toward the picture. "No need to fuel the scuttlebutt." He sat back down. "They don't know who I am, do they?"
"To what 'they' are you referring?" She asked pointedly.
"Well, I need to spell my name to your petty officer – twice – and clearly Livingston has no idea."
"I don't have a clue what Livingston knows and doesn't know." She told him. "And frankly I don't care. He has been in my office every day for the last week trying to get me to stop the Silvers investigation."
"Is that why you are pushing it through?" He tossed back at her.
"No." She leaned back and spied him suspiciously. "It won't work, you know."
"What?" His eyes got wide in mock innocence.
"You won't be able to bait me."
His look melted into a soft sexy smile; the one he knew she could not resist. "I guess you know me too well."
She nodded feeling a pang in her stomach. Oh he knew her. "I know you well enough to know that you didn't have to take this case."
"And refuse a general's request?" He played.
"You didn't have to take it." She pressed easily. "So, tell my why are you really here?"
"I am here to do a job, Colonel." He shrugged and got up to leave. "But if anything else comes out of it …"
"Like what?" She quickly asked back.
"Oh I don't know … "
The glint in his eye was enticing and annoying at the same time. "Rabb." She warned but it was obvious her heart was not into it.
"So … MacKenzie … where are you taking me for dinner." He asked as he stepped toward the door.
"Dinner?" She asked. "You don't want to discuss the case?"
He shrugged. "It's a cake walk … your people did some pretty shoddy work." That was not true, but it didn't matter. Harm knew how to get Mac's goat. "I'm going to blow so many holes in it that they will think it was used for target practice."
"Harm." She warned. She knew he was pressing her buttons and needed to remind herself not to play into it.
"I'm serious Mac." He countered. "Did you even read the Article 32 report?"
"Yes I read it … it warranted a trial."
"Says you." He threw back at her.
"Said the convening authority." She slammed back at him.
"This is a railroad job Mac, and I am going to get to the bottom of it."
"Harm, don't go looking for trouble." She warned.
"Will you be the one to give it to me?" He suggested.
"You are on my turf now, sailor." She stated.
"What's the matter Sarah; worried that I'm going to piss in your pool?"
"Harm -." She was about to launch into a tirade of gigantic proportions.
He laughed out loud. Round one was coming to a close. "Don't you love this?"
She was taken aback. "What?"
"This … us … you and me on opposite sides again … debating a case … come on Mac … this is fun."
Mac would have had to agree, but since it was her rep on the line, she didn't. "No, Harm … this is serious … I don't want you making a game out of this."
"A game?" He smiled with mock innocence. "Moi?"
"Yeah YOU." She came from around the desk.
"I need to see my client, Colonel." He said. "When are you picking me up for dinner?"
"We are back to dinner now?"
"Hey … I'm an old colleague from your JAG HQ days … you need to take me to dinner … show me the town … nothing wrong with that … nothing IMPROPER … it's only polite."
She relented. "1900."
"And my office?" He pressed.
"At the VOQ." She pressed back.
He shrugged. "So far away … and yet." His eyes flashed. "Still in the same time zone."
He opened the door to leave and she stepped closer. He closed it again and kept his hand there preventing anyone from interrupting them.
"Harm?"
He scanned her up and down with a hungry look in his eye. "You look fantastic, Sarah … I mean really fantastic."
She blushed.
He leaned in and whispered into her ear, "And 'blush' has always been my favorite color on you … all of you." He kissed her cheek softly letting his lips linger just slightly too long.
She pulled away and didn't look at him.
He reached out and tilted her head up so she would have to meet his eyes. "Until tonight then."
She nodded slightly. "Tonight." Her voice would not carry any more words.
He let his thumb brush across her lips and pulled her close. He was millimeters away from kissing her and she would not have stopped it. He brushed his cheek by hers and whispered into her ear with a low and seductive voice, "no uniforms." He inhaled deeply and let out a passionate sigh. "Damn, you smell great." He leaned back to be sure that she was putty in his hands. She was. "I'll see you tonight." He slipped from the room.
It took Mac a full five minutes to recover. Harm could – when he wanted to – push every one of her buttons and play her like an accordion. When she had finally regained her composure, she wondered what was the motivation was. Was he just trying to get her off guard so he could win in court, or was there something more he was after?
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1845 Local – January 8, 2008VOQ
Okinawa, Japan
Hare dressed with care and precision. He needed to be casual, yet sexy – remind her what she had been missing. He laughed at himself. He was playing a game – a romance game – and he thought he was over that. Shouldn't they be past that? Clearly no.
When the orders came down and Schnarr announce that Harm would be the one going to Japan, the staff room got quiet. Harm didn't know how to respond.
It was Bud that cut the ice. "Wow … Japan." Bud mocked the innocence. "Haven't been there in ages."
Harm just looked at Bud.
"Will there be a problem, commander." Schnarr asked pointedly.
"None, ma'am."
"And I expect none." She stated and picked up her files. "You have your orders. Dismissed." She strode from the room.
Tracy, Lillian and Kate – especially Kate – were all chomping at the bit to say something, but Harm shut them all down with a look.
He was left alone with Bud.
"Say hello to the colonel for me, would you?" He said sweetly.
"I will."
"Wow … you two working together again …" Bud commented. "I am sorry that I won't be there."
"Why?" Harm asked. He had an idea, but wanted to be sure he understood Bud.
"WHY?" Bud laughed. "WHY? To see the two of you in court again – and on opposite sides … my God … that is better than getting the Beatles back together … you two made me who I am today … I would be no where if you and the colonel hadn't ---."
Harm cut him off. "You did that all on your own Bud … we may have pointed out some good directions … but you did it on your own."
"Still."
"Still … nothing … Mac is the JAG out there … nothing says that she will be in court."
"True … but …"
"But what?" Harm asked back.
"I was just thinking …" He smiled.
Harm was about to challenge him, but it was clear that Bud was thinking that Harm and Mac might make a break through in their relationship … particularly if they had to do it in a courtroom. They were always better in court.
"Well, stop thinking Bud." Harm playfully warned him, but all it served to do was set his own wheels in motion. By time the wheels touched down in Japan, Harm had plan: flirt, woo and be honest. Not normally the KILLER THREE … but it would work for Mac
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1900 Local – January 8, 2008VOQ
Okinawa, Japan
Mac knocked on the door precisely at 1900. She knew Harm would be late, but she didn't care. There were a couple of things they needed to get understood before it got totally out of control.
Harm opened the door dressed and ready to go. "On the dot." He smiled and stepped out of his quarters. "Nice to see that something haven't changed."
His being ready messed up her plan to 'set him straight'.
"Looking great, Mac." He again scanned her up and down only this time was more friendly than seductive.
She was dressed simply in jeans and a silk shirt. It didn't occur to her until right then that it was the same outfit she had worn to the dinner they had just before she left of Okinawa. Harm must have remembered and assumed more than it did.
"So where are we going for dinner … and don't say Sushi." He was easy and calm with her.
"No." She had completely forgotten where they were going. "Um … no … not sushi."
"So?"
"It's a little Italian place … they make a killer eggplant parmigiana." The best thing about that place was that it was far away from the base and was not frequented by many base personnel.
He smiled softly at her. His plans were working perfectly. "Excellent … lead on Mac-Duff."
The dinner conversation was light and easy. There was none of the sexual overtones that had filled the previous meeting. Mac was grateful for that but wondered why it was missing at the same time. She could barely keep her mind from thinking about him making love to her. She imagined any number of seductions scenarios in her head. It was often hard to concentrate.
He had gotten her talking about work, her people, the tribulations of command and what she was enjoying about her new situation. There was no second agenda, as best she could tell. Over dessert she turned the direction of the conversation back on Harm. Asked him about being back at JAG, back in the court room, his relationship with the admiral and what is was like to work with the three bitches – sorry witches: Lillian, Kate and Tracy. He was not overly honest but he held nothing back. He had told her about his conversation with Kate – or enough of it for her to know that he had shut her down, shut her off.
After dinner they took a walk by the water.
Out of the blue Mac commented. "You seem really happy, Harm." She had been thinking it since she had picked him up. He was like his old self – the one she met over a decade before - only not. There was none of that youthful arrogance, just a sincere confidence based on past accomplishments. It was very attractive. A small voice inside of her thought it might have something to do with Nea. She was torn as to whether or not to bring it up.
"I seem happy to you?" He asked back.
"Yes." She had now opened up that door to personal feelings. It might have been a Pandora's box.
"Well …" He looked out over the water. "I am happy to be here."
"It's more than that." She pressed, not exactly knowing why. "You belong at JAG, you are good at what you do and it shows."
He turned to her and leaned against the railing so he was more on eye level with her. "Ya think?"
"Yes." She felt the butterflies kick up in her gut.
"Well." He had an idea what he wanted to say, but no clear idea how to say it. The intensity almost became too much to bear. He wanted to grab he and kiss her, make her for get the past year or more, but he found a voice: "They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions." He blurted out.
Mac was at a loss. "Road to hell?"
This next bit was clear in his mind, he only hoped that he could get her to follow what was in his lead. "That a person – a man, a husband – can set out with the best of intentions to do what he thinks is right, what he thinks is expected, what he thinks will be best for everyone concerned." He paused. "Sometimes that works, sometimes that is the only thing a man can do." He looked at her closely to see if she were still with him. "But sometimes all that happens is that he loses himself, piece by piece until there is nothing left and he winds up in hell."
Her heart was racing.
"To climb out of that hell he has to go in search of all that he lost. Sometimes what has been lost is right there, ready and waiting for him. Easily recovered. Sometimes it takes work, hard work, more work to recover than it originally took to acquire. But once he has found it again, once he has earned it again, he cherishes it, nurtures it and protects it more than he ever did before." Then his eyes took on a sad glow. "However … sometimes what is lost can never be found."
She knew all about unrecovered loss. "What does he do then?" Her voice was weak.
"Well that depends on the man." He said slowly. "One man might try to replace it. Another might try to forget that it was ever his. Another still could try to somehow devalue its importance in his life." He reached out and took her hand. "Still another man would never stop looking, never give up the hope of finding it again one day."
Mac's breath caught in her throat. He had gotten to her heart and her mind as well as her body.
"That man may be the saddest man of all. His only real hope is to ask for help; maybe from someone who shares the loss as deeply as he does."
She adopted his extended metaphor. "Sometimes what he – or she – had perceived as lost was never actually theirs to begin with ... and it takes time to realize that and reconcile themselves."
He pressed her hand. "Time is the only real gift that is given to us … you and I know better than most that it should not be squandered or wasted."
"Harm." She was so close to falling into his arms and pleading with him, begging for his forgiveness. "Harm, I --." It was at that moment that her phone rang. It rang two more times before she was prepared to answer. "MacKenzie … He what? … Thank You. I will be right there."
Harm looked at her.
She was back to business. "Silvers has escaped." She was about to turn away to head toward the car but turned back. "Harm ... I heard you ... I really did ... and you and I also know that often a person will get on the wrong path hoping to find their way back."
"Then that is also time to ask for help … to find the right path."
She nodded. She agreed, or at least didn't disagree; but there was more stuff that had to happen before they could really iron all this out.
"Can we finish this later?" She asked.
"For you Sarah … I have nothing but time."
End Chapter Six – TBC … Fun?