Regrets

By Bernadeen

A/N: OK, I know the time to fly cross-country plus the time lost from time zone changes would take much longer than implied here, but go with me on this, please. It's the story flow, not the details that I've concentrated on.

Chapter 2

The C-130 landed smoothly at Andrews Air Force Base and taxied to its designated deplaning point. Harm and Mac grabbed their briefcases and bags and left the plane. They had traveled to San Diego by commercial airliner so neither had transportation at Andrews. It was late and they expected to go home for the night and make their report the next day. Harm was about to ask Mac if she wanted to share a taxi, when he was surprised to see Sturgis Turner waiting for them.

When they were close enough, they greeted their colleague. "Hi, Sturgis. I take it the Admiral is anxious for our report?" Harm asked his friend.

"Right. He sent me to bring you back to JAG HQ."

"Okay. Let's go." Mac agreed. She was relieved not to have to share the back seat of a cab with Harm. Her emotions were still too unsettled. Sturgis had a government sedan. It was understood that Harm took the front passenger seat so he had more room for his long legs. Mac was content to sit in back and silently run through her report in preparation for her meeting with the Admiral.

By the time they had finished their oral report to the Admiral, Mac was tired and hungry. She wanted nothing more than to eat, take a hot bath, and drop into bed, in that order. Since she knew she was going out of town, she had left her car at home. Harm, however, had driven to the office, and now was the only one of the two who had transportation readily available.

As they left the building, he realized that Mac's car wasn't here. He glanced at his former partner. She looked tired and sad, somehow. "You need a lift?" he asked tentatively.

Mac's first impulse was to refuse, but that was silly. She did need a lift and it could take awhile for a cab to arrive this time of night. "Yes. Thanks," she answered quietly.

Harm drove silently through the night. He was enjoying Mac's presence, her subtle scent reaching his senses from the passenger seat. With little effort he could imagine that all the misunderstandings hadn't happened .. it was like old times when they returned from an assignment .. tired, happy to be home, and comfortable in each other's company.

As he took the Georgetown exit, Harm again glanced toward Mac, thinking she might have dozed off. She hadn't but continued to sit, lost in thought. "Let's stop and eat before I drop you off," he suggested before he could help himself. When Mac brought her thoughts back to his question and appeared about to refuse, he added, "We both have to eat and if your fridge is as empty as mine after being gone, there won't be much there."

Drawing in a deep breath, Mac answered, "all right."

Harm swung his SUV into a well-known 24-hour family restaurant with a large and varied menu. They could both find something here to satisfied their very different tastes.

Though the meal was not horribly uncomfortable, they found little to say and most of the time they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Their meal finished, they continued on to Mac's apartment. When they arrived, Harm took Mac's case and walked with her to her door. Though she could have protested, she somehow was reluctant to send Harm away sooner than necessary. When they reached her apartment, Harm dropped her case inside her door, wished her a good night and left without delay.

Mac sighed as she walked through her empty apartment. The first thing she had to do was talk with Clay.

Two days later Mac still hadn't managed to reach Clay. She left messages, but his location was classified, as usual when he was not in his office. She and Harm didn't have much contact, even though they were both in the office. The Admiral had assigned them separate cases. There wasn't exactly tension between them, but there was no longer a feeling of friendship either. Mac wondered whether Harm regretted losing that as much as she did.

1715 Friday
JAG HQ

Three more days passed and it was Friday. Mac still hadn't heard from Clay. She felt like her life was on hold, floating in limbo, and she couldn't move on until she cleared up her relationship, or lack thereof, with Webb. Perhaps they hadn't become so close that an official "break up" was needed, but Mac felt she owed Clay a discussion because of what they had been through together. With a sigh, she shut down her computer, threw a few files in her briefcase, and left the office.

Harm was still in his office when he saw the Mac's light go off and glimpsed her crossing the bullpen. Several files still demanded his attention and he continued working for another hour. Since Mattie had come to be in his care, he usually tried to avoid working late. Tonight, however, she was at a friend's house for the night. Harm had called earlier to check that she had arrived safely there after school and to confirm her plans. Mattie grumbled a bit about Harm being overly protective, but she secretly enjoyed the feeling that someone checked up on her and was concerned about her again. Her mother had always done that, but alcohol had prevented her father from taking much interest in Mattie.

Finally Harm decided he had made enough progress in the paperwork and sat back with a sigh. He had a court date first thing Monday morning so he found the files he would need and put them in his briefcase to work on over the weekend. Shutting off his office light, he picked up his cover and left for home.

It was past most of the rush hour traffic and Harm made a quick trip to downtown Washington. He was nearing his home when he remembered that he had run out of both milk and coffee this morning. On the next block was a convenience store, and Harm pulled into the lot. Even though it wasn't late, the evening was cold and dark and the store was empty except for the clerk.

Harm was pulling a carton of milk from the cooler near the back when he heard the chime of the door opening. The fact that someone else was in the store didn't register until Harm heard something that caught his attention. He paused, listening, and turned slowly toward the front of the store. His view was obstructed by shelves, but his instincts told him there was trouble. Though he couldn't distinguish the words, he could hear a voice giving an order, belligerence trying to hide nervousness and fear.

Harm moved cautiously up an aisle until he could see the front of the store. A young, slightly built man with a stocking cap pulled down over his ears and his coat collar turned up around his face, was pointing a not quite steady gun at the store clerk. The clerk, young, inexperienced and terrified, was having difficulty getting the till open to comply with the robber's demand for money.

Suddenly, the robber caught a movement from the corner of his eye and instinctively swung the gun toward it. The sight of the tall man in a long dark coat over what appeared to be a uniform pushed his fear over the edge. Harm realized he had been seen and started to raise his hands to try to calm the situation. The next instant the robber pulled the trigger and Harm felt a burning in his chest. The blackness blotted out all thought almost before his body crumpled to the floor.

End Chapter 2