Okay gang, here's part 6. Sorry for the delay. I start school again on Monday and been hectic trying to get all of my stuff in order. Whew BTW - There is purposely a push and pull in this stories. Meaning, they give an inch and take it back. I mean, I figure it this way, they've hurt each other A LOT, it won't be easy to just give in. Besides, it wouldn't be fun for me to just have them give in. ;) That's what The Fine Art Of Dating is for. ;) So yea, it has a purpose. And yes, I know, I know, you're going to be saying this too soon - TEASE! Yes, I am LIVE WITH IT. ;)

Thank you to: froggy0319, trekker4life, Abigaile, BlueJay, dansingwolf, Nix707, Tracy, LieutenantjgMegAustin, n.k, EY, jaggurl, LtCmdrFlygirl, Feverish Dream, ady, AgtDanaM, starryeyes10, DD2, KittyX, FoxyWombat, Dessler, JAGJenni, daisymh, Bite Beccy, Sam, Cristina, JamieAClassyone, The Obsessed Three, Dessler, Snugglebug, BlueJay, Britainy, verochan, EasterBunny, Any, freezepop, cbw, highplainswoman, Denaliyasha, outofit, anothershipper, marinejag, Rebecca05, prinnie, TB, Jill
and you anonymous peeps- for the feedback:)

Enjoy!
Jackie

PART 6 – Searching For A Sign

Mac's House
San Diego, California

"Mmmm." It would have been easy to say that he wasn't attractive. That she didn't want him. But the moment Mac walked into her home and found a sweaty, shirtless Harmon Rabb Junior doing sit ups on the floor of her living room, all arguments went out the window. Heavy guitar notes from the Scorpions' famous. "Rock You Like A Hurricane" poured out of her stereo system which was suddenly a godsend. Without being discovered, she shamefully watched him with lust in her eyes.

Harm's abdominal muscles bunched as he raised himself up doing a full sit up. He twisted his body from the waist so that his elbow would touch one knee and then shifted to the other side. The music fueled his movements which were fast, yet deliciously graceful. "Mmm, delicious." Mac said with a low husky voice. The word definitely described him to the 'T.' Part of her called her crazy for the sensuous thoughts that ran through her head. But, it had been a while, hadn't it? And she was a woman who knew what she wanted; more importantly, who she wanted.

Without a second thought, Mac let her desire fuel her movements. No hesitation. She wanted him and she'd take him now. Watching as he slowed his movements, she quickly disrobed, letting her Marine greens fall to a pool on the floor. She bit her lower lip as the wicked thoughts consumed her. Damn, she'd never been that brave when it came to a man. For the most part, she was the old fashioned type. The one that liked men who came to her. But, Harm wasn't a normal guy and she believed it was time she try to make the first move again. Only wearing her bra, panties, thigh high nylons and black pumps, she sauntered towards him. Stopping right in front of Harm she found that he had his eyes closed as he moved up for another sit up. 'Good,' She thought, as she stood over him, placing his body between her legs.

As Harm moved upwards, he felt something was different in the air and was shocked to find Mac standing in such an alluring position. "Mac?" He rasped out.

"I don't think there is anything more sexy. . ." She began as she lowered herself onto his torso, straddling him. "Than an attractive man, all sweaty from working out." Grinning wickedly, she moved forward, crushing her lips against his. Mac kissed him for all she was worth and then some. God he tasted good, the mixture of his scent mixed with sweat. She didn't know why, but damn, it was alluring.

When they broke apart, Harm was panting, both from the workout and a kiss that took his breath away. He noted then what had happened and was going to happen. "But, I'm all sweaty. . .I mean, Annie, Renee. . .they usually made me shower." He was flustered and his cheeks burned a bright pink from the looks she was giving him.

"I'm not Annie or Renee." This time she was breathless as Harm covered her mouth with his own. Somehow, he maneuvered them so that she was lying under him.

Growling, he lightly nipped at her shoulder. "You're crazy, Mac."

"Over you." She said in a wispy voice then proceeded to lick the sweat from his chin. "Mmm, you taste so good." Mac tried to move, to change positions, but he held her down firmly. His wicked grin matched her own. "What are you doing, Sailor?"

Harm's eyes had turned to a strange shade of green. His look of desire and rapture was threatening to overwhelm her. "Before this gets too serious. . .I need to tell you something."

"What? What is it, Harm?" She could see his lips moving, but his voice was fading away. "Harm?" As she came to rest on her elbows, Mac found herself lying alone in her bed. It had been a dream. "Ugh!" With a huff, she threw herself back down on the bed. "The man is gonna drive me crazy." Sighing, she turned over to her side and was startled by the high pitched ringing her of her phone. "Colonel MacKenzie."

Just like that, her morning was already continuing to be a bummer. "Hey there, Mac." It was Harm. She could hear the lightness in his voice and for the life of her, words weren't formulating in her brain. "Uh, Mac?"

"Yea?" Mac bit her lower lip, hoping that her voice didn't sound too wispy after that dream she was having. "You're up early."

Harm just chuckled. "Really? It's noon, Mac." Consulting her internal clock, Mac found that to be true. "You aren't sick are you? I mean, it sounds like you're still in bed." His voice which moments earlier had a jovial tone, now was laced with worry.

"No. . .No, just went to bed late, is all. . .Are we still on for tonight?" She bit her lower lip, noticing that she sounded way too eager for this. Mac only hoped he wouldn't call her on it. The last thing she needed that the moment was an embarrassing situation.

"Yea, just called to tell you that I'll be by at eight. We can have something to eat before heading out. . .How about I bring pizza?"

"Half meat lovers, half veggie?"

"You got it. . .see you later. Bye."

"Bye." Well, though she knew that evening wouldn't be anything like her dream, at least they would get to spend some time together. That was good enough for her.

2145 Local
Oceanside, California

"You know, it isn't pizza, but these subs are damn good." Some things never changed, that was clearly obvious when Harm had arrived at her doorstep, forty-five minutes past eight and with NO food. His excuse: the company car was being used by another investigator and he needed to wait. She teased him about it, as he expected, but it wasn't done to the point of annoyance, only a good rousing from a friend. To make it up to her, Harm promised he would take her to the best sandwich place in town. So far, as they sat in the agency's SUV munching on their meals, she would agree at his assessment. The sub was excellent. She took a sip of the fruit juice he'd picked up for her and smiled.

It wasn't a date, it wasn't anything out of this world, but she was enjoying herself. It had been way too long since she felt this comfortable with anyone. Harm finished off his sub with a sip from his own juice, then reached behind to the back seat. On the center counsel he placed a briefcase, then popped it open. "Time to start the surveillance." From the briefcase he pulled out a pair of night vision binoculars. He cleansed the lenses with his shirt then took a peak out. "Hmmm, like clockwork."

"What is it?" Mac asked, looking out of the tinted window, squinting slightly in hopes that it would improve her vision. "I don't see anything."

Harm handed her the binoculars. "Umm. . .two o'clock." He watched intently as she made the correction. "On the right side of the binoculars is the zoom, you should be able to see a big bald guy standing guard outside of the building." The building they were casing was, literally, on a block away. There was a small community park dividing the building from their location.

"Across the park you mean?"

"Yep. . .That's who we're going to watch."

"From over here?" Her voice registered the shock she felt. Apparently not everything was like the movies when the super sleuths were right under the target's window. "That's pretty far."

"We'll get closer." He said with a chuckle, then snatched the binoculars back from her. "One of our boys managed to put a bug in the car, but it hasn't helped much."

Turning to him, Mac couldn't help but smile at seeing him so into his job. She was happy that he seemed to be enjoying it. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Harm. Life had done a huge disservice to him. "So, who's this guy we are casing."

Harm put down the binoculars and gave her a funny look. "Now, that is highly sexist, Colonel. . .It's a she not a he." Fishing through the briefcase, he pulled up the files on Manda Patterson, a good looking, blond, 'business woman,' and handed it to Mac.

"Hey, we can't all be perfect." She said with a shrug and stared onto the picture of the woman. The way she'd presented herself in pictures, Mac could only deduce that this had to be a typical PI case. Affairs had become way too common. With a hint of distance at the thought of her own affair with Farrow, she handed Harm the picture back and shook the images out of her head. "So what has she done?"

Being good at something, doesn't mean you have to give your soul up. As he turned his head towards Mac, Harm remembered those key words said by Gunny's friend who they'd picked the agency up from. The man had been referring to the many employees he'd seen torn apart because they'd gotten too close to some cases effectively giving their souls up. This was one of the cases he was getting a little too wrapped up in and for good reason. "Well, you know the guy from the bar the other night? . . .She's rumored to be the girlfriend and a business partner. . . We just need to see just how 'involved' they were." Harm wanted to bring them down so badly he could taste it. True, Randy Quinn and his goons had been nabbed during his previous investigation, but his group was rather large and difficult to penetrate. He had to go through every layer.

As she sat there, Mac had a brief encounter with an unwanted friend named 'Jealousy.' For some, silly little reason, her mind was playing images of Harm investigating the woman. 'Mac, don't go there.' She said to herself, managing to stop her thoughts from venturing to those of the surreal. Harm wasn't going to end up getting that close to the woman. 'Hell, if that is what he wanted to do, he'd have done it by now.' She reassured herself then sighed remembering that she wasn't suppose to be jealous. She was a friend, nothing more.

"Okay, we're on the move." Harm's sudden tone caught her by surprise as well as the swiftness that he had the car in drive and moving. "Keep your eyes peeled, I doubt anyone saw us, but that doesn't mean they aren't tailing."

Mac glanced at him and the extreme look of concentration on his face. He really seemed to like this, the hunt, the thrill. It seemed unfair that he had such excitement and she, for the most part, sat in an office all day. If she was truly honest, the only excitement she had was reaming Vukovic from time to time. And even that was beginning to lose its appeal. "Alright, they're moving."

Through the green tint of the binoculars, he could see Manda Patterson, dressed in a sexy business suit, walking slowly out of the building that held her offices. As usual, she waited for one of the members of her security to escort her towards the waiting BMW. The guard opened the door for her and then returned to the building to stand guard.

Even if she didn't want to, Mac was being sucked into the case and the life. Though they'd only been at it for less than half an hour, she found herself enjoying this. Harm positioned the SUV across the street from the building and shut off the engine. "Okay, now we wait."

"For what?"

That sweet smile of his did something to her insides, though she fought against it. This was Harm. Her friend! " You'll see. . .just relax for a while. . .these guys are predictable." At least, they had predictable the whole month they'd been casing the place. "In a couple of minutes a car is going to come up and pick up her guard. . .they always do the same thing every day." He found it completely ludicrous as to why it all ran like clockwork, but, with as many people as both Quinn and Patterson had in their pockets, it was easy to get away with murder, literally.

Mac watched in awe when, no more than five minutes later, another vehicle came to pick up the guard from the building. "Don't people find it weird that she has a guard?"

"She owns the building. Both she and Quinn have so many government players in their pockets, that they could shoot someone in broad daylight and get out scott free."

Frowning, she turned from the window towards Harm. "How did you manage to get him then?"

"Outside authorities. . .The locals might be unwilling to cooperate, but the major authorities want nothing more than to bring down another drug ring." Reaching to the bag, he produced a small, black bag which he placed on top of the closed suitcase then opened the car door. "Okay, here we go."

Warning bells were going off in Mac's head. Something about his demeanor made it seem as if he were going to go somewhere. But that couldn't be right. With a look that could only be described as one of terror, Mac stared, wide eyed. "Haaaarm?" She said, drawing his name out.

"Yeeeeees?" He partially slid back onto the driver's seat, giving her a sideways grin.

It would have been nice to say that it didn't unnerve her to see him kill the engine and stuff the keys as well as the small black case in his jacket, but it was just the opposite. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yep. I have to get inside."

Yes, there was definitely a good reason why warning bells were going off. "Are you INSANE?" She yelled, voicing her concerns in rather loud fashion. "That's ILLEGAL!"

Harm glanced around nervously, hoping no one heard Mac's yell, before turning to her. "SHHH!" He admonished, then jumped out of the car and made his way over to her side. He practically had to tear the door out of her grasp and once he opened it she was giving him a blank glare. "Hey you wanted to come on this thing." He pointed out, remembering, quite well, how eager she sounded.

"Uh huh, when I thought it was stakeout not a little B & E!" She yelled as best as she could while whispering. "Stop that!" Mac slapped away his hands which were grasping her hand, trying to pull her out of the car. "I am not going in there!"

With an exasperated sigh, he removed his hand from hers and leaned against the opened door. "I won't be in there for long. . .Besides, what these guys are doing really is illegal." But, she was still unwilling to move. In fact, Mac was just shaking her head. "You and I have done worse."

"Yes, in the name of duty."

It was a nice argument if Harm would have seen the difference, which he didn't. "Okay, this is part of our duty. . .Mac, kids have been killed both by the drugs and by not wanting to work for them. . .I have to get inside."

Mac relented the moment his plight hit a raw nerve. She could envision both Mattie and Chloe stumbling onto people like Quinn and Paterson. The thoughts were sickening and if she could help it, she wouldn't allow any child to suffer through that. "Fine, but if we get caught, I am holding you solely responsible."

"Deal, if we get busted I'll just tell the authorities that I kidnapped you." He grinned at her death glare and added under his breath. "Even though you can't kidnap the willing."

"What was that?"

"Uh, nothing." Harm stammered watching as Mac quickly crossed the street. It amused him, somewhat, that she was actually going to do this with him. In fact, she already was headed towards the building with the cunning of a cat burglar. Allowing himself a slight chuckle, he raced across the street and headed down the pathway that lead to the door. "Umm, Mac. . .we have to go in through the back."

She stared up at the massive double doors and then glanced down at Harm. "Oh, yea. . I umm. . .knew that." Mac shrugged, headed down the steps and around the building following Harm. "So how are you going to get in?" Glancing up at the windows, she spotted a familiar sticker from one of the local home/office security businesses. "There's an alarm, how are you going to bypass that?"

Harm didn't answer, choosing to just smirk at her doubtfulness of their little mission. "Put these on." He handed her a set of gloves and then slipped on his own pair. Out of his pocket, he pulled out the small, black case. "Hold this." He placed the bag in her open hands, then rifled through until he pulled out a gun-shaped silver object. "First, we have to unlock the doors." Next, he took a tiny MAGlite flashlight and placed it in his mouth as he worked on inserting the pick gun into the keyhole.

"Ah, a pick gun. Aren't those only sold to law enforcement offices?" Leaning against the door frame, she grinned down at Harm who had the locks open quicker than she could finish her sentence. "And I can see why that would be so."

He stood up, grabbed the case from Mac, then pulled the door open. A low, chirping noise resonated out of the darkened hallway as he ushered her inside. "After you and stay to the right wall else the motion sensor will go off."

"You've really checked this whole place out huh?" She asked, once they were inside. On the left wall of the entryway, she could see a small, white keypad. Again, the case was thrust at her while Harm calmly searched for the items he needed. He placed the MAGlite in his mouth, pointing the light at the keypad and using a miniature power screwdriver, he released the tiny screws from the alarm housing, then pulled on it to expose the wires. Mac watched with interest as he cut a set of wires and placed a mini metal pin on the ends. "That's it?" She whispered and though she figured that disabling alarms successfully probably came with practice, Mac was completely surprised at how easy it was for him.

Harm placed all of the items into the black case and slowly moved out of the hallway. "Yea, it's pretty much like hot wiring a car."

"You say that as if I'd done that before."

Stopping abruptly he turned to her. "Didn't you tell me once that you and Chris used to steal cars?"

Giving him a pointed glare, Mac sighed in frustration. "Yes, he used to steal the cars, I would go along for the ride. . .And, by the way, you never told me how you learned to hot wire cars. . . Ooof." Not paying attention to where Harm was going, she collided with his shoulder as he stopped and turned to address her.

Placing a hand on her arm, he steadied her then raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You alright there, Mac?"

Rubbing the arm which he'd collided against, she shook her head. "Yea, fine. . let's just hurry up and get out of here." This time, she followed a few steps away from Harm as he headed through the building and towards a double set of wooden doors which headed to Manda Patterson's office. "It's a long shot, but see if you find anything in these drawers." He told Mac, pointing at the small desk just outside which had to belong to Patterson's secretary.

As she set to that task, he gently pulled open the double doors and headed inside, surprised that there were no additional security measures in the office. He sat himself behind Patterson's desk, turned on her computer and waited for it to boot up. As he waited, Mac entered the office, a look of disappointment on her face. "Nothing?"

"Not a thing." She came around the desk, standing behind him as his fingers frantically moved over the keyboard, implementing several codes. Mac stared, completely bewildered at the knowledge that Harm had attained. Next, he pulled a flash drive from his pocket which he pressed into the USB port. "Wooow, he learned how to operate something beside a fight jet's computer? Since when are you into computer technology?"

"If I didn't learn, Gunny said he wouldn't allow me to go anywhere near a client." He said with a shrug, but remembered, quite vividly, Gunny's position on his computer knowledge. "So our computer specialist gave me a crash course. . . well, it was more than a crash course."

They both remained in silence, waiting for information to be transferred into the flash drive when a loud "whoop" sound had them both jumping from the fright. "Harm?"

"Stay here." Quickly, he stood and headed out of the office and headed back to the hallway. Everything on the alarm was as it should have been. That's when he noticed that the streets outside weren't lit. "Damnit." The lights on the block had gone out. He ran back down the hallway and into the office finding Mac under the desk. "Uh, what are you doing there?"

"I guess the power is out because the PC's battery is going nuts." She pointed downwards to a black box which all of the computer's cables plugged into it. Standing up, she came up as close to Harm as she dared. "You know, this is the last time I listen to you. . . Yea, it should be pretty normal, boring and routine. . .Uhh huh. . . I just had the SHIT scared out of me!"

For that matter, so did he, but he wasn't about to admit that his heart had just gotten a jolt he wasn't looking forward to. "Don't tell me you're not having fun?" He said in a loud voice. All along, he'd been whispering, but, at that instant, it was just fun to rouse Mac. Besides, he reminded himself, there was nothing to worry about. He knew Patterson's routine inside and out.

"NO!" Mac yelled back at him, then quickly relented. "And would you keep your voice down and finish whatever the hell it is you're doing!" She whispered, frantically pointing at the computer. This calm and collected Harm was starting to unnerve her.

"You know? This used to be a bit more fun with you. . ." Harm still didn't keep his voice down. Though he wasn't yelling, it was pretty close to it.

"Harm! Shut up!" She headed towards the window, glancing out to the parking spaces below.

Huffing, he slid back into Patterson's chair, typing a few more commands in order to squeeze as much information as possible out of the computer. "What? There is no one here, no one will be here until tomorrow morning."

"Oh no?" Spinning around, she held one of the curtains slightly open and pointed outside. "Then who the hell is that?"

"Hah. Funny, Mac." It was a joke, he knew it had to be. Right? It was. . . "Shit!" The sincere look in her eyes, combined with a flash of anger, sent him into hyper mode. "Holy shit." He grabbed the flash drive out of the USB port, shoving it deep into his pockets. Going through the computer's menus, he clicked on the correct buttons to turn it off, then froze for a moment. There was a mixture of voices from the front of the building and the distinct sound of a door opening and closing. When he turned towards Mac, they both shared the same look of fear. "Hide." He commanded, glancing around to find a place to do just that.

"Hide! Where!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw louvered slats that belonged to, what had to be, a closet door. "Closet. . .now." He reached out for her and practically pulled Mac into the closet with him. They fell in a heap, both landing against the back wall with a muffled 'thump.' His larger frame cushioning the blow for her smaller one.

The sounds of footsteps was starting to come closer to the office and he only prayed that no one saw his methods of disabling alarms. Thankfully, the power outage would hide the reasons as to why the alarm wasn't set. "Harm?" He heard Mac's voice in the dark and was barely aware of just how close they were to one another. He glanced downwards, towards her voice and felt a hitch in her breathing. "Would you kindly get your hand off of my six?"

Is that where his hand was! No wonder it was firm, yet soft and. . . "Sorry." He said, then removed his hand as if he were burned. 'Nice going, Hammer! Really nice!'

"I'll be sure to clobber you over the head later. . ."

"Yea and I'll. . ." He was about to retort when they heard the footsteps right in the room. The hand that he had recently pulled away, now came around her body almost as if he were trying to shield her away from some deadly force. In the darkness, all he could see was her slight silhouette. Her breath, which was moments ago fanning his skin, was non-existent. For that matter, neither was his.

Mac's hands, who had somehow wandered onto his arms, held tighter as the room outside was bathed with light. The stray strands of light emanating through the louvered slats, gave her a better perception of it all. They were inside a cedar closet, shoved into a corner that was full of boxes with the word "files" on them. From her vantage point, she could peak through one of the slats and took note that both Patterson and her goon had returned. "Damnit, Jennings, I want you to call the company. They have to put some sort of outside power source on this building. . . How in the world are we supposed to stay secured if the damned alarm isn't working during an outage?" Patterson yelled at the goon, tossing a wadded up piece of paper directly at his chest. "Just in case, I want you to PERSONALLY check this entire place."

The man never said a word, only nodded at his orders and soon headed out of the office. With a huff, Patterson settled herself in front of her computer, then turned it on. "That's funny." She said out loud causing both Harm and Mac to cringe. Somehow, Mac managed to slip one of her hands into Harm's pocket, feeling around for the flash drive. She let out a slow breath upon feeling the hard, warm drive secured in his pocket.

Glancing downwards, Harm made eye contact with Mac. He was mildly surprised to not find anger, but a look of uneasiness. And he had himself to blame if this went sketchy. 'Guess I'm really going to have to tell the cops I kidnapped her.' He thought ruefully as he tried to gauge exactly what his position on all of this would be if he got caught. 'Yea, let's see. . .Bag full of spy materials, flash drive with all her computer files. . .and, oh yes, the gloves, can't forget that.' He mentally chastised himself, sighing deeply as the minutes seemed to turn into hours. The position that he and Mac were in didn't really help the situation much at all. His back, which had been hurting off and on ever since he ejected the night of her rehearsal dinner, was screaming bloody murder. If he tried to straighten himself out, chances are he would knock over some of the boxes or, worse yet, knock over Mac. Biting back a groan, he adjusted his knee slightly, hoping to put some weight on his other leg.

Mac too was suffering her own moment of discomfort. One of her legs was pinned against the wall by Harm's knee. No doubt she would have a bruise on her thigh from that alone. The flashlight in his pocket was digging into her rib and, to top it off, if she even slightly moved, her balance would be rocked and she would no doubt, fall flat on her six. All thoughts about their comfort came to a halt when Jennings returned to the office and glanced towards the closet with a peaked interest. As his steps came closer, the two in the closet could do nothing more than hold on and pray. Mac turned her head away slightly, closing her eyes when Jennings extended a hand towards the knob of the closet door.

"Jennings!" Patterson's yelp echoed through the office walls. Standing, she headed towards him and stopped just an inch short. "Did you find something?" The man shook his head indicating that he hadn't. "Good, now, let's go."

Before retreating from her office, Patterson shut off the computer leaving Jennings to tend to the light. "And for Christ sakes, call the alarm company tomorrow!"

Harm and Mac remained inside the closet for several minutes more. It wasn't until they heard a car driving away, that they were able to breathe normally again. Mac pushed the door open, stumbling slightly as Harm fell onto his six. "Jesus that was exhilarating!" She yelled and chuckled slightly at the turn of events. "And kinda fun!"

"FUN? I thought I was going to have a heart attack." Dramatically, Harm placed a hand on his chest and sighed deeply. This was so NOT the way the night was supposed to go. "They weren't supposed to be back. .. at all. We've been casing this place for weeks."

"Oh, you're not having fun?" She teased then gave Harm a hand to help him stand up.

"Cute, Marine." As he came to his feet , Harm slipped a hand into his pocket, making sure the flash drive hadn't fallen out. "Okay, let's get out of here." Quickly, the pair headed out of the office and back down the hall to where the alarm keypad was. Harm carefully removed the metal pins, wound the cables back together, screwed the plate back onto the wall and armed the alarm. "Alright, done."

Getting out without incident, they both peaked out of the corner of the building. Finding that they were alone, Harm and Mac made a beeline for the SUV and jumped inside. It was awkward now that Mac's exhilaration had worn off and Harm, as usual, was blaming himself for nearly getting them caught. Twice she had turned to look towards him, finding that strong, resilient look on his face. But, he never turned towards her. In fact, when he noticed her watching, he would mind the road with much more intensity. It was when they came to a red light, that Mac decided to confront him. "I am not angry with you, if that's what you think."

"That's nice, but I am angry with myself." He cast his eyes downward, studying a piece of lint that was stuck to his jeans. "I could have stuck us both in a lot of trouble. . . More so you."

Mac shook her head in disgust unable to comprehend why he always had to place the blame on himself. She disliked this side of him and while it was true that he'd suggested for her to come alone, she'd accepted. And, for the most part, she rather enjoyed the evening. "Harm, don't do this macho BS thing you always do. . .I am not angry with you and you shouldn't be angry with yourself either." When he still wouldn't look at her, Mac placed a hand on his arm. "Look at me, will you?" She said softly then grinned when his eyes met hers. "I'll admit I felt some apprehension at first, but it was fun. . .And I know you'd never put me in trouble or in danger if you could avoid it."

For some godforsaken reason, Harm could feel the steady thump of his heart picking up speed under his veins. He wanted to look away, knowing that it was her gaze that was doing this to him. They were just friends, nothing else, and he'd set that boundary with the words he told her four years ago. Now, he was going to have to deal with it, like a man, without running away. It was pointless to deny that he needed her, but he wouldn't hurt her like he did before. He wouldn't break her heart again so allowing himself to fall in love with her again was unacceptable. For that matter, if possible, he wouldn't allow her to fall for him again either. "So does this mean you trust me again?" Her grin went up in wattage and despite himself, Harm grinned back.

"We're working on that." There was a sincerity in her voice that cut through the both of them in ways that were inexplicable. "Ah, the light's green." Mac said, diverting her attention from him and glancing off towards the streets.

"What light?" The rich honk of a semi-truck behind them was all the answer he needed. "Oh. . .sorry." He chuckled nervously then got the car moving again. The rest of the drive was filled with sounds of an 80s station that Mac had found while flipping through the radio. His laughter at Mac crooning along with one hit wonders eased the tension he felt. But, even when he dropped her off and headed home, he could feel something building between them. Something that, from past experiences, he knew he couldn't stop. He knew that if they got too close and things took a turn for the bad, that he wouldn't recover, not this time. Though he was unwilling to let fear ruin his happiness, he knew that he couldn't be selfish this time, that she had to be taken into account as well. That posed a serious question, should he keep his distance or see if things worked out this time? Only time would tell.

Freezepop: Thank you! I'm trying to post about 2 chapters – 3 chapters a week. Life gets in the way sometimes. 

Anothershipper: Eventually a bed, a romantic atmosphere (no champagne since' Mac's an alcoholic) will happen, just not at the moment. There will be a bed scene though. ;) A few actually that may lead to something, may not. :) Heheh Cryptic!

Marinejag: Yea, they need to work out issues before they jump into the sack, can't always be too easy else I'd get bored. ;)

Nix707: Okay, so you DON'T want me to keep you guys busy? Cos I can go down to a chapter every three weeks if you like. ;) Bitchy annons are gone methinks. :sighs: Thing is, I have a pretty good idea who the anon is. And previously he and I have had it out on a list. All talk, no action, if you get my drift. ;)

Cbw: They will get more personal as time goes on. And yes, I have a "take" on them which is probably off from other points, but seeing as there is a question mark in their paths for us writers to play with, I figure, why the hell not? I'm indulging it and it's fun. ;)

Rebecca5: Their pasts is cool, there will be a bit more about that and things that happened to Harm in London with his ex-psycho bitch. ;)

FoxyWombat: Pigtails LOL! Yea, I loved that part, when I typed it down, I could literally imaging Harm smirking and asking her. It was cool. :)

Prinnie: I don't know, I mean, if you don't like something, why keep doing it? About Harm some thing HAPPENED to him (past tense) in London with his ex which will open up a bit of a wound which Mac will understand. For that matter, Mac's going to have a teench of a problem with her ex and Harm's going to understand. You know, time for them to be the best friends they were once. Understanding, there for each other, uncomplicated.

LtJGMeg: Harm and Mac easy? Hell no, but they are getting there. . No, what am I saying! What fun is easy!

Outofit: Yea, I miss JAG, the OLD JAG, like S2, S3 and S4. And S7 and the beginning of S8. The rest of it, not sure what TPTB were thinking. So many story lines to do and they just screwed it up. Go figure. :P Anyway, yes, they're adorable at times, would have been nice to have seen the more romantic and care free side of them TOGETHER. About Harm and licking the wounds, Ummm :;whispers: after Mac's done with him I'll let you have him for $14.99.

EY: Harm has a Harley, which Mac will certainly enjoy. ;) Yes, he can be a dork sometimes. I remember writing that part going "Oh you moron!" Sad, I am responding to my own story. Yep, issues here, issues! ;)

TB: They are not going to have hot monkey sex in the company car. At least, not in this point in time. ;) Gunny or one of the others might need it. ;)

Froggy: Okay, I'll tell you what? I'll but the Nerves as a BOGO – Buy One Get One 50 percent off? Sounds cool?

Cristina: On the banter will be there in spades cos I just loved them ribbing eachother good naturedly. 

Jamie: Okay, too long to type A Classy One, so you are just JAMIE from here on out, deal? Good. . . ;) Mac's house is nice, I want to live there. I found it somewhere looking for property in CA, yes I did some research. ;) And it was along $550,000, but yea, I added the dump part and her getting it from someone on the base. It worked, and if it doesn't just ignore it and move on. Harm's place is probably going to bring up questions with readers because it's so NOT him. Like at all. But, dunno, when I started the story that idea for his place kept coming up and. . .well, there is a story to go along with it. Yes, you are now thoroughly a) confused, b) wanting to kill me and c) curious. ;)

Britainy: Harm on a Harley. Talk about YUMMY huh? ;)

Jill: You have now reminded me I have to send a recipe to my cousin – Jill. LOL! Actually it's Jillian but we sometimes call her Jill. I told her we should open a restaurant – Jack and Jill's. Would be cool. Anyway, glad you're still smiling:) Keep it up. ;)

Dansingwolf: Hey, they can't hate each other forever, it's just not in them. LOL! Mac's slightly un-mad at him, but it will come up where she like has issues trusting him with her heart for what he told her. For that matter, Harm brings up the "never" comment. JAA – same thing is posted, only difference is if there is a smut/adult chapter, it won't be on Ffnet, it will be on JAA and Ffnet will get the clean version. ;)

Bluejay: Harm's loss of love for the law will be coming up soon. I think chapter 8 or 9 around there. Mac asks him about it when he helps her out with a case. It's semi-traumatic, had to do with a bad case.