A/N: Okay, I've been hitting you guys with a lot of new chapters recently and I think I maybe asking too much of you to read a new one everyday so I'll try to space it out (tell me in a review if this is a needless worry and maybe I'll keep going at my pace). Love the reviews! Big thanks to my beta!
It was another Tuesday, night-time this time around. Someone had rented out McMurphy's for Friday night, so the owner of McMurphy's had the guys playing on Tuesday to make it up to their patrons. Mac and Harriet hadn't missed one of the guys' performances and there were people who were starting to come to the bar just to hear the band, their friends had become local rock stars.
The guys were in between sets, setting up the instruments that they'd need for the more intimate, acoustic portion of the evening. As Mac sat at the bar an unwelcome face made his way over to the stool next to her. "Is this seat taken?" The man asked timidly.
"What do you want, Dalton!" Mac was sick of him, it largely stemmed from the fact that she'd had a rather unpleasant encounter with him in the parking garage of the mall a little while back.
"All I want is the chance to talk to you." Dalton took a seat on the barstool next to Mac.
"To tell me what, Dalton? That you're sorry? That it was your job? What are you going to lie about next Dalton tell me, I could use a good laugh." She shot at him snidely.
"I deserve that…"Dalton started before Mac cut him off.
"No, Dalton, you deserve a lot more than that. Now I suggest you leave before my resolve wears and I throw you out." Mac's annoyance was growing and in fact the little scene had called the attention of her friends who all walked over and stood behind her. Dalton casually got up from the stool and stalked out of the bar. Harm stayed with Mac while his band-mates went back up to the stage to get ready for the second set.
"Are you okay, Mac?" He was evidently concerned; he knew how much of a problem Dalton Lowne had become. "I mean, if there's anything I can do just tell me, you know I'll do it." He was rambling, trying to help her.
"Harm, it's okay, Dalton acting like a jerk isn't your fault. Now go back up on stage so that I can have another really hot dream about my favourite Navy pilot turned lawyer/rock star." She smiled coyly and just before he turned to head back up to the stage a loud bang came from out in the alley. "What was that?"
"Probably just a car backfiring." The bartender replied as he cleaned a glass.
"That was no backfire." Mac said frantically as she sprang up from the bar, Harm following her closely. The door to the bar opened and the two JAG officers sprang through it and the gathered crowd of people outside. Mac saw Dalton Lowne, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, slowly but surely passing out of this life. Mac rushed over to him and put pressure on the wounds to try and slow the bleeding.
"Someone call 9-1-1." Harm called as he kneeled down next to Mac. Dalton's breathing was becoming more laboured, he didn't really stand a chance, but they had to try.
"Sarah?" Dalton's voice came soft and faint. Mac nodded and leaned into hear what he had to say. She nodded solemnly after letting him say his piece and slowly she watched as Dalton Lowne closed his eyes for the last time. In that instant Mac stood up and threw herself into the waiting arms of her favourite Navy Commander. The tears came, slowly and unnoticed as only one or two escaped her eyes.
Within minutes, the DC police were on the scene, with familiar and unpleasant face leading the investigation. "Commander Rabb, Major MacKenzie." Coster said without any emotion at all.
"What do you want, Coster?" Harm's eyes were on fire, his urge to protect Mac after what had just happened had increased tenfold as he held her to his chest.
"Major, did the deceased say anything to you before he died?" Coster's tone was cold, unsympathetic, and almost robotic.
"No." Mac's reply was short and simple.
"Major, witnesses say the deceased said something to you before he died." Coster pressed his question.
"If you knew the answer Coster why did you ask the question?" Harm fired back, he'd had enough of the detective's attitude.
"Major, what was your relationship to the deceased?" Coster's question hit Harm harder than it did Mac, the thought of Mac and Lowne in a relationship was painful, to the point where it tore at him.
"One way; lately he's called my apartment and shown up in a parking garage near my car when I was shopping." Mac's admission had given Harm a look of surprise and hurt. If this was happening, why hadn't she come to him, after what happened in Miami, what had been happening between them recently than wasn't this the kind of thing they were supposed to share.
"Sounds like whoever killed him might've done Mac a favour." Coster replied, it was a cold, unfeeling sentiment; much like everything else that had come out of Coster's mouth in the last five minutes. "I'm going to have to take her down to the station for some questions." Coster said as he looked up from the ground.
"I'm going with her." Harm blurted out.
"I'm sorry, Commander; I only need to talk with the Major." Coster explained with a self satisfied smile.
"I'm her lawyer." Harm fired back.
"She's not under arrest." Coster was getting confrontational.
"I don't care." Harm stood toe to toe with Coster, his imposing figure eventually causing the DC detective to back off. The ride to the station was painstakingly silent. Harm's breathing was heavy and his mind was rambling. He put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her, to let her know that he was there but he tried not to get to close. She didn't want him there or she would've let him in.
"Harm, say something." She looked concernedly at his face as he never took his eyes off the road.
"No." His reply betrayed more emotion than he's intended.
"Why?" She felt on the verge of tears.
"Because it will come out wrong." He let out a heavy sigh and turned the corner toward the station. He composed himself and tried to manifest a statement that wouldn't come out offensive or aggressive. "Why?"
"Why what?" She was happy that she'd gotten him to talk but frustrated that he'd gone right into lawyer mode.
"Why didn't you tell me that Dalton was calling? That he had followed you to the mall that night? Damnit, Mac, I'm supposed to be your…"She'd figured it better to cut him off before he got on his high horse.
"My what? You know what you feel like sometimes Harm? Like a ghost, you're there but you're not when it comes to this thing. We treat each other like toys; we take each other out of the toy chest and have our fun than put one another back." Her honesty was brutal and it dealt that one blow he didn't need to take. He fell silent, his attention turned to the road again. What could he say, he couldn't refute her, she was, for the most part at least, right. "Don't you have anything to say? Or does whatever there might be between us mean so little to you that you won't fight for it?"
That was the final straw; she had all but called him a coward. She wasn't so wrong, what the hell was he thinking with this? Their friendship was much as it had been before Miami except with an awkward peck on the lips here or a well-placed hand at an appropriate time. He knew what he wanted, he wanted her, this little whatever it was, was supposed to be for her.
He was sick of it, sick of sitting back, sick of questioning what it was. But words weren't enough for him. He pulled the car over and turned it off. She looked at him; she didn't understand what he was doing. When he turned toward her she could see a look of determination flare up in his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her, fully, slowly and almost torturously. She took him in, every moment, every sense, like she was getting lost in him, drowning in him and not caring. This was no ordinary peck like the others that they had shared; this kiss was more, much more. This kiss was his way of screaming 'this is what I want to be to you and if I wasn't using all my resolve, I'd take you right here in this car'.
He pulled away leaving her stunned, he looked her right in the eyes and using all of his composure not to smile he let out a heavy breath. "Your move." With that he sat stock still in the driver seat, turned the key in the ignition and drove the rest of the way to the police station.
Mac's interview was relatively quick and painless with Harm having to confront Coster on only a few points. Eventually, the interview was over and Harm took Mac back to her apartment. There had been few words exchanged since the kiss in the car. She opened the door to her apartment. "Your clothes are still soaked with blood Mac, why don't you go change, I'll make some tea."
She couldn't believe what he'd done in the car, part of her told her to expect something, she had called him on it and he had responded with all he'd had. Any expectations she'd had of what he was going to do, any doubts she had about what he felt melted in that instant. But he'd done it, he'd put the ball in her court, she had to respond. She wanted him, badly, in ways she'd wanted no other man. She had to respond to him or she'd lose him, at least that was her worry.
The second she entered her bedroom it was no longer her biggest worry. She found the room in shambles and the words 'EVEN GOD FORGIVES' scrolled across the wall above her bed. "Harm!" She called from her bedroom. He could sense the urgency in her voice and came running to her side. When he saw the state of her bedroom and the words above her bed, he instinctively wrapped a protective arm around her. "The words, Dalton left a message on my machine with those words." She sniffled into his jacket.
Harm called the DC police who arrived on the scene, Coster once again leading the charge. "Looks like whoever's stalking you is targeting men you're close to, who have a romantic interest in you." Coster started and Harm gulped. "Have you been dating anyone?" Coster's question cut right to the quick.
"No." Mac shook her head, she wasn't lying, she and Harm weren't dating - at least not officially.
"Even men you only fantasize about?" Her mind turned to Harm again and she hoped that whoever had ransacked her apartment hadn't found her journal under her mattress. Mac shook her head in the negative. "Well, my men are sweeping the place. Is there any place you can stay for the night?"
"No, I'm not letting this guy push me out of my home." Mac shot back getting defensive. Harm walked over to try and comfort her but she pushed him away. After a few more minutes of intense police scrutiny in her apartment, the police filed out and Mac was left sitting on her couch facing Harm. "I don't understand it Harm, it's like one moment, Dalton leaves that message on my machine and then the next those words show up on my wall it's just…" Harm put his hand over her mouth and motioned for her to be quiet, mouthing only one word 'bug'.
Harm grabbed the phone and slid the back off the reveal an audio surveillance device. Harm dropped it on the floor and Mac crushed it with her heel. "Do you think it could be that Chief Petty Officer we're defending?" Mac looked into his eyes; it was times like this that she hoped that he'd have all the answers.
"I don't know, Mac, I suppose it's possible. You certainly seemed to clash with him today. I wouldn't put it passed him. You know, Mac; you could always stay at my apartment tonight." Harm wanted her to feel safe most of all; he knew that he wouldn't get any sleep if he wasn't sure that she was safe.
"Harm, I'm a Marine, I can't let someone force me out of my home. And I know what you're thinking and no you can't stay here. You heard what Coster said, this psycho could go after anyone he considers a potential rival. You mean way too much to me for me to put you in any danger. What I said in the car, it was stupid and it was wrong but that kiss…oh God Harm, I'd say all those stupid, childish things again just for that kiss." She smiled at him and his spirit warmed up as he looked in her eyes.
"You know you're making it incredibly difficult for me to get out of this chair and head home right now but you're right, for both our sakes it's better if we keep our distance for the next couple of days." Harm stood up and moved over toward the door.
"Goodnight, my flyboy." She said with a sweet, regretful tone.
"Goodnight, sweet Sarah." Harm placed a loving kiss on her forehead as he stepped out into the hallway and she reluctantly closed the door behind him. The next day at JAG didn't get off to the best start. The interview with Chief Petty Officer Sevalas had been confrontational, Mac thought he was a chauvinistic, egotistical caveman and Sevalas saw the chip on Mac's shoulder coming a mile away. After about ten minutes, Harm decided he'd had enough; he dismissed Chief Sevalas and decided to talk to Mac.
"Mac, what are you doing here today, a man died in your arms last night and someone broke into your apartment and could very well be stalking you." He sounded concerned but Mac did hear the concern, she heard sanctimony.
"Harm, you've got to trust me, I'm fine, I can deal with situations. I'm a Marine…" She was cut off by one very fed up Naval officer.
"You're human Mac, just like the rest of us, no matter how much you tell yourself that you're not." Harm shot back, it bugged him, how he seemed to take this more seriously than she did. She couldn't believe him, dictating to the world from his moral pulpit, he was such an arrogant ass sometimes. Just as she was about raise the bar of the argument a little more they were interrupted.
"Mac! What the hell are you doing here?" The voice was, at least in Mac's eyes, the only man that could match Harm moral pulpit, for moral pulpit; Jim Grant.
"Not now, Jim." Mac shot in an aside.
"Not now my ass, Major, I heard what happened last night, get home, you're dismissed." That was the benefit of having Eagles on your shoulder; you didn't have to put up with excuses from anyone but flag officers. Mac made an angry exit from Harm's office, quickly gathered her stuff and headed off for the day.
"What took you so long?" Harm looked at his friend; the two of them knew the day was going to play out like this.
"I had a client meeting, remember, we are all lawyers first not crisis counsellors. I don't like sending her home like that, without one of us." Jim looked forebodingly up at his friend.
"How bad do you think this could get?" Harm responded.
"This could be pretty bad before it gets better. I think Mac's got some handle on it; I only hope I'm right." Jim let out a heavy breath. The two men broke up their little meeting to get back to work. The air at JAG was tense; the atmosphere was congested, like in those few milliseconds before a car crash when time slows down. It was that way well through lunch, which was uncharacteristically eaten in Admiral Chegwidden's office.
For their respective sakes Harm and Jim walked around like the incident with Mac that morning hadn't happened. For Harm it meant that the steps of the night before, would - like tracks in the Arizona desert - be covered over by the sands of time. For Jim it meant a much more immediate threat, an ever present, clairvoyant bottle of vodka that's cry intensified when life got tough. He couldn't very well leave work and head down to McMurphy's, his schedule was full. He picked up the phone and dialled the familiar number.
"Eamon, it's Jim. Major MacKenzie there?" The voice was unusually drained and gruff. "She just left? Can you tell me what she had?" His voice, his very breath, were hinging on the next response. "I figured that was the case, how long ago did she leave? Twenty minutes? Thanks Eamon, I'll see you on Friday." The receiver clicked and he threw his garrison cap across the room in anger. He ran his fingers through his hair in contemplation. "Lieutenant Roberts!"
Bud, half-afraid thanks to his senior officer's tone, walked over to the office. "Yes sir."
"Bud, what courtroom is Harm using to prepare Chief Sevalas?" There was a wisdom attached to the seeming ambiguity of this question.
"Courtroom 3 sir." Bud replied, his creased with a frown and several ready questions.
"Make sure that no one, not even Admiral Morris goes near that courtroom until I tell you otherwise, do you understand Lieutenant?" There was a cold rhythm to the question.
"Yes, sir." Bud nodded his head to match the seeming solemnity that the words had added to the uncomfortable atmosphere at JAG.
"And Bud, ignore everything you hear coming through the doors of that courtroom. This conversation never happened, if you can, imagine that this day up until I relieve you of your post at that door, never happened. I know this isn't how you imagined your first day as a JAGman investigator, but this is really important Bud." The Colonel's jaw was set firm as his eyes betrayed the importance without him actually needing to say the words.
"Yes, sir." Bud went to leave the office.
"Bud, you're a good man, never forget that." The two men nodded in understanding before Bud retreated to courtroom three to do the task assigned to him. When Bud walked up to courtroom three he couldn't hear the voices inside which made him all the more grateful. There was something going on in that courtroom that the Colonel obviously didn't want him to be witness to, something he was glad the Colonel had ensured he wouldn't lay witness to.
Inside Courtroom three, Mac had barged in on Harm's preparation of Chief Sevalas. Harm's moment of realization came that instant, when Mac came barging into the courtroom, she wasn't Mac. She wasn't passionate and composed, she wasn't tough and simultaneously vulnerable; she wasn't the woman that did things to his soul with one glance.
She was sloppy, miserable really. She tried to be composed but the only logical thing he could think to do was refer to her as 'Major' and hope she squared up. But she took the lead, always the Marine, even when she was drinking. "So Chief, how are you?" Her voice was playful, it didn't have the composure and fortitude Mac normally presented in the courtroom.
"Fine Major, and how are you?" Chief Sevalas seemed, for all his plethora of shortcomings, able to overcome the altercation of that morning.
"Oh I'm great Chief, so Chief what were you doing with the victim on the night in question?" Mac's voice had no force, it was almost ditzy.
"She was a hooker ma'am I was using her services." The Chief's reply came out like a sentence he used often.
"So you were having sex with her?" Mac pointed at him as she walked slowly toward the witness stand.
"Yes, ma'am."
"According to her you were unable to finish, is that true Chief?" Mac's tone was fast turning accusatory.
"No ma'am, I got my money's worth." The Chief had just pulled the lid off Pandora's box.
"Did she, Chief? She claims you couldn't give her what she wanted."
"Objection." Harm had enough, Mac didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve to embarrass herself in front of a man she considered scum.
"Overruled." Mac shouted back at him.
"Major, you're drunk." The Chief spat back at her.
"You're evading the question. I guess that means she was right in her assessment. That's why you hit her, isn't it, Chief? Because you couldn't be the man that say, Commander Rabb here, is?" Mac gave Harm an unceremonious pat to the upper inner thigh and ended up, diplomatically put, feeling more than leg.
"I respect women, Major, I know you don't believe that but it's the truth." Sevalas stood his ground even though she'd really hit him below the belt.
"Chief, you're dismissed get out." Harm stated bluntly as Sevalas frantically left the courtroom. Harm tossed her a disappointed look, and slowly walked toward her.
"Ma-ac." He laboured as his movement slowed.
"So I had a drink, it's not the end of the world." Mac refuted as she moved toward him.
"Mac, you need to get home, I'm calling you a cab." Harm picked up his cell phone.
"Oh yes, Harmon Rabb Junior, so righteous, so pure. Never had a weak moment in your life, have you?" She was pressed right up against him, if she wasn't drunk, it would've been incredibly tempting. She locked her fingers behind his neck and looked intently into his eyes.
"I'm going to wait outside." He tried to get loose of her by manoeuvring.
"Oh I forgot, you do have weak moments. In fact there have been a few of them this year. That morning in my apartment, that night on the Roosevelt, am I a weak spot for you Harm? And we can't forget about daddy dearest." Mac practically spat at him. Before Harm could say anything the doors to the courtroom flung open to reveal one very angry Marine.
"Major, Commander, sit, NOW!" He commanded the room as he strode down the middle aisle. Harm and Mac obediently took their seats in the gallery on either side of the aisle. "There is one thing I will not tolerate, it's insubordination and drunkenness, Major! When I ordered you to go home, how is it you managed to misconstrue my order so badly as to assume I meant 'go out, get plastered and come back into work'?" Mac went to open her mouth but Jim merely pinched the bridge of his nose, squinted his eyes and raised his hand to stop her.
"Mac, don't, this is going to be tough. First of all, I want you both to know that I called Matt O'Hara, to figure out how to deal with his situation and once I managed to talk him out of his plan to come here and rip you a new one, he told me, so here's what's going to happen." At the mention of her uncle's name Mac sat arrow straight in her seat and looked terrified. "Commander, you're going to take the Major to her apartment and you're going to sober her up. I don't care what you have to do, do it! Major, if you talk at all and the first words out of your mouth aren't 'I'm sorry', you will have to face the Admiral tomorrow and I can promise that will be an unpleasant experience. Do the two of you understand!"
"Yes, sir." Harm answered for both of them.
"Good, now get out of my sight." Harm and Mac retreated through the courtroom doors to the outside hallway. Harm piled her and everything from work into his car and got them to Georgetown without incident. She leaned on him as they made their way up to her apartment and eventually through her front door. He gently brought her to rest on her couch as he went into her kitchen to make the strongest coffee he could think of. She was sprawled out on the couch, slowly her senses were coming back, she'd have to sleep it off, she'd have to dry out and get back on the wagon, thank God he was there to help her.
He came out to the living room with the coffee and sat down on the couch next to her. "Okay Marine, open the hatch." He said as he handed her the coffee cup,
"How about some non-Navy terms, sailor." Mac shot back as she tried to resolve herself.
"Don't know any Marine terms, sorry." He tossed her a trademark smile as she raised the coffee mug to her lips.
"Don't smile, please." Mac said calmly, sending waves of shock through him.
"Why not?" He almost looked hurt.
"Because for two years, every time I've seen that smile, I've wanted to tear your clothes apart at the seams and make you forget other women existed. And I can't want to do that now, not in the state I'm in." She looked up at him as the gravity of what she'd done earlier in the day brought her back to earth.
"Okay Marine, you just lay down and try and sleep it off okay?" She gently turned over to lay on her stomach as he took the coffee mug from her. She laid on the couch and he gently snaked his hand up the back of her shirt and proceeded to gently draw lazy patterns on her back to lull her to sleep. Slowly the words and notes of Unchained Melody escaped his lips as Mac's eyes closed and she was at peace for the first time in the last twenty-four hours.
She looked so peaceful when she slept, all the troubles of the world, all the pains of her world before the Marines seemed to leave her and she was as an angel given to him by God. God, she was beautiful when she was awake, when she was passionate, when she pouted, when she was stubborn but when she slept that element of peace made her immaculate in his eyes.
He laid out on the floor at the foot of the couch and caught a nap of his own. When they slept, the world seemed to disappear. Freud said that every dream is a wish and they wished only for each other, sure they were working for it in real life but in their dreams, in their dreams they had already achieved it. Happiness, an illusion or an evasion was something that existed only while they slept.
When Mac awoke two hours fifty-three minutes and twenty seven seconds later reality hit her like a ton of bricks. She nudged Harm whom she noticed was sleeping on the floor at her feet. He stirred awake slowly looking up at Mac who had curled up into the foetal position on her couch. "I said some awful things to you."
"Yeah, but that wasn't you. You were right about one thing Sarah, you are one of my weak spots." He took her hand in his and placed it on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat underneath her fingertips. "Right here, that's where you're my weak spot, Sarah."
"No, you can't keep doing this. You said it was my move that night in the car and you're right, it is. You remember last night, when Coster asked if there were men I only fantasized about?" She walked into her room and pulled out a red notebook from under her mattress. She flipped through the ledger quickly, doggy-earing a few of the important pages. "You want a move? Read this, the pages with the turned corners are the ones that'll tell you what I feel."
He opened the book to the first 'important' page and began to read what Mac had wrote.
I met my new partner today. An arrogant, loyal and decent man. Of course it doesn't hurt that he has the body of Adonis and a smile that threatens to melt me every time I get close to him. Needless to say that as long as we're working together it won't be movie-stars ravishing me in my fantasies.
Harm smiled as he thought of the first day that the two of them had met. He thought of how useful this journal would've been last year or even earlier this year. She curled up next to him as he flipped to the next 'important page'.
I made up with Harm today. We both acted childish on this case and we almost let it jeopardize the friendship we're building. I still can't believe he fired off a gun in court. We sat on his bed eating the meals I'd brought over. I kept scolding myself the entire time because I just wanted him to push the meals off the bed and take me, kind of like he'd done in my dream the night before.
Harm smiled and gently brought his hand down to run his fingers through her hair as she brought her head to rest on his chest. This journal of hers was getting interesting, he flipped to the next page.
That man does the most bull-headed things I've ever seen. He practically told off Congresswoman Delong. God, does he know how hot he is when he's passionate? Why am I ranting like a schoolgirl? Well that answer's at least simple, I wanted to throw my smart, funny and gorgeous partner up against a bulkhead on a carrier and have my way with him. A girl can dream right?
The two of them shared a laugh over the last entry and he lightly kissed the top of her head and she let out a little sigh. Now she was starting to narrate the pages as he turned them. It didn't matter to him, it was her voice that was narrating them in his head anyway.
Okay, I've given up fighting. This is treason for a Marine to say but I've fallen head over heels for a Navy man. Damn! I can't believe all the sweet, if slightly morbid things he did for me while we were running through the Appalachians. Like asking my permission before pouring the bourbon on my wound. Or that speech he gave me so that I would get up and keep going after I'd all but given up. But my favourite was snuggling together at night for body heat. I fit into his arms perfectly, I wish I didn't think of my best friend this way, it could make things difficult………
The two of them shared soft knowing looks at the last sentiment before continuing on to the next page.
I might be making progress. He doesn't think of me as his sister and he seemed to give me a good looking over when he saw me in my dress. Hopefully, I'm not imagining things.
They read the next page together, the incident still playing fresh in both their memories.
That's it! I've got to have him. I saw that man in dress whites and the sight alone nearly caused me to kiss him. If I ever see him with his shirt off I don't think I'll be able to fight that impulse. God, why is this situation so difficult!
"You mean to tell me we could've done all this a year ago?" Harm looked into her eyes and gave her a smile. He flipped to the next entry that she wanted him to read.
Four words: Harm in Marine Uniform. I'll have good dreams tonight.
Another laugh passed between them and yet another page was turned.
That sweet man! He got himself hit by a car to protect me from getting hit by it. Of course it didn't hurt that when we got to the hospital I had to pose as his girlfriend in order to get any information on where he was. It does kind of spoil the fun that I never got to see him stand up in that cute hospital robe.
"So that's why the doctor thought you were my girlfriend?" Harm looked at her with a mock inquisitiveness as he lightly stroked her hair.
"Here, now flip to the last marked page." Mac was sitting in Harm's lap. He had his head on her shoulder so he could read the notebook, he had one hand holding the book up and the other arm wrapped around Mac's waist, holding her to him.
Just got back from Miami. I love that city! I actually found out that Harm read that "Friends with benefits" article I left in his apartment last week. It gets better; he actually thought it would be a good idea for us. Okay, now before I start sounding all giddy, I have to remember I'm a Marine, this is no big deal. I'm just practically dating my best friend who calls me 'Sweet Thing' and kissed me four times before we ever left Miami. Get a grip MacKenzie, just because you've been trying to date this man for a year doesn't mean you should get overexcited about baby steps.
"So you left that magazine at my apartment? I wondered why the magazine was left open to that article." He smiled at her as he gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
"Well you'd kissed me three times this year before we even went to Miami. I kind of figured I might throw something out there." She smiled at him slyly before giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
"I think it's a good thing I didn't write down some of the dreams I had about you." Harm smiled as Mac turned around and straddled his lap.
"And why's that?" She braced herself against his chest, he face mere centimetres away from his.
"Well let's just say that they were…NC-17" He laughed as she tossed him her own little look of surprised intrigue. "I think we should go back to my place before we carry this little display any further."
"Why should we go back to your place?" It's not that Mac objected to the idea she just wasn't sure she could make to his place without kissing him senseless.
"Let's see, half of your clothes are there, it's probably safer since this place was recently broken into and my bed is bigger." Harm smiled coyly as she considered his argument.
"Nice argument counsellor, although I think you might be getting ahead of yourself with that bed thing." She got up off of him so that they could get what the needed to head over to his apartment.
"We'll see, come on sweet thing." The two of them slipped their shoes on and made their way down to Harm's car before heading to his apartment, north of union station. The drive to Harm's was an interesting one. Every time they stopped at a red light, Mac's hand would slowly creep up Harm's leg, this of course caused him to drive with a greater want of getting back to his apartment "Sarah, if you don't stop that, I'm going to tear your clothes off when we get to my place."
"That a promise, flyboy?" She looked at him maniacally as she mercilessly teased his libido. Harm broke every speed limit on the way back to his apartment. When Harm parked his car outside his building, the tension had reached its zenith. The ride up to the apartment in the elevator was one elongated make out session. Their lips never parted as Harm scrambled for his keys and eventually managed to unlock the door to his apartment. Gasping for air the two of them separated only momentarily so that Harm could lock the door to the apartment. When he turned around to face Mac she pounced on him, tearing his shirt open, sending buttons flying in all directions.
"I always tear the wrapping paper off my presents." Mac panted as she ran her hands up his chest eventually coiling them around his neck and nuzzling it with her lips. Harm worked his hands down her back to her six and he proceeded to hoist her into the air. She locked her feet behind his back and he wrapped one arm around her back as the other hand unbuttoned her uniform. Both of their jackets and shirts fell into a heap on the floor. Their lips locked in a passionate quarrel as he walked them up to the bedroom.
He tossed her on to the bed and she landed on her six. She propped herself up on her elbows as he undid the button and fly on his uniform trousers. "Isn't this supposed to be the part where you tell me to 'take you to bed or lose you forever'?" He smiled at her as she let out a small laugh.
"I thought I implied that in the car." Mac tossed back playfully as she undid her uniform skirt. Harm hurled himself down on to the bed, bracing his arms on either side of her he looked down into her eyes. Leaning on one arm Harm raised his hand gently ran it over Mac's cheek eliciting a sharp intake of breath from her.
"I'm amazed at how beautiful you are Sarah." He said in a voice just above a whisper.
"Harm, if we do this, I can't go back to just being 'Mac' in the morning." Her doubts were starting to creep to the surface.
"I have news for you, sweet thing; you haven't been just 'Mac' for a long time." He placed a hand behind her head where it met her neck and brought her lips up to meet his. Her nails raked down his back as his lips began to work their way down her neck to her collarbone. Then for the next two hours they enjoyed each other, nothing Mac had wrote in her journal could compare to what she'd experienced that night. For Harm's part, he knew he'd never be the same.
Eventually they were lying next to one another, panting, trying to fill their lungs with air. "I never would've figured you for a cowgirl type." Harm gasped out as he turned his head to look over at her.
"Oh I'm full of surprises." She smiled as she rolled into his outstretched right arm. "But apparently so are you, Mister twice in two hours." She kissed his cheek.
"Maybe I just couldn't get enough of you Sarah." He turned toward her and snuggled her against him.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my cocky, brash and arrogant flyboy of a partner?"
"You did one hell of a job of taming him. I don't think I'll ever be the same after that."
"Too many Gs for you flyboy?"
"Best natural high ever!" He said emphatically as he brought her in for a kiss. Just then he heard the sound of a bell coming from the kitchen and he and Mac both wrapped themselves in sheets as they walked out to the kitchen. Harm opened a door in the wall to reveal a note and a bell in the little opening.
"Since when do you have a dumb-waiter?" Mac asked with some protestation in her voice.
"Since you went out of town last weekend, Jim and I got plastered and decided it would be easier than using the phone. So we put one in." Harm smiled as he pulled out the piece of paper and read it to her. "I'm very happy that the two of you were able to work things out. Please remember in the future that I have a seven year-old son whom I have no intention of explaining the birds and bees to at this juncture. So please keep the volume down in the future. And Harm, judging by what I heard through the ceiling, you should be very proud of yourself. –Jim"
"He has an uncanny knack for ruining the fun of the situation." Mac laughed as she headed back to the bedroom.
"Did I tire you out, Marine?" Harm asked as he headed for the bed himself. The two of them spent the night, wrapped in each other's arms, gently allowing sleep to overcome them.
The next day at JAG progressed normally. The Admiral informed everyone that he was hosting a party at McMurphy's the next day and that the senior staff was invited to attend. Harm launched his plan to find Mac's stalker that morning by planting the tracking device on her car. He'd brought the Admiral up to speed on the plan in case he needed to duck out during the day and he'd brought Jim up to speed in case he needed back-up. There were after all, some benefits to having a Recon Marine as a friend.
When Mac got the call from Coster, the plan sprang into action. She was the first out of the building with Harm taking only a few minutes delay before following her. Jim had his cell phone on, ready for the call in case Harm thought he needed help. The tracking device worked slowly eventually narrowing down exactly where Mac was. This plan was admittedly not a favourite of his, but it was the only way for them to get their lives back to normal without having to look over their shoulders.
Harm saw Mac's car as he pulled up to the building and found his way inside. He walked through the place silently; his time in the jungle with Stryker had given him the experience needed to conduct this kind of rescue properly. As he moved through the building he began to hear a voice, a familiar voice. He popped his cell-phone open and hit the 'call' button but didn't talk. On the other end of the line Jim Grant picked up and not hearing a voice he knew that he'd gotten his signal.
Harm, knowing his back-up was on the way, forced his way through the door that he heard the voices through. "I know you're here, Coster." Harm said with some annoyance as he walked down the steps of the room, his gun at the ready. Harm felt an electric pulse at his heel and he went flying down the stairs, knocking his gun from his grasp. As Harm went to reach for the gun he could hear the hammer on Coster's gun get drawn back. Harm got to his feet with his hands in the air. Just when it looked like Harm's plan was about to fall into ruin, Mac screamed through the duck tape over her mouth, diverting Coster's attention long enough for Harm to deliver a punch to Coster's cheek sending him flying into a nearby shelf.
Harm landed another punch, this time an uppercut to Coster's jaw knocked the stalker out. Harm rushed over to Mac and pulled the tape off her mouth. "That tracking device was genius!" She said as he cut the ropes that bound her hands behind her back.
"You inspired me, Marine, what can I say?" He smiled at her as he helped her out of the chair.
"I heard the crash from outside; I hope I'm not too late!" Jim Grant came rushing through the door, gun in hand.
"Too late to be of any real help, I took Coster down." Harm pointed over to where the incapacitated man lay. Jim walked over and took the man's pulse before taking out his cell-phone to call 9-1-1.
"Say goodnight Gracie." Jim laughed as the switchboard operator's voice came over the other end of the line. Harm, Mac and Jim stuck around as the police came and took Coster into custody. He was going away for a long time and there was more than enough proof to ensure that he never got out.
MCMURPHY'S TAVERN
WASHINGTON D.C
THE NEXT DAY
The guys were the first people into McMurphy's; they had to set up the stage for that night. When they found out they were playing the Admiral's party, the last few weeks of rehearsal, learning a whole new set, didn't seem like too much to ask. Their new set was fun, more upbeat, exactly what the Admiral had asked for. The few gigs Tiner had played with them, were magic, the band chemistry was so much more fluid and everyone seemed to be having a blast.
They were about to play a fifty-one minute set, longer than anything they had even attempted up until this point. They had all the amps and instruments hooked up and soon they were sitting at the bar waiting for the rest of JAG's senior staff to arrive. Mac, Harriet and Carolyn Imes were the first through the McMurphy's door.
Harm was the first out of his seat, glad to see Mac again, he walked over and kissed her firmly on the lips. "I missed you."
"It's only been two hours and fourteen minutes flyboy, but I missed you too." Mac smiled as she squeezed him into a hug. Next to the happy new couple, Bud and Harriet were engaging in their own welcoming scene. Jim took a look at Commander Imes, a long look, and seizing the time he decided to have a go.
"Commander Imes, can I make a comment without getting a red-light thrown my way?" Jim said with that old recon adventurousness firmly playing up in his expression.
"I think that would be appropriate Colonel." Carolyn replied with her own look intrigue.
"Damn, you look gorgeous, Carolyn." Jim said with a very promising smile on his face. "Almost makes me want to request that you save a dance for me."
"I think that can be arranged, Colonel." Caroline tossed him a flirtatious smile. Soon after the ladies made their entrance, Commander Mattoni entered with his wife and all that was left was for Admiral Chegwidden to show up. Within minutes that's exactly what happened. Admiral Chegwidden showed up with a very young redheaded woman by his side. When he noticed that everyone had gathered and he himself was fashionably late, he made fast introductions.
"The reason I've arranged this little get-together tonight and the reason that D.C's finest caterers are currently working in the McMurphy's kitchen is that I would like all of you to meet my daughter, Francesca Paretti." The Admiral lifted his arm from his daughter's shoulders and she stepped forward to shake everyone's hand. The Admiral went around the room making the necessary introductions. Everyone seemed incredibly willing accept Francesca into the little clique that was the JAG senior staff.
"Alright, enough with the pleasantries, Colonel are you and your boys ready to take over that stage?" The Admiral pointed to the back of the room.
"Aye, aye sir." The four band-mates ran over to the stage and picked up their instruments to prepare for their set. Harm pulled an electric guitar over his shoulders, Jim pulled his bass over his and Bud and Tiner took their respective places near each of their instruments. "Alright, the Admiral asked me a few weeks ago to set up this set and I figured that I could put together a collection of songs that would perfectly compliment the 'upbeat' request he'd made." Jim smiled as he talked into the microphone.
"And then when Jim approached the rest of us and told us we were going to be playing a private party but we were going to have to learn a new set….that's when the enthusiasm died and the work picked up. So we'll try not to screw up too bad." With Harm's little introduction his guitar and Jim's bass lead the intro to the Barenaked Ladies' It's All Been Done. The guys were having a great time playing this song, Harm and Jim were bouncing around the stage playing their instruments and the smiles never left their faces. When Harm's guitar solo broke away from the rest of the band the joint really started getting into the music.
As the one song ended, Tiner counted in the next one which was Lola an old Kinks' classic, the lyrics to which made everyone in the bar laugh. The first half of the set continued after Lola with the guys' rendition of The Boys are Back in Town which once again showed off Harm's guitar playing prowess. The set concluded with two old Who songs; I Can't Explain and Join Together.
After the first half of the set was done, the band took a break and the jukebox took over. Mac and Harriet were lead out to the dance floor by their respective boyfriends and Mattoni went off to dance with his wife. The Admiral and the Colonel sat at the table drinking their beers and talking. The Admiral looked over at Harm and Mac, the latest couple to come out of his command. "So am I to take it that they're dating?"
"To put it mildly, yeah." Jim said as he raised his beer to his lips.
"Am I going to have to pull Admiral's privilege?" AJ said as he leaned back in his chair.
"You'd have to talk to Harm about that one, sir." Jim shot back as he saw both Tiner and Carolyn Imes walk over to where they were sitting.
"Colonel, I believe you owe me a dance." Caroline Imes said as Jim looked up at her.
"You know what, Carolyn; I do believe you're right." Jim got up from the table and lead her out to the dance floor. Tiner was left to face the Admiral who was still sitting next to his daughter.
"Sir, permission to dance with your daughter?" Tiner inquired, hoping that the Admiral would be in a good mood.
"Granted, Tiner." With that the Admiral watched as all the couplings weaved their way across the floor.
Harm and Mac seemed to be just enjoying each other. Their bodies were in pretty much constant contact from head to foot. Bud and Harriet danced in their usual manner, as a kind of sweet, complimentary motion. But by far, the most interesting pairing on the dance floor was Carolyn Imes and Jim Grant. The two of them danced close enough to Mac and Harm that the two of them were able to overhear the conversation.
"So, Colonel is this just a dance or are you taking the long way to a date?" Carolyn's voice was playful as she looked into the hazel eyes of the Recon Colonel.
"Depends, what kind of answer would I get, Commander?" Jim smiled as his hand moved from the side of her waist to the small of her back.
"Green-light Colonel." Carolyn tossed back at him, their faces getting dangerously close.
"When we're done here, why don't we head out for a nightcap?" Jim gave his eyebrows a quick waggle which made Carolyn giggle a little.
"Found a jarhead of your own, Imes?" Harm said as he and Mac danced over toward them.
"Well I think I should test-drive him before I take him off the lot, Rabb." Imes jested. Her comment caught laughs from Harm, Mac and even Jim who looked at her intrigued. After a few dances, the band broke away from their dancing partners to finish their performance. They slung their instruments over their shoulders or took their places near their instruments and prepared to carry on with the second half of their act. Tiner counted them in with his drumsticks.
The second set started with Running on Empty the old Jackson Browne song. The girls sat around the one table and started talking about the guys as they went through their song. "So Mac, how long have you and Harm really been dating?" Harriet asked as she and Carolyn leaned into the table.
"Well, Harm says that we've been dating since we met in the Rose Garden, but technically I suppose it's only really been since yesterday afternoon." Mac blushed as she closed her lips around the straw. The girls gossiped as the guys shifted songs to The Grass Roots' Things I Should Have Said. Another fun song the guys were bouncing around the stage again and smiling as they finished the song
When they finished the song, Bud took over the microphone to make an announcement. "I've been in love with Harriet for a long time, since I saw her on the Seahawk in fact and I don't want to go another day without letting her know that. Harriet, will you marry me?" Bud had gotten down on one knee in front of Harriet.
"Yes Bud!" Harriet pulled his face to hers and kissed him on the lips. There were cheers that resonate through the bar as Bud got up quick to finish the set with the band. The guys finished off their set with Stay With Me by The Faces before Harm took over the microphone to make one last announcement.
"Alright, we have one last song but I'm going to need the help of my lovely partner for it." Harm motioned for Mac who came up on to the stage and Jim handed her the second mike. "I've heard her sing along to this song in the car, so I know she knows the words. Tiner counted them in and the band broke into Paradise by the Dashboard Light.