This part is long. It will cover how Harm escaped, them talking about what happened with Hewitt and Vic. Mac pointing out that it's possible that Vic had something to do with it. Harm getting back together with their family and Mac and Harm confronting the OTHER Harm who tried to force himself on her.

The next part with get interesting. Harm talks to Hewitt and she divulges a little more of her plan with the help of some alcohol. ;)

Enjoy!

Jackie

PART 23 – Closing The Divide

March 26, 2010
1245 Local
Mac and Harm's House
San Diego, California

Harm was laying on his back diagonally across the bed, his arms wrapped tightly around Mac who was laying atop of him. Her head was resting on his bare chest, his breathing matching her own. Despite all of the turmoil, she felt peace there, almost as if no one could touch them. But no one was that invincible.

Sighing happily, he thought back to earlier that morning. . .

At around nine in the morning, he awoke to the smell of coffee wafting in the air along with the scent of real food. His stomach was protesting the nearly two days that it had spent without nourishment. Rolling out of bed, Harm slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then went in search of the obvious source for such wonderful smells. Unabashed, he leaned against the kitchen bar, watching Mac preparing her, now famous, blueberry pancakes that he'd developed an addiction to.

Mac had certainly sensed him, out of the blue her Harm Radar was back in action and stronger than ever. Maybe there was something to the notions of belief and hope? "Morning." She said without turning and heard him chuckle in response.

"Guess your Marine-dar is working again?" He said in a sleep laden, sexy voice that she'd never gotten sick of hearing. Straightening, he entered the kitchen, then stood behind Mac, wrapping his arms round her waist. "God, I missed you."

Smiling, she wrapped her own arms around his and leaned into his embrace. "That goes double for me." Mac turned in his arms, then pulled his head down, kissing him softly. She was getting used to the new facial hair and though she preferred the clean shaven Harm, this really wasn't too bad. "Mmm." She groaned in protest, then broke the kiss, releasing herself from his grasp when she smelled a pancake about to burn.

"I'll set the table. . .You want both juice and coffee?" He knew the answer already, living with someone it becomes almost second nature to pick up on certain things. Still, he knew he was away for a while, changes did happen.

"Yea, please." Mac turned to watch him filling both their glasses with orange juice and smiled. How is it that someone could even make that look sexy? Yea, guess you could say she was biased.

Breakfast, though pleasant, had an awkwardness about it. They both knew there was something lingering in the air and by the look on Mac's face and the dark circles under her eyes, it was obviously big. Certainly, without a little more sleep, his head wasn't ready to wrap around anything other than the present. So, at his urging, they'd wound up in bed again. They didn't quite get to the sleeping part until about an hour later though. . .

"What are you thinking about?" Mac's voice startled him, but it was the concern in her eyes that did him in. Concern? Or was it. . .fear? No, it couldn't be.

Sighing, he stroked his hand up and down her naked back, his fingers tracing lazy patters on her skin. "You, actually. . .Was thinking about this morning." The blush that tainted her cheeks could only be described, in Harm's mind, as one thing, cute. "You're awfully cute when you blush, Mac."

Chuckling, she brought both her hands to his chest, then rested her chin on them. It was her turn, "Hmmm. .. bet you don't know how cute it is when you blush. . .and, I've noticed, sometimes you blush all over." She grinned when he shyly threw a hand over his eyes to cover his face as he shook his head. "I kinda think it's sexy too."

"Oh, I'll show you sexy." Without warning, he rolled Mac onto her back, eliciting a loud giggle as his body covered her own.

In the movement, Mac's hands found their way to his arms and, without realizing, pressed just a little too hard on a fresh bruise on his right bicep. She saw him wince slightly, they try to fall behind his macho man façade. But, she wasn't going to buy that. "I hurt you."

He shook his head. "It just hurt a little. . .you didn't do it on purpose." Harm meant to argue when she slipped out from under him, but instead sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard while she fished through her drawer. "What's that?" He asked, eyebrows raised in question as Mac presented him with a medium sized, white jar with funky Asian lettering. Harm scrunched up his nose when upon opening the jar an odd, minty smell filled the air. Inside the jar, he found a brownish, almost black looking goo of sorts.

"This is Arnica." She said matter of factly as if it was common knowledge to the whole world.

To Harm, the name seemed synonymous with some sort of poison. "Arniewhat?"

"Ar-ni-ca." She punctuated, taking some of the goo with her fingers and then spreading it over one of the bruises on his skin.

Still, something about the word reminded him of Arsenic. "So, let me get this straight, I've only been back for a few hours and already you're poisoning me? Jeez, I sure do feel the love Mac." He teased, getting a good chuckle out of her.

"No, silly. . .This is made out of a plant that has been used for centuries to help with bruises and muscle pains, among other things." Mac bit her lower lip as she moved to a particularly ugly looking bruise. She rubbed his skin tenderly, hoping not to cause any more undo pain.

"Mmmm, I see." He said, watching her delicate fingers rub the smelly substance onto each of the markings she found on his body. Her world was turned up side down and still she was there, taking care of him. The woman would never cease to amaze him. "I did deserve some of these. . .I tended to be out of line from time to time."

Mac's fingers stilled, her jaw tightened, eyes closed as she took a breath. "I'm sorry for putting you there. . .There was nothing else we could do."

It was real now, the turn that he knew would happen at one point. The truth as to why he was at a place he didn't belong. "You put me there? Why? Was I really. . ."

Sighing, she screwed the lid back on the Arnica jar and placed it on the nightstand. "If we're going to talk about this. . .I need you to know everything. .. just. . .just be patient with me. . .It hasn't been a good couple of months." No, the last couple of months sucked incredibly, they'd been some of the most challenging, demanding and heart wrenching times. It was a miracle she hadn't gone insane.

"Tell me how I wound up there. . .Haslinger said I was being violent? I can't remember any of that." God, did he do something to her? To someone else?

"You don't remember?" She pulled the sheets up to her chest, then leaned against the headboard next to him. Maybe this was a plus side? Maybe he wouldn't ever have to know that he. . .that. . .that he forced himself on her? Mac knew him too well, the guilt would unravel him and she wasn't going to contribute to that when it was obvious he'd been through enough.

"The last thing I remember, before waking up in the hospital, was the crash. . ."

Mac sighed again, this was going to be difficult. . .tricky. "Well, as much as this sounds like a bad melodrama. . .You were diagnosed with having Retrograde Emotional Amnesia. . .The doctors weren't sure how to diagnose it, so they combined two types of amnesia. Retrograde because you couldn't remember the past and Emotional because, according to them, there was no physical trauma to your head. . .It was like, you decided to block things out as some sort of. . .subconscious coping system." At least, that was how it was explained to her, in layman's term, but it still didn't make any sense, especially when he became. . .almost. . .violent.

"Amnesia?" He frowned, recalling a little too well two bouts that he'd suffered of the disease. The first was during his ramp strike. For a few weeks his brain had literally refused to acknowledge some of the memories before the incident. The second time. . .he remembered waking up at Bethesda, with a woman he didn't know sitting next to him, claiming they'd been together for a year. Neither was very pleasant. "I guess, being out in the middle of no where it was difficult for the guys on the Henry to treat me."

"Harm. . ." God, had he literally forgotten his time on the island and the Gerard's. "You don't remember anything else? Anything after the crash?"

"No. . .I don't." As far as he was concerned, there was nothing between them. Hell, he was probably on the Henry asleep most of time, right? "Did something happen?"

"Guess you could say that." Mac nodded. Damnit, there were so many things, where the hell would she begin?

"Mac?"

"Sorry. . .I ah. . .a lot of things happened. . .After you landed in the water. . .and blacked out. . .the current carried your body to an island in the middle of the South Atlantic ocean."

"An island? How. . ."

"No one really knew it was there. . .To make a long story short. . .Those planes you were up against were American. . .A group of ex, just about everything, Marines, Navy, Coast Card, Army with a beef against the US got together to teach us a lesson. . .They were buying jets from other countries, even had a bid to buy those F-14 left over to Iran from the deal during the 70s. . .Anyway, they would capture pilots who could fly supersonic jets. . .That's why so many were shot down. . .the ones that lived, they would pluck out of the ocean and fly them to this compound on the island. . .No one knew about it because of the lack of traffic in that part of the ocean. . .It was as remote as it came."

Harm let out a low whistle. "Jesus. . .Did. . .did they capture me?"

Mac shook her head. Though the other pilots were unharmed, she didn't want to quite think of him in captivity. "No. . . You wound up at another edge of the island. . .This couple that used to work for the group lived there." She explained their situation and how Neroli had pretty much left them there to die. He learned of the couple that had basically saved him and managed to keep him as well as possible until the rescue arrived. "I ah. . .I somehow wound up on that rescue mission."

His eyes went wide with shock. "Are you crazy?"

That wasn't quite the response she was looking for. "I wasn't going to leave you out there to die!" She defended, shaking her head in defiance. "I had just. . .just. . .God, I have no idea how the hell it works or why it works or why it took so damned long. . .but, I found you. . ." Frustrated she moved her hand over her face and head. ". . .with that thing I do? You know?"

"Mac, it's okay. . ."

"It's not okay!" She yelled, the frustration of it all finally weighing down a little too much. She slid down the bed a bit, turning her back towards him. Her shoulders slumped down as she agonized over something that just didn't let her sleep that well at night. "It took forever. . .I had tried and tried and tried. . .and I couldn't. . .find. . .you. . .Damnit, if I didn't find you when I did. . ."

Slowly, he came up behind Mac, wrapping his hands around her shoulders. "Mac. . .I'm here. . .I'm here.?"

"And if we would have gotten there sooner, it's possible you would have remembered. . .When you were on that island, Ella and Connor tried to make you remember. . .Maybe this wouldn't have happened to you if you did."

Harm nodded, he understood her guilt, though it was completely unfeasible. "Mac, just the shock of the jolt could have made me go through that. . ."

"It was just. . .we were so far away and. . .we had to go from one place to another too. . .Fly from the ship to South America and then to Bethesda. . .I got shot getting you out so I was there too. .. and they wouldn't let me see you. . ."

Surprised, he turned her around slightly, then tipped his head to the side so he could look her in the eye. "Woah, woah, woah, back up. . .shot?. . .You were shot?"

Pointing at a barely there spot on her shoulder, she nodded. Creams that a dermatologist at Balboa suggested, had worked wonders in removing the ugly patch of skin. It was still noticeable, but didn't look that much like a gunshot wound. "Yeah. . .And I would do it again." She glanced up at him and smiled slightly, then her face took that saddened look again. "You were in Balboa while you went through the rehab for the shrapnel wound, which really wasn't as bad as it looked. . .mostly infected, but you did have a little trouble walking. . .While you were there we all would come to see you, the Roberts, your folks, Gunny, Mattie." She wasn't too sure she'd ever get that blank stare out of her head, nor the look of anger in his eyes when someone new tried to 'help' him remember. "You couldn't remember anything. .. Not me, not them. . .nothing. . .I brought you home and we were okay. . .But, you had a tendency not to be yourself."

There was something to the way she said it that scared him. "Not myself? What? What do you mean?"

"You tended to get angry really easily. . .So your mom decided to put in a call to a brain specialist. . .There had been documentation that he was the best around for conditions like yours. . .We sent you there with high hopes. . .After protesting, even you wanted to go. . .As the time went by, we kept hearing that you were getting worse. . .Violent. . .I didn't want to believe it so I went to Wilsonville and when I first saw you, you. . .you were heavily sedated. . .So I spoke to Doctor Haslinger. And I spoke to the orderly and they both confirmed that you were. . .unstable." She didn't want to believe it then, something told her it was all wrong, but she was too mentally screwed up to realize just how wrong it all was. "When I went back again. . .You looked at me funny, like. . .like you remembered me for a moment and then, you started going berserk. . .I guess, that's when I started to almost believe that I'd lost you."

Jesus Christ, he wasn't dreaming that? She was actually there. "I saw you. . .I remember that. . .I couldn't really talk. . .I was. . .out of it." He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed deeply. Why were things always so complicated? "They wouldn't let me out. . ."

"What?" Now this she didn't know, as far as Mac was concerned, if he was here then. . . . "You escaped?"

Harm nodded. "They wouldn't let me call you. . .Haslinger kept saying that I was. . .that I had some problem functioning. . . But, the only times I ever did was when he pumped me full of whatever the hell was in that needle. . . I had this feeling. . .deep inside that you needed help. . .That you needed me. And I couldn't believe him anymore. . .So, I compromised one of the therapists. . .After they put us down for the night, she snuck back in. . .Unlocked the door to my room, handed me clothes, keys to the facility and even had a beat up old Chevy parked outside of the place." Closing his eyes, he remembered the look on her face, she believed him. Why, he wasn't sure nor was he going to question it.

Kimberly had handed him clothing equivalent to what the guards would wear. He donned them on and proceeded out of the place with his head held high. Once he got beyond the walls, he slid into the Chevy and said his farewells to his personal hell. On the seat next to him, was a duffle bag with clothing and just enough money for gas as he drove through Oregon and into California. A note was attached to the t-shirt in the bag. It had three items – notes of release from the institution, signed by Haslinger along with a clean bill of health. The third item was a note from Kimberly stating that, before she left Selene, she had Haslinger sign off on another patient and then changed the information on the form to his own. Though she couldn't get a hand of all of his medical records, the last MRI had shown that he was fine. "I'll have to find her and thank her." Mac's silence during the story of his escape worried him slightly. She'd been asking questions before and giving answers, now. . .something was definitely wrong. "Mac?" God, what now?

"Haslinger was a set up." Damnit, she saw it now. How convenient was it that Harm's treatment was so severe that he had to go away? Better still, why had Vukovic's attitude changed almost from night to day when he was back at JLSS. He was more pleasant to others, even to her, though he knew she was going after him with all that she had, consequences be damned. "The timing. . .it was perfect. . .We were. . .I. . .Damnit, I was just too emotionally raw to. . .to think clearly. . .So much was happening."

Harm's raised brow was an indication to the whirl of confusion she'd thrown at him. "What do you mean 'Haslinger was a set up.'?"

"I'm not sure how to tell you all of this. . .God, it feels like a lifetime of things have happened since the accident."

He could understand that, though he hadn't remembered much it felt like it had been years since he last her. "Go one step at a time. . ."

One step at a time? Hell, two steps would be better. "Your accident. . .wasn't an accident. . .it was planned."

Alright, so that really got his attention. Harm's eyes opened as wide as saucers. "What the hell do you mean planned? Someone tried to kill me?"

"Vukovic."

Now, that didn't really make sense at all. A plane was a highly sensitive piece of equipment, if he even tried something, it would show before they got up in the air. "Mac. . .I know he has a grudge against me, but. . .he's not a plane engineer. . .Short of slashing a tire, I don't know what he could have. . ."

"No, but, Airman Vincent Arjan knew your plane inside and out. . ." She saw an objection forming on his lips and before he had a chance to get it out, she raised her hand to stop him. "The details as to how the plan came about are sketchy and they will always be unless Vukovic admits it all, which he won't. . .After you went missing, Arjan was being investigated, as usually happens when there is a mishap with a plane onboard a carrier. . .They always go to the plane captains to check. . .make sure everything was done right."

"Yeah, that's a pretty routine procedure." He agreed, recalling a time too many that he'd had those types of conversations with plane captains that were too eager to help, but too tired to do so. On the other hand, there had also been cases of captains being a little too pissed off at the pilot or RIO. He, however, had a very good relationship with Arjan, as he always did with all of his former captains. They were the backbone of the air wing, the guys that busted their asses for hours a day while the plane crews slept in nice warm bunks.

"After your plane went down, according to friends of his, Arjan was acting weird. . .A few days later, he jumped off of the carrier. . .and died as a result to his injuries."

"Suicide?"

Mac shook her head. "Yes and no." As far as she was concerned, it was murder – Vic had smothered the boy so much, he felt the only way to survive it all was to kill himself. "People started going to Captain Loftness after they found out about Arjan's alleged suicide. .. Turns out, a few had seen Arjan and Vukovic arguing at around the same moment your plane was getting ready to launch. . .When the SAR team brought Arjan back on board Vukovic was seen in sickbay. In fact, one of the Ensigns threw him out. . .The nurse on staff stated that Arjan was frantically pointing towards the door where she saw Vic. . .On top of that there is a letter he left his girlfriend that begs her to forgive him and, I quote 'tell them he made me do it.'"

"Mac." There went that voice of him, the one of reason, the one that tried to keep the peace. Yes, he hated Vukovic. Harm had his own investigation to conduct on what his involvement with Mac and the SECNAV were, however, Mac had a tendency to get too involved. "I know you want to bring Vic down, but an argument between him and Arjan doesn't mean. . ."

"He's the SECNAV's son."

Harm's jaw dropped, his brow furled slightly. He didn't just hear what he thought he heard. She didn't just tell him. . ."Back up. . .I think I heard wrong."

She snorted, "No. You didn't."

Sliding to the edge of the bed he brought his hands up and scrubbed his face. "How did you find this out?"

"Hewitt told me. . ."

"Why would she do that?"

"I guess it just popped out. . .Before I left with the rescue team, she called in, ordered me not to go. . .I pretended the phone wasn't working." She grinned mischievously and shrugged at the look on his face. "You gave up your career for me once, Harm. . .I would do the same for you." She felt his hand slip into her own and tighten, a gesture that made her heart flutter. "When we got back home, she requested to see me. . ." A knot inside of her heart squeezed, tightening her chest and threatening to strangle her. It was Harm's hand, warm, fingers interlaced with her own that made this a little easier. Mac stroked his hand with her free one, then sighed deeply. "She told me to throw Vic's case. . .as an incentive. . .she offered me JAG."

Offered her JAG? Though Harm believed Mac had the stuff to be a successful Judge Advocate General, it wasn't something that either of them had ever concerned themselves with. Also, there would be a lot of red tape to go through in order for her just to be a candidate. "Does she realize that. . .well, that you won't be making General soon, right?. . .I mean, even with an accelerated promotion. . ."

Mac shrugged. "Not sure what she's thinking. . .though, she claims to have enough grease to get the wheels moving. . .I'm part of something big, apparently. . ." Two somethings big actually, but she wasn't about to blurt out that Hewitt suggested Mac and Vic be together. The idea still made her sick.

It was not too much of a shock to hear of Hewitt's plans. He, Loftness and even Keeter had discussed Mac's importance to someone like Hewitt. So much that Vic was probably spying on her. That's when the thought occurred to him – the only real thing Hewitt could want was the White House. "Does she want to run for President or something?"

"Yeah. . .She figures that if she puts me in as the JAG, she'll get votes. . .and she's probably right. . .Thing is, the Vukovic investigation is in the way. . ."

"Ah." He got it now, at least, he thought he did. "So, she offers you JAG now rather than later so that you can get off of Vic's case."

"She's afraid that things will come up in the case. .. Obviously no one knows about him being her son, if they did, a hell of a lot of things could come up that will destroy her candidacy."

It was now starting to make sense, save for a few things. "Why do you think he would have had Arjan tamper with the plane?" The thought made him swallow hard. What type of devious thing did Vukovic do to his plane captain to make him turn?

"You know that saying: 'Mothers will do anything for their sons?'" At Harm's nod Mac took a breath, the idea still unable to fully wrap around her head. "Her son wants me. . .and you are in the way. . .Mommy pretty much has given him the green light to do whatever he chooses and though she claims not to have sent him after you. . .Vic took it as such." She felt Harm tense, his breath stop completely. "She didn't outright say that he did it. . .but she covered for it. . .she even told me he was punished. . ."

Sighing, Harm leaned back into bed, his thoughts running at a million miles an hour. There had been many underhanded political schemes, but this may have topped it all. "So when I didn't die out there, they needed to put me away?"

"And I had part in it." Mac closed her eyes tightly, then wrapped the sheets around her as she stood. "She told me. . .that eventually it would be difficult to take care of you. That I would end up resenting you, hating you because you weren't. . .you."

His eyes locked onto hers. When she looked away, Harm immediately stood and came up behind her. "Mac. . .You didn't do that to me on purpose. . .I won't believe that. . .Not even subconsciously so don't beat yourself up about it."

"I believed Haslinger. . .without looking into it. I mean, Balboa recommended him and we just took that at face value." She took in a shaky breath, then let it out again. "I wanted so much for you to be okay. . .to come back to me that. . ."

"Mac." His arms came around her waist, holding her to him tightly. "I'm here now and I promise. . .I promise you we'll figure it all out. . .we will." Harm loosened his grip and walked around, coming to stand just in front of Mac. His hands cupped her face, brushing away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "Mac. . .Believe me."

"I do." She said softly, but the look on her face betrayed her words. Did she believe him? Yes. Did she think they could do anything about Vic and Hewitt? No. The case was the only way and it looked like that would probably end up falling to pieces. "She said she'd hurt you if I didn't comply Harm. . .She wants me to throw Vic's case else she'll. . ." His lips on hers stopped any other words. Mac gave in, wrapping her arms around his midsection as she deepened the kiss.

Sighing, he rested his forehead against hers, his hands slid down her arms and into her hands, entwining their fingers. "You promised me once I wasn't ever going to lose you. . .I did once because I thought it was the right thing for me and you. . .I'm not losing you again. . .We'll find a way, we always do."

A loud ringing sound – the telephone – made them both startled. Not letting go of Harm's left hand, she pulled him towards the night table where the phone was in its cradle. "Colonel MacKenzie." Mac answered, momentarily pulling the walls back up. Her sad eyes lit up when she heard the voice on the line. "Hey kiddo, how are you doing?"

(Mattie, God bless her, had never stopped calling despite the hurt she felt when she and the other Harm had a bad conversation. The two had kept in contact, the girl always wondering how Mac was holding up. "I'm alright, I guess. . .I was talking to Trish and Frank a little while ago. . .Deciding to see how you were doing.)

Mac grinned, despite her initial feelings of Harm taking on a teenager, she had to admit, she loved Mattie very much. So much of the girl reminded her of her own past, except Mattie was smarter, more mature than she'd been. "I'm doing awesome at the moment, actually." Still grinning, she mouthed the word 'Mattie' to Harm.

("Awesome, huh? Something happen that I should know about?" Maybe it was futile and definitely stupid, but she held out hope that one day her father would remember.)

"You tell me." Handing the phone to Harm, she still held his hand as he took a seat on the bed next to her.

"Hey kiddo." Harm said, his voice sounding light and happy. Which he was, despite everything going on. At least, for the moment, two of his favorite girls were alive and well. That was something.

("Harm! When did you remember? How long have you been back? I'm sorry I didn't go visit but you were being such a jerk that I. . .")

"Woah, woah, woah, power down." He chuckled, rolling his eyes. Though Mattie was now a young adult, she would always have the exuberance of a crazy teenager. "I've been back for. . .hours really. . .It's a long story, I guess. .. but I'm good. . .I promise, I'm okay."

("I'm going to the Commandant and coming home." Mentally, she was already packed and on a plane.)

Something told Harm that, while that would make both him and Mac happy, it wasn't the time. "Hey, Mats. . .I don't think. . .it's not a good idea." He swallowed hard, then sighed. "There's lots going on here. . .Stuff Mac and I need to deal with. . .Stuff that could put you in danger."

(Alright, so that was certainly not something she was expecting to hear. "This is serious isn't it? Like serious investigation or lawyer stuff?")

Thankfully, she was old enough to understand that not everything was meant to be discussed with her. Harm thanked her for that every day. "Yea, Mats. . .Just like that. . .I want to see you, Mac does too but, for now. . .it's not such a hot idea."

("Great, now you got me worried here," She sighed, "Should I be worried?")

"No, Mattie, no. . .It's nothing Mac and I can't handle. . . I promise, I'll stay in touch with you and when it's all over, I'll speak to the Commendant and have you back over here. . .Sounds good?"

("Sounds great. . .You know, I miss you guys. . . a lot.")

"Oh yea? And what about that guy you were dating? He's not keeping you company?" There was a definitely fatherly sarcasm laced in that statement. He wasn't stupid and knew very damned well how close some Middies got, however, it wasn't a smart move.

(Mattie laughed. "Nah, we decided to be just friends. . .the whole hiding around thing was getting tiring."

"I'm glad to hear that. . ."

("I'll bet you are!. . .Listen, I gotta go. . .We're hitting the town tonight. . .I just wanted to see how everything was. . .Take care will you? Give my love to Mac.")

"Will do, sweetheart. . .And you be careful. . .Bye." He placed the phone back on its cradle, then turned to Mac with a smile. "She sends her love."

"She's a good kid. . .Ah, adult." She turned the smile, then leaned her head against his shoulder. "You know we'll need to let everyone know that you're back. . .Some people really missed you."

Harm nodded. "This can get exhausting though."

"Not exactly." You could pretty much see the light bulb turning on above her head.

1500 Local
Secretary of the Navy
Caroline Hewitt's Mansion
Coronado, California

Lieutenant Commander Gregory Vuckovic sat in the library, stretched across a thick, leather sofa as he paged through the latest caseload. He was up against Lieutenant Christine Masterson, an exotically beautiful girl who'd caught his eye upon returning to JLSS. She'd only been with the ranks for a short while and this would be one of the first cases she would prosecute since becoming a lawyer. It was one hell of a petty case – a seaman who'd stolen twenty dollars from his bunkmate – in fact, he toyed with throwing it, just to see her win. Hell, maybe she could even lick his wounds?

"Nah." He had better things to set his sights on such as the lovely Colonel MacKenzie. Vic wasn't stupid, he knew it was against the regs – fraternization – but, considering she'd done the same with Colonel Farrow and not gotten caught. . .Besides, his mother's idea of him resigning and starting civilian practice wasn't bad at all. This way, he would get what he wanted – freedom from the Hell that was the Navy and one Sarah MacKenzie. "Ah, Sarah."

Damnit, she was hot with legs that went on for days, and that coy, sexy smile. With that idiot Rabb out of the way things would run much smoother now. He just needed to pretend to be a nice guy. Hell, he was a nice guy! Very nice, in fact. "Especially to the ladies." The definitive sound of ladies' heels clicking on the marble floors had him sitting up.

"Gregory?" Hewitt called, she'd been looking for him since she'd arrived at the mansion. The flight from DC had been hell and all she wanted now was a long bath and some shut eye. That wasn't going to happen just yet.

"Yea, mom, in here." He yelled, then went back to reading the case file. Slam dunk for the prosecution, alright. Oh well. Couldn't win them all.

Pulling the door open, Caroline stepped in. "There you are. . .We have to talk."

Vic's brow rose. "No, 'hello, how are you? How's your day?' Must have been a shitty flight." He conceded, standing up to receive a kiss on the cheek and then crashing back onto the sofa.

Immediately, Hewitt went for a large globe at the corner of the room. Pulling back slightly, a latch was released and underneath was a small bar. "God damnit! Ran out of bourbon." Shrugging, she took a glass and filled it half way with scotch, then took a long gulp.

"Hmmm, guess it was more than just the flight? It's my case isn't it?"

She shook her head as she closed the bar back up. "Nope, that's the only good news I have." Sighing, she flopped down on an over sized chair, kicked off her heels and plopped her feet up on the matching ottoman. "Rabb's out." Vic didn't have to say anything, the look on his face was enough. "Haslinger called on the flight over. . .Somehow, he got out. . .Probably someone on the staff helped."

"Who?"

"It doesn't fucking matter who, Gregory. . .What matters is that he is at MacKenzie's and has been since last night." She sighed heavily. Why, oh why couldn't anything that involved her son run smoothly? "I had a talk with her when I was last here. . .She knows her options, so now we wait and see what she's going to do about them."

Vic grabbed a pen and chucked it across the room angrily. "Mother, that son of a bitch will change her mind about everything. . .Mac becomes a moron around him. . ."

"And you become a moron around her, so I don't want to hear it." She warned, downed the rest of the drink and then rose the glass up. "Get me another. . .make it a double."

Groaning, he lifted himself from the sofa and took the glass. "So what about the case?" He asked, pulling the top of the globe back. "You said that was the only good news?"

Hewitt's grin was slightly infectious. "Because of that little Neroli incident, all of the JAG cases are getting pushed back. . .backlogged, whatever you call it. . .The Neroli cases are taking precedent for now. The Military wants to show that it will not stand for domestic acts of terrorism and treason. The group is being made an example of. . .Which means your case won't come up for at least a month, maybe more. . .That might give us enough time to get rid of Rabb and woo MacKenzie."

"And how do you plan on getting rid of Rabb? I think it might look a bit suspicious if something else happened to him." Vic pointed out, handing her the glass of whiskey.

"Hmm." She gulped down half. "That's pretty simple. . .If I know a man in love, he'll do anything to for his beloved. . .And if Rabb is as much a man of action as I've heard. . . He'll come to me eventually."

1820 Local
Mac and Harm's House
San Diego, California

Victor Galindez spotted the Roberts' mini van as well as Jen's Nissan and Mayfield's SUV. He furled his brow in confusion as he took the steps up to the house. Mac had called him a little over an hour ago, asking him to stop on by, that she had a solution to the firm. Losing Harm it had taken a blow, as half of the finance had come out of his end. Though Gunny could keep the place running for a few months, if things didn't get better and he didn't take on another partner, chances were that he'd have to downgrade the personnel – something that would have them gobbled up by bigger firms and definitely close up shop. He didn't want that to happen, nor did he want to do that to Harm. Damnit, they'd worked too hard to just drop out of sight.

Before knocking, Gunny had a hunch to try the door which was uncharacteristically left open. He stepped inside the house, finding the owners to the vehicles present. The owner of the home, on the other hand, was not. "Hey gang." He exchanged pleasantries with his friends, then curiously took a gander around the home. "Ah, where's Mac?"

Harriet, who was handing one of the twins a sipee cup, shrugged. "I don't know. . . She said she needed to get us all here and then disappeared." Sighing, she glanced up the stairs and frowned. "I hope it's nothing bad about Harm. . .News hasn't been good as of late."

Gunny nodded. "I know. . .believe me I. . ." His eyes had taken another glimpse around the house, stopping at the stairs and a certain friend who was standing there with a smile. "Hey partner!"

Harm walked down the last few steps to be assaulted by all of his friends. He felt like a rock star. "Hey, guys." Hugs and kisses were exchanged as well as a tackle from all of his godchildren, except for AJ who was sitting to the side, watching the commotion. He hadn't totally understood whatever his godfather had told him months ago, all he knew was that he'd been mean to him, something Harm never had been.

Jen too held back slightly. As much as she'd always believed that Harm was attractive, a relationship between the two of them was just a little bit gross. He was the big brother she never had. Besides, she had a sexy Marine now. "Hi, Captain." She gave him a guarded hug, then took a step backwards earning her an odd expression from Harm.

"Jen, it's me . .You know that." Her tight smile was an indication of a story there and not a good one. "Did something happen?" He pointed towards the dinning room, placing a hand at the small of her back to lead he there. "Jen? You can talk to me, you know that."

To her credit, she didn't just blurt it out, unfortunately though, at the moment, she couldn't quite look him in the eye. "It's just that. . .You said something. . .though, I guess it wasn't you but. . .You made a pass at me and it was so. . .unlike you."

Sighing, Harm placed his hands on the back of one of the dinning room chairs. "Yeah, Mac said I was different. . .I honestly don't remember. . .And if I did something wrong, I apologize profusely, Jen."

When she looked up at him, Harm was waiting with a smile and open arms. Gratefully, she hugged him back. "I'm glad you're back." She whispered. "Mac's been a mess without you."

"I know. . .I'm going to fix that, I hope." With a wry grin, he turned back to the group, finding little AJ standing to the side while his brothers and sister were fooling around with the adults. "Hey Buddy." He placed a hand on AJ's shoulder and noted that, like Jen, he seemed distant. "What's up?"

"You were being a real jerk last time I saw you, Uncle Harm." He stated matter of factly, the only way a ten year old could.

Harm didn't have a clue what the boy was talking about, but from what little Mac had said, it was almost as if he were a different person completely. "I'm sorry about that, Buddy. . .But if you let me, I can make it up to you."

AJ stood there, seemingly contemplating his offer. "Cool." He high-fived his godfather and went on with life, as if nothing happened.

Chuckling, Harm watched him go. "Ah, to be a kid again." Feeling two hands wrap around his midsection, he immediately thought it was Mac. Instinctively, he wrapped his own arms around hers and then, made a quick movement to bring her in front of him. The woman definitely wasn't Mac. "Mom!"

Trish beamed at her son, tears of happiness running down her cheeks. "I thought we lost you for good, Harmon. . .I'm so sorry for what we did."

Next to them, Mac stood, her hand in the crook of Frank's arm. "I would have called you sooner, but. . ."

"You two were getting reacquainted?" Frank suggested and though neither Mac nor Harm said much, their matching blushes were an indication to the affirmative. "Come here, son." He hugged his stepson tightly, then held him for a moment later whispering in his ear, "Sarah is a keeper. . .Don't ever let her go."

"That's my intention." He whispered back, his eyes moving towards where Mac stood with a sweet smile.

March 27, 2010
0800 Local
Mac and Harm's House
San Diego, California

Mac was straddling his waist, half naked and placing kisses all over his face. Words that were foreign to their love making came out of his mouth "Oh yea, baby. . .I knew you liked it rough. . . Oh, Sarah, baby."

She stopped, glancing down at him as if he were a stranger, then again, that is exactly what he felt like – a stranger. When she objected, he took her roughly, slamming her down into the mattress and visibly winding her. And that didn't bother him, he couldn't care about a single thing but feeling her body wrapped around his. What the hell was going on?

Glancing down, he found her hands on his chest, trying to shove him away but the bruising weight of his body kept her pinned beneath him. "No, I can't do this. . . Stop please!" But he didn't stop and instead continued this insistent kisses at any place his mouth could reach. "Harm, STOP!"Her pleas were falling on deaf ears. Damnit, why wasn't he stopping? Why couldn't he stop? It was like something supernatural was feeding a monster deep inside of him. When his hand nearly slipped between her thighs, Mac had a knee jerk reaction – literally.

That's when he woke from his nightmare. Harm bolted upright, his body covered in sweat. "Oh God." Thing is, he knew it wasn't a nightmare. It was too real, too intense, had he actually forced himself on her? Glancing to the side he found Mac, eyes wide with shock staring at him. "Oh God." He stumbled out of bed, racing to the bathroom where he retched.

Concerned, Mac followed, standing at the door as he tried to compose himself. "Harm?. . .Harm?" When she tried to touch him, he just pulled away cowering to the corner. "Harm? What is it?"

His body was shivering, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "What did I do to you?" She shook her head in confusion. "Mac! What. . .Oh God." His stomach tightened. Nausea had his head spinning. Jesus Christ, did he? "Did I force myself on you?"

"No! What the hell are you talking abou. . .Oh." Closing her eyes, she leaned against the frame, then brought her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. If there was anything she wanted to keep from him, this was it. "You didn't. . .I mean. . .We didn't. . .I slept in Mattie's bed that night." She held out a hand to him, waiting for him to take it. "Harm, clean yourself up and come back to bed. . .I guess there are a few things you should know."

He reached for her, allowing Mac to help him stand. Then he turned on the water faucet to clean his face and use some mouth wash. Mac was waiting for him, sitting on the side of the bed. He sat on the other side as Mac went through the missing information. "You were a creep, really. . .but it wasn't you. . .I knew that it wasn't you. . .The things you said to me that night, it wasn't the things you normally say when we. . .your kisses were different. The way you touched me was different. So, I couldn't. . .it felt like I was cheating on you."

"I'm sorry, Mac."

"Harm, there isn't anything for you to be sorry about."

Yes there is! For starters, he didn't have to be on that mission. "I shouldn't have taken that mission. I could have stayed here and trained pilots. . .I should have. . ."

Mac sighed, the guilt game, both his and hers, was starting to get old. "If you hadn't gone you wouldn't have been the man that I fell in love with. . .The man who is bound to honor and duty."

Harm nodded, he understood that much. "It's the same reason I couldn't be mad at you for going to Paraguay, Mac. . .It's who we are."

"That's right. . .It is. . .Look, you didn't hurt me, not physically. . .I mean, it hurt and I was hurting, but. . .That wasn't you. . .This is you." She reached for him, her hand wrapping around his larger one, pulling him close to her. Harm obliged, curling his body next to hers. "Nothing was right with him. . .God, even your kisses were different."

That was definitely one of the oddest things he'd ever heard in his life. "How? . . .I don't get that."

Mac turned to him, her eyes locking onto his own. Her gaze, enamored and passionate took his breath away. "You do this thing. . .I don't even think you know that you do it, either."

"This thing?" Alright, so he had no clue what the thing was. "What thing?"

She sighed softly, a gentle smile crossing her lips. "Before kissing me, you press your lips to mine, letting them linger slightly. . .Then you kiss me. . .You don't do it every time, but when you do. . ." She swallowed and let out a breath. "It gets me. . .right here." Taking his hand, Mac slid it up to her heart, holding it there.

Damnit, now, more than ever, he knew he had to fix things. For him. For her. For them and any shot they had at staying happy together. "I love you so much."

"That's why I know you'd never purposely hurt me." She pointed out, leaning in to kiss him.