Title: We've Got Tonight

Summary: The coin toss never happens, and Harm and Mac go their separate ways. But they run into one another over the years and find the spark is still there.

March 2010

La Jolla, California

"Mom? Frank? We're here!" I take my grandmother's suitcase and usher her inside.

"Maybe they're on the deck."

I frown and push the door shut. "Maybe," I say. "But Frank installed speakers outside last year, so they should have heard the doorbell."

My grandmother shrugs and gives me a devious smile. "Maybe they're upstairs having a private anniversary celebration."

I wince and shake my head. "Thanks, grams. That's an image I want in my head." She laughs, and I try to take her arm, but she shakes me off. "I can get around just fine on my own." With the aid of her cane, I watch her take painfully slow steps toward the living room. She turned ninety recently, and while she still gets around better than most people her age, she's frailer than she used to be, and it makes my heart ache. Mom and Frank have been trying to get her to give up that old farmhouse and move in with them for years now, but they've been unsuccessful - not that anyone is surprised by her stubbornness after all this time.

"Darling!"

I turn away from my grandmother and smile at the radiant, elegant woman descending the staircase. I move closer and lean in to kiss her cheek when she reaches the bottom step. "Hi, mom. Sorry to just let myself in. We rang the bell, but no one answered."

She waves a manicured hand dismissively at me and steps past me to greet my grandmother. "Harm, this was your home. You never have to ring the bell or knock." The women embrace, and my mother brushes a piece of silver hair off my grandmother's face. "Sarah, you look absolutely wonderful."

"I feel wonderful." She beams and squeezes my mother's hands. "Where is that handsome husband of yours?" Mom blushes, and my grandmother winks at me.

"He'll be downstairs in just a moment."

Grams smiles and lets my mother lead her to the sofa. "Thirty-five years," she says. "That's quite an accomplishment." Mom nods, but we all fall silent. Thirty-five years is an accomplishment, but it's a bittersweet one. If my father hadn't died, my parents would have been married for more than fifty years by this point. I mean, I assume they would have. They may have divorced later in life, for all I know. But thirty-five years is an accomplishment. More than grams got with her husband. More than my maternal grandparents ever got since they died young. And it's likely more than I'll ever have.

Frank comes downstairs at that point, looking as happy as my mother does, and he smiles at me but greets grams first. He may not be her son, but she's the matriarch of our little family, and he's always treated her as such. They adore each other and always have, and I watch him hug her, and then he turns to me and extends his hand. I never paid much attention to his mannerisms when I was a kid, but as an adult, I realize that I must have been a real asshole for him to have such a warm relationship with his wife's former mother-in-law and a much cooler relationship with his stepson. I take his hand but pull him in for a hug.

"It's good to see you, Frank."

He pulls back, and his smile is wide and friendly. "Good to see you, Harm. London obviously agrees with you."

"It's good," I say. "Not a bad place to spend some time."

My mother frowns and shakes her head. "London is a fine city, but it's so far away. It was hard enough to get you out here for a visit when you lived in Washington. Now it's nearly impossible." I roll my eyes and prepare myself for many reasons why I need to visit more. "We ran into your old JAG partner last week, and I have to say that I was more than a little ticked off that your partner got stationed here and you got sent to another country."

I hold up my hand and frown. "You saw Mac?"

Frank nods, goes to the bar cart, and pours water from a crystal decanter into a glass. He takes it to my grandmother and sits next to her on the sofa. "We ran into her at Georges on the Cove."

I wince at the mention of the absurdly expensive restaurant they love - it's not the kind of place you go to on your own. "Was she with someone?"

Mom looks at me as if I've lost my mind. "Of course, she was. You don't go to Georges by yourself." She narrows her eyes at me and continues, each word opening up a new wound. "We talked for a little while, and I must say, she's even more lovely than I remembered."

"I know, I know," I say. "She's quite the girl."


I wait until my grandmother has excused herself for a nap, mom and Frank have headed out to run a few last-minute party errands, and then I find myself in my rental car heading to Naval Base San Diego. It's a beautiful day and a nice drive, and I lose myself thinking about what might have been. What if I had been willing to give up the Navy and come out here with her? London is fine. Work is fine. But I'm not as happy as I'd like to be. I'm not cut out to live in a place that is quite so wet. I miss sunshine and blue skies. And I miss her. God, I miss her.

I knew I'd miss her – she'd been the most essential part of my life for nearly ten years, after all. But I didn't think it was possible to miss anyone this much. I see the guard gate and take a few deep breaths in an attempt to clear my head. The guard on duty is helpful, and once he returns my ID, he gives me directions to Legal Services. I probably could remember, but it's been a very long time since I've been on this base, and I don't want to spend my limited time here getting lost in a maze of dull, beige buildings.

The office is buzzing with activity when I walk in, and I immediately spot a familiar face and smile. "Hello, Petty Officer."

Jen looks up from the computer screen, and her eyes widen as she jumps up. "Sir!" She hurries around the desk but comes to an abrupt stop. "Can I hug you?"

I laugh and nod. "Please do, Jen." She flings herself at me, and I wrap my arms around her. I release her after a moment, and she smooths out her uniform before returning to the other side of her desk.

"What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I'm here to see-" I abruptly stop talking when the door behind Jen opens, and Mac steps out. Her eyes are on the folder in her hands, and she hasn't noticed me yet.

"Jen, can you get…" She looks up and trails off when she sees me. "Harm."

"Got 'em! He's right here, ma'am!" She looks up at Mac and beams.

"I see that," Mac says softly. "Hi."

"Hi," I say. "I'm in town for mom & Frank's anniversary party and thought I'd stop by." She doesn't say anything, and I blush. "I hope it's not a bad time."

She shakes her head. "It isn't," she says. She gestures at her office. "Want to come inside?"

"Yeah." Jen's face is curious, but she doesn't say anything. I smile at her and walk around her desk to follow Mac into her office. I push the door shut and slowly take in her space. It's a nice office – smaller than Cresswell's office but larger than mine. She has enormous windows with views of tree-lined streets, and her diplomas are framed and hanging neatly behind her desk.

"This is nice," I say.

She looks around and takes it in as if she's seeing her own office for the first time. "Thanks." She leans against her desk, and I move to a bookcase and study the framed photos sitting next to stacks of books. "How long are you here for?"

"Just the weekend. I'm heading back Sunday night."

I feel her watching me and turn back to her. "Is Gemma with you?"

I shake my head. "No. We're off again," I say. "This time for good."

"I'm sorry," she says softly.

"I'm not," I say. I step closer to her, and she looks up at me. "It wasn't going anywhere."

"What happened?"

I think about it for a minute, trying to figure out what to tell her. "Mom's party invitation was waiting for me when we got back to London," I start. "And when she saw it, she told me how excited she was and how she couldn't wait to meet my parents." Mac winces, and I can't help but smile. "I realized she was more invested in this thing than I was."

"I could have told you that," she says.

"Anyway," I continue, pointedly ignoring her, and it's her turn to smile. "I ended things, and she left." I shrug and shove my hands in my pockets. "She stopped by a few days later to get some things she had left at my place, and that was that. Haven't talked to her since." She nods, and I meet her eyes. "What about you? Any potential future wedding dates in the mix?"

"There's a guy," she says tentatively.

I inhale sharply and look down at my feet. "Serious?"

"I don't know," she says honestly. I look back up, and she's biting her lip. "It might be someday. He's recently divorced and has a lot he's working through, so we're taking things very, very slowly."

I'm jealous in a way I haven't been in a very long time, and I despise how it feels. It's absurd and unfair to be this jealous; I know that. I mean, I had someone in my life until three months ago, and I shouldn't begrudge her any happiness, but I can't help myself. She should have been mine, and I am jealous.

"So, I guess that means I shouldn't ask you to come with me to the anniversary party?"

Her eyes flash, and her jaw clenches. "Ask me if you want, Harm."

I want to close the space between us and kiss her, but I stay where I am. "Will you come to mom & Frank's party with me?" She nods, and I raise an eyebrow. "You don't need to clear things with him?"

She frowns and steps closer to me. "No. I don't need to clear my schedule with a man."

"Will you tell him?"

Mac nods. "I will. We're not exclusive, but I like him and respect him enough to be honest with him."

I take the last step, and now there are mere inches between us. I raise my hand to cup her face, to pull her close for a kiss. But I freeze when I notice the insignia on her collar for the first time. The silver oak leaves have been replaced with silver eagles. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Her cheeks turn pink, and she shrugs. "We don't talk regularly, Harm. I've seen you twice in the past five years, and we've exchanged a handful of cards and emails. It just never came up."

"You should have told me, anyway." I run my fingers over the eagle and smile. "I'm proud of you, Mac."

She swallows hard but smiles. "Thank you."

My hand is resting on her collarbone, but my eyes are on her beautiful face, and I want to kiss her more than I've ever wanted to kiss anyone. "Permission to kiss the Colonel?"

"Permission granted." She didn't hesitate, and I don't hesitate to pull her against me and press my lips against hers. Her mouth opens against mine, and I deepen the kiss. God, she feels incredible. Her mouth is so soft, she tastes like coffee and chocolate, and I want to kiss her forever.

"Colonel?"

We pull apart at the sound of Jen's voice on her intercom. Mac's fingers go to her mouth, and I step back. Her eyes stay locked on me as she reaches across her desk and presses a button. "Yes, Jen?"

"Lieutenants Murphy and Bartlet would like a moment with you."

She looks at me and then briefly closes her eyes. "Okay. Tell them I'll be with them in a minute." She presses the button again and ends the connection to Jen. "You should go," she says quietly.

"I know," I say. She turns around and grabs a stack of post-it notes and a pen. She scribbles something and then hands the top note to me. "My address," she explains. "What time is the party tomorrow?"

"Seven," I say. I fold the note in half and stick it in my pocket. "I'll pick you up at 6:30." She nods, and we stare at each other in silence for one more moment, and then I let out a breath. I have got to get out of here before I end up taking her against the desk. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," she agrees.

End Part Three