Significant others
Saturday after Thanksgiving
Afternoon
Church
Once more Lena clapped her hands in an effort to get the children's attention.
"We are going to sing 'Once in royal David's city' once more," she announced.
Dutifully the children started to sing, not waiting for her signal. After the first notes Lena held her hands in front of her ears.
"Stop, stop," she begged.
Silence came back. Lena sighed. Without someone accompanying, it was hard to keep the children in tune. She tapped on the table next to her
"Okay guys, on three."
She softly counted and once again 'Once in royal David's city' sounded. Despite Mac didn't hear much difference, Lena smiled.
"That was better. Once more and then we'll work on 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks'."
Harm walked by, coming back from a trip to the bathroom. He threw a hesitating look at the little choir.
"Wouldn't it be better to have someone play the piano or so?" he whispered to Mac, not wanting to disturb the rehearsal.
"It would. And there was a lady willing to do that, Mac confirmed. "But she slipped on some wet leaves and broke her wrist. Lena is trying to find someone else, but hasn't succeeded yet."
Harm nodded. An idea had sparked his mind, but he didn't tell her yet.
Dulles Airport
Sunday, end of the afternoon
It was almost five o'clock and her plane had landed over half an hour ago. She should be here any moment. And there she was, dragging her little roll-on suitcase behind her. Harm stepped forward and waited till she spotted him. He gave her a welcoming smile and when she was standing in front of him, he stooped to give her a kiss.
"Did you have a good flight?"
"Yes, I did," she confirmed.
"And how was your Thanksgiving?"
"Fine. It was great to see mum and dad and my brother and his family." She now sounded a lot more enthusiastic. "We did a lot of catching up and I played with my nieces and baby-nephew. He is so cute. My parents send their best. And you?"
"We had a nice thanksgiving dinner at the Roberts'. Almost everyone was there," Harm told her, while they walked to his car. "Harriet had a pumpkin pie to die for and afterwards we played games."
They had reached the car and he put the suitcase in the boot.
"Straight to your place or …?"
Renée bit her lip.
"Can we go for a drink somewhere?" she asked nervously.
"Of course," Harm answered, already on the lookout for a café or diner. A bit later they sat behind a cup of coffee and Harm was curious what she come up with.
It was clear Renée found it hard to start. She fidgeted her fingers and took small sips, but finally she asked "Did you look forward to see me again?"
"Yes, of course. Why?" Harm answered surprised.
"Just looking forward or can't wait to see you-forward?"
Harm frowned. He didn't get her question and told her so.
Once again Renée looked very nervous, but then she looked him in the eye.
"I care for you, a lot. But I feel, our relationship … it has hit a plateau. There is no progression. It was one of the reasons I wanted to be away for few days, a few quiet days, that is, no work, to clear my head. Besides seeing my family, of course. Friday afternoon my mum and I had a cup of tea together, the others were out and she had a photo album. We talked about the pics and …"
She took the last gulp of her coffee.
"I might have mentioned Cyrus to you?"
Harm frowned. The name rang a bell, but …
"Your neighbour's son?" he hesitated.
"That's the one. I mentioned him as the kid next door, but I don't think I told you we dated. We were an item in our senior year of high school. After that we went to different schools. Cyrus went out of town, but came home almost every weekend."
Harm waited patiently till she came to the point.
"I looked so much forward to those moments. I was jittery all Fridays; I couldn't wait to see him."
"And you don't feel that with me," Harm understood.
Renée shook her head sadly.
"No, I don't."
"You want to break up?"
Mutely she nodded.
"I'm sorry," she whispered after a few moments.
Harm was at loss for words. He himself had been ready to made this decision and now he felt like she had cut the grass from under his feet.
"I see," was all that he said, when he had found back his voice.
Renée chewed her lower lip. Silence ruled, until the waitress approached the table and asked whether they needed anything more. With a quick look at his now ex-girlfriend Harm ordered two more coffee.
When the waitress had gone to execute their order, he said "I'm not mad. You are right; there was no progress in our relationship."
She heaved a sigh of relief.
"You're really not mad?"
"No. To be honest, I did some thinking of my own and … well, I came to the same conclusion."
Her head snapped up.
"You did?"
He nodded.
"So you're not … sad?"
"I'm sad it didn't work out. Believe me, I didn't start dating you with the idea it wouldn't work out," Harm stated quietly. "And I will miss your company; we had a good time together."
She reached out with her hands and placed them on his.
"I know."
He turned his hands upside down and caught her hands in his. They sat like that for some moments. Finally Renée asked tentatively "Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, of course," Harm nodded.
"You and Mac …? I know something happened in Australia."
Harm's lips twitched. For a second he thought what to tell, how much to tell. He didn't want to hurt her.
"Mac and I are just friends. In Sydney she asked me to bring our relationship to the next level. I asked for time. I thought I made that clear to her, but she felt rejected. And Mic saw his chance."
"But you were already dating me," Renée couldn't stop herself from uttering.
"That was one of the reasons I asked her for time," Harm calmly told her. "I would have made sure to end my relationship with you before I started another one."
Renée let out a wry little laugh. For a moment the question 'did you ever love me?" was on her lips, but she didn't voice it. Why ask, when the answer only could hurt? But Harm answered anyway.
"I wasn't madly in love with you. Back then I thought you were a nice and attractive lady, with a lot more to offer than some of my colleagues gave you credit for. I liked to spend time with you. I hoped … well, sometimes love just have to grow."
"Which it didn't. Or at least not enough," Renée concluded.
"No. Not enough."
"Are you going after Mac now?" It was a blunt question and she knew it.
"That depends. Not on me, but on her. For the moment she is still Brumby's girlfriend and I'm not going to interfere in a relationship."
"Not going to fight for her? I thought you were better."
"Three weeks ago Mac and I had the conversation that we were supposed to have in February. Just before the Justice/Navy Ball I finally worked out why I reacted like … well, the way I did. We scheduled a meeting to talk, but due to circumstances that meeting never took place. And at the ball, there was Brumby, again."
He drained his coffee cup.
"I'm going to tell her we split up, but ultimately it's up to her, how she feels about her relationship with Brumby. And then, Sydney was almost a year ago."
This was enough to silence Renée. She too took her coffee cup and emptied it.
"I'm ready to go home," she announced.
When they reached Renée's apartment, she said, "Why don't you come inside and collect your stuff?"
Harm nodded; it was the sensible thing to do. Inside Renée produced a big shopping bag and both walked the apartment, picking up the items Harm had left there in the previous months. In went his extra set of toiletries, some clothes, a book he was reading and some other small items. When there was no trace of him anymore, it was time to say goodbye.
"So this is it. I will make sure your stuff comes to you," Harm said.
"Thanks." She walked him to the door. In the doorway he turned around and looked at her. There was a moment of awkwardness and then he opened his arms and she was in them. They hugged, until Renée stepped back.
"Goodbye."
He smiled.
"Goodbye."
When he was home, he heaved a big sigh. Then he went and put away his things and make something to eat. He longed to call Mac and tell her, but that had to wait. Maybe Mic was with her and it would provoke another argument between them. Instead he grabbed a bag and started to collect Renée's things. Tomorrow he would drop them off at her office, he decided.
Monday morning
JAG Headquarters
Mac was tired when she entered the building. It all had started that Thanksgiving evening, during dinner at the Roberts.
Flashback
"Sir, to you the honour to cut the turkey." Bud handed his CO a meat fork and a carving knife.
The older man smiled, He started to cut and handed out generous servings. He looked around in the circle of joyful faces. There was only one not so happy face, Mic Brumby's. He was not happy with the table setting. Harriet had chosen to mix up their guests and he was not sitting next to his girlfriend. To add insult to injury, his temporally CO had caught him in the act of trying to switch nameplates. One pointed look had been enough, but he was sure, if they hadn't both been guests and Chegwidden hadn't been loath to spoil the mood ... Mic had to keep himself from baring his teeth. The only consolation he had was that Harm wasn't sitting next to Mac either. Not that either of them seemed to mind; both were cheerfully chatting with their neighbours.
They ate and talked and when all had their fill, Harriet started to collect plates and cutlery. Now it was time for a round of thankfulness.
The Admiral turned to his left, where Ethan Baker was sitting, a young Afro-American lawyer, fresh from the academy. Having to take the first turn, he swallowed nervously.
"I want to name JAG. My family went a great length to get me through the academy, I'm the first in my family to get a degree; and now this opportunity to work here," he ended a bit emotional.
Chegwidden nodded encouraging at him.
"You're an asset to JAG, Ethan."
Then he looked at the next in line, Mic Brumby.
"I'm thankful for the most beautiful woman in the world, Sarah MacKenzie," he said, smiling adoringly to Mac. Mac on the other hand went red and didn't know where to look.
One by one they named what they were thankful for. Both Bud and Harriet declared, "Our family" and shared a loving smile.
When it was Harm's turn he said "the opportunity to reach out to others," earning him some surprised looks, but he didn't explain further. Mac gave him a quick smile, though. She knew he was thinking of Lena and Lennard and Ron and his mother.
Before she knew it, it was her turn. She felt Mic's expectant look on her, but she couldn't make herself say the words he was hoping for. Instead she said, "I'm grateful for friends." She smiled warmly to the hosts of the evening and for a second her and Harm's looks crossed each other, but she made sure not to raise suspicion. Nevertheless, looking at Mic again, she knew her efforts had been in vain.
The ride home was tense, but it wasn't before they were almost at Mac's place that the bomb busted.
"You could have said something about me! Instead, it was just all about Harm again, right!" he fumed.
"It was about Harm," Mac confirmed. No sense in denying it. "And about Bud and Harriet and about Lena and Lennard and about Anna and about Karin and about a lot of other people. Friendship is a great thing; there have been many times in my life I wouldn't have known how to cope without my friends."
"And you're not thankful for our love?" He took the corner with screeching tires.
"Mic, calm down, we're in a car! There are a lot of things to be thankful for and I choose to name friendship." She forcefully held herself from clenching her fists; she was not going to be sucked into an argument.
Abruptly the car came to a halt in front of her building. Mic turned to her.
"Don't bother to ask me in. I'll see you tomorrow at the office."
Mac stepped out of the car.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
With a bang he pulled the door close and tore away, leaving Mac to look after him and heave a deep sigh. There certainly was some thinking to do.
That had been the last she had heard of him that evening, but it had been followed by an exhausting and tensed weekend. Mic had been unhappy, alternating between brooding and angry rants and she hadn't know how to stop him. She even had cancelled her Sunday run with Harm, but seeing the smug expression on her boyfriend's face, had regretted the action immediately.
End of flashback
Of course the first one she met was Harm and he only needed one look at her face. He didn't say anything, but headed for the kitchen to pour her a large mug of coffee and then retrieved one of the chocolate doughnuts he had brought along from his office. With his offering he went to her office and without knocking he entered. Mac was just getting her files out of her briefcase. She looked up annoyed and ready to give whoever was entering a piece of her mind, but when she saw Harm and what he was carrying, she started to smile.
He placed his load on the desk. Mac rubbed her face, sat down and gestured him to sit as well.
"Thanks."
"Bad weekend?"
"Don't ask." She looked apologising. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Yes, bad weekend."
He reached out and when she placed her hand in his for a second, he squeezed it encouragingly. With a tired smile she sat straight again and took a gulp of coffee. She would love to talk to him but …
"Better not give Mic another reason …" she sighed. She really had to make some decisions, soon!
Harm kept silent; there were a lot of things he liked to say, but he wasn't going to make things harder on her. Instead he asked "What about the Tyson-case?" referring to a case they were prosecuting together.
Mac put down her mug and switched on the computer.
"Let me see."
It turned out she had two mails, confirming appointments with witnesses later that day. Harm noted them in his notebook and they proceeded with plotting their next moves and dividing tasks. When Harm left twenty minutes later, Mac felt a lot better.
First weekend of December
Saturday afternoon
Church
When Harm picked her up that afternoon, Mac was surprised to see his guitar sit on the backseat.
"You're going to perform today?"
He laughed.
"The sets and the props are almost finished; I thought, maybe I can help to teach the kids the songs," he explained.
"I think Lena would love that," Mac laughed.
And indeed, Lena was over the moon when she heard Harm would accompany the singing.
"You're a gift from heaven," she told him, causing him to blush. "The kids know their lines and where to stand and so, but the singing … I had nightmares about it."
She turned to the children.
"Why don't we all give Mr. Rabb a big cheer?" she enthused and dutifully the children stared to applaud and yell. Harm took a bow and then sat himself. He tuned the strings and looked at Lena.
"What is the first song?"
"Why don't we start with 'Once in royal David city'?"
The rehearsal was over and the children were busy collecting coats, hats, scarfs and mittens. Lennard and Harm were tidying up as well. There was knock on the door and in came Alice.
"Hi."
"Hi, how was your trip?"
"It was fine." She looked at a pair of stools, indicating she wanted to talk to him.
"I'm going to give Lena a hand," Lennard announced. He left the room and Harm sat down, waiting for Alice to start to speak.
"I really have to thank you," she said, sitting next to him. "Your words two weeks ago made a big difference. You know we visited Alan's mum and dad, last weekend. Next to it being Thanksgiving, Nana had her seventies birthday and wanted to celebrate with the whole family. We had a great time."
"Yes, Ron told me you would go there," Harm said. "He was very much looking forward to see his grandparents."
"We had some long talks on the way to and fro and we have a much better understanding of each other now. I explained that new wallpaper and new carpet usually means people have a good look at the furniture and decoration, too. And then … you have to know, my parents in law are going to move to a smaller house and are downsizing now. They asked whether we could use some of their furniture. As soon as Gramps and Nana move, we'll get two chairs from them. Ron helped picking them. They will replace Alan's chair and another one, which is not that good anymore as well and Alan's chair will go into Ron's room. Nana gave him the quilt and two pillows that were on Alan's bed when he was a little boy to go with it. There is a little table with two little chairs in Ron's room now, but he outgrew them and he himself suggested giving them to a friend of mine who has three year old twins. She is very happy with the prospect.
About the pictures, we agreed to rearrange them. Some will go and will be replaced with pictures made in the last two years. One or two will go into Ron's room and the ones not making it back on the wall will go into an album, along with the ones Nana gave to him."
"Sounds good," Harm agreed.
"Next I had a long talk with Alistair. I explained Ron is not so much rejecting him as a person, but he is not happy with the idea of someone replacing his dad. I also explained – both to Alistair as to Ron – that Alan always will have that place in my heart. He was my first love, my high school sweetheart and the father of my child and he always will be Ron's father. Alistair promised to take things slowly and give Ron the time he needs to get used to the new situation. He felt very relieved it wasn't him personally and he and Ron are already planning a trip to the museum during the holidays."
"That is really good news," Harm smiled. "I'm glad things worked out well."
"Thanks to you," the mother stressed again. "Thanks to you."