Mac takes a firm grip on the back of his arm, "Sailor, take a deep breath, and let's walk outside for a minute."
Furiously, Harm turns around, "Sarah, do not try to "handle" me right now, I'm not in the mood."
Mac leads him to the balcony as she tries to calm him down a little, "I realize that Keeter may have been a bit overzealous in his attempts to rile you up, but honey, you know he didn't mean anything malicious by it. He is just trying to get your goat. Besides, there is enough brass in this room to replace half of Congress."
Harm sighs, "Babe, I love you dearly, but Keeter has to realize that this isn't just teasing some girl in some port. You are not some meaningless conquest, some infatuation, or some fling." He runs his index finger down her cheek, "You, are the woman I am totally in love with, and devoted to for the rest of my life."
Mac gives him a slow, deep kiss before releasing her hold. As the kiss gradually comes to an end, she softly tells him, "Please just consider the potential consequences of your actions before you go off half-cocked."
Harm relents, "I promise to try" and adds with a wink over his shoulder, "And you like me fully cocked, not half-cocked" as he walks away.
Mac merely shakes her head. That man can infuriate her and send shivers down her entire body all in one split second. In all these years together as partners, friends, and then lovers, she still hasn't completely figured him out!
The tight clench of Harm's jaw as he leaves makes her realize she isn't going to be able to talk any further sense into him now. As she follows a few steps behind him inside, she berates herself "What in the world was I thinking?" Normally, her husband is very level headed. However, she knows how over protective he can be, and she knows how jealous he can get. She just had to go and push the buttons to unleash both of those emotions at an event filled with their superiors. She needs to quickly find a way to prevent the impending disaster since her methods of persuasion are obviously not working. General Cresswell already sensed the prior tension, gave her a warning, and the last thing she needed was her husband in the brig. Wasn't she joking with him earlier in the evening that he would have to bail her out? Looks like she had the wrong player in mind. Hmm, this sounds eerily familiar, like the night before Bud & Harriet's wedding. She doubts that the General would be as understanding as Admiral Chegwidden had been. Then again, she doesn't see the General ending up in the brig with Harm. She takes a quick scan of the room for someone with enough authority to try to talk her husband out of this madness without getting him dressed down. She spots an unknowing ally over by the buffet table, "AHA", and starts to move in his direction.
Harm is on a mission, striding across the ballroom like a lion stalking his prey, and he would definitely acquire his intended target. He is completely enraged by the fact that Jack would even have the gall to proposition HIS wife. Ok, maybe that isn't quite the way he would put it. He didn't proposition her, he insinuated to Harm that if offered, he would sleep with her. Jack had pulled some pretty crazy crap before, but this just took the cake. They had been friends for so long, he couldn't even dream that Jack would cross the line with something like this. Keeter didn't need to worry about Mac threatening to castrate him, Harm will gladly take care of that himself! What happened to the bond between brothers? Was Jack going through some mid-life crisis? Harm realizes that Jack is still a little lost boy needing the wind in his hair and the clouds under his feet. He felt that way himself too, until he finally had the courage to face everything he felt for Mac AND act on it. All Jack needed was the right woman to tame his cockiness and make him realize that there was more to life than flying by the seat of your pants all the time. However, HIS wife was not that woman! Yes, she could probably tame his lost boy tendencies, but Keeter would be left writhing in pain when she was done with him. Thankfully, she had taken the more subtle approach with Harm, but it had taken several years before she wore him down. And married or not, he still wouldn't put it past her to knock him flat on his six if she needed to!
A bystander in the wings notices the wide stance of the man swiftly making his way across the room. He also notices the look on his face and immediately thinks "Oh, shit!" It's been several decades since he saw that same determined look on a similar man's face, directed at him, and he will never forget it. He yells out, "Hammer", but his cry falls on deaf ears. He decides he needs a more direct approach, and steps directly into Harm's flight path, and orders, "Stand Down, Captain!"
Harm immediately steps back, astonished at the intrusion, and comes eye to eye with his former CAG, Admiral Boone.