A/N: I know – weird name for a chapter but remember the mistletoe kiss in "All Ye Faithful" where Mac said awkward moment 310? So why not pull a number (or a song) out of the air? This is a bit of a filler chapter.

George Washington University Hospital
January 16, 2004
1730 Local

In the three days since the doctor moved Harm from ICU, Mac stayed at the hospital constantly. After two nights of sleeping in a chair, one of the nurses arranged to have a cot moved into the room.

Harm finally convinced her to go home for a few hours. She consented when Director Kershaw stopped by for a visit in the early afternoon.

It wasn't that Harm didn't appreciate her being here—quite the opposite. If the situation were reversed, he wouldn't leave her side. He glanced at the clock. Probably wouldn't be much longer before Mac returned. The thought of seeing her again brought a smile to his face. Now that they had found one another, it was increasingly difficult for them to be apart.

Someone tapped on the door. He wasn't expecting visitors, but Mac wouldn't knock.

"Come in." He was surprised to see none other than A J Chegwidden.

"Admiral." Harm momentarily forgot the time when the former SEAL told him he was no longer his admiral. But from force of habit, he tried to sit a little straighter in the bed.

"At ease, son. How are you doing?"

This wasn't what he expected from the man who once told him to wrestle alligators. While it was true, he'd offered Harm his job back a few months ago, he figured it was because he was desperate for lawyers.

What was with the "son" comment? It grated on Harm's nerves a bit, but then he remembered how Chegwidden had graciously given Mac the entire week off. He was still her CO, so it would be in her best interest to treat the man with a degree of respect.

"Better. Got the chest tube out yesterday. If all goes well, the doctors will release me early next week."

"Good to know. Have they given you an estimated recovery time?"

"Not sure. I won't be able to go out in the field for a while, but at least I won't be cooped up in a hospital room."

"Hospitals are never fun." Chegwidden pulled a chair next to the bed, then sat down. A palpable silence filled the air.

Harm wasn't sure why he'd had come. It wasn't for idle chit chat. A J never operated that way.

"You enjoy working for the CIA?"

Harm figured he might as well be honest. "It's a job. Pays the bills."

"But you're not satisfied."

"I'm able to fly. That counts for something."

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. I came here to offer you your old job back."

Harm started to speak, but A J held up his hand to stop him. "I know you turned me down a couple of months ago, and I have a sneaking suspicion as to the reason. But I feel it's time we clear the air."

"Fair enough."

"It angered me when you left to go after Mac. Not so much that you cared enough to go, but for the fact that you were willing to disobey orders. You resigned your commission and went blazing into the sunset to save the girl. Didn't have a plan and little information to go on."

"I would do it again if necessary."

"I know that. In retrospect, I should have given you leave and not asked any questions. You certainly didn't deserve the tongue lashing I gave you when you returned. It is true that you often act on emotion."

"Can't argue with you there."

"That's not always a bad thing. So, what do you say? The offer still stands. Come back to JAG, and we'll start fresh."

Harm hesitated. Being back at JAG meant he wouldn't be out of town as often. But now that he and Mac were involved, there would be complications. "I need some time to think it over."

"I expected that. Take the weekend and give me your answer Monday. New ring?" He nodded toward Harm's right hand.

He shouldn't have been surprised. After all, Chegwidden was the one who first noticed that damned ring Mic placed on Mac's right hand back in Australia. He was non-committal in his response. "I've had it a couple of weeks."

"Mac has the same ring."

Harm's eyes widened. So much for keeping their relationship a secret. The man was sometimes too observant. "Yes, she does."

"Then I assume you finally figured out what you needed to do to keep her."

"That would be an accurate assumption."

"That would be correct."

"You're concerned about the chain of command issues."

"Yes."

"Let me deal with that. I don't see any problems. Should the two of you decide to make things permanent, we'll revisit the situation."

The door opened, and Mac entered. "Harm, I—" She automatically came to attention. "Admiral! Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

"At ease, Mac. I was just leaving. Harm, look forward to hearing from you."

"Yes, sir."

The admiral rose, then walked to the door. Before leaving, he turned back. "Mac, Harm?"

"Yes sir?" They asked in unison.

"About damn time."

Mac waited until Chegwidden left before speaking. "What was that all about?"

"He offered me my old job back. Said we'd start fresh."

"From what he said, I gather you didn't turn him down."

"I didn't say yes either. Not until I talk to you first."

"You know there's nothing I'd like better than to have you back at JAG, but now with us…"

"He said not to worry about that. He'll deal with it."

"You told him?"

"He figured it out. Saw my ring. He'd noticed yours and put two and two together."

"So, are you thinking about coming back?"

"Honestly, I've thought about it for the past few months."

"But you turned him down after Carolyn's trial."

"There was a reason then. I don't have to worry about that now."

Mac walked to the window to look out on the street below. "You didn't want to come back because of me. I know I treated you like dirt in Paraguay."

"That's not it, Mac. Yes, it was because of you, but not the way you think. I stayed in the CIA so that I could protect you."

Mac frowned. "From Sadik?"

"Yes. I didn't trust Webb not to screw up the mission. Kershaw didn't either. Now that Sadik is dead, it's not so important that I stay with the agency."

"First, you resign your commission because of me, then you turn down an offer to come back to JAG. If I hadn't gone to Paraguay in the first place, none of this would have happened."

"If I'd told you my true feelings years ago."

"If I hadn't run off to the Guadalcanal."

Harm smiled. "We're quite a pair, aren't we? Why did it take us so long to admit our feelings for one another?"

"That's the million-dollar question. The important thing is we're together now."

A/N: Questions 67 & 68 by Chicago