Harm grabs her lightly by the elbow as she turns back around, "Hey aren't you going to stay out here with me while I eat MY lunch?"

Mac teases, "Hmm… you want me to have dinner with you, and lunch, plus I have to see you after both? I don't know if I can handle that much of you in one day, Sailor. Geesh, the next thing I know, you'll be requesting my presence for breakfast too."

Harm leans over, and whispers in her ear, "Well you did say that you expected a guy to cook you breakfast when he spends the night."

Mac steps back, releasing his light grip on her, "Red Light Commander!"

Harm quietly asks, "Mac, aren't we past the traffic signals already?"

Mac shakes her head, "Not here we aren't!" Then she gives him a quick wink, "but it's no holds barred on the dance floor!"

Harm chuckles, "I'll keep that in mind, but seriously, are you staying out here?"

Mac smiles at his little boy behavior, "Nah, I have work to do, but Harriet and Carolyn can keep you entertained I am sure."

Harm glances over at the table occupied by the two said women, who are currently staring at him, and giggling. He raises his eyebrow in inquiry, "You wouldn't be throwing me to the wolves, would you Colonel?"

Mac sighs, "Nope, that's what I have to go inside and deal with. We can easily trade though. I'll hang out with Carolyn and Harriet, and you can go deal with Singer."

Harm ponders this for a moment, "Nope, I'm not that desperate, Marine. Harriet and Carolyn are definitely the lesser of two evils in that equation. Although, I'm not sure why they keep looking over here and laughing. Maybe I would be better off eating inside. Come to think of it, all three of you have been acting kind of strange the last couple of days."

Mac shrugs him off, completely ignoring his last statement, "Ok. Then I guess I will see you after court. Ok look, Sturgis just got back with your lunch. If the bag he is carrying is any indicator, it looks like he got you a big fat juicy burger."

Harm glances back over his shoulder where Sturgis is traipsing through the parking lot. He scoffs, "He wouldn't dare! He knows better!" Sturgis is indeed carrying a Beltway Burgers bag in front of him. However, the other hand is carrying one from Ho's Organic Noodles.

Mac nudges his shoulder with hers, "Gotcha, Flyboy! Play nice with Sturgis this afternoon, and I'll talk to you when you get out of court."

Harm gives her a little pout, "I'm always nice."

Mac just shakes her head at him, "I'll see you later."

Mac stops by the kitchen to grab herself a cup of coffee. She will need it with all the paperwork she has to complete this afternoon. Looking at her file options, she decides to knock out her newest case first, before starting on Walker. She has just finished writing up her report with her recommendations to the Admiral on the bar room brawl case, when she looks up, and sees Singer at her door. "Can I help you, Lieutenant?"

Singer purses her lips, "I'm sorry to interrupt Ma'am, but I have new evidence in the Walker matter that I need to give you."

Mac nods, "Bring it here."

Singer walks into the Colonel's office and reluctantly hands her the file. She explains, "Ma'am, the toxicology report in here, shows that your client was indeed drugged. He had enough ketamine in his system to knock out a horse. There is no possible way that Petty Officer Walker could have stood, let alone push the victim down the stairs."

Mac raises her eyebrow at this new information, "So I take it you will be dropping all charges?"

Singer straightens her spine before answering, "No Ma'am."

Mac stands up, "And why not? I think that the evidence speaks for itself."

Singer states, "Even though he may not have been able to push her, he still may have mistakenly staggered into her, causing her to fall. I'm willing to drop the murder charge, but I firmly believe that involuntary manslaughter is still applicable."

Mac shakes her head. "You obviously still have a lot to learn Lieutenant. If my client was drugged to the point of incapacitation, either the victim was responsible for drugging him, or someone else was there. Or do you think my client drugged himself?"

Singer tells her, "I will present my theory in court, Ma'am."

Mac pulls a file off the corner of her desk, and looks through a list of evidence, finding that what she is looking for is definitely not on the list. Mac tells her, "I don't think we will get that far, Lieutenant. There was no needle found at the scene. Nada, not one, near the victim, or my client. There is no needle in the evidence list at all. Which would suggest that the perpetrator took it with them. Someone else was obviously there."

Singer won't be dissuaded, "Or the investigators just missed it in their initial sweep. I'm going to have them go back over the crime scene again before I even think of dismissing charges."

Mac says, "Have it your way, I'll give you two days. If the crime scene doesn't turn up anything new, I'm going to speak to the Admiral about this for his take on it. I'm fairly certain he will agree with me that ALL charges should be dropped against my client."

Singer replies, "Understood, Ma'am."

Mac sits back down, "You are dismissed."

Singer states, "Aye Aye, Ma'am" as she turns on her heel to leave the Colonel's office.

Mac finally opens the folder that Singer gave her, and notices the date of the toxicology report. She calls, "Hang on a sec, Lieutenant. When exactly did you receive this evidence?"

Singer cringes. She quietly ekes out, "Yesterday."

Mac stands straight up at those words. "Snap to!"

Singer immediately stands at attention.

Mac walks around her, and slams her office door. She circles around Singer and with all the wrath she can possibly conjure she asks, "Why am I just receiving this information now?"

Singer crisply replies, "I stopped by this morning, but Tiner informed me that you were at Bethesda, Ma'am."

Mac can't disagree with that logic, but she isn't ready to let her off the hook yet. "And what is your excuse for why you didn't bring it to me yesterday?"

Singer weighs the options in her head of how to answer the Colonel. Telling her the truth is definitely not an option, but a little white lie hopefully won't do too much damage. She's going to be in the doghouse either way, but she is hoping to have some of her hide left when she leaves this office. "You were in with the Admiral when the report arrived. I went back to my office, and was working on other things, and by the time I thought about it again, you were gone for the day."

Mac still isn't deterred. "Those are excuses, Lieutenant! You could have left the file with Tiner, or with Harriet, or even in my inbox!"

Singer doesn't flinch, "My apologies, Ma'am. I wanted to give you the exculpatory evidence personally."

Mac barks, "Next time, Lieutenant, you will hand it to me personally, in a more expedited manner. Are we clear?"

Singer says, "Crystal, Ma'am."

Mac sit back down, the fire still in her eyes, "Get out of my office!"

Singer wisely retreats, thankful that although she got busted, the Colonel didn't threaten to speak to the Admiral. She inwardly smiles at the fact that her case isn't completely over. It's not often that she gets assigned a murder trial, and although the charges have lessened, it's still a high profile case, and not one she is willing to concede yet. Now, she needs to get on the phone with the damn investigators, so they can find the evidence she needs to convict!

By the time the end of the day rolls around, Mac feels like she has been on an emotional rollercoaster all day. She is drained. If it wasn't Harm she had plans with tonight, she would reschedule the class. Hopefully, she will be able to conjure up some energy to actually be able to dance tonight. Although, if not, she can just lean heavily on him, and let him lead.

Harm gets out of court and immediately stops by Mac's office before heading to his own. He finds her looking down at a file with her shoulders hunched over. He approaches and puts a soft hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. He inquires, "Bad afternoon?"

She grits her teeth and asks, "Is murder still illegal in all fifty states?"

Harm chuckles, "Afraid so. However, if you are thinking of murdering who I believe you are, I'm sure your attorney could come up with extensive mitigating circumstances."

Mac sighs, "Thanks for the thought, but she just isn't worth it."

Harm suggests, "Maybe dinner with a handsome Sailor, with a friendly ear, would cheer you up? If he can't improve your mood, he might at least be able to help you strategize on where to hide the body!"

Mac smiles, "You know, you're right. That is a fantastic idea! I'll just go check with Sturgis, and see if he is available."