Title: Reunion
Author: red rooster dawn
Pairing: Harm/Mac
Disclaimer: JAG is property of Belisarius productions, no copyright infringement intended.
Summary: With trepidation Mac returns home for her high school reunion.
part nine
A few days later Harm picked up some two foot by four foot posters that he had made up from the snap shots Ben had sent to him by the Audio Visual department. He wanted a reproduction of the great wall thanking Sarah MacKenzie for her service to her country.
He wanted to share it with their friends at Jag. He had just finished putting up the display outside the break room when the Admiral walked out of his office and saw him standing there looking at the poster.
"Commander, what is this?" asked the Admiral. He didn't like his office area cluttered with unauthorized personal junk.
"As you know Mac and I went to her high school reunion last weekend Sir. It had been seventeen years since any of them had seen her. Her classmates wanted to show her how much she meant to them and to thank her for her service to their country.
They produced their version of the Wall welcoming back home Sarah MacKenzie, an American Hero. There are four sections to the Wall Sir. The first section covers her high school days.
The second section covers her military service records. The third section deals with her life the last few years Sir. The last section contains words from her friends." replied Harm.
"I see that you're in a lot of the pictures Commander." observed the Admiral.
"I didn't choose the pictures Sir. Her friend Ben had a choice of four albums to choose photos from. As I said before, the theme of the night was to show Mac that she was loved and not forgotten. Part of that includes what they believe her life is now." replied Harm.
"How did it go?" asked the Admiral.
"We were picked up by Ben Johnson. He took us back to his house. I guess he married one of her best friends when she was in high school. They had about fifty of her friends there waiting to greet her. Many of them she had played sports with." replied Harm as he pointed to the board.
"She played three sports. She was a twelve time all star, six time MVP. I didn't realize that she was so athletically incline. While I know that she is a team player I always pictured her more as a loner, someone who does things by herself." observed the Admiral.
"I'm not sure I would agree with that assessment of her Sir. She's an active participant in life. She likes spending time doing things with other people. It's one of the reason she misses Chloe so much. We spend a lot of time together when we're away on investigations." replied Harm.
"How did they respond to seeing her Commander?" asked the Admiral.
"It was like a large sorority get together Sir. They were so excited to see her and catch up with each other. It was like going back to the academy for the Army Navy game. She was in her element. All the attention was focused on her and she loved it. I have never seen her so happy." replied Harm.
"It wasn't long before she was calling for her photo albums and showing her friends her life and memories. Every photo had its own story to tell." smiled Harm.
"What did they like the most?" asked the Admiral.
"I'm sure you mean besides me Sir." laughed Harm.
"Commander!" bellowed the Admiral.
"I'm sorry Sir, but they did like seeing her with me. They couldn't believe that she was a marine. They didn't think it was fair that any woman should look that good in a uniform." smiled Harm.
"They aren't the only ones. I have been hearing that on Capitol Hill and at top level Staff meetings for years. They still can't understand why she wasn't part of that promo they did when you were the Navy poster boy." sighed the Admiral.
"Don't remind me Sir. My life was hell for a long time after that. Anyway, they were fascinated that she looked so beautiful in formal attire and that she had so many gowns. I guess many of them don't have more than four or five which they have had for many years." smiled Harm.
"How did she explain that." asked the Admiral. He had to admit he didn't think he ever saw her in the same gown twice.
"Beautiful people need beautiful clothes." laughed Harm.
"She told them that she attends many formal social events and needs a different one for each one she attends. One year we attended more than ten from Thanksgiving through the first of the year. She had a different one for each of them."
The Admiral took a quick look at the photos and noticed that she wasn't wearing the same gown in any of them.
"It was the same the next night when we attended the reunion. We weren't there more than two minutes before her friends were leading her away to make the rounds.
They were so excited to see her. You could sense the nervousness in many of them as they waited their turn to greet her and talk to her. She was like a Rock star meeting her people." smiled Harm.
"Surely you jest Commander." said the Admiral.
"I wish Sir. Ben sent me a copy of the film they shot that night covering the return of Sarah MacKenzie, An American Hero." smiled Harm.
The Admiral stood there scratching his predominately bald head wondering whether the Commander was pulling his leg.
"Look at the board Sir. She was very popular. Best smile, twice a prom queen, the girl that every boy wanted to date, the girl every girl wanted to be like, most beautiful, most popular, most likely to succeed, the funniest girl." smiled Harm.
A couple of hours later Mac walked into the bullpen and saw a group of people looking at something on the wall outside the break room. She wondered what they could be looking at. Had the Admiral posted something important that required everyone's attention?
She walked over to where everyone was and saw Bud and Harriet in the middle of the group chirping away at what they saw. She wondered what had them so excited.
"What are you looking at Harriet?" asked Mac.
"It's a poster about you Ma'am. Sarah MacKenzie, An American Hero." replied Harriet proudly. Harriet didn't know anyone she thought more of than Mac.
"How did that thing get here?" asked Mac looking around for Harmon Rabb.
"This is so amazing Ma'am. Even in high school your accomplishments were legendary." glowed Harriet.
"Not really Harriet. I did what I had to do so I didn't have to go home. That's not something to be proud of. Mr. Roberts, what does it say near the bottom of the first section?" challenged Mac.
"You were the prom queen twice." replied Bud. That was hardly a surprise he thought. The Colonel was a very beautiful woman even as a teenager.
"Below that Bud." ordered Mac wondering why he was being difficult.
"Best smile." said Bud. The Colonel did have a wonderful smile. Harriet once told him she had at least five different ones.
"Keep going Bud." ordered Mac wondering why he was being so dense.
"Funniest girl." replied Bud a bit surprise.
The Colonel was anything but amusing. She was a gung ho marine. He had seen her chew out sailors and marines and smile afterwards. She was not someone to mess with.
"I distinctly remember you telling me that I didn't have a sense of humor. You didn't think that I was as funny as Diane." challenged Mac.
"Ma'am? I didn't know you very well back then. You asked me how you and Diane were different." cowered Bud.
"I had been at Jag for two years by then Bud. You probably knew me longer than you knew Diane. We worked together. Harm has told me more than a few times how much Diane and I are alike." informed Mac.
"Yes Ma'am." cowered Bud. He was not going to argue with a Colonel even if he believed that she was wrong.
Later that afternoon Harm returned to his office. He had been in court all day. He was tired and looking forward to going home and sucking down a few beers. He was about to sit down and relax when Mac entered his office.
"What's up Mac?" asked Harm. He always enjoyed looking at her. She usually greeted him with a beautiful smile.
"When were you going to tell me about the poster Harm? Where did you get it?" asked Mac a bit angrily.
"I had Ben email me a copy. I had it blown up in the Audio Visual department." replied Harm wondering what was wrong.
"I wished you hadn't Harm. You know I don't like my personal life on display especially my life when I was a teenager." moaned Mac.
"I just wanted to share with our friends how special you are and what the people who knew you the best thought of you. They all loved you Mac and they wanted to show their appreciation for all that you have given to your country." replied Harm.
"Harm, there's a big difference. Most of them were my friends who hadn't seen me in seventeen years. The poster was about who I was, what I have done since high school, and who the special person in my life is." explained Mac.
"I'm the special person in your life?" questioned Harm.
"Harm! There is a big difference. Most of the people here at Jag are only work associates, not true friends. I don't want everyone knowing about my past. While I'm not ashamed of anything on these posters, there isn't anyone here except for you that I want to know about my past.
As for the photos of you and me together, you know how much I love them. I wouldn't have put them into an album. But Harm, they are my memories of the time I have shared with you. It's my decision whether or not I share them with anyone or whom I want to share them with.
I shared them with friends at Ben and Tammy's party because I hadn't seen them in a long time. We were catching up. I didn't mind that Ben decided to share a few of the photos with more of my friends who hadn't been able to be at their party.
They wanted to know what I had been doing since high school. But I do mind posting them here in the office. It implies to everyone that we are a couple and have been for quite some time. Which you know isn't the truth.
At best all we are is two friends who like to share a dance or two together." moaned Mac.
"I know I haven't always shown you how I feel about you Sarah, but I have always cared about for you very much. You can see it in all the photos. I think we both know that we have had issues with our past that has kept us apart.
A common theme for us is abandonment. With you it was when your mother left when you were fifteen. For me it was my father went missing when I was only five. When I became an aviator I swore that I would never leave behind a wife and child liked my father and grandfather did.
I knew what it was like growing up without a father. I saw what it did to my mother. You've seen what it did to Annie. It was why I asked you to wait five years before having a baby together.
I realize now that I was being selfish and not being fair to you. I should have talked to you more about it. I know you wanted to talk about it after I returned when we were down under.
I knew that was what you wanted, but I wasn't ready. I should have talked to you about it. It would have saved us two years of agony." moaned Harm.
"There's nothing that we can do about that now Harm. All we can do now is move forward. I expect to see that poster gone by the end of the day. You can cook me dinner tonight to make up for your faux pas." conceded Mac.
Author's Note: This story is quickly coming to a close, only two more chapters. I am working on four or five stories that are near completion, but may be a week or two away from being posted.
In the meantime I have posted some short stories for other TV shows.
They are: Star Trek Enterprise StarGate-1 Smallville
A Week at the Lake, Lost in Another, World Before the End
Abandon and Forgotten, Welcome Back Daniel Jackson, Fairy Tales Can Come True
After the Wedding, Where Did Daniel Go,
T'Pol Has Visitors
I have also started a Harry Potter story called The Blending,
which will be an epic story (300 pages double space)
I want to thank everyone who have taken the time to read my stories. Some are better than others. Thank you for your kind words.