Title"When Friends Help Friends Pursue Their Dreams" III_3
Author: TxJAG_b aka TnJAGAz

Rating: G/PG

Classification: Romance/Story A continuation of a piece of fluff

Summary: It's catching…it's amazing what your friends will do for you…

A/N2: All of you who have had writers block it never hurts to have someone else look at your work and offer suggestions. A big thank you to Lisa, who gave me a great idea that helped complete this chapter. Lisa, if you see this, thank you.

A/N3: Warning! Things get a little messy. Sorry, but just like real life, things don't always go as planned. Trust me, I'll fix it in the next chapter.

xixixixixixixixixixix

From "When Friends Help Friends Pursue Their Dreams" 2/3

Thwack!

The ball caromed through the chute and shot into the cup. Kathunk! A hole in one.

She looked at him, desire burning fiercely in her eyes. She bit her lower lip. "Um, thanks."

He was equally consumed. All he could see was her. "Yeah, you want to…."

She looked into his blue eyes and smiled. "Yeah."

They walked hand in hand to the attendant to turn in their putters.

An older couple watched as the two made their way to the attendant's booth.

"Beatrice, have you ever seen such a display?"

"Oh Claude, give it a rest, they're just young and in love."

"They're not that young."

"I seem to remember a certain Romeo that taught me that way."

"I wasn't that obvious, was I?"

"You were and it was the best time I ever had playing golf."

The two watched as man walked the woman over to the car, his hand gently touching her lower back. He opened the door for her and she smiled a dazzling smile at him as she slid in. He returned the smile and closed the door then walked around to the driver's side and got in. In a moment, they were backing out of the parking space and headlights flipping on as they pulled out into the traffic.

xixixixixixixixi

"When Friends Help Friends Pursue Their Dreams" 3a/3

2130 Hours local

Mac's apartment

"Would you like come in?" The female's muffled voice could be heard through the closed door.

"Sure if you don't mind," replied the shy sounding male voice.

She opened the door, stepped in and snapped on the lights. "Harm, I'm inviting you in, of course I don't mind, now come on in." She smiled sweetly at his coyness, there was something endearing about him acting that way. It struck a chord in her.

Harm smiled back at her and came in the apartment. Mac dropped her purse and keys on the table by her sofa and started walking toward the kitchen. She turned back to the Commander. "Um, would you like some coffee, or coca or something?"

The 'or something' sounds pretty good. Easy Hammer, remember she's a lady and you're going to treat her like one…plus she can nail your six to the wall if you do something stupid. He realized Mac was waiting for an answer. Her soft look was replaced by a puzzled expression. "Harm, did you hear me?"

Okay, he's zoning out on me again. What now? Harm quickly looked at her and smiled again "Sorry Mac, just thinking, coffee will be fine. Can I help?"

"No, I can manage. You just sit and relax for a moment." Mac walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights. It would be easy enough to do this and it would give her the chance to work up her nerve for her next move.

She pulled the coffee can out of the refrigerator, opened it and began scooping grounds into the percolator basket. The aroma of the grounds relaxed her a bit. This "Quiet Evening Blend" she found at the coffee shop in Pentagon City was a nice way to end an evening date…or move it to the next level. Okay MacKenzie, you've got your fantasy man here, now let's see if this was worth it. Mac grimaced at the negative thought that immediately popped into her head. What if it doesn't work-what if we're just better off being friends? Oh, suck it up, you've gotten this far and he seems interested-full speed ahead, you can do this!

"Mac?" Harm's voice floated into the kitchen, making her start. "Is everything all right? Do you need any help?"

Flustered, Mac quickly snapped the lid on the can and picked up the carafe to fill it with the proper amount of water. "Sorry Harm, she began "I just..." she turned the faucet, but only a drip of water emerged. What the—

"Mac? Is everything okay?" Oh no! Not tonight, please not tonight!

Harm looked up at the sound of the Colonel's swift moving feet to see her quickly moving out of the kitchen, headed toward her bedroom.

"Mac?" She ignored him, intent on her heading. Harm quickly followed on her heels.

"Oh that's just great!" muttered the now pissed off Marine. As Harm got closer, he could hear the trickle of water coming from her bathroom.

Harm walked in to find Mac, arms akimbo, looking disgustedly at the stream of water trailing down from the weakened fixtures into the tub basin.

"Damn!" she swore looking at the growing mess. She looked sideways to see Harm."Sorry, I wasn't expecting this."

"No problem Marine," he started looking around the room. "Where's the cutoff valve?"

She shot him a sarcastic look. "How do you know so much about plumbing?"

"Mac…I did refurbish my loft, remember?" his tone indicated his annoyance at her doubting his skills. "Now where's the valve?"

She still didn't fully believe him. "In the hallway, Commander Plumber."

He shot her a dirty look as he left the room. He was really too easy to tease. She smiled at his macho take charge attitude - Typical, well I'd better go get the bucket and mop...

2203 Hours

Harm had actually been able to turn off the water, which impressed Mac almost as much as his ability to find the location of the burst pipe within the wall. For her part, she had drained the tub and mopped up the dirt, bits of crumbled grout, and other debris that had settled in the tub. She also rolled up the hallway carpet and set up one of her electric fans on the floor aimed at the soaked carpet.

It took five rings, but the superintendent finally answered and was in the Colonel's apartment in twenty minutes and nineteen seconds. All three of them conferred about the damage. The hallway wall and the bathroom wall would have to be replaced. The tub might be salvaged, but the fixtures were shot. And no water for at least four days. The roar of the industrial drying fan, brought by the super, filled the apartment making only yelled conversation possible. They had earlier squeezed as much water as they could out of the carpet and pad with Mac's wet/dry vacuum cleaner.

"Tuesday? Are you sure?"

"Sorry Colonel MacKenzie!" the Super barked, "It's the best I can do!"

Harm held one hand over his right ear as he leaned in to talk to Mac. "Come on Mac, you've done all you can do here! You can stay at my place tonight!"

Mac looked around. She hated to admit it, but he was right. There would be no sleeping here tonight. "I'll get my seabag out of my car! I can pick up a few more things in the morning!"

She looked at the Super with genuine appreciation "Thanks for coming so quickly Mike!"

"Glad you caught me and my better half at home Ma'am, and you're welcome! I'll give you a status report in the morning!"

Harm stuck out his hand. "Thanks Mike! We'll see you in the morning!"

Mike gave it a hearty shake. "Sure thing, Commander, Colonel! 'Night!"

"Night Mike!" The two military lawyers turned and headed down the hallway to the elevator.

2334 Hours

The elevator grumbled to a halt. The primer gray metal door slid open to reveal two rain-soaked people. A late evening thunderstorm, which had just started, caught them as they arrived downstairs. Before they could get inside, both were soaked to the skin. A dripping Harm reached over and pulled the ornate steel cage door open. A disheveled Mac, carrying her seabag, walked over to his apartment door and patiently stood in front of it. Harm, getting out, pulled the gate closed as the elevator door slid shut with a thump.

"Here I'll get it," said Harm crossing the hallway over to her.

Mac produced her key and unlocked the door. "It's okay, I've got it." She walked into the darkened loft and dropped her soaked seabag on the floor. A flash of lightning temporarily lit the room.

"Hey."

She turned around to see him framed in the doorframe by the hallway light. "Are you going to be okay?" A peal of thunder sounded in the distance as they stood looking at each other.

"Sure." The wistfulness in her voice made him wince. What a night, a mix-up as to who was supposed to pick up whom, missed dinner and dancing reservations, a leak in her apartment and now this. The only bright spots in this night had been dinner at Beltway and miniature golf, not exactly how he had planned to romance her.

"Mac," she turned as he walked up to her. "We'll get your apartment fixed. It's really not that bad, I had a leak worse than that when I moved in here."

Mac's eyes were bright with tears, but her voice was dull and flat. "Harm, if it's all right with you, I'd just like to call it a night and get some sleep." He can't possibly understand, once again the curse of MacKenzie and Rabb has struck. And on top of it all, there's a thunderstorm raging outside. Maybe someone is trying to tell us something.

He looked into her watery eyes. He sighed. "Sure Mac. Take my room, I'll stay over/down here."

Mac picked up her seabag and slowly made her way across the room, up the step and behind the partition into his bedroom area. The storm outside seemed to be building in intensity as the windows rattled from the thunder.

Harm sat down on the couch and rubbed his hand over his stubble-covered face. For the first time in a long while, he felt adrift. He sat alone on the couch feeling the thunder shake the loft and the rain smack against the windows. It reminded him of another time when he was isolated and wandering, the sea taking him where it would.

xixixixixixixixix

Harm could see his mother crying over her father's grave. He stood, only being able to watch and not interact, as wracking sobs convulsed her body. For some reason unknown to him, he could not interfere. Then he saw why. He saw the six-year-old boy trying vainly to comfort his mother. It only seemed to increase her hysterics. Harm couldn't stand to see her cry, but when he turned away, he could still hear her sobbing.

xixixixixixixixix

Mac had left Harm because she just couldn't face him anymore tonight. The mix-up about who was supposed to pick up whom could have been seen as quite funny by someone else, but for Mac it was an omen. She tried to shake the feeling, even getting into the fun of the moment at Beltway and Herman's. Herman's. Wow, Flyboy plays a damn good game of one-upmanship. But then, like always, it soured. She could almost taste his kisses if only those damned pipes hadn't burst, Harm and I would probably right now be getting to know each other, in the biblical sense. He tried to help, Boy Scout that he is, but the night and mood had been ruined. Chalk it up to yet another missed opportunity. She felt the tears come in earnest, like the rain outside. She was beginning to wonder if they would ever get together. After Cuidad del Este and Harm's time in the CIA air corps, it had taken them a long time to get back to just friendship.

The lightning flashed and thunder rolled through the room, making her clutch the blankets closer. She angrily wiped the tears away. Maybe if she thought about happier times, she could just forget about tonight. After all, this was just a setback, they still had their friendship. Or did they? Her tears returned anew because she realized they had crossed a line tonight. It was line they were both very familiar with and she knew, deep down, once they had crossed that line, then one or the other would want to know if there was more. They were like moths attracted by light. It was inevitable. They had been moving toward this since they became friends again.

The caseload in the office however, had been overwhelming in the last few months, leaving little time to explore moving their friendship to the next level. So they had to settle, as they always had, for lunch and dinner discussing cases or celebrating wins. Losses were soothed by movie nights, cards, and other mind-distracting endeavors. Jogging and gym sessions became more commonplace and the playful banter returned. Sure, they had their dustups, but that was normal, after all, they were two headstrong people it was to be expected, wasn't it?

And just when it seemed like they would always be no more than just good friends, like a bolt out of the blue, it happened. Harm bought her a gift for sharing a long weekend preparing for an impossible case: namely the Court martial of one Sergeant Francis Pulver. The man was an insufferable idiot and Mac was glad to be prosecuting him. At least Harm wouldn't be defending this moron. The Admiral decided Sturgis should handle the idiot's defense. Preparing for the case though, was a nightmare. The mountain of evidence in the case continued to grow at an alarming rate. What had seemed like a slam-dunk case at first, was rapidly turning into one of the toughest challenges of her career. At first Harm had stayed out of her way, letting her handle this one by herself, and she couldn't believe it. He actually respected her space. While on the surface she told everyone that she appreciated the Commander not interfering for once, deep down, she missed his interruptions and suggestions. She missed him coming up with a wacky, way-out there idea or scheme that would turn the case on its head and make the Admiral grab for his antacid tablets. She missed him.

So, she began dropping hints. Subtle ones at first, but with Harmon Rabb you can't be too subtle. She should have remembered that from times past. Every time she tried to get his attention and missed, it made her feel like that awkward preteen she once was, trying to get that cute boy in the front row of the class to notice her. She knew she couldn't keep this up forever, people will start to notice! her common sense had screamed. That's what led her one late evening to storm into his office on the pretext of accusing him of meddling.

Of course he vigorously denied it. The sarcastic remarks mixed with banter made her feel alive. She just had to see him this weekend. Somehow, being the Cracker Jack lawyer that she was, she finagled him into agreeing to help review her entire packet on this case.

They worked through the whole weekend and she had loved every minute of it. Just being with him, made it all worthwhile. When they came to work last Monday, she was the happiest she had felt in years and the daydreams, she had put on the back burner, started again. Apparently, Harm had felt the same way about their weekend, because he broke down and got her a real gift and took her to lunch his treat, no going Dutch this time.

Another flash of lightning illuminated the room. Then he asked her out. Of all the ways to tempt the fates, he had go and do this. She should have seen it coming. It was damned from the start. They were like some mythical couple doomed to fail, their love for each other always unrequited, for any time they tried to express it, something would interrupt or delay it, or if the infraction was bad enough, put an end to the relationship altogether. That made her cry even harder.

Harm opened one eye and looked around. He was…on the couch? Then he remembered the leak in Mac's apartment. She was in his bedroom. The thought pleased him at first and then he grew grim as he remembered how their night had ended. A brilliant flash of lightning mirrored his frustration with the whole situation. Rain continued to beat angrily against the windows.

Despite the noise made by the rain, soft sobbing drifted from his bedroom. Harm recognized it as his mother's sobbing from his dream. However, he was awake now, was Mac crying? Why? He lifted himself off the couch and crept over to the partition.

When he reached his bed area his heart ached when he saw his Marine curled into a fetal position on his bed, crying quietly into her pillow. Despite muffling most of the sobs, a few escaped becoming the soft crying he had heard. Thunder rolled through the apartment.

"Mac?"

She bolted upright in bed, gathering her covers around her. "Harm?" Her voice was thick from crying.

He cautiously approached the bed and sat down on the edge closest to her. "Hey Jarhead," He looked into her tear stained face. "You want to talk about it?"

Lightning flashed outside. How can I tell him?

"Just hold me Harm, please?" Harm was shaken to the core. This was not the feisty Marine that matched wits with him in and out of the courtroom. Who watched his six and could take care of herself. This was a side of Colonel Sarah MacKenzie that Harm had never seen before. It scared him. He hesitated, unable to speak. He merely looked at her. Another crack of thunder sounded, causing Mac to visibly flinch.

"Harm?" Her voice trembled, full of sorrow …and fear? thought Harm. Something was definitely wrong.

Silently he moved over to her as she grabbed hold, burying her face in his chest. Harm absently stroked her hair as her tears began again, soaking his t-shirt.

The next morning, the rain continued. Mac didn't mention the tears or being held all night by Harm. She just reveled in the fact that he was her friend. She took her shower while Harm started working on breakfast. They ate in silence with each of them stealing cautious glances of each other. These furtive looks were rewarded with small smiles.

Nothing more was said about Friday night. It was as if it had never happened.

They spent the rest of that stormy weekend doing laundry, working on cleaning up her apartment, and getting ready for the Lowery hearing. By Sunday, she almost felt like she was back on an even keel. He, concerned about her behavior Friday night, tried his best all weekend to make her feel better and it seemed to be working. The only thing they hadn't discussed was the Pulver court martial. The trial started Wednesday, and she needed to be ready. For some reason, though, Mac refused to discuss it with him. Why, she wouldn't say. She needed to be ready and he knew she could use his help. Harm examined various plans to tackle this problem and discarded all of them as unworkable except one. Maybe a little role-play would help. They could go over the Pulver court martial and he'd pretend to be Sturgis. He knew she wouldn't like it, but he had to try. He didn't want to see her lose this case.

He presented the idea to her as they finished their luncheon desserts. "What'dya think Mac?"

She rolled her eyes."I can't believe you're suggesting this." She snorted."It's a dumb idea Harm." She hoped that would end this discussion. She got up from the table and walked over to the windows. Though it was mid-afternoon, the sky was darkening again. More rain on the way.

He looked at her, perplexed. "Why? You haven't thought any of my other ideas this weekend were dumb…."

"Look Harm," she looked at him earnestly, "Just drop it. You know my feelings on this case and I can handle it just fine without your help." Flyboy please, let's not ruin what we've had this weekend….

He initially looked confused and hurt by her refusal. But that didn't last long. He just couldn't understand her refusal to let him help, "C'mon Mac…" You know you can benefit from my wisdom….

She tried another tactic. She just wanted him to get away from talking about that trial. Anything divisive, she wanted to avoid. "Let's just watch a movie, okay?" Her voice turned playfully sexy. "I'll bet you haven't even used that combined TV/VCR I got you, have you?"

That brought a blush to his face. "Well, uh, no…."

She smiled broadly, Good. He's off balance. "Okay, it's settled then. She walked over to his TV and picked up a channel schedule and began thumbing through it. There's probably a good movie on tonight. We'll kick back, eat some popcorn"

But she should have known nothing is ever that easy with Harmon Rabb. "No Mac." She stopped and looked back at him. Harm was in his defensive posture. Arms crossed. Stern stare. "Don't run away from this."

She was caught off guard. "Run away?"

"Yes." Now he had her. "The trial starts Wednesday and you have to be prepared. Let me help, okay?

Exasperated, she looked heavenward as if asking for Divine help, then dropped her head shaking it slowly. "You are without a doubt, the most stubborn man I know."

"But you know I'm right." He flashed that ear-splitting grin at her.

She smirked. "I'm not so sure about that." Her resolve was weakening.

He bargained with her. "Just a few minutes of role play, you know you want to be prepared."

She looked doubtfully at him.

"I'll make popcorn and when we're finished, if there's time, a movie."

It was a good offer, but she still wanted another concession. She didn't want this afternoon's entertainment degenerating into another infamous Harm and Mac verbal battle. "How about we just start by reviewing the case notes?"

"Okay Mac." he conceded. They sat down on the couch together. Mac reached for her notes and Harm pulled his legal pad off the coffee table and flipped to a page of notes he had for the occasion.

She playfully hit him on the shoulder. "You were ready for this weren't you?"

He grinned at her playfulness. That's good Mac, we'll be through this before you know it and you'll be so glad we did this… "I always try to be ready, Counselor."

She gave him a wry smile as she flipped through her notes, looking for the appropriate place to begin. "Okay, let's get started…."

It was like strapping yourself into hang glider and stepping out onto a steep cliff. The view was breathtaking, but the fall could most likely kill. Still, Mac willingly followed Harm out onto that thin ledge. They started out with the notes. Harm pointed out what he thought were weaknesses in her prosecution. At first, they were only minor sticking points, so Mac was only mildly annoyed. Harm tried to soften the blows by tossing in a joke or smile where he thought appropriate.

The afternoon had dissolved into early evening, when they decided to explore their stances on Sergeant Pulver's case. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Harm/Sturgis was sticking with his client. Mac got up from the sofa they had been sharing and started pacing around Harm's apartment as her anger with him built.

"'Sturgis', you can't be serious." Irritated with his stance on this case, she turned to face him. "The man is guilty and I will destroy your witnesses in court. Let's talk a deal."

Harm/Sturgis got up, shook his head and faced her, folding his arms across his chest. "No deal Mac, the man's not guilty. He's willing to take it to court and so am I. And we'll win too." He had thrown in that last part as payback for her snide assessment of 'his' witnesses.

Her eyes narrowed at the challenge. It was just like Harm to be this way. "You'll lose Flyboy, you haven't got a prayer." Flyboy? The rational part of her mind challenged, Where did that come from?

Harm noticed her slip but remained unmoved. He was getting wrapped up in this too."We'll let the judge decide that."

She started pacing again, "You are the most *pig headed*"

"And you Mac, you're a *conceited* Jarhead." He shot back, the anger rising in his voice. He unfolded his arms and pointed at her to emphasize his point. Something was happening here that he hadn't counted on…

"Conceited? I'm conceited!" Her voice rose an octave. "Oooh, I can't believe you telling me I'm conceited! You *arrogant*, glory hogging"

"Glory hogging, oh now come on Mac, that's low, even for you."

She planted her hands on her hips. "If the shoe fits, Sturgis. Or should I say, Rabb? Who left to fly F-14s? Who's the one who almost tossed his career aside and flew down to Paraguay? Who's the one who flew for the CIA air corps, rescuing damsels in distress and saving the day at least according to his own damn press releases!"

Harm sat down. His heart crushed by her scathing words. "You really believe that's about me Mac? Do you really think that?" It wasn't role-play anymore. She had drawn blood.

But Mac was beyond caring. All the pent up fury and fear was boiling up out of her, and she aimed it right at her chief tormentor and the one she loved the most.

"That and to rescue poor pitiful me the lovely heroine that stupidly keeps getting herself tangled in situations she can't possibly get out of. So her dashing hero has to come and rescue her because she's too damned dumb to get herself out of danger!"

His voice dropped dangerously low as he glinted at her through a flinty stare. "Maybe I'm not the one that got a concussion down there MacKenzie. As I recall, you were strapped down, about to be jump-started by one of Sadik's goons, and unless you had laser vision or superhuman strength, you weren't coming out there alive.

"You don't know that!" She snapped back exasperated with his hero complex. "How do you know I wasn't getting ready to take that goon out-"

His tight voice cut her off. "When I saw you, Mac, you were strapped down pretty tight. You weren't going anywhere except maybe for an unmarked grave or a public display in an Al-Qaeda show-and-tell."

The truth of those words left her airless. Her mouth worked silently for a few moments as his words hit her like fists. "You're impossible." She choked out before stomping away from him.

"Friday night you thought I was pretty special." She stopped and stiffened at that remark.

She whirled back on him, her eyes blazing. "Oh yeah, Friday night, how could I forget? And what a night it was! I mean who would have ever thought fast food and miniature golf could sweep a girl off her feet?"

His voice was quiet and very even. "You didn't leave me with too many options after you didn't show up on time"

"That's because fool that I am, I thought you were picking me up!" She roared.

They stared at each other breathing hard. They were beyond annoyed, they were beyond ticked off, they were fire spitting furious with each other. It was Cuidad del Este all over again.

"I'm going for a walk." He turned and strode over to the door.

"Fine, I'm outta here." She said as she started toward the stairs. "I'm checking into a hotel."

"Leave your key on the table by the sofa before you leave." Was all he said as he opened the door and disappeared into the hall.

She stood for a moment watching him leave. A million conflicting thoughts bombarded her at once. When the door closed, she unsnapped his key from her key ring and hurled it across the room. It clattered on the wood floor and skittered under a bureau. Hot angry tears streamed from her eyes as she marched over to Harm's bedroom area and began throwing clothes into her seabag.

1107 Zulu

JAG Headquarters

Fall Church, VA

Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie was barely awake. The bed at the hotel where she was staying was worn out, and sagged on end. All night she had kept her hands gripped on the opposite side of the bed, hoping she wouldn't let go and roll out onto the floor.

Twice she had to go upstairs and remind her 'neighbors' that loud television at 0300 was not conducive to a good nights' sleep. The first time she was polite. The second time, the partying couple decided it might be better to move their party to another venue.

It had been the only hotel that had a vacancy. All others were full, some damn convention of some sort or another was what she was told. Now she understood why the place had a vacancy. Coffee would help her feel better, but it probably would not get rid of the crick in her neck.

She sighed and unlocked the door to her office. Then it hit her. Oh my God the Lowery hearing! That was this morning at ten. Well suck it up Marine, life is tough all over. At least she wouldn't be facing off against Harm. However, it would make prosecuting this one a pain in the six.

Harm. My God, how did they manage to do this again? Simple, it was kismet, karma, or a new Murphy's Law. Yep, the Rabb and MacKenzie Love Corollary. She thought disgustedly to herself.

"Good morning Ma'am!"

Mac started, causing the crick in her neck to twinge violently. Harriet saw the look of pain and annoyance cross her face. Then she noticed Mac's disheveled look.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Ma'am. You didn't sleep well?"

"Just slept wrong last night, Harriet," Mac was able to push out as she willed the spasming muscle to relax. It wasn't working. "Look, I need some aspirin or Tylenol or something for this crick-"

"Oh don't worry Ma'am, I have something for that right here." Harriet opened her handbag and handed Mac two pain pills.

Mac looked wryly at her as she fingered the two pain pills. "You opening a portable drug store, Lieutenant?

Harriet colored slightly. "No Ma'am, but with everything that's been going on around our house, I found carrying a portable supply of a little bit of everything might not be a bad idea." She looked hard at Mac's hair.

"Lieutenant, you're staring."

Harriet averted her eyes from the Light Colonel's wildly tousled hair and looked down at the tile floor of the bullpen."Oh sorry Ma'am it's just, well, did you do your hair this morning? I mean, it does look-"

"Like I stuck my head in a blender?" Harriet looked up, horrified at her comment.

"It's okay Harriet," chuckled Mac ruefully, "My crick combined with my temporary living quarters doesn't do wonders for early morning hair styling."

"Temporary living quarters Ma'am?" She repeated afraid to say anything else.

"I had a leak in my apartment Friday night. I had to find somewhere else to stay in the meantime."

"Friday night? But you and the Commander, were, I mean, supposed to, well,"

"Go out on a date Harriet?" Mac smiled at the memory of Harm asking her out. "Well for your information, we did."

"You did?" she almost squealed, earning a cutting glance from the sore Marine. She immediately lowered her voice, "That's wonderful Ma'am!

"It was a disaster Harriet," Mac said sadly, "A complete disaster." She noted the shocked look on Harriet's face. "I've got to get ready for the Lowery hearing, thanks for the pain pills, please excuse me…."

Harriet started to say something, but Mac had already opened her door, walked in and closed it, pulling down her blinds. Harriet stood looking dumbly at the shuttered door.

Commander Harmon Rabb slowly, stiffly made his way out of the elevator. A concerned Marine Lance Corporal moved over to him.

"Sir? Do you need a hand?" She moved closer as Harm limped toward the clear double glass doors of the JAG bullpen.

"Thank you Corporal, but I-"

"No problem Sir," She took his arm and helped him toward the doors. "You're headed into the bullpen Sir?"

"Yes Corporal…." Harm seemed to be looking for her name badge.

"Givens, Sir, Marla Givens." She blushed slightly.

"Well thank you Lance Corporal Givens," he flashed her a grateful smile. The smile and his deep blue eyes made her almost forget she was in uniform.

"Commander! What happened?" Jennifer Coates had opened one of the bullpen doors, was suspiciously eyeing the Lance Corporal.

"Had a fight with a sofa, Coates." quipped Harm, but his joke fell on deaf ears. He decided the current situation needed a little explaining. "Corporal Givens was just helping me to the bullpen."

Jen moved protectively toward the Commander. "Thank you for your help Lance Corporal," she said brushing the Marine off, "You're dismissed."

Givens looked suspiciously for a moment at Coates, until she saw something hard that was slipping to the surface of the young Petty Officer's face. It was territorial. Harm also saw it and didn't know whether to be flattered or concerned.

"Yes Petty Officer." The Lance Corporal snapped to attention. "Will you need anything else Commander?" She ignored Coates.

Harm decided it was best not to get between these two. "No Corporal, thank you for your help."

"Aye Sir." she pivoted on her heel and headed down the hall.

When she was gone, Coates gently took his arm. "Come on Sir, let's get you inside."

Mac had taken the pain pills, but it would take some time before they started to kick in. She reached into her briefcase that she had laid by her chair and slowly, carefully, reached in. As she started to pull out her notes on the Lowery hearing, a knock interrupted her actions.

She sighed and winced again as she started to pull her hand back out of her case. She heard her door opening. In breezed Harriet with two steaming cups of coffee.

"I thought you would appreciate a good cup of Marine grade coffee."

"Marine grade? Mac carefully sat back in her chair.

"I left the filter out and set the coffeemaker on its strongest setting."

Mac chuckled. That made Harriet smile as well. "I thought I'd also help you review your notes for the hearing."

Mac smiled with genuine affection and warmth at her 'little sister'. "Thanks Harriet."

Harriet beamed."You're welcome Ma'am."

Harm started to settle into his chair with Jennifer's help. Suddenly his weight shifted and both of them fell into the chair, Jen in the Commander's lap. Jason Tiner, on his way to his desk stopped in mid stride, his eyes bulging out.

"Jen?"

Her head snapped around and saw Jason standing there, watching what looked like an intimate scene between her and the Commander. "This isn't what it looks like-"

"Tiner, Coates was just helping me sit down, I broke some toes last night and I lost my balance-"

"Sorry Sir, Petty Officer." He looked away from them pointing his eyes at a point in front of Harm's desk. "I have a cane in my car, Sir. I'll be right back." And with that, he disappeared back down the hall.

Jennifer looked perplexed at the Commander, and then back at the now empty doorway. She got off his lap, straightened her uniform and smoothed her hair.

"Don't worry Coates, I think he understands."

"I hope so Sir. She looked worriedly at the Commander and then back at the empty doorway.

-TBC…