A/N: Thank you for the continued feedback! Yes, I enjoyed writing Sturgis as his good ol' self, the way he was when he joined the show. And it was, of course, fun to play with Bud's bumbling wisdom. -- But not as fun as I usually have writing Harm and Mac together. :0) -- Teacup

I See – Chapter 6

He was being anti-social, but he didn't care. The only person he wanted to talk to wasn't there. Harm had come to the Admiral's house hoping to see Mac's corvette parked outside. But it wasn't. She must have been kept at Norfolk.

He had been hovering near the door, checking vigilantly every time someone arrived or every minute, whichever came first. Francesca had been disappointed at Harm's level of distraction, but there were more than enough people who had shown up to keep her occupied for the evening.

Apparently, Harm's behavior was making the Admiral nervous though, because the Commanding Officer asked him to stop pacing around and, instead, help with serving drinks.

The task kept Harm busy and, of course, forced him to have small interactions with others, but his mind was still focused on the missing Marine. As time passed, he was beginning to resign himself to the fact that she would probably not be coming at all.

He had just finished getting Carolyn a beverage, when he was approached by a woman that he did not know.

"Hi, … I understand you're Commander Rob?"

"Commander Rabb," he corrected. "Harm."

"Harm," she repeated.

"And you are?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Gina. I came with Victor."

"Gunny. … He's a good man."

"He is. And he's having a great time tonight. … You, on the other hand," she said to Harm, "seem to be in another world."

"Just … thinking." He then offered her one of his smiles and poured her a drink.

"Well, if I were you, I would get with the party. I must say that I'm envious of the JAG office." She observed, "The people here all seem so friendly and comfortable with each other. Like a family."

"Mmmhmm," he agreed, handing her a glass. He briefly appreciated the fact that Singer was not able to make the party.

"Thanks," Gina said as she took the drink. "You know, … I look around and I can't help but be amazed at this really wonderful group. I see people laughing, and dancing, and having a really good time. … What do you see?"

"Excuse me?" he asked, not having been paying all that much attention.

"I think you should start becoming more aware of your environment here, Harm. When you look around, what do you see?"

"Uh, I see …" He took a moment to scan the room. "I see a good party. I see … a lot of good friends. I see …"

At that moment, he spotted Mac, who was wearing a dress that brought out all of her physical qualities that he admired so much. She was smiling slightly, talking to Bud and Harriet. She must have slipped in while Harm was busy with drinks.

"… I see ... a desirable woman," he finished. "Excuse me." Without even looking back at Gina, he took off in Mac's direction.

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"Hi," Harm said to her anxiously.

"Hi," Mac replied somewhat uncomfortably.

"You wrap things up in Norfolk?"

"Yeah, I was just telling Bud and Harriet that it's been a long day, but I'm glad the work part is over."

Bud piped up, "It sounds like the Colonel has some interesting stories to tell about this investigation."

"Which can wait until Monday," Harriet admonished her husband. "Colonel MacKenzie has had enough of work and should now enjoy the party."

"Right," Bud agreed.

"Oh, hey, it looks like Francesca is finally finished chatting with Tiner," Harriet noticed. "Now would be a good time for us to go talk with her. Come on, Bud. Talk to you two later," she said to Harm and Mac, taking her husband's hand and leading him to the guest of honor.

"So, … did you lose your date?" Mac asked Harm.

Harm simply stared at her with a confused expression, which prompted her to continue.

"I assume that the woman you were getting a drink for a few minutes ago is your new neighbor?"

"Gina?"

"I don't know," Mac tried to smile at her confused-looking partner, "you tell me."

"Mac, she's Gunny's date. I didn't bring anyone."

"Oh." Mac looked a little guilty, having assumed that Harm had brought somebody with him.

Harm noted the look, but didn't understand it. Then he suddenly had a horrible thought. What if Mac didn't come alone?

"Did you?" he asked, as he started looking around to see if there were any male additions to the party.

"What? Bring someone?" Mac filled in the rest of the question. "… No. I didn't even know if I'd be able to come myself until an hour ago." She quietly added, "Not that I had anyone I wanted to bring anyhow."

"Good." Realizing that sounded insensitive, he added, "I mean, good that you're here. I'm really glad you came, because … I want to talk to you." He took a second to figure out where to start. "I, uh, … wanted to explain about that shopping thing …"

"Yeah, Harm. About that …"

Now that Mac had had the time to build up her defensive walls again, she had resigned herself to the inevitable. Harm was interested in another woman. It should not be all that surprising. She had convinced herself that, even if Harm had feelings for her beyond friendship, he was too scared to ever do anything about it. He would stick with safer choices in women. Maybe that was what was best for him.

Meanwhile, Mac decided that Harm had asked her for help, and as a friend, she couldn't deny him. But she didn't have to witness him romancing some other female first hand either.

"… Why don't I just give you a list of some places you can take her?" she suggested.

"Because I wanted you to come," he countered quickly. "That was the point."

Mac was confused. "You want me to meet your neighbor? Harm, since when do you need my approval for the women you date?"

Yeah, Harm saw it. That hurt look. She was jealous. She had been covering it quite well, but he saw it.

"Mac, I'm not interested in dating my neighbor."

She was relieved to hear that, but still bewildered. After the day she had been through though, her mind really wasn't up for processing Harm's puzzles.

"You know, I didn't have dinner, and I'm really hungry," she said, moving towards the table where remnants of food were scattered about.

"Oh, right!" Harm suddenly remembered something. "Wait right here! … Don't take any of that stuff."

"Ohhh-kay …" Mac agreed with a perplexed look. Harm had disappeared before she finished drawing out the word.

Three minutes later, Harm returned with a warm plate full of assorted foods. Much of the plate, to Mac's delight, was full of some of her favorite meat dishes. And everything looked wonderful.

"Here you go," he presented it to her.

"Wow, where did you get this?"

"I, uh, knew you might be late and would probably be hungry. I know how you don't always eat so well when you're out on investigations. Anyway, … I picked out some things for you earlier and set them aside."

His eyes surveyed the plate as he mentally inventoried for the fifth time that night whether he had included everything Mac would enjoy. "I didn't want all the good stuff to be gone by the time you got here," he explained, "… and it looks like I was right." Harm referenced the table where, indeed, many of the better dishes had been emptied. "So, I hid this away and warmed it up for you just now."

Mac was really touched that Harm would have done that for her. It was times like these when she could almost believe that she was as important to him as he was to her. "How did you even know I'd be able to come tonight?"

"I didn't. But I was hoping."

"Oh. Well, … thanks." Mac looked at Harm with a kind, but uncertain look as she took her plate.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she answered. "It's just, … this was awfully thoughtful of you." Half joking, she added accusingly, "… Makes me think you want something."

Harm laughed. He was thinking, 'If she only knew how much I want from her.' He settled for saying, "I've been known to do thoughtful things on occasion."

He went to get Mac a drink, which took longer than he intended, since there were other people who wanted refills, and he got pulled back onto drink duty. By the time he returned, Mac was nearly finished eating.

"Here you go. Sorry that took so long," Harm apologized.

"No problem. Thanks." She took the drink from him. "And thanks for making me a plate. You picked some really good stuff here, Harm. Not your usual fare, I must say."

"Well, I wasn't making a plate for myself. I know what you like."

She smiled. "Sometimes."

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TBC …