I don't own JAG.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sarah MacKenzie sat across her desk from a red-faced Petty Officer Hall. Her fingers drummed silently against her desk as she listened to him completely change his story. She was screwed. She had been so confident about this case and the Petty Officer's innocence. Now she wasn't so sure. She needed to get to the bottom of this- fast! After all, it wasn't just the Petty Officer's future at stake, there was her record, and of course the dinner bet!

"You see Ma'am, I might have accidentally leaked the information. I just don't know." The Petty Officer looked pleadingly at Mac, almost begging her to tell him that she was sure he didn't do it and that everything would work out. Mac sighed, she hated this part of her job. She didn't sugar coat things, and right now words of encouragement were not high on her priority list.

"How would you have accidentally leaked the information?" Mac asked, going into interrogation mode.

"Well… there was this girl. We met a couple of months ago. She seemed nice and we hit it off, things might have moved a little too quickly but I felt a connection with her. She started staying over at my apartment a couple of nights a week. I guess I wasn't really thinking about the sensitive documents I had around. She was alone in my apartment on several occasions. About a month ago, right before everything was leaked, she ended things. She told me that she wasn't really feeling it and just left. Looking back, I guess I didn't really know her. I never went to her apartment, she said she was between jobs, but I'm not sure what she did while I was at work, and after we broke up she even changed her phone number!"

Mac stared at the Petty Officer in disbelief, she couldn't believe how easy it was for women to manipulate some men. He had compromised national security for a fling! How could he be so blind to this fact? Had he been so oblivious to it that he hadn't mentioned it until now? Or had he known and just not had the courage to admit it? Were all men this gullible? Her mind wandered to Harm- he wouldn't be so easily manipulated, would he? Mac had to admit that she had innocently manipulated Harm a couple of time, but it was just to get dinner or play a joke on him. Could anyone else manipulated him? Immediate jealously swelled up at the thought of another woman manipulating Harm. She exhaled and tried to refocus on the Petty Officer, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"She hadn't even crossed my mind when this whole thing broke, but today I was reading the paper, the same paper that leaked the information in the first place, and I saw her picture. She works for the paper, she has her own column."

"Shit. This definitely gives this whole thing a new spin. Considering we are suppose to be in court in 45 minutes, I think we are going to have to ask for more time. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this. We will find out what she knows, what she did, and go from there. Unless something changes from how you have told the story, I think we can keep the not guilty plea and prove that this woman did it without your consent or knowledge. Unfortunately, you will probably be held responsible for neglecting to properly secure the documents and information. But we will cross that bridge and what it means when we get there."

"Yes, Ma'am." The Petty Officer kept his eyes down.

Less than half an hour later, Harm and Mac stood in front of the Judge. Harm noticed that Mac was biting lightly on her bottom lip and seemed more nervous than usual. He knew something had changed in the case since the phone call this morning. He was curious what it was, but he was momentarily distracted by Mac's lip. Watching her gently worry her bottom lip, Harm felt his abdominal muscles clench with desire. The Judge spoke and Harm snapped to attention, embarrassed to have been caught off guard.

"Your Honour. We received some new information this morning that is vital to getting to the root of this problem. I would like to request more time to fully establish the significance of this information." Mac spoke confidently. She shot Harm a look, daring him to object.

The Judge said, "While delaying the trial may cause more of a media stir, I do believe that finding out the truth is important and we need to show the public that we take this matter very seriously," he looked at Harm, "Any objections to a delay, Commander?"

"No Sir."

"Alright then, you have two days. We want to wrap this up as quickly as possible and get it off the public's radar. I will see you at 0900 Thursday Morning. Dismissed."

Harm and Mac walked to Mac's office in silence. Closing the door behind them, Harm was grateful that the blinds were already closed. Mac perched on the corner of her desk and looked at him expectantly.

"What is this new information?" Harm asked, curiosity beating out his habit of waiting for her to speak first. As he asked his eyes traveled slowly down Mac's body, pausing to appreciate her crossed legs.

"Up here, Commander," Mac snapped, "All the information you need will be sent to your office by 1400 this afternoon."

Harm smirked, his eyes crinkling with amusement. He loved it when Mac got cranky, she pouted her lips in the most adorable way, and took deep breaths that accentuated the swell of her breasts under her uniform. He took a step forward and leaned his hip against her desk so his body was angled towards her.

Leaning forward slightly, Harm whispered in her ear, "Don't think I'm going to forget about this morning. We are going to finish what we started."

Mac's stomach jumped, her pulse quickened and she felt tingly all over. Mac made eye contact with Harm, in slow motion she placed a palm flat on his chest. Curling her fingers around his lapel, she pulled him towards her. Her lips parted slightly and she placed a light kiss on the corner of Harm's mouth. Harm growled, a low guttural noise that fully conveyed his need for Mac. Placing his hands on her cheeks he pulled her roughly towards him, kissing her on her lips. He flicked his tongue over her lips and felt Mac smile against his mouth. Harm bit her lip, earning a whimper from her. Harm's hand skimmed down Mac's back, stopping to rest lightly on her ass.

"Harm," Mac whispered, trying to sound stern, "We have to stop, I have work to do. I know you are trying to distract me so I'll have to buy dinner."

"Mmm, right now dinner is the last thing on my mind. Keep kissing me and you can have all the dinners you want," Harm murmured against Mac's mouth. His tongue slid into her mouth in a persuasive dance that gave Mac chills.

A knock on the door caused the two lawyers to jump apart. Harm sat down quickly, adjusting his pants, as Mac smoothed out her skirt.

"Come in," Mac called. Harm glanced at her and his eyes widened. She looked like she had just been well kissed; her hair was mussed, her cheeks flushed and her lips reddened and slightly swollen.

Bud entered the room and quickly stopped. He immediately knew something was going on. He grinned inwardly, he knew Harriet would be thrilled when he told her.

"Ma'am, Sir. The Admiral would like to see you both."

"Thanks, Bud." Harm said, his voice coming out rough.

After explaining the delay in the case to the Admiral, he dismissed Harm, and asked Mac to stay.

"Sir, I know there is a lot of pressure in this case, and I guarantee that every angle will be covered," Mac assured the Admiral after explaining the new information to him.

Harm winked at Mac as she passed his office, Mac gave him a quick smile and kept walking.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated (if they are nice or constructive- just being mean doesn't help me make it better!)

I have some ideas for future chapters- trial/dinner, that babysitting weekend... is there anything you guys want to see?

Thanks!