Chapter Six:
A House Borrowed, the Walls Blue

APRIL 20TH, 1998

1030 EST
HARM & MAC'S FAKE HOME
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

After checking out of the hotel, Harm and Mac took a taxi to their brand new home. It was in one of the newer suburbs about a twenty minute drive outside of the city. So it wasn't long at all before the taxi stopped in front of a charming, eggshell white, Colonial-style home. This stately residence was accompanied with a paved driveway, pristine lawn with blooming lilac bushes, and navy blue door with matching shutters.

Harm leaned over the backseat of the taxi to get a better look at the house over Mac's shoulder. He turned to look at her; they exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"Do you think Webb will let us keep it after this is all over with?" Harm murmured.

"I'll take the first and third weeks of the month if you take the second and fourth."

"Or one of us could take the bottom floor and the other one could take the top floor."

"That could work," Mac smiled. "If you let me have the top floor."

Harm raised an eyebrow as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "We'll have to keep negotiating later."

The navy door and shutters was only a hint at the home's interior. The living room walls were powder blue, the cabinets in the kitchen were Carolina, and the dining room was slate. By the time the reality of the home's…aesthetic sunk in, Mac was dreading what color the master bedroom was.

"Do you think these walls bring out my eyes?" Harm asked as he turned away from the living room curtains - which were, thankfully, beige and not another shade of blue.

Mac rolled her eyes. "Very funny." she looked down at the couch, practically overflowing with overstuffed throw pillows. She picked up one in the color of cobalt, turned it over in her hands before placing it back with the others. "You think whoever designed this place has a favorite color?"

From outside came the sound of a horn honking. Harm peeked through the beige curtains to see a moving van pulling up to the curb where their cab had parked not thirty minutes before.

Mac appeared at his side. "Wow, Webb got here quick."

"Must've been light traffic."

From the passenger seat of the moving van, Webb jumped down, dressed in a tan suit and wearing a baseball cap that had the same logo on it as the moving van.

Mac frowned. "Not his best disguise."

Harm shrugged with a smirk. "You know he's not one to underdress."

"Oh God forbid that happens."

From the cab of the van, Webb picked up a small cardboard box, and walked up the cobblestone sidewalk. Seconds later, the doorbell rang.

"You could've just come in," Harm told Webb as he opened the door.

Webb shrugged. "I wanted to be polite," he held out the box, which Mac took. Not realizing how heavy it would be, she almost dropped it.

"Careful with that," Webb said. "It's your housewarming gift."

Mac frowned, sitting the box down on the floor and crouching down in front of it. "What is it?"

As soon as the question left Mac's lips, a tiny wet nose peeked out from underneath one of the box's flaps, accompanied by a tiny yellow muzzle and fuzzy head.

Mac's eyes widened. "You got us a puppy?" She reached down and opened the box completely, lifting the tiny dog out of it and onto her lap.

"Congratulations, it's a girl," Webb looked between the two of them. "I figured getting a puppy would help you avoid getting asked when you're going to start having kids."

Mac snorted. "How considerate of you."

Harm's eyebrows shot up. "People are gonna ask that?"

"Does she have a name?" Mac asked as the puppy tried to chew on her fingers. She checked for a collar under the red bow tied around the puppy's neck, that was almost as big as the puppy.

"Goldie."

Harm rolled his eyes. "Right, because she's a golden retriever."

"No, actually," Webb replied as he finally took the moving van hat off. "Goldie Hawn. The breeder we got her from named the litter after famous actors in the 70s. You were this close to getting Faye Dunaway."

"They didn't have Farrah Fawcett?" Harm asked.

"No, sadly."

"Look Harm," Mac said, holding Goldie next to her cheek. "She has my eyes."

"And your hair," Harm added, causing Mac to frown. He turned back to Webb. "Is she house trained?"

"Not one bit," Webb replied, reaching up to clap Harm on the shoulder. "You two have fun with that."

Harm and Mac exchanged weary glances as Webb continued to speak. "There's also a hot tub on the back deck, did you guys see that yet?"

"A hot tub?"

It took most of the afternoon to unpack everything and adjust to their new home and new pet parenthood, so by the time evening rolled around, neither of them wanted to cook…meaning that Harm didn't want to cook, because Mac and Goldie couldn't cook. That only left one viable option, and Harm tried to ignore the damage that would be done to his arteries later as he ordered pizza over the phone.

He walked back into the living room to find Mac sitting on the sofa, a collection of throw pillows on the floor to make enough room so they could actually sit on the sofa. Goldie was sprawled out at her feet, finally tired after an afternoon of snapping at Harm and Mac's heels and trying to eat cardboard and packing peanuts.

"Hey," Harm shook his head. "We're not doing that."

Mac looked up at him innocently. "Doing what?"

"Having the dog on the furniture. We're not doing that."

"Harm, she just got to sleep."

He nodded down to the pile of pillows on the carpet below. "She can go down there."

"Fine," Mac said. "But you move her."

"Why are you making me into the bad guy?"

"You made yourself into it! She's a baby, Harm."

"She's a dog, Mac."

Harm reached down and delicately scooped Goldie up, gently placing her on the pillows. Thankfully, she didn't stir. "I don't think normal couples argue about things like this."

Mac laughed. "You must've never been in a normal relationship before."

"For your information, I have," Harm replied as he sat down where Goldie had just been laying. However, now that he thought about it, had he ever been in a normal relationship before?

He decided to change the subject. "The pizza will be here in twenty minutes."

"Amazing."

Feeling an uncomfortable lump pressing into his back, Harm reached around to pull out another throw pillow. "Did Webb mention why this entire place is blue?"

Mac shrugged. "He just said the house came like this. It was the only vacant one left in the neighborhood for us to take."

"I wonder if all the other houses are all one color on the inside."

"I don't know, we'll have to find out when we start our spying."

"I'm excited to check out the hot tub."

"Me too."

Harm reclined back, stretching his legs out in front of him, careful not to nudge Goldie by accident. "You know, other than our differences in parentings techniques," he looked pointedly down at the puppy. "I think married life might not be that bad."

Mac looked at him and laughed. "We've been 'married' for forty-eight hours, sailor."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harm asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"You really think we, as in you and me, will be able to live together and have everything go off without a hitch?" Mac gave him an incredulous look. "We still have trouble working together sometimes."

"We managed to get hitched without a hitch," Harm replied. "And we were pretty good at kissing," he gently nudged her with his elbow. "You have to admit that."

Mac nodded, her cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink. "We were."

Harm raised an eyebrow. "Wanna keep practicing?"

"Keep practicing?" Mac laughed. "Are we high schoolers?"

"It was an honest question, Mac."

Harm leaned in a little closer to her, just close enough for her to notice. Mac watched him carefully for a few moments, deciding what she wanted to do.

"Come on," she said, gently pushing him back to his side of the sofa. "Not in front of Goldie. She wouldn't understand."

"Right," Harm looked down at Goldie, trying his best not to roll his eyes. She was now lying completely upside down on one of the pillows, "I guess we're waiting until after she gets fixed to give her The Talk, aren't we?"

"Funny," Mac gave him a look. "See? This is what married life is actually like."

Harm shook his head. "I don't think bickering is a married thing. I think it's just an us thing, Mac."

Thoughts of Sarah Mackenzie flooded Harm's head as he jogged down the pristine streets of his new neighborhood. Despite it being a weekday morning, the streets were quiet. Granted it still just after sunrise, but the silence made Harm unsettled. Maybe it was the pretense that something about this place wasn't what it seemed, or maybe it was just because he was used to jogging in DC where there was something going on at any hour.

Also it was Mac. She'd occupied his mind in similar, confounding ways before but now it was different. They were married now after all, and even though none of it was real, the two of them were in the closest proximity they'd ever been to each other. Mac didn't trust easily and Harm was finally able to admit that maybe he'd never been in a normal relationship before, this one included. Of course the two of them would find a way to repel away from each other the minute they started to get closer - as much as Harm hated psychology, it made sense.

When he got up to leave, he'd softly announced to Mac that he was going for a run, not because he thought she'd care but because he didn't want her wondering where he was. Not nearly the kind of morning person he was, Mac had nodded into her pillow and murmured something in reply. Downstairs Harm found Goldie chewing on the laces of his running shoes. It took an embarrassingly long time for Harm to wrestle the shoe away from her, then an even longer time to clean up the puddle of pee he found in the kitchen.

"You're really lucky you're cute," Harm told her as he tucked her under his arm and walked her up the stairs. Right before bed, Harm and Mac had gotten into another argument about their furry child. Mac wanted Goldie to sleep in the bedroom with them so they could keep an eye on her, and Harm had insisted she stay downstairs because if she slept in the bedroom she would somehow end up in the bed, and dogs didn't belong on furniture because furniture was for people.

That morning, however, Harm was feeling generous. He wanted to extend an olive branch to his favorite marine. He sat Goldie down on the center of the bed, ignoring her as she tried to gnaw at his fingers. He moved around some of the sheets, settling Goldie against the small of Mac's back.

"There, good girl, stay - no, stay."

Harm's whispering and Goldie's wriggling caused Mac to stir. She rolled over, blinking a few times before looking up at Harm. Goldie placed a tiny paw on Mac's chest, lifting up to sniff her cheek.

"What happened to no dogs on the furniture?" Mac asked, turning her away so Golide wouldn't lick her mouth.

Harm shrugged. "Thought you could use the company."

Mac picked Goldie up and tucked her against her side. The sides of her mouth were turned up in the slightest ghost of a smile. "Thank you."

"This is the only time though, we're not doing this after today."

Mac laughed. "Sure, sailor, whatever you say."

Right before he left the bedroom Harm turned to look back at the two of them. Goldie was dozing off in the crook of Mac's arm, but Harm was surprised to see Mac watching him. She closed her eyes right as Harm turned around, but he'd still caught her. There was something about the way she was looking at him left Harm wondering if things between them were really fake or not.

It had been a good kiss, though. A great kiss, actually. Better than all of the kisses he'd had with Annie -

"Howdy, neighbor!"

The unexpected voice caused Harm to stop dead in his tracks, nearly tumbling into a nearby hedge. He caught himself at just the right moment, straightening up to come face to face with a smiling man wearing a canary yellow polo, the morning newspaper tucked under his arm.

"Just met one of the neighbors."

Mac looked up from the kitchen table, the morning paper spread out in front of her. She had her hair pulled back with a claw clip and was wearing a silky, floral printed robe - another one of the CIA's selections for Carol's wardrobe.

"Oh really? How'd it go?"

"Ummm…"

Mac's expression fell. "Did it not go well?"

"No, no it went fine," Harm quickly shook his head. "It's just….he's an interesting guy. His name is Dave. He really likes golf."

"Maybe you should go golfing with him sometime," Mac said. "In case Dave is pretending to be someone he's not."

Harm chuckled. "You mean like how we're pretending to be someone we're not?"

"That's different. We're doing it for a good cause."

Harm began to walk into the kitchen, but felt some resistance. He looked down to see that Goldie had managed to completely unravel the laces of his left shoe, gnawing on one end of them.

"She really likes your shoes," Mac observed, taking a sip from her coffee mug.

"Yeah," Harm bent down to yank the lace out of her mouth. "I can tell."

He walked into the kitchen, Goldie at his heels. Mac watched him as he walked over to the coffee pot. "Did you take her out this morning before you went for your run?"

"No…" Harm replied slowly as he pulled a mug down from the cupboard. "She peed on the floor, but I cleaned it up."

"Did she do anything else?"

Harm grimaced. "Mac, why do you care?"

"Because I dozed off in bed and she left a little present for me to wake up to," Mac answered, nodding down at Goldie. She'd walked over to Mac and was sitting at her feet, tiny tail wagging. Harm stared at the two of them blankly.

"She shit in our bed, Harm."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

He grinned apologetically. "I'll take her out tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"You know, this is why dogs don't belong on furniture," Harm said as he sat down across from Mac.

Mac gave him an incredulous look. "You put her there."

"And my point got proven," he took a sip from his mug. "Come on Mac, she's a baby."

She rolled her eyes. "Keep it up and I won't make you breakfast."

Harm's eyebrows shot up. "You were gonna make me breakfast?"

"Yep. You have two options - cereal with milk or just cereal."

After having his breakfast of cereal (with milk) Harm got ready for "work." Was this a real job? Absolutely not, so Harm felt like he was playing an absurd game of dress up as he tied his tie in front of the bedroom mirror. Webb had given him an address he was supposed to meet him at - apparently that was where Harm would figure out whatever he was doing for work.

"Wanna switch places?"

Mac was laying on the bed, sheets now changed, casually thumbing through a magazine.

"That would kind of ruin the illusion of us being a stereotypical suburban couple, wouldn't it?"

"I'm going to lose my mind sitting around this house all day," Mac replied, abandoning the magazine and folding her arms over her chest.

"You're lucky," Harm turned around, reaching for his suit jacket draped over the back of a denim armchair. "I'm going to go crazy dealing with Webb."

Mac rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. "I'd honestly think I'd take Webb."

"Come on, you'll have Goldie. And you can scope out the neighbors. Be nosey."

"That'll be entertaining for about…three days."

Harm shrugged. "Then worry about that three days from now."

"If you want me to be the best wife in the world and visit you in the office, just let me know."

"I will, marine."

Mac followed him out to his car - well, Derek's car, there was no way Harm would be able to get a brand new Mercedes with an O5 salary - with Goldie tucked under one arm to keep her from running out into the nonexistent traffic of their street.

"What are you doing?" Harm asked as he placed his (empty) briefcase into the passenger seat.

"Saying goodbye to my husband," Mac replied, innocently cocking her head to one side. "Keeping up appearances, you know?"

"Right."

Mac reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek - Harm was hoping for another one on the lips, but hid his disappointment well. "Have a great day at work, sweetie."

"Thanks…honey? Do you like honey?"

Mac straightened his tie. "We can work on pet names tonight."

"Right. Okay…guess I'll see you tonight, Mac."

"See you tonight, Harm."