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Date Posted: 19:15:00 06/24/08 Tue
Author: .
Subject: In an Alternate Universe

Prompt: Sam: I was supposed to read it last night but an emergency came up. Diane: Uh huh, and what was her name?
Sam: Sherry, but that's not the point.
from Cheers, submitted by Keru

Word count: 1908 words

Category: romance

Rating: G

Disclaimer: The characters and the JAG universe belong to Paramount and DPB. I'm just borrowing them.

Author's Notes: sometime in Season 9 - Harm has custody of Mattie, he's still reviewing Cdr. Imes's cases, and he and Mac are still sparring with each other.

Summary: Harm is late with a case review, and Mac isn't too happy about his reason.

**************

0800 local
JAG Headquarters

"Did you finish reviewing the Bolton case?" Mac peered into the gloom of Harm's tiny office.

"I was supposed to read it last night, but an emergency came up."

"Uh huh, and what was her name?"

"Sherry, but that's not the point."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Oh? I guess Mattie must have already gone to bed for the night, if you had time to be with 'Sherry'." Her voice managed to convey a wealth of connotations to the woman's name.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm disappointed that you think I would be that crass."

"Harm..."

He interrupted her. "Mac, I'll get the file to you in an hour. It's the best I can do." He opened a folder on his desk and turned his attention away from her.

Slightly miffed by the obvious dismissal, Mac turned on her heel without another word. Something had to give - soon. She and Harm had been ricocheting between getting along fairly well and snapping at each other's every word ever since he'd returned to JAG. It was getting old, to say the least. In the meantime, she might as well take a look at her own Imes cases. They seemed to be multiplying faster than she, Harm, and Bud could review them.

*******


0850

Mac toyed with her pen as she reviewed yet another Rabb vs. Imes case file. Although she appreciated the admiral's desire to have every single case reviewed, she was beginning to think Harm wasn't far off the mark when he had said he was being punished. The only thing was, she was being punished too. The admiral had been testy ever since Paraguay, and things hadn't really improved since Harm's return. She sighed and turned another page. It was going to be very long day.

A knock on her door brought Mac out of her reverie. Harm's head appeared through the crack she'd left open.

"Here's that file you wanted." He pushed the door open and held out the manila folder.

It was now or never, Mac decided. "Come in, Harm. I think we need to talk."

Harm's right eyebrow went up. "Did I just hear you say you want to talk?" He shook his head as if to clear it. "Have I entered an alternate universe - one of those parallel things Bud is always talking about?" Nevertheless, he came in and pulled up a chair.

"I guess I deserved that." Mac sighed. "I've been thinking, Harm."

He remained mute.

Mac bit her lip. "I feel like we haven't quite gotten our rhythm back since you came back to JAG."

"In what sense?"

"It seems like half the time when I tease you about something, you take it wrong. The other half the time, you say something, and I take it wrong. It's like we're off stride." She shook her head. "We're just off, somehow. And I don't understand it."

"And you don't like what you don't understand."

She nodded. "It's bad enough that the admiral has something painful up his six; but throw in Sturgis, who has been irritable..."

"Not to say irritating lately." Harm grinned at her expression.

"And Bud's useless since he's exhausted from the baby and little AJ." Mac chewed on her lower lip. "I miss what we had, Harm, and I'd like to get it back."

Another eyebrow went up. "I believe that you said we didn't have anything."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. We can't even discuss what's wrong without snide comments." She glared at him across her desk. "I never said we didn't have anything. I said it would never work out."

"Close enough."

"No, it's not. And as I said, you didn't fight me on it."

Harm looked thoughtful. Several long seconds went by before he replied, "You're right. I didn't. I saw nothing to make me think you wanted me to." He cocked his head. "Did you want me to fight you?"

Her reply was so low, he could barely hear it. "Maybe."

"Not good enough, Mac."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it sounds like. Either you wanted me to fight you on your executive decision, or you didn't. Which is it?"

"What difference does it make now? You have Sherry, remember?"

"Mac, leave Sherry out of it. We're talking about you and me. We can't be talking about us, because you made it very clear in Paraguay that there was not, and never would be, an us." He paused a second. "Unless from what you just said I'm supposed to infer that you want to reopen the discussion. ... But I need to know. Yes or no. Not 'maybe'."

She reached for her coffee and took a long swallow, grimacing at the taste of the cooling brew. "Fine. Yes." Then she glared at him, daring him to take up the challenge.

"Let me be sure I just heard you correctly. You wanted me to fight you on 'never'?"

She nodded.

"Do you still want me to fight you about it?"

A second nod.

Harm's grin lit up his face. "Am I gonna need boxing gloves? Or can we just talk about it?"

Mac muffled a laugh. "Talking works for me. Besides, I might win if we box."

"Only if you kick."

"What!" Mac was incensed.

"Be reasonable. My reach is a lot longer than yours. You'd be lucky to land a single punch." He grinned again.

"So talk, Harm." She threw the gauntlet back to him.

"Fine. You said we'd never get together because we both want to be on top. I have to admit that you have a point - to an extent. But unlike you, I don't see that as a bad thing."

"You don't?" She was incredulous.

"No, I don't. It just means that we are both ambitious, we both like to do our best, and we're both..." His voice trailed off.

"Control freaks?" she suggested with a grin.

"Speak for yourself, Mac. I'm only a control freak in the air. Down here, I'm a laid-back, easy-going guy."

"Uh huh." She sounded dubious.

"Most of the time. The point is, we are a lot alike in some ways, but most of the time I think we're on the same page. Why can't we take turns being on top?" He cocked his head to the side. "Or we could actually occasionally meet in the middle."

"Compromise? You really mean that?"

"Sure. We do it all the time in court."

Mac snorted. "We do not. We fight like cats and dogs in court."

"Only if we're opposing counsel. When we're on the same team, we do it a lot."

She nodded. "You're right." Mac tapped her pen on the desk. "So if I agree to compromise and take turns on top, and you agree, then where does that leave us?"

"It leaves us with you in a relationship with Webb, and me here." Harm looked at her expectantly.

"No, it leaves me in a not very serious relationship with Webb, and you involved with Sherry." Mac made a face. "I can be uninvolved in five minutes. How about you?"

Harm shrugged. "I told you not to worry about Sherry."

"Uh huh. What if I said that I was worried about her."

"I'd say you should call Webb if you want to try for an us."

"And after I do that?"

He grinned. "I'll tell you all about Sherry - and why you don't need to be concerned."

"Fine." She reached for the phone. "Can I have a little privacy here?"

Harm started. "You're really gonna dump Webb?"

"Sure. But I think it would be really rude to do it in your presence. So..." She motioned toward the door.

"I'm going. Let me know when you're free." He rose from his seat. "I'll be in my office."

"Calling Sherry." Her smile softened her words.

"Something like that." He grinned as he left her office. Whistling, he returned to his own closet and picked up another Cdr. Imes file.

********

Ten minutes later, Mac appeared at his door. "Can I come in?"

"Please do." He motioned to the single guest chair. "I think most of the smell has gone away."

She sniffed. "Yeah, it's at least much better. So, I'm free."

"That was quick." His voice was full of admiration.

"I told you it would be." She smirked, triumphant.

"How did Webb take it?"

Mac shrugged. "Not too bad, all things considered."

"Did he fight you on it?"

"Don't let all this go to your head, Harm. Clay happens to be a good person."

He just looked at her.

"Fine, if you must know, he said, 'So Rabb finally admitted his feelings'."

"Webb's more perceptive than I thought." Harm grinned. "Did you lie and say 'yes'?"

Mac giggled. "Yes. Speaking of which, are you going to admit your feelings?"

"At work? Doesn't seem very romantic. How about at dinner tonight?"

"As long as it's not at a tofu place, you're on."

"Calander's?" He named the latest hot dining spot in Georgetown.

"That works." She smiled happily. "Pick me up at seven."

"I'll be there."

Mac rose to return to her own office.

Harm stopped her before she got through the door. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"Don't you want to know about Sherry?"

"Oh yeah. So who is Sherry and why did she keep you from reading that file?"

He motioned to her to sit back down. "Sherry is a friend of Mattie's from school. She appeared on our doorstep last night in tears."

"What happened?"

"Apparently she and her mother got into an argument, and she decided to run away from home."

"All the way to your place."

"Yep. She figured Mattie would let her stay there till things calmed down at home." Harm looked pensive. "Her mother was not happy when I called her."

"I can imagine. So mother and Sherry were reunited last night?"

"Actually, they will be reunited today at school - in the guidance counselor's office." Harm looked sheepish. "As you are so fond of reminding me, I'm an officer of the court. I called her mother, convinced her that Sherry would be safe with us and that a cooling off period might help them both, and then I stopped in to see the counselor when I took the girls to school this morning." He sighed. "Parenting books don't have chapters about runaway friends in them."

"They don't?"

"Nope." His face brightened. "But... if we're going to try to take our relationship to the next level, as in an 'us' - maybe..."

"I could help?"

"Yes. After all, you were once a teenaged girl."

"About a thousand years ago." She smiled. "I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion about Sherry."

"Don't worry about it." He gave her a wicked grin. "So are we okay?"

"Yeah. We are." She smiled happily.

"Whew." He gave her a pensive look. "You think the admiral's gonna give us a hard time if we start dating?"

Mac's face fell. "Now I remember why we never got together before."

Harm shook his head. "Don't. We'll work things out, admiral or not. I promise."

"And you never make promises you don't intend to keep."

"Right. So I promise I'll pick you up at seven."

"I'll be ready." With that, Mac turned toward the door, smiling at the thought that never wasn't so long after all.


The End.

Last edited by author: Thu June 26, 2008 18:42:57   Edited 2 times.

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Replies:

[> Good job!!! Loved that they got their banter back relatively quickly -- Katiegirl, 19:48:43 06/24/08 Tue [1]


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[> I wish we saw something like this! -- Mandy, 19:55:55 06/24/08 Tue [1]


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[> Nice bicker and banter. More than acceptable ending! -- pkb, 21:16:43 06/24/08 Tue [1]


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[> Loved how never wasn't so long after all, just as it shouldn't have been. -- siri, 21:18:38 06/24/08 Tue [1]

And the exchange over boxing was great - laughed at that.


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[> Loved it! I agree with siri, that was my favorite part! -- Erk, 21:23:06 06/24/08 Tue [1]


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[> Loved this!! I so wish this had happened! Thanks for the smile! -- ...., 22:56:38 06/24/08 Tue [1]


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[> Excellent!! How it should have been! And I love how you used the lines. -- Teacup, 23:39:36 06/24/08 Tue [1]


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[> Great! Nicely done! -- Jubellant, 06:38:29 06/25/08 Wed [1]


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[> I love misunderstandings, as long as they are cleared up in the end! This was great! -- JAG Junkie (Ronda), 10:02:34 06/25/08 Wed [1]


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[> This was good. -- Bev uk, 15:53:57 06/25/08 Wed [1]


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[> Great use of the challenge lines. Wish they could have been this open with each other on the show. -- Lee, 16:05:52 06/25/08 Wed [1]


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[> This was a fun story with lots of great banter. I loved it! -- Achillea, 16:54:52 06/25/08 Wed [1]


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[> Great use of lines in reminding us of what we like best about the H/M team. -- lotilu, 21:27:05 06/25/08 Wed [1]


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[> Can we get another chapter or two? -- Debbi, 22:18:53 06/25/08 Wed [1]


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[> Very nice story, are you sure there isn't more? -- jbk, 15:28:42 06/26/08 Thu [1]


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[> Loved your Alternate Universe, Manette! The repartee was great and I was so happy to see them behaving like adults! -- Peggy C, 18:33:37 06/26/08 Thu [1]


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[> All that without a kiss? I find that hard to believe. Made me smile though, very good! -- Theresa, 01:37:20 06/27/08 Fri [1]


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