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[> Inside -- Laura BF, 15:45:42 05/12/05 Thu

Time, Not Eternity 7/8? -- LauraBF,
As promised, here's chapter seven. Sorry it took me
so long, anyway. RL reared its ugly head. This
should take about one more chapter to wrap up, and
then I've got a Fair Winds and Following Seas
follow-up planned. After that, well, I've got a few
ideas that we'll just have to see about. ;) I need to
be writing saleable literary fiction for magazines so
that I can get into graduate school...

Anywho, all previous chapters available at
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://bratling.0catch.com/jagstories.com">http://bratling.0catch.com/jagstories.com</a> I also have
to apologize, because I kinda discovered some
mistakes--Commander Jacobs is really Commander
Saunders. Jim, our witness, isn't coming in at noon,
rather he's supposed to be coming in around four.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 7:
Losing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future."
--Winston Churchill

~*~*~*~

1830 ZULU
17 NOVEMBER 2004
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mattie squinched up her face as she contemplated her English homework. She'd promised Harm that she'd go to school while she was there, so she figured that starting on the homework she'd been given the week before was a good start. She supposed she was lucky that she hadn't been gone long enough for her school records to be transferred, but it didn't feel that way. She would much rather stay with Harm without having to actually do nasty things like homework.

Mattie knew better than to think she could get away with that. Harm was much better about checking up on her about schoolwork than Tom had ever been. Harm was better at a lot of things, she reflected wryly. She sighed and looked at her book again. Shakespeare. She grimaced. She needed Harm to explain it.

Mattie looked up when she heard a knock on the door. "Um, hi," she said when she saw the Admiral poke his head into the office.

"Mathilda," he said with a nod. "It occurred to me that we didn't get off on the right foot. Since we're both here and concerned for Commander Rabb's welfare, it seems to me that we ought to rectify that situation."

Mattie looked at him suspiciously from the safety of being behind Harm's desk. "And how do I know you have his best interests in mind?" she demanded. "Last time I really saw you, you were pretty mean to him. Harm deserves better!"

AJ was silent for a few minutes and he walked into Harm's office, closed the door, and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Perhaps he does, Mathilda, but in my defense, I had no choice." He drew in a deep breath. "I'm not his CO anymore--I have a choice now. I won't let him be sandbagged because I know he and the Colonel didn't get married."

Mattie examined him through narrowed eyes. Harm had told her that the Admiral was usually a fair man, an honorable man, and didn't lie about things. Harm had never lied to her, so she decided that it must be true. "Fair enough," she said slowly. "As long as you're trying to make sure that he doesn't get blamed, I'll call a truce."

AJ glanced over the desk. "What are you reading, young lady?"

Mattie grimaced. "Shakespeare. Harm usually explains this stuff to me, because I don't get it--the language is too weird."

AJ stood up and walked over. "Let me see," he ordered absently, pulling his reading glasses out and examining the book. "Ah, Julius Caesar. 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ear. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him...' Perhaps I can help until the Commander gets back."

Mattie smiled for the first time at him. "Thank you, Sir," she said. "I hope he gets home soon..." She looked at the literature book again.

"He will." AJ said simply, then got a chair to pull up next to her. He sat down and looked at the book. "Now, what exactly is your assignment?" he asked.

"I'm supposed to have ten pages read by tomorrow," she said. "But I just don't understand it!"

AJ pulled the book to him and began to read it out loud and explain what it meant. As Mattie listened, she decided that Harm's cranky old boss wasn't so bad after all. Especially if you had to understand what Shakespeare was talking about.

~*~*~*~

1930 ZULU
OUTSIDE COMMANDER SAUNDERS'S QUARTERS
PATRICK HENRY
NORFOLK PIER

Mac sighed and resumed pacing back and forth. "What's taking him so long?" she asked, obviously frustrated.

Harm crossed his arms over his chest. "Power down, Marine," he said. "The Commander will find out soon that it's not particularly smart to keep the JAGs who are investigating your case waiting."

The hatch opened slowly, revealing a slightly rumpled man. He was balding, and if Harm had been pressed to describe him, he would've had to say that he was average. He was the kind of man who was so ordinary looking that he could blend in anywhere. In other words, by virtue of his ordinariness, he was the CIA's dream agent.

Witnesses would never be able to describe him, because of his looks. He had no distinguishing features at all. The man gaped at them for a few seconds. "JAG? Why is JAG investigating? It's a simple assault case! He attacked me, not the other way around."

"Come with us, Commander," Mac ordered. She stressed his rank as if to say that if he didn't cooperate, he wouldn't be keeping it, or other vital bodily organs, much longer.

Obediently, the commander fell in behind them as they walked to the Officer's Wardroom. It was empty at this time of day--perfect for conducting an interview with a suspect. Silently, Harm and Mac exchanged a look that said everything about how they would handle Commander Saunders. Years of working together had made them experts in knowing which strategy would be effective when dealing with an officer like him.

"Have a seat." Harm said, gesturing towards one of the chairs with his cover before he dropped it on the table.

Commander Saunders sat down and frowned as he stared at the table top. Harm dropped into a seat, folding his long legs under the table. Mac locked her arms behind her back and slowly walked back and forth in front of their suspect. Nervously, Saunders fidgeted as if he were trying to find a comfortable spot on the chair before he subsided.

"Commander," Harm said quietly. "Would you please tell us what happened around the time of the alleged assault?" He suppressed a smile as he noticed the way the commander was chewing on his bottom lip. He flicked a quick glance over to Mac--she was eyeing the officer's disheveled appearance.

"I, um, was, um," Saunders stuttered. "M-m-minding m-m-my own business when Lieutenant Meecham attacked me out of nowhere," he finished. Saunders looked up at Mac pleadingly, as if he expected her to take pity on him.

"Are you sure, Commander?" Mac asked, using the same tone as she had before.

"Lieutenant Meecham told us that you threatened his family, Commander," Harm said. He was doing his best to seem as if he were the calm, cool one who might believe the Commander's story. In reality, the thought of any Naval officer behaving in such a way made him want to deck said officer. He wouldn't do it, of course. He didn't want to end up in the brig. But that wouldn't stop him from wanting to.

Commander Saunders straightened. "He's a Mormon," he said with a scowl. "People like that don't belong here. And I didn't say anything that any decent, sane person wouldn't say to a damn cultist!"

Harm glanced in the personnel file he was holding. "From this, I see that you're from Missouri," he said, his voice getting softer.

Saunders crossed his arms over his chest. "That's right," he said with a grin. "Born and bred."

"My guess is," Mac began, "that you know about the history you used to threaten him because of where you're from."

Saunder's face creased into another scowl and he didn't talk.

"Tell us what happened that night, Commander," Harm said softly.

Saunders shrugged. "Nothing much. I admit that I was razzing the Lieutenant, but it wasn't too bad. Next thing I knew, he was swinging at me."

"Are there any witnesses, Commander?" Mac asked, coming to a stop in front of the man and staring down at him.

"Ensign Craig and Lieutenant Kelly were there," he answered. "So were Petty Officers Thomas and Brown."

"Do you always choose public places to dress down people in your command?" Harm asked with an uplifted eyebrow. He personally had never reamed out a junior officer where there was an audience. Looking at Commander Saunders, however, he could see that the man wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box.

"No, sir, I don't," Saunders admitted. "But I don't want people like him in my command.

Harm and Mac exchanged a glance. It was a miracle that Commander Idiot had managed to even become a Commander. "Thank you, Commander," Mac said. "We'll be in touch."

Commander Saunders gave the two of them an uncertain look. "You're *dismissed*, Commander," Harm said.

Saunders got up and walked out the hatch. As it swung shut behind him, Mac gave Harm a mischievous look. "Naval officers like that make me glad I'm a Marine," she said as she wrinkled her nose at him.

Harm shot her a half smile. "And some Marine officers we've investigated or prosecuted make me glad I'm in the Navy."

"Squid!" she said slapping him lightly on the arm.

"Jarhead!" he retorted reaching over to grab her hand. He gave it a short squeeze before dropping it and giving her a full-fledged happy flyboy smile. "I've missed this," he said.

"What?" Mac asked.

"Teasing you," Harm said. "We haven't been this easy with each other in years."

Mac was silent for a few minutes. "I think somewhere along the line," she began, "we just stopped listening to each other and lost sight of our friendship."

"I'm glad we found it again," Harm said.

"So am I--promise me that no matter what happens we'll always be friends?" Mac asked.

Harm turned and began to walk slowly down the corridor. "We always have been--I promise."

"Thank you," was Mac's quiet response.

"Commander Saunders is guilty," Harm said.

"I know." Mac lengthened her stride to keep pace with Harm. "I think that Lieutenant Meecham was telling the truth."

Harm nodded and tucked his cover under his arm. "I know. We just have to prove it." Together, they walked down the corridor to the enlisted mess. They needed to find their witnesses to verify the Lieutenant's story. If it were true, Harm knew that he'd be recommending that the Commander receive the harsher punishment of the two officers. There simply wasn't room for that kind of prejudice in the Navy.

~*~*~*~

2035 ZULU
17 NOVEMBER 2004
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT
RALIEGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Kate sighed and tapped her fingertips against her thigh. They'd been waiting for what seemed to be forever. She sighed softly, noticed what her fingers were doing, and ruthlessly stopped the motion. She'd learned to stand at attention for hours on end--it wasn't like she couldn't *handle* waiting for a potential witness to show up.

Irritably, she wished she'd brought something to read; she needed a distraction. They still had another twenty-five minutes to wait until he was supposed to show--and that was only if he was on time. In her experience, peons like their quarry weren't always the most dependable people. Especially after they'd been at a place for a while; the tendency was for people to become complacent and slack off.

Her father had done that kind of thing--and then been a little disdainful when she had joined the Navy. Sure, it had started as a way to pay her way through school and law school, but it had become her career. She'd had the opportunity to get out years ago, but she had discovered that she kind of liked the life.

She suppressed another sigh, and looked around the hotel lobby for something to do. Nothing. She supposed she could go into their overpriced gift shop, but the idea didn't appeal to her. She glanced over at Meg to discover that her erstwhile partner had her nose buried in a copy of the Navy Times.

Meg glanced at her from behind the paper. "Bored?" she asked.

"Yes!" she said, her gray eyes snapping with irritation.

Meg grinned. "You wouldn't happen to like to see my other copy of the Times, would you?" She reached into her briefcase and pulled it out.

Unmindful of how it would look, Kate snatched the newspaper from her partner's hand and opened it up. Ignoring Meg's soft giggle, she started reading. It didn't seem long before their witness arrived and Meg nudged her lightly in the side. "What?" she asked crossly.

"He's here," Meg nodded at the counter.

Kate folded her paper and stood up. "Fine. Let's go find out what he knows." She walked toward the counter, putting a little more sway in her hips than was strictly necessary to make sure that he was looking at her. She'd long since learned that her sexuality could be used as a weapon, and she was determined to use it.

"Hello, Jim," she said, deliberately making her voice huskier as she looked at his nametag.

"Um, uh, hi," he said.

Kate watched as he started to sweat. "My name is Commander Kate Pike, and this is my partner--"

"Lieutenant Commander Meg Austin," Meg interrupted and held out her hand.

She watched as he gulped again. "We're from the Judge Advocate General's office and we need to ask you some questions."

Jim ran his hand nervously over his balding head and bit his lip. "About what?" he asked. "I didn't do nothin' illegal to make the Navy mad at me, did I?"

"Well, Jim, why would you think you'd done anything wrong?" Meg asked sweetly.

"Because I was a seaman in your Navy when I was young," he clasped his hands together and started twisting his fingers. "Ev'rybody knows that you JAGs only show up when somebody's in trouble."

Kate leaned forward on the counter and gave him a shark-like smile. "You're not in trouble," the pitch of her voice dropped another level. "But you have information that might help us get some fine officers out of trouble."

"Oh, *officers*," he said with disgust. "Never did like officers. Full of themselves, mostly. Haven't seen any 'round here in ages."

"This was during that big blizzard a few years back--December 18, 2001 to be exact," Meg said.

Jim creased his forehead and frowned. "I think so. A Marine lady and a Navy guy?"

Kate nodded. "Yes. Tell us what you know, *Jim*."

Jim settled back on his stool. "I was watchin' for 'em," he admitted. "Guy I know asked me to. 'Sides, it's not usual to see Navy and Marines travelin' together."

"Why were you supposed to watch of them?" Meg asked.

"Paid me real good to change the register to make it look like they were married," he admitted. "Seemed harmless enough, so I did it." He gave them a broad smile. "'Sides, they looked real happy together."

Kate and Meg exchanged a glance. "Anything else you can tell us?" Kate asked.

Jim shook his head. "Nuthin' else," he said.

"Thank you," Meg said, pulling a card out of her purse. "If you remember anything else, would you please give us a call?" She scribbled the number for JAG Headquarters on the back of the card and handed it over.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said with a smile. "I'll do that."

The two officers turned and walked out of the lobby towards the Navy car they'd requisitioned from the motor pool. "Why would anyone pay to have a hotel register changed?" Meg asked Kate quietly.

"I don't know," Kate admitted. "But we find out who did it, and we should be able to find out how Harm and Mac ended up married."

~*~*~*~

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[> [> Liked it. Glad to see it was continued. Only one more chapter left? To be followed by another story soon, right? -- MJ, 19:19:31 05/12/05 Thu

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[> [> the URL for the rest of the story must have been posted incorrectly because I got a "file not found" message when I went there. -- harmsgirl, 23:27:19 05/12/05 Thu

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[> [> [> Chapter 1-6 are on archive 10 still of this board. They have not been knocked off yet. -- GS, 23:57:46 05/12/05 Thu

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[> [> [> [> http://bratling.0catch.com/jagstories.html should work. Be sure to type it in correctly--it's 0catch, not Ocatch. (zerocatch) -- LauraBF, 01:16:05 05/13/05 Fri

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[> Time, Not Eternity FINAL -- LauraBF, 22:50:30 06/02/05 Thu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 8:
Roads
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When all's said and done, all roads lead to the same end.
So it's not so much which road you take, as how you take it."
--Charles de Lint

~*~*~*~

0130 ZULU
17 NOVEMBER 2004
HARM'S APARTMENT
NORTH OF UNION STATION
WASHINGTON, DC

Mattie curled comfortably into the corner of the couch, journal in hand, waiting for Harm to get home. Jen had offered to let her stay at her place, but she hadn't wanted to do that. She needed to be there for Harm when he got home. It was the whole reason she'd borrowed the truck to get her to Falls Church. Too bad that it had decided not to start after she'd parked it at the loft that morning.

Mattie leaned forward and snagged her journal and a pen from the coffee table. She thought that she'd finally solved her problem when she'd chosen to go back to her father, but the current situation just made her wonder if she'd made the right choice.

"Dear Diary," she wrote. "That still sounds weird to me. Maybe I should just start writing instead. I'm back at Harm's place because, after talking to him, I knew he needed me. I thought I'd figured things out. My dad needed me. He deserted me, and I couldn't desert him after he straightened himself out.

"I don't know how long Harm will need me here. I'm also not sure that I ever want to leave. I mean, I've only been back here for less than a day, but I know that Harm is much more reliable than my dad is. Even when he was called out of town on a case, I could always get in contact with him.

"This isn't fair! I chose, but part of me is whispering that I chose the wrong dad! I know life isn't fair, but this just sucks. Harm would never run away if things got tough. I don't know if I can say that about Tom. Harm would fight for me. Again, I'm not sure if dad would, or if he'd just ignore the situation and hope it went away.

"A lot of people would tell me that I'm incredibly lucky to have two dads that love me. I guess they're right. And I guess this is sorta what kids with divorced parents go through. Part of me wishes that Mom had never died, but another piece of me is, well, not exactly happy, but I wouldn't have Harm if she were still here.

"Sure, my relationship with him isn't exactly the traditional father/daughter one--for one thing biologically, I'm not his kid--but I know he loves me. He's told me more than once that he sees me as his little girl. I wish it were true. If it were, I wouldn't be feeling so torn right now between both my dads. Harm's a lot stronger than Tom is. I've heard stories about some of the stuff he's done that would make your hair curl.

"My dad would've gone on a drinking binge after most of 'em. But Harm's still sober. He refuses to do much of any drinking in front of me, too. When dad was still drunk, he didn't have that problem. And I almost feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop; I'm waiting for him to start drinking again.

"I know I hurt Harm when I requested to live with my dad again. But he still loves me and wants me with him. I guess he really wasn't trying to get rid of me last spring. I was happy here, but I feel like I need to give Tom a chance to be my dad again. Is it possible to be dad-sick for a man you've known for only a year? Because I've been missing Harm a lot the past few days."

Before Mattie could write anything more, she heard the rattling jingle of keys being inserted into the lock. She closed her journal and put it on the coffee table. The door swung open, and Harm walked in. "Harm!" Mattie said, jumping up from her place on the couch. She gave him a bear hug, surreptitiously checking him for damage. He'd spent the day with *Mac,* after all, and the marine wasn't on her list of favorite people at the moment.

"Hey, Mattie." Harm said with an easy smile as he returned the hug.

Mattie released him, grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the couch. "Hungry?" she asked. "I ordered pizza for both of us." She gave him a sideways look. "Good thing you didn't change where you put the emergency pizza fund."

Harm tugged one of her curls playfully. "You haven't been gone that long, kiddo. And I was flying quals and trying to keep busy because you weren't here. Hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it yet."

Mattie plopped down on the couch and watched as Harm shrugged out of his overcoat and hung it and his cover up. "Harm," she began hesitantly, "are you okay?" She had just about decided to talk to him about her confusion, but she needed to know if he was all right before she dumped her problems on him.

Harm sat down beside her and gave her a one-armed hug. "Yeah," he smiled. "Mac and I are gonna be friends again." He was silent for a few moments. "I've missed that."

Mattie snuggled into his side. "So what about the investigation?" she asked.

"Mats, we don't know anything yet--Meg and Kate are still looking into it," he explained.

"I'm staying until it's over," she informed him. "I won't leave you alone."

Harm kissed the top of Mattie's head. "As long as you go to school and we get permission from Tom, it's okay with me," he said as he gave her a squeeze.

Mattie looked up at him and bit her lip. "Harm?"

"Yeah, Mattie?" he answered.

"Maybe I made a mistake going with my dad. Maybe I should've stayed with you." She took a deep breath and tried to quell the butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach.

Harm released her and turned so that he could see her. "What's the matter?' he asked softly. "Is something wrong at your house?"

Mattie started playing with the sleeve of her blue sweatshirt. "No-o-o-o-o-o, not exactly," she admitted. "I just don't know! I mean, he's my dad, but I don't know if I can really depend on him, and you're my dad too, and you need me and he needs me, and I don't know what to do!" She paused to take a deep breath. "If I stay with him, I'm betraying you, and if I stay with you, I'm betraying him." She bit her lip and fell silent.

"You're not betraying me by wanting to live with your dad, Mattie," Harm said. "I knew when I finally got you that you might go back to live with him." He offered her a small smile. "I will always be here for you when you need me. It doesn't matter if I get transferred to Outer Mongolia; I'll always have a place for you to run to because you *are* my daughter."

A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. "Really?" she said.

"Yes," Harm answered. He smiled at her, then wiped the tear away with gentle fingers. "My only regret is that you weren't mine from the beginning of your life."

Mattie threw her arms around him and hugged him, hard. "You've been here when I needed you," she said. "That's enough. I love you, Dad."

"Good," was his simple answer. He hugged her back and laid his cheek on her hair.

"So if Tom leaves again, or I decide that I'm better off with you, I can come back?" she asked.

"Always," was his answer. "And I'll pay for your flying lessons, if you still want them, and take you up in Sarah every weekend that we've got good weather and I don't have duty."

Mattie buried her face in his jacket and let loose a slightly watery sigh. She had two homes and one would always be wherever Harm was. He was her dad just as much as Tom was, and she never wanted to let go.

~*~*~*~

1501 ZULU
20 NOVEMBER 2004
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Kate frowned as she studied the folder in front of her. "Did you call and get the name of the guy who hired Jim to change the book?" she asked.

Meg sighed and barely refrained from rolling her eyes; Kate had been sitting with her when she called. "Yeah. He said that the guy's name is Caleb Parker."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling that 'Caleb Parker' isn't this guy's real name?"

"I don't know," Meg said with a shrug. "Maybe because what's-his-name didn't have *any* other information about him?"

Kate scowled. "Yes he did, remember? He gave us a description."

Meg snorted. "Some description. A tall, thin, white man with dark hair and blue eyes. That fits what? About a million people?"

"We don't have much to go on, that's for sure," Kate said, her scowl deepening.

Meg took a step back and bumped into a solid, warm body. She turned around and knocked the stack of papers the person was carrying to the ground. "Excuse me," she looked up and smiled. "Sorry about that Commander Roberts, I didn't mean to knock into you."

Bud leaned over and started to pick up the scattered papers. "My fault, Commander," he said with a grin. "I should have been watching where I was going."

Meg crouched down and started to help retrieve the files. She stopped when she picked up an internet print out. "What's this?" she asked.

Bud glanced over and started to blush. "It's from a site about dumb laws," he said, his face turning a deeper red.

"Dumb laws, huh?" Kate walked over and looked at the paper Meg was holding. "Wait a minute--what's that about North Carolina marriage laws?"

Meg read the sheet of paper again. "It says here that if a couple signs into a hotel as a married couple, then they're married."

Kate and Meg exchanged a glance. "They were set up," Kate said.

Meg nodded and stood up. "That's obvious; what isn't is why."

Bud grabbed the last sheet of paper, straightened up, put the stack on the desk, and dusted his hands off. "What do you know about who was responsible?" he asked curiously.

Kate scowled again. "He was going by, 'Caleb Parker,' he's tall, and thin with dark hair and blue eyes."

"Have you checked out Clark Palmer yet? He fits the description and he's had it in for Commander Rabb for years." Bud neatened up the stack of paper and settled it in the crook of his arm. "It's not much of a stretch to think that he'd go after Colonel Mackenzie--she's been the Commander's partner for a long time."

"Who's Clark Palmer?" Meg asked.

Bud shrugged. "He's an ex-DSD agent that the Commander put in Leavenworth. He's tried to kill Commander Rabb more than once." He looked at his watch. "If you two will excuse me, I've got a meeting with a client." He flashed them a smile and headed towards his office.

"It makes sense," Meg said slowly. "If this Clark Palmer hates Harm enough--"

"He could have arranged this a long time ago and was just waiting for the right time," Kate finished.

"Too bad we can't prove it," Meg said with a grimace. "The contents of the envelope were clean; the only prints they found on them belong to the General."

"What about the envelope?" Kate asked. "I haven't had a chance to look over the report yet."

Meg shook her head. "It was postmarked in Phoenix," she said. "There are too many different prints, and almost all of them are smudged."

Kate pulled a sheet of paper out of a nearby folder. "The stamp was self-adhesive, and there wasn't any DNA on the flap, either."

"I hate it when we can't prove who did something," Meg grumbled.

"So do I," Kate admitted. "But we can prove that Harm and Colonel Mackenzie aren't responsible."

"I'll finish writing up the report," Meg said. "Then we can go tell the General and go home."

Kate raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly. "What? Missing Steve already?"

Meg crossed her arms over her chest. "I've gotten used to the big hot water bottle," she said, wrinkling her nose. "It's hard to sleep without him."

"I bet it's," Kate paused. "Hard to do other things without him either."

"Kate!" Meg protested as she felt heat rise to her face.

Kate shrugged and grinned. "My fianc� is waiting for me, too," she reminded her. "And he was out of town when I left, too."

"Let's go get this done so we can clear Harm," Meg said. She grabbed the case file and headed towards the conference room where their laptops had been set up. While they couldn't prove who did it, at least they'd cleared their old partner. Half a loaf was much better than none. And once they saw the General, the majority of the mess would be cleaned up without ruining two people's lives.

~*~*~*~
1833 ZULU
30 NOVEMBER 2005
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mac hit the print button and waited impatiently as the printer started up. She was glad that they'd gotten back and that the paperwork was done, but she wanted the upcoming meeting with the General to be over. She glanced across her desk to see Harm rubbing his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked, knowing that he'd taken Mattie back to her father the night before.

Harm looked up at her, a tiny smile on his face. "I guess," he said. "I knew that her coming back wasn't permanent."

Mac gave him a crooked smile. "She loves you, you know--the chewing out she gave me last week was almost worthy of the Admiral."

Harm simply nodded. Mac pulled the sheets out of the printer tray and neatened them up. "Let's ask Coates if the General can fit us in," he suggested.

Mac nodded. "Yeah." She frowned slightly. "I'm going to miss working together; we don't get the chance to do that very often anymore.

Harm shot her a big grin. "That's what comes with rank and seniority. Maybe we should... work together tonight."

"Red light, Commander."

Harm pretended to be hurt. "Seriously, dinner tonight at my place?" he asked.

"It all depends," Mac began. "On if we're cleared; you know as well as I that spending time together outside of work is off-limits unless the fraternization charges get dismissed."

Harm grimaced. "I know. Let's go see General Cresswell and find out if he's got any new information for us." He stood up and turned towards the door. Together, the two of them walked out of her office, across the bullpen, and into Jen's office.

"Is the General free?" Mac asked.

"Sir, Ma'am," Jen said with a smile. She pressed down on the intercom. "Sir, Colonel Mackenzie and Commander Rabb are here to see you."

"Send them in," the General's voice said.

"He's waiting," she said, gesturing towards the door.

Harm walked to the door, opened it, and held it open for Mac. They entered the office and came to attention in front of General Cresswell's desk.

Cresswell looked up from the report he'd been reading. "At ease. Report."

Mac stepped forward and handed him a file containing the paperwork from their investigation. "Sir, while Lieutenant Meecham did hit Commander Saunders, Commander Saunders provoked him into it."

"We're recommending non-judicial punishment for Lieutenant Meecham and that Commander Saunders at least face a Captain's Mast." Harm said.

"We have witnesses that will testify that he continually provoked the Lieutenant, even offering death threats against his family because of their religion." Mac explained.

Cresswell perused the file for a few minutes, then closed it and put it on his desk. He gave the duo a sharp nod. "Good. Now, there's the matter of the fraternization charges that the two of you will *not* be facing. Commander Pike and Commander Austin have proved sufficiently that the two of you were set up."

"Thank you, sir," Harm said.

"Don't thank me yet, Commander. I'll make sure that the false marriage is taken care of and *then* you can thank me. Dismissed."

Harm and Mac came to attention then left the General's office. Harm closed the door behind him and smiled at Mac. "So... dinner at my place tonight?"

Mac's smile answered his. "Sure. 2130?"

"Sounds good to me," Harm responded. "I've got to go talk to Sturgis about a plea bargain in the Peterson case." He turned and started walking towards Sturgis's office.

"See you later," Mac said. Perhaps it was time for another talk, she thought. Perhaps they could talk out a few things at dinner that night.

~*~*~*~

0130 ZULU
30 NOVEMBER 2005
HARM'S APARTMENT
NORTH OF UNION STATION
WASHINGTON, DC

Harm finished the conversation with AJ and hung up the phone. He'd fixed the truck and, with Jen's help, taken Mattie home the night before, giving her reassurances that he would always need her in his life. It was still sort of weird to him that, despite wanting to live with her father, she still loved him and thought of him as her dad.

He'd never really believed that he'd get to keep Mattie forever; in a way, however, he supposed that he did. No matter who she lived with, he was still her dad. Harm walked into the kitchen, pulled on his lobster hot mitts, and stirred the sauce that was simmering on the stove. Mac was coming over and could show up at any time.

"It's open," he called when he heard a knock on the door. He heard the door open, then close, and the soft chuff of a bag hitting the ground.

Without turning around, he listened to her footsteps as she crossed the apartment and stopped behind him. His eyes started to close as her soft hand crept up to his shoulder. He'd told her once that he always knew where she was; that was still true. "Mac," he said quietly.

Her hand squeezed his shoulder briefly. "Harm, um, can we wait for dinner?"

Harm put the lid on the spaghetti sauce, turned the heat off, and turned around. "Sure," he said. "Mac, what's the matter?" he asked.

Mac's hand slid down his arm and grasped his lobster-covered hand. "Nuthin', I just, kind of want to talk," she said softly.

"Okay," he said. Harm followed her lead as she gently tugged his hand as she started towards the couch. They'd done a lot of talking in the past week, and were well on their way to reacquiring the friendship they'd once shared.

Mac sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her. Harm pulled off the lobster mitts, dropped them on the coffee table, and sat down next to her. "Are you okay, Mac?" he asked. "I've never known you to not want to eat."

"I'm *fine*," she said, giving him a small frown. "I've just been thinking... I mean, now that our sham marriage has been taken care of, well, I was thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to be married to you."

Harm grabbed her hand and gently tugged her close to him. He put an arm around her and was gratified when she leaned into the half-embrace. "No, it wouldn't be bad to be married to you," he said, as he laid his cheek against her hair. "I think it'd be amazing, in fact."

Mac leaned into him more, curling up on the couch next to him. "I haven't been sleeping again lately," she said softly. "I've been thinking of going back to see the shrink that the Admiral sent me to."

"If you'll think it'll help, Mac, then I think you should--"

"I'm going to ask her for something to help me sleep," Mac interrupted.

Harm tightened his hold on her. "I'll support you, Marine, whatever you decide to do."

"I know," she said.

Harm kissed the top of her head, enjoying the way she felt in his arms. He didn't know what would happen next, but with Mac in his life, he knew that he could face it; they could face it--together.

End.

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[> [> Very nice. So does Harm get to keep the money? -- M, 21:38:52 06/04/05 Sat

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[> [> [> What money? There wasn't any money.... -- LauraBF, 00:24:01 06/05/05 Sun

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[> [> [> [> "He'd been amassing funds under Harmon Rabb's name for years" from Clark Palmer. -- M, 00:35:30 06/05/05 Sun

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[> [> [> [> [> Ah. Harm doesn't know it exists. It's a swiss account, so the only person that we know of that knows about it is Palmer. -- LauraBF, 10:12:58 06/05/05 Sun

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[> [> Another good story. Can't wait until your next one. Which will be soon, right? -- MJ, 17:30:09 06/05/05 Sun

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[> [> [> Yep. I'm not yet sure if it'll be a series of missing scenes or a long story, but I'm working on "Revisionist History" to give we shippers the scenes that *should* have been in season ten but weren't. Considering that we never really saw Harm and Mac even talking on a personal level much in the latter half of season ten, the proposal was almost out of the blue. I intend to rectify the situation. -- LauraBF (who got this idea that won't leave her alone.), 21:28:00 06/06/05 Mon

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