Title: "Chaos Theory"
Author: AeroGirl
Email: michaerogirl@hotmail.com
Website: http://aerogirl.topcities.com
Rating: PG (I censored the one word that would've rated an R)
Category: Vignette, humor, romance
Spoilers: any recent eps with Sergei

Summary:  When is a joke not a joke?  When it throws JAG's top 
lawyers into a tailspin.  Sometimes it's truly amazing what a person 
will do when pushed to his limits...

Disclaimer: No rights, no money.  End of discussion.

Author's Notes: Set right now - that is, if right now is still April 
of season seven.  No other explanation is really required.  From idea 
to posting, this story took a grand total of six hours, so it ain't 
"War and Peace".  That said, I hope you like it.


"Chaos Theory"


	Sturgis Turner stepped into the bullpen with a cautious 
glance in all directions.  Harriet looked up from her desk and smiled 
brightly, a little puzzled by his behavior.  "Good morning, 
Commander," she greeted him.  "Did you have a good weekend?"

	"Just fine, Lieutenant.  Yourself?"

	"A little quiet, but nice."  Seeing that his wariness hadn't 
decreased at all, she hesitated.  "Sir, is there something wrong?"

	"I'm just on alert.  You know, exploding pens, rubber snakes, 
anything like that."  At her blank look, he frowned.  "Come on, 
Harriet.  It's April Fools Day.  You're telling me that an office 
with Harmon Rabb in it doesn't have at least a few surprises in 
store?"

	Understanding, Harriet laughed.  "Oh, it's been a couple of 
years since anyone dared challenge the commander in that regard."  
She lifted an eyebrow with a sly expression that he wouldn't have 
thought her capable of.  "Unless you've got any ideas, sir?"

	Sturgis drew himself up to his full height.  "Lieutenant, 
I'll have you know that I am the _only_ one who can out-maneuver Harm 
in the practical joke department.  In fact, at Annapolis, I once had 
him convinced that he was going to get kicked out unless he washed 
the commandant's car."

	Grinning, the lieutenant replied calmly, "With all due 
respect, sir, I'll believe it when I see it."

	"Oh, you're on."  And to her surprise, he walked right up to 
Harm's closed door and walked in without knocking.  Sturgis Turner 
was nothing if not quick-thinking.  If the object of the game was to 
push Harm's buttons, he knew exactly how to do it.


	... This particular Monday was not shaping up well for Harmon 
Rabb.  His computer had already crashed twice, and Mac had been less 
than thrilled to hear that his client had refused her offer of a 
reduced sentence.  Now they were headed for an arduous trial that 
would only delay the inevitable.

	Unfortunately, his friend was aware of none of this when he 
walked in uninvited.  "That Lieutenant Singer is a piece of work," 
Sturgis informed him, pacing in front of the desk.  "I just overheard 
her talking to Sergei on the phone, all sweet and innocent-like.  You 
won't believe what she's up to.  She told him that he'd be able to 
stay in the U.S. if he married her!  She said he'd owe her one, but - 
"

	"Slow down before you hyperventilate," Harm interrupted, 
unimpressed.  He had too much faith in his brother's intelligence to 
immediately freak out about this concept.  "Singer doesn't do 
anything without a direct benefit.  What good would this do her?"

	"Well, it takes you out of her way.  You'd be a lot less 
likely to speak out against her if she were your sister-in-law.  And 
with Mac gone, she's got a clear shot - "

	"What do you mean, with Mac gone?" Harm demanded, a twinge of 
fear beginning to take hold.  "Where's Mac going?"

	"You didn't know?  She's transferring to PACFLT, at Pearl."

	Harm stared at him with the look of a man who'd just watched 
his world blown to pieces before his eyes.  "What?" he whispered.  
"Why?"

	Slowly Sturgis began to realize the magnitude of what he'd 
done, and he started to backpedal as rapidly as possible.  "Wait, 
buddy, don't turn this into another chapter in the ongoing saga..."

	But Harm was far past the point of listening.  In those few 
seconds, all the times he and Sarah Mackenzie had hurt each other by 
putting distance between them flew through his mind with blinding 
speed.  He didn't know what was going on - their friendship had been 
going so well lately - but he knew instinctively that letting her go 
again would be disastrous, and the idea terrified him down to his 
very core.

	There was no conscious decision on his part: he just knew 
that he had to do something.  He stood up from his desk, nearly 
knocking the chair over, and strode past the other man toward her 
door.  Sturgis's protests went unheard, and he helplessly watched his 
friend disappear into the colonel's office.

	Harriet blinked, confused.  "Commander, what just happened?"

	Sturgis shook his head wearily.  "Harriet, my grand plan may 
have been somewhat ill-conceived."


	... Mac glanced up, startled and slightly irritated by the 
lack of decorum being displayed by her partner.  She was already 
running late, and here he was barging in and slamming her door.  
"What the hell, Harm?" she snapped.  "We used to knock, remember?"

	He hung back, near the doorway, almost as if afraid of her.  
"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" he asked quietly.

	"I didn't realize it mattered," she answered, surprised when 
he seemed to shrink a little in front of her.

	"Do you have to go?"

	"You didn't give me much choice, did you?"  She stood up and 
reached for a file from the cabinet, not seeing his stunned reaction.

	"It's my fault, then?" he asked, his eyes wounded.

	"Not entirely, I guess, but you could have tried a little 
harder."  When she stepped around the desk, he blocked her path, and 
there was a kind of intensity radiating from him that shocked her 
into silence.

	"Don't go," he pleaded in a low voice, their bodies only 
inches apart.

	**What on earth ...**  Mac swallowed audibly and asked, "Why 
not?"

	In his mind, it was now or never.  He seized her arm and 
pulled her in, his lips descending on hers in a moment of fevered 
clarity.  Instantly her questions were pushed aside as she 
surrendered to the exquisite bliss of his assault.

	"That's why not," he finally replied when they broke apart 
not releasing his hold.  "Because I love you, damn it, and I've been 
beyond stupid to ignore it all this time.  If you still have to go, I 
can't stop you, but this time you're not leaving without knowing 
that."

	She pulled back slightly, attempting to regain her balance.  
Had he really said what she thought he'd said?  "Harm," she said 
softly, "I don't know where that came from, and you can be sure that 
we'll be continuing this discussion when I get back, but right now I 
really need to get on the road to Norfolk."

	There was a pause, as he got his bearings as well.  
"Norfolk?" he echoed dumbly.

	"Yeah, to go over the formal charges with Admiral Blake.  
Remember?  Your client insisted on going to trial.  Where did you 
think I was going?"

	For the second time in ten minutes, he felt like he'd been 
sucker-punched.  "Sturgis said you were transferring..."

	"Transferring??"

	At that moment, both realized just what was going on.  Before 
she could say anything, he hurried to speak first.  "Mac, I - I'm so 
sorry," he stammered, taking a step backward almost without realizing 
it.  "I had no right to do that to you..."

	"You're sorry?" she repeated in disbelief, her voice 
trembling.  "You drop that on me, and then you say you're
_sorry_?"

	"I..."  Suddenly it seemed as if the walls were closing in on 
him, and he chose to escape her accusing gaze by focusing his anger 
on the responsible party.  Whirling, he threw the door open to reveal 
Sturgis and Harriet standing outside in the bullpen, looking like 
they expected the earth to open up and swallow them whole.  "You're a 
dead man," he hissed at his friend.  "How could you do that to me?"

	"Buddy, I didn't know you were going to take off like a bat 
out of hell," Sturgis defended himself lamely.  "I just ... um ... 
April Fools?"

	"April Fools?"  Harm's icy stare was matched by his low, 
dangerous tone.  "That's your idea of a joke?  I just obliterated the 
best, truest friendship I ever had, and all you can say is April 
f---ing Fools?"

	Harriet wasn't sure she'd ever seen her son's godfather so 
incensed, but with a flash of insight, she recognized the fear behind 
his eyes.  Behind him, Mac waited with the same pale, tense 
expression, and the junior officer decided to step in.  "Sir, I 
should confess that I sort of dared Commander Turner to psych you - "

	"Lieutenant, I strongly suggest that you stay the hell out of 
this."

	"All of you, shut up," Mac directed, jerking Harm back into 
the office and slamming the door once again.  Sturgis and Harriet 
stared after them, and it was a few seconds before the commander 
ventured a comment.

	"What do you think happened in there?"

	A light dawned in the back of Harriet's mind, and she allowed 
herself a small smile.  "I think this might turn out better than we 
thought," she predicted, earning a dubious glance.

	"How's that?"

	"While Harm was laying into you, I was watching Mac.  Don't 
quote me on it, but from her reaction, I think you might have just 
gotten him to admit something the rest of us have been wondering 
about for five years."


	... Mac leaned against the closed door and crossed her arms 
over her chest, determined not to let him see how deeply he'd cut 
her.  "So do you want to take it back?  Now that you know I'm not 
going anywhere, I assume you want me to forget you ever said it, so 
that we can go back to our usual rules of engagement?"

	"Mac, I..." As a dozen different avenues of retreat battled 
in his mind, he suddenly came to a startling conclusion.  He'd 
already said it.  He'd never even allowed himself to think it before, 
but he'd said it.  It was out there, and it couldn't be undone: so 
why bother trying to reconstruct a wall that had already fallen?

	"Wait a minute.  No.  I don't want to take it back.  I meant 
it, and if that means things have to be different now - if I've lost 
my chance or whatever, then I guess I'll find a way to live with it, 
but I do love you."

	Her eyes bright, she just shook her head.  "You are such an 
idiot sometimes," she breathed, launching herself at him and 
returning the earlier kiss with abandon.  "Was that really so hard?"

	"Yes, damn it, it was - mmphh..."  His protest was silenced 
by her lips on his again.


	... Sturgis glanced at his watch.  Eighteen minutes had 
passed, and so far, no signs of life from within Mac's office.  He 
glanced over at Harriet.  "If they were fighting, we'd probably be 
able to hear the yelling, right?" he asked tentatively.

	"Undoubtedly," she replied, looking rather pleased.  
"Commander, as far as April Fools pranks go, I think this one blows 
your Academy exploits out of the water."  A muffled _thunk_ sounded 
from inside the office, sounding distinctly like a file cabinet being 
dented, and a flush crept up Harriet's cheeks.  "Come on, sir.  I'll 
buy you lunch."

	"Lieutenant Sims, I do like your style."


*** THE END ***