Title: Flaming Threats



Author's Name: Katelaine; kek81@rocketmail.com
(Feedback is always welcome, but I just wrote what my
imagination conjured up, so don't flame me for
incosistencies with the show or real life please).

Rating: PG-13 (Language, Sexual Inferences, Violence)

Spoilers: Anything is possible through season 7. 
Sergei isn't an issue in this story, but let's just
say that 'In Country' has occurred but 'Enemy Below'
has not.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; I'm not
creative enough to have come up with them.  I'm
intending no infringement upon the show, DPB or any of
the other 'T'PTB.  I'm just playing around with 'my
friends' for entertainment puposes and in no way,
shape or form am I receiving monetary kickbacks from
my actions.

Summary: After Mac's apartment building burns down,
Sturgis and Harriet help solve the mystery behind the
event.


1945 EST

Mac’s Apartment

Georgetown

"Hey" Mac said smiling as she opened the door for
Harm.

"Hey yourself" he playfully returned with a grin.
"Almost ready?"

"Yeah, I just want to take a quick look around, make
sure that I turned everything off. I wouldn’t want to
leave the stove on or anything."

"The stove? Mac… there’s no need to try to impress me
by pretending to know what a stove is" he said with a
quirky smile and a gleam of tease sparkling in his
eyes.

"Bite me!" was the sarcastic singsong reply she called
out while entering the kitchen.

‘Believe me, that thought has crossed my mind before’
he thought, fantasies of nibbling on her ear flashing
through his mind.

He stood in the middle of her living room watching the
movie playing in his mind; a far away gaze upon his
face with a hint of a smile just curling the corners
of his mouth.

"Harm" she called and received no reaction. "Harm!"
With still no response she was beginning to get
frustrated. "All right…that’s it… no more playing
nice." She thought for a moment then began to speak
"Harm…I’ve been meaning to tell you something…I called
Mic the other day, I told him that I was a fool to let
him leave. I’m resigning my commission and moving to
Australia in a month."

Hearing the words Mic, resign, Australia and month,
Harm was shaken from his deep thoughts. "Huh…what…Mac
no, you can’t" he stammered.

"Ha" she grinned "I thought that would get your
attention".

"That was evil Devil Dog, so very evil."

"Evil? Maybe. Enjoyable? Oh yeah! You should have seen
the look on your face."

"Humph. Are you ready yet?"

"Yep, lets go."

They got into his SUV and drove quietly to Andrews
AFB. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1000 EST: earlier that day

JAG HQ

Falls Church, Virginia

 

The Admiral had called them into his office earlier
that day, telling them there was some dissention in
the ranks among the Pilots on the USS Patrick Henry
that needed to be looked into. Being that Harm was
known, trusted and fairly well liked on that
particular carrier would hopefully make the task
easier.

"Mac" Harm said as they headed towards their offices
"wanna ride to the base? No need for both of us to
leave our cars there."

"Sure, pick me up at my place…about 1945"

"Works for me" he smiled, turning to walk into his
office.

Back to present time

Several hours later on the plane Mac woke with a
start, sitting up quickly with a confused look on her
face. She looked all around before finally catching
the concerned _expression on her partner’s face.

"What’s wrong?"

"I don’t know, it was weird."

"What was?"

"My dream. I was with Jingo and he just started
barking for no reason; it was his business bark."

"Business bark" Harm inquired arching an eyebrow and
giving a half grin.

"Yeah, the one he uses when he’s serious about
something, like when he used to work in the airports."

"Okaaaay" he drawled out.

"Nothing I did would appease him, he just kept on
barking. Then I woke up."

"I’m sure he’s fine and its nothing more than you
wanting to be with him instead of me on this plane."

"I hope you’re right" she said as she rested her head
on the back of the seat. 

"Hey, why don’t you lay down" he gestured by patting
his thigh "no one else is back here to see us and you
could use the sleep."

She took a deep breath and slid far enough over on the
seat for her head to reach his lap. His muscular thigh
wasn’t ‘pillow’ comfy but after he slid his arm under
her head and neck and wrapped the other one over top
of her body, she was too happy to notice.

Life had been pretty good for them lately. They had
worked a couple cases that were reminiscent of the old
days-life before flying and Mic Brumby. Lunch was
becoming an everyday occurrence and sometimes even
dinner. They were joking, teasing and laughing again.
He was back; her best friend was back in her life.
During this time Mac realized how she really felt
about Harm. She loved him, especially like this when
he wasn’t putting on macho airs protecting his
jet-jockey reputation. But she also liked his airs.
Sometimes they made him seem invincible: strong and
proud, especially when she needed him to be. It was
also funny watching him strut around like a kid who
had just hit a grand slam to win the game.

Harm noticed that the beautiful goddess in his arms
was sleeping peacefully, a small smile playing on her
lips. Sarah had moved her hand as she slept and
somehow managed to find his with it. Her fingers
curled into his and her knuckles rested on his palm as
his did hers. Harm cherished the moment, being able to
look at, touch and hold his Marine all at the same
time. He wanted this for now and forever, ‘yeah,
that’ll happen’ he mumbled as he dropped his head back
and closed his eyes. Just then Mac turned, changing
positions all together. She faced him now, her left
arm under her head, her hand high on his thigh
dangerously close to…’Don’t even go there Rabb’ he
chided himself. He moved some strands of hair away
from her mouth and smiled, he loved her, and there was
no doubt about that.

0830 EST~ Next day

JAG HQ

<Ring Ring>

"Good morning, Judge Advocate General’s office,
Lieutenant. Simms speaking."

"Um, hello" came the tired weak voice of an older
sounding female. "My name is Ginny Harper and I’m
Sarah Mackenzie’s neighbor. I know she’s out of town,
but something has come up that she needs to know
about."

"Yes ma’am" Harriet spoke calmly "I can take a message
and get it to her."

"Um, there’s no way I can speak to her?"

"No ma’am" Harriet apologized, feeling sorry for the
woman. "The Colonel is on a carrier."

"Oh" was the woman’s sad reply. "Well, just tell her
that a fire broke out in the building last night
around 11 o’clock or so. It basically gutted the
entire building and only the stone exterior is
standing. And, uh, Christine Rubbleston was unable to
escape. Oh, and Jingo her dog is okay and with me. The
fire detective is talking of arson"

Harriet’s hand went to her mouth as she gasped "Oh my
God…is everyone else okay ma’am?"

"Yes, a couple of burns here and there, everyone but
Christine is fine."

"Thank you for calling Ms. Harper, I’ll get this
message to the Colonel right away."

"Thank you" was the woman’s soft reply.

After getting contact information from Ginny, Harriet
headed straight to the Admiral.

After hearing the news the usually strong and power
exuding man bowed his head, took off his glasses and
rubbed his nose where they had sat and sighed. Then
taking a deep breath "Tiner!".

"Sir" the young petty officer said, standing in the
doorway.

"Get me Commander Turner, now."

"Aye, aye sir."

Minutes later Sturgis appeared at attention in front
of the Admiral.

"God Almighty, poor woman" Sturgis shook his head
after hearing the recitation of the night’s events.

"Commander Turner" came the voice of authority "I want
you and… Lieutenant. Simms to go to the Colonel’s
apartment and find out what you can, see if you think
it warrants JAG intervention. I don’t want to tell the
Colonel until we have more information.

"Me sir?" Harriet asked.

"Are you Lieutenant. Simms…Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir, but…" she was cut off by the Admiral’s quick
"Dismissed".

"Aye, aye sir" both Sturgis and Harriet said in
unison.

"Commander?"

"Yes Harriet?" Sturgis said looking at the young woman
as they neared her desk.

"Why me sir? I’m not an investigator."

"No, but you are the Colonel’s friend. Maybe the
Admiral wanted someone he knew Mac trusted to handle
things with care and discretion."

"Yes sir" Harriet smiled "I’ll go log us a car.’

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

0945 EST

Mac’s Apartment

Georgetown

Sturgis and Harriet walked towards the destroyed
building as they took in the destruction. Sturgis
lifted the yellow caution tape high enough for Harriet
and himself to duck under.

"Excuse me" came a snide voice "what do you think you
are doing? This is an active crime scene."

Sturgis and Harriet looked up to see a young man clad
in a suit staring them down.

"We’re looking for the lead investigator" Sturgis said
calmly

"He’s a tad busy right now" the man sneered. "Why
don’t you tell me who you are, what you want and give
me a phone number and I’ll see if I need to bother him
with it."

As the man spoke, Sturgis and Harriet watched a man,
just a bit older in age to that of Sturgis and Harm
walk up beside the younger gentleman. This new man
stared red faced at the man talking.

"Investigator Smith!" he bellowed "Why don’t you go
back to the office, see if you can find Russell or
Schulz and send them back here. Tell them that you are
an ass, don’t know how to do your job correctly and
are screwing up the investigation! After you
accomplish that why don’t you fill the car up with
gas, preferably at a deserted gas station, and have a
good smoke…at the same time."

The two men just looked at each other, then the older
man’s eyes smoldered again and yelled "MOVE! NOW!" And
the young, suit clad man turned on his heels and
stalked off.

"Commander, Lieutenant, I’m sorry you had to see that"
the scene worker said "Sometimes that kid irritates me
so much that he brings out the evil drill instructor
in me."

"Drill instructor, sir?" Harriet asked.

"Yeah, with the Marine Corps up at Parris Island."

"Oh, yes sir" she smiled.

"I’m Senior Arson Detective David Christopher and what
can I do for you two JAGs?"

"I’m Commander Sturgis Turner and this is Lieutenant
Harriet Simms. We are here on behalf of Lieutenant.
Colonel Sarah Mackenzie."

"Ah…a Lieutenant Colonel, her neighbors only
remembered people calling her Colonel. She lives in 2B
and is apparently out of town?" the detective
questioned.

"Yes detective" Sturgis stated "She and a colleague
were sent on assignment yesterday."

"Oh okay" and the detective wrote down the new
information.

"Basically detective, we are here to see if there is
any need for a JAG investigation, being that it does
involve someone in the military."

"I really don’t think that’s necessary Commander. It
seems that an accelerant was put on a wall in the
bedroom and a small device left to detonate a short
time later. It appears he was after the woman in 1B
and he got her."

"A bomb was used?" Harriet asked.

"Well, sort of" the detective smiled, "it was only
strong enough to produce enough of a blast to ignite
the accelerant."

"So he wanted to make sure he got out alive" it was
more of a statement from Sturgis, than a question.

"Apparently" was Christopher’s reply.

"A jealous boyfriend maybe?" Sturgis grinned at
Harriet’s initiative in the investigation.

"That’s what we were thinking too Lieutenant. Seems he
is in the Navy, name’s Alex Milkens. Nobody has seen
him in a while though, says he’s deployed."

"We’ll look into that for you" Sturgis offered.

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"I must tell you though" Sturgis began again "with 2
military connections now, I’m positive the JAG will
want us to be part of this investigation."

"I guess I can understand that Commander, all I ask is
that we work as a team, sharing information found- in
both directions."

"Will do detective, we’ll be in touch, thank you."

"Likewise Commander." 

The two men exchanged cards and the Navy officers took
their leave. The arson team was still in the building
and Sturgis didn’t want to interrupt them.

"What do you think sir?" Harriet looked to the senior
officer.

"It’s a little early to tell Harriet, seems like
everything is leading to the woman in 1B. But, its too
early to rule anything out just yet."

"I agree sir, fire is an amazing force, not something
to be reckoned with using a firm hand."

"Don’t I know Lieutenant. When you’re on a submarine,
down thousands of feet from the surface, fire is the
last word you ever want to hear."

EST
JAG HQ

"What do you have for me people?" AJ motioned for the
2 officers to sit before him.

Taking the lead as senior investigation officer,
Sturgis began to speak "We have one good arson.
Accelerant was found in the bedroom below the
Colonel’s with parts of a small demolition device. And
the victim’s boyfriend is in the Navy sir."

"Do we have an ID on him yet?"

"Yes sir" Harried introduced " he is Lieutenant.
Commander Alexander Milkens, XO on the USS Patrick
Henry. He’s been deployed now for 4 months, no
possible way he could have done this."

"I see" AJ clasped his hands together on his desk.
"Anything else?"

"Just that we told the arson detective that you would
want JAG to take part in the investigation."

"You’re damn right Commander. If there are any
military connections to this, I want them found. Keep
me informed. Dismissed."

"Aye sir" the two junior officers said standing and
turning to leave.

"Tiner" the Admiral’s voice came over the intercom
"get me the captain of the Patrick Henry"

"Yes sir, just a moment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1830 Patrick Henry Time

Indian Ocean

"Captain Ingles" the captain said into the phone,
above the noise on the bridge. "No sir Admiral the
aren’t here yet, but their ETA is about 8 minutes if
you would like to wait. Yes sir, I’ll send someone to
get her." The captain looked around the bridge "XO, go
down to the flight deck and bring Lt. Colonel
Mackenzie, who will be arriving on the helo, directly
to the bridge."

"Yes sir, Captain" came the sharp reply of the
executive officer.

The helicopter landed and the XO ran out to greet the
JAG officers. "Good evening Commander; Colonel good to
see you again ma’am. The captain would like you to
report to the bridge directly" he said looking at Mac.

"Thank you XO, lead the way" she gestured.

"Mac, you know him?" Harm whispered as they fished
their way through the maze of halls and stairs they
were both familiar with.

"Yeah, he’s the boyfriend of Christine, the woman in
the apartment below me. They’ve been together for
about 3 years now and we’ve all been friends for most
of it."

"Huh…small world."

"Uh, yeah" Mac said quietly while arching her eyebrows
and giving him a ‘duh’ smile.

Passing through the doorway to the bridge they were
announced quickly by an unknown voice "JAG on the
bridge".

"Colonel Mackenzie" Captain Ingles motioned them both
at ease and called her towards him. "There is a
telephone call for you from your CO."

"Admiral Chegwidden?"

"Yes Colonel" handing her the phone.

A side glance to Harm with question in her eyes she
brought the receiver to her ear. "Admiral, its Colonel
Mackenzie. Yes sir, Harm’s here." She stood listening
to the words being spoken by the man she cared for as
a father. As she ingested the information her
appearance changed from that of a strong military
officer to that of a confused child. Her wide open
eyes seemed to be staring intently upon something but
saw nothing, her lips parted forming no particular
shape. The blood drained from her face and she reached
her hand out, landing on Harm’s forearm. All eyes were
upon the Colonel and the gesture of her hand on the
Commander’s arm was lost to no one. "Is everyone okay
sir?" she finally spoke. Suddenly her eyes darted up
to look at Harm, full of panic and terror, gripping
his arm more tightly, then quickly glancing at the XO.
" Yes sir, I’ll…I’ll be able to handle it, I’ll tell
him myself. Uh sir….what about…thank God. Yes sir,
I’ll let you know. Good bye."

"Colonel, is everything okay?" Captain Ingles asked
taking the phone from her. 

"Uh…no sir….uh…with all due respect sir, may I have a
few minutes and get back to you?"

"Yes Colonel, take all the time you need. Commander I
assume you will be going with her?"

"Yes sir, if I may."

"Dismissed, both of you."

"Mac, what’s going on?" Harm asked ushering her from
the bridge towards their quarters-a single room for
them both because the ship didn’t have the amenities
to give them each a room.

"Not here Harm" came a weak, almost tearful voice.

Finally in their room and the door shut Mac turned to
Harm and burst into tears. She leaned against his
chest; his arms went automatically around her and his
head rested on top of hers.

"Shhh" he breathed "whatever it is, it’ll be okay."

"No it will never be okay" she sobbed.

"Mac, what happened?"

She took a deep breath, pulled out of his arms and sat
on the lower bunk. She raised her sad, reddened eyes
to him, wiping away tears as she spoke. "That was the
Admiral. He said that my apartment building burnt down
last night."

Harm’s jaw dropped and his eyes almost bugged out
"What?"

"Yeah" she began again "says the house is all but
gutted and it is thought to be arson."

"Arson?"

"They found accelerant and a small igniting device. Be
someone died Harm, it was Christine."

"Oh my God, didn’t you say she and the XO…" his voice
dropped off as he saw Mac nod her head and began
crying again. At once he was next to her, taking her
in his arms. "Uh…Mac, what about Jingo?"

"He’s fine" she sniffed "Ginny has him."

After a few minutes Mac calmed down until she was only
sniffling. Se went to the mirror and fixed her makeup
in order to be presentable to the captain. 

"Harm I need to tell the Captain and Alex."

"May I go with you?"

"You have to, I need you there. God I hate that" she
said looking at the ceiling.

"Hey no. I’ll always be here for you, needed or not. I
care too much about you."

"Really?" she looked up at him.

Realizing what he said he looked up and away. She
thought she had pushed him too much but to her
surprise he looked in her eyes and smiled "yes I do,
very much so." She smiled for just a moment until she
remembered what she had to tell Alex.

Straightening her uniform, Mac turned just in time to
see Harm changing his shirt. Noticing the tear stains
and mascara on the brown shirt that lay on the bed.
"Oh Harm, I’m sorry."

Using the index finger of his strong hand he placed it
on her soft lips to silence her and shook his head no.

"Are you ready?" he asked with concern written all
over his face.

"Yeah, let’s get this over with."

On the Bridge

"Captain, may I have a word with you?"

"Yes Colonel, go ahead."

"In private if possible sir."

"Okay, I’ll meet you in the Officers’ ward room in a
couple minutes."

"Yes sir."

Several minutes later-Officers’ Ward Room

"Colonel, I’m assuming this is important if you are
pulling me off the bridge to tell me."

"Yes sir it is and unfortunately it will affect you."

"Go on then."

With a look to Harm for reassurance, Mac took a deep
breath and told the Captain of the news, including
that of the XO.

"Good Lord, that just what I need right now" the
Captain looked at the floor and blew out a deep breath
of air. "Colonel, I’m sorry about your apartment and
your friend."

"Thank you sir, but all the stuff can be replaced,
Christine cannot."

Walking to the phone the Captain called up to the
bridge "send the XO to the Officers’ Ward Room". He
hung up and looked to Mac again "Do you want to tell
him or would you prefer me to?"

"I’ll do it sir, he’s going to need to hear this from
a friend."

"All right, but the Commander and myself are going to
stay in here with you."

"Understood sir."

The Captain busied himself with coffee and Mac turned
to Harm. "How and I going to do this? No human should
ever have to do anything like this-tell a friend the
love of his life is dead."

At these words Harm stiffened, thinking of the many
times Mac’s life had been at risk, most recently in
Afghanistan at the prison camp. Shaking away the image
and looking up into the light to get rid of the tears
that rimmed his eyes, Harm took a deep breath and
looked down at her. "You’ll do this with the strength
of an officer, courage of a Marine and the compassion
of a friend; and with me by your side. It’s going to
be hard, especially if he loses control. But he’ll
need you, his friend, to be here for him, strong for
him for he’ll fell like his strength will be lost to
him forever. His strength, the force that made him
want to get up in the morning and kept him going
everyday; was tragically stolen by a cowardly thief.
You two are the only people on this ship who knew her
and now you are the only link he has left."

During Harm’s speech Mac had sat in a chair at the
long table in the center of the room, placed her
elbows on the top and her face in her hands. Harm put
a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

"When did you become so profound?" she asked looking
at him with a small smile and touching the hand on her
shoulder.

"Uh…let’s just say I’ve had some prior experience with
the matter."

As she pondered his statement realization set in
‘Diane’. "I’m sorry, I just wasn’t thinking."

"Don’t be, it was a long time ago, I’ve moved on, but
I still remember how it felt-like it was yesterday."
What he didn’t tell her was that most of what he said
was stated with thoughts of her running though his
mind, thinking of his feelings if he ever lost ‘his
Marine’.

The three officers’ attentions were brought to the
door as they hear it open. The young XO entered and
stood in front of his CO. 

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes, XO. Why don’t you have a seat" the Captain
motioned with his hand.

"Yes sir" Alex said quietly taking the proffered
chair.

"Alex" Mac brought her friend’s attention to her
"there is no easy way for me to tell you this, so I’m
just going to say it. Last night a fire broke out in
my apartment building. Basically the only thing left
standing is the outer stone walls."

"Oh my God, did everyone get out, is Christine okay?"

"No Alex, Christine is not okay. She wasn’t able to
escape the flames…she’s dead."

"No, that can’t be, I just talked to her yesterday."

"I’m so sorry Alex."

"No, Oh God no, no" the man began to cry "I love her,
she can’t be dead. No!"

Mac looked at Harm and the Captain and they silently
took their leave, leaving the heartbroken man sobbing
in his friend’s arms.

Forty-five minutes later two-tear stain faced officers
emerged from the Ward Room and walked to one of the
lower decks. The man being led by the woman seemed to
be nothing more than an empty shell-he looked at
nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing; he was numb.

Mac settled Alex in his quarters and promised someone
would check on him. She then left his room and
returned to her own quarters. She was exhausted,
mentally, physically as well as emotionally. She was
glad Harm wasn’t there, she wanted some time alone;
then again, she really wanted to be wrapped in his
protective arms. She took a long hot shower, changed
into a pair of shorts and her JAG-A-THON t-shirt and
went to bed, crying herself bitterly to sleep.

When Harm came in later he found her sleeping, still
hiccuping from her outpouring of emotions. He wanted
to comfort her but knew she needed sleep more. He
quietly backed out of the room, deciding to check on
Alex, who was not fairing any better. Though he was
not sleeping, the XO laid on his bunk staring upwards.
To say he was in shock was an understatement at this
time. He acknowledged Harm’s presence by turning his
head and looking in Harm’s general direction, but made
no other response. Harm tried to ask the young man a
question but knew it was fruitless to push him for an
answer. Feeling thoroughly drained himself, Harm
wandered to Vulture’s Row to watch the planes. With no
one around he softly cried under the roar of the jets.
His tears fell for the young woman he’d only seen in
passing, for the stricken man of whom part of died
along with his girlfriend. He cried for the anguish
Mac was having to deal with and for himself,
considering all the times he could have lost Sarah
just as easily as Alex had Christine. But Sarah didn’t
know how much he loved her, unlike Christine knew of
Alex’s undying devotion. As the jet fuel began to
sting his eyes, Harm wiped away the last of the tears
and began to walk back to his room. With a kiss to
Mac’s forehead, a whisper of love into her hair, Harm
went to bed, falling into an exhaustive sleep.

Mac woke early the next morning, before dawn even.
Having slept for almost 12 hours she was unusually
refreshed. Lying in her bed she took in the sound of
Harm’s slow, deep, rhythmic breathing. She thought of
how much he’d done for her and stayed by her side when
she needed his strength. She smiled knowing that he
was the only man she would ever be in love with. She
quietly got up and dressed then made her way to the
mess hall. Entering the deserted room she walked
towards the food line. A young man walked out of the
kitchen and smiled.

"Good morning ma’am, what can I get for you?"

"You don’t happen to have a hot chocolate back there
do you?"

"Hmmm? I don’t think we have any of that instant stuff
left, but if you can wait a couple of minutes I’ll see
what I can do."

"Sure, take your time, I’m not in a hurry."

About five minutes later the young cook pushed through
the door connecting the kitchen and the dining hall.
Finding Mac at a front table he walked up to her,
setting a steaming cup of hot chocolate in front of
her as well as 3 biscotti. "My mom’s secret recipe. I
don’t think I’ve ever made it for anyone else before"
the cook grinned sheepishly. "Those are her biscotti
too, mailed them to me earlier this week, she doesn’t
trust me with that recipe yet. One is honey, one is
almond and the other is chocolate hazelnut."

Mac took a sip from her mug and her eyes opened in
surprise "This is the best I’ve ever tasted!"

"Yes ma’am, mama serves only the best."

"Well, you give her my regards."

"Yes ma’am, will do and anytime you want more, just
come find me."

"Thank you, I’ll remember that."

After the young cook left, she took her mug and
biscotti to the fan tail to watch the sunrise. The
engines hadn’t been turned on yet and all was quiet.
As time passed the stars faded and golden yellow rays
painted the sky. With the rising sun dawned a new day,
the trials of yesterday gone. She realized the cliché
was true ‘The sun will come out tomorrow’. Yes,
yesterday sucked, all her material things were gone as
well as a friend and running buddy and a good man was
hurting more than words could describe. Deep down
though, she was content, she was alive, the love of
her own life was seldom far from her side, all the
stuff she lost was replaceable and her dog was safe.
True, she missed Christine already, but the Christine
she knew would never want people to mourn her so. "Get
on with your life, there’s a whole lot more to this
world than just me." Mac could hear Christine say.
With this in mind, Mac got up, popped a crumb of
biscotti from her blouse into her mouth, stretched to
her full length, took a deep breath of clean air and
walked back into the interior of the ship with a smile
on her face. Never had she gotten over something so
traumatic so quickly. "That must have been some hot
chocolate".

Back in the room Mac changed into her workout clothes,
preparing for a run. Harm stirred a bit and rolled
over facing her direction. She looked at the sleeping
figure, he looked peaceful, with his eyes lightly shut
and middle of his lips slightly parted. His hair was
too short to be hanging in his face, but she ran her
hand over his hair anyhow. She stepped up onto her
bunk to bring herself level with him, kissed his cheek
with the lightness of a feather and whispered "I love
you Harmon Rabb".

"You do?" came an airy reply as Harm stretched out of
his slumber.

Shocked to see him awake and having heard what she
said, she straightened up quickly, forgetting she was
standing on her bunk. Had it not been for his quick
reflex she would have fallen as she began to sway
backwards.

Clad only in his boxers, he climbed down from his bunk
and looked at her. The look on his face was hard to
read, was it hope? Was it fear?

"Yes I do" Taa Daa…she’d finally said it and it
honestly wasn’t as hard to do as she thought it would
be. A wash of relief flowed through her and she
smiled.

Harm looked at her, stunned for a moment, then the
largest flyboy grin spread from ear to ear. He gave a
chuckle, picked her up and swung her in a circle.
Setting her down but keeping her wrapped in his arms
he squeezed her tight. "You don’t know how long I’ve
wanted to hear you say those words…I love you too
Sarah."

Both laughed as tears streamed down their cheeks. He
cupped her cheek in his hand and wiped the last tear
away with his thumb. Guiding her face with his hand he
leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. At first
touch they were hesitant of such a big step, then love
took over their bodies and the kiss deepened, a
culmination of six years of emotion. His lips were
soft, tender, yet powerful and possessive at the same
time. Somehow they moved across the room and Sarah
found herself sitting on the desk, Harm in between her
thighs and her knees high upon his hips. One of his
hands was behind her neck, the other on the small of
her back, pulling her closer to him. Opening his lips
slightly, Sarah felt the warm moisture of his tongue
play along her bottom lip. Parting her lips, she
welcomed the gesture. With each passing moment she
felt her arousal growing, along with his. Her body
trembled with passion and she clung to him even
tighter. 

All of a sudden, the moment was broken as the
telephone rang. Mac felt a low moan reverberate
through his throat as he pulled himself out of her
grasp. 

"Rabb" he growled.

"Commander, good morning. Did I wake you?" 

"Uh…no sir Admiral Chegwidden. I…uh…just haven’t had
my morning pick me up yet."

"Well, you best be getting a move on it son, you have
an investigation to conduct."

"Yes sir. Actually, I was able to talk to some of the
pilots yesterday and basically they are upset about
some restrictive boundaries set for their safety while
there is a war raging. I’m going to talk to them
today, I think we’ll be able to work something
ou…uh….out." As he said his final words Mac began
tracing kisses down the midline of his abs and she
decided to have a bit of fun with his belly button.

"Are you all right Commander?’

"Yes sir…Mac just threw her towel at me and told me
she was hungry…again." At that Mac began to nibble on
the concave orifice.

"How is the Colonel doing Harm?"

"She was quite upset yesterday, but I think she’s
recovered, the initial shock is over. Any news sir?"

"Not at this time, Sturgis and Harriet are working
diligently though."

"Harriet sir?"

"Yes Commander, it was either her or Lt. Singer."

"Harriet is an officer of many talents sir." Harm said
trying to dodge having to say anything bad about
Loren.

"I agree Commander. Is Mac still there?"

"Oh, she’s up to something around her somewhere."
Hearing the female pronoun used, Mac quit scratching
Harms back right above his boxer shorts. Harm handed
her the phone, then made room for himself next to her
on the desk.

"Good morning sir."

"Colonel, how are you doing?"

"Fine sir, a new day has brought a new perspective to
it all."

"I see and how is Lt. Commander Milkens?"

"I haven’t seen him yet today, but he wasn’t doing
well when I left him yesterday. I’ll be asking the
Captain for some leave for him this afternoon and I
may need some as well sir, to make sure he gets
settled in town and find a place for myself."

"You have plenty of time on the books Colonel, take
what you need to get situated."

As the Admiral spoke, Harm removed Mac’s shirt,
leaving her in her sports bra and shorts. Mac had to
take the phone away from her ear to remove the shirt
he left hanging over her face. He rubbed tiny circles
with his thumb along her lower spine and left wet
trails of kisses on her neck.

Though Mac’s body reacted to the touches, her voice
never let on. "Thank you sir, I’ll be in to see you
when we return. Good bye."

Taking the phone from her hand he hung it up and
returned to his position in front of her. "You’re so
sexy when you talk business."

"Really? How about I talk more business?" Harm’s eyes
narrowed in lust and Mac spread her hand on his chest
"Harm, I need to go see Alex". His eyes dropped in
disappointment, but he knew she was right.

She changed back into her uniform, walked to the door,
opened it and turning around she gave him a seductive
look, mouthed ‘I love you’ and blew him a kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the investigation wrapped up Harm, Mac and Alex
were able to leave the next morning. Mac had helped
Alex pack and basically guided him to the helicopter.
He still wasn’t saying much and it tore at Harm’s
heart, he knew how the XO felt and knew there was no
way to rush him back into life.

0215 EST

Andrews AFB

After collecting their bags the 3 officers made their
way towards Harm’s SUV.

"Alex, do you have someplace to stay?"

"Yes ma’am, just drop me off at Chris….uh…guess not,
no ma’am I don’t. I’ll get a room at the VOQ."

"You sure? You can stay at my place if you want."

"Thank you, but no Commander, I’ll be fine at the
VOQ."

At the Visiting Officers’ Quarters, Harm and Mac
checked Alex in and walked him to his room.

"It wasn’t supposed to be like this."

"What wasn’t Alex?" Mac asked walking to the window
where he was standing.

"This, me coming home from the carrier. She was
supposed to meet me at the dock, throw her arms around
me and kiss me like there was no tomorrow." At his own
words he stopped and let out a small cry. "That night
as she lay in my arms, I would pull out the ring and
ask her to be my wife." He opened his hand and
sparkling between his dogtags was a diamond engagement
ring.

"I’m sorry Alex" she touched his arm.

"You have to find the man that did this. You’re a JAG
investigator, FIND HIM!"

"Calm down Lieutenant" Mac said looking at him "we’re
doing what we can, we have very capable people on it."

"I’m sorry ma’am and thank you, for everything."

"Try to get some sleep Alex."

"Aye ma’am"

After that Mac and Harm left and drove to his
apartment, north of Union Station.

"I think that couch is calling my name."

"Mac, you can’t be serious. Why sleep on the couch
when you can have the other half of my bed; it’s big
enough for two of us. I promise, I don’t bite."

"Honestly, the couch is fine."

"Whatever propels your Tomcat" he said while walking
to the closet to get the bed linens. "Here we go; two
sheets, one blanket, a medium-soft pillow and a quilt
for added weight."

"You know me so well" she smiled

"That’s why we’re so good together."

"Oh, is that it? And I thought all time that it was
because I was pretty."

"Well, that helps too" he teased, helping her tuck in
the corners of the blanket.

After she slid under the covers, he pulled them up
tight under he chin and sat down on the edge of the
couch next to her. "You know where I am if you need
me. I love you baby-girl" and kissed her softly on her
lips.

"Good night Harm"

Mac watched him get ready for bed. She could see his
shadowed movements through the glass block wall. How
had she been so lucky? With all the things she had
done wrong in her life, Harm was among a growing
number of rights. She smiled at the thought of him; he
was breaking through the fortress she built around
herself-the thick walled one that protected her from
being hurt. Had he called her ‘baby-girl’? It was the
only nickname that she had liked throughout her entire
life; having taken it from a book she had read many
years ago. No one knew of her love of that nickname,
how did he? Sure, she loved the other nicknames he
gave her, but this one she secretly held dear proved
the true connection she had to him, it made her feel
loved. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, so maybe the couch wasn’t such a good idea" it
was now 0526 and she hadn’t slept a wink; her feet
were cold and her mind was racing. She pulled back the
covers and made her way to Harm’s room. There it was,
his steady breathing again. She slid under his covers
and lay as close to him as she dared without waking
him. As she felt an arm go around her, she knew her
stealthy efforts were noticed.

"What happened to the couch?"

"I was cold…and lonely."

Pulling her closer, he captured her lips in a kiss and
swung his leg over hers, like he had in the desert.
"Better?"

"Much, thank you"

"Anytime Sarah, anytime my baby…girl" he whispered
falling asleep again.

It didn’t take her long to find her own blissful
slumber while being lulled by his breathing.

Mac woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and
an empty bed. "No way" she checked her internal clock
to see if it was in synchronization with the one on
the bedside table-it was. Harm was really up before
her? It was only 1100 and he didn’t get that much more
sleep than she did. She rolled out of bed and walked
into the kitchen. 

"Morning Sailor" she yawned

Harm turned from his breakfast preparations to catch
her combing her fingers through her sleep rumpled
hair, raising her shirt with her movements to show a
pair of devil red panties.

"Morning there Sparky"

"Huh? I’m confused. This morning just keeps getting
weirder."

"I don’t know anything about weird, but I do know that
you are sporting a pair of devil red panties." His
grin was sly and evil in its own respect.

Hearing that Mac stopped trying to fix the mess on her
head and looked down, seeing that indeed her panties
were red. She blushed a bit "The devil made me do it"
she laughed.

"Just to torture me right?"

"Would life be any fun if I didn’t?"

"Maaaaac"

"Mac what?" sidling up to him innocently taking the
piece of honeydew from his hands. She bit half of it
off and moaned with pleasure (strictly for his
benefit). She held the other half to his lips and
pushed it inside with her finger.

He could play that game too. He closed his lips over
her finger and made sure that none of the sticky juice
remained.

She slid her finger out, feeling his teeth clamp down
a bit. She looked at her wet finger then up at him.
She raised the hand with the wet finger and ran it up
the back of his head and into the short hair on the
back, giving herself a chance to dry her finger and
get her face close enough to his to kiss him. If it
was meant to be a surprise attack she failed miserably
for as her lips almost touched his he thrust a piece
of melon between her lips "Morning breath…bad" he
teased.

Her embarrassment switched to revenge when she saw he
was teasing her. "Oh Honey, don’t mess with the
master" she said with a serious, yet seductive look on
her face. "For you will never know when I will reap my
revenge."

With a menacing chuckle that almost frightened him,
she turned, stretched her arms up high revealing the
back of her high-cut, thin waisted, devil red panties.
Then, as she made her way to the bedroom she pulled
the Marine t-shirt she wore up and over her head and
dropped it to the floor, leaving a stunned Harm
starring at her bare back and panties. After she
vanished into the other room, he attempted to pick his
jaw up off the floor when she peeked her head around
the corner and threw something at him. Catching the
object in his hand, he spread it out with the other.
Between his fingers he held a pair of shiny satin,
devil red panties.

Without any other incidents the morning quickly ended
and a short time later the two officers found
themselves driving to where Mac’s apartment once
stood.

They ducked under the yellow tape, only to be stopped
by a police officer; after flashing their JAG ID’s
they were allowed to continue. They came across
Sturgis first; he was standing in the yard talking to
Detective Christopher. The detective spotted the two
officers coming towards them and gestured to Sturgis,
never taking his eyes off Mac.

"Morning Harm, Mac" Sturgis greeted them. This is
Senior Arson Detective David Christopher."

‘That’s it! Mac.’ a light bulb went off in the
detective’s head.

‘Where had she heard that named before? David
Christopher?’ Mac thought.

"Good morning detective. I’m Lt. Colonel Sarah
Mackenzie, I lived in 2B."

"Pleased to meet you Colonel, Commander. I’m sorry
about your apartment ma’am."

"Thank you, but again, its just stuff and it can be
replaced, but Christine cannot."

"I’m sorry about that too, I hear you told her
boyfriend?"

"Yes. He’s at the VOQ, not doing very well."

"I’ll want to talk to him when I get a chance."

"I don’t think he’ll have any information for you"
Harm interjected "he’s been on the Patrick Henry for 4
months."

"I just want to make sure."

"We understand" Mac answered.

"No damn it! Don’t move that, it hasn’t been sifted
yet." David shouted and ran off.

Mac’s eyes widened and she grabbed Harm’s arm.

"What, you see a ghost?" Harm asked, then winced at
his choice of words.

"I know that man and he’s evil, the Devil’s own
spawn!"

"Mac?" Harm said surprised.

"Colonel Mackenzie" Sturgis spoke up "he’s been
working this case since the very beginning and has
been nothing but hard working and cooperative."

"But he made my life HELL."

"That was my job…’recruit Mackenzie’" Christopher
smirked. "I was that bad huh?"

"Let’s just say I saw your face on the target every
time I fired my weapon."

"Then I guess I’m the reason you became a good
marksperson as well as a good Marine."

"Am I missing something?" Harm looked between the two
people.

"Remember me telling you about the ‘Drop Dead Drill
Sergeant’? Where if you didn’t quit in the first 2
weeks he made it his passion to make sure everyone in
his platoon dropped dead before graduation."

"Hey….it wasn’t a passion…just a perk" the ex-Marine
grinned. 

"That was you?" Harm looked shocked.

"The one and only."

"Then may I shake your hand because Mac is the best
Marine I’ve run across and the best partner and
investigator could ever want."

"Thank you Commander…that was my goal."

"Commander Turner" came Harriet’s voice from the other
side of the house. They all ran towards the voice.
"Oh" she blushed "sorry, I just found something."

"What is it Harriet" Sturgis inquired.

"Look at this window. This middle section has a hole
in it with glass surrounding it. All the other
sections have virtually no glass left at all. Meaning,
this is how the killer got in, through the window. He
broke the middle section, unlocked the window and
crawled in." Lifting up the window, she closely
inspected the metal tracks, stopping at a broken,
jagged piece on the side. "Anyone have any tweezers?"

"Here" Christopher handed her a pair.

Using the tweezers she lifted some small navy blue
fibers from the torn metal. "Nothing to break the
case, but at least its something." Before shutting the
window she looked inside and saw a few broken pieces
of glass under some burnt and soggy rubble. "I’m
right. The intruder broke in her and left this glass
inside. After he left he shut the window and locked
it. When the fire was roaring, the heat built up so
much that it couldn’t escape through the little hole
and broke out the rest of the glass."

"Good work Lieutenant" Christopher smiled, then left
to turn in the evidence Harriet collected.

"Harriet, how did you know that?" curiosity getting
the better of Harm.

"I…uh…plead the 5th with all you lawyers present."

Everyone laughed, albeit nervously…giving each other
surprised looks.

"How about some lunch, I’m starved." Sturgis
announced.

"Well, Mac and I just had breakfast a little while
ago, but we’ll join you."

"We’re just going to the park sir. Neither Sturgis or
myself am comfortable going into confined spaces with
the way we smell."

"What" Harm grinned "nobody appreciates Cologne de
Soot and Smoke?"

They chose a nice table in the shade by the lake and
the four friends talked of the events of the past few
days. After finishing his meal, Sturgis pulled a
manila folder out of his brief case and slid it
towards Harm and Mac. Harm opened the cover and
scanned the contents of the autopsy report of
Christine Rubbleston. He stopped, looked at Mac then
at Sturgis. 

"What’s that tell you buddy?"

Harm swallowed "She was dead before the fire hit her,
shot…with a Navy issue service weapon it seems."

"Bingo, we have a winner."

"Thank you God" Mac breathed "smoke inhalation is a
horrible way to die."

"Commander Turner, remember when we first talked with
Detective Christopher and you mentioned that the
arsonist wanted to get out alive?"

"Yeah…" Sturgis drew out looking at Harriet.

"Sir, if this guy has access to explosives…small or
large…then he would know how to use them with great
precision. If he had a service weapon, this great
knowledge of explosives, the know how to get in and
out undetected and the ability to kill if his mission
was interrupted; sir, he never imagined he wouldn’t
get out. He’s a trained professional. He’s probably a
demolitions expert."

Sturgis, Harm and Mac sat at the table, jaws dropped
starring at Harriet.

"Or not. I’m probably wrong." Harriet said quickly,
trying to get the scrutiny of her senior officers off
her. 

"No Harriet, I think you’re on the right track. We
just never knew how good of a profiler you were."

"I’m a Sociologist in disguise." Harriet quirked

"I wonder if Alex ticked off a ‘frogman’?" Harm
proposed

"I think we need to go have a talk with him" Mac added

"Yeah"

"But, first I’m going to call Ginny. Excuse me
please." Mac got up from the table to make her call in
private.

"Ginny, its Sarah."

"Oh, hello dear. Jingo (she called out) its your mom
‘bark’".

"How’s he doing?"

"Oh, just fine; misses you."

"I miss him too, could I come pick him up."

"Sure, where are you?"

"In the park."

"Oh, I’m not far, I’ll bring him to you."

"You sure?"

"Of course, he needs a walk anyhow. Besides, I have
something to talk over with you."

"Okay, see you soon. Good bye."

"Good bye dear…’bark’".

"So Harriet" Harm looked to the bubbly blonde "let’s
forget that there are 3 lawyers here and just pretend
this is a lunch between friends. How did you really
know about the window?"

"Uh…" the young woman looked between the 2 men at the
table then at Mac who returned to her seat.

"What’s wrong Harriet?" Mac asked.

"I…uh…"

"What the Lt. is trying to say is how she knew about
the window."

"Boys, please. If she’s this uncomfortable telling us,
then don’t push her."

"Its all right ma’am, I think I can get through it."
Taking a deep breath, Harriet began her story. "When I
was a kid I was sort of a tom-boy, whether it was
catching frogs, climbing trees; whatever John and
Brent, my friends, were doing, was what I was doing
too. One day we came across an old shed and we used it
for years, playing in it, hiding from our overbearing
parents. It’s where we grew up, learned about each
other and ourselves. We even had our fights there. One
time John was angry with Brent and he threw a rock at
him. Brent ducked and the rock went through the
central piece of glass in the window. The rock made a
perfect little hole in the glass, it didn’t shatter
it. Not long after we were all inside and John pulled
out a joint and lit it. We passed it around so it
didn’t last long. Afterwards John started playing with
the matches, breaking one out, holding it between the
striking strip and the cover, then pulling it out,
quickly lighting the match. Nearing the end of the
book, when he lit it, it caught the book itself on
fire. It burned John’s fingers and he threw it across
the room where it landed on a bail of straw. It took
hold quickly and soon the fire was spreading up the
wall. I ran out, but the guys didn’t follow, so I ran
back in. I was able to get Brent to his feet and shove
him out the door, but I had to pull John out. He was
unconscious and totally dead weight. Just as soon as I
got him outside the shed totally engulfed into flames.
We were all okay, just sacred. As the boys lay on the
ground trying to catch their breath, I watched the
shed burn. After it was over I examine the window and
all of the glass that had been fully intact before
were broken out, all except the one with the hole in
it. Mr. Murphy whose land the shed was on was really
mad offering a handsome reward to anyone who could
tell him who started it. But, nobody knew except
Brent, John and I and I knew they weren’t telling.
Besides we were the ‘good kids’ from good families and
nobody would have believed us if we had told the
truth. To this day, I don’t think anyone else knows,
you all are the first people I’ve ever told, I never
even told Bud."

"Harriet" Harm smiled "I don’t think you were the
first kid to do something stupid. It’s not something
you can be prosecuted for, so there’s no reason to
feel guilty. Besides, you saved your friends that day,
you’re a hero. Kids pull stunts like that all the
time, I’ve got plenty of stuff to hold over Sturgis’
head."

"Oh ho…there’s the pot calling the kettle black, Mr. I
laced the Commandant’s dinner."

"Harm you didn’t" Mac looked at him aghast.

With an accusing grin Harm looked at Sturgis "Thanks
pal, I’ll remember that. Come to think of it, I ran
into Mrs. Winders the other day. You remember Mrs.
Winders don’t you? That sub we had for Calculus that
you hitted on all day, come to find out she was the
Commandant’s daughter. She asked how my little friend
Sturgeon was."

"Oh Lord, just when I had almost locked that memory
away in the recesses of my mind."

"See Harriet" Mac laughed "you have nothing to worry
about."

"I guess not ma’am" Harriet giggled.

‘bark, bark, bark’

"Jingo!" Mac got up and ran to her dog, dropping to
her knees to pet and play with him. "God I’ve missed
you. Have you been good for Ginny?"

"You better believe it." was the older woman’s reply
"He was the first to smell the smoke and he kept
barking and barking until I got up and out of the
house."

"Really?" Mac said as she looked at Harm whom had come
over to pet the heroic dog.

"Yep, it was this really serious non-stop bark. I owe
him my life."

"Well, aren’t you a good dog Jingo?" and Mac kissed
him.

"Sarah" Ginny looked at her "may I talk to you about
something?"

"Sure, lets go over here" pointing to a nearby bench.

"Sarah, I have a house that I want you to rent."

"Huh?"

"I rent out the house that I raised my family in. It’s
a great place in a great neighborhood. After Joe died
it was just too much for me to take care of, but I
didn’t have the heart to sell it either. A family was
living in it for a while, but the father was
transferred so it’s vacant now. It’s yours if you want
it. You can look at it first of course, but there is
no one I’d rather have living there than you."

"But what about you, where are you living?’

"Oh, I moved in with my mother. She’s pretty old and
can’t take care of herself anymore. I’d been planning
on moving anyway, the fire just made it happen a
little sooner than expected."

"It’s very nice of you to think of me Ginny, but I
really don’t think I could afford a house, I only earn
a military salary."

"I know and I also know what it’s like to live on a
military salary. That is why I only rent to military
personnel, so that a family can have a nice home and
not some rundown apartment."

"But I don’t have a family, I don’t need an entire
house."

"That doesn’t mean you won’t some day. Besides, this
will give you extra room for Chloe, a yard for Jingo
and a garage. Just say you’ll look at it please."

"Okay, but it will have to be right now, I’m going to
be busy the rest of the day."

"That’s fine, I brought the keys with me."

"All right, I’ll go get Harm and we can all ride over
together."

"Mac, Harriet and I need to get back to work, you and
Harm have a good day." 

"Thank you Sturgis, for everything."

"What’s going on Mac?" Harm leaned down and gave her a
kiss on the cheek.

Thinking of Harm’s first public display of affection,
Mac stumbled over her words. "House…Ginny’s…you’re
driving."

"Huh? Is that new secret Marine code?"

"No, sorry. Ginny has a house that she rents out and
she wants me to take a look at it. Since we are going
to see Alex later now is the only time I have free."

"I see and I’m driving you say?"

"Yeah, yours is the only vehicle left."

"Okay then, let’s go…where are we going?"

"I have no idea."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Historic district of DC

"You’ve got to be kidding me Ginny, you own a house
here?’

"Yep, Joe and I bought cheap and we fixed her up. I’ve
kept up with repairs, the kitchen is fully furnished
and there is a washer and dryer in the basement."

"There’s a basement?"

"Yes, it’s not very common in these historic homes,
but we were lucky."

"I can’t believe this" Mac stared at the gorgeous
house in front of her. It was a 2 story colonial, made
of brick with a flat front façade and the door in the
right hand corner. It was tall and narrow with large,
long windows and perfectly decorated to look
authentic. Mac could just picture Betsy Ross stepping
out, flag creation in hand.

They walked into the house and if Mac wasn’t already
in love with it, she was now. There was a large living
room, den/study, dining room and kitchen (as well as a
small bathroom) on the first floor. Upstairs were the
bedrooms, four to be exact and 2 bathrooms-one very
large one in the master bedroom. Mac would live in
this house for no other reason than that bathroom.
Everything had an antique flair, but with modern
conveniences. The sink was a freestanding pedestal
style with golden fixtures and the mirror above it was
perfectly lit. The commode was the kind with the tank
that sat above the bowl, attached to the wall. The
best part however was the tub, and oh what a tub it
was. It was cream colored porcelain, to match the rest
of the plumbing, and it was specially designed to look
antique with claw feet pedestals. It was deep and
large enough to hold two people comfortably.

Harm knew the look he saw in Mac’s eyes; he’d seen it
before and rather recently. It was the excited, giddy,
happy, nothing can get better than this look she got
when truly great tings were happening. He fell in love
with her again each time he saw that smile. The house
was hers and he knew it.

There was no need to show Mac the yard, pool or
garage, she wanted the house. In the kitchen Mac
looked out the back door to the lovely patio and…"Oh
my God Harm…"

"What?"

"There’s a hot tub out here."

"You’re kidding?"

"No she’s not" Ginny smiled "the last family wanted it
and I said that if they put it in, it had to stay when
they left."

"Okay Ginny" Mac turned to her "this sounds too good
to be true. How much are you asking?"

"Nine hundred a month, including water and
electricity."

"Hmm, that’s quite a bit, but actually not much more
than I’m paying now."

"And" Harm smiled "you can do your laundry here, so no
more wasting money at the Laundromat."

"True and I was paying water and electric before. Can
you give me a minute Gin?"

"Sure dear, I’ll be in the living room."

"Mac, if you don’t get this place then I will. It’s
perfect."

"I know and I really want it. But do I really need all
this extra room?"

"You deserve something nice. You work harder than
anyone else I know does. Do something good for You."
He emphasized by placing a hand on her cheek.

"It is perfect isn’t it?"

"Yeah"

Mac and Harm walked to find Ginny in the living room
"I’ll take it."

"Wonderful! I’ll get the papers ready for you in no
time. You’ll be moving in before you know it."

"Thank you and I’ll be in touch."

"Good, good. I’ll see you two later then."

"Don’t you need a ride home?"

"Oh no, mother’s is just a couple blocks from here.
I’ll walk, I’ve done it hundreds of times."

"You’re sure" Harm questioned "it won’t be any
trouble."

"No, no. You two go on."

"Okay, thank you Ginny. Good bye."

"Bye dear" and the lady was off, leaving Mac and Harm
staring at the front of Mac’s new house.

"Wow, and its mine."

‘bark bark bark’

"And his" Mac laughed.

"Let’s go, we need to drop Jing-Jong here at my place
and go see what the good XO has to say."

"Hey, don’t call my dog names!"

"I didn’t call him ‘Names’, I called him Jing-Jong,
sort of like Ding-Dong…oowwww!"

Harm looked at Mac after she punched him in the right
arm.

"And I don’t call that hitting you, I call that
crippling your flying arm…Ding-Dong!"

"Point conceded to the defense" Harm moaned holding
his bruised deltoid "Remind me never to make comments
about your dog again."

"Oh believe me, I will."

After dropping off Jingo, Harm and Mac went to the VOQ
to talk to Alex. They picked up a selection of Chinese
food to take with them, knowing Alex probably hadn’t
left the room much less eaten.

A more than disheveled sailor opened the door to
reveal two senior officers. He inwardly groaned,
knowing they would want ‘to talk’. "What can I do for
you Colonel, Commander?"

"Alex, we need to talk to you about something."

"I don’t know anything ma’am, I promise. I’ve already
told you this."

"I know, but we have a lead and we were hoping you
could help us run with it."

"Oh, sorry. I’ll do what I can."

After setting out the food and helping himself, Harm
made his way towards Alex. Setting the plate down he
started the interview.

"Alex, have you ever worked alongside a demolitions
expert before?"

"Well sir, we have them on the ship, but I can’t say
I’ve ever been in close proximity to them. I might
have played poker once or twice with one, but I’m
terrible at the game and always lost my shirt."

"You can’t think of any other time? You’ve never been
on the losing end of an argument of any sort with
one?"

"No, at least not with one on the carrier, sir."

"You’ve had an altercation with a demolitions expert
not on the carrier?"

"Not so much an altercation sir, more of a senior
officer taking control of a situation. Well,
technically I wasn’t the senior officer."

"Care to apprise me of who was?"

"Uh…Lt. Colonel Mackenzie sir."

Mac nearly choked on the Lo Mein that was hanging from
her mouth and she started coughing violently. Harm got
her a soda and made sure she was okay before he
continued.

"Can you tell me about this incident?"

"I was home, er…with Christine at the time. The
Colonel had apparently had some evidence or files or
something shipped to her apartment instead of the
office. However, the delivery guy put them at 1B
instead of 2B. I didn’t feel comfortable taking
whatever it was inside my place because it could
possibly be used in court and I didn’t want any
connections to it. So, I put on my uniform and drove
it to JAG. After being directed to her office, I heard
some commotion coming from the general direction. Then
I saw a man get up and lunge for her. Before he could
reach her, I ran in and had him on his stomach with
his arms behind him. While I was sitting on him the
Colonel asked me what I was doing there and I pointed
to the boxes and said they’d been delivered to
Christine’s by mistake. Later I found out he was a
demolitions expert."

"Mac, you didn’t feel the need to tell me about this
and the obvious connections?" Harm glared at her.

Stunned at what she just heard and not believing she
didn’t think of it herself, she was finally able to
croak out "he’s in jail, it never occurred…" she
stopped and whipped out her phone.

"Tiner, can you get me the prison status on a Master
Chief Patrick Marcum?" Both men stared at her.

"’Kay, thanks Tiner."

Turning back "Master Chief Patrick Marcum was found
guilty of selling explosives three years ago and sent
to Leavenworth for 25 years. I was his defense
attorney and he said that if I didn’t get him off on
the charges I wouldn’t live to regret it. He was
released four months ago on ‘good behavior’. He is one
of the most highly skilled demolitions experts the
Navy has ever trained."

"Oh my God, why didn’t you tell me about this before?"
Harm shrieked.

"Because if I told you every time I got a threat, I’d
be in your office more than my own. He was supposed to
be in prison for a long time."

"Well, he’s not anymore and it looks like he’s making
good on his promise."

"Oh Lord no, please…please don’t let anymore people
get hurt because of me again."

"Don’t worry Sarah, we’ll get him." Harm said looking
straight into her eyes and smoothing his hand over her
hair.

With this new information, they went to get directives
from the Admiral. They’d both be Court Marshaled if
they didn’t tell their CO what was going on.

"Geez Colonel, you didn’t think to let us in on your
little secret?" AJ said in the tone that would seem
calm to civilians but deadly to his staff.

"I’m sorry sir. I never even thought about it until
Lt. Commander Milkens brought it up."

"All right Colonel, at least we are on top of things
now. We’ll get him, don’t worry."

"Permission to call Webb sir?"

"If you don’t Commander, I will."

The entire investigative team piled into Mac’s office
a short time later. Ranging from the Admiral and
Detective Christopher to Harriet, they examined the
Master Chief’s records and trial transcript. After
four hours of intense scrutinization, the group took
whatever new evidence was found and moved towards the
Admiral’s office where there was more room to think.
After unlocking the door, the Admiral stopped mid-step
while crossing the threshold.

"Damn it Webb, how the hell did you get in here?"

"That’s Classified information Admiral"

"Classified my ass" the older man grumbled.

"I have good news. We have located your Master Chief.
He’s either really smart or really stupid. He’s in an
old abandoned warehouse in DC."

Great, let’s get him." Harm began to rise.

"That’s where the problem comes in and what makes us
thing he’s really smart. The warehouse is in a pretty
public area and we couldn’t take an offensive move
without being seen or a civilian hurt."

"Shit" expressed the inner SEAL of the Admiral.

"And I have a feeling that every inch of that building
is wired with explosives. One wrong move and Boom,
we’re all dead.

"Thanks for that lovely mental image Mr. Webb."

"My pleasure Admiral" the man who was ‘never there’
smirked.

"So, what are you planning Agent Webb?"

"Well, Agent Christopher, we were hoping to lure him
out using something that he thinks the Colonel cares
about, like (looking to Harm) her car."

"What? Agent Christopher? Her Car? What the hell is
going on?"

"Harm, David works for me, he’s an arson specialist
and we needed him to make sure our interests were
covered. We’ve been watching the Master Chief for a
while, ever since he got out of prison. Only serving 3
years of a 25-year sentence at Leavenworth and getting
out for ‘good behavior’ seems a bit odd, if you ask
me. We don’t have anything on him to bring him in. We
know he’s behind this arson and we’re doing are best
to nail him on it."

"And you want Mac in the middle of it? No, I don’t
think so, I won’t let that happen." Harm exploded.

"Well, it does seem to appear that he is after her.
Basically, we know that he knows she is staying with
Harm until she can get into her new place."

"You’ve found a new place Colonel?"

"Yes sir Admiral, I’m renting a house in the historic
district."

"Wow, impressive."

"Like I was saying," Webb said flatly, bringing
attention back to himself "we want to move Mac’s car
over to Harm’s and block his SUV in as much as
possible. If he would act again, we think that he’d go
to the ‘vette, knowing either Mac or Harm would drive
it out of convenience."

"You sure about this Webb?" AJ glared at the spook.

"No, Admiral sir" Agent Christopher spoke up "But from
his past patterns, he doesn’t usually go in for the
direct kill, he aims for the ‘accident’."

"So, basically you’re telling me that you’re trying to
lure him out in order to stage an ‘accident’ involving
either or both of my senior attorneys?"

"Basically…yeah."

"Lord…Webb, you make sure my people stay safe. If they
don’t, you’re ass will be nailed to my wall faster
than I can say Hoo-Rah."

"I’ll do my best Admiral."

"Do better than your best Mr. Webb."

"Admiral" Harm started in after Webb left "there has
to be something we can do. I can’t just sit around
with Webb using Mac as a sitting duck decoy. I care
about her too much sir, I love her."

Every remaining eye in the room was focused on Harm
and he shifted nervously in his seat.

"Really Mr. Rabb? I never would have guessed" AJ said
sarcastically.

"You figured it out sir?"

"Son, I had it figured out years ago, hell, every
other person in this office figured it out years ago
except you two. All I ask is that you leave your
personal lives at home, we have enough love emanating
from Lt. Singer." AJ gave a smirk and a snort over his
sarcastic joke. This day, he was in a mood rarely
seen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Day

1000 EST

Local Cemetery

The day was gray and rainy and a misty haze lingered
visibly just over the headstones, a sight that
stretched as far as the eye could see. Under a royal
blue awning sat a lovely oak casket draped in spray of
lavender roses. Over the words of the preacher, the
small crowd could hear the heart wrenching sobs of a
broken young man. He was sitting in a chair, just
underneath the protective covering, the consoling arm
of his mother about his shoulders. Though he sat in
military decorum that was mandated by the wearing of
his Navy blue suit, Alex’s head hung low and bobbed as
he breathed and began another round of tears.

Five other military officers were there, as well as
two CIA agents, to pay their respects to the lost and
watch over the scene, scanning the crowd and landscape
for their arsonist.

The service ended and the mourners dispersed. Mac felt
a light touch on her arm and turned to see Ginny
giving her a small smile.

"Hello dear, I know this is a very inappropriate time
and place, but I have the papers and your keys with
me. I thought that if I was going to see you, I might
as well avoid making two trips."

"It’s all right Ginny, I don’t think Christine would
mind. How about we do this in your car?" Mac told Harm
to wait and that she’d be with him in a minute.

Taking the papers from the woman, Mac read over them
carefully as any good lawyer would. Pleased with its
contents she took the pen and signed her name at the
bottom. Ginny handed her they keys and smiled.

"I hope you will be happy there."

"I will be, I promise you."

She got out of Ginny’s car and made way to Harm’s SUV
and climbed in. Holding the keys in front of him she
turned the corners of her lips up in a sad smile and
said "its mine".

Harm looked down, then up at the road and prepared to
drive off. "I guess that means you’re moving out."

"I was never moved in. You knew that I’d leave as soon
as I found a new place."

"Yeah, but I never thought it would feel so right
having you there. It really made it feel like home."

"My home will always be with you, Harm. No matter
where we go or what we do, as long as you’re there I
know I’m okay. Maybe in time my house will feel as
much like home to you as your apartment is to me when
we are there together."

"I’ll be at home anywhere with you."

They drove hand in hand back to JAG HQ and settled in
to finish the day’s work. Even though tensions were
running high among the outside lives of the officers,
they were both duty bound by their jobs in the
military. 

After an exhausting afternoon in court, Harm headed to
Mac’s office ready to go home.

"You ready?"

"Yep, been ready since 1730. What took so long?"

"Let’s just say I’m ready to throttle the
prosecution."

"Hm…that sounds like Lt. Singer problems."

"Lord, help me, if that woman ever gets married, I
will be the first in line to prosecute her after she
eats him."

"Okay flyboy, let’s get that demented head of yours
home before the Admiral hears you talk of this
craziness and calls for a competency hearing."

"Sounds good to me."

Back at his apartment they searched for something to
cook for dinner. Though, under all the strain of the
week, Harm hadn’t gone to the grocery and there wasn’t
anything that could be thrown together to form a
healthy meal. 

"I’ll go to the store and pick something up and be
back in a jiffy. I promise, I’ll get something you
like."

"Mac, why don’t we do this together. I don’t want you
going out alone with this sicko out and about."

"Harm, I’m a marine; I can handle going to the store.
Besides, it will take less time if only one of us
goes."

"But Mac" and she gave him a look that dared him to
challenge her further. "Fine, but make sure you have
your phone."

"Aye aye sir" she saluted and left.

Harm was shedding his uniform jacket just as the
telephone rang. 

"Rabb"

"Commander, I’m sorry to bother you at home, but I
need you to come back to JAG. Apparently the SECNAV
needs advice" the Admiral said tiredly.

"Yes sir, I’ll be there as soon as I can."

Harm left Mac a note on the counter that he’d been
called back to work and that he’d be home as soon as
he could and to go ahead and make dinner, he’d eat
whatever was left over; then he left for his after
hours consultation.

Mac was home within twenty minutes. She found the note
and was disappointed but she knew duty called, again.
She began prepping dinner, she would rather wait and
eat with Harm, but she was seriously hungry. She
pulled a spaghetti squash out of the bag, split it in
half and scooped out its guts (as she used to call the
similar stuff she scooped out of pumpkins at Halloween
as a child). She brushed the yellow flesh with olive
oil, put it cut side down on a baking sheet and popped
it into the oven. She set the temperature at 350
degrees and left it to cook. She put marinara sauce in
a pan along with extra mushrooms, onions and peppers
and turned it on low to warm. The final part of dinner
was a nice salad with all of Harm’s favorite greens
and vegetables. She put a bowl of croutons on the
table for herself, along with some sunflower seeds and
raisins; she didn’t know anyone else who liked raisins
in their salad, but she did. With everything in order,
she decided to take a quick shower and change into
something much more comfortable than her uniform.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harm left the Admirals office a short time later,
slightly perturbed. That’s all the SECNAV needed out
of him, half an hour of a question/answer session? It
could have been done over the phone, but NO, he didn’t
have a secure line. Like anyone would tap his phone
line just in case he received calls concerning
national security. What, that piddily "legality of
maneuver" crisis couldn’t wait until the morning? It
wasn’t even supposed to take place for three days yet.


He got into his SUV, threw it into gear and quickly
darted out of the parking lot. He was almost to the
bridge between Virginia and DC when he heard a strange
noise come from the front of the vehicle. Before he
knew it the front half of his SUV exploded, sending
him careening headfirst into the guardrail extending
from the bridge. The impact forcing the vehicle off
the rode and tumbling down the steep embankment that
led into the river. He tried to get his seatbelt off,
but it was jammed. The water was rising quick outside
and inside the vehicle and Harm had to think quickly,
thanking God for similar training situations in flight
school. He searched his glove box for his utility
knife, quickly cut off his restraints after he found
it. He tried to open the door, but it too was jammed.
Maybe it was the pressure from the water or stuck from
the tumbling, but it wasn’t going to budge. Harm
turned sideways in his seat and began kicking at the
window, praying that the plastic coated auto safety
glass would soon budge. He knew he should have bought
that auto glass pinger when he was at the car show.

 

After her shower, Mac walked back into the kitchen to
check on dinner. She went to the stove and opened the
oven door, squeezing the squash to see if it was
getting tender. As she was checking, she heard the
door open and footsteps walk towards her. 

"Hey, you’re back sooner than I thought you’d be.
You’re going to love dinner, I picked out something I
knew you’d enjoy."

She felt a hand run up her t-shirt clad back and into
her hair. The hand tightened and pulled her to a
standing position. 

"Good to see you again Colonel"

"What the hell are you doing here Marcum?"

"Is this how you treat all your guests?"

"Guests don’t barge in uninvited."

"Oh, but I am invited. Remember, I told you I’d be
back. You didn’t say I couldn’t come."

Mac began to squirm, trying to get in position to
enforce counter measures against her attacker. However
Marcum had other plans and placed a wet handkerchief
over her mouth and nose. The more she fought the more
she breathed in the chemical and soon her body went
limp in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The driver’s side window finally cracked and Harm
kicked it out. He had been holding his breath for some
time now because the SUV was full of water and he was
becoming light headed. He oriented himself to the
surface as he had been trained to do and kicked as
hard as he could. He reached the surface and threw his
head back gasping for air. Alarm set in again as he
found himself being swept down river with the current.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Admiral and SECNAV were wrapping up their business
when a ‘Special Report’ caught their attention on the
TV screen. AJ took the sound off mute and watched the
scene unfold, entering into the story half way
through.

"As a recap" the reporter said "it seems a gold
colored Lexus SUV went out of control and rolled down
the embankment into the river. Let’s go see what a
witness has to say."

"It was the strangest thing" the alarmed middle aged
woman said "I was driving right behind him and had
looked at his ‘Go Navy’ bumper sticker and saw the
military tags. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, wasn’t
even swerving. Then, all of a sudden there was a flash
and he hit the bridge and over the side he went."

"Good Lord" AJ’s eyes widened, staring at the screen.

 

"We all watched from up here to see if he came to the
surface. It was like time was standing still and he
never appeared. Then, when we thought all hope was
lost his head bobbed to the surface and he took a deep
breath. Then, just as quickly as he appeared, he was
gone, swept down river."

"Damn it Webb!" AJ swore, picking up the phone to call
the agent.

"Whoa, slow down there Admiral, what can I do for
you?" Webb asked.

"What can you do for me? Hell Webb, Harm’s Drowning
and you’re asking me what you can do for me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Turn on your TV and find out."

Webb did so and saw what was unfolding before him.

"Crap. Was Mac with him?"

"No. Don’t you know where Mac is, you’re the one that
is supposed to be watching over my people?"

"I can only do so much Admiral."

"Well, it doesn’t look like you’ve done much at all!
You pegged the wrong car and you aren’t even sure
where you’re protectee is. Send someone to check on
Mac, I’m going to the crash site to check on Harm."

"I’ll go see to her myself Admiral"

"Don’t screw this up Webb."

The SECNAV watched the Admiral take charge of the
situation, seeing for one of the first times why this
SEAL made a good officer. He followed AJ to his
Cadillac Escalade and got in as soon as the doors were
unlocked. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mac woke with her head throbbing. She was sitting on
the floor in front of the oven, which was unusually
hot. She grabbed onto the oven door handle and tried
to pull herself up, but the door opened a few inches
and she fell back to the ground, with the door
slamming loudly behind her. She crawled to the center
island and using both hands heaved herself into a
standing position, only to slump over the
butcher-block counter from the pain that pulsated
behind her eyes.

Webb wasted no time getting to Harm’s apartment; if
there was ever a traffic violation to be had, he
racked them all in that night. He jumped out of the
car, just in time to see Master Chief Marcum leave the
building.

"Freeze Marcum"

The man stopped running and looked in Webb’s
direction, seeing the agent and all of his backup. He
proceeded to pull a grenade out of his jacket, pull
the pin and throw it towards the group of men, all of
which scattered quickly. Webb, ran into the apartment,
while the other agents regrouped and gave chase to
Marcum. Webb opened the door of Harm’s loft to see Mac
leaning on the island with her head in her hands.
Noticing the smoke detector go off, Mac turned to the
oven see gray smoke billowing out. She turned off the
oven and began to open the oven door to let out the
smoke.

"NO MAC, DON’T!" Webb sprinted across the room, lunged
for Mac and both went flying into the living room as
the oven exploded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harm was violently fighting to keep his head above the
river water. He had been in worse situations, but this
time the current was fighting against him more. He
knew he had to get closer to shore. He pulled his legs
up to put them at a diagonal position to allow the
current to force him over to the bank. He was able to
stay that way for several minutes at a time, but often
a log or piece of debris would come up and hit him,
knocking him under the water for a few seconds. In the
distance he saw a low bush or tree that he thought he
could reach. As he came up to it, he noticed that it
was higher than he expected, but he had to try. With
all the energy he had left in his body, he stretched
up towards the branches.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Webb looked up to see the best way to exit their
predicament. Luckily, only the kitchen was severely
damaged and they could go out the front door. Agent
Christopher then ran through and saw Webb and Mac on
the floor. He scooped up Mac and carried her out. Webb
found a fire extinguisher and put out the remaining
flames. He looked all around him and saw spaghetti
squash, marinara sauce and shrapnel all over the walls
and floor; a split second later and that mess would
have included them too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harm was just able to grasp some tiny branches of the
low plant; they were young, green and resilient, thus
able to hold Harm’s weight. He ensnared his hands
higher, on thicker branches and held on for dear life.
He was tired and weak, his mind flashed back to a
little more than a year ago when he was in the
ocean-cold and scared. "Sarah" he yelled. Not in his
right mind, he didn’t see the police boat pull up
behind him. They tried to get him free, but Harm
wouldn’t let go. They clipped the branches and hauled
the tall man onto the boat. Taking in his uniform,
medals and accolades, one of the policemen turned to
the other "I guess we know why he survived". The other
man looked at his partner and simply said "Go Navy".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mac sat in Webb’s car, all but throwing up from the
pain in her head and now throughout her body from
where Webb had landed on her. 

"Take her to Bethesda" Webb ordered one of his men.

"Yes sir" and the car took off.

"What about Marcum?" Webbed looked to Agent
Christopher.

"Dead. We shot him when he reached into his jacket for
another grenade."

"Good. I’m going over to Bethesda to check on Mac,
call me if you hear anything about Harm."

"Will do Clay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AJ pulled up to the dock where the police had directed
him to meet the boat. He jumped out of his SUV and ran
to where the ambulance was waiting.

"Have they brought him up yet."

"No, they haven’t, but they’re on their way" said a
Paramedic standing by.

"Mr. Secretary, will you drive my truck back to JAG?
I’m going to ride with Harm to the hospital."

"I…uh…"

"Sir, you can’t ride anyhow. You aren’t family" the
Paramedic said.

"I’m his Commanding Officer, we’re closer than
family."

"I’m sorry sir"

AJ threw his keys to the SECNAV and motioned for him
to go. After he left AJ turned to the Paramedic. "I
will ride with Commander Rabb to the hospital. If you
say no again, I will commandeer this rig once he is on
and drive him there myself. AND, if you try to stop
me, I will use one of the many ways I’ve been trained
to physically kill someone with my bare hands, on
you."

"Fine, but get in now, they’re bringing him up" the
Paramedic glared.

AJ ran to meet the people with Harm’s still body.

"How is he?"

"Alive. For now" came a curt reply.

They loaded the ambulance and began to take off. 

"Take him to Bethesda" the Admiral ordered.

"Sir, that’s farther than the other hospital. We need
to get him immediate treatment."

"Bethesda" AJ growled.

"Okay, but that is under your orders, sir" the same
Paramedic glared at him again.

They rushed Harm into the ER and AJ was shown to the
waiting area where he spotted Webb.

"Webb, why are you here?" AJ asked suspiciously

"Mac sir. Marcum showed up to the apartment while Harm
was gone, knocked her out with Chloroform and set up a
bomb in the oven."

"In the oven?’

"Yes sir, its they type where once it’s heated it will
remain undetonated until air hits it. Sort of like
sticking buckshot in a hot stove."

"Okay…and Mac?"

"She has a headache from the chemical, and probably a
lot of bruises from where I landed on her."

"What do you mean, landed on her?"

"Well, she was about to open the stove and I pushed
her out of the way before the bomb exploded. I landed
pretty hard on her."

"I see"

"But, Marcum is dead sir. My men got him."

"Good. At least only the bad guy is dead…for now."

"What about Harm?"

"He looks pretty banged up, hypothermic and in a bit
of shock, but hopefully, he’ll be okay."

"I’m sorry Admiral, things just didn’t go as planned."

"They never do, but at least everything is okay for
now."

Mac woke in the ER to the sound of her name. "Sarah,
Sarah"

"Whoa, I must have hit my head harder than I thought.
It’s like a scene out of ‘The Little Princess’ with
Shirley Temple." 

Then she heard it again, but this time is sounded
familiar; it sounded like…Harm? Mac got out of bed and
went on a search of the ER. Nurses tried to get her to
go lie back down, but she wouldn’t have it, she had to
find Harm.

"Harm?"

"Sarah"

In the last trauma room Mac found Harm wrapped in
warming blankets, as far as she could see, his head
had many cuts and bruises.

"Harm, I’m here. I’m here Honey, right here."


"Sarah"

"Open your eyes and look silly, I’m right here" she
said frightened.

"I’m sorry ma’am, he’s in shock. He’s just saying what
his subconscious is telling him to" a doctor told her.

"But I’m Sarah"

"Just give him time to warm up, talk to him" and the
doctor left.

"Oh God Harm, I’m so sorry. Its all my fault" and a
single tear fell from her eye onto his cheek.

As time passed, Harm felt his body regain warmth. He
became aware of his surroundings and of the hand that
was resting under his chin and up onto his face. 

"I love you Harm. Please wake up. I can’t lose you
now, not like this. I need you."

With a hoarse, almost inaudible voice Harm whispered
"Can’t…lose…me….Baby-girl."

"Harm, you’re awake"


He pushed his eyes open and smiled up at her, only to
have it fade when he saw her own bruises. With a look
of alarm he croaked "What happened?"

"Oh" Mac laughed "bad landing, I didn’t score a 10 on
it. I’ll tell you later."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After both were released from the hospital, the
Admiral had them stay at his house because neither had
a place that was habitable to humans at the time. Mac
was fine

in a couple days, the bruises looked worse than they
were. Harm was hypothermic, yet again…by now he should
be getting used to it, but he recovered quickly. He
had no serious injuries except cuts and scrapes from
the tumbling of the SUV. He had no idea how he came
out of it all so unscathed. He was on antibiotics to
make sure he didn’t come down with anything from the
river water. Other than that, he was fine.

Mac spent the next couple of weeks working and buying
furnishings for her new house. Luckily the renter’s
insurance check came in and she was able to afford
furniture that she liked. The master bedroom was her
favorite room in the house, of course. At night, she
often snuggled in her robe, sitting in the chair she
placed in front of the fireplace. Obviously there
wasn’t a fire lit right now, she was a little leery to
have any type of fire in her house at the time being.

Late one night she heard a soft knock on the door. She
looked out the window and didn’t recognize any of the
vehicles outside. She pulled her robe tighter and put
her service weapon in her pocket. She made her way
down the steps, checked the security alarm to make
sure it was in proper working order and she opened the
door. 

"Hey you" Harm smiled

Mac lowered her head and laughed a bit, lifted it
again and looked into his eyes "Hey yourself."

She stepped back and let him in. Reaching into her
pocket and putting the safety back on her weapon.

"Are you okay Harm, is there something wrong?"


"No" he grinned sheepishly "I was cold… and lonely."
He replayed their first night together in his
apartment.

She looked up at him and smiled. Slid her hands up his
chest and around his shoulders, one finding a spot on
his neck and the other in his hair. She stood on her
tiptoes and leaned in to touch her lips to his. He
encircled her in his arms and deepened the kiss. 

"Better" she asked

"Much, thank you."

"Anytime Flyboy, anytime."

Then end…. For now.

Look for the next chapter 'Chilling Evidence' coming
soon