Title: There is Nothing Like a Dame

          Flying Away Part VIII

By: Anne Taul

annetaul@insightbb.com

 

Classification: Story, Romance (Harm/Mac)

Rating: PG-13

 

Spoilers: takes place after Goodbyes

 

Disclaimer: The characters, the premise, all of it belong to Bellasarius, Paramount and CBS. This is a strictly recreational activity. No profit is being made or sought. No infringement of copyright is intended.

Summary: Mac visits Harm while he is training an all-female fighter squadron.

 

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THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A DAME

 

   “Why did they pick you for this assignment?” Sarah Mackenzie asked the tall, handsome man who walked beside her through the military airport.

 

           “I was the only senior officer in our squadron who hadn’t had a chance to get any experience as an instructor. Why are you complaining about my being in Florida for two weeks?”

 

    “No, the closer you are to me, the better. I’m glad that you’re here so we can spend some time together.”

 

                    “Sarah, it seems like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

 

          “Harm, we were in San Francisco just two weeks ago.”

 

                           “Well, it seems longer.” With that, he reached for her hand, and squeezed it.

 

   “Tell me about the squadron you’re training.”

 

                “They’re a bunch of marine aviators from all over. When they complete their course, they’ll be going to Miramar. I know, though, that they’re all hoping to be assigned to a ship. After a few months experience, maybe they will.”

 

    “They’re marines? That’s certainly in their favor. Then, with an instructor to learn from like you, they should have it made.”

 

          “I hope so, they’re a pretty decent bunch of pilots.”

 

                       “With you so busy doing training, are we going to have any time to spend together?”

 

                “Yeah, of course. With this job, I get a full  furnished apartment on base. We can be alone there. and the town’s pretty nice, these days. Pensecola’s really growing.”

 

                          “You’ll show me the sights?”

 

        “I will.” He promised, putting his arm around her shoulders, and hugging her close.

 

At his apartment, they dropped off her bag, then headed into town for dinner.

 

 

SUNKEN TREASURE CAFÉ

PENSECOLA, FLORIDA

 

       Mac looked around at the building in front of her. “Harm, are you sure this is a good place to eat? It looks like a real dump.”

 

                “It is kind of shabby, isn’t it? A lot of people from the base come here. It’s a popular bar and the food’s great. Though I haven’t tried it myself, I hear that they serve the best hamburger in Florida.”

 

                             “I could go for that.” She confirmed.

 

          “I thought so.”

      

                    When they entered, several women at a nearby table greeted him by name.

 

                              He waved to them, Mac smiled. He had been here before.

 

                                       They sat at a table next to the jukebox. Mac soon regretted the choice. A very curvaceous young blonde woman came to lean over the jukebox, reading the selections. She managed to place her rear end right in front of Harm, then proceeded to wiggle it. He would have had to have been dead not to notice it. After all, he was a man.

 

           Mac wondered in passing if all the women in Florida were as gorgeous as the ones sitting in this bar. Something in her hoped not.

 

                     When the food was served, she and Harm began a conversation about things that had been happening in the past two weeks. It had been three days since the last telephone call. Harm was listening intently to the latest news about little AJ when another of the women from the table came over and sat down next to Harm. At first she just sat beside him on his side of the booth, but then little by little she began to inch closer. Before he stopped her, she was practically in his lap.

 

         Mac was a little bit bothered by this. She wouldn’t have shown it, though, if Harm hadn’t called the girl by her first name. It was Pamela.

 

                      Pamela returned to her table, and Mac looked at Harm. “What was that?” she asked.

 

              “Nothing. Some of the girls here seem to like me, that’s all.”

 

      “I’m not surprised.” She acknowledged. “Any female would like you Harm. You’re good looking and sweet. And……you’re a great lover.”

 

                   “Yeah?” he questioned, with an obvious hint of pride.

 

           “Yeah.” She confirmed, “but I thought I was the only one who knew that.”

 

                       He smiled sheepishly. “You are.”

 

                  “Then why do all these women know you?”

 

          “Let’s get out of here.” He suggested.

 

              They went for a long walk, holding hands. It would have been terribly romantic if four different women hadn’t stopped them, called him by name, and openly flirted with him.

 

             She was upset. Harm, her Harm, had apparently turned into a philanderer. She’d have never believed it, if she hadn’t seem it herself.

 

     Back at the apartment, she confronted him. “Why does every woman in a hundred mile radius seem to know you so intimately?”

 

               “Oh my god Mac, you’re jealous! I can’t believe that you would think that I would …… and with any of these girls? They do know me. We spend hours and hours together every day, but there’s nothing inappropriate going on.”

 

   “Yeah, well, I once heard you say that there was nothing inappropriate going on between us either.’

 

                   “There’s not!”

 

            “So why do you go to so much trouble to keep our relationship a secret, but you’re flaunting your time with every other woman around.”

 

                    “I keep our life together a secret because we decided it was best for now. Don’t you think  want to tell all our friends, everybody about how I feel about you!?! As for other women – any other women – there aren’t any. I’m not flaunting anything.”

 

                       “Why do you spend time every day with a whole host of beautiful women?”

 

           “They’re not beautiful women. They’re pilots. Those ladies are the members of my squadron.”

 

                 “ You’re training female pilots?”

 

             “Yeah, a whole squadron of them.”

 

    “Why didn’t you tell me they were women?”

 

         “I didn’t think it mattered. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from you over the years, it’s that women in the military should be treated with respect and allowed to achieve on their own merits. No one should even notice that the Nighthawks are female.”

 

              Mac laughed. That did sound just like something she might say. Why was he always right?

 

                   Harm laughed with her, They fell onto the couch, getting caught up in each other’s arms.

 

    He pulled her tight against him. It felt so wonderful to have her here.

 

                      Mac tilted her head up and brought her lips down on his. The kiss was soft and teasing at first, then turned hard and passionate. Their need was growing. After all these months, it was getting harder and harder to be apart. The short periods of time they did have together were too short and too intense.

 

            Harm ended the kiss and pushed her away. She feigned a pouting look.

 

                           He reached down on the couch and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her into the bedroom. What happened there, made all the anxiety of separation seem worthwhile.

 

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

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          When they awoke, their limbs were tangled in each other and in the sheets of the bed. Instead of making the effort to extricate themselves, they just lay together for a while.

                 

                    Finally, Harm announced that he had to get ready for work.

 

           As they dressed, he told Mac about some of the things she might see and do today while he was working. Then they sat down to breakfast.

 

                     She was just pouring him a second cup of coffee when a furious knock sounded from the door. An excited voice called out, “Harm, are you in there?”

 

         Harm opened the door to admit an obviously distraught young woman.

 

                Sensitive to Mac’s apprehension, he introduced them quickly.  “Sarah MacKenzie, Laura Davies.”

 

                    They exchanged a pleasant hello, before Laura continued, breathlessly, “Come quick, Jenna’s gotten into some kind of trouble at the hangar. The MPs have sealed it off. I think they may have arrested her.”

 

            “Arrested her?” Harm was concerned.

 

                      “Yes, Sir.”

 

                     “What happened?”

 

              “I don’t know, Sir.”

 

                        “Laura, you go see if you can find out what happened. I’ll be right down there to get this straightened out.”

 

            “Aye, Sir.” Laura shot back, exiting.

 

                       Mac rose from the table. “Harm, it sounds like you might need a lawyer.”

 

             “Yeah, I’m going.” He answered.

 

                    “Honey, you’re not a JAG anymore. You don’t have any jurisdiction as an attorney. I’ll come with you.”

 

                 They raced together out the door.

 

     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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           What they found was that Jenna Martin had been arrested  by the MPs because they found her inside the hangar with the aircraft before the personnel working in the area could approve her presence.

 

                      Gathering the facts, Mac advised the Colonel in charge of base security that Captain Jenna Martin had merely been double checking all the systems on the aircraft she was scheduled to fly in a training exercise first thing this morning. She hadn’t realized that the hangar personnel didn’t come to work until later. Had she waited, though, the plane might not have been safe for her flight.

 

          Since this was a real live JAG lawyer arguing her case, the Colonel dismissed the charges and released Captain Martin from custody.

 

                       Harm informed the aviator in his command that she would be freed. Her first reaction, out of her cell was to run up to him and wrap her arms around his neck. She very quickly kissed him, in her excitement, right on the lips.

 

          Mac didn’t want to be angry, so she just turned away. She couldn’t watch another woman kiss the man she loved, even if he wasn’t really responding.

 

                Harm couldn’t help but notice her looking away. He wished she understood the importance of the relationship he was developing with his squadron. They had to depend on each other totally, in order to be effective.

 

   That afternoon, she watched Harm do an inspection of his squadron. The group of all-female aviators stood at attention in front of him, as he walked back and forth in front of them.

 

                   Several of them breached protocol just a bit with a slight smile in Harm’s direction. There was more than one pair of eyes checking out the commander with a sly “come hither” glance. Mac couldn’t blame them.

 

    When the pilots began exercises on the aircraft simulators, Harm gave Mac his car keys and suggested that she go do something more exciting.

 

       She reached for the keys, and asked, “Should I stop and pick us up something for dinner?”

 

                He considered for a moment. “No, I have plans for dinner. Make sure you’re back by 1800. I’ll take care of everything.”

 

       At first, Mac wasn’t sure she wanted to be off by herself, but she ended up having a pretty good time. She toured an aviation museum and took a drive down the coast to look at the scenery. She ended up in a lingerie store where she bought a revealing little negligee to give to Harm as a gift..

 

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    It was about a quarter before six when she arrived back at the apartment. She was greeted by the aroma of something cooking.

 

            “What’s that?” she called to Harm.

 

                      “I’m fixing dinner.’ He replied with a smile, entering from the kitchen,

 

              “You’re cooking?” she was very cautious.

 

                   “Yeah.”

 

        “Harm, Honey, I do appreciate the effort, but I’m not sure my stomach can stand your cooking right now.”

 

                “Don’t be ridiculous, Mac, you’re going to love this.”

 

                         And she did. He prepared a light fish fillet stuffed with crab meat and accompanied it with a wild rice blend and a medley of mixed vegetables. It was delicious.

 

   “Harm, this is great! Did they teach you to cook at sea? And all this time, I thought you were there to fly.”

 

           “You know me, I wouldn’t serve you anything that wasn’t good.’

 

                   “Yeah, I do know you, and I know your cooking. This is definite improvement!”

 

                He grasp her hand across the table and winked at her. “I’m glad you like, Darling.”

 

      After dinner, he left the dishes and, instead , led her into the living room, to the couch.

 

                               As they sat down, he pulled her to him. His mouth hungrily found hers. The kisses were furious and betrayed their need for each other.

 

            She somehow managed to push him backward to lie on the couch, landing herself on top of him. All the while, their mouths never lost contact.

 

                     Her hands wandered under the hem of his T-shirt and onto his broad chest. She whispered hoarsely, “God, I’ve missed this!”

         

                              He caught her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes, “Have you really?”

 

              She murmured something in the affirmative as her mouth found its way down to his neck, to launch an assault of kisses there.

 

                           Harm wrapped her so tightly in his embrace that she felt as if she might be pulled inside his skin. It felt wonderful.

 

     It was into this heated intimacy that a thundering knock on the door intruded.

 

           She began to pull away, but he held her fast. “Ignore it, it’ll go away.” He commanded.

 

                   “Harm, I don’t know, maybe you better ……”

 

              Then the yelling came, “Harm! Harm! Open up, we know you’re in there!”

 

     Very reluctantly, he disentangled himself from Mac and headed for the door.

 

                             Mac remained on the couch.

 

                On opening the front door, Harm was greeted by three of the Nighthawks.

 

Captain Jenna Martin was the group’s spokesman. “We’re going out to have a drink or something. Why don’t you come with us? It’ll do you good.”

 

         “No, ladies. I’ll have to pass tonight. I’m beat.”

 

                  Someone pouted, but Harm ignored it.  He reminded them, “We’re back on the simulators again at 0800 tomorrow, so you all shouldn’t stay out late either.”

 

           Captain Martin, obviously the leader of the pack, answered, “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be there and ready, Commander Rabb.”

 

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         When Harm made his way back to the couch, Mac was grinning.

 

                   “What’s so funny?” he questioned her.

 

                                      “I just thought it was interesting that they actually do know that you have a rank and a last name.”

 

                   “Oh, well, I told them to call me Harm. I thought it was good for morale in this type situation. You don’t agree?”

 

                                 “Well, I don’t call Admiral Chegwidden, AJ?”

 

               “Nor do you want to?”

 

        “Nor do I want to.”

 

                      “So, Major, what do you want?”

 

                             She pulled him back down onto the couch and proceeded to show him.

 

          About an hour later, he carried her to the bed. They had just snuggled in comfortably when a pounding was again heard at the door.

 

                  He excused himself and padded back into the living room, wrapping a robe around him as he went.

 

            At the door a very drunk marine, one Lt. Bigelow, did all but fall into his arms.

 

    She pulled at the fabric of the robe, trying to encourage him to “come out and play.”

 

                       He finally dissuaded her and sent her on her way.

 

               When he got back to the bed, Mac was sitting on the side.

 

                                   “What’s wrong?” he asked.

 

                                                  “I’m just in your way.”

 

           “How, on earth, could you say that?”

 

                           “Well, if I weren’t here, you’d be out drinking and having a good time with all your new friends.”

 

                       “No, I wouldn’t.”

 

                                   “They always ask, but, Sarah, I rarely ever go out with them.”

 

                       “But they want you to. Harm, those women all have the hots for you.’

 

            “And I have the hots for you .” he said as he got back into the bed and pulled her down beside him.

 

                          He kissed her passionately, before he stated, “You really hate them, don’t you?”

 

               “No.”

 

     “Then you must not trust me.”

 

                                   “Harm, I do trust you. I know none of them mean anything to you. It’s just that I don’t think you should have to be tempted like that, all the time.”

 

                      “I’m not tempted.”

 

       “Oh, come on.”

 

                              “The only woman who tempts me is in my arms right now.” He accentuated this confession with another kiss, which led to another, and another, and……”

 

 

 

     When they awoke in the morning, he nibbled at her earlobe and kissed her neck. “I love you.” He said.

 

                    “Oh Harm, I love you.”

 

                                  “I’ve got to go to work.”

 

              “Yeah, with all those women.” Her tone was sdarcastic.

 

                              “Honey, I know you’d like the Nighthawks, if you just had the chance to get to know them. And they’d love you.”

 

       “Maybe.” She admitted.

 

                 “Hey, I know,” he began in an excited tone, “let’s have a barbecue. We can invite all the squadron.”

 

                          “Okay.” She consented. “I’ll get all the food and beer. You invite the  Nighthawks.”

 

              “Will it upset you to buy beer? If so, I’ll get it later.”

 

            “No, Harm, it’ll be fine. Just because I buy it doesn’t mean I’m going to drink it.”

 

                               “At what, 1900 tonight? Behind the building here?”

 

                   “Sounds good.”

 

 

THAT NIGHT

 

             Mac tapped into the third keg of the evening. “These girls can sure drink.” She thought to herself.

 

                  She looked around for Harm, who was flipping the latest batch of burgers on the grill. Of course, he was surrounded by women. She didn’t react, though. She only smiled at him.

 

                           Harm smiled back. Egad, she loved that smile. Actually she loved everything about that man!

 

                    Harm left the burgers in the care of one of the young ladies standing near him, and made his way toward Mac.

 

             When his hand touched her arm, it sent chills through her.

 

                                   He led her around the side of the building, out of sight of all the party guests.

 

                         Then he whispered in her ear, “You look so beautiful that I can’t concentrate on what I’m doing.”

 

                     So giggled.

            

                                      Harm pinned her against the wall and kissed her. His fingers tangled in her hair and pulled her mouth in closer.

 

                          Her arms circled his waist and she kept their bodies locked together.

 

                                                 The moment was perfect, but it was short-lived when she reminded him, “We’ve got a whole bunch of guests we need to get back to.”

 

                                  He let her go, but promised, “Later.”

 

                  She nodded, as they headed back around the building.

 

LATER

 

      The party had broken up slowly, with people lingering for hours. When they were finally gone, Mac and Harm were left to clean up.

 

           Mac picked up the sack of trash that she had just finished tying up.

 

                  From a few feet away, Harm questioned her, “I thought it went pretty well, what did you think?”

 

              “It was great, and you were right, I really liked the Nighthawks that I got a chance to talk to. I especially liked that girl Karen Wolff.”

 

                   “Yeah, she is sweet.”

 

                               “Harm, did you know that she has a husband and three children?”

 

           “Is that why you liked her? You think I’m safer around a married woman?” He laughed.

 

                  “Well, it is a deterrent.”

 

     “That’s really funny.” He teased, as he took her trash bag from her.

 

                          She followed him to the dumpster, where he deposited the trash bags. When he lifted them up over his head, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.

 

            His arms came down to encircle her, as well. The embrace was tender and comfortable. She raised her face toward him, and he kissed her.

 

                       Soon, they walked back toward the apartment.

 

          There was no love-making this night; they just held each other all night.

 

  MORNING

 

              The morning brought the realization that they only had two more days before the one when she had to leave.

 

                         Since their time was short, she decided to go to work with him.

 

     Mac sat and watched while Harm took the Nighthawks through routine maneuvers.

 

             At a break, he inquired if she was bored.

 

                                  Her only thought was f wanting to be close to him, as much as possible, so she said no.

 

                           The Nighthawks called an impromptu meeting and huddled up on the opposite side of the room.

 

                 “I wonder what they’re talking about.” Harm said.

 

                                          “Two to one says it involves a tall flyboy with a million dollar smile.” Mac speculated.

 

                             “Surely not. Sarah, every woman in this place is not in love with me.”

 

           “I am.”

 

                       They sat down, and soon the Nighthawks came to join them.

 

                                  Captain Martin, ever the spokesman of the group, addressed Harm, ‘Commander Rabb, we don’t know why you’ve taken all the crap off us that you have, Sir. We’ve really taken advantage of your kindness. Why have you put up with all this from a bunch of women.”

 

                “You haven’t done anything.” Harm assured them. “Besides it’s a long standing Naval tradition for sailors to have a soft spot for the ladies.”

 

                            Mac cringed. Had he really said that? Lt. Wolff took her aside, though, on the premise of having a private word.

 

                                             “Yes, Lieutenant?”

 

                                                     “Major MacKenzie, when you showed up here, all we knew was that you were a lawyer who used to work with Harm. We didn’t know you two had a relationship going on. If we had, we never would have monopolized so much of his time.”

 

                     “Lieutenant, I …..”

 

                “It’s okay, Major. Several of the girls saw him kissing you at the party last night.”

 

         Mac blushed. She said, “My relationship with Commander Rabb is not the issue here.”

 

                          “No, Ma’am, it’s not. But we want you to understand what is. It’s the way Harm treats us, the respect he has for us. And it’s all because of you.”

 

             “What do you mean?”

 

                                        “Well, Ma’am, he told us that he had learned from a female officer that he had worked with that women needed a level playing field and a chance to prove themselves with the same standards men have.”

 

                      She considered. It did sound like something she had said.

 

                                        “Major, Harm has never been patronizing or condescending toward us the way most men would have been. He treats us like pilots, not like there’s anything special about us.”

 

               Mac stopped dead in her tracks. Harm was reacting to things he had learned from her. He didn’t just love her, he respected her. What a good feeling!

 

      *************************

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

                 

                      The next day, Harm took off from work. The junior training officer, who was assisting him, covered the exercises.

 

                            He and Mac spent the whole day together –alone.

            

                                         To end their day, they had a picnic on the beach, then walked barefoot through the rising tide, in the moonlight. They were both intoxicated with the romance, and with each other.

 

             She left from the airport the next morning, with the promise to call.

 

                      As soon as she boarded the plane, he felt empty.