Title: Who's In Command
Author: Anne Taul, anne_taul@gowebway.com

Summary: When Admiral Chegwidden becomes ill, Harm and Mac try to comfort each other, but are confronted by their own feelings as well as people from his past.

Disclaimer: Jag, its characters, situations and premise are the sole property of Belisarius Productions, et. al. No copyright infringement is intended. This work is created entirely for recreational purposes.

 

Who's In Command

Eyes rolled and exasperated groans were heard all around the conference room table at the weekly Jag staff meeting when Admiral AJ Chegwidden announced, "We're all going to put in double time on this until we get it right. Is that understood? Our record keeping is just sloppy." He looked his legal staffers squarely in the eye before continuing, "Commander Mattoni, I expect your report on my desk next week about how we can increase the efficiency and accuracy with which our paperwork gets handled. Major MacKenzie, you work with Mattoni on this one." Sarah MacKenzie said, "Yes, Sir" as she rose from her place at the table and stretched just a little. As the meeting broke up, she barely heard the admiral's question about the whereabouts of her partner. She turned to face him, "Oh, Sir, I'm sure he's just stuck in traffic. You know Monday morning on the beltway can be murder."

"Okay, but when he comes in tell him I want to see him." As he issued this order, Admiral Chegwidden massaged his temples and winced a little.

"I'll tell him, Sir. Admiral, are you alright?"

"Sure, Major, I'm fine. Just beginning to get a little headache, that's all."

"Maybe you better sit down and rest in your office for a while."

"That's where I'll be."

Half an hour later, Mac noticed that Harm still hadn't arrived. While being late wasn't necessarily a novelty for him, he usually wasn't this late. She almost wondered if she should be worried about him. As Bud Roberts walked past her, she asked him to please give her partner a call. The door to Admiral Chegwidden's office was closed, so she waited outside with her stack of court petitions awaiting his signature. She couldn't help overhearing some of the conversation he was having with his clerk, Tiner. "We've got to get that division reorganized. I expect to begin seeing some positive results right away!" He continued instructing the young petty officer, then broke into a raised voice tirade about how slowly things were being accomplished in the office. He stopped short of out and out yelling, but Mac felt a little sorry for the young man inside the office. She thought maybe it would be best if she tabled her request until later. That would give her time to locate Harm. After all he had worked with her on writing these documents.

Just as she was about to enter her own office, she heard Tiner call to her, "Major, the admiral can see you now."

"Tell him I'll be right in." she called back as she went to her desk to pick up some extra files. "On a day like today, I'd better get everything taken care of at once," she thought to herself, "but I wish Harm were here."

Before she could get back out her own door, on the trip to her C.O.'s office, she heard Tiner yell, "Help, Somebody get some help."

Lt. Bud Roberts emerged from the admiral's office and hastely instructed a young seaman standing nearby to, "Call 911."

"Bud, what is it?" she asked with concern.

The answer came back in a somber tone, "It's the admiral. He's passed out or something. I can't seem to rouse him."

Mac ran toward the open door, filled with panic. This man was far more than just a commanding officer to her, he was a special friend. He'd never been ill since she'd known him. What on Earth could be wrong?

Time stood still, or at least passed in very slow motion for the next 6 minutes and 12 seconds. That's how long it took for the paramedics to arrive and get to AJ Cheggwidden's side. The marine officer was determined to find out, in general, what was wrong with the admiral, even before the medical team began his treatment. She felt so helpless, she just had to know something.

The answer to her questions only raised more questions. He had suffered a cardiac arrest, probably due to myocardial infarction. She repeated the words and they lay on her tongue, without making much sense. How could something like this happen to a man in such good physical shape as the admiral? Had he ever had any heart problems before? Did he have health concerns that he wasn't sharing with them, his staff? His friends? Was there a family history? Had he had any warning? Could this be what had caused his headache? Was he going to be okay?

It was in the midst of this line of thought that Harmon Rabb, Jr. entered at her side. "Hey, Mac, what's going on? I saw an ambulance downstairs, and...."

"Harm," she interrupted him, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "It's the admiral."

"What? Mac, what's happened?"

"Harm, he's had a heart attack."

"Is he alright?"

"I don't know. The paramedics are with him now. But, I don't think it looks good."

Rabb ran his fingers through his hair, angrily. "Damnit, I should have been here. It's my fault."

"It's not your fault, Harm."

Their eyes met for an instant. In that brief moment, they felt their unique connection as best friends. All of the things they had shared, things that had made them close, crowded into the air between them. They experienced something together that only they could feel. Harm was aware of his own feelings of worry and guilt about his boss'' condition, and also of his trust in his partner when he told her (or told himself aloud), "I've already lost one father, I can't lose another one. Not him too."

Mac was immediately aware of the worry and pain that arose in Harm. Something deep inside her could feel the turbulent emotional response he had to this unexpected news. She knew that none of this would subside for him as long as there was any chance that the admiral's life might still be in danger. They had been too close for too long for her to be able to ignore this in him. Her gut instinct was to reach out to him, to comfort him in some way, to reassure him. As these feelings began to rise up in her, she told herself that it was only what a friend would feel. She knew he'd want to protect her in the same way.

Knowing that this brought back all the old anxieties about his father, she took his hand and led him into her office, closing the door behind them. She turned to face him, saying, "Harm, he's a strong man. I'm sure he's going to be okay."

"Yeah," he responded cautiously, "He just has to be." He walked over to lean against the front of her desk, then continued, "Mac, how did this happen? I mean, he's in good physical shape, and he's not really an old man. He hasn't been sick. What happened?"

She crossed to stand in front of him. Looking into his eyes, she could see how anxious he really was. She felt for him and how deeply the uncertainty of the situation effected him. She knew in that moment that she would do anything to ease his pain. She wanted him to know, too. There had to be some way that she could comfort him, give him hope. What she did kind of surprised her, but it seemed natural at the time. She reached up to cup the back of his head in the palm of her hand, and pulled it down toward her, so that his face nestled against her neck. She sort of cradled it there for a minute. Next she ran the hand over his jaw and across his cheek. His skin was warm, but its roughness attested to the fact that he hadn't shaved this morning. Her thumb rested under his chin, lifting it up. She gazed directly into his eyes, then lay her head on his shoulder.

"Mac, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and you're going to be too."

While she said this, she lifted her head back up to meet his eyes, took his face between both her hands, and very lightly pressed her lips against his.

He stepped away with a look of disbelief. But he brought a finger up to her cheek to wipe a lone tear that he found falling there.

The tear had escaped without her realization. What she felt inside when her lips touched his was so intense and so unexpected that she couldn't control this small emotional response. She felt something break loose inside and fill her, everywhere. There was a little bit of embarrassment, but also a sense of purpose. She must help him get through this crisis, which was apt to be very difficult on him and Admiral Chegwidden both, but, perhaps he could also help her. He could let her see some of her destiny, she just knew it. For the first time ever, she felt something different for him, something more. And she wished that she could spare his anguish, heal his pain.

When his hand moved from her cheek, she stretched up on her toes and kissed him, directly. This caught him off guard, but when her arms encircled his neck and pulled him closer, he didn't resist. Eventually his lips parted slightly and they shared a kiss full of mutual passion.

They separated, both breathless, and stared silently into each other's eyes.

Finally, he was the first to speak, "What was that?"

She couldn't help but smile slightly. Actually, the sound of his voice had given her a warm, but amused feeling. Her answer was, "I don't know. But do you feel better?"

"So, that's what's happening. You're trying to make me feel better."

"I don't know, Harm. I guess so."

"Well, don't bother. I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You're hurting. And I am too. Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better."

"I'm sorry, Mac. Of course this is hard on you." As he said it, he took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.

She returned the affectionate gesture, with a broad smile.. Inside she knew that perhaps the best way to comfort him was to let him be the one to comfort her. She vowed silently, though, not to leave him until they knew the admiral was going to be okay, and he had quit blaming himself.

This moment was interrupted by the door opening, and Bud barging in. "They're ready to transport him to the hospital, but they need someone to go along in the ambulance. You know, to fill out paper work and stuff like that."

"I'm on it." Harm acknowledged, heading toward the door. He kept possession of his partner's hand, instructing her, "Come on, Mac, let's go." They escorted the stretcher bearing their friend on to the elevator and out of the building.

In the ambulance, they took positions on either side of the gurney, each holding one of the admiral's hands. Their other hands remained joined to each other. The medical personnel watched monitors, talked to the emergency room on radios and injected things into the tubing that invaded AJ Chegwidden's veins.

The hospital was busy, a veritable hotbed of activity. People ran to and fro taking care of patients in all states of illness and injury. The admiral had received immediate attention. As nurses and technicians hooked up things to him and a doctor shouted out orders to everyone, Harm and Mac were asked to wait outside.

Mac could tell that Harm was impatient with the waiting. Each second that pasted eroded into his faith that everything would be okay. She could almost feel all this building up inside him, so she didn't leave his side at all. After about half an hour, she suggested, "Why don't we go get some coffee?"

He shook his head, "No. You go. I'll be fine."

"Naw," she said, "I'll just wait 'til you're ready."

"Mac, really, I don't need a babysitter."

"I know you don't, but I'll stay anyway."

He looked down at her and grinned. "Really, I'm glad." With this he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up against his side. Something about this excited her a little, but she didn't want to admit it, so she just nestled in against him. This felt very comfortable.

The doctor finally came out to give them some news, after what seemed like an eternity. "Your friend is hanging on, but he's not out of the woods yet. We're ready to move him upstairs to the cardiac unit until he stabilizes, then we'll try to send him to the military hospital at Bethesda. Is there any family that we should contact?"

Harm spoke first, "Is Bethesda the best place for him, because if he'd get better care staying here...." He tightened the grip he still had around his partner's waist.

Mac tackled the other concern, "He has a daughter, but she lives out of the country. Our office is already trying to contact her."

"Good," the doctor replied. "If the two of you are going to be staying, you can go on up to the CCU waiting room. You'll find that it's a bit more comfortable. After he gets up there and settled, you can go in to see him for a brief visit."

When they stepped on to the elevator to move to their new location, Harm grasped her shoulders and spun her around to face him. "Mac, I'm so glad that you're here with me, but if you need to get back, I can handle it now."

She looked into his eyes and said, "I'm not going anywhere."

He bent down and kissed her, she responded, eagerly. Then they embraced.

When they were let in to see their C.O., Mac stood in the back of the cubicle against the wall. Harm sat in a chair beside the bed. He held the admiral's hand and talked to him, "Sir, you don't need to worry about a thing. You're going to be fine, and we'll take care of everything."

She smiled to herself before she walked up behind him to rub his shoulders. Harm spoke to the admiral, "I don't know what to make of Major MacKenzie's recent actions, Sir, but when I figure it out, I'll let you know."

In response to this, she wrapped her arms around his neck and bent down to kiss his cheek. The smile that this elicited was so irresistible that she turned his head to face her and kissed him fully, holding back none of the passion that she felt, even though she had no idea where it had come from.

When they exited the room, the Secretary of the Navy was waiting for them. He asked how the admiral was doing and how long they thought they would need to be here.

Harm's answer was emphatic, "Sir, I 'm not going to leave him, not as long as he might need me."

"I thought that's what you would say, Commander. And if you can help him in any way, I want you to stay. The work, however, will back up at Jag with the two of you away, so I'm gong to bring somebody in from another office to take charge and keep things running."

"Who, Sir?" Mac asked.

"I'll have to check on who's available, Major. But I'll make sure your both kept in the loop."

"Thank you, Sir." She acknowledged.

Later, in the waiting room, she noticed that the day had taken a toll on him. He looked exhausted. The fatigue showed most in his eyes and in the way his movements had become slow and lethargic. She moved closer to him on the bench that they shared, "Harm, you're tired, why don't you lie back and get some rest?" she started to get up and give him all the space, but he held her arm, and pulled her back to a seated position. He stretched his long legs out the full length of the bench and lay his head in her lap.

She ran her fingers through his hair and stroked his forehead and cheeks until he had drifted off to sleep.

It was hours before she felt him moving and waking. She opened her own eyes in time to catch him watching her. "Good morning, Sailor," she teased him.

"How long have we been asleep?"

"Seven hours, fifteen minutes and thirty ­ six seconds"

"Wow, I didn't know I was that tired."

He sat up, leaned over and planted a kiss at the base of her throat. "We have to talk about this," he began, but was interrupted.

A tall, blonde woman in a white naval uniform entered the area and said, "Hello, Harm."

He turned, and with a look of surprise, said, "Allison? Where did you come from?"

Instead of answering his question, she turned to Mac, "You must be Major MacKenzie. I'm Allison Krennick."

Mac rose to her feet. "I'm pleased to meet you Commander Krennick. What brings you back to Washington?"

"While Admiral Chegwidden is recovering, I'm going to assume his duties at Jag."

"You're, what?" Harm was shocked.

"Yeah, Harm. Apparently you need to be with the admiral, and she needs to be with you, or something, so I'm going to work. How is the admiral, anyway."

"He's about the same," Mac told her.

Commander Krennick walked up to Harm, kissed his cheek and said, "It's great to see you again, Harm."

She pulled Mac aside and whispered in her ear, "Way to go, Major. I never could seem to get anywhere with him."

"What do you mean?" Mac asked her, innocently.

"Well, the two of you are apparently pretty close."

"No. No, Commander. We're just friends."

"Yeah, right." Allison interjected. Taking Harm's arm and guiding him away, she quietly said, "Why don't you and I plan to go someplace more private later...to catch up."

"Back off, Allison."

"You better be nice to me, Harm. I may be around for a long time. Who knows when or if the admiral's going to be able to resume his duties."

Harm was a little indignant in his comeback, "He's going to be fine, and he'll be up and around in no time."

"We'll see."

Commander Krennick checked her watch. "I need to be getting back to the office. I just wanted to see both of you and check on the admiral's condition. With you both out , I'm going to have to look around at some of the other Jag offices and see if I can find some temporary help to bring in. Please keep me posted if there is any change."

"Aye, ma'am," Mac replied. Harm didn't say anything..

When they were seated , Harm put his index fingers to his temples and rubbed them, saying, "Oh, great, Allison Krennick! That's all I need."

"Why?" Mac questioned.

"She's just sure­fired stress, that's all. I could do without her right now."

"I could do without the competition," Mac said, linking her arm with his, and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Competition!??! Get real! She's no competition for you!"

"Well, I think she likes you."

"No, she just wants to control me, and everybody else." He stood up. "I'm going for coffee. You want some?"

"Yeah. Should I come with you?"

"No. You wait here, I'll get it."

She sat back down. While he was gone her unfinished rest sneaked up on her. Her body got very relaxed and her mind began travelling in circles at a high rate of speed. Many thoughts invaded the space, but the one that kept coming up over and over was ­Harm. It felt so natural to be with him, to be close to him. And she was, honestly upset by the idea that Allison Krennick wanted to be close to him, too. She knew that they had an antagonistic history, that he didn't share her desire for closeness, but still. Then it hit her, Why did she feel this way? Krennick wanted to control him, to manipulate him, to keep him in his place, but what did she want from these feelings?

Mac knew that she genuinely cared for him. They were friends.

He was like no friend she'd ever had before. It was a special relationship. With these thoughts came the realization, almost instantly, that it was something more. When he had kissed her, there was an excitement. A tingling feeling ran up her spine. It hit her like a ton of bricks! "My God, I'm in love with him! Where did this come from? How did this happen?" she thought to herself.

She felt energized by her new discovery, but she knew he didn't feel the same way. She resolved to continue to be with him and support him, but to try to keep from falling any more deeply in love with him.. She wouldn't tell him anything.

By the next day, Admiral Chegwidden was sitting up and talking to them, for short periods of time. The doctors cautioned them that tests still had to be run and that he wasn't out of the woods yet. Harm's mood showed noticeable improvement, though, just being able to converse with his mentor. In their corner of the waiting room, he picked Mac up off the floor, hugging her tightly, and kissed her tenderly. Her heart pounded, and she felt as though she might burst.

A phone call to Bud Roberts informed them that Commander Krennick was running the office with an iron fist. They did expect some more reinforcements this afternoon, though, to help alleviate the work load.

The afternoon brought another visit from the temporary Jag chief. She spoke privately with the admiral, then confronted Harm and Mac again in the waiting room, "We're shorthanded, I think maybe it's time that the two of you came back to work."

Harm stated emphatically, "I'm not leaving . The admiral needs to have somebody here with him."

"Well, okay," she responded, "but Major MacKenzie, you should be able to resume your duties."

"Ma'am, Harm's kind of emotional about this. He can't help it. The admiral may need someone here that can be a little more rational."

"That's what the Secnav thinks, so we'll go with it for now, but I think Harm's a big boy. He can probably handle more than you think.."

"I'm sure he can handle almost anything, but I should be here just in case he needs help."

Again Krennick pulled her out of Harm's earshot, "Just tell me, what's he like in bed?"

"I beg your pardon, ma'am?"

"Oh, come on. You can tell me. Pretty soon, maybe we can exchange information."

"I told you before, Commander Krennick, our relationship isn't like that."

"Well, alright, but you may be sorry that you weren't more friendly to me."

After she left, they went in to see the admiral. He mentioned her, and said, "I don't think she's planning to leave again."

"What do you mean, Sir," Harm asked.

"Son, you know that Allison Krennick has always wanted to sit in the big chair. Well, now she is."

"But that's only until you get better, Sir"

"Harm, who knows how long that'll be?"

"It won't be long," Mac assured him, squeezing his hand.

She and Harm left when the nurses came in to take care of the patient. That evening, they talked about the new intimacy that seemed to have crept up on them and what it meant. They reached no real conclusions, however. Mac let Harm determine what was happening, not wanting to reveal her love feelings. He held her in his arms while they talked (she felt fortunate that they were the only waiters in the unit at the time), then ended the discussion with a tender, yet passionate kiss.

His rationale being that "it just feels right". Well, it certainly did feel right to her. She was happy. But drained by the days events, she fell asleep in his arms.

As she drifted slowly awake, she could hear Harm's voice. He was talking to someone. She wasn't quite sure what he was saying, but the sound of his voice was enough to make her feel good. When she finally opened her eyes, he was smiling at her. "Wake up, Mac," he said. "I want you to meet somebody."

She sat up and looked around. Another attractive blonde woman had joined them. For just a moment, she wondered if this were a nightmare. Maybe she wasn't really awake. After all, she figures out that she's in love with this gorgeous man, and blondes keep showing up. Well, she'd be careful about falling asleep again, who knows who might show up.

Soon she was composed, and Harm introduced her to his former partner, Lt. Meg Austin. The women exchanged cordial greetings, then Meg explained that Commander Krennick had brought her in on TDY while the admiral was recovering. Since someone else was now here, Mac reluctantly untangled herself from Harm's embrace. Meg was staring at their sleeping arrangement, which made Mac a little uneasy. In the past, she had heard Harm speak fondly of Meg, and that made her uneasy, too.

The three of them sat on the bench and talked, Harm and Meg catching up on a long time worth of information, until the CCU nurse told them that they could go in for a five minute visit with the admiral.

Admiral Chegwidden seemed pleased to see Lt. Austin, commenting that Allison Krennick always did have good judgment. Today he was feeling much better. He thought the doctors were being too cautious with his treatment, that he should be up and around by now. Harm chastised him briefly, then encouraged him to follow his orders carefully. After their five minutes were up, they went back to the waiting room. Meg and Harm sat down. Mac offered to go for coffee. She was only gone six and a half minutes, but when she returned the ambiance of the room had changed. Harm was reading the latest issue of The Navy Times and Meg Austin was sitting in a chair across the room staring at him. Mac recognized that stare, and it wasn't good.

They drank their coffee, then she stood up. Harm rose with her, kissing her lightly, but meaningfully. She saw Meg watching this with interest. When Lt. Austin headed toward the ladies' room, she went with her.

Inside, Meg spoke to her very openly, "You and Harm seem to have a pretty good thing going."

Mac tried not to sound defensive, "We're just good friends. I hadn't known that you had been in love with him. I'm sorry if we make you uncomfortable."

"You don't. And Harm and I were never..."

"But you were in love with him?"

"Not really. I always thought that maybe eventually....., well, who knows?"

"When you came back here, did you think that now might be your eventually?"

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter, I can see how you feel about him. And how he feels about you."

"Well, maybe I do have feelings for him, but I don't think he feels the same way."

"Major, I know Harm. And he's definitely in love with you. I can tell just by the way he looks at you."

Mac smiled to herself. She hadn't considered this, but if it were true...

She gave Meg's arm a tender squeeze.

When they exited the bathroom, Harm was standing in the hallway waiting for them.

Meg came out first, made an excuse about needing to get back to the office and turned to go. Harm hugged her and kissed her cheek, with a promise that they'd try to get together while she was in town.

As Sarah MacKenzie emerged in the hallway, Harm opened his arms to her, and she melted into them.

That night Harm, tired himself, could see that hospital duty was taking a toll on his partner. He felt comforted by her presence, and he knew the admiral did too, but he worried about her. He wasn't sure why, but he really didn't want her to suffer at all from this, or from anything. So, he sent her home for the night. She protested, but he assured her that he would be fine, and he could call her if anything at all happened. With a promise to return first thing in the morning, and a deep lustful kiss, she was gone.

As Harm swallowed the last gulp from a styrofoam coffee cup a nurse had issued him, an attractive young woman informed him that he was wanted on the phone. "You can take it here," she indicated a telephone extension behind the desk, "but make it quick. We can't tie up that line."

He answered and heard Mac's voice on the other end. He decided, just off hand, that she even sounded beautiful. "I thought you'd be back by now. Where are you?" he asked her.

"I'm at the office. Commander Krennick ordered me back to work this morning."

"What? Well, I guess I should have known that we couldn't both be gone forever. Did she say when she wanted me back?"

"Actually, she said the SecNav had ordered that you stay on duty at the hospital. He knows that the admiral needs you, and I think he's worried about him."

Harm cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and said, "Mac, we really need to talk. So much has been going on around us that we haven't talked about what's going on between us."

"There's probably nothing to talk about, really."

"Oh, I think so. Besides, I'm going to miss having you here with me."

"Yeah, me too. But, I'll come by during my lunch hour. And you can count on me after work. We'll talk."

"Good, that'll give me time to figure out what I want to say," he thought.

"I can't talk much longer. They're not supposed to tie up this phone for long."

"Okay. Give Admiral Chegwidden my best. I'll see you at noon.."

"Bye."

He hung up the receiver with more than a little regret.. He knew now that the conflicting emotions rising inside him would have to sort themselves out soon. He was going to have to decide what was really going on, and without benefit of her soothing presence. How had they gotten so close, so quickly?

Soon he found himself in the admiral's room, assisting the older man with his shaving. The C.O. had insisted that this couldn't be put off any longer. He, however sensed Harm's turmoil. "You miss having her here, don't you, son? Harm, you really should tell her how you feel."

Harm looked him squarely in the eye, "That's just it, Sir, I don't know how I feel."

"If that's really true, then tell her that. But I think if you look deep inside, you probably do know. Don't short change yourself, Harm, or her. Life's too short for that.!"

The younger officer wanted to dismiss this advice as nonsense, but it stayed glued to the back of his mind.

At lunchtime, he sat back in the waiting room while the medical staff tended to his mentor. He was grateful that the admiral was making such progress. Now, though, his mind wondered to think about her. She'd be here soon. Just knowing that filled him with excitement. His heart was pounding. "Get hold of yourself, Rabb," he thought. He didn't know what he was going to say, but being close to her would be enough. The plan was to hold her in his arms, then let her guide the conversation.

While still lost in these thoughts, he felt a pair of hands rest on his shoulders. He took the hands in his larger ones and said, "You're here."

The hands slid down onto his chest and the face came close to the back of his head, to whisper in his ear, "I'm here. Let's get out of here, go someplace more private. My hotel's not far." His blood ran cold when he recognized that it was Allison Krennick standing behind him.

"Commander, do you not learn well? Aren't you ever going to leave me alone?"

"Harm, you should be nice to me. I can make things pretty rough for you, and for Mac."

"What's she got to do with this," he snapped. He knew, at that moment, though, that for him she had everything to do with it.

"Come on, now, you don't want me to go after her, do you? Come to the hotel. Spend one afternoon with me, and I'll make sure she's well taken care of. I can even arrange for her to be assigned back here with you while Chegwidden recovers. Come on, you know that's the best offer you're going to get." As she made the final comments, she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him.

He made no response except to push her away. After a silence, he said, "Grow up, Allison. I don't fell like messing with you right now.. Will you never figure out that I'm not interested? There's not going to be anything between us, but work, ever."

Her cheeks were red with anger. Her voice had risen when she stated, "You'll be sorry. I'm afraid I might be gunning for your girlfriend now."

"You just stay away from Mac. Leave us both alone."

"You'll be sorry," she said, and left the room.

Harm sat back down and looked at his watch. Had Mac forgotten, or had she been too busy to get away? He wished she were here, but lunch hour had come and gone.

About three o'clock he called her office number, but was told she wasn't in. He dialed her cell phone, thinking he'd catch her out on an errand. When she answered, he could tell she was annoyed. "Harm, I was there. Commander Krennick had you cornered, so..."

"Mac, I tried to get rid of her. Why didn't you let us know you were here?"

"Well, I heard what she said to you. Harm, she threatened you. That's blatant sexual harassment. You can't let her get away with it.. I've drawn up some paperwork. We both sign it, she's charged, and she never bothers you again."

"Mac, she's always been that way. If we formally charge her, they'll court­martial her. It will end her career."

"But if we don't, it's the same as condoning her behavior."

"Yeah, you're probably right. She'll be plenty mad, but we really don't have much choice. If you can get the papers here, I'll sign'em. Then you can file a motion first thing in the morning. Where are you? I'd really like to see you. We never had that talk."

"I've got a few more stops to make, then a little work to check on back at the office. Then I'll be over to the hospital to check on you. How's the admiral?"

"He's still getting stronger. Are you really coming this time? You won't forget, will you?"

"I promise. I'll see you in about an hour and a half, maybe less."

"great."

Once again he began to be excited. He could almost feel the way she felt in his arms, the way her head lay against his chest, the sweet taste of her mouth.

What was he going to say to her? The admiral had told him that it wasn't fair to waste time, that life was too short. "I don't ever want to be apart from her again," he thought. "I'll tell her how I feel. I'll tell her that I'm in love with her." This conclusion brought a smile to his face.

He sat down with a magazine to wait for his chance to reveal this revelation.

About 15 minutes later, Meg Austin walked in and took a chair across from him. "Harm, can we talk?"

"Of course, Meg. I thought you were scheduled to leave soon."

"Maybe tomorrow. That's why I want to talk to you now. I may need to stay on a little longer, but I'd like to clear up some personal stuff first."

"Personal stuff? Like what?"

She lay a tenuous hand on his thigh. "Harm, we've always been close, right?"

He looked in to her eyes. "Yeah, Meg. We're friends."

"Nothing else?" Her tone was expectant.

"Meg, what do you mean?"

"Harm, I always thought that there was a kind of...well, attraction between us."

"You're probably right."

She leaned forward, taking his face between her hands, and kissed him. "Harm, I think we could be really good together."

He was shocked by this, and pulled away. He held her hands as they came away from his face. "Meg, I'm flattered, and there was a time when I might have welcomed this, but not now, I can't."

"Harm, I'm sorry. Do you not find me attractive? Is that it?"

"It's not that," he tried to be very careful about how he worded this, "It's just that...well, it's not you at all. It's me, or rather it's how I feel. Meg, there's no easy way to say this. There's somebody else in my life now. Somebody that I do feel that way about."

Her gaze fell to the floor as she said, "Have you told Mac how you feel?"

He looked surprised. "How do you know about that?"

She met his stare, "I know you pretty well, remember? At least I used to. Besides, Harm, everybody knows except her. It's obvious by the way you look at her."

"Well, I am going to tell her. Tonight."

He continued, "Our relationship has always been special to me. I'll always consider you a good friend."

"Yeah, me too," she responded.

He walked her to the elevator, and kissed her cheek affectionately before she left.

He couldn't help but think, as he sat back down, that most guys would love to be in his place. Two beautiful women had literally thrown themselves at him today. Maybe he was crazy, but neither of them had been the right beautiful woman. She'd be here soon. How was she going to react to his throwing himself at her? This was the first time he'd thought of it in that way. What he planned to do to Mac wasn't really all that different than what Allison and Meg had done to him. Except, hadn't it been Mac who had initiated this new phase of their relationship?

Fatigue overtook him as he considered this, and he fell to sleep.

When he finally woke, he could feel her head laying on his shoulder. He looked down to see her sitting beside him, near sleep. She smiled at him, "You sure know how to show a girl a good time, Sailor."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I couldn't. You just looked so cute. Like a little boy." As she said this, she strained up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

His arms encircled her, holding her tightly. Then he pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss, not having been satisfied with the taste she had given him.

They were both breathless when it finally ended, but he looked straight into her eyes and declared, "I love you, Sarah MacKenzie. I mean I'm in love with you."

"I know," she answered.

"You know? How do you know?"

"A girl can tell things like that about the man she's in love with.."

"Do you mean that? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." She kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smiled at her, "You know you're the third woman to kiss me today."

"Third? Oh, so Meg's been here, too?"

"How did you know about Meg?"

"It's in a girl's best interest to know about the competition."

"Competition? Darling, I can't imagine there ever being anybody who could compete with you."

"Good. But you know, of course, that you're going to have to get rid of your other women."

"I think I can do that, if you promise never to leave my side again."

"Well, Counselor," she smiled at him, "I think I can negotiate with you on that point." She took him in her arms, and reveled in his nearness..