Title: In Training
Author: Anne Taul, anne_taul@gowebway.com

Summary: Mac goes undercover to investigate claims of sexual harassment.

Disclaimer: Jag, the characters, the premise, etc are the exclusive property of Bellasarius Productions, Paramount and CBS Entertainment. This endeavor is strictly for recreational purposes. No profit is being appreciated from it, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Acknowledgement: Special thanks to Ami, who encourages me, and always makes me feel like there is a reason for doing this.

 

In Training

Sarah MacKenzie rushed into the open elevator and leaned against the wall with a heavy sigh. She pushed the button that would take her up to the second floor of the Jag Headquarters building, and to her office. She was late ­ very late. Having a flat tire on the beltway at rush hour was certainly not a good omen for how the day might progress. The admiral was going to be furious. Of course, Harm would cover for her. Harm ­just the thought of him made her smile a little, on the inside. She was afraid that even a practiced excuse maker like her partner, might run out of things to say in this case. It would be good to see Harm, even if he would give her a hard time for her tardiness.

As she exited the elevator, she could see that the door to her own office was standing open. There appeared to be several people inside. The admiral would never have called a meeting in her office ­ something must be wrong. Getting closer, she saw that Admiral Chegwidden and Harm were talking to a young woman who she didn't recognize. Harm held the visitor's hand, noticing this, Mac experienced an emotion she wasn't sure she could identify.

She lingered outside so that she wouldn't interrupt the meeting. She asked Bud what was going on.

"Conference, Ma'am." He replied.

When he finally looked up to see her, the admiral motioned her inside.

He made the introduction, "Major Sarah MacKenzie, this is Jennifer Workman."

The two women exchanged greetings. It was clear by her reaction that Ms. Workman had had some kind of military experience, though she hardly looked old enough to have served on active duty.

Chegwidden went on with his briefing. Jennifer Workman was a college student at Barrister University in Pattonville, Maryland. She was an active participant in the Naval ROTC program, studying the Marine Corp option. Recently she had had some problems with her training officer, Lt. Anthony Ferguson.

"What kind of problems?" Mac asked.

"Discrimination, or...harassment, maybe." The girl answered timidly.

"What exactly did he do, Cadet?" the marine continued.

"That's as far as we've gotten , Mac." Harm volunteered.

The admiral addressed the complainant, "You're going to have to give us some details, if we're going to be able to help you."

The student looked at Mac, then at the two men, blushing.

"Maybe you'd feel more comfortable talking to another woman." Mac suggested.

Workman was obviously relieved by this option. The men excused themselves and Mac sat down in front of the younger woman, taking her hands.

Later Mac was able to report back to Harm and the admiral the details of this blatant case of sexual harassment.

"Mac, is it possible that she overreacted, that she misunderstood his intentions?" Harm questioned.

"No. Harm, not only did he try to intimidate her, he touched her inappropriately. He even offered to decrease her workload and improve her grade in exchange for...well, you know. No, I don't think this is exaggerated at all. I think this guy, Ferguson, is a disgrace to the Marine Corp, a menace in uniform."

Turning to the admiral, she said, "Sir, I'd like a chance to work on this case. I'd like to nail this creep."

"Well, Major, you're going to get your wish. We're sending you back to college. You'll go undercover in the NROTC program to see what's going on. If Ferguson propositions you, we've got him. Even if not, you may be able to collect enough information to nail him."

"Wait a minute," Harm objected, "Sir, that could be dangerous. I don't think we can afford to put Major MacKenzie in that kind of position."

"Harm!" she began, but was cut off.

"I quite agree, Commander." Admiral Chegwidden cut in.

He continued, "So, I'm sending you to Pattonville, Maryland with her. I've enrolled her in some pre-law and military history classes, along with her ROTC classes. She's undercover as Sarah Masterson from Leighton, Texas. So, make sure you call her Sarah, not Mac, if you talk to her. She'll live in the dorm, along with the other female cadets. You, Commander, have a room booked at a hotel near the edge of campus. You'll be a reporter doing a story on the ROTC program ­specifically the training of female cadets. You're name is: Roger Harmon. I picked that so if Mac slips up and calls you Harm, It won't blow your covers."

"What if I slip up and call her the wrong thing?"

"Don't. That's an order, Mister."

"Is there a connection?" Mac asked, "How will we make contact."

Chegwidden folded his hands in front of him. "Roger Harmon will meet Sarah Masterson while working on his assignment. He'll talk to her, then try to get to know her better. Face it, Major, you're an attractive woman. A man who meets you that way, would naturally want to go out with you. The dating scene is big on college campuses."

"Oh." Mac replied.

"Yeah, baby, how about it!" Harm teased.

She slapped his arm and rolled her eyes.

"Everything should be in place, including your identities. You leave in the morning. Be careful, people."

"Aye, Sir." They chanted in unison.

BARRISTER COLLEGE, PATTONVILLE, MARYLAND


"It is a nice room." Mac observed, "I hope the dorm is this comfortable."

"If not, you can come stay with me." Harm offered.

"Oh, yeah!" She came back, picking up a pillow off the hotel bed and lobbing it at him.

"No, seriously. If this Ferguson guy comes on to you, then thinks that maybe I'm getting what he wants from you....well, it could cause him to become more aggressive, then we've got him."

"That's a good thought, but we have to be careful so that he can't plead entrapment. Besides, Harm, what if he's just not interested in me?"

"Are you kidding? He'd have to be blind. Besides, you know that guys who do that sort of thing tend to have a pattern ­ they do it to all women. It's less about sex, and more about power."

"But Harm, there are lots of younger women here. I might look alright in my regular setting, but up against these girls?"

He took both her hands in his, "Mac, you're beautiful. I just hope we can keep the creep from attacking you."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"You know that I do." He squeezed her hands reassuringly.

Sometimes she thought she did know ­ how he felt that is, but other times, she was sure that she didn't have a clue. Most of the time she was just trying to figure out how she felt. She hoped that he really did feel something toward her.

These thoughts were interrupted by his asking, "Do you want me to help you take your stuff over and get moved into the dorm?"

"No. We're not supposed to know each other yet, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Mac, I don't want you to get in any trouble. We need to work out some kind of way for you to contact me, if you need to."

"I'm not really a little college co-ed. I'm a big marine, remember? I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Of course you will, and I'll be your backup."

"Okay. You've got your cell phone, right?"

He nodded.

"I've got the number. If I need you, I'll call. Now, I've got to get moved into my new quarters before it gets dark. It's awfully cold out there."

He walked her to the door of his room. As she went through it, he laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke, "Mac, I...."

"Hmm?" she looked into his eyes.

"Aw, nothing. Just be careful out there."

"I will. See ya tomorrow."

"tomorrow,"

He closed the door. She leaned against the wall opposite the door to his room and stared at the doorknob. "Harmon Rabb, I just wonder." She whispered under her breath.

Inside, Harm picked up the pillow she had thrown, from the floor. He held it tightly for just a moment before he tossed it back on the bed.

Mac dropped things onto the bed in the right hand side of the room and addressed the young woman sitting at the desk behind her, "Hi. I'm Sarah. I guess I'm your new roommate.

The new roommate rose and took a load of books from Mac's arms. "Susan Campbell, pleased to meet you. Is there anymore? I can go bring it in.."

"Yeah, thanks. If we both go, just one more trip."

"Then, let's go."

"I really appreciate it, Susan."

"No problem. I'd have met you downstairs if they had told me you were coming."

"You didn't know?"

"Well, I knew that I'd eventually get a new roommate after Vanessa left so suddenly, but I didn't know it would be today. Say, are you in the Marine Corp program or regular Navy?"

"Marine."

"Great, me too. They're a little harder on us than on the sailors, but I guess that's to be expected."

"Yeah, I would think so. Your last roommate, why did she leave so suddenly?"

"Well, Vanessa had some problems with one of the instructors."

"What kind of problems?"

"She didn't play the right games."

"What kind of games?"

"Hey, why are you asking so many questions?"

"Susan, I'm the new kid here. I just transferred in. I need all the information I can get so that I get off on the right foot."

"You're right. Here, I'll help you get all this stuff put away, then we can go for a pizza and sit down and talk. I'll fill you in on everything that goes on around here at The Pit."

"The Pit?"

"It's a happening place. You'll love it."

LATER ­THE PIT


Susan was true to her word. She gave Mac the low-down on all aspects of life at Barrister College.

Vanessa Davis, the previous roommate, came from a long line of marines. She was training to follow a family tradition. Her father, grandfather, two uncles and three brothers had all served in the Corp.. When the program at Barrister became uncomfortable for her, she had to transfer to a school where she could continue preparing for her military career.

Susan let it be known that military men, in general, liked women, so military women had to act in certain ways around their male counterparts if they were to succeed. Mac questioned this, but Susan assured her that she would get used to the idea ­ or end up like Vanessa.

Mac learned that she would need to be "nice" to the instructors, and to the male cadets. The male cadets could keep the instructors away from you, "but let's face it, most of us prefer officers." Susan concluded..

Trying to prepare herself, Mac inquired as to exactly what she should expect.

"Nothing at all out of line. Some of the instructors may want to pass by you closely in a narrow hallway. Some of them may actually touch you, but a little grope never hurt anybody, right? Some may want more.. They might even tell you it could help your career. I'm not sure. I've managed to stay out of that trap. But you have to play their games if you want to stay in the program and succeed."

Mac looked into the face of the young woman sitting across from her. She was extremely attractive. Her long blond hair framed her oval face and highlighted her smooth milky skin. She felt sorry that such nice, sweet young girls were being victimized by the actions of these lecherous rogues, especially since they were disgracing the uniform that she loved so much.

This thought ended when Susan grabbed her arm, then pointed across the room to the bar, saying, "Look over there." She was indicating a tall dark haired man seated on a stool near the pool table. "Isn't he adorable? I've never seen him around here before."

Mac almost choked on her soda when she realized that the man Susan was pointing to was Harm. "Yeah, he's okay."

"Sarah, he's more than okay. He's gorgeous."

"I guess, if you like that type."

"Sarah, everybody likes that type. Hey, wait, he's looking this way. Don't smile."

Mac sighed heavily.

"Sarah, he's looking at you. Why don't you go talk to him?"

"No, I don't think so."

They finished their food and walked back to their dorm. The wind was blowing and it was very cold. They each took a hot shower and went to bed.

Harmon Rabb left the bar right after they did and returned to his hotel room. He, however, needed a cold shower.

The next morning was a frosty one in Maryland. Mac and Susan reported to their 0800 class on female personnel in the military, taught by Lt. Anthony Ferguson. After some brief introductions, he set the class to doing some exercise routines while he assigned Mac a locker and some paperwork. A female Naval ensign entered the office with the news that the freelance reporter they were expecting had arrived. She escorted Harm into the office.

Ferguson told Harm that he was welcome to observe maneuvers and interview the cadets for his story, but warned him not to make a nuisance of himself.

To Harm's great relief, Ferguson suggested that he begin with finding out why these young ladies were interested in this training. This inquiry would best be served by talking to the newest cadet who had just joined the program. Thus, Harm and Mac were left alone to compare notes.

Neither of them had much investigative information to report yet, so they used the time as a strategic planning session. They plotted how they would proceed in gathering evidence against Lt. Ferguson.

Harm told her that he felt the best thing to do was for the two of them to spend a lot of time together. They should talk, go out on dates, hold hands, and generally create the impression of a romance. It should appear to everyone, especially Ferguson, that they were falling in love.

He could talk to her about planning this all he wanted to, but he knew, deep inside that for him it wasn't such a stretch. He would really enjoy spending all this time with her. A romance with Mac, even a staged one, would be the culmination of many of his fantasies. When he looked at her, the very thought of being closer, made his heart beat a little faster. He wasn't sure exactly when he had fallen in love with her, but at this point, he knew these feeling were something that would forever dominate his life. Yes, he was madly in love with his beautiful partner. He would never tell her this, she would probably laugh at him. He couldn't share his love with her, but he couldn't help feeling it, either. This was going to be a pleasant assignment.

Mac listened, intently as he laid out the plan for how they might best accomplish their charade. She thought it was inspired, but then again, Harm always did have good ideas. Momentarily, she lost track of what he was saying, as she gazed deep into those big, blue eyes. She wondered if he knew how much power they could have. She quickly brought herself back around. She mustn't let him see the effect he had on her. She just listened to his plan, then smiled broadly (her smile could just melt him).

As the class broke up, Harm took a few pictures, then walked out of the building with Mac and Lt. Ferguson. He made sure that Ferguson could hear when he told Mac that he would see her tonight, and how nice it had been talking to her.

Ferguson walked with Mac up the sidewalk as she headed to her next class. He warned her that this man, Harmon, might be dangerous.

She replied, "Oh, no, Roger's sweet."

He commented that young girls could get themselves into trouble with men like him.

Over the following few days, Mac went to class and studied. It had been some time since she'd been in school, so it was an adjustment. Her dating of "Roger Harmon" became frequent and very public. They ate and played pool at The Pit and other campus hangouts, they went to all the right parties, they took long walks around the campus holding hands and they talked on the phone quite a lot.

Susan warned her that she was spending too much time with this guy, "even if he is the cutest thing to ever show up at Barrister."

Mac was thoroughly entranced by the romance. It had been a long time since a man had really "courted" her, whatever the reason. Most men were using her, trying to dominate her, or just interested in satisfying their own needs. Harm wasn't like that, at least not right now. She wouldn't let him know that for the past year or so she had thought about him all the time, or that when she closed her eyes at night, she dreamed about him. He could never think of her in this way, so she'd just keep her feelings to herself.

The ROTC training was rough, both physically and emotionally. They spent a lot of time outside, in the dead of winter. They were always cold and tired. Mac endured valiantly, while Harm took pictures and videotape and interviewed cadets and training staff.

It was after one of the outside physical endurance sessions that Mac had her first run-in with Ferguson. She had showered, dried her hair, dressed and headed out when he stopped her at his office door on pretext of asking her some trivial question. As she stood in the doorway, he moved past her into the hallway. He pressed his body firmly against her as he passed, and reached to squeeze her rear-end. She was careful not to react, but he really disgusted her.

Later, the same day, he engaged her in a conversation about how cold it was, unusually so for this time of year. Thinking the weather a safe topic to talk about, she spoke openly about how cold it really was. He responded by showing her a picture of a lovely beach house he owned on the coast down South. He asked her if she'd like to go with him to see it for a weekend. They could "get better acquainted and discuss her future in the Marine Corp." When she told him that she wasn't interested, he offered her the chance to go there instead of making the overnight survival trip into the mountains on an upcoming weekend. He was more forceful when he told her that she better be nice to him, because "a recommendation from me can make or break your career." Mac felt sorry for all the innocent young girls who were too scared or too naïve to overcome his bullying.

When Harm heard the details of his weekend proposition, he was livid. He wanted to go off and slug the guy, but Mac warned him that he could blow their whole investigation.

One night as they walked along the commons area in central campus, he noticed her shivering. The wind had picked up, it was snowing and was actually quite cold. He clasped her hand tighter. Her fingers were icy. He stopped her where the edge of a building shielded them from the direct force of the wind. He placed both of his hands in his coat pockets and opened the front of the coat, wrapping his arms around her, so that they were sharing the warmth of his coat. She started to protest, but he told her that body heat was the most efficient way for both of them to keep warm. Instead of complaining, then, she lay her head against his shoulder and moved even closer to him. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, as they stood there in silence for a few minutes.

Mac liked the way it felt to be this close to him and feel the warmth of his body. She sighed deeply, and buried her face in his chest. Harm felt her sigh, and held her as if he never wanted to let her go.

Mac spoke with several of her classmate and found that while Ferguson had "touched" most of them, he had not invited anyone else to his beach house, nor had he intimated to the others that their grades or futures were dependent upon their "performance."

Susan advised Mac to go away with him for the weekend. She said that he wasn't a philanderer, he only "likes" one girl at a time, usually. Mac felt lucky. Her investigation would be going nowhere if she weren't the one he was interested in.

Harm didn't feel so lucky. "If he has to be interested in a girl, why does it have to be my girl?"

She looked at him with a teasing smile, "Harm, I'm not really your girl."

That comment hit him hard. He was having so much fun that he'd almost forgotten that it was all just an act.

"Sarah," Susan began, "you're just getting too serious about this guy. Now, I'm only telling you this because I'm your friend and I care about you. You go out with him almost every night and sometimes you stay out awfully late. You don't even really know him very well."

Mac smiled inwardly, "Oh, I know him plenty well, Susan. It feels like I've worked closely with him for years." (It was true, even if she couldn't tell her well-meaning roommate).

"Are you....you know.....in love with him?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so." The confession startled her. It was definitely true. She was head- over- heels in love with Harm. When did this happen? Her partner probably wouldn't forgive her for this, so she'd be careful not to let him know. After all, he certainly didn't feel the same way. For him, this was just a charade, he was only pretending to be attracted to her. How could she have let this happen? She had been vaguely attracted to him before, but they'd always been just friends. That's all he wanted. Now, she'd gone and fallen in love with him. How stupid!

She sat cross-legged on the floor of Harm's hotel room. A yawn escaped her, as she reached for a stack of photographs. "Is this the last of them?"

"That's the last bunch."

"How does the videotape look?"

"It's okay, a good overview of the people and the program, but no real evidence there. There's got to be something we can use in some of these pictures."

She turned her attention back to the photographs, now laid out in front of her. "Harm, these pictures are all of me."

He got up and walked to stand behind her, looking over her head at the floor in front of her. "Yeah, I guess they are."

"Why did you only take pictures of me?"

He took her hands and pulled her to her feet, then looked into her brown eyes, "Because you are the most beautiful thing about this whole place."

She swatted at him with the palm of her hand.

He caught the hand in mid-air and used it to pull her close to him. "It's true, Sarah." After he said this, he moved his face closer to hers and planted a quick, tender kiss on her lips.

She tingled.

He immediately let her hand go, moved away and turned his back to her. "Aw, Mac, I'm sorry."

"You are?" her heart was beating so hard that she could hardly breathe, "So, you didn't mean to kiss me?"

"Of course not. I know how you feel about men taking advantage of women that way."

"Harm, you're not taking advantage of me."

"I'm not?"

"No."

He turned around in time to see her open her arms wide to him, much as she had that time in the Iranian desert when he thought he might never see her again.

His arms wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her close. She buried her face in his chest. He liked holding her this way.

He only waited a moment before he lifted her chin and looked deep into her eyes. "When did this happen, Major?"

"I don't know, Harm. I think maybe it's been going on for a while, now. Her hands went to either side of his face and drew his head downward to meet hers. At first her kiss was light and teasing, then she captured his mouth in a deep, passionate kiss.

He responded to her with every ounce of strength he had.

He was afraid that he was dreaming and would wake up too soon. This couldn't be real, could it?

When it ended, they were both breathless. They held each other for a minute, then she pulled away. "It's late."

"You better get going. I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to."

"Oh, believe me, I want to."

"Okay."

Outside her dorm room, he kissed her goodnight. "Goodnight dear, sweet, Sarah."

"Goodnight, Roger." She winked at him.

Two days later, somewhere in the Maryland wilderness


The survival trip found the cadets camped on a mountain, far away from civilization. They were accompanied by their instructors and the reporter doing a story on their training activities.

Pairs of trainees would be sent out into the forest to gather certain things needed for survival, while others maintained the camp site and recorded the information they were given to conduct their exercises.

Unlike her classmates, Sarah Masterson had been offered one last opportunity to go on an alternate trip to the beach. She told Ferguson that she was looking forward to the survival mission, though.

During the middle of the night, Mac got very cold. She got up, thinking that if she moved around some, she might warm up. She wrapped a blanket around her, and walked out into the adjacent woods. The wind was brisk and icy.

Behind a tree in front of her, she saw someone's breath. Now, who would be out here in the freezing cold in the middle of the night?

She moved noiselessly toward the tree. As she approached, an arm reached out and caught her around the waist.

"What are you doing out here?" she whispered to Harm.

"Actually, I was thinking about you, and..... freezing!"

She opened the blanket and wrapped it around both of them. She held it closed tightly as she moved closer to him.

Not one to be slow on the uptake, Harm enclosed her in his arms and kissed her neck.

"I hear that shared body heat is the best way to keep warm." She giggled.

"Well, it has it's advantages." He agreed. He lowered his head and kissed her, with all the emotion built up inside him. She returned his kiss and his feeling.

"I'm glad I came out here." She observed.

"Me too. We don't want Ferguson to come looking for you.."

"Don't worry. When I left, he was snoring, loudly."

"Go back and sleep well."

"I'd rather stay here, with you."

"There's nothing I'd like more, but we still need to be discreet, Darling. I don't want to cause you any trouble with your superiors."

She reclaimed her blanket and walked, reluctantly, away.

Before she could re-enter her tent, she heard Lt. Ferguson's voice, "Where have you been, Masterson?"

Her blood ran cold.

"Lieutenant, I couldn't sleep, so I just took a little walk to get warmed up, and get a breath of fresh air."

Ferguson approached her, dropping an arm around her waist.. "I could help you get warmed up, Sarah." (she hated the way her named sounded coming from him. And she hoped Harm hadn't followed her back. If he attacked this guy, it would blow their whole operation).

She moved away from him, trying to enter her tent.

He grabbed her arm, roughly. He pulled her close and kissed her. It was certainly not the tender, loving kiss that Harm had given her. She pulled away, and twisted his arm, trapping it behind his back.

"Let me go, Cadet. That's an order."

Her instinct was always to follow orders, so she released him. She hoped that having demonstrated that she could do this would be enough to deter him.

He held her hand, gently now, and led her toward his tent.

"Come in with me, just for a little while. I'm not as bad as you think. I can really be very nice. You're a pretty girl, Sarah, I'd hate to see you not succeed."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, you have to learn to be nicer to people."

"I don't think so," she answered, pulling away. He was behind her, pushing her into his tent when she saw it.

Harm came rushing out of the woods, at full gallop.. He knocked Ferguson over onto the ground. Taking Mac's hand, he said, "Let's get out of here, Sarah."

On the ride back to town, she didn't say much. When he let her off at her dorm, she said, "I don't believe you. I could've handled that guy. Why did you have to come charging out like that?"

"I was just trying to help. He has no right to treat you or any other woman that way."

"I agree, totally. But you may have just ruined our chance to stop him."

"I couldn't stand the thought of him touching you. I just couldn't. Besides our cover isn't blown. We were supposed to make him think we'd fallen in love, so maybe it was a good thing."

"I don't know."

The fact was that she did know. He had just confirmed it for her. The only feelings he had for her were what he was supposed to have for the assignment. When they went back to Washington, they would be back to being just good friends. But.... She wasn't sure that she could go back ­ not now that she knew what his strong arms felt like around her, and how sweet his kisses could be. "Get a grip, MacKenzie!" she told herself.

She couldn't help thinking about him, though.

She didn't hear from him the next day, but on Monday, he was back at class, as usual. It was an uneventful class, until the very end.

She found herself alone with the lieutenant.

He was less than cordial. "Tell your boyfriend to stay away from me." He instructed.

She didn't respond.

"Sarah," he looked directly at her, "do you realize that you are in danger of failing this class?"

"Failing?" she sounded disbelieving. "Why, Sir?"

"You're not cut out to be a marine. I just don't think you have what it takes to be a good officer. You lack leadership abilities."

She stared hard at him. "You're wrong, Sir."

"Well, see, my opinion's the only one that really counts, though."

She sat on the bed in Harm's room. "You gonna eat this?" she asked as she eyed the last piece of the pizza between them.

"No. You go ahead."

She didn't have to hear it twice. She was halfway through it when he asked, "Did he really say you didn't have what it takes to be a good marine officer?"

"That's what he said."

"He just doesn't know you, Mac."

"He's a pig."

"Yes, he is. If he doesn't know you, maybe it's time to introduce you to him."

"What do you mean? How well do you want him to get to know me?"

"I just think it's about time to spring the news on him. We've got enough to convict him, now."

"Okay, tomorrow we arrest him. How do you want to handle it?"

"Is tomorrow one of the days you wear the uniform, or just a work out day?"

"Dress uniform tomorrow."

"That's good," he said. "We'll just switch the jackets."

He hung the one she had just taken off in the closet, removing the one that had been hanging there since their arrival.

He smiled at her. "Tonight's the night we make him think he can really act. We'll let him believe that I'm getting exactly what he wants. He's interested, so you can be sure that he'll be watching us. You'll need to spend the night here."

She raised her eyebrows and looked at him, suggestively.

He bent to kiss her cheek. "You take the bed. I'll sack out on the couch."

"I'll take the couch." She offered. "Your legs are longer, you need the bed."

"No, I'll be fine, Dear."

They talked for a while. When she got ready for bed, he tucked her in and gave her a passionate goodnight kiss.

Harm awoke in the middle of the night. His back was up against the back of the sofa where he lay. He had scooted as far from the edge as he could before going to sleep. He opened his eyes, and immediately saw Mac. But she looked too close to be in the bed several feet away. He quickly realized that she was lying on the edge of the couch where he was sleeping. She was fast asleep, and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was ­ and peaceful. She must have gotten up during the night and moved over there. He wondered why. He reached toward her, taking care not to wake her. Her skin was icy cold. "Mac, you're freezing." He whispered to himself. Instinctively, he moved a little closer, gathering her into his arms. She rolled toward him , without being disturbed. But this couch was too small, not comfortable enough for her, with both of them there.

He carefully sat up, swinging his legs beneath hers. He moved her still sleeping form into his lap. Then he slowly and carefully carried her to the bed. He lay her down, covered her up and crawled into the bed beside her. He held her in his arms and kissed her cheek. Soon, he was asleep beside her.

When morning came, he was awakened by movement on the bed. He could still feel her soft in his arms, even before he opened his eyes. When he did open them, he was greeted by the lovely sight of her. She snuggled closer, her back against his chest. "Harm, how did we get back over here?"

"I woke up and found that you had moved over close to me."

"I was cold."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because you were sleeping so peacefully."

"Did you carry me back to the bed?"

He nodded.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Same reason. You were just sleeping so peacefully."

"But you came over here with me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd mind, since I was only trying to keep you warm."

"Oh, I don't mind." she said, laying her head on his powerful arm.

He squeezed her a little tighter and kissed her cheek..

She turned her head toward him, at that very moment, so that it was her lips that he kissed, instead. Not satisfied with that, she initiated a deeper kiss. Then, turning her body, she wrapped her arms around him.

They lay like that for a couple of minutes, until he said, "Well, Ferguson will know that we spent the night together."

"Who?" she asked, a little dazed.

"Lt. Ferguson. You remember him. He's the reason you're lying here in my arms, right now."

She knew that she had to respond to that, but she was half afraid to. "Harm, that's not the reason."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm going to hate to see this assignment end. I'm not going to like going back to work, and going back to just being friends with you."

"We'll never "just" be friends, Sarah. I love you." He couldn't believe he'd actually said that to her.

"Is that true?"

"Yeah, it's true. It's been true almost since the first moment I met you. Even Annie knew it, she said that I was secretly in love with you."

"Why didn't you ever say so before."

"I guess I was afraid to. I know you don't feel the same way."

"You've got some nerve, Sailor, telling me how I feel."

"What do you mean?"

"Did Annie tell you that I was in love with you too?"

"No, of course not."

"See, she's not as smart as she thinks she is."

"Sarah, what are you saying?"

"You can call me Mac, " she laughed, "but both of us love you."

He eagerly pressed his lips to the end of her nose, but she moved his mouth downward to meet hers.

The kiss was filled with intensity and real meaning.

After they had gotten up and dressed, he carefully folded her uniform jacket and placed it neatly in the top of his camera case.

They enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together, then headed for class.

In the classroom/ gym, she helped him begin to set up his camera equipment. They spoke in quiet tones.

"Harm, do you think this will work?" she whispered.

"Just be calm and don't tip our hand. It'll work fine, Sweetheart."

"I like hearing you call me that."

"Me too."

Ferguson entered from across the room as Harm began to mount the video camera on its tripod.

He came closer to their position. "Well, Masterson, I need to talk to you."

"Excuse me, Roger." She walked toward him. "Yes, sir, what is it?"

"I can't believe you, Sarah. You turn me down, then you go spend the night with your boyfriend, here."

"What do you know about what Roger and I are doing?"

"I make it a point to know what all of my girls are doing. It's the mark of a good officer. You picked that loser over me? What am I, not good enough for you? You don't care about your career at all, do you?"

"Yes, Sir. I do care about my career. I want to be a good marine."

"Did you think about what I told you yesterday about my doubts concerning your ability to succeed?"

"Yes, Sir, I did. And I want to prove to you that I can be a good officer. Are there extra assignments that I can do to help convince you that I'm qualified?"

"There's only one way, Sarah. Come to the beach with me next weekend. Give me some of what you gave this no good reporter last night. If you can sleep with him, you can sleep with me. If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours ­so to speak."

Mac shot Harm a look that told him that now was the time.

He approached, saying, "Lt. Ferguson, I don't think the two of you have ever really been properly introduced."

"Get lost, Harmon. Pretty soon, I'll know her as well as you do, right, Sarah?"

Harm set his camera bag down and opened it.

Mac extended her arms behind her back, while Harm helped her on with her uniform jacket.

Ferguson's jaw went slack when he saw her oak leaves.

Harm spoke up, "Lt. Ferguson, this is Major Sarah MacKenzie, Jag Corp."

Mac finished the thought, "And this is my partner, Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb."

"You're lawyers, and ..... you set me up."

"We just observed your behavior, lieutenant." Harm said..

"None of your accusations will stick. It's just your word against mine."

Harm got to inform him that the video camera that should have been recording the morning drills had been turned on him, instead.

It was Mac who had the pleasure of saying, "You are under arrest for sexual harassment and conduct unbecoming an officer. You have the right to........."

After Ferguson had been taken away, he smiled at her. "My Darling, I told you it would all work out that way. He kissed her as they exited the building, arm in arm.