Title: 24/7: Friday-A 1/2

Disclaimer: puh-leeze

Summary: A week in the lives of our favorite should-be couple.

Spoilers: Boomerang II, A little of the one where Mac spills the beans to Sturgis, but nothing major.

AN2: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to post this! I’ve had a TON of stuff going on. And this has nothing to do with the sorry, but I had an interview for what would be the bomb internship. And I don’t know how many of you are Christians, but those of you who are, if you guys could just pray for me that I get it. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime.

AN3: Oh yeah, one more thing. I know NOTHING about the military, so all of this is BS. Don’t flame me for any inaccuracy. Relationships and romance are my specialty. Not military and law.

Friday Morning

6:00am

Harm groaned as he slammed the snooze button on the alarm. He collapsed against the pillow for one more moment before he shot up. ‘It’s Friday.’ He all but jumped out of bed and walked quickly over to his duffel bag. Rummaging around, he pulled out a pair of cotton jogging shorts, the t-shirt from the JAG-a-thon and some clean socks. He dressed quickly and brushed his teeth, before knocking on the door to Mac’s adjoining room.

‘Who on earth is pounding on that door at 6:00am.’ She rolled out of bed. ‘My nice warm bed.’ She thought sourly and pulled it open. Her mouth dropped open. Harmon Rabb Jr., the same man who couldn’t even get to work on time was standing in the doorway, dressed for jogging. “Harm, what are you doing here?”

He smiled that killer grin; the one she found almost impossible to resist, and said, “I woke up early, thought maybe you’d want to join me for a jog.”

She looked at him like he had lost his mind. Which only made the smile more irresistible. “You are aware that its only 6:00.”

Harm nodded. “Yes I am. Now get dressed and let’s go. We have time for a good run before we have to go see our clients.” He grinned. “Come on.”

Mac sighed and smiled. “Give me a few minutes.” She shut the door and began to go through her bag. She found some pink shorts and a white tank top. She brushed her teeth and pulled on some shoes and socks before reopening the door. “Ok Flyboy. Lets go.” She shut the door behind her and they left.

Harm parked the rental car at the nearby trail and parked in a close spot. They got out of the car and stretched a few minutes before taking off. They settled into a light jog, not really saying much as they circled the track. Mac noticed Harm’s breathing was becoming labored and slowed. “Harm are you ok?”

He stopped and nodded. “Yeah.” He gasped. “I haven’t worked out much since my crash. My lungs still hurt every once in a while.”

She gaped at him. “Harm, why didn’t you tell me.” Concern evident in her voice. “Why are you jogging if it hurts?”

He looked at her and softly said, “I wanted to spend time with you. The way we used to.”

She sighed softly. “Oh Harm.” Her hand moved to cup his cheek and his hand covered hers. He leaned in to kiss her when she jerked away. “Don’t.”

He jerked away. “I’m sorry.” He sighed and moved his hand from hers. “Mac please, how can I prove to you that I love you.”

She dropped her hand from his face and smiled softly. “I have no idea.” Mac sighed. “Harm, I don’t know what its going to take to get things right between us. It will probably just take time.”

Harm nodded softly. “We should go. I need to rest some then we need to meet our clients.”

“Ok.” She stood up and began to walk back to the car.

“Mac.” He called softly.

She turned to face him. “I do love you.”

She smiled softly and then continued the walk back to the car.

***

“Ensign,” Mac groaned softly, “With all due respect, what the hell were you thinking?”

Maria Dakota shrugged and began to twirl a strand of hair around a manicured finger. “Ma’am, all I could think about was that David was in trouble. And I needed to help him. Following an order wasn’t as important as saving my boyf- my partners life.”

“Was it worth your career?”

“Ma’am, these fraternization regs are a crock.” Maria stood up and walked over to the window. “I tried fighting how I felt about him, but you can’t help who you fall in love with. The right person is the right person. God doesn’t care about rules and the military when he makes us. He makes us to fit perfectly with someone else. God’s law comes first. Admiral Jeffereys law comes second.”

“Maria, I do understand. And that’s why I’m going to do everything in my power to help you.”

***

“Commander, I couldn’t help falling in love with her. She was absolutely everything I’ve ever dreamed of.” David smiled as he thought of the beautiful blonde who had captured his heart. A long curtain of wavy blonde hair and big blue eyes. Tiny; barely 5’3”. When he held her, his chin rested on her head. “I love her, sir. It’s more then physical. We have this bond that transcends everything I’ve ever known. She knew I was in danger, and she knew exactly where to find me. That’s more then luck. That’s fate.” David laughed softly. “I’m sure you think I’m insane. Believing in stuff like fate and destiny and soul mates.”

Harm smiled. “On the contrary. This summer, I was in a plane crash. The tomcat I was flying crashed in the middle of the Atlantic. My partner, Lt. Colonel MacKenzie knew exactly where to find me. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead.”

David looked at his lawyer; hope shining in his large brown eyes. “So you’ll be able to help us, sir?”

“I’m going to do everything I can.” Harm promised.

***

“They’re so sweet.” Mac said once she and Harm were together. “Maria loves him so much.”

He nodded. “I know. And David loves her just as much. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone light up the way he did when he was talking about her.”

“It’s funny.” She said softly. “They’re half our age, and yet they’re so much more together then we are. And I’m not just talking about in the relationship way.”

Harm smiled. “Yeah, I know. Talking to David just made me feel like an idiot.”

Mac nodded. “I know.” She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “This should be a pretty easy case. Maria will probably get court martialed, but she doesn’t really care. All she wants is to be with David. She’s already got a civilian job lined up.”

He glanced at her, his eyes wide. “She’s giving up that easy? We’re a great team, Mac. We could find some way to keep her in.”

She shook her head. “She doesn’t want to stay in. She doesn’t want to be penalized in the future for loving someone. And when they decide to get married and have kids, one of them will have to leave anyways. Maria just thinks it will be easier to do it now.”

Harm nodded. “Yeah, that’s true.” he stood up. “I’m gonna go call the Admiral and check in with him. Let him know that this is a very easy case and thank him for the vacation.”

Mac smiled. “All right.” She stood too. “I’m going to go back to the room.”

“Wait a few minutes. Then we can drive there.”

She shook her head. “Its not far. And I want to walk. Clear my head you know. I’ll see you in a little while. Maybe we can go out to dinner.”

It took all he had not to let her know what he was planning. “Ok. I’ll be back at the hotel in a bit. I’m going to take a nap when, but when I wake up, I’ll come get you and we can go eat.”

She nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll see you in a bit.”

***

An hour later

Harm parked the car and unlocked the door to his room. He picked up the phone and dialed Mac’s number. She answered after two rings. “Hey.” he said softly.

“How did the talk with the Admiral go?” She asked.

“Decent. Just wanted to let you know I was back. I’m bout to take a nap, but I will call you when I wake up.”

Mac smiled. “Actually I’m gonna rest for a while too. But I’ll see you later, ok.”

“It’s a date. Sleep well, Sarah.” He gently hung the phone up before she could respond. Harm stood up and changed out of his uniform. Hanging lights and setting up a romantic atmosphere would not be easy in his uniform. Harm tore open a package of lights and began to string them around the drab motel room. When those were stretched to their limit, he opened another package. After a while, he had them perfect. They formed a perfect, straight border around the room. “Next, candles.” He said to himself. He opened the bag full of the new; gardenia scented candles and began to distribute them around the room. Then, he pulled out the tablecloth and spread it over the drab little table. It was amazing at what a few elegant touches could do to this room. “Flowers,” He muttered. He pulled out the crystal vase and set it in the middle of the table, then sitting two tall gardenia candles on either side of it. The roses he bought would look beautiful in it. Taking a cup, he filled the vase with water and then decoratively placed the roses in. He took a few steps back and admired the room. ‘Pretty good, if I may say so myself.’ He thought. It would look even better when the lights were off and the room was lit by the stands of lights and the candles. And image of Mac in his arms, surrounded by tiny, glowing lights and the sensual scent of gardenias filled his head. Walking back to his bag, he took out some newspaper wrapped packages. His grandmother’s china. She had given it to him ages ago, when he was having an important dinner party. Tiny pink flowers edges and gold lines edged the delicate white china. He sat the table like his mother always had taught him. He set out the silverware and the crystal champagne flutes. ‘The drinks.’ He thought quickly. Harm turned the little fridge as cold as it would go, and put up the juice he had bought. Finally, he sat down on the bed and sighed softly. He hoped Mac would like all of this. He thought she’d get a kick out of what he had planned on serving for dinner. Harm lay back on the bed and then adjusted so he could set the alarm clock. He set it to wake him up at 6:00. ‘Wake up at 6:00, shower, dress, and be ready to win Mac by 7:00.’

***

Harm’s Room

6:45

He buttoned the last button of his dress whites and looked in the mirror. He sighed and went into the main part of the room. The lights were dimmed. The strands of lights were on, making the room sparkle. The candles were lit, and the CD player was cued up, ready to go at the right moment. Harm took a deep breath and picked up the phone, dialing Mac’s number.

“its about time, *Stickboy*, I’m staving.”

He smiled. His Marine was always hungry. “We’ll I’m ready. So get dressed and get over here.”

“Get dressed?” She asked, confused. “Where are we going?”

“Someplace nice. Get that marine six and gear and meet me here when you get done. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

The line went dead. ‘He can be so aggravating.’ She thought to herself. “Something nice.” She muttered. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere ni-” She lifted a dress out of her bag. She dropped it like she had been burnt. “How in the hell did this get in here.” It was the green dress she had wore that night on the ferry in Australia. The night Harm had shattered her heart and her dreams. Sighing, she picked the dress back up and held it against her. It was a beautiful dress. And it looked great on her. She groaned, quickly stripped and slid into it. It fit perfectly. She pulled on a pair of heeled sandals, touched up her make up and sighed again. She grabbed her purse and knocked on Harm’s door.

He took a deep breath. “This is it.” he muttered to himself. “I’m going to get this right tonight.”

End Part 5-A

He he he. It was getting REALLY long so I decided to split part 5 up. If y’all are good and give me feedback part 5-B could be out in a few hours J

Title: 24/7: Friday-B 2/2

Disclaimer: puh-leeze

Summary: A week in the lives of our favorite should-be couple.

Spoilers: Boomerang II, A little of the one where Mac spills the beans to Sturgis, but nothing major.

He opened the door. She gasped. Eyes locked and no words were spoken. They simply stared.

“You’re beautiful.” He finally managed to whisper.

She took in her surroundings. Soft music piped through the speakers of the stereo, candles and Christmas lights gave off a romantic glow and there was Harm. His whites immaculate, his smile enough to make even the strongest woman weak in the knees. “Harm what’s going on?” She finally managed to get out.

“Come in, please.” He requested. He moved from the doorway so she could walk in. “I um… I have something for you.” She watched, curiosity bubbling in her, as Harm unzipped his duffle bag. He pulled out a stuffed animal. When he handed it to her, she gasped again.

“It was you.”

Harm nodded, suddenly self-conscious. “The other toy was a Marine. This bear is NAVY. Things are only as they should be when they are together.”

Mac held the toy at arms length, studying it. It was absolutely adorable. Curly brown fur, and a little white sailor suit. His nametag read ‘NAVY’. “Harm…”

“You look beautiful.” He said softly.

She looked down at her dress. “Any idea how this got in my bag?” She smiled slightly. “I haven’t worn it since that night.”

He took her hand and led her to the bed. “I put it in there. Remember how I had to use the bathroom before we left your apartment? I wasn’t in the bathroom. I was getting this dress.” Seeing that she looked more confused then ever, he clarified. “Mac, ever since that night, I’ve had this image of you in my head. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, wearing a dress that only makes you even more gorgeous, looking heartbroken. I want to replace that image. From now on, when I picture you in that dress, I don’t want to see tears in your eyes. I want to see you happy. Because you’ll know how much I love you.” She started to say something and he gently covered her lips with his fingers. “Sarah, you asked me to show you how much I love you. That’s what I want to do. Will you let me?”

Not being able to say anything, she nodded. He took her hand and led her over to the table. He pulled out a chair for her and when she sat, he slid her closer to the table. He flashed her that famous grin and said, “I know for your mystery date you were expecting La Tours, but, as usual nothing goes the way we planned.”

“Everything looks beautiful, Harm.”

“I tried.” He said, “But I was talking about the dinner.” As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. Harm smiled and got up to get it. Mac laughed out loud when she saw a pizza box.

“Your right.” She said, still laughing. “Its not ‘La Tours’ but as long as there is some meat on that pizza, its all good.”

Harm’s grin only got larger as he opened the box, revealing a large pepperoni pizza. “I’m willing to eat pepperoni, Mac. That in itself should show you how much I love you.”

She laughed. “Eat a couple of pieces and we’ll see.”

***

Harm ate three pieces. And of course complained about it afterwards. “I can feel my arteries clogging.” He said good-naturedly. Mac smiled softly and Harm sighed. “We do need to talk, Mac.”

Her defenses up, she stood and walked over to the window. “We’ve already talked. We spent all day Tuesday alternating between talking and fighting. There’s really nothing else to say.”

“There is so much left to say.” He said simply. He got up and walked over to her. Putting his hand on her arm, he turned her gently to face him. “I’ve always made simple things complicated. And you’ve always made complicated things simple. I’m tired of dancing around one another, I’m tired of talking in riddles, and I’m tired of not being with you Mac. I want you. I love you. I have for so long, I just never knew how to say it.”

“What changed that now you’re able to say it?”
Harm took a deep breath. Everything with him and Mac rested on his ability to express what he was feeling. “I don’t want to lose you Mac. That night on the ferry, if I had known you would have been wearing Mic’s ring before we left, I would like to think things would have been different that night. Because the next year was hell for me. Seeing you with him, watching you plan your wedding, everything except your engagement party was torture for me. Mac you were the one that has put off us talking. And that first night we met Caroline; I saw how you acted to her. And when Sturgis told me she was interested, I thought, ‘what the hell. Maybe it will make Mac mad enough to want to talk.’ I had no clue you would get so mad that your drink would end up on me.”

She smiled at the memory. “Harm, you of all people should know that making me jealous doesn’t help matters. I retreat back into my little corner. You’re the one that jealousy works on, and I’m guessing Harriet and Sturgis know that. And that’s why they had me go out with Jake.”

“I realize that now.” He said with a sad smile. “But seeing you with Jake, it was like something in me just snapped. I realized that if I didn’t get through the program, one of these days I was going to end up going through another hellish year like 2000. I want to be with you, Sarah. I want to kiss you goodnight and bring you breakfast in bed. I want to watch you walk towards me in a long white dress, and I want to put my ring on your finger. I want to watch our children grow up with you. I want to be with you forever.”

Mac mouth was slightly open. She had never thought Harm would make a declaration like that. “Harm…”

He once again placed two fingers over her lips. “Mac, don’t say anything. Ok. Let me finish. I love you so much, Sarah. Let me make you happy. Give me a chance. Give us a chance. Mac, we deserve happiness. We’ve been through so much. I think it’s finally our turn.”

“I love you too.” She whispered softly. She was in awe of the look in his eyes. The pure love that glimmered through the veil of unshed tears. With one swift move he pulled her into his arms and crushed her to his chest. “I love you so much.” She repeated; her voice muffled by his shirt. He pulled back and looked at her. He cupped her cheek and leaned in, touching his lips gently to hers.

A moan escaped from her, as he deepened the kiss. He held her closer to him and lifted her up. Breaking apart for a second, he lifted her completely in his arms. She linked her arms back around his neck and kissed him again. They collapsed on the bed, their mouths never parting. Using all of the willpower he had, he pulled away from her and gazed at her lovingly. “I don’t want to rush you.” He whispered.

Mac smiled, his sweetness melting her heart. “You’re not. I’ve wanted you since the day I met you.” She leaned up, giving him a brief kiss. “Make love to me, Harm.”

He grinned. “Whatever you say, Ma’am.

End ‘Friday’

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