Title: Impropriety

Background: Originally Posted Fall 2004. Set sometime in season nine. There was no stint in the CIA, Harm came back to JAG; there’s no Mattie, and Webb didn’t get anywhere with Mac after Paraguay. Anything else that doesn’t line up with season nine happenings, or seems absurd, please ignore.

Rating: NC- 17 (to maintain a PG13 rating do not read chapter 23.5)

Summary: Harm and Mac work a case to catch a blackmailer.

Special thanks to RJ. Without his constant support, advice, suggestions and occasional scripting this story would never have been.

Chapter 1

Snapping the latch shut on his briefcase, Harmon Rabb Jr. turned to his opposing counsel.

"I’m still willing to talk deal." Harm had delivered another exemplary oration in his closing arguments, but wasn’t really confident that he’d succeeded in convincing the jury.

"Not this time. My client is innocent and we’re going to wait for the verdict." Colonel Sarah MacKenzie shook her head as she followed Harm out of the courtroom.

"You have a flimsy case, built strictly on circumstantial evidence and you know it," Mac began as she and Harm walked through the bullpen.

"Colonel, Commander," Petty Officer Jennifer Coates interrupted at first sight of her superior officers.

"The Admiral wants to see you in his office." Extending her hands, "Let me take those for you sir, ma’am, I believe he’s in a hurry."

Recognizing that look of ‘don’t mess with the Admiral today’, Harm and Mac handed Jennifer their briefcases and headed directly to the Admiral’s office.

Finding the door wide open, Harm tapped lightly on the frame with one knuckle. Admiral Chegwidden had been standing by the window when he heard the knock.

"Enter."

"You wanted to see us, sir." Harm and Mac stood at attention.

"Be seated." The admiral sat down as well.

"People, a situation has been brought to my attention. It appears one of the Sec Nav’s friends has recently taken early retirement. This officer still had a bright future ahead of him."

Harm and Mac sat patiently waiting for the balance of information.

"Apparently, this officer has confided in the Sec Nav as a friend that he is being blackmailed. There are some suggestions of impropriety that would have devastating affects on his marriage as well as his career. He has implied there are other officers who are facing similar situations, some choosing to pay, others choosing to retire as he has. None, however, are willing to come forward officially to stop the blackmailer."

The Admiral paused to consider his officers and what he had to say next. "I’m sure you’re aware that scuttlebutt has a way of making rounds in Washington regardless of whether or not there’s any factual basis."

"Yes, sir," the two chorused.

The Admiral nodded his head. "Good, then what I have to say will not come as a total surprise to you."

Harm and Mac glanced at each other sideways in silent communication. This wasn’t sounding good.

"The Sec Nav seems to think the two of you are the best ones to handle this case, he insists on it. His idea is to set a trap for the blackmailer or blackmailers. Due to the long standing working relationship you have, and the many years of scuttlebutt that have come from a misunderstanding of that relationship, he feels the two of you could easily become the next target."

"Sir?" Harm asked.

Chegwidden walked around to the front of the two officers, and leaned back against his desk.

"He wants you to give the impression of impropriety," sighing heavily, "fraternization in particular."

"Excuse me, sir. I think I’m missing something here." Mac spoke, concern evident in her voice. Posing as Webb’s pregnant wife was one thing, but cozying up to Harm was definitely playing with fire.

"Colonel, surely you must be aware that half of Washington has suspected something inappropriate between you and the Commander for years. Lindsey’s report to the Sec Nav last year practically came right out and accused you of it."

Mac’s mind flashed instantly to the night in McMurphy’s many moons ago when Carolyn Imes had refused to believe that she and Harm had never... well never.

"Obviously, because of your ranks you can not be charged with fraternization, but none the less, two officers having an illicit affair under the same command can be considered detrimental to good order and discipline and is most definitely frowned upon." The Admiral took a deep breath.

"Since we have no leads as to who the source of this problem might be, it could take an enormous amount of time before questionable conduct among any other officers would reach the attention of our alleged blackmailer. With the help of some minor changes in behavior and a few ‘slips’ from well placed friends, confirmation of your relationship would be scuttlebutt all over Washington within hours."

"You’re thinking my history with the article 32 and the admiral's mast will make me an excellent target. Both for believability, as well as another mark on my record could scuttle my career." Mac was beginning to agree the Sec Nav might be right. It wouldn't be a stretch for someone to think if she'd had an affair with an officer before, why not again.

The Admiral nodded his head.

"Sir, exactly who would these well placed friends be?" Harm asked, not completely convinced this was such a good idea. He also knew playing house with Mac could prove to be more than he could handle.

"Mostly your closest friends. Lt. Roberts and Sims, Commander Turner, Senator Latham, and Petty Officer Coates."

"Harriet would definitely be good for this type of operation, sir." This was the first thing Harm had found amusing since he and Mac came into the office.

"Lt. Roberts will quietly dig around the Sec Nav’s friend, Captain DeNicholo. Hopefully he will come up with something more substantial for us. In the meantime, I want to make something clear. I’m not asking for blatant conduct unbecoming. This needs to appear as though your relationship has not changed. Any behavior has to appear as accidental confirmation of long time suspicions."

"Sir, is all this really necessary?" Mac asked.

"Colonel, we simply do not know how far reaching this situation is. With only hearsay from one source, we have no way of knowing how high ranking the other victims are, or more important still, if money isn’t the only thing these people are interested in. I realize this is asking a great deal of you and the Commander, for personal, as well as professional reasons. I can’t promise you there won’t be long term effects on the rumor mill. I can, however, guarantee you this will not in anyway affect your official records."

"Yes, sir. Understood," Mac relented. The Admiral was right, as long as there was even the slightest of chances that high ranking officers could be trading top secret information to hide past or present indiscretions, it was her duty to do what ever she could to stop it.

"I will leave it up to you to decide how to proceed with this assignment. Dismissed."

"Aye, aye." Harm and Mac turned on their heels to leave. Both flabbergasted beyond words, wondering how they were going to handle what they’d just gotten themselves into.

The absurdity of this entire situation was beginning to give AJ a major headache. He knew how these two felt about each other and wasn’t sure if this was exactly the kick in the pants they needed to finally come to their senses or if it would be the straw that broke the camels back and would end the relationship once and for all.

Chapter 2

Following Mac into her office and closing the door behind them, Harm took a seat in front of Mac’s desk.

"Any ideas how we’re going to go about this?" Mac asked, leaning back against her chair.

Rubbing his hands through his hair quickly. "No, how about you?" Harm leaned forward.

"Well the Admiral doesn’t want this to appear obvious, so at least that eliminates checking into a sleazy motel." Mac almost cracked a smile.

Harm looked up at Mac, a sliver of an idea forming.

Noticing the odd gleam in his eye. "What are you thinking?" Mac asked somewhat nervously.

"The Admiral said we couldn’t outright change our behavior because it needed to appear that this is something that has been going on all along. It’s critical our behavior appear to be a casual slip. Right?"

Mac nodded her head, cautiously waiting for him to go on.

"If we were to start spending the night at each other’s apartment, or kissing publicly in some out of the way restaurants, or occasionally hold hands discreetly someplace in uniform, all of those things would be out of character for the way we’ve behaved over the last eight years."

"I would think that’s pretty obvious, we haven’t been having an affair all these years." Mac couldn’t see where Harm was going with this.

"Exactly, anything we try under normal circumstances would look suspicious to an intelligent person and it’s best not to underestimate this blackmailer from the start. Now, don’t say no until you hear me out." Harm waited for Mac to agree before continuing.

"What if we pretend you’ve gotten pregnant? Intelligent, mature, educated people get pregnant accidentally all the time. No birth control is guaranteed to work 100% of the time. It would force us to behave differently and certainly would provide new ammunition for the rumor mill."

Mac sat there, her eyebrows touching the ceiling, her jaw kissing the floor. The man had lost his mind.

Harm could tell this wasn’t going over well, but at least she wasn’t screaming no.

"Think about it Mac, an unplanned pregnancy among two officers having an affair definitely constitutes a slip up."

Mac had to admit this most certainly would count as a slip up. To be more precise, the mother of all slip ups.

"Lets, for just a minute, say I agree with you. Exactly what do you have in mind?" Mac’s mind flashed to those horrible weeks in Paraguay wearing that horrendously uncomfortable and heavy maternity suit.

"Well, we’d probably have to talk to Harriet, but you could fake some of the symptoms. Pretend you’re ill and go to the ladies room. People are always quick to assume the worst."

A small grin began to grow out of the corner of her mouth. "I suppose your going with me to the gynecologist would raise a few eyebrows." The grin was now full blown.

Harm had to pick his jaw up off the floor. Payback was payback. "Could be," he grinned.

"Is it a plan then?" Harm asked timidly.

"How about this, let’s invite Bud and Harriet over to my place tonight and we can discuss it with them. If Harriet can come up with some good ideas, and I don’t have to wear another suit, yeah, maybe this idea could work."

Mac’s apartment

Georgetown

Later that evening

"Wow, how long has this been going on?" Harriet asked astonished.

"That’s part of the problem. No one knows. We’re all going into this rather blindly," Harm answered.

"I even called Clay to see if the company had any info that might help us out. No wind of any blackmailing rings involving officers is blowing at Langley," Mac added.

"You called Webb?" Harm questioned, rather sternly.

"You’re just upset you didn’t think of it first."

"No, but at least we know everyone at Langley is on the same page," Harm smiled innocently at Mac.

"Catherine?"

"Catherine," he nodded.

Bud and Harriet looked at each other, confused as to what their superiors found so amusing.

"It looks like it’s up to you Bud, we’ll need you to keep us posted on any new info you’re able to get from Captain DeNicholo." Harm informed Bud, his lips pressed tightly at the seriousness of the situation.

"That could be a while. I made some preliminary phone calls as soon as the Admiral gave me the assignment. DeNicholo was definitely on the right track career wise. Rumor has it he was on the short list for Military Liaison to Homeland Security. There also seems to be some scuttlebutt before he retired regarding himself and a female other than his wife. Unfortunately, the good Captain and his family are on a cruise. I won’t be able to talk to him and confirm anything for at least another week," Bud sighed, silently requesting his friend’s understanding.

"In that case, let’s get down to business," Harriet began. "There are a couple of things you could do right away that will eventually create suspicion. Firstly, you need to start using the ladies room more often. By the time any woman is nine months pregnant, she is intimately familiar with every restroom in a 500 mile radius."

Mac looked at Harriet curiously. "I never noticed you using the restroom that often."

"You’re not a busy body. Besides, don’t you remember that Saturday we went antiqueing outside of town when I was pregnant with AJ and you found it amusing that the first thing I did at every location was ask where the bathroom was just in case?"

"I’d forgotten about that," Mac smiled, wondering if this idea might just work.

"Changing some eating habit would help. Stop eating burgers and start eating salads, or maybe stop drinking coffee and drink tea. There are two sides to the eating change. One is pregnant women try to avoid certain things, like caffeine. The other is, pregnancy often turns you off of an old favorite food or onto another. I crave mint sauce when I’m pregnant," Harriet shrugged.

"If you walk into the break room and someone is heating up something smelly, put your hand on your stomach and act nauseous excusing yourself from the room. That will send rumors flying so fast, you’ll find yourself home nursing triplets before you know it." Harriet paused scanning her memory banks for more symptoms.

"You can help too, sir." Bud interjected. "Start doing more for the Colonel." Noting Harm’s confused expression Bud went into more detail.

"Don’t let her carry anything heavy. Even something light like her briefcase. Offer to get her food all the time. Bring her tea or juice without her asking. Offer her a chair, or suggest shouldn’t she be resting when you see her standing." Bud paused to think of more possibilities.

"You’re trying to get me killed aren’t you?" Harm teased. Under normal circumstances if he were to try any of Bud’s suggestions, Mac would have his head on a platter.

"No, sir," Bud chuckled, understanding full well that as a marine, Mac didn’t take well to being coddled.

"Sir, it shouldn’t be that hard for you. Try to convince yourself that the Colonel really is pregnant. Then just do what comes naturally, the same way you did things for me," Harriet pointed out. "Remember, every time you saw me carrying a stack of files, you’d pull them away from me and ask, "should you be carrying those?" Harriet smiled at the recollection.

The rest of the evening was spent mapping out the details of the change in Mac and Harm’s behavior as well as opportunities for the insiders to encourage the rumors. Quietly, Harm and Mac wondered to themselves what had they gotten into?

Chapter 3

JAG headquarters

The following week

Mac had been the first to start her assignment. She was sneaking at least 64 ounces of water in an 8 hour time period to ensure frequently needing to use the ladies room. Mac had also made it a point to be in the break room often during lunch, turning her nose up at the smell of food whenever possible. After only one week the rumor mill had begun buzzing.

Taking advantage of the unusually warm spring day, Mac and Harriet sat at an isolated table out on the patio enjoying lunch together for the first time since the plan had been put into operation.

"I haven’t heard anyone suggest anything specific yet, but when I was in the ladies room yesterday, I overheard Petty Officers Jennings and Maroney chatting about how odd your behavior has been and wondering what could be causing it." Satisfied with her report, Harriet leaned back in the chair.

"I thought I’d noticed a few people stop talking as I get closer," Mac commented. "I wasn’t sure if maybe I was being paranoid. I guess not."

"It’s probably time to move on to the food changes, and soon have Harm start doting." Harriet picked up her sandwich to take a bite.

"I hope this doesn’t take too long." Mac took a sip of her drink, her frustration showing already.

"Look on the bright side, if this were real, you’d have at least eight more months ahead of you," Harriet giggled merrily.

"Gee, thanks." Mac snorted. Deep down she couldn’t help being reminded about their deal. As much as she complained, she’d like nothing more than to be expecting a baby with Harm. Absentmindedly, her hand dropped to her stomach. Both she and Harriet were unaware of the prying eyes not far away.

"Have you and the Commander come up with any other ideas to help this along?" Harriet took a bite of her lunch.

"Not really, Harm and I have had dinner together every night except Tuesday at either his place or mine." Mac paused to roll her eyes. "God, that sounds like such a tired cliché." She and Harriet giggled quietly.

"We’ve made it a point to leave really late, but who knows if it’ll make any difference yet. We’re pretty much just playing it by ear, depending on how the rumor mill works out. I think you’re visit with Bobbi will be the next catalyst," Mac shrugged.

The two women finished their lunch while Harriet entertained Mac with more maternity stories to hopefully help Mac ‘feel’ the part.

Senator Latham’s office

Washington DC

Next day

"Marge, have I gotten that background info yet on the next USO tour?" Bobbi Latham carefully inquired through the intercom.

"Yes, ma’am. A Lt. Harriet Sims is waiting for you now," Marge replied. She’d wondered for several days how her boss got roped into doing PR for the USO. Whatever the reason, there was bound to be a crusade to be won somewhere.

"Great, send her in." Bobbi stood at her desk as Harriet closed the door behind her and made herself comfortable in one of the large chairs.

"Do you really think this will work, ma’am?" Harriet shifted in her seat.

"Trust me, Harriet. Marge is the biggest blabbermouth on the hill. If we want scuttlebutt to start churning from both ends of the city, Marge is the one to start it."

"If you say so." Harriet wasn’t convinced, but she was willing to try.

"I think five more minutes and we should be ready to start. You know what to do right?" Bobbi kept her eyes on her wristwatch.

"Ready when you are."

Waiting the suggested five minutes, Bobbi hit the key on her intercom. "Marge, come in here, please."

Paying careful attention to the office door, Harriet waited until the precise moment she saw the doorknob begin to turn.

"They’ve been so careful all these years. I can’t imagine what this will do to their careers if it’s true." Harriet tried to look serious.

As Marge made her way to the desk, Bobbie held up her hand to Harriet feigning the need for privacy.

"Marge, I need you to get me everything you can on Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. and Lt. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. Both official and off the record, and keep this on the QT." Bobbi knew full well, that last request alone would spark Marge’s curiosity if nothing else had.

"Right away, Senator." Marge turned quickly, wondering if the scuttlebutt for all these years had finally come to a head.

Once the door was closed. "I think we got her. I’d recognize that stalking cat look from a mile away. She’ll find out what you’re talking about and all of Washington will know within the week," Bobbi smiled, satisfied with their plan.

"I certainly hope so. The Colonel is already tired of playing pregnant. If she has to wear another one of those suits, none of us may survive this," Harriet chuckled, only partly teasing.

"YOU hope this is over soon? Not that I don’t want to help, but I have too much on my plate already. If this whole thing isn’t settled quickly, you’re looking at the new Congressional Liaison for the USO," Bobbi laughed, shaking her head.

Few days later

JAG ops

Harm was coming out of Mac’s office. He had been looking for her for over 15 minutes when a panicked Petty Officer O’Reilly practically knocked him over rushing to her office.

"Whoa, slow down Petty Officer," Harm admonished, momentarily forgetting about his search for Mac.

"Sorry, sir. It’s just that Colonel MacKenzie is 10 minutes late for court and Admiral Morris is about to eat everyone alive if we don’t find her, sir." Standing at attention, the Petty Officer’s eyes darted towards Mac’s office.

"Carry on, Petty Officer," Harm nodded, fear instantly erupting. Glancing around the bullpen, Harm turned towards the Admiral’s office just as Coates came around the corner.

"Sir, do you know where the Colonel may have gone?" Jen asked, barely slowing down.

"I was just coming to ask you the same thing." This wasn’t like Mac. She was never late for court, unless…

"Jennifer you check the cafeteria, I’ll check the law library." Looking over, Harm called across the bullpen to Harriet. "Lt. Sims."

Harriet recognized the look in Harm’s eyes. Something was wrong. Hurrying to his side, "Yes, sir?"

"Check and see if Mac is in the ladies room. She’s late for court." Harm didn’t need to say anything else. Harriet knew as well as anyone, Mac was never late for court.

Harriet raced to the ladies room. A wave of dread had spread across the bullpen in minutes. Personnel were scattering around the building checking all the likely, and unlikely places the Colonel might be.

Shoving the heavy door open, Harriet came to an abrupt stop at the sight before her. ‘Oh, this is too good to be true,’ she thought.

Popping her head out the door, she called down the hall. "I found her, someone get Commander Rabb."

Normally Harriet would never have sent for Harm just yet, but she couldn’t let the opportunity slip by. Turning to her friend, draped across the floor, wearily embracing the commode, Harriet grabbed some paper towels and ran them under the cold water.

Stepping up to the stall Mac was in, "What’s this?"

Before Mac could answer, another bout of nausea struck and she lost what little else was left in her stomach.

Ensign Smith entered the ladies room to tell Harriet that Harm was on his way from the law library just in time to hear the wretched sounds coming from Mac’s stall. Cringing slightly at the sound, "The Commander will be here momentarily, ma’am."

"Thank you Ensign. Better have someone tell Admiral Morris the Colonel will not be able to make it today," Harriet ordered, delighted to have a witness to Mac’s miserable condition.

"I know marines are supposed to be gung ho, ma’am. But don’t you think this is carrying an assignment a bit too far?" Harriet grinned.

Chapter 4

"Harriet, if I didn’t love you so much, I’d deck you for that comment." Mac let out a deep sigh.

"What’s wrong, Mac?"

"I must have the flu. I was a little tired this morning and didn’t feel like breakfast. I barely made it into the ladies room once my stomach started doing summersaults. Every time I think I can get up and leave, everything comes up again." Mac had been vomiting off and on for almost an hour, her stomach ached and she was exhausted.

Harm tapped lightly on the door before peering in. "Is the coast clear?"

"Yes, sir. Come on in," Harriet called. "You’re partner here has impeccable timing. It seems she’s chosen now to catch only the second stomach flu she’s had in nine years at JAG." Harriet couldn’t resist smiling at how opportune this flu was.

"You look terrible, marine." Harm couldn’t remember ever seeing Mac such a nice shade of green.

"Sweet talk will get you nowhere." At least Mac hadn’t totally lost her sense of humor.

"If you can help the Colonel up, I’ll go get a trash can so you can take her home." Harriet stood up to leave, pausing near the doorway. "This is just too good to be true!" She announced enthusiastically before continuing out the door.

"Does she always have to be so cheerful?" Mac asked, trying to straighten up a little.

Grinning broadly, "Well, that’s our Harriet. Part of being an over achiever. Are you up to the ride home?"

"Probably not, but if I have to develop a relationship with a toilet, I’d rather it were mine," Mac smiled roughly.

"Understood," Harm nodded.

Once Harriet had returned with the trashcan, Harm helped Mac off the floor. Carefully wrapping his arm around her waist, Mac leaned against him, hugging the waste can tightly against her.

Coates met them outside the ladies room door. "I have your covers, should I get your briefcases too?"

"Thank you, yes, Jen. I’ll take the covers. You go get the briefcases. I’ll meet you at the car." Harm reached out with his spare hand to receive the two covers.

Harm and Mac had barely made it down the hall when the bullpen began buzzing. Harriet and Jen winked at each other. They couldn’t have asked for more. Since her visit to Bobbi Latham’s office, the scuttlebutt had already begun to use the P word. She was sure after today their job was done. Now all they needed was for it to get back to the blackmailer.

JAG Parking Lot

Same time

Patiently he stood on the sidewalk, blending in with the military scenery. His eyes were carefully aware of every movement around him. He’d been through more than a pack of cigarettes waiting for the first sighting of his targets. These military types were such fools. Not a single person had taken notice of his hovering. As long as you look the part, no one gives you a second glance.

Harm never released his hold of Mac as they exited the building. They couldn’t have drawn a larger audience to their departure if they’d published an invitation in the Navy Times. Eyes followed them from doorways, windows, and around corners. Shortening his stride, Harm breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached his car.

"If you’re not feeling better tomorrow, I’ll arrange for someone to bring your car home." Slowly, Mac eased into the front seat of his car. Without giving any thought to being in uniform or on military property, Harm leaned over and gently kissed Mac on the forehead. "I’m sorry you feel so awful."

Stepping around to the driver’s side of the vehicle, Harm never noticed the telephoto lens protruding through the shrubs, nor the scrawny little man in fatigues operating it.

Mac’s apartment

Harm had led Mac immediately to her bedroom. They had only needed to stop once on the way home from work and Harm was thankful when they finally made it to her room.

"Do you need some help getting out of that uniform or can you handle it on your own?" Harm asked sincerely.

"I’m nauseous Harm, not crippled," Mac rolled her eyes. "But, you can get me my pajamas from the back of the bathroom door." She began undoing the buttons on her uniform blouse, she felt too miserable to worry about a sense of modesty.

Harm paused slightly at the sight of Mac’s blouse half unbuttoned when he returned to her bedside. "Here you go. Anything else?" He hoped she said no, he didn’t really want to still be there when the blouse came off. Well, he did but that was better left to another time.

"No thanks," Mac smiled weakly, watching Harm leave the room. She could have sworn he was almost blushing.

Mac fell asleep almost immediately after crawling into bed. Deciding now was as good a time as any to finally read that book everyone was talking about. Harm picked up Mac’s copy of the DeVinci Code and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

Almost an hour had passed when Harm heard Mac heaving. Having long ago taken off his jacket, he rolled up his sleeves and quickly headed for Mac’s room. Unable to do much else other than watch, Harm stepped into the bathroom in search of a washcloth. When he returned to Mac’s bedside with the moist cloth, Mac had already curled up on her side, her eyelids heavy with sleep.

Gently he caressed her face with the small damp towel, wiping away the sweat and exhaustion until she was sound asleep.

A few hours later Harm heard Mac calling his name. Carrying a tray of toast and ginger ale, he smiled at his marine. Even sick she was still beautiful.

"Whatya got there?" She was still a little groggy.

"My mom says once you haven’t thrown up for at least two hours I can start feeding you dry toast and ginger ale." He set the tray on the nightstand before sitting next to her.

"You’re mother taught you that?" She was startled at his nursing skills.

"Not really, I called her and asked her what to do." Harm flashed her a broad smile.

Mac simply rolled her eyes. It was bad enough she felt so awful, she wasn’t thrilled about having it broadcast from coast to coast.

"You’re actually looking much better." Harm put his hand on her forehead.

"I feel much better." She was more surprised than Harm at how much better she was after a little sleep. "Maybe this is just one of those twenty four hour bugs."

"I certainly hope so. It’s no fun watching you be sick." Harm shook his head slightly.

"It’s no picnic for me either, Flyboy." Mac couldn’t get angry with him, he’d been so good to her already.

"I don’t like seeing you in discomfort, Mac." Harm held out a piece of toast. "Mom says you have to eat something. Oh, and that reminds me, Harriet is sending Bud over with some homemade chicken soup."

Mac let out small chuckle. "The American cure all."

Chapter 5

Mac’s apartment

Later that evening

Harm was once again comfortably enjoying Mac’s book when Bud arrived with Harriet’s soup.

"How’s she doing, sir?" Bud handed Harm the large Tupperware tub of homemade soup.

"A lot better thanks. She had some toast and ginger ale about three hours ago and it stayed down. She’s been sleeping ever since. We’re thinking it’s just a twenty four hour bug." Harm signaled for Bud to follow him into the kitchen.

"That’s good. Harriet and I can’t get over the Colonel’s good luck to get sick just when she could use it for an assignment." Bud grinned happily.

"Don’t say THAT to her." Harm shook his head, smiling broadly. "I doubt she considers herself lucky."

"Well, no, sir. What I mean is, if she has to get sick at least there’s some benefit to getting sick NOW," Bud said in a rush.

"Yeah, still, better not say anything about it to her," Harm warned, pouring the soup into a pot on the stove.

"I was able to speak with Captain DeNicholo this afternoon." Bud stepped closer to Harm so he wouldn’t risk waking Mac up.

"It took some doing, but I finally got him to tell me the whole story. At least, I think it’s the whole story. It seams the Captain has been married for about 10 years now. His wife just had their second child last year. Apparently, he was feeling a bit left out of everything and found himself getting closer to his administrative assistant, Petty Officer Margaret Hurley."

Harm turned from his pot to raise one eyebrow at Bud. "Petty Officer?" Harm sighed.

"Yes, sir. The Captain turned 43 this year, that didn’t help matters."

"What about the Petty Officer?"

"Twenty Seven years old, she just came out of a very messy divorce." Bud flipped the page of his pocket notebook. "By the time the two of them came to their senses about what they were risking, the blackmail had already started."

"How long ago was that?" Harm asked lowering the flame on the soup and waving Bud into the living room.

"About six months ago. It started with them receiving some rather…, intimate photos. I believe the blackmailer enjoys toying with his victims."

"Why’s that?" Harm had taken a seat in the chair across from Bud.

"Well, sir, after the initial photos, intimidating phone calls started with no request for payment. It’s like he wanted to watch them sweat it out, or squirm if you will, sir."

Harm nodded his head listening carefully.

"Eventually, a request for $10,000 dollars came with a second batch of photos. He paid that hoping to salvage his marriage and his career. The Petty Officer requested a transfer and they all thought it was behind them, until a new batch of photos appeared again last month. The fee had gone up to $20,000, only this time he was given the option of paying up or resigning. He didn’t have that kind of money, and he didn’t want his wife to find out, so he resigned his commission."

"The blackmailer gave him the out of resigning his commission?" Harm sat back, the wheels turning in his head.

"Yes, sir. It’s a shame too. Until the incident with the Petty Officer, his record was spotless."

"It fits the MO we were given, bright and promising careers. Did he save the envelopes? Is there anything we can try for a finger print match from? A postal mark? Something?"

"No, sir. He burned all of it as soon as it was received. He considered trying to trace the calls the blackmailer made to the Petty Officer, but he never stayed on the line more than 30 seconds."

"Any luck finding out who some of the other victims are?" Harm had leaned forward again.

"No, sir. He refused to mention anyone by name, but he insisted that national security was not being compromised."

"As far as he knows. Why would someone want DeNicholo out of the service? What possible benefit could there be?" Harm asked aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Care to clue me in?" A soft voice carried over from Mac’s doorway.

"MAC, you shouldn’t be out of bed." Harm jumped up at the sound of her voice.

"I’m much better." She made her way over to the empty chair. "Give me the abridged version."

Harm sat back processing what little information Bud had brought, while Mac listened intently to the retelling of events.

"Not much to go on." Mac glanced at Harm, "but, at least we know what to expect next."

Harm just looked at her, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

"P-h-o-t-o-g-r-a-p-h-s." Mac carefully enunciated for Harm.

"Right. Except. Where is he going to get ‘intimate’ photos of us?" Harm retorted back.

"Good point." Mac pressed her lips, twisting her mouth slightly while she thought. "You got any plans tonight, sailor?" Smiling at Harm, she winked to Bud who was now turning beet red.

Shifting to look at Bud, "How intimate were the photos?" Harm asked pointedly.

"He didn’t specify, sir."

"Find out. I want to know if we’re dealing with a Peeping Tom or if we’re talking public indiscretion. Until we find out we’ll have to do what we can to fill both criteria." Without realizing it, Harm and Mac simultaneously let out a quiet sigh. This is the part they had both silently been afraid of – filling the ‘criteria’.

"Yes, sir." Looking down at his watch. "I’d better be going. I don’t think Harriet expected me to stay this long as it is." Bud nodded to his two superior officers before making his way to the door.

"Thanks, Bud. Keep us apprised of anything new." Harm waited for Bud to make his way down the hall before closing the door.

"What are you thinking?" Mac tilted her head as though it would make reading his mind easier.

"That you should be in bed." Harm pointed to Mac’s room.

"Seriously, Harm. Got any ideas?" Mac leaned back in the chair.

In three short strides, Harm was at Mac’s side.

"I seriously think you should be in bed, but, there’s something not right here and I can’t quite place my finger on it. Depending on what Bud finds out about the blackmail photos, we might have to rethink our plan of no public displays of affection."

"And if the photos are more personal than that?" Mac raised an eyebrow.

"Then you’d better start looking for hidden cameras." Reaching for Mac’s hand. "Come on marine, let’s get you back to bed."

"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl," Mac teased in a southern drawl.

Harm tucked Mac into bed, nice and snug before stepping around to the other side of the bed and stripping out of his uniform.

"You’re staying?" Mac tried to stop the corners of her mouth from smiling.

"Well, we might as well do this right. Good night, DEAR." He leaned across the bed and kissed her gently on the forehead. After all, spending the night would certainly add to the impression of intimacy. Not to mention, he just plain wanted to be with her.

Chuckling to herself, Mac sunk further down under the covers. "Night HONEY."

Chapter 6

Rock Creek Park

Two days later

"It looks like there isn’t a soul in the building who doesn’t believe we’re pregnant. No matter how many times Harriet and Coates explained it was a twenty four hour flu, no one could be convinced otherwise," Harm chuckled.

"So Harriet tells me." Mac didn’t find the situation all that amusing. "You realize when all this is over it’s going to be hell trying to set things right again."

Mac had indeed begun to feel better by the following day. Since it was Friday, the Admiral suggested she stay home just to make sure she didn’t further contaminate any of the staff. As a reward for the continued progress scuttlebutt was making, Harm and Mac had decided to treat themselves to a Saturday lunch in the park.

"Let’s just take this thing one day a time." Deep down, this did seem right to him. He knew they were just playing, but the thought of Mac pregnant with his child sent an indescribable thrill up his spine. The thought of actually getting Mac pregnant with his child sent an indescribable thrill a lot of other places too.

"Come here." Harm tugged at Mac’s hand till she lost her balance. Shifting his position slightly, he encouraged Mac to lay her head in his lap.

"We might as well make this look good in case anyone is watching." Gently stroking her hair, the initial tenseness at the close encounter gradually fell away until Mac was willingly enjoying his delicate touch.

"This is just what I needed, thank you," Mac smiled, her eyes closed. "At least now I know why you dragged me to the most secluded corner of this blasted park." The corners of Mac’s mouth curled up a little further.

"I resent that, I did not drag you," Harm huffed. "I merely chose an optimal location to enjoy the afternoon and possibly further our case at the same time."

"I sure wish this thing would hurry up and be over with. If I have to go much longer without coffee at work in the morning I may never recover." Mac still had her eyes closed.

"Well, maybe we can hurry this guy along." Almost in slow motion, Harm slid his arm under Mac’s neck and raised her high enough to meet his eager lips.

Delicately savoring her soft lips against his, Harm tried to remind himself, this is just for show don’t get too involved. He might as well have told himself the moon is made of cheese. Her lips were so soft and tender, caressing his with a gentle, teasing pressure.

Before he knew it, her arms were wrapped around his neck and he had laid her down on the blanket, their lips still locked with magnetic force. Unable to resist the pull any longer, his tongue slid out of it’s cavernous home to graze softly across the seam of her lips, the taste sweeter than honey. He was almost startled when Mac’s lips parted slightly allowing him the exploration he so desperately craved.

This is just an act. You have to maintain some control. Sarah MacKenzie reminded herself. Oh God, this isn’t fair. His tongue sweeping across her lips was too much. She wanted to taste him, all of him. Her tongue darted past his lips, deepening the kiss, magnifying the tingling sensations already flowing through her veins.

Public, you’re in public. Harm reminded himself. His hands desperate to travel along her soft skin, to caress her sensuous curves, to bring her all the pleasure he’d ever dreamed of. But he couldn’t. This isn’t real. When he made love to Sarah MacKenzie she would know it wasn’t an act, wasn't because of an assignment.

Grudgingly, Harm forced himself to pull back. Placing a gentle, more chaste, kiss on her inviting lips, Harm took a deep breath. "I, uh..."

"I know," Mac sighed, kissing him sweetly on the cheek. "We’d better get going. I think we made our point."

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Later that week

0945

"This was an excellent idea Harriet. You’re sure you didn’t do this on purpose?" Mac teased as the two ladies exited the large building.

"Honest Injun, ma’am. This is totally coincidental, and quite frankly, a bit of a surprise for me too." Harriet rolled her eyes grinning.

"Well, it’s now official I guess. According to Bethesda, I’m pregnant." Mac shook her head.

"I can’t get over how easy that was. Sending me into the ladies room first to leave a sample with your name on it was brilliant, ma’am."

"I wouldn’t exactly call that complex military strategy, Harriet."

"Do you think it will make a difference? I mean," Harriet looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Do you think the blackmailer has enough connections to get a hold of your medical records?"

"Who knows. I don’t think any of us would have gone through the trouble of falsifying records to bolster our position, but as long as you really are pregnant, and this little switch was so easy- it was worth taking advantage of." Mac clicked her keys, unlocking the car doors.

"It’s been almost three weeks ma’am. If the blackmailer is going to make you and the Commander a target, how much longer do you think it will be before we hear something." Harriet buckled her seatbelt as Mac pulled out of the parking space.

"Harriet, there’s always a chance the blackmailer will never pick us as a target," Mac sighed.

"Hmm, I suppose so," Harriet agreed. If this didn’t help catch the blackmailer, it sure would be an awful lot of trouble, and smearing of their reputations, for naught.

Harm’s office

JAG headquarters

1610

Lost in thought over the quagmire of information on the screen before him, Harm hadn’t heard Bud knock at the door.

"Excuse me, sir," Bud called, tapping a second time on the doorframe.

"Sorry, Bud. Come on in." Harm gestured for Bud to take a seat. "Have you got anything new for us?"

"I’m still working on that list of recently retired high ranking officers. I think I may have come across something, but I’d like to check it out some more first."

"I appreciate your taking the time to help with this. I know your case load is as full as Mac’s and mine." Harm pushed his seat slightly away from his desk, rubbing his hand across his right temple.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Bud was concerned this case was more stressful for the Commander and Colonel than they were letting on.

Before Harm could respond, Jen was at the door with a large manila envelope in hand.

"Excuse me, sir," she knocked. "This was left for you at the guard house."

Stepping into his office, she reached forward and handed the envelope to Harm.

"Thanks, Jen." He waited a few moments for Jen to leave. Noticing no return address, only his name, he pulled out a handkerchief to carefully hold the envelope in place. Using a letter opener to rip the flap open, Harm scattered the contents on the desk.

Spreading several photos across his desk with the eraser of a pencil, Harm took a deep breath. There was a photo of him and Mac leaving headquarters arm in arm, obviously the day she got ill. Another photo of Harm leaving Mac’s building around sunrise in a somewhat crumpled uniform, also most likely taken the morning after her flu attack. Harm hadn’t brought a sea bag with him so he needed to leave early enough be able to go home and change and still report for duty on time. Most startling though, was a copy of Mac’s positive pregnancy test. How in heaven’s name did they get a hold of that information so quickly?

"Looks like you’ve got someone’s attention, sir," Bud said, now standing beside Harm, his eyes wide at the photo of Harm and Mac necking in the park.

"Same MO too. No request for pay off." Ignoring Bud’s dumbfounded expression Harm carefully placed all the items back into the envelope and handed it off to Bud with the handkerchief.

"Have these analyzed for finger prints. Maybe we’ll catch a break and he, or she, will have made a mistake. I’ll let you know which guard accepted the delivery so we can inform the lab to expect to find his fingerprints as well as Jen’s and mine. I’m going to head over to the guard house now and see if he has a description of the person or vehicle that dropped this off while his memory is still fresh."

Refocused with their individual assignments, the two officers left Harm's office. The games had begun.

Chapter 7

"Alright, agreed. Administrative discharge, loss of pay and no brig time." Mac walked into her office with Sturgis on her heel.

"Even though my client wanted to stay in, I’m sure he can be convinced it’s the wiser man who accepts no brig time and lives to…" Sturgis stopped mid sentence when he noticed Mac frozen, staring into her desk chair.

"Is something wrong, Mac?" Sturgis inched his way slowly, closer to the desk in an attempt to see over to the chair. For only a moment he wondered if Bud had taken custody of another snake. "What is it?"

"Oh, sorry Sturgis. I think this is what we’ve been waiting for. Could you get Harm and Bud for me?" Mac’s limbs seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. Forcing herself to squat down, she examined the envelope as carefully as possible without touching it.

"I see you got one too," Bud sighed from the doorway, Harm stepping around him.

"You got one too?" Mac backed away allowing Harm better access to her chair and its contents.

"Yeah a couple of hours ago. How long have you been in court?"

"One hour and forty seven minutes. Give or take a few seconds." She smiled up at Sturgis who was shaking his head.

Carefully lifting the envelope with a pair of first aid tweezers, Harm leaned over and slit the envelope open, much as he had his own earlier that afternoon. Spilling the contents onto Mac’s desk, everyone’s eyes grew round as saucers at the sight of the first photo on the stack of Harm standing slightly to one side as Mac sat on her bed undoing the buttons to her uniform blouse.

Mac’s hand slowly found its way to Harm’s shoulder where she proceeded to squeeze it tightly. Visions of another time, ‘even God forgives,’ flashing through her mind like a neon sign.

Instantly Harm knew what Mac must have been thinking. Once again her privacy had been invaded as Coster had done so many years ago.

"You okay?" Harm reached around placing a hand on the small of her back.

"Yeah, just let me sit down a minute," Mac responded, dropping heavily in the chair.

"I’ll arrange to have the Colonel’s apartment scanned for all surveillance equipment, sir," Bud volunteered immediately. Neither him nor Sturgis dared ask the circumstance of the photo.

"This could have been taken from somewhere outside Mac’s apartment as well. See if you can narrow down an angle of vision and check out whoever or whatever is renting the spaces from where these photos could have been taken." Harm stared at the stack of photos. Except for the one of Mac undressing the night she took ill, the rest of the contents were the same as Harm had received.

Mac had been staring vacantly at the men in the room as they discussed how to proceed. Catching sight of the flashing email icon out of the corner of her eye, without thinking Mac turned to access her computer and email.

A few minutes later Harm, Sturgis and Bud turned to Mac in silence at her loud gasp.

"What now?" Harm asked softly.

"You guys better take a look at this," Mac sighed, the numbness beginning to take a back seat to her marine fury.

‘My Dear Friends,

I do so hope you've enjoyed these souvenirs of your tender times together.

Do be a little more careful in public. You never know who might be watching.

We wouldn’t want the Admiral to find out, would we? No telling what would happen then.

We'll be in touch again later.

PS. Perhaps I can be the first to offer my congratulations on the bastard Rabb child.’

"Does the Admiral know about any of this?" Sturgis asked, a little overwhelmed by the quick turn of events.

"Not yet, but I think under the circumstances, sooner might be better than later." Hitting print, Harm watched the printer spit out the foul communication.

"Well, I think it’s obvious you three don’t need a cheering section. Let me know if you need me to do anything," Sturgis offered, retreating quietly to his own office.

Within minutes, the three officers were standing at attention in front of Admiral Chegwidden’s desk.

"At ease, what have you people got for me?" Chegwidden barked, barely looking up at them. He’d been swamped all day with some inane report the Sec Nav insisted he wanted on his desk by tomorrow morning.

"We’ve been contacted, sir," Mac spoke up.

Raising his head, his eyebrows stretching to the ceiling, "When?" AJ’s voice came out more softly.

"I received an envelope several hours ago, then the Colonel received a similar envelope shortly after mine. Just now when we were inspecting the contents of her package, this email arrived." Harm pointed his nose at the paper Mac was waving in front of the Admiral.

Reading it over, "Let’s trace this and see where it leads us. I don’t suppose it would be asking too much for it to be from the same email address as the notes to Captain DeNicholo?" AJ looked directly at Bud.

"No, sir. It isn’t. I didn’t really think it would be. This was sent from a web based free internet provider out of Germany."

Three heads turned simultaneously to gawk at Bud in surprise.

Understanding the root of their confusion. "The email address is yourfriend@freenet.de, the de domain name stands for Deutchland, German for Germany. It doesn’t take a computer geek to know freenet probably means just that, free internet," Bud shrugged one shoulder at his fellow officers.

"You might remember from the fiasco a few years ago over Commander Rabb, and a certain letter to the editor, that any good hacker can easily manipulate the system. We’d probably just be chasing our tails trying to follow the email trail." Age had mellowed the once eager young Lieutenant.

"Do we have anything on the envelopes?" AJ directed his question to Rabb.

"Mine has already been sent to the lab for analysis. I spoke with the guard on duty who received it. He said a young boy walked up and handed it to him and then just disappeared. We haven’t had time yet to determine how the Colonel’s envelope made it to her office.

"What about DeNicholo and the other victims. Any progress on that front?" AJ sat back in his chair. This whole thing made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. He didn’t like his people involved in this sort of thing and yet, he knew they were the best people for it.

"Nothing else from DeNicholo, sir, but I have been cross checking the list of recent retirees for any connection and eliminating the officers with legitimate cause.

"Very well, Lt.," AJ sighed again. "Keep me posted o\n anything, dismissed."

When he was once again in an empty office, AJ ran his fingers across his scalp. He wished he could shake the feeling that something about this whole mess just didn’t feel right. His instincts were hardly ever wrong, he prayed this would be one time they were.

Chapter 8

Harm followed Mac back to her office.

"Are you going to be all right?" Crossing his arms, Harm leaned against the doorframe.

"Harm, I’m a marine. Of course I’m going to be all right," Mac huffed.

"Well, all the same, what do you say to going out tonight and doing something fun?" Harm wasn’t convinced she was okay.

"It’s a school night, dear." Mac shot him a sarcastic glare.

"I know, but we deserve it. Nothing too fancy."

"I’d really rather just stay in and unwind. How about a rain check and we can unwind on Saturday. It’s been a long time since I’ve taken out my bicycle, we could spend the day on the trails that start at Rock Creek." The tension in Mac’s shoulders was slowly fading.

"I don’t think that would be considered appropriate behavior for someone in your condition," Harm suggested very carefully.

"Ugggh, all right." Mac rolled her eyes, raising her hand to rub away the frustration.

"Dinner at my place tonight and we’ll work on plans for Saturday." Smiling brightly, Harm gave Mac a reassuring nod, and backed out of her office before she could refuse.

Mac forced a smile for Harm’s sake. When he was out of sight, she looked over at her computer screen. What had they gotten themselves into?

Saturday afternoon

George Washington’s house

Mount Vernon, VA.

"This was most definitely a unique idea," Mac smiled, following Harm up to the main gate ticket window at the edge of the large parking lot.

"Most people never find time to do the tourist things in their home town. I’ve always meant to come here but never have made the time for it." Placing his wallet in his pocket, "Come on, it’s a bit of a hike to the house." Harm flashed Mac an honest grin and stretched his hand out beside him for her to take hold of.

Warmed from head to toe by the simple gesture, Mac eagerly accepted the proffered hand and began their stroll up the hill to the main house. The only saving grace to this ludicrous scheme of theirs was the amount of time they were spending together off duty. The rhythm of old had returned. They were once again functioning like a fine-tuned musical instrument, even finishing, or starting each other’s sentences, depending on how you looked at it.

Other than the short make out session in the park, this was the first overt gesture of closeness in public they’d shared. Each of them felt the pressure of the assignment fade away as they drew on the strength the other’s hand offered. There was no pretense in the closeness displayed. The best friends were back in full force, maybe stronger. Mac enjoyed the moment for all it was worth.

"Maybe, you should rest a minute," Harm suggested. Exiting the large, white house, they stood on the back porch looking out over the Potomac.

"Harm, we’re not at work, you don’t have to pretend now." Mac almost whined.

"I know, I’d like to think no one’s watching us, but none the less, it wouldn’t hurt to rest here a minute and just admire the view." Harm hoped he hadn’t ruined the day by bringing up the idea of being watched.

"It is breathtaking isn’t it," Mac sighed, ignoring the thought of someone watching them, she stared out where Harm was focused.

"It certainly makes you understand why this was George’s favorite place on earth."

"Everything else seems so far away, so unimportant from here, doesn’t it?" Mac was still staring at the flowing river across from them. "It’s nice that they don’t allow development on the other side of the shore. It wouldn’t be the same to look out and be staring at a condominium complex or shopping mall."

Harm let out a short chuckle. "No, that would definitely change the impact."

A few minutes later, he turned to Mac. "Are you ready to head down to the cemetery?"

"Sounds, good. I’ve had enough resting." Shaking her head, she reached for Harm’s hand, never noticing the small smile that tugged at the edges of his mouth. He had hoped she didn’t mind his holding her hand earlier, now, he felt a thrill rush from his belly when she extended her hand to him. It amazed him how many women he’d known through the years, some more than others, and yet all Mac had to do to start butterflies swooping in his stomach was offer to hold his hand.

After spending a few hours wandering around the expansive grounds and taking in all the different relics of the nation’s history, Mac happily collapsed in the front seat of the SUV.

"I’m sure glad Bud and Harriet invited us over for a barbecue, I don’t think I could find the energy to cook tonight," Mac smirked.

"What, as if you ever cook," Harm laughed.

"Watch it, sailor. I still pack a mean left hook." Mac tried to look seriously offended, truth was she rarely cooked and if the Roberts hadn’t invited them they’d most likely be doing take out.

Roberts Residence

1545 hours

"Mom, Mom! They’re here!" AJ hollered through the house. He’d been anxiously waiting for Uncle Harm and Aunt Mac by the living room window off and on for the better part of the afternoon. Finding his mom in the kitchen, he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her to the front door.

Laughing to herself at her son’s enthusiasm. Harriet stood at the front door waiting for her friends to make their way up the front path. As they reached the front steps, Harriet noticed Harm’s hand had snaked its way from the small of Mac’s back to around her waist.

"Glad you guys made it," Harriet smiled, stepping aside so AJ could give them a proper welcome. Harm didn’t move his hand until Mac bent over to hug AJ. Tilting her head slightly in thought, Harriet only wasted a minute contemplating the scene before her, something told her this wasn’t acting. Hearing the calls of a fussy toddler, Harriet forced her curiosity to the back of her mind somewhere, hoping what ever was going on, it was something good.

Not too much later, Harm found himself alone outside with Bud.

"I’ve been wanting to ask you, have you gotten any word on the photos?"

Looking around to make sure the women were still busy elsewhere, Bud proceeded to update his friend.

"Not much. As you suspected, there were no fingerprints of any kind on the envelopes or photos, other than those of us at JAG. The scan of the Colonel’s apartment showed no signs of any surveillance equipment either. I was able to get a hold of the building owner across the street late Friday afternoon. There’s only one building who’s positioning fits the line of sight for the photos. They had to have been taken from either the second or third floor."

"Could he help us?" Harm asked, keeping his eye on the backdoor in case Harriet or Mac came out.

"Well, they’ve gotten three new tenants in the last year, but only one rented an apartment that could have taken those photos. His name is Robert Hatcher. He appears to be an ordinary 32 year old, white male with no criminal record, not even parking tickets." Flipping the burgers, Bud paused to put cheese on them. "Want some cheese on your veggie burger, sir?"

"Yeah, thanks," Harm nodded.

"I’ve gone ahead and sent his name through NCIS to see if they have anything. If you think it’s warranted, I could run this past Agent Novak." Bud raised a doubtful eyebrow, he knew Harm only turned to the FBI as a last resort.

"No, let’s wait and see what else turns up on this guy first," As much as he was enjoying the opportunity to be close to Mac again, something about all this just wasn’t sitting right. Staring blankly at the back door Harm was brought back to the present by the sound of Bud’s voice.

"Foods up! Come and get it!"

Chapter 9

Harm’s office

A few weeks later

"Remind me again why the Admiral gave us the Ryan appeal?" Mac grumbled while untaping another box of files. "This makes how many boxes, eight?"

"Just pray Ensign Parks doesn’t locate any more boxes or we’ll be reviewing the files in the hallway." Glancing quickly through the contents of the box, Harm closed it and shifted it onto the ‘to be reviewed in more detail later’ pile. Turning around to retrieve another box, Harm saw Mac carrying the box she’d been rummaging through over to the same pile.

"Careful, Mac! What do you think you’re doing!" Harm exclaimed, snatching the box from her. "You shouldn’t be doing that."

"Doing what?" Mac furrowed her brow curiously. Understanding suddenly dawning, "Harmon Rabb, Jr. Have you completely lost your mind? There isn’t anyone in this room except you and me. No one can see us. Of course I can lift the damn box!"

"Sorry, Mac, sometimes I forget." Taking a step around the boxes to his desk, he sat down heavily. "Some days the line between reality and pretense gets awfully blurry." Harm had indeed taken Harriet’s advice and often found himself thinking of Mac as really pregnant with his child. The thought filled him with a sense of pride and joy he had never imagined, only to be replaced by a gaping sense of loss when reality slapped him in the face, like now.

Feeling suddenly guilty for having jumped down his throat, "I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. It’s just so difficult having you pretend to be taking care of me all the time in front of everyone, I’m not used to it. I feel like what little value I have has been deemed inconsequential."

"Mac…" Harm got up and stepped closer to her, resting his hand on her fore arm, resisting the temptation to gently caress the side of her beautiful face.

"I know, it’s silly and I’m sorry. I don’t want to go into psychoanalysis here. I’m just sorry I lost my temper, please forgive me," Mac smiled.

"There’s nothing to forgive, I think this whole waiting thing has us both a little on edge." Harm slowly let go of her arm.

"You’re probably right." Mac reached for another box when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, sir. The Admiral wants to know why he hasn’t seen the final report on the Clemmons case." Petty Officer Coates reported. "He said to tell you he wants it on his desk by close of day."

"Thank you. I’ll take care of it," Harm sighed softly. "I’m going to have to leave you to scavenge on your own for a short while. I left all the papers on Clemmons at my place. I was going to finish it up tonight in a less cluttered environment. Obviously, that’s not going to happen. I should be back within the hour." Harm grabbed his cover and nodded apologetically to Mac.

"No problem. If you don’t see me when you get back just tell the Admiral the boxes swallowed me."

Harm’s apartment

30 minutes later

Jingling his keys anxiously, Harm hurriedly undid the locks to his front door. Leaving the door wide open behind him, it took only a few short strides to reach his desk. Intending to grab the file and run, Harm stood suddenly still when he didn’t see the file he was expecting on the desktop. Instead of the Clemmons’ file sitting on top of the pile where he'd left it that morning, he saw the file for a DDO case against Petty Officer Brown.

"That's strange. Brown should be on the bottom," Harm muttered to himself. Something wasn't right here. Scanning the desk quickly, Harm noticed the bottom drawer was slightly open, definitely not the way he'd left it.

Stepping away from the desk, he turned back towards the door in time to see a metallic flash swinging towards him. Instinctively, he immediately shifted in an attempt to dodge the blow. Only partially successful, Harm’s arm began to go numb at the impact of the shiny object against his shoulder.

With a loud grunt, Harm shoved against his assailant in an effort to gain some reaction time in preparation for whatever came next.

It wasn’t enough, the shadowy figure had moved closer grabbing a hold of Harm. Using Harm’s momentum, he swung Harm into the wall by the desk.

Momentarily stunned, lights danced in front of Harm's eyes when his head bounced off the wall. Shaking his head briefly to try and clear it, Harm turned to catch a glimpse just as the dark shadow swung again, this time connecting with the side of Harm's head before everything turned to black.

Harm’s office

JAG headquarters

50 minutes later

Mac was starting to see double reading through all the files. Mattoni’s chicken scratch was horrible enough to have been a doctor’s handwriting. It had been an hour and 26 minutes since Harm went home to get the papers he needed. Three times in the last hour Mac had reached for the phone to call him. This time her crossed eyes, and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, insisted she pick up the phone and follow through.

Not getting a response from his home phone or cell, Mac dialed Jennifer.

"Jen, have you heard from the Commander since he left to get the Clemmons’ file?" Mac asked, tapping her fingers nervously on the desk.

"No, ma’am. Haven’t seen or heard from him since I left you and him earlier."

Taking mere seconds to make up her mind. "If the Admiral wants either of us, tell him we’ve been lost in the archives searching for more files." Something wasn’t right, she just knew it. "I should be back within the hour."

Grabbing her purse and cover, Mac made a beeline for the parking lot.

Stepping off the elevator, she wasn’t at all surprised to see Harm’s front door wide open. Approaching the door slowly, she wished that she’d had the good sense to bring a weapon. Listening for any sounds of activity, Mac inched her way into the apartment.

Turning to scan the apartment from the bedroom to the living room, all the blood rushed from her face when she spotted the limp body sprawled on the floor.

Making a dash to his side, she immediately forgot about the possibilities of anyone hiding somewhere in the apartment. Checking first for a pulse, she breathed easier until she saw the dark liquid pooling beside Harm’s head.

Reaching around his body she touched the small puddle, as if there were any doubt it was going to be Harm’s blood.

"Harm, can you hear me? Harm," she called tapping his face lightly. "Harm!"

Noticing the brass lamp base for the first time, lying not too far from the body, Mac cursed as she whipped out her cell phone.

Dialing the all too familiar 911, Mac grew impatient at the never ending ringing. What was the point of an emergency number if the system was always over worked.

Trying to remain calm watching Harm’s lifeless body, Mac jumped at the sound of a human voice at the other end of the call. "This is Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the JAG corps. I need an ambulance right away."

Chapter 10

George Washington Hospital

Emergency room

"They’ve taken him inside. Tell the Admiral I’ll inform him as soon as I hear anything." Mac finished her report to Petty Officer Coates, her eyes staring blankly at the double doors standing between her and Harm.

Heaving a deep sigh, tired of waiting, Mac strode up to the glass window. "Is there any news yet on Commander Harmon Rabb?"

"Military?" the woman asked without looking up.

Overcome with the urge to snap back- ‘No Commander was his mother’s favorite name, of course he’s military.’ Mac bit her tongue and drew on every ounce of patience she could muster.

"Yes. He was brought in over an hour ago, unconscious with a blow to the head."

"Should have gone to Bethesda." The woman still hadn’t given Mac the courtesy of looking up.

"Well, he’s here and I’d like to know how he is. NOW." She was quickly losing what little patience she had left.

"You family?"

"Almost, I also hold his medical power of attorney." Mac tried to refrain from adding any more colorful comments.

Looking up at her for the first time, the woman was obviously startled to realize she’d been talking to a female marine Lt. Colonel. "I…I’ll see what I can find out," she stammered.

Mac stood, firmly planted in place, waiting for the attendant to do just that.

Fifteen minutes later the woman returned, waving Mac to the double doors. "Go wait over there and I’ll buzz you in."

Once inside, Mac proceeded directly to the nurse’s station. "I’m looking for Commander Harmon Rabb."

Staring at Mac for a moment before turning to read the large white board on the wall, "Trauma room three," the petite nurse answered, pointing down the hall to her right.

What the hell was the matter with all these people? Hadn’t they ever seen a female officer before? This was Washington for heaven’s sake. High-ranking officers are everywhere. Lost in her own thoughts, she hadn’t noticed the staff huddle by the nurse’s desk.

"Did you see her? I knew they had women in the military but, damn, that woman should be on the cover of Glamour," the petite nurse remarked.

"Who is she?" The only male nurse on the floor asked.

"She’s here with the hunky Commander that came in unconscious." An older woman answered from her spot in front of the trauma board.

"Maggie, you’ve been married thirty years, you’re not supposed to be looking," the receptionist teased.

"Honey, I may be getting older, but my eyes work fine," she laughed. What’s good for the goose is certainly good for the gander, she thought.

"I didn’t notice a ring, so they’re not married," the petite nurse mentioned, still holding out hope to get friendlier with the hunk.

"Well, if they ain’t married then they must be engaged cause when I asked if she was family, she said almost," the receptionist volunteered.

"Damn. Good ones are always taken," the petite nurse sighed, grabbing a clipboard and moving away from the crowd.

"I resent that," the very single male nurse chuckled.

"And well you should," the receptionist called, laughing her way back to her desk.

Trauma room three

George Washington Hospital

Mac walked into the large room, past the empty bed, and over to the drawn curtain. Stepping quietly around, she was relieved to find Harm staring at the ceiling.

"Well, I’m glad to see that hard head of yours is good for something," she smiled.

Harm started to chuckle, only to be stopped immediately by the throbbing pain at the back of his head.

"Please, don’t make me laugh," he squinted.

Frightened by the distressed look on his face, Mac stepped up against the bed. Rubbing her hand across his forehead, she delicately began stroking his hair. "Sorry, sailor. I wasn’t thinking."

The young resident walked in just in time to see Mac lean down and give Harm a tender kiss on the forehead. The nurses were probably right, definitely fiancée, he thought.

"All right, Commander, I’ve arranged for you to have a room with us for the night." Raising his hand at Harm’s obviously eminent protest. "Don’t bother arguing with me. By the time you’re back from having your head examined," the young man chuckled at his own pun, "you’re room will probably be ready."

Not realizing she was still stroking Harm’s hair, Mac placed her free hand on Harm’s and squeezed tightly. "You need a good night’s rest anyway."

"We just want to make sure there’s no internal hemorrhaging or other problems. That was quite a blow you took, you were out for at least two hours according to our calculations. Besides the obvious concussion, you’ve had 28 stitches." Looking down, the doctor scribbled some additional notes before returning the clipboard to its rightful place at the foot of the bed.

Drawing the curtain back to a fully open position, the doctor looked at Mac, "You can wait here with your fiancé if you like until they come and get him for his scan." Smiling at the couple, the doctor turned and walked out the door without ever noticing the shocked look on the two startled friends.

Watching the doctor’s retreating form turn the corner, Harm and Mac faced each other.

"Why does he think I’m your fiancé?" Harm asked, hoping the bump on his head hadn’t caused him to forget something rather important.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Mac answered, turning to stare at the empty doorway as if it would provide some illusive answer.

She had to admit. The thought wasn’t a bad one. She could think of worse things than being engaged to Harmon Rabb. For just a minute she let her mind wander to what it might be like to be Harm’s fiancée, the woman he wanted to marry, to have his children, to share his life, his home, his…oh, maybe this wasn’t the time or place.

Harm had let his mind wander to the same place. His cheeks flushing with embarrassment when he realized Mac was just staring at him as he allowed himself to dream of a life with her.

Neither one had noticed that Mac had not stopped stroking his hair, nor holding his hand, the entire time the doctor had been with them. Even now, they were perfectly comfortable with, and oblivious to, the comforting gestures.

"If you think you’re up to it, maybe you should tell me what happened."

"There’s not much to tell. I came into the apartment to get the file and when I reached the desk, it wasn’t directly on top where I’d left it. Before I had time to look around, I was fighting off a bright flash and a large shadow. Almost immediately I got hit on the back of the head and the next thing I know, I was waking up here with some tiny woman smiling at me."

"You didn’t see anyone?"

"No, barely saw a shadow before I went down."

"I didn’t really have a lot of time to look around, I didn’t notice if anything was missing," Mac shrugged.

"I don’t think this was an ordinary break in, Mac. Why would a burglar take time to look through the files on my desk and then stack them neatly in the wrong order? I noticed one of the drawers was slightly open. I didn’t get a chance to see if anything was missing, but it’s the drawer I keep my dad’s tapes in. People who break into homes in my neighborhood aren’t noted for being very neat about it. I don’t think I was supposed to know someone had ever been there."

"Do you think this has something to do with our friendly extortionist?" The crease in Mac’s brow deepened.

"Could be. When I get home tomorrow, I’ll check out if anything’s missing. Then we’ll arrange for another sweep of the apartment." Harm closed his eyes, fighting the urge to go to sleep.

"Sorry to break this up folks, but we’ve got an appointment upstairs." A young orderly with a wheel chair smiled.

Forced to let go of his hand in order to step away, Mac realized for the first time, she must have been holding it the entire time. Giving one last sweep through his hair, she backed away from the bed letting the orderly help Harm up.

Feeling a cold chill at the physical loss of Mac’s touch, Harm’s eyes locked onto hers for just a moment. No wonder the doctor had thought there was more between them. What he wouldn’t give for it to be true.

Chapter 11

Admiral Chegwidden’s office

Two days later

"This is unacceptable people," Chegwidden huffed, tossing a file on his desk.

Bud, Harm, and Mac were still standing at ease in front of the Admiral’s desk.

"What exactly did this email say, Colonel?"

"Good thing lover boy has a hard head. And of course, those new photos were attached." Pointing at the file the Admiral had tossed on his desk, Mac straightened her shoulders trying not to let her CO see how much the email had shaken her.

AJ paused to consider the new photos. How did someone manage to get a clear shot of Harm and Mac at the ER without anyone noticing something strange? Although, from the looks of the photos, a pink elephant could have entered that trauma room and his two senior officers wouldn’t have noticed anything but each other. Mac’s concern for Harm was clear, there was no acting involved. That’s part of what made this whole thing so damn annoying, they really were perfect for this assignment, and each other.

"Lt. Roberts, what did the new sweep of the apartments turn up? Any fingerprints?" AJ turned to face Bud, his lips pressed together tightly.

"Nothing, sir, on both counts. Not a single print anywhere, not even on the lamp. If the intention was to bug the apartment in some way, they might have changed their minds when the Commander walked in on them."

"They could have just been searching for incriminating evidence," Harm offered.

"Or they could have been waiting to teach you a lesson. This is simply getting too dangerous. If I could think of some way to get you out of this, I’d pull the plug on the entire operation." AJ sat down rubbing his temples. Waving his hand, "Sit down," he sighed, irritated his instincts were panning out. This was obviously more than a simple blackmail ring, but what?

The three officers took a seat in front of the obviously stressed admiral.

"That really isn’t necessary, sir. Harm and I understand the lengths these people are willing to go to. We won’t be caught off guard again, sir." Deep down, Mac didn’t want this little charade to end. She was finally comfortable in the role, and had grown quite fond of it. She just wished she could shake the creepy feeling she got from knowing their every move was obviously being followed. Anytime old fears of Coster and being stalked tried to emerge, Harm was right there to squelch them and keep her strong. Knowing Harm was at her side was keeping her emotionally sane. The perks weren’t bad either.

"I agree, sir, the Colonel and I can see this through." Harm apparently felt the same way. Since his affection for Mac was anything but acting, he was enjoying the liberty of being able to touch and care for her that this assignment allowed.

"Are we making any progress at all?" AJ asked, obviously frustrated.

"Well, sir. Certain possibilities are starting to come together. I think I may have located another early retiree that fits the bill for a victim," Bud reported.

"Okay, what have you got?" AJ leaned back in his chair hoping for something solid.

"Well, sir, one of the men on the list, a Colonel Thomas Jefferson Edelhaus with the 22^nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, returned from Iraq six months ago. He’s been an exemplary officer, on the list for possible candidates for Military Liaison to Homeland Security. He’s only thirty eight, sir."

"And he’s a full bird?" AJ interrupted.

"Yes, sir. Battle field promotions, with enough fruit salad to give you or the Commander a run for your money." Bud smiled before realizing to whom he was speaking. "Sorry, sir."

"What makes him any different than the rest?" Mac spoke up before the Admiral could say anything.

"Besides his young age, I also spoke with his wife. Apparently she’s had a difficult time being a military wife. She couldn’t stand the worrying and waiting. Shortly before he deployed to Iraq, they separated. She made it quite clear the only reason she was leaving him was because of the corps. Somewhere along the line she managed to communicate that it didn’t matter, she still loved him, not being together didn’t lessen her fears. She had thought his reason for retiring was to win her back, but she hasn’t seen or heard from him since he told her he was retiring. She says he came back a changed man, sir. Not in the good sense either. She’s worried about him." Bud sat ramrod straight under the Admiral’s scrutiny.

Nodding his head in agreement. "You may very well be onto something Lieutenant. Keep at it. Maybe this Colonel can tell us something we don’t already know," AJ sighed.

"There’s more, sir," Bud interrupted.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" AJ was in a foul mood and not trying to hide it.

"I did a little further digging on Robert Hatcher, the man we suspect took the photos of the Commander and Colonel in her apartment. He works for a company called New Horizons. It’s a Paul Healy company."

"The dotcom guy?" Harm queried.

"Yes, Mr. Hatcher is only listed as a consultant but the curious thing is, I can’t find what New Horizons does. Paul Healy made all his money selling his company, internetmusic.com, before the bubble burst. I’ve got a physical address and list of company officers, but can’t find any business connections to imply what they’re actually doing," Bud said obviously frustrated.

Sighing heavily, "It sounds like we’re going to have to bring Novak into this," Harm told Bud.

"Agreed," AJ nodded. "I don’t like this, the more people involved, the more likely we are of springing a leak. Lieutenant, give Agent Novak as little information as necessary. Maybe we can get what we need without letting him in on our little farce. See what else you can find on this Paul Healy too." AJ reached into his desk drawer pulling out a large bottle of aspirin.

"Is this Hatcher person still living across from the Colonel?"

"Yes, sir. We don’t have enough probable cause to issue a search warrant. He hasn’t made any attempt to move, so he must not realize we’re onto him," Bud supplied.

"Or he doesn’t care," AJ growled, swallowing three aspirins. "Who’s keeping an eye on him?"

"No one, sir," Harm answered this time in an attempt to take some of the heat off of Bud.

AJ dropped his jaw, his eyes filled with incredulity.

"What do you mean no one? The only probable connection to all this and he’s not being watched! I don’t care who you get on this but I want that man followed. Understood!"

"Yes, sir," the three responded loudly.

"I’m sure Novak will be able to put someone on it, sir," Harm added.

"Make it so, people." AJ shook his head. "Dismissed. And be careful!"

Chapter 12

Mac’s apartment

Later that night

Mac sat comfortably on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee. The drapes in the bedroom and living room were drawn closed. Harm had taken the liberty of hanging an extra lining to keep out the light much like those used in hotels. In this case it wasn’t the light they wanted to keep out as much as prying eyes.

"You okay?" Harm asked from the chair.

"It just feels like this has been the longest six weeks of my life." Mac half grinned, stretching her neck from side to side, delighted with the hot cup of coffee.

"Here, scoot over." Harm waved his arm, walking over to sit behind her on the couch. Slowly he began massaging her shoulders, paying extra attention to the knots at the base of her neck.

"Oh, you don’t know how much I needed that," Mac smiled, her head dropping loosely. "I’d forgotten what great hands you have."

Harm smiled at the compliment, making a conscious effort not to let his mind wander off on all he’d like to do to her with his hands.

"I guess this has been pretty rough on you." Harm’s smile faded.

"It’s not that bad, it’s just there’s no point. I’m not pregnant." Mac turned her head slightly in an attempt to peek at Harm through her peripheral vision. "I wouldn’t mind people bringing me tea, offering me their chairs, or even carrying my briefcase if I had a good reason. The other day I thought Petty Officer O’Reilly was going to kill himself trying to get to a box of files before I did. It just doesn’t seem right."

"All I get is an occasional dirty look. I think scuttlebutt is leaning towards I don’t want to do right by you." Harm dropped his voice in an attempt at humor.

"That’s ridiculous. You’ll be an excellent father. You’d never ignore your own child." Mac let out a low groan as Harm worked out a particularly tight knot.

"Is that too hard?" he paused. Besides concern he was being too rough, the sound of her moan had sent an unexpected surge of excitement through him. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to refocus on the situation at hand.

"No, it’s a good sore," she smiled.

"It doesn’t appear to be linked to my not wanting the baby, I think the word is I won’t marry you." Harm wondered how anyone could know him as many years as most of these people did and still think he wouldn’t want to be with Sarah MacKenzie for all eternity.

"I haven’t heard that." Mac pulled away far enough to turn and look at him.

"Jennifer told me last week. Harriet confirmed it yesterday. I guess you don’t spend enough time eaves dropping in the ladies room," Harm smiled, reaching over to pull her back and continue her shoulder rub. The intention may have been to relieve her stress but the feel of her soft shoulders under his fingertips was doing wonders for his stress level too.

Instead of falling back at his touch, Mac turned completely, resting her hand on his lap. Before she could say anything, Harm spoke.

"You can’t blame them, Mac. It’s been six weeks since we started this charade. The choices are either you don’t want to marry me, or I don’t want to marry you. Since neither one of us is even admitting you’re pregnant, people find it easier to assume I’m the cad." He rolled his eyes with a half shrug and tried to pull her around to rub her shoulders again.

"I’m sorry," she said. "I know that must bother you, to have people think anything less than honorably of you."

"I don’t really care what people think of me. I’m more concerned with how it reflects on you. How could anyone think I wouldn’t want you." Harm paled suddenly at the realization of what he’d just admitted.

Mac stared intently into Harm’s clear gaze, searching for some indication of just how seriously to interpret his last comment. There had always been an underlying something between them; neither of them could deny that. Could it be Harm was finally ready to let go? She sighed inwardly, terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing.

"That may very well be the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me," she smiled softly, passing her hand slowly across his face.

Right now the last thing Harm wanted to do was say the wrong thing and piss off his marine. He wanted desperately to just tell her how much he loved her, how he wished she really were carrying his child.

"It shouldn’t be such a surprise. I mean, I like taking care of you. I especially like the idea of taking care of you and our child." Harm stared into Mac’s eyes hoping he hadn’t said too much.

"Sometimes, when I remember this is all just an act," Mac paused to take a deep breath, "I wish I really were carrying your child."

"We did have a deal," Harm whispered. Their eyes locked on each other, neither blinking.

"We do," Mac corrected softly, the intensity of their gaze growing exponentially.

Unable to contain the swell of emotions bottled up inside him, Harm leaned forward ever so slowly and captured her lips in his.

Harm had caught her completely off guard. She hadn’t been expecting him to kiss her. Of course, she hadn’t expected him to admit that he might actually want her either. At the feel of his moist lips against hers, she snaked her arms tightly around his neck. Their lips lightly tasting and caressing each other.

Fully prepared to deepen the sweet kiss, Harm and Mac were startled apart by the ringing of the phone.

"Colonel MacKenzie," Mac answered.

"Commander Rabb, please."

"It’s for you." Mac handed the phone over to Harm.

"Rabb."

"You know, you really should be more careful. That’s how you two got into this predicament in the first place," the muffled voice announced smugly.

Harm pulled away from Mac, scanning the windows, then the rest of the walls. "Don’t you have anything better to do?" Harm barked into the phone.

The hairs on the back of Mac’s neck were on full alert at the tone of his voice.

"Now, now, Commander. You wouldn’t want to upset me would you? What would the Admiral think of his two best senior officer’s playing house?"

Harm cursed himself for not having allowed Bud to get Novak involved earlier, they could have had a trace on this line and been tracking the man down already.

"What do you want?" Harm asked curtly.

"Not much. Fifteen thousand dollars, in small unmarked bills of course," the voice laughed heartily on the other end.

Before Harm could respond.

"You’ll have three days to get the money together… or else." Then the phone went dead.

Chapter 13

Mac’s apartment

Same time

Mac stared at Harm waiting for him to say something. She had a pretty good idea who the call had been from.

"Damn." Harm let slip under his breath.

"What?"

"Either that is one very lucky bastard, or he’s still watching us."

"Why?" Mac didn’t mean to be monosyllabic.

Taking a deep breath, "he knew we were kissing."

"How?" Irritated by her own one word responses, "I mean, how could he know?"

"I don’t know. He just said this is what got us into trouble in the first place." Harm ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Stopping to really look at Mac, Harm recognized the frozen look in her eyes. It was the same look she’d had so many years ago. Taking two short strides to where she was standing, Harm reached out, pulling her into his arms.

"Oh, Mac. I’m so sorry," he whispered into her hair. "Maybe you should come stay with me for a little while. For whatever reason, they don’t seem to be watching my place."

Drawing her strength from his tight embrace. "No, I wouldn’t let Coster chase me away from my home, I won’t let this creep chase me away either." She may have sounded tough, but she wasn’t ready to let go of him. She was still hanging on tightly, her face buried in his shirt, the scent of his cologne a comforting tranquilizer.

"Maybe I should stay?" He didn’t want to let her go, but he most definitely didn’t want to leave her alone.

"No, this isn’t the same thing. It’s not you or me this guy wants. He’s after something else and we just have to put up with him until we figure out what." Reassured by her own words and Harm’s concern, she found the strength to pull away.

"What do you think of this. I’ll give Bud a quick call while you put on another pot of coffee. I want to make sure that Novak puts a tap on all our phones so we’re ready for the next time this bozo calls. Then, we’ll sit back down and watch a movie, and this weekend you and I will go have some fun at the County Fair?" Harm was grinning at her like a little kid. She might not let him stay the night, but he was going to stay with her as long as she allowed.

"I think we could use a fun filled afternoon." Mac agreed enthusiastically. They’d had such a nice time when they’d last gotten away from the job for a day.

JAG Headquarters

Mac’s office

Two days later

Mac had been working on her closing arguments for Lt. Commander Simpson’s case for the last two hours. With the ransom drop looming over them, she was having a horrible time concentrating. This was the fourth draft she’d crumpled and tossed in the wastebasket across the room.

"Not bad." A familiar voice sounded from the doorway. "Didn’t realize basketball might be another one of your many talents."

"I didn’t hear you come in," Mac sighed.

"I gathered as much. I hear things around here are keeping you pretty busy."

"Yes, and I’m up against a deadline for this damn closing argument that just won’t come together. Is there something in particular I can do for you?" Mac knew she was being unfairly curt, but she just didn’t have the patience today.

"I was hoping you might be free for dinner tonight."

"Clay, do I really look like someone who is going to have free time for dinner tonight?" She stared at him pointedly, waving her hands over the mounds of paper on her desk. "I’ve got a lot of work that isn’t getting done and I’m not going anywhere until it does."

A look of sincere concern washed over his face as he stepped closer to her desk.

"You really shouldn’t be working this hard, Mac. It’s not healthy for you. Besides, you have to eat at some point. Let me take you for a quick bite." Clay’s voice was low and almost pleading.

"I can’t. You know me, I never skip a meal, I’ll order something in," Mac smiled, a little touched by his concern.

"I could bring you something, what would you like? Italian?"

"Clay…" She really wasn’t up to dealing with him on top of everything else.

"Just friends, Sarah. You have to eat." He’d heard the rumors like everyone else and didn’t want her running herself down.

"I promise, I’ll eat. Since when are you so concerned about my eating habits anyway?" Mac asked, suddenly curious.

"There’s nothing unusual about my interest in you, you know that." His eyes locked onto hers, not missing the way his words made her shift uncomfortably in her chair.

"Well, yes, but surely you didn’t come all this way to make sure I’d be eating dinner?"

"No, I have a file I wanted to give Rabb. I thought I’d see if maybe you had changed your mind about us."

"CLAY…"

"I know, but you can’t blame a guy for trying." He forced a smile. "You keep working on that argument. If you change you’re mind, you know where to find me," Clay nodded and turned towards Harm’s office.

Harm’s office

Same time

Looking up from his desk. "Good God, what are you doing here?" Harm grumbled. He didn’t need this. It was already a long two days and he most definitely did not need Clayton Webb.

"Well, it’s nice to see you too, Rabb." Clay shook his head. "I thought you might want to see this." He tossed the file he’d been carrying onto Harm’s desk.

"What’s this?" Harm took the file and began browsing through the pages.

"Admiral Walter Kensington, the Executive Director of Naval Intelligence, committed suicide last night. No note."

"What does this have to do with me?" Harm was still glancing through the file.

"We’ve had our eye on him for several months. We had it from reliable sources that he has been selling secrets, valuable secrets, to some not very nice people. When his body was found slumped over his desk this morning, his file found it’s way to me."

Harm was still waiting for Clay to get to the point.

"Look at his bank statements." Clay raised his chin at the file in Harm’s hands. "Notice anything unusual for a spy?"

"There are no large unexplained deposits." Harm looked up at Clay his interest suddenly peaked. "Did he have another account?"

"No." Clay set his hands on Harm’s desk waiting for him to spot the obvious.

"He’s had regular large sum withdrawals, ten or fifteen thousand dollars, every month for almost eight months." Harm let out a slow, long whistle.

"I think he might be part of your blackmail problem from a couple of months ago." Clay straightened up, a slight smirk on his face. "Oh, and I understand congratulations are in order."

"For what?" Harm dragged his eyes away from the file, surprised to see an obvious glare of disdain directed at him.

"You arrogant…" Clay pressed his lips taking in a deep breath. "Just remember, if you don’t want her there are some of us who are more than willing to step up to the plate and take care of her."

"Don’t believe everything you hear, Webb," Harm said sharply, trying not to lose his cool at the implied threat.

Turning towards the door, Clay stopped to look back at Harm.

"Don’t forget, I’ll be here waiting when she needs me, when they need me." With one last icy stare, Clay turned away making his way through the bullpen.