Title: Olive Branches

Author: JAG Junkie (rondayoung@yahoo.com)

Rating: PG

Category: Romance (Harm/Mac)

Disclaimer:  They are (sadly) not mine.  If they were, everyone would have acted like they were friends during seasons 9 and 10.

 

Summary: Harm and Mac have not been getting along and Harm is determined to make things right.

 

A/N: This is set somewhere in the first half of season 10 before “Four Percent Solution”.  It’s just yet another way to try to fix the direction that the show was heading at that point.

 

 

 

 

Mac’s Apartment

Georgetown, Washington DC

 

Mac slammed the door and threw down her keys as she entered her apartment.  Her relationship with Harm had been strained at best lately, but today had been absolutely awful.  He had started off the morning snipping at her, she had retaliated, and things had gone downhill from there.  Sometime during the afternoon, they finally blew up at each other.  They both said some pretty nasty things, but Harm had the last word and walked out of her office, never looking back.  So she spent the rest of the afternoon locked up in her office.  When she had finally emerged hours later, he was gone.

 

Now she just wanted to get comfortable and try to forget the entire day.  She stomped into her bedroom, changed into her favorite pair of sweats, and made her way into the kitchen.  Bypassing the refrigerator completely, she went straight to the freezer.  After she had made her ice cream selection, she grabbed a spoon and plopped down on the couch.

 

No sooner had she finished drowning her sorrows in ice cream, than she heard someone at the door.  She checked the peephole and was surprised to see the source of all her frustrations standing outside.  Briefly, she considered pretending to not be home.  She quickly wrote off that idea because Harm would have seen her car and known she was there.

 

She grudgingly gave in and opened the door, her breath catching in her throat as she took in the full view of him.  He was casually leaning with one hand on the doorframe and was wearing a tight pair of jeans that were well worn in all the right places.  His long sleeved knit shirt was tight enough to accentuate the muscles in his chest and arms.  His big strong arms looked so warm and inviting.  Those were the arms that she longed for every night when she went to sleep…alone.

 

Suddenly, she remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him and she stiffened.  Wiping off whatever expression might have been on her face, she spoke with very little emotion.  “I didn’t think I’d see you again until we’re back at the office.  Why are you here?”

 

Harm held up a bag and flashed his trademark flyboy grin.  “Peace offering?”

 

His smile melted all her resolve and she stepped aside to let him in.  He went straight to the couch, sat down, and began emptying the contents of the bag.

 

“A fully loaded Beltway cheeseburger, large fries, and a large chocolate milkshake for you.”

 

“And something much less appetizing for you.” She had to laugh as he pulled out his own sandwich.  She sat down and began unwrapping her burger.  “I guess I *could* use a cheeseburger right about now.”

 

“I’ll say!  This may not be the healthiest meal you can eat, but it’s *gotta* be better than eating ice cream for supper!”  He glanced toward the empty ice cream container on the coffee table.

 

Embarrassed at having been caught, she snatched up the container.  “I’ll have you know, *this* is from breakfast,” she lied.

 

Harm chuckled.  “Oh, and *that* makes it okay?”

 

“Yes, as a matter of fact it does.  If I eat it early in the day, I have more time to burn off the calories before I go to bed.”  She didn’t wait for his reaction as she stormed off to the kitchen to throw away the evidence.  When she came back in, he was shaking his head.

 

“Whatever you say, marine.  Whatever you say.”

 

Mac sat down and took a bite of her cheeseburger.  “This doesn’t get you off the hook, you know,” she said with a slight smirk.

 

“I know.  But it helps, right?”  He put on his best ‘lost, little boy look’.

 

She gave in.  “Maybe a little.”

 

“Would this help some more?”  He pulled a DVD out and held it up for her to see.

 

“Oh, ‘Hope Floats’!  That’s one of my favorites!”

 

“I know.”

 

She grabbed the DVD and got up to put it in the DVD player.  “The little girl in this always reminds me of Chloe.”

 

“Yeah, she does, now that you mention it,” Harm said as he took another bite of his sandwich.  Mac returned to her seat on the couch next to him, but she sat down slightly closer than where she had been before.  By the end of the movie, she was sitting as close to him as possible without being inappropriate.  His arm was casually draped across the back of the couch behind her.  He wanted to put his arm around her and draw her close, but he knew this wasn’t the right time for that.

 

Mac sighed wistfully.  “I love movies with happy endings.  Especially the ones where the knight in shining armor comes and rescues the lady from all her problems and they ride off happily into the sunset together.”

 

“Mac, as I recall, she spent a good part of the movie pushing him away.  And part of the time, she was practically *running* away from him.”  He paused and spoke the next part almost to himself.  “Thank goodness he was patient and persistent.”

 

Those words hit all too close to home.  She turned and looked at him questioningly.  “You’re not talking about the movie anymore, are you?”

 

He tentatively covered her hand with his and spoke softly.  “Mac, you’ve been pushing me away.”

 

She looked down at the floor.  “I know.  I…I’m sorry.”

 

“I understand that you still have a lot to deal with, and I know that we agreed that you would come to me when you’re ready, but we *never* agreed to stop being friends.”

 

“No, we didn’t.”  She was still looking at the floor.

 

“Mac, I love you, and I’ll wait as long as you need me to, but please don’t shut me out.”

 

Mac jerked her head up and stared at him.  She hadn’t heard all of what he had said.  She was still hung up on the first four words.  “Do you really mean that?”

 

“Of course I do.  I told you I’ll always be there for you.  I once asked you to wait for me, it’s only fair that I be willing to wait for *you*.”

 

“No, not that part.  The first part.”  She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

 

Harm went over in his mind what he had said.  His eyebrows shot up when he realized what had accidentally slipped out.  For so many years he had been terrified of those three little words, and now, after all this time, they had just slipped out so easily.  The relief he felt was invigorating.

 

“Yes, Mac.  I really meant that part.”  He spoke almost reverently as he looked deep into her eyes.

 

She was so surprised at his blunt honesty that she was momentarily rendered speechless.  When she regained her composure and began to speak, Harm interrupted her.

 

“Mac, don’t feel obligated to say something back.  I know it’s too soon.  We agreed to do this on *your* timetable.  I’ll wait as long as it takes.”  He smiled reassuringly.

 

“It’s not too soon, Harm.  In fact, it’s way past due.  My life sucks right now.  I’m sick of being tired, lonely, and depressed all the time.  I feel like everything is out of control.  But one thing I know: I’m in love with my best friend and I want him back.”  She looked up at him and the corners of her mouth turned up.  “Well, actually, I guess that’s two things.”

 

Harm, elated with her revelation, pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.  “You have him back, Mac.”  He rubbed her back with one hand and stroked her hair with the other.  “You know, Mac, when I came over here tonight, I was hoping for just a *small* step forward, but I think we made a pretty *big* step forward.  What do you think?”

 

“I think I want to keep walking.”

 

He instantly pulled back and searched her eyes for the meaning of her statement.

 

“One step is not enough, Harm.  I’m ready.  I want to continue to move forward with you.  It doesn’t matter how fast or how slow, or what path we take, just as long as we do it together.”

 

He barely had enough time for a smile to form on his face before her lips captured his.  Caught off guard, it took him a second to react.  He deepened the kiss and was rewarded by her doing the same.  He leaned back against the arm of the sofa, pulling her with him.

 

In that moment, all the issues, misunderstandings, and complications that had plagued them fell away one by one until they were left with just each other.  And they both knew that things were finally right in their world.  They were both in the same place at the same time, wanting the same thing: to move forward together.

 

*****

 

 

A/N: "Hope Floats" is a love story starring Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr.  Sandra Bullock's character is publicly humiliated and divorced and moves back home to get on with her life.  She reconnects with Harry Connick's character (someone she knew in high school) but hesitates to open up to him.  Her daughter is played by the talented Mae Whitman (who played Chloe).  I highly recommend this movie, if only to see how good HCJr looks! LOL!