Title: The Substitute (a BOB story)

1. Author: JAG Junkie (rondayoung@yahoo.com)

Rating: PG-13 (due to the subject matter)

Category: Romance (Harm/Mac)

Disclaimer: They are (sadly) not mine. If they were, we would have seen a little more interaction on some of those out of town trips.

Summary: During a hotel stay on an out of town investigation, Harm makes an interesting discovery about Mac. Takes place shortly before Paraguay and Webb and all that mess.

A/N: I’m not sure where this came from, but I think it had something to do with a recent post on the HB about BOB shops. Cece, the last line is for you.

A/N 2: I don’t know much about BOBs (don’t have one), so I apologize if anything isn’t right. I suppose I could have done some research on the Internet, but if DH had caught me researching BOBs, he probably would have been insulted! LOL!

“We’ve been here four days and we still can’t figure out this case!” A frustrated Harm leaned back in his hotel chair and rubbed his temples.

“I know, but we’ll find what we’re missing soon. We just haven’t talked to the right person yet.” Mac didn’t know whom she was reassuring more, Harm or herself.

“You’re probably right. Maybe tomorrow will be our big break. But in the meantime, I’d like to get at least *one* decent night’s sleep on this trip. I’m going to bed.” He quickly straightened his papers and stood to leave.

“Good idea. I’m calling it a night as well.” She stood and watched him as he made his way to the door that connected their adjoining rooms. He was unbuttoning his shirt as he walked and she was thoroughly enjoying the view of his six. When he turned around and his shirt fell open, she had difficulty maintaining her composure.

“G‘night, Mac.”

“‘Night.”

With a flash of his flyboy grin, he disappeared though the door.

As she went about her nightly routine, Mac couldn’t get her mind off the man next door--the man she had loved, wanted, and needed for so long. They had been inseparable on this investigation, spending every waking hour together. It had been wonderful, but it was driving her crazy. It was making her wish for the nights as well! Her mind kept replaying the image of him just before he went into his room. He looked so sexy as he told her good night. If only he had been coming to her bed and not going to his…

She didn’t know how long she had been standing at the sink when she finally snapped back to reality. ‘Get a grip, Mackenzie!’ she mentally scolded herself. ‘This is the same man who has been your partner and friend for almost seven years. Nothing has changed.’ But it had changed. Her desire for him had been steadily increasing lately, and she wasn’t sure why. One would think that after seven years she would be able to handle being around him, but it was becoming more and more difficult. Memories kept resurfacing: the way he looked that night when she stayed at his apartment, the way he held her after the incident on the Watertown, the way he kissed her that night on the Admiral’s porch…

‘That’s it! I need a cold shower!’ She hurriedly stripped and stepped under the stream of water. Unfortunately, unlike most hotels, this water wasn’t very cold and she found her mind wandering again. Their rooms were mirror images, so their bathrooms shared a wall. As she stood there in the shower, she wondered what Harm was doing. He *could* be taking a shower at the same time. Just on the other side of that wall, Harmon Rabb Jr. could be standing there totally naked, warm water running down his sexy back to his perfect six. Not to mention those broad shoulders, that big, hard chest, and those strong arms. Steam rising, muscles flexing as he washes and rinses himself…

Once again, the usually squared away Marine had become so discombobulated by thoughts of Harm that she had lost all sense of time. She looked down at her fingers and was surprised to find that they looked like prunes. Frustrated, she turned off the water and dried off. She threw on her pajamas, dried her hair, and got into bed. Maybe she just needed a good night’s sleep to clear her head.

Fifteen minutes later, she threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. ‘Why should this night be any different than any other night on this trip?’ she asked herself as she rummaged around in her suitcase. She smiled when she found the all-important item she was looking for and slipped back in bed. As soon as she was ready to indulge herself and get relief, she heard a knock on the door from Harm’s room.

“Mac?”

She wasn’t sure if she heard him for real, or if it was just a trick of her very excited imagination.

“Mac, are you in there?…Of course you are, where else would you be this time of night…Mac?”

She shuddered at the irony. Of hearing his voice at the very point of allowing herself to be totally consumed by thoughts of him.

“Mac? It’s me, Harm…Wait a minute. Of course it is. Who else would be in my room knocking on your door right now?…Come on. Open up.”

Still a little fuzzy, she reached for the light by the bed and flipped it on. It wasn’t much light, but it was enough to ruin the mood and break the spell she had been under. Throwing the covers back, she got out of bed and padded over to the door, not knowing what to expect.

“Harm? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” She opened the door, a look of concern on her face.

He grinned sheepishly. “Everything’s fine. I just…I couldn’t sleep.”

She drank in the sight of him. He had on pajama bottoms and a tight t-shirt that didn’t leave much to the imagination. She pushed all her inappropriate thoughts to the back of her mind and feigned annoyance, crossing her arms in front of her.

“So you decided to wake me up so I couldn’t sleep either? Misery loves company, I guess.”

“No, Just that…well…I couldn’t sleep so I’ve been thinking.”

“About?” she prodded.

“Well, what if the Lieutenant--”

She saw his eyes drift to the other side of the room, and when she followed his gaze to the bed and saw what she had left sitting there in plain sight, she almost gasped in horror. Her words tumbled out as she tried to distract him.

“What if the Lieutenant what? Did you figure it out? Did you realize what we’ve been missing? What? Tell me! I can’t stand the suspense!”

“Mac?” His voice was quiet and curious, as he ignored her barrage of questions.

“Yes, Harm?” She mentally braced herself for what was coming.

“What’s that?” He dipped his head toward the bed.

“What’s what?” She played dumb, knowing full well what he was asking about.

“That.” He pointed as he slowly approached the bed.

She cleared her throat to hide her nervousness. “It’s personal. Private. Yeah, it’s private.” She watched in agony as he picked it up and inspected it. He pushed a button and it buzzed to life, causing his eyes to nearly pop out of his head. He pushed the button again to turn it off and threw it back down on the bed.

“It’s…it’s a…” He gestured with his hands as he struggled with the concept.

“Yes, Harm. It’s a…” She mimicked his hand motions. It was so easy to use sarcasm to cover in an awkward situation. It was an art they had both mastered long ago. She looked everywhere but at him. How would she ever be able to face him again? Much less work with him on a daily basis?

“Why?”

She snorted. “I didn’t think I would ever need to explain the birds and the bees to *you*, of all people.”

“No, I know *that* why, but I want to know *why*?”

“Okay, Harm, now you’re not making any sense.”

“No, I think you know what I’m asking.”

Sitting down heavily in the chair she had occupied earlier that evening, she was silent for a few moments while she carefully chose her words. She decided that the situation couldn’t possibly get any more humiliating than it already was, so she might as well be honest.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that…well…sometimes you just need a release, you know?” She briefly met his eyes and then looked away as she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

“Yeah, I know.” He whispered with a nod.

“And, besides, it’s been a while since Mic…” She deliberately left that thought unfinished.

He sat down in the other chair and muttered under his breath. “Yeah, and it’s been a while since Renee…” He trailed off just as she had.

Her eyes darted back to him. “Really?”

He turned pink. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud. But, um, yeah.”

She studied him carefully, not sure if he was telling the truth.

“Wow, I would have thought that--”

“There’s been no one, Mac.” He said it so simply and sincerely that she was convinced.

“Okay.” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that revelation, so she decided to say as little as possible to spare them both any more embarrassment. She looked around nervously, and her eyes landed on the coffee maker. Desperately wanting to avoid the uncomfortable subject and further embarrassment, she plastered on a fake smile and blurted out, “Since we’re both awake now, we could make some coffee and get back to brainstorming about the investigation. What do you think?”

“Does it help?”

“The brainstorming? Or the coffee?”

“That.” He pointed toward the item still on the bed. “Does it help you deal with it?”

“Oh. That.” She cleared her throat again. “Yes, he helps me quite a bit.”

His eyes widened. “He?”

She cringed. She didn’t mean to let that slip.

“Yes, *he*. You certainly wouldn’t expect me to refer to it as a she, would you? Because that would be weird.”

“Yeah, I guess it would be since it represents…um…you know…and…well…Does he have a name?”

“What?” She couldn’t believe what he was asking.

“A name. Since you refer to it as a male, and since you’re using him for…that…it would stand to reason that he would have a name.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe this.”

He smirked at her discomfort. “It’s a simple question, Mac.”

She sighed and gave in. “A lot of women refer to him as BOB.” No way was she going to reveal the *actual* name she called out at night!

“Bob? Why?”

“It’s an acronym.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do I want to know what it stands for?”

She mumbled her answer and averted her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear. What was that again?”

“Battery Operated Boyfriend.” She could feel her cheeks burning as she deliberately enunciated each word.

He snickered. “That’s pretty clever. And appropriate too.”

She tried again to change the subject. “Now, about that coffee?” She got up and walked toward the coffee maker.

“Does BOB come with you on all your trips?”

“That’s when I need him the most,” she blurted out without thinking.

“Really? Why?”

He studied her with an intensity that made her even more uncomfortable than she already was. She realized she had said too much and grew defensive.

“That’s none of your business!”

“Wow! I seem to have hit a sensitive nerve.”

She chuckled and thought to herself. ‘No, you haven’t *ever* hit a certain sensitive nerve--that's the whole problem!’ Out loud, she replied, “No, you’re just starting to get too personal.”

“And this conversation *hasn’t* been too personal until now? I think we hit that point the minute I asked you what it was,” he reasoned.

“True. This whole discussion has been a little uncomfortable, to say the least.”

“And you still haven’t answered my question.”

She slowly walked over to the window and peeked through the slight gap in the curtains, peering at the city below and wishing that she were down there, away from her relentless partner and this whole embarrassing situation. She sighed heavily and began.

“Usually, when we’re on trips like this, there can be a lot going on. I know you once said that location doesn’t change who we are, but it certainly can intensify the way we feel or the way we react to things. We sometimes get caught up in the excitement of a case, and, combine that with being away from home, in new and sometimes unfamiliar surroundings, well, sometimes I just need to get out some extra…energy.”

“Oh.” That certainly got Harm’s curiosity up. He stood so that he could see her better. “So…do you find yourself with extra…energy…often?”

She made a noise that was something between a grunt and a snort. “Yeah. More and more.”

“And on *this* trip?” He hoped he wasn’t pushing too far with his questions.

Her cheeks turned blood red. “Every night.”

He grinned and looked toward his room, mumbling under his breath. “Well, at least I’m not the only one.”

She cocked her head to the side and studied him. “Did I hear you right? Did you just admit to…to…” She found herself struggling with words just as he had when he first discovered her dark little secret.

His cheeks reddened to a similar shade as hers. “Um…I, uh…I guess I did. Why do you think I rushed out of here so quickly tonight?”

“Wow. Well, I of all people can’t say there’s anything wrong with that.” She thought for a moment and then a smile crept across her face. “Every night this week?”

He suddenly became as interested in the coffee maker as she had been earlier. “Yeah. So, how about that coffee now?”

She ignored his suggestion and slowly walked toward him. “So…every night this week…while I’ve been in here…and you’ve been in there…”

His eyes darkened as he realized what she was saying. “We’ve both been substituting…”

She stopped in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. “For what we really want…”

His reply came in the form of a toe-curling lip-lock. When they came up for air, they simultaneously gasped the other’s name before fusing their lips together again. Awkwardly, they stumbled toward the bed, shedding clothing as they went. They fell onto the bed, Harm crushing her under his weight.

“OW!” She cried out. He instantly pulled back and looked her over, his mind torn between ogling her naked beauty, and concern for her pain.

“What is it, Mac? Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry! I just got carried away! I should have been more careful!” His words tumbled out in a mix of pain, frustration, and intense desire.

“No, it’s not you, I promise!” She reached behind her and grabbed the offending object. “I landed on BOB.” She held it out for both to see and frowned. “I think we might have broken him.”

Harm grinned mischievously. “It doesn’t matter. You won’t be needing him anymore.”

“Good. He was just a substitute for the real thing anyway.” She smiled indulgently and attempted to set the item on the nightstand, then resumed groping her new lover. They quickly became a tangle of arms, legs, and sheets. In fact, they were so engrossed in exploring each other that they didn’t even notice when BOB rolled off the table, onto the floor, and under the bed, where he remained, forgotten.

When they checked out of the hotel several days later, the maid would make quite a startling discovery.

So everyone lived happily ever after. Harm and Mac always had an outlet for their extra…energy…and the maid, after her initial shock, had a potential new toy. Maybe her planned trip to the BOB shop, disguised in dark glasses, a mustache, and a fake accent, wouldn’t be necessary after all.

*****