Title: Second Percent
Author: Hollyjp
Summary: Mac survived the car accident on Christmas Eve in “One Percent”; now here’s the sequel. New Year’s Eve is approaching and Harm is hoping to move their relationship forward a little more. Will Mac meet him half way or will the past stop them once again?
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Everything through “Four Percent Solution” in Season 10.
Disclaimer: JAG is the property of Bellisario Productions, CBS, and Paramount. I have borrowed their characters for entertainment purposes only. No monetary gain will result from their appearance in my story.
SECOND PERCENT
December 29, 2004
1825 Local
Mac’s Apartment
Georgetown
“Mac? Can I come in?” Commander Harmon Rabb poked his head into her apartment after using the spare key to himself in. Before completely entering the apartment he decided to ask permission.
“Little late to be asking isn’t it, Sailor?” Mac’s smiling voice came to him from the kitchen.
“I guess...but at least I thought of it before I was all the way in.” Harm came up behind her as she worked at the counter chopping vegetables. “What you making?”
“Dinner.”
“I guessed that much...”
“I thought I’d make a nice tossed salad to have with the rest of that chowder you made. I also made brownies for dessert.”
“Sounds great...am I invited?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks Mac.”
“For what?”
“For letting me fuss over you...for letting me in a little...”
“You’ve made it much easier then I thought it would be.” Mac smiled up at him over her shoulder.
“You seem to be moving a lot better today and your face hardly shows a mark.”
“I am definitely better. I think I can probably go in to JAG tomorrow.”
“Okay...do you have plans for New Year’s Eve?” Harm asked as he tried to steal a piece of raw carrot from her cutting board.
“Just the usual...curl up with movies and ice cream and watch the festivities on television, I guess. Want to join me?”
“Maybe...I thought if you were up to it, you might be willing to go out to dinner with me and maybe do some dancing...then if you want to come back and...watch movies and eat ice cream...I’d join you.” Harm smiled nervously waiting for her response.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” Mac returned his smile.
“Yes.”
“It sounds like fun, Harm. I’d love to.” Harm responded to Mac’s warm smile with the big full wattage one that was his alone.
“Good...I’ll go make the reservations...while you finish chopping the veggies,” Harm kissed her cheek as he passed and grabbed his cell phone from his coat pocket.
1945 Local
Mac’s Apartment
They had finished dinner and doing the dishes together. Mac had wanted to see a show that was scheduled on TV that evening and so he offered to fix their tea and bring it in so she could get ready. Harm had set the tea and brownies on the coffee table and was just sitting on the end of the couch where Mac usually sat.
“Stealing my seat now are you?”
“Yes and no...I though if I sat here, you’d let me put my arm around you and might even rest your head on my shoulder,” Harm explained.
“That could work...” Mac sat next to him and leaned into his side. Once his arm settled around her shoulder, she reached up and took his hand. Harm smiled down on her and she looked up over her shoulder at him.
“Did I ever tell you that I like the way you hold hands?”
“You do...I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you.”
“Harm, you have very gentle hands.”
“Their big and clumsy...when I’m not driving jets.”
“No...their kind and gentle even though they are big. I can think of three times when you’ve held my hand and I’ve felt so safe and secure because of it.”
“Three times?”
“Yes...when we were waiting on the ship to hear news about Bud; at the Admiral’s retirement dinner; and Christmas eve in the hospital.” Mac continued to play with his fingers as she held his hand.
“Your hands look so delicate in mine.” Harm smiled as Mac relaxed more fully against him and her head rested against his chest.
“Sometimes you make me feel so feminine that I feel like I have to put distance between us so that I don’t forget I’m a Marine..or how to be tough when I need to be. You make me forget that and I can’t afford to let my guard down.”
“I know...I don’t mean to make you feel weak or at a disadvantage...unless we’re on opposing sides in court,” Harm grinned trying to lightened the mood a little. He knew that he and Mac needed to talk about a lot of things, but he didn’t want to lose the fun and enjoyment of just being together either. Somehow Mac realized what he was doing and went along with him.
“I’ll have to find some new tricks to keep the upper hand in court...we’ve got a couple of cases coming up in the new year I hear and we’ll be on opposing sides.”
“It’s probably going to test us and how we can handle the newest level of our relationship,” Harm cautioned.
“Harm, I think we can handle it. Look at what we’ve already been through and at least this time I’m in a much better place emotionally with you...now the shows coming on...be quiet and watch or go home.” Mac settled against Harm with a sigh of contentment ceratin he wouldn’t opt to leave her alone at this point in the evening.
“Yes Ma’am!” Harm grinned as he dropped a light kiss on the top of her head. Harm didn’t really watch the show. He was too busy enjoying the feel of Mac resting her body against his while her hand held his. Before he knew it the hour had gone by and Mac was talking to him.
“I could get use to this...you’re spoiling me you know.”
“You think?”
“Yes...but I’m enjoying it too much to object,” Mac informed him without moving as her thumb teased the palm of his hand.
“I’m getting use to this too...coming home to you after a day at the office; eating dinner together; talking and laughing as we share our day; holding each other...I could get very use to this, Sarah.”
“Harm...” Mac started to tense up and object until Harm held her a little more snugly and soothed her with his warm rich voice and words.
“Relax...I won’t push any further...I just want you to hear what I’m thinking and feeling...I’m not going to push you for an answer or a response you aren’t ready to give.”
“I’m sorry Harm...I just...”
“I know...you need more time to adjust to where this relationship is heading. I understand.”
“I know you do. Thank you...and you’re right...I need to listen to you more and not assume I know what you’re thinking and feeling.”
“You want me to leave now?”
“No. Can we just sit like this a little longer?” Mac asked from her position against his body.
“I’d like that.”
Harm settled her a little closer to him and wrapped both his arms around her so that his hands covered both of hers as they rested on her stomach.
The warmth that settled around Mac had little to do with the man wrapped around her and more to do with the peace and contentment she found in his arms.
Another hour flew by before Harm whispered in Mac’s ear. “I think you should let me up and walk me to the door so I can be on my way. Do you want me to pick you up in the morning?”
“Yes...I’ll move but its against my will.”
“I know...but its time.”
Getting up but refusing to relinquish one of his hands, Mac walked him to the door where she was forced to let go so he could put his coat on. Once he had it buttoned, he entwined his fingers with hers again as they looked into each others eyes. Bending his head without speaking he kissed each cheek and then her lips in a brief goodnight. As he released her hand, her fingers touched her lips where his had just been. Mac watched Harm walk down the hallway and into the night.
When Mac could no longer see Harm, she shut the door and leaned against it, her fingers still on her lips. Unable to control the silly grin on her face, she got ready for bed. She had just settled herself into bed in her darkened room when the phone rang. She knew it would be Harm before she ever picked it up and heard his voice in her ear.
“I forgot to tell you good-night...”
“Good-night to you too.”
“See you in the morning.”
“Don’t be late.” The call ended. Sarah Mackenzie wrapped her arms around herself trying to imagine what their date would be like New Year’s Eve.
2314 Local
Harm’s Apartment
North of Union Station
Harm closed his eyes willing his mind to slow down and his body to relax so that he could fall asleep. They had made a huge move forward tonight when she had excepted his date for New Year’s Eve and when he had kissed her lips at the door when he left. The chances of her having died as a result of her Christmas Eve accident were huge and she had beat the odds with no serious injuries.
The accident had shaken her up more then he had first realized. She now seemed to accept him into her life where before she had not just resisted it, but actively discouraged it. Every day he had found some little way to insert himself into her life a little more, while still giving her the opportunity to stop or slow the forward momentum of their relationship. He knew that they would face new challenges at work. He was prepared for them, he thought, and hoped she was too. They would find out in the morning.
Harm finally slept and woke up before the alarm went off. Not wanting to be late to pick Mac up, he got right up, hit the head for his morning routine and was dressed and ready to go in plenty of time. He even had time to stop by the coffee shop near Mac’s apartment and pick up coffee and a muffin for each of them.
Things were not going as smoothly in Sarah Mackenzie’s apartment. She had over slept this morning and in the process of getting dressed had put runs in two pairs of panty hose making her even later. She had needed to resort to a garter belt and nylons which she didn’t like wearing under her uniform. She was also starving and knew if she took time to eat she would be even later. Needless to say Mac was not in a great mood when Harm cheerily greeted her at her door ten minutes early.
“Can’t you just be on time for once!” she snapped at Harm when she opened the door for him.
“I’m early Mac...what’s wrong?”
“Nothing...when you say you are going to be here at seven hundred, be here at seven hundred, Harm - not at six fifty!” Mac turned around trying to ignore the smell of the coffee he held which had penetrated her awareness just as she started to walk away.
“Whoa! Mac, what’s wrong?” Harm asked gently as he set the coffee cups and bag with the muffins down on the table as he came in the door and shut it. His question and the smell of the coffee stopped her forward momentum and she turned slowly to look at Harm. The concern on his face stopped the wall she was quickly trying to build and she stepped toward him.
“I’m sorry...I’m doing it again...trying to push you away.”
“Why Mac...did I go to far to fast for you last night?”
“No...I overslept this morning; I lost arguments with some of my clothes this morning; I’m hungry but don’t have time to eat; and I’m worried about what Creswell’s going to say about me crashing a Navy issue car. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. Did you bring coffee?”
“Yes, and a muffin. Go get ready. You can eat your muffin and enjoy your coffee while I drive. Okay?”
“Yes.” Mac moved into her bedroom and finished putting on her uniform. Her hair was up in its bun and her cap in place when she returned to the living room where Harm helped her into her coat. Getting her things together, they made it to Harm’s car without further disaster and were on the road to JAG at 0705 as planned.
Mac tasted the muffin in the bag and moaned in delight.
“That good?”
“Yes...did you have one?”
“Not yet.”
“Here...” Mac held it up so he could take a bite of her muffin. Harm smiled and took a taste from the offered food. It was good, but hearing her enjoying it was even better. Sipping coffee and eating muffins as they drove toward JAG became a team effort. They were both restored to a good mood when they arrived at headquarters.
“Does Creswell ever go home?” Mac asked as they parked next to his car.
“He does leave the building.”
“I know, but he’s here before zero five hundred most days and has rarely left by nineteen hundred.”
“Mac, if you know that first hand then you’ve been putting in some long hours yourself. Are you sure there isn’t a competition going between the two of you?”
“No...I don’t think so. I don’t usually come in before seven hundred and I try to get out of here by eighteen hundred...but at times I’ve needed to be here early or have needed to stay late. But I hear his schedule is like that every day.”
“Well, he’s the JAG and he can set his hours so maybe he’ll ease up as he gets into the swing of things.”
“Time will tell I guess.” Mac said as they stepped off the elevator.
“Good morning, Ma’am...Commander,” Petty Officer Coates greeted them as they entered JAG ops. “The General would like to see you both ASAP. I’ll take your things and put them in your offices.”
“Thank you Coates.”
“Guess we’d better see him...glad we got back on schedule. Thanks Harm.”
“No problem.”
Once they were seated in his office after he had bade them to enter, General Creswell wasted no time coming to the point of this visit.
“Colonel Mackenzie, you appeared to have faired better then the sedan you were issued. Are you always this careless with government issue items?”
“No sir!”
“Very well, I understand that a Marine squad has offered to repair the car and make it road worthy again as part of an inner squad competition at Quantico. Speaking of which, the doctor has cleared you for full duty as of Monday January third. You will report to Quantico for your annual physical fitness test that morning at zero five hundred.”
“Yes sir.”
“Very well. Now I would like both of you to spend the next couple of days finishing up the fit reps for this quarter. I am securing the office at fifteen hundred on Friday as I have to leave with my family early that day. I want every one but duty of the day to secure early that day - including both of you. I’ve noticed that you both tend to put in extremely long hours and take work home. Why is that?”
“Habit, necessity, I’m not sure , sir,” Harm explained with a raised eyebrow.
“I understand that you lost a junior attorney almost two years ago and they have never been replaced. Is this accurate?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, we have two new attorneys starting with us in a few weeks and I’d like the two of you to see what you can do with them. From what I understand, they are a lot like you were when you were new around here. They say payback can be hell, Commander. Guess you’ll find out. Dismissed.”
“Aye, Aye, sir.” Harm and Mac came to attention and left the office together. They spent the day working in the library on the fit reps as they had been ordered to do. Once they had completed those, they pulled the files that were due for review this quarter. Those would keep them busy for the remainder of the day and the next day.
That evening, as they were getting their things ready to leave JAG headquarters, Harm started to guide Mac to his car.
“Harm, my car is here. I’m going to drive myself home, remember?”
“Yes...but I was hoping you’d come home with me and let me fix dinner tonight.”
“Sorry...I want to take my car home...but I wouldn’t say no to you having supper with me again tonight.”
“Will you let me cook for you?” Harm asked as he opened her car door for her.
“Yes.”
“Lead the way then.”
The evenings progressed in similar fashion. They changed into comfortable clothes, ate dinner, talked or watched television while they huddled together on the couch. Around twenty-two hundred hours, Mac would walk Harm to the door where they would hug and he would give her a light kiss on her lips before leaving for his apartment.
December 31, 2004
1900 Local
Mac’s Apartment
Georgetown
Harm brushed at his long black coat he wore over his gray pinstriped suit and checked the bouquet of roses in his hand one more time before knocking on Mac’s door at exactly nineteen hundred hours.
Mac opened the door wearing a simple black cocktail dress with high heels. The modest neckline turned out to be the perfect backdrop for the simple chain with the wedding band ‘pendent’ that Harm had given her for Christmas. He spotted it immediately and reached out to touch it with one finger.
“You wore it...”
“Yes.”
“You look gorgeous Sarah.”
“Thank you. You look very handsome yourself.”
“Oh - here...these are for you.” Harm handed her the half dozen red roses.
“They are beautiful...thank you, Harm. Let me put these in a vase.”
“Shall we?” Harm asked as Mac returned and set the flowers on the dining room table.
“Let me get my coat.” Mac picked it up and Harm reached for it to hold it as she slipped into it. Her purse in one hand and Harm’s hand in the other they left her apartment feeling hopeful and alive for the first time in a long while.
Harm handed Mac into the Corvette and shut the door for her before going around and climbing in to the driver’s seat.
“Are you telling me where we are going?” Mac asked Harm.
“Not yet...want to make a guess?”
“No...I don’t want to night to turn into a competition, Harm.”
“Me either...I just want to get to know you as my date.”
“Harm, doesn’t it feel strange to think of us on a date?”
“Yes and no...I mean the nice thing is, we already know each other and know we have common ground. The hard part I think will be not slipping back into familiar patterns.”
“You’re right...but I feel like we can do this.”
“Good. I think one think I can do to help is call you Sarah instead of Mac.”
“Okay...just because tonight it special...I’m still Mac, Harm. That doesn’t change when I put on a dress...or take it off.” Mac could hear the little catch in Harm’s breathing as she opened the door officially on flirting during this date. She smiled and waited for his come back.
“I’ll test that theory out eventually...but for tonight at least, will you be upset if I call you Sarah?”
“No...I like the way my name sounds when you say it.”
“Good. Here we are.” Harm pulled up to the Willard Hotel. The valet took the car and Harm escorted Sarah into the dining room.
“Reservation for Rabb.”
“Yes sir...follow me.”
Harm’s hand rested in the small of her back as they walked by other diners into a private alcove. Once seated at the small table, Harm reached for her hand and continued to hold it and play with her fingers as they talked, ordered their meal and learned even more about one another.
“What were you like as a kid Harm?” Mac asked as they waited for their dinner.
“Wow...Renee asked me that one time and I told her I didn’t have that kind of insight into myself...now I’d have to say I was a kid that in some ways was old before my time and in other ways, I didn’t grow up because I felt the world owed me something to replace the father that I didn’t have. Over all I think I was a bit shy, but polite and well-mannered-anything else wouldn’t have been acceptable. I dreamed of flying, wouldn’t accept the obvious answers unless it was proven to me, and somewhere I learned that if you really wanted something, you had to go after it.”
“So your obsessions are learned and not just inherit?”
“Something like that...it may take me a while to decide what I’m going to do - what my goals are - but then I don’t give up until I have the answers. Makes me kind of hard-headed and stubborn I guess.”
“It make you who you are Harm.”
“Okay, same question...what were you like as a kid?”
“As a little girl I was chubby and cute and I loved my dolls but by the time I was ten and went on my first ichnite search with Uncle Matt, I was fascinated with the bones. I thought I’d be an archaeologist if I could get to college. Uncle Matt encouraged that and so did my mother. You know its strange...as a little girl, my memories of my mother were of a kind, caring, loving woman, but as I got older I can see now what she endured from my father forced her to run away and leave me behind. Somehow I internalized the fight or flight part of her and that’s how I’ve been dealing with my life.”
“Sarah, I didn’t mean to make this a serious conversation...”
“It’s okay...really...you see, that accident Christmas Eve woke me up before it was too late. I don’t want to become my mother, so now I can start looking at things more positively...maybe if she had gotten the help I have and had the support I do, she could have made her life better. But I have you, don’t I?”
“Yes.”
“Even though I’ve pushed you away...”
“You aren’t pushing me away now, are you Sarah?”
“No...here’s my resolution...I want to move us forward too. I think I’ve finally realized that you aren’t pushing me but you are waiting for me...and I’m ready to move forward with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah...you know, you’ve made plans for us tonight - dinner, dancing, and then back to my place for the festivities on television - right?”
“That’s what I promised...my idea blended with yours...”
“What if I’ve changed my mind about how I want to spend New Year’s Eve?”
“Sarah?”
“Not panic...” Mac smiled and held his hand a little tighter. “I’ll show you later what I was thinking...nothing has to change in the original plan...we’ll just add a few things if you don’t mind.”
“Sounds like I could be up all night,” Harm grinned. Mac didn’t deny it.
They finished dinner sharing funny memories from college experiences and crazy New Year’s Eve celebrations from the past. They both refused dessert and decided to move to the lounge where there was live music and dancing.
“Do you still think I think of you as dancing with my sister?” Harm asked after the third or fourth dance when they had given into the desire to hold each other close as they swayed to the music.
“No...I believe you...” Mac whispered against his ear and smiled as she felt him shiver from her breath against his ear. She also was aware of his body reacting to her in other ways which made her own body’s telltale signs easier to accept.
They danced one more dance before Harm started placing little kisses against her neck and behind her ear. His lips and tongue leaving a trail of fire where they touched her. Mac was delighted by his reaction to her and she couldn’t resist sliding her hands around his waist, down to his six and then caressing the firm muscles hidden by his suit.
“Sarah...you’re playing with fire...”
“Good...let’s go home Harm...”
2255 Local
Mac’s Apartment
Georgetown
Harm closed the door to her apartment and watched her unbutton her coat. He did the same and their coats landed on the back of the chair just before they moved into each other’s arms. Harm’s head bent down as Sarah looked up and their lips met. It was a tentative kiss at first, like the one they had shared under the mistletoe at the Robert’s Christmas eve party, years ago. As they adjusted to the kiss, Harm reached for her and pulled her close to him as he had on the Admiral’s porch the night of her engagement party to another man. From there, the kiss took on a life of its own. It deepened and then eased while their passion flared and then steadied. It burned bright and hot and then calm and warm. It became everything they were to each other and more.
With trembling hands Harm caressed Sarah’s face gazing into her eyes with an intensity he had never dared show her before. He lowered his lips to hers again and they reveled in the feelings and desires they shared with one another. Lifting his head once again, he felt the woman in his arms turn away from him while taking his hand. At first he thought she was stopping their forward momentum until he realized she was leading him toward her bedroom.
“Sarah, are you sure?” Harm asked in little more then a whisper.
“Yes, its time for the second percent. I want to start the new year in your arms; looking at the good things we have; hoping for more good things to come. Do you?”
“Yes.”
The simplicity of that one word belied the intensity and passion the two shared as they welcomed in the new year and embraced each other and the second percent of the four percent solution the psychologist had promised Mac two months ago and which she had not been able to embrace until her accident on Christmas Eve.