Title: Meeting in a Rose Garden

Summary: Mac reconnects with someone she knew in law school. (West Wing Crossover) (Mac/Other, Mac/Harm eventually)

Rating: Even though the thought of a young Sam Seaborn makes me want to make this the smuttiest thing I'll ever write, I'm going to try and keep this PG-13

Notes: Still working on my other stories, but every time I sit down to write, nothing comes. Since I can't get this out of my head, I figured I'd finally start it, and hopefully it'll help me finish Raising Amelia.

Also, since Harm is rightfully critical of the men Mac dates (because they're all either assholes, or inappropriate). I wanted to play around with their relationship if she started dating a man who is a really good guy.

Timeline: If I had to anchor this in reality, it would be sometime in Season 3 of The West Wing, and Season 7 of JAG.

Part One

Harm rapped his knuckles against the frame of his partners open door. "Are you about ready?"

Mac looked up at him, and then back at her screen. "Damn. No, I'm nowhere near ready."

He stepped into the office and frowned as he maneuvered his long frame into one of the small chairs in front of her desk. The chairs were new, and he was convinced they had been manufactured with young children in mind. "What are you working on?"

She raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair. "Molly Stanbridge's appeal."

He grimaced. "Ah." Their last case. He had prosecuted, and she had defended the young lieutenant. "Well, come back to it later. We have to be at the White House in -"

"Thirty-three minutes. I know." She glanced at her screen for another long moment, and then hit save. "Okay. I guess it would be inappropriate to be late for this."

He snorted. "Yeah, a little." He grinned as she finally smiled at him, and stood up. He waited patiently as she grabbed her purse and her large make-up bag.

"Will you drive so I can freshen up my makeup on the way?" He nodded and they headed out of her office. They stopped briefly to speak to Sturgis, and were stopped by Bud with question he had about a case. Finally, they made it to Harm's SUV, and she had her bag unzipped before he had even started the ignition.

He tried to focus on the road, but doing so was a challenge with her primping beside him. Especially when she moved her finger to her lips and wiped off a smudge of her dark red lipstick. He swallowed, and tightened his grip on the wheel. "Big date at the retirement ceremony?"

She turned to face him, and gave him a curious look. "If I had a date, it probably wouldn't be the smartest idea to show up with you." She smiled as he rolled his eyes. "No. I just didn't have a chance to put on my makeup this morning, and I want to look my best since I'm going to be at the White House." She turned her attention back to the visor mirror, and focused on swiping mascara over her long lashes.

He relaxed his grip on the wheel and tapped his fingers along with the soft music. "I hate these things."

"I do too. I get why we have to go, but I've never even met the Deputy JAG. Hasn't he been in Brussels forever?"

Harm nodded. "Yeah. I met him once, when I first got here. He was here meeting with Chegwidden about something. But that was at least 7 year ago."

The world had changed on September 11. That was a given. And people who hadn't seen combat in a very long time, if ever, were suddenly put into unbelievable situations and were doing remarkable things. One of those people was Rear Admiral Forest Haines, the Deputy Judge Advocate General. He was one of the honorees at a White House ceremony this afternoon, and attendance for JAG senior staff was mandatory. Harm pulled up to a gated lot, and handed both of their ID's to the attendant. The attendant looked at them both, checked their names against the clipboard in his hand, and then let them through. The lot was fairly close to the White House, and it wasn't long before they were being shown into the rose garden.

Mac looked around the beautiful space, and couldn't help but smile. She looked at Harm and nudged him lightly with her elbow. "We've come a long way, sailor."

Harm couldn't help the flood of affection that ran through him. His life had changed the last time he had been here, and she had been forced into his life. He offered her his famous smile, and placed his hand on the small of her back. "Let's go find some seats."

Sam Seaborn stood off to the side with his colleagues, watching as a tall man with salt and pepper hair shook the President's hand. President Bartlet had just finished this speech, and was now giving the appropriate medals to the honorees. Soon, the formal part of the ceremony would be over, and they would get maybe an hour to socialize at the reception before getting back to work.

He looked away as the President greeted the last honoree, and his eyes scanned the crowd. He doubted he knew anyone in the audience other than Admiral Fitzwallace - it was almost entirely made up of high-ranking military officials. But then on the third row he spotted a somewhat familiar face. She was stunning. Huge brown eyes, short brown hair, and olive skin. He knew he knew her from somewhere, but where?

He subtly leaned into Josh Lyman. "Brunette in the third row. Do you know who she is?"

Josh scanned the crowd, and shook his head. "I'm sorry to say I don't."

Sam nodded, and then started to applaud when he realized that the President was finished. The audience began to stand, and move around. He watched as she got swallowed up in a sea of uniforms and handshakes, and he got pulled into his usual group made up of the President's closest advisors. Every time he managed to spot her; he was sidelined before he could actually approach her. He was finally on the verge of giving up and returning to his office when Josh grabbed his arm.

"Your mystery woman is talking to Leo." He gestured to the far corner of the garden, where White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry stood with her and the two men she had been sitting with.

"Thanks." He walked to them, as quickly as he could while still being appropriate. He stood close, and listened as they spoke about Vietnam. Leo was had served in the war as an Air Force pilot, so Sam assumed the older man had served as well. After a few minutes, Leo shook all of their hands and walked away, and Sam finally was able to approach her. He was about to tap her shoulder when she turned and faced him, while his hand was still raised. "Oh, hi." He stammered, and wanted to sink into the ground and die. No one could ever accuse him of being smooth when it came to women, but it had been a long time since he had felt this awkward.

"Hi." She raised an eyebrow. "May I help you?"

He blushed slightly, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to intrude, but you look so familiar to me, and I can't figure out where I know you from."

She smiled cautiously. "Must be the uniform." Then it was her turn to blush, and she thought back to the last time she was in this place, and her awkward introduction to Harm.

'I'm sorry Major, of course I don't know you. I just had a moment of déjà vu.'

'Must be the uniform.'

'No, actually, she was in the Navy.'

"No, I don't think that's it." He held out a hand to her and smiled broadly. "I'm Sam. Sam Seaborn."

Her smile warmed slightly. "Sarah MacKenzie." She heard shuffling behind her and was suddenly aware that her commanding officer and her partner were witnessing this awkward interaction. She turned slightly and made the introductions.

AJ Chegwidden watched the display in front of him with barely disguised interest. As much as he hated to admit it, he was fascinated by the relationship between his two senior officers. He glanced at Harm, and then at Mac. He had been convinced that once the wedding was off and Renee Peterson was out of the picture these two would figure it out. But months had gone by and they were no closer than they were before the cursed trip to Australia. "Come on, Commander. We should mingle and let these two figure out where they know one another from." Harm opened his mouth to protest, but at the last minute just nodded and followed the Admiral to the makeshift bar.

Mac watched them walk away, and then turned back to Sam. "So. Do you really think you know me from somewhere, or is this just a clumsy pick-up line?" He blushed again, and she felt herself softening. She worked with Harmon Rabb Jr., so she was used to spending her days with a ridiculously attractive man. After six years of Harm's commanding presence, she honestly thought she'd be immune to the charms of lesser mortals. But there was something about Sam Seaborn. She wasn't sure if it was the beautiful blue eyes & handsome smile, or the adorable blush that colored his cheeks.

"I really do think I know you from somewhere." He shoved his hands in his pockets and cocked his head to the side. "Do you have much business at the White House?"

She shook her head. "No. This is only my second time here. And last time was with the previous administration. School, maybe? Where's you go to college?"

"Princeton. You?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Definitely not Princeton. University of Minnesota. Then Duke Law School."

His eyes lit up, and his smile grew wider. And even more handsome. "Duke! Yes! I went to Duke for law school."

She nodded and let her arms fall. "Duke, of course." She studied him for a moment, and felt a memory click into place. "Weren't you the editor of the Journal?"

"I was. For my last year anyway. So, Duke for both us and now we're in public service." He took in the uniform she wore. "Do you work at JAG Headquarters?"

Mac nodded. "I've been there for about six years now. The Marine Corps put me through school. What about you? How did you end up here?"

He shrugged. "I was doing unsatisfying work at Gage-Whitney in New York. And my friend Josh came to see me to tell me about this long shot candidate he had recently heard speak in New Hampshire. So, I left my job and joined the Bartlet campaign." He shrugged sheepishly. "And now I work at the White House."

She opened her mouth to speak, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw her partner. "Mac, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to get going."

She wanted to tell him that he didn't look even a little sorry, but she knew it was getting late and they did need to get back to the office. "One minute, Harm." She turned back to Sam. "I'm sorry, I have to get back to the office. It was nice talking with you."

"I'd like to talk to you more. Can I call you sometime?" She beamed at him and pulled a business card out of her purse. She handed it to him, and he let out a deep breath. "Great! Thank you." He tucked the card in the pocket of his jacket and grinned. "I'll call you this week." They said their goodbyes, and he watched as she and her coworker walked away. And he couldn't help but feel elated when she glanced over her shoulder and gave him one last smile.

End Part One.