Title : The Old Fashioned Way
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount – and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Summary : Mac asks Harm to 'help' her have a child as he promised – with IVF – but while they wait for the doctors to give the go-ahead, Mother Nature has other ideas!
Spoilers : None, pure fluff, but imagine it to be shortly after the time of the Admiral's Dining Out, where Mac told Harm the truth about her condition. Sturgis is acting JAG – don't know why I want it to be him in charge, but I'm sure all will become clear in time!
Rating : Racy!
Dance in the old fashioned way
Won't you stay in my arms
Just melt against my skin
And let me feel your heart
Don't let the music win
By dancing far apart
Come close where you belong
Let's hear our secret song
JAG HEADQUARTERS – FALLS CHURCH – VIRGINIA
"Hey, you busy?" Mac looked up at the familiar figure of Harmon Rabb leaning in at her door, a hand either side of the frame holding his own 6'4" frame casually, belying the strength in his body. Mac shook her head as Harm dropped his hands and strolled easily into her office.
"What's up?"
"Um…I was wondering if you're not busy, if you'd like to have dinner."
"I'm not bus…" Mac began, and then stopped short as Harm finished his sentence. Dinner? Harm saw the conflicted look cross Mac's face as he began to back up, an apology already forming in his mind and making its way to his lips. "Tonight?"
"Huh?" Harm's response made Mac laugh softly, and she got to her feet and moved around her desk.
"I'm really glad you're not in court today, Counselor. Responses like that wouldn't go down well with any of the judges we stand before. And yes, I'd like to have dinner with you. Your place?"
Mac hadn't envisioned anything more than a take-out at Harm's – much as they had done in the past. It had been a long while since she had spent any length of time with Harm outside of work. Too long, Mac decided, and wondered if this could be a turning point for them to move onto a stronger friendship than they'd had in recent times. Perhaps Harm would come to think of her as his best friend once more; a friendship she'd knowingly let falter, and yet had yearned for at the same time. Mac was lost in her thoughts and almost missed Harm's response. Almost…
"I…ah…was thinking more of going out. To a restaurant? La Chaumiere?."
"Oh…that…that sounds good. Um…Harm?"
"Yes?"
"Is this a date?" Mac phrased her question with an amused tilt of her lips, but in her mind she was silently begging him to say 'yes'. The smile that came to his own lips and, even more telling, to his eyes was answer enough and was enforced by his words.
"Yes. I'd like to think so."
"Then I accept, thank you. So, shall we meet at the restaurant?"
"I was always taught that I should pick up and return a young woman to her doorstep."
"That's very old fashioned, Harm," Mac murmured, but she was smiling, and hoping that Harm would do just what he'd been taught.
"I'll be by at 1900. Will that be enough time?"
"That's great. Do we need to book?"
"Already done." Harm knew by the look on Mac's face that he'd said the wrong thing, and he offered an explanation. "I…Mac, it's easier to book and cancel than try to book later in the day and be disappointed. I'm not taking anything for granted. I…I just wanted this to go right…for us…"
"Oh…" Mac faltered slightly, and then leaned in to Harm as she walked past him and out of her door. "Seven on the dot, Sailor. By the way, Sturgis incoming, and he doesn't look happy…"
As Mac walked away and passed their erstwhile colleague and temporary superior officer, Harm stood rooted to the spot, inhaling the scent that was unmistakably Mac, and unable to think of anything more than the incredible thought that Mac had accepted his invitation. She had accepted!
"Harm?" Sturgis stood at Mac's open door, waiting for the taller man to turn and face him. Nothing. Harm didn't even flinch. "Commander!"
At the tone of anger in Sturgis' voice, Harm looked over his shoulder. With a look of distaste he couldn't hide, Harm faced his temporarily-appointed superior officer.
"My office. Now!" Sturgis turned on his heel without another word, and Harm remained in Mac's office. The others occupying the bullpen were aware of the tension that resonated between the former friends, and they were aware also of the flagrant disregard for authority that Harm was showing by his refusal to follow Sturgis. Mac glanced up from the photocopier as Jennifer Coates came out of her office and walked toward Harm.
"Sir? Commander Turner is expecting you."
"Petty Officer, you may tell Commander Turner that I will meet him in his office, when he comes out of the JAG's office. If, however, he wants me to meet him in there, then he should have the courtesy to say so. To my knowledge, the Commander was not appointed JAG yet. Or did I miss something?"
"Commander Turner is the acting JAG, sir." Jennifer tried to placate, but Harm gave her a cold smile.
"I have been the acting JAG in the past, Petty Officer, as has Colonel Mackenzie. I don't recall either of us vacating our existing offices during that time. I'll be in my office if I'm needed."
"But, sir…" Jennifer began, then nodded briefly. "Aye, sir. I'll let the Commander know you're in your office."
"Thank you, Petty Officer." Harm gave Jennifer a tight smile, which she realized was an apology for his outburst to her, but not a rescinding of his attitude toward Sturgis. Turning away, Jennifer returned to the JAG's office to relay Harm's words.
Mac sighed as she walked toward Harm's office, a folder in her hands. Knocking on the doorframe she pushed open the half-closed door.
"Hi," offered Harm softly, and Mac smiled in response.
"Hi."
"Is this likely to put a damper on our…plans…tonight?"
Harm shook his head vehemently, but then grinned widely, his innate charm showing through. "Nah, but I could do with a good defense for insubordination later. Fancy your chances against our 'Acting' JAG?" Harm's deliberate emphasis on the current title Sturgis Turner carried was not lost on Mac, and she could only empathize with Harm. Since being appointed acting-JAG the posting had created a void between the two men who had been close friends, and had exacerbated the already tense atmosphere that had arisen from the report Sturgis had filed previously that had shown Harm to be at fault on a recent case. Even though Harm had been exonerated on further evidence, the hurt had been inflicted already as Sturgis had made his mind up that Harm was guilty without giving him the benefit of the doubt, as a friend might expect, and a good friend at that! Mac was about to answer but was halted by Jennifer's arrival at Harm's door.
"Sir, the…I mean, Commander Turner…has an assignment for you."
"An assignment? I'm in the middle of pre-trial motions on a case already, Jen."
"Commander Turner has stated that you turn over the file to the Colonel to deal with as she sees fit, as Chief of Staff. You are to report to the USS Patrick Henry by daylight tomorrow."
"Oh, really? Well, you may tell Commander Turner that I will report to this office…"
"And do what? Face a charge of insurbordination?" Harm, Mac and Jennifer all looked up as Sturgis appeared in the doorway. "Petty Officer, if you don't mind, I'll deal with this now. Thank you for trying. Colonel?"
"Commander Turner." Mac looked directly at Sturgis, her eyes giving nothing of her true feelings away. Sturgis, for his part, was nonetheless aware of the frostiness in Mac's acknowledgement. As Mac moved to leave Harm's office she called over her shoulder. "1900, Commander. I'll be ready."
"I'll be there." Harm's rejoinder wasn't lost on Sturgis, and he closed the door as Mac left the office. Turning back to face Harm, both men stared in silence at each other. Sturgis eventually broke the silence.
"I gave you a direct order. Are you going to disobey?"
"Asking Jen to come in your place is hardly a direct order. If it's a genuine order, I'll obey and be on the Patrick Henry as required. However, I have plans tonight, and they are not negotiable. If someone is needed on the Henry by 'daylight', then I suggest you send someone ahead of me, to get the details."
Sturgis actually looked amused, and Harm raised an eyebrow in question at the reaction.
"You know, Rabb, you're something else. I have been appointed JAG in the interim, and you're acting as though we're two kids in a playground, fighting over who's the best…"
"You have been appointed acting JAG, and I will give you the respect due that posting when you act accordingly. In the meantime, if this order to report to the Henry is a ruse to get me off your back, then it will receive only the contempt it deserves. I thought better of you, Sturgis. Now, and when I was being tried without evidence. What happened to my friend? Our friendship should have meant more. It should have meant that you believed in me, no matter what. Last time I looked, a man or woman in today's military is still believed innocent until proved guilty. You never even gave me that privilege, Sturgis."
"I know." The short answer brought Harm to a standstill in his tirade, his hand dropping from where he'd been pointing accusingly at Sturgis.
"Then why all this?" Harm asked, waving a hand to try and encompass the recent past and its repercussions.
"I really can't explain it, Harm. I can only offer my apologies. I know we've lost a good friendship over my behavior, and it's not going to be easy getting any of it back, but I hope we can at least be civil from now on?"
"We can be, if you're going to stop throwing your weight around. I'm not pissed that you got appointed ahead of me, Sturgis. A lot has gone on recently in my own life that probably has put a damper on any promotions in my immediate future, so that's not what gets at me. What hurts is that you've been my friend from Academy days, and you didn't give me the benefit of the doubt. I would have done that for you, and so would Keeter. That's what our friendship should have meant to you."
Sturgis nodded without talking, and looked directly at Harm. Without hesitation he put out his right hand to Harm, and it was taken immediately; the unspoken acknowledgement of apology in the strong grasp.
"The orders to the Henry are valid. They have had an incident that requires senior JAG attention. However, I can send Bud. If he feels it requires higher intervention, then you go."
"Okay. Agreed."
"Good. I'll get Jen to inform Bud." Sturgis walked to the door and put his fingers on the handle ready to open the door. Just before leaving he turned back to face Harm. "So, you and Mac are going out tonight?"
"Yeah," Harm acknowledged, and Sturgis smiled in response at the other man's obvious pleasure.
"Have a good time."
With that remark Sturgis left the office, and Harm murmured after him. "We will…"
To be continued…
Hello to all who read my stories. I am currently overseas, having a holiday, and putting my life back together somewhat. I don't have access to my current story ideas for WDWGFH – and so that is still on hold, but I have come up with this idea today, and having kept reading some of the stories on I missed the wonderful reviews of my stories, and hearing from all of you out there who read and posted reviews of my work. I am coming back, slowly, and I thank all of you who wrote and wished me well. I prefer to write individually to those of you who wrote to me earlier in the year, and I will do that shortly, but in the meantime I hope you like where this little piece of fiction is heading, and I look forward to your reviews and comments. Thank you all again. Jaggie
PS – I don't mean to trivialize the pain and anguish of Endometriosis and IVF, and so I won't be going into any details on subjects I have no personal knowledge of, but for the purpose of my story they do get mentioned. Just remember, overall, this is a work of fiction! Thank you!