Been There, Done That
Part 7
By Nancy Eddy

Classification: Harm / Mac Romance, Investigation

Rating: PG

Feedback: Always appreciated but never expected

Feedback email: etxjaglady@flash.net

Disclaimer: This is for entertainment purposes only. These characters belong to CBS, Paramount and DPB.

Author's Notes: This story takes place around seven years after Luke Pendry's death, which would place it sometime within an early Season 9 time frame. After Josh tried to hitch a ride to DC, Annie decided that Baltimore was too close to Harm. She moved back to California and got a job in another bank.

Harm and Mac, back at JAG and recovered from events in Paraguay, are taking the first steps in establishing their "new" relationship. True to form, things aren't going as smoothly as they might hope. When Harm gets a telephone call from an old friend, old emotions cause a few "bumps in the road."

Thanks again to Kathy for all her help in making this story better.

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From Part 6:

"Who said anything about sleep?" he asked, pulling her to him again, and this time, the kiss didn't end as quickly.

"Harm, your leg -"

"I don't even feel it at the moment. Whatever those pills were, they're good." His hand cupped her cheek. "I need you, Mac. Now."

Mac smiled and dropped another kiss onto his lips before rising to remove her own clothes, while Harm slowly removed what was left of his jeans . . .

Later, lying with her head on his shoulder, Mac ran her hand through the dark hair on his chest, content. "Harm?"

"Hmm?" Her lips curved upward as she heard the response beneath her cheek.

"I could have lost you tonight. And I realized that I wasn't ready for that to happen without telling you how I feel. I know we've never really said the words - but I need to say them right now. I love you."

There was no response to her words except the regular fall of his chest, and Mac frowned as she lifted her head to look up at him.

"Harm?"

His eyes were closed, his breathing deep and even. He was asleep.

Mac lay down again, smiling through her sigh. She'd tell him first thing tomorrow. No more putting it off. Even if he wasn't ready to say the words, she was.

 

"Night, Harm."
==============

Epilogue

August 20, 2003
Bethesda Hospital
Flight Surgeon's office
10:00 local time

Mac flipped through the magazine for the tenth time as she waited for Harm to come out of the examination area. She'd made the appointment the second they had stepped off the plane from California. There was no way Harm was going to find an excuse not to go. She could tell that his leg was hurting, even though Superman refused to admit it.

Dr. Mitchell, Harm's regular doctor, agreed to work him in almost immediately upon hearing that he had been wounded in the thigh. Harm had balked, insisting that what he needed most was to just go home and get off of his leg, to give it a chance to rest, but Mac had been *more* insistent.

She was beginning to regret her lack of courage when she had awakened next to Harm that morning. Her late night/early morning decision to tell him exactly how she felt had seemed unimportant in the rush to the airport. Her much-vaunted internal clock had somehow failed and they'd almost missed their flight back to DC. Harm had stubbornly refused to take another pain pill, even though she could tell that every movement of his leg was causing him agony. So she had put the moment off once again, promising herself that she'd do it once they got home and back into their routine.

It had been well over an hour since Dr. Mitchell had taken Harm through the doors that led into the examining rooms. . Mac was getting a bit worried, so she got up to ask the nurse, "Excuse me, but I was wondering if Commander Rabb is all right?"

Lt. Gaines smiled at her as though she'd heard it all before. "Dr. Mitchell's very thorough, ma'am. And Commander Rabb is one of his favorite patients. I'm sure that he just wants to make sure that the Commander is one hundred percent." Lt. Gaines glanced toward the corridor and her smile widened. "I don't think you'll have to wait much longer, ma'am."

Mac heard Dr. Mitchell's voice almost immediately. "I mean it, Harm. Don't overdo. An injury like this could cause serious problems with your next flight physical. Once I've had a chance to go over the tests, I'll call you, and we'll set up some physical therapy to build the strength back up."

"So I guess my morning runs are out, huh?" Harm was asking as the door to the waiting area opened.

"For awhile, anyway." Dr. Mitchell nodded at Mac. "You did the right thing by getting him in here ASAP, Colonel Mackenzie. A leg wound isn't something you want to play around with. Left up to him, I doubt he would have called me at all. He's lucky you were around."

Mac smiled at Harm. "I've been telling him that for years, doctor," she said.

"He should make a full recovery - *if* he follows his doctor's advice and doesn't take it too fast."

"I'll make sure he sticks to whatever regimen you lay out for him," Mac assured Dr. Mitchell.

"I thought you might," he said as Lt. Gaines moved toward them. "Excuse me; I have other patients to see-"

"Thank you, Jim," Harm said, shaking the man's hand.

"Don't thank me. Thank the Colonel."

"See?" Mac said as she and Harm left the office. "He appreciates me."

"You think I don't?" he asked, giving her a look, his eyebrow lifting in mock consternation.

"Well, I *do* wonder sometimes," Mac admitted. "What did he say about your flying?" she said suddenly, asking the question at the forefront of her mind.

"That I'll probably be okay. You heard him. As long as I follow orders-"

"Well, then, I won't have to worry about you flying Tomcats anymore, will I?" she teased. "Not with the tendency you have to *not* follow orders."

He slipped an arm around Mac's shoulders. "I had an epiphany of sorts last night, Mac."

"Really?" she asked, surprised at his public show of affection. Mac resisted the urge to look around and see if anyone else had noticed. Instead, she met Harm's blue-green gaze. "And what might that be, sailor?" she asked lightly, giving counterpoint to the seriousness of his expression.

"That being able to fly isn't the most important thing in my life anymore," he told her.

"It's not?"

"I mean, I'd miss it, being able to fly Tomcats, but as long as I have Sarah -"

"It's your plane, Harm," Mac said. "You'd still be able to fly it, I'm sure."

Harm stopped and turned her around to face him. "I wasn't talking about the plane," he said softly, and it took a moment for Mac to comprehend exactly what he *did* mean. "I was talking about you, Sarah. As long as I have you, I'll be fine."

"Oh, no worries there, Harm," Mac replied. The look in his eyes made her forget all about protocol, regulations, and other eyes as she slid her hand across the back of his neck and pulled his head down to hers. "You had me from the first moment we met in that Rose Garden."

The End


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