On the sidelines, Harriet had found a chair to sit in while she rested her tired and swollen feet for a few minutes while Bud went for some refreshments.  Harriet searched the dance floor with her eyes for the rest of the group from JAG.  It took only a moment for her eyes to light on Harm and Mac as they melted into each other's arms and Harriet lost all interest in finding anyone else.  A small, satisfied smile crossed her face as she watched Mac, who was facing her direction, close her eyes and lose herself in the moment and in her partner's embrace.

Harriet had had her suspicions about the look that she had witnessed between Harm and Mac in the hallway and it was becoming very apparent to her that she was right.  Harriet wanted her friends to be happy and she knew that they belonged together, just as Harm and Mac had known the same about her and Bud a few years earlier.  Not that she didn't like Mic; she did. And Renee was not that bad either; after all, she had been nice enough to arrange for the stunning dress that Harriet was currently wearing.  She just didn't think that they belonged with Mac and Harm.

"What's up with those two?" asked a voice beside her.  Harriet looked up to find the Admiral's date, Dr. Sydney Walden, standing beside her watching the couple on the dance floor.  Harriet smiled.  Happily married and expecting her second child, Harriet thought the world would be perfect if everyone else around her was as happy as she was.  She thought it was wonderful that the Admiral, whom she looked up to and who had done so much for her and her family, had found a woman as nice as Dr. Walden appeared to be. Harriet was looking forward to getting to know her better.

Before Harriet could respond, Bud, who had just returned and overheard the question, piped in as he handed a cup of punch to his wife, "The Commander and Colonel have been good friends for years."

Harriet let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head as she took the offered punch.  "Oh, Bud," she retorted, but with a small smile to soften her words.  "I don't know about you sometimes."

"What?" Bud complained.  "They care about each other, but the Commander is with Ms. Peterson and the Colonel is practically engaged to Commander Brumby."

"This from the man whose jaw was wired shut for weeks because of Commander Rabb's feelings for the Colonel?"  Harriet reminded him.

"Yeah, well. . . ." Bud trailed off, remembering the agony of that particular incident and not especially anxious to relieve it.

"Wait a minute," Sydney interjected, widely curious.  "What does Bud having his jaw wired have to do with Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie?"

"Nothing!" Bud exclaimed.  "When a witness picked a fight with a defendant in a case the Commanders were adversaries on, Commanders Rabb and Brumby got in the middle of it and were going to exchange blows themselves when I got in between them.  Result, one jaw broken in two places."

"They both hit you!?"

Harriet nodded, adding, "There's a little more to the story than what my husband is revealing. . . ."

"Harriet, you were nine thousand miles away," Bud pointed out, as Sydney looked at both of them, her curiosity growing.

Noticing the questioning look on Sydney's face, Harriet explained Bud's last comment.  "Bud, the Commanders and the Colonel were in Australia when all this happened." Harriet turned to pat her husband on the arm.  "Now, Bud, I may have been back in frozen D.C., but I heard enough to read between the lines."

Turning her attention back to Sydney, Harriet continued, "The Commanders have always been adversarial in court, that is true.  But Commander Brumby has almost always been chasing after Colonel Mackenzie. . . ."

"And Commander Rabb doesn't like it," Sydney interrupted, understanding dawning.  Harriet was confirming some of what Sydney had guessed based on offhand comments that AJ had made about his officers.

"To say the least," Harriet remarked.  "And then Colonel Mackenzie returned from Australia wearing Commander Brumby's ring – on her right hand."

"Hmmm," Sydney murmured.  It explained a lot.  When Sydney had first met Mac at the airport as the younger woman had been preparing to board a flight to Australia, she had thought that Mac did not quite have that glow of a woman in love.  AJ hadn't said much when asked about it, not being one to gossip about his officers, but a stray comment here and there had drawn a partial picture for Sydney of a triangle glaringly apparent to anyone and everyone, except maybe for two of the principle players.

"I don't mean to go on," Harriet added, hoping she wasn't giving the impression of being a gossip herself, but she didn't think it could hurt for someone else to see how much Harm and Mac were meant to be, "but Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie are so perfect for each other.  I just wish they could see what everyone else does."

The Admiral had finally managed to shake off the SecNav and made his way over to the trio, carrying two cups of punch.  He handed one to Sydney, which she took with bright smile directed at him.

"Enjoying yourselves, Lieutenants?" AJ asked Bud and Harriet.

"Absolutely, sir," Bud responded enthusiastically while Harriet continued to stare at the couple out on the dance floor, having not quite heard the question.

AJ noticed and followed her gaze.  Oh, hell, he thought as he noticed what exactly had Harriet's undivided attention, things are going to be very interesting around here.  "Lieutenant Sims?" AJ prompted, a little more firmly this time.

Harriet finally registered the Admiral's presence and tore her gaze away from the dance floor.  "Sorry, sir," she said, her cheeks turning pink at her embarrassment that she hadn't even realized her CO standing right in front of her.

"Having a good time, Lieutenant?" he asked again.

"Oh, yes, sir," she responded.  "Just taking a break.  I am a little tired."

AJ nodded.  "That's understandable, Lieutenant.  Try not to overdo it tonight."

"No, sir," Harriet said, smiling at the concern evident in his voice.  "I am going to relax for a bit and enjoy getting to know Dr. Walden."

"Please," Sydney insisted, "call me Sydney." She couldn't help but like the bright, bubbly young woman.

AJ chuckled.  "These two can't remember to call their best friends by their names most of the time when away from work," he explained to Sydney.  Bud and Harriet both smiled at the comment; even after years of friendship, it was still hard for the junior officers to think of Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie as Harm and Mac.

Sydney was about to respond when Renee joined them, a folded piece of paper in her hand.  "Since Harm is busy right now, could one of you make sure he gets this?" she asked, holding out the note she had written quickly after walking away from Mic.  AJ took the note, a questioning look in his eyes.

"I just got notified of this problem out in LA that I need to take care of," Renee explained hurriedly.  "It's still early out there, so I really need to go someplace where I can call there and handle whatever has gone wrong now. Just make sure Harm gets this and let him know that I will call him tomorrow."  Without a further word, Renee turned and made her way towards the door they had entered through earlier, leaving two puzzled couples in her wake.

"I wonder what that was all about?" Sydney asked while Harriet turned her gaze back to the dance floor as the song was ending, wondering if what was happening out there had anything to do with Renee's retreat.

Back on the dance floor, as the last notes of the song drifted away, Harm and Mac remained swaying in each other's arms for a few seconds before they became aware of the silence around them.  Breaking apart hastily, they stared at each other for a long moment, overwhelmed by everything they were feeling, not quite ready for the moment to end.

"Ummm. . . ." they both began.  They both broke off, smiling to cover the awkwardness of the moment, both wondering if the other could hear the pounding of their hearts.

Taking a steadying breath, Mac began again, "Thank you for the dance, Harm. I enjoyed it."

Harm's blue-green eyes studied her for a moment as he held onto the memory of the moment, the feel of her warm body in his arms, the warm spot on his shoulder where her hand had rested as they danced, the tingly feeling where his cheek had rested against the top of her head.  "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Sarah," he replied softly.

Mac's heart skipped a beat as he called her 'Sarah' for the second time in a matter of minutes and she wondered briefly if everyone could see how much her knees were shaking.  But any response she might have made was lost as Harm's attention was diverted to something behind her.  "Brumby's heading this way," Harm whispered to her, taking a step back.

Oh, God, Mac thought as she fought an internal battle for control of her raging emotions, don't let him see me like this.  Don't let him see ....

"Hello, Mic," Harm said, his voice carefully neutral.  With one dance, he felt that just a little bit of the old Harm and Mac had been recaptured and the last thing he wanted was to ruin it by fighting with the smug Australian in front of Mac.

"Hello, mate," Mic responded, his voice equally neutral.  If Harm wasn't going to start anything, then neither was he.  "Sarah?"

Mac slowly turned around, a smile plastered on her face, hoping that her face didn't betray the turmoil raging in her heart and soul.  "Hello, Mic," she answered, hoping he couldn't hear the slight tremor in her voice, couldn't see the trembling of her hands.

"May I have this dance, luv?" Mic asked, holding out his hand.  If he noticed that the smile on her face didn't quite reach her eyes, he didn't comment on it.

Mac placed her hand in his and turned back slightly to catch Harm's gaze. "Thank you again for the dance," she said softly as Mic started to lead her away.

"Anytime, Sarah," Harm whispered once they were out of earshot, trying not to think about it, of the other half of his soul in the arms of another man. "Anytime."

0230 ZULU

Harm mingled among the other guests for the rest of the evening after he read the note left for him by Renee, not thinking about why it didn't bother him that his girlfriend had left the ball with only a brief note as explanation, trying not to think about the vision in red out on the dance floor, Mic stuck to her side like glue since Harm had left them.

He partnered with Harriet again, also with Carolyn Imes and Sydney, spending the rest of the time conversing politely with various JAG officers on the sidelines.  But his responses were short, one- or two-word comments. Everyone noticed the distance, the faraway look in his eyes, but no one commented on it.  And they pretended not to notice when his gaze would periodically fall on Mac out on the dance floor with Mic.

Currently, Harm was standing on the sidelines with Bud and Harriet, half listening as Bud filled his wife in on his younger brother Mikey and his recent trouble.  Harm's eyes again found Mac as she waltzed with Mic, her gaze meeting Harm's every time she turned in his direction.  Harm didn't even notice that Bud and Harriet were speaking to him until he felt Harriet's hand on his arm.

"Commander?" Harriet asked, the concern obvious in her voice as she saw what he was seeing.

Harm managed to tear his gaze away and turned to Harriet.  "Yes, Harriet?" he asked.

"Well," Harriet said brightly, "Bud and I were just talking.  You've been so busy recently, with Commander Coulter's father's case and with Mikey's troubles, that you haven't really had a chance recently to spend any time with little AJ."

"I'm sorry," he responded.  He did enjoy spending time with little AJ and had missed that recently.  "It has been kind of hectic lately."  It was the longest answer anyone had gotten out of him in the last hour.

"Of course," Harriet responded, growing more excited about her idea.  "What are you doing on Sunday, sir?"  Bud, just out of Harm's line of sight, shook his head.  He wasn't sure that Harriet should be doing what she was about to do.  At least, not for the reasons that she was doing it for.

Harm pondered for a moment, then answered, "I don't have any plans right now.  What do you have in mind?"

"Well," she explained.  "We are planning a family day at Rock Creek Park on Sunday, pack a picnic lunch, maybe take a side trip to the zoo.  Anyway, so that you can spend some time with your godson, Bud and I thought you and the Colonel would like to join us."

"I see," Harm replied carefully, trying not to show his excitement about the possibility of spending some leisure time with Mac, even if it was in the company of the Roberts family.  "Have you spoken to Mac about this yet?"

"Not yet, sir," Bud replied.  "I mean, Commander Brumby has, well. . . ." He trailed off, not sure if it was a good idea to mention Brumby in Harm's presence.

Harm smiled at Bud's obvious discomfort.  "Understood, Bud," he replied, trying to place Bud at ease.  "You haven't had the opportunity to approach Mac about your idea yet."

"No, but I'm sure she would also appreciate the chance to spend some time with AJ, sir," Harriet explained.

"I'm sure she would, Harriet," Harm answered, chuckling.  Harriet was a bit transparent, but he didn't mind.  Any chance to see Mac outside of work – and away from Brumby - was fine with him.  "Anyway, count me in regardless," he added.  No need for them to know how much he wanted to spend time with Mac.

"Well, thank you, sir," Harriet responded, a bit surprised that he had agreed so easily.  She hadn't been entirely sure when she came up with the idea of including her son's godparents in on their family day at the park that either of them would agree.

She had imagined one, or perhaps both, of them suggesting that their presence would be an intrusion on family time.  Or maybe they would claim to have plans already.  It didn't matter.  Now that Harm had agreed, Harriet didn't think she would have any problem getting Mac to agree also.  Everything was coming together.  The only thing left was for a certain Navy Commander and Marine Lieutenant Colonel to figure out what was right in front of them.  But Harriet couldn't help but wonder if that wasn't the tallest order of all.

Part 3