Author: fananicfan, this one is not related to the series
Subject: August 2008 Challenge - How To Make A Marine Speechless

Due to a sick computer the series is currently on hold, but I couldn't stop writing so here is my go at the August challenge. And since I'm on a computer I'm not use to, I'm hoping this is going to post with the funny characters.

Here goes, I hope you like it.

August 2008 Challenge Line

Mac: It works better if you put your arms around me.

TIME LINE: Season ten, right after the Christmas Eve episode when it looked like they might get together.

SYNOPSIS: Harm and Mac have been assigned to prosecute a high profile murder case at the morning staff meeting.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own them, but I like to put them in a story as often as I can.

How To Make A Marine Speechless

JAG HQ
MID MORNING

Mac's office door was open, and Harm could see the part in her hair over the top of her computer monitor just before she whacked it in the side.

Harm rapped on the door frame of Mac's office once to let her know that someone was there so she wouldn't beat the computer senseless before he spoke. "I hear it works better if you put your arms around it," he says as he enters her office, stopping in front of her desk.
She looks up at him with an odd expression.

"Computers need love, too, I guess," he offers in explanation. Truth is, he was in need of a little love these days, especially if it came from one Sarah MacKenzie.

"A statement like that tells me that you've been spending either too much time with Bud or too much time alone," Mac said, more than a little annoyed before she took a breath. She'd be really upset if he just didn't look so handsome, standing there in front of her desk.

"Maybe a little bit of both," Harm replied sadly.

Mac felt uncomfortable with the sadness in Harm's tone and directed the conversation back to the purpose of him being here. "So, tell me. Did you stop by here to give me some useful information or do you need something? I think I'll be here all night trying to do that research on our case because my computer is running so slow that I don't think I'm going to get it done before morning."

"I actually came in here to tell you about your computer. I didn't know that I was going to be saving you from being charged with destruction of government property in the process, though," Harm said in reference to the whack that he'd seen her give her monitor. "Bud told me to pass along the information that the general was informed that, because of an unexpected high usage demand on our system, the computers will be slow and nearly impossible to get information from in a timely fashion. Bud's been asked to coordinate with some IT types to try to resolve the issue. In the meantime, the general suggested that, "Those of us who have several weeks to prepare our case, we do things the old fashion way and resort to reading law books...those things with pages that can be found in the law library." That's a direct quote, according to Bud. And, by those of us who can, doing so ought to cause less of a demand on the system, so those with court dates sooner will hopefully have an easier time getting their information.

"Well, the case he handed us this morning to work against Turner and Mayfield is three weeks away, but it isn't my only case."

"I know. It isn't my only case either."

"But the case we just got is high-profile, and we need to start working on our case as soon as possible so that we'll be ready. We can't wait for them to get the computers back up to speed." Mac let out a sigh. "Along with this cheery news about the computer..." she says as she smacks the top of her monitor's case "...do you have a suggestion as to how we should get all our case work done?"

"I didn't come in with one, but I've come up with one while we've been talking. It's a two-part plan."

Mac looks at Harm with one eyebrow elevated.

A smile starts to form at the corners of Harm's mouth. 'Mac's trying to impersonate one of his looks. How flattering?' he thinks.

"We go to lunch."

Before Harm could impart part two of his plan to her, she interrupts, standing as she speaks. "How is going to lunch - taking time out of the office going to help us? I think I'll go get a cup of coffee and start the caffeine rush for an all-nighter at the office."

Harm found himself looking into her eyes as Mac spoke. Her eyes seemed to be a darker brown, but with amber specks, which the fluorescent lights played on, making her eyes sparkle. He was so caught up in his thoughts about her eyes that it took him a moment to realize that she'd stop talking.

"You didn't let me finish. I said there were two parts. The second part is that you and I come back after everyone else secures for the day. If only you and I are in the office using the computers, it should be faster, and if they aren't, we'll have the law library to ourselves."

"I like that plan. When can you get away?"

"I've got a deposition in ten minutes. I can go after that if you don't have anything."

"I'm clear for the rest of the afternoon. I'll work on my opening argument for my case that starts day after tomorrow while you're doing your deposition."

"Then, I'll let you know when I'm done so we can go to lunch."

"You're buying, right?" Now it was Harm's turn to use the cocked eyebrow expression. She'd sure missed seeing his face around the office while he'd been with the CIA, even if she had denied it to anyone who'd asked. "Well, you asked me to lunch, so you should pay," Mac explained.

"Fine, I'm buying."

"Then you can also pick the restaurant."

"Why, Marine, that's so generous of you that it leaves this sailor speechless."

The wattage of Mac's smile increases. "Jealous that you can't make this Marine speechless?"

"Oh, I know how to make you speechless," he said as he started backing out of her office.

"Sure you do, and to prove it, you can tell me how over our extended lunch."

"Oh, I don't think so. I think that's more of a dinner conversation."

"Before I agree to have dinner with you...we'll see how lunch goes first."

Was Mac flitting with him? It wasn't that he minded, but he really needed to know for sure if she was, so he'd know if it was okay to start flirting back. Maybe he could start to make some progress towards a more intimate relationship with his Marine. It wasn't something that he could just ask, especially at the office. 'Hey, are we back to using innuendo, suggestive looks and tones to show interest?' Yeah, definitely not a conversation for the office. Having reached the doorway, Harm's response was to offer a wave goodbye as he exited her office for his own.

Mac grinned in satisfaction at having left the great orator in court, speechless. It was kind of fun. She might have to try to do it more often.

TWO WEEKS LATER

Harm's Apartment
Living Room

Harm and Mac were sitting on opposite ends of Harm's sofa with stacks of papers and open law books covering the space between them on the couch, part of the coffee table and the floor. They were working on their case. They had only a week left before the trial began. They needed to make sure that they were ready.

"We've been at this..." Harm turned his wrist over to look at his watch.

"Four hours and eleven minutes," Mac said before Harm even got his arm completely around to view his watch.

"Why do I bother trying to look at my watch when you're around?"

"I don't know. My personal theory would be that you got used to not having me around. We haven't been spending even half as much time together as we did before we took turns playing spy."

"I say we change that."

"You mean, spend more time together?" Mac asked, wanting to make sure of exactly what he meant.

"Yes..." Harm says before lifting his note pad and the file folder off the coffee table. "...and not only when work dictates that we should."

"I'd like that." Mac says before she offers him a warm smile. Her smile starts to disappear, which concerns Harm, but he needn't have worried. She'd come up with a plan of her own and was just mustering the courage to ask him to go along. "In fact, it's 2129. We've put in a full day at the office and half a work day here. I say we order a pizza and, when it arrives, we take a break from working on this case."

"You buying?"

"I asked, so yeah, I'm buying."

"I don't have to eat a meat lover's pizza, do I?"

"No, we can go halves...or order two."

"Halves is fine. Only Mattie would eat leftover meat pizza, and I'm not expecting her to visit any time soon."

"Well, you did say that we should start spending more time together, and leftover pizza in your fridge would be a good reason for me to come over."

"Mac, you don't need to have a reason to come here. You're welcome here any time."

"Thank you," Mac replied. She had to say something. She didn't want him to think that his statement had left her speechless. However, she had to admit to herself that the way he'd been looking at her when he'd said it had her heart beating a little faster.

Harm caught himself doing it again. He was staring at her. He needed to stop doing that before he made her uncomfortable, and she didn't want to be within fifty feet of him. Since Christmas Eve, they hadn't talked about any of the reasons why they hadn't been talking before her accident, but things were definitely improving between them. He needed to be patient and let things happen without rushing it...whatever "it" was going to be for them. He knew that he was in love with her. He just hoped that "it" wasn't always going to be shared pizza between friends. Though, he didn't mind if that's how "it" started.

"I'll call for the pizza while you look for the People V Miller case..." he said as he stood "...in this mess."
"Okay, but are you sure that it's the one most pertinent to this case? I thought we should use People V Matthews."
He turns around, having reached his desk and the phone. "Well, find them both. We'll discuss the best option while we're waiting on the pizza."

ONE HOUR LATER

Harm answered the door, but Mac quickly came up behind him. "I said that it was my treat," Mac said as she pulled her wallet from her purse.

While Mac pulled some cash out of her wallet, the delivering boy turned the pizza over to Harm, who took it to the dining room table and set the box down before going to the refrigerator to get them something to drink.
Eyeing the cold beer in his fridge, he thought a second longer and opted to pick out two sodas that he now made sure that he had on hand in case Mattie came to visit.
By the time Harm got to the table with plates and the drinks, Mac was already a bite or two into her first slice of pizza.

She swallowed her current mouthful as Harm put a plate down in front of her. "Hungry?"

"I didn't know how hungry until I got a whiff of it when you took it from the delivery guy."

Harm just smiled at her, making her heart race again. This evening wasn't turning out to be the mundane working dinner that she'd thought it was going to be. In fact, this evening was mirroring another working dinner that they'd once had before serving as counsel at the tribunal. Harm was staring at her again, so when Mac felt the smile that remembering that evening brought forth, she kept it from appearing by taking another bite of her pizza.
The conversation while eating their late dinner was comfortable, but they really weren't talking about anything important. They were talking about odd things like the weather, the upcoming Superbowl and other generic topics of conversation.

It was when dinner was over that things got interesting. Mac wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "That was exactly what I needed...brain food."

"Pizza is not brain food. I'll tell you what. We've been working hard on this case, and the trial doesn't start until Monday."

"Yes, and today's Thursday."

"I know that. I was going to say that we should call it a night. You can come over tomorrow night, and I'll cook you a dinner that consists of real brain food. After dinner, we can work on the case and, if we need to, we can work on it all night, hell, the whole weekend if we think that's what we need to do to be ready."

"We just had that dinner that we talked about two weeks ago, and you're already asking me to spend the night or weekend?" The look on Harm's face was priceless. She'd rendered him speechless again. "I like it when you can't talk." She couldn't help but let a soft chuckle escape her mouth. "Let me get my coat. I'll see you tomorrow."

Harm was at a loss for words, not because he couldn't think of something to say, but rather he didn't know if he was supposed to return her flirtatious banter. He didn't want her taking his innuendo as trying to push her into something if she wasn't ready, so he found it easier to just let her think that she'd left him speechless. If she knew what he was thinking, she'd blush. He really did need operating instructions for this Marine.

Mac smiled, thinking that she'd gotten the better of Harmon Rabb again as she picked up her coat and made her way to the door. "If we're going over this stuff again tomorrow evening, I'll just leave my notes and things here, too."
"Yeah, that's fine," Harm choked out, still trying to get his vision of her spending the night or weekend out of his head. At least, he was recovering some. He'd made it over to the door to help her with her coat.

Mac's eye caught sight of the pizza box on the table. She knew that she was probably pushing her luck, but leaving Harm with his mouth open without any words coming out as she was leaving would give her pleasant dreams tonight.
"We had dinner, and I didn't get you to tell me how you make a Marine speechless."

"It works only if you're the Marine."

"So it won't work on General Cresswell?" she asks while fixing the collar of her coat, trying to make it lay flat.

"Maybe if you did it, but I'm not doing it to him."

Mac's curiosity had been peaked. "So tell me how?"

"I'd have to show you, and I don't think it's the best time to do that." Harm's mind was in overdrive. Technically, he didn't know if it would leave her speechless or not...though it always did in his dreams.

"Oh, it works only if it's a surprise attack, but if I'm expecting it...so you can't make it work." Mac laughed.

And now she'd thrown down a challenge. He couldn't walk away when the gauntlet had been thrown, could he? But should he risk it? Her laugh sealed her fate.

He stepped in closer to her. His arms snaked around her waist as his lips came to hers. Mac was frozen in place.

A few moments later, his lips left hers. He returned one arm to his side and reached for the doorknob with the other, noticing that her hands where still on her collar where she'd been fiddling with it before he'd kissed her. There was also a certain dazed look in her eyes.

"Thanks for coming by to work on the case ... and any time you'd like for me to leave you speechless, just let me know ... but in case there is a next time, I should let you know that it works better if you put your arms around me, too," Harm said with pride in his voice and a full blown ‘flyboy’ smile on his face.

Mac was in a daze. He'd just kissed her. It hadn’t been just a kiss of friendship either. No, his soft full lips against hers had been tentative at first, but tender and loving a moment later, and then it was over.

Mac heard his words, even in her dazed state and nodded an affirmative response as she walked out of his apartment and towards the elevator.

Harm closed the door behind her. 'That's how you leave a Marine speechless...well, at least my Marine,' he thought. He wondered if he'd get the chance to kiss her like that a second time.