HBX Challenge June 2006
Title: Accepting what is offered
Disclaimer: JAG and its characters are the property of Donald P. Bellisario and Paramount Studios.
Author: usmgrad



AN: Thanks to Jag Junkie and the posters of the HarmyBoard for the unforgettable lines (that I forgot) of how Harm has expressed his feeling for Mac.


Friday afternoon
Jag headquarters

“Mac, what time do you want dinner tonight?”

“Harm, what are you talking about?”

“It’s Friday and we usually have dinner on Friday night. Do you want take out at your place or am I cooking at my place. And may I remind you; our standing agreement is that if I cook, you clean. Last time you skipped out with out clean the dishes.”

“Last time you cooked I got called back to headquarters just as we sat down to eat and was on my way to Quantico before the dinner had time to get cold. Harm I really don’t want dinner tonight I was going to go home, soak in a hot tub and go to bed. It’s been a long day at the end of a very long week.”

“So Chinese and a movie at your place.”

“Harm ….” I don’t continue. I know that look, he’s about the make a closing argument, you have to eat yada, yada, yada … I have heard it before and I’m too tired to hear it again. “1900, not Top Gun and don’t forget desert.” I still want time for a soak in the tub.

Life is funny. You think you know what you want out of life, you work, plan, make choices, think you have found the right man and then something happens and it’s over. Each time I thought I was with the right man but it was for the wrong reason, or maybe it was the wrong man for the right reason. I don’t know anymore. Maybe there is not right man for me.

Everything was fine during dinner, good food, and light conversation. After dinner, Harm cleaned up, told me I needed to relax I had had a long week. Didn’t I tell him that this afternoon? He brought two movies, says I get to decide which one to watch first. But before the movie I get my desert, a fortune cookie. There are many things that I consider desert, a fortune cookie is not one of them. I sure hope he brought something else. Then it happened, a simple fortune cookie turned my world upside down or maybe it turned it right side up.

If you keep chasing your past,
your future's going to walk right out the door

I look up and see Harm. The next moment goes by in a flash, But in this moment of clarity I know.

I do give a damn about you

What I want most is to never lose you

Mac you have someone who will always love you

What matters is we do it together – liked we planned

Nothings changed I’m still here

Will you always be there? Yes.


“Harm, I've made my choice.” It’s not really a choice it’s accepting what has been there for a long time. Accepting what he has offered, accepting him.

“Are you sure about that? Both these movies look pretty good...” Harm asks but something in Mac’s voices gets his attention. He looks at her and sees it, there's a look there he didn’t think he would ever see.

“Yes” Mac reaches out and takes Harm's hand. A simple answer to a simple question made complicated for too many years.