Author: Teacup
Subject: Metaphorically Speaking? (HBX challenge - June 2007)

Metaphorically Speaking?
Author: Teacup
2007

Author’s note: This is slightly A/U … in a good way (the general context of the JAG world would probably be season 7 though). I wrote this with the June challenge lines. – Hey, I’ve never been one to let what month it is confine my creativity. Actually, I started writing this on my birthday way back in July. I had a second idea for these lines too, but I don’t know that I’ll ever write that one. Anyhow, this is a one-shot story.

Disclaimer: If I owned ‘JAG,’ I wouldn’t need to write any alternate universe stories where things happened differently, now would I?

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Metaphorically Speaking?

After work, the JAG gang had gathered for a little bit of ‘happy hour’ socializing at Benzinger’s. Bud and Harriet had already left, wanting to get home to little AJ. Sturgis had a date later with Bobbie, so he had cut out early in order to get ready. And Gunny had taken off awhile ago with a blonde he met there at the bar.

Harm and Mac each had dinner plans of their own, but it was still too early for them to leave. Harm’s reservations weren’t for another hour and a half. Mac had already changed out of uniform into a nice dress, so she was ready for her night out. They were simply biding their time.

The two of them had taken a booth, one that was fairly central, leaving them able to see the bar and the general surroundings. Mac kept herself busy ‘people watching,’ while Harm was staring a hole in the glass he held in front of himself. He suddenly registered a tapping on his shoulder and realized that Mac had reached over to get his attention. When he finally focused on her, she motioned for him to look over to his right.

Tiner was at the bar, apparently attempting to make some plans for his evening as well. The petty officer was smitten with a woman that he had often run into there at Benzinger’s. Occasionally, he would exchange a few polite words with her, and somewhere along the line he decided he was in love.

Tonight, he finally worked up his courage to ask her out. Harm and Mac were both intrigued by the impending interaction. Although they wanted to give Tiner privacy, … their eyes were metal drawn to the magnet of the scene. They did, however, manage to be subtle about their observation.

Petty Officer Jason Tiner approached the woman. She was an attractive girl with light brown hair that she had neatly combed out to lie straight. She wore one of those ‘simple black dresses’ that perhaps oversimplified the female figure.

As Jason approached, the woman smiled politely at him, but it did not reach her eyes. The senior officers watched the admiral’s yeoman bumble through some small talk. The woman responded well enough. … Then Jason took the plunge. He summoned his courage … and asked her out.

The two JAG officers felt they should look away, but it was human nature to watch bad accidents and other unfortunate events. This was no different. Harm and Mac each inwardly cringed as they witnessed the young woman say no.

They could tell that she was trying to be nice about it, but they also knew that all Tiner was registering at the moment was rejection, … failure, … embarrassment, … perhaps even the pangs of what he believed was now a broken heart.

“Maybe we should take him out with us to dinner?” Mac suggested to Harm. “Keep him from wallowing?”

“Huh?” Harm had been distracted and acting a bit bizarre all day.

“Harm, he just struck out,” said Mac. “We could help keep his morale up. Remind him that he’ll have other chances at bat when it comes to love.”

For a second, Harm did not reply. But then, as her words eventually hit him, pelting through his fog, he answered a little sharply, “Mac, love isn’t baseball.”

“How would you know?” Mac lightly snapped back. She was losing her patience with Harm’s recent behavior, - his spurts of sharpness, moments of inexplicable anxiousness, his daydreaming … or whatever it was that kept his mind off the here and now. Something had him on edge, but he wasn’t talking to her. Mac hated it when Harm shut her out like this.

Harm softened considerably at Mac’s question, but was nonetheless slightly defensive in his answer. “Well, I’d … like to think I’ve learned something about love … since we got together.”

Something in the way he said it, almost as a plea for confirmation, touched Mac, and she relented. “Yeah, … you might know a thing or two,” she sincerely admitted with a small smile.

The truth was, since they had been dating, Mac found a new understanding of exactly how deep love could be. She was amazed at how easily Harm took on the role of her significant other, … as the man who was her everything and who treated her like she was everything to him.

Mac noticed that Tiner headed to the men’s room, probably feeling the need to seclude himself from the humiliation that he was sure to be feeling. Getting back on topic she continued, “So, should we invite Tiner to dinner?”

“No!” Harm quickly responded. At Mac’s surprised look, he tried to explain, “I mean, … he’ll be fine. And, anyway, I only got us reservations for two …”

“I don’t think the restaurant will mind setting an extra chair at our table,” said Mac.

Sure, it was supposed to be a date, but she and Harm made a point of ‘going out’ for these dinners at least twice a month. And although she liked to dress up for Harm, they did not go to the top of the line places. They were saving money. All that mattered was them being together, not the restaurant.

So she didn’t think it would hurt to invite a friend along just this once. But more important than the issue of company for dinner was Harm’s reaction. That, on top of his strange behavior all day, confirmed that something was wrong in his world.

“… What’s going on with you today?” Mac asked with concern. “You’ve been acting odd since this morning.”

Harm stayed quiet.

Not surprised at his lack of response, Mac decided to deal with the issue of being a good friend to Tiner before moving on to extract what was bothering Harm. She pointed out, “We can’t fix things for Tiner, but we can distract him until his heart heals from this blow.”

Harm made a face and appeared ready to speak. Anticipating a comment upon seeing Harm’s look, Mac quickly added, “… And I’m not saying that love is a boxing match.”

“No, it’s just a big baseball game,” he reminded her of what she had said.

“Why does that bother you?” she asked, wondering why her use of the metaphor was so upsetting.

“It just … does. Love isn’t a game or a sport. It’s …” Harm trailed off. Then something seemed to snap inside of him, and he fired up with determination. “Mac, … I’ll concede that there is one thing that baseball has in common with love.”

Glad to see that Harm had taken on a more lucid appearance than he had for awhile now, Mac jokingly threatened him, “You say anything related to making it to certain bases, and you’re eating dinner alone tonight.”

“No,” he dismissed her with seriousness. “But … baseball does share something with love, … true love anyway, … or … it should.”

He abruptly grabbed something out of his pocket. It was a small bag. He looked at it for a second and then added, “Something in common with boxing too, I guess.”

He said nothing else, but handed the bag to Mac.

“What’s this?” she asked, baffled.

Harm did not answer, so Mac peeked inside the bag. It was a small box. But not just any kind of box.

“Harm …?” She needed information from him or her imagination was going to get the better of her.

But the Navy officer found that he could not speak. So, he reached over, took the box out of the bag, and opened it up to face her. His hands were shaking so much that he had to set the box on the table. So much for his fighter pilot nerves of steel.

Mac’s eyes widened at what was before her. It took her a few seconds to find her voice, and when she did, she barely managed to whisper, “Harm?”

She searched his eyes, and in that one word, … his name, she was asking what he meant by this gesture. She wanted no misinterpretations.

Finally, Harm spoke. “Baseball’s got … a diamond, and … boxing … has …” He trailed off, losing his words.

“… a ring,” Mac finished. Harm nodded in agreement.

Mac was still trying to grasp the greater meaning of all this nonsense, when Harm simply blurted out, “Marry me, Sarah.”

The marine was struck dumb, … literally stunned speechless.

Harm tried not to take her silence negatively. He simply forged on. “This isn’t how I planned this,” he said as something of an apology. “… I guess you want a better proposal?”

He took her hands from across the table. The box with the ring still sat in front of her, but her eyes were now only on Harm.

Harm searched his mind for the words he had planned to say, but for the life of him he could not remember his eloquently prepared speech. So much for his golden tongue as a lawyer too. Were all of his professional qualities failing him tonight?

With no other choice, he spoke the simple truths from his heart. “I love you, Mac. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. … So, um …”

It abruptly dawned on him that there was something wrong with this scenario. They were sitting; … that wasn’t right. Well, it was right for her to be sitting, but he shouldn’t be. Drat! Why was he forgetting everything?

He clumsily extracted himself from his side of the booth and moved around to the outside of Mac’s seat. She automatically turned toward him as he grabbed the ring box and lowered himself to one knee.

“Um, … so, … will you marry me?”

Mac was still in a state of shock, but she suddenly noticed the crowd of people and felt a growing number of eyes begin to settle on them. There was nothing subtle about the interest of these onlookers.

This unexpectedly spurred her into action. “Harm …” She stood, taking his hand and pulling him up with her. “…Not here.”

Harm’s heart dropped as Mac dragged him away. … She hadn’t answered him. He vaguely registered that she had been uncomfortable with the people around. … Taking him out of public could only mean one thing: she was going to say no.

She was going to say no, but wanted to spare them the reactions of others. Spare him the embarrassment of rejection. Spare her the added pressure from complete strangers – people who wanted to see a man and woman who they knew nothing about, ‘get together,’ regardless of whether there was the right kind of love between them or if a marriage was really meant to be. ‘But we are meant to be,’ he thought. He could feel it in his bones.

Harm cursed himself for jumping the gun. It must be too soon in their relationship. Mac obviously needed more time to get used to the changes. Maybe she wasn’t as in love with him as he thought? Maybe she was scared of agreeing to get married, given her past? Maybe she didn’t believe Harm was ready to settle down? Maybe he still had to prove himself …?

Mac arrived, with sailor in tow, at her final destination, a back room that was fortunately empty. As she turned to face Harm, he was preoccupied … trying to figure out how to cut his losses, but keep hope alive … and, at the same time, how to spare them both a difficult speech, -- her giving one and him hearing it.

“It’s okay, Mac …” he tried to preempt her, “… if … if you’re not ready. … Just don’t tell me no,” he begged. “Say you’ll think about it, … or tell me to ask again later and just forget I said anything for now. I’ll … I’ll hold onto the ring,” he babbled on, “… as long as it takes.”

Mac stared at Harm, at first entirely bewildered, but then the pieces seemed to fit together. “You really think I’ll say no …” she incredulously concluded, seeing the fear in his eyes. She suddenly realized what all his nervous behavior had been about all day.

“Isn’t that why you brought me back here?” asked Harm. “To say no without embarrassing us in front of everyone?”

Mac shook her head. “No,” she said, placing a comforting hand on Harm’s shoulder. “… I dragged you back here so I could accept the way I want to without putting on a show for everyone.”

The knot in Harm’s stomach loosened and twisted at the same time. “You’re … accepting?”

Mac awkwardly smiled at Harm, nodding as she drew closer. “… Uh-huh,” she confirmed, right before pulling him into a kiss. Her hands intimately caressed him as she seemingly breathed life back into Harm, giving him the energy to actively reciprocate. It was indeed the kind of kiss that they would not want an audience for.

When they finally parted lips, Harm double checked, “You’ll marry me?”

Mac chuckled at Harm’s silly question. That kiss was not initiated by a woman who was saying no to a marriage proposal. She stroked his chest and intently captured his eyes with hers. Then she stated as unambiguously as she could, “Yes, Harm, I’ll marry you.”

Harm was flying high, - higher than he’d ever been in an F-14. His brain scrambled. He suddenly remembered the item that was clenched in his left hand. “Then … um … you’ll need this,” he told Sarah. Sarah, … his Sarah, … his Mac.

He pulled away from her just enough to bring the ring out and slide it onto the appropriate finger of her left hand.

“It’s beautiful,” breathed Mac. Her eyes began to water. The mounting tears were not because of the ring, of course, but because she was overwhelmed that Harm had actually asked her if they could permanently belong to each other. She was going to get to spend a lifetime loving him, … and being loved by him.

Though her eyes glistened due to the tears that welled up, they were twinkling brighter still from sheer happiness. The two lovebirds simply stared at each other for a bit, with grins on their faces as their hearts floated together.

Another moment went by, and Harm was kissing Mac again. They were small, celebratory kisses now, which Mac gladly returned. In between kisses, she murmured, “I love you, Harm.”

Eventually, she pulled back, but clung to Harm’s hands. “Let’s go celebrate,” she decided.

Harm grinned and cocked an eyebrow up at her suggestion, obviously thinking that was rather forward of her.

Mac smiled and then corrected his interpretation. “Dinner, Flyboy. …You made reservations, remember?”

She began pulling on his hand to lead him out, when he asked, “Are we inviting Tiner?”

Mac stopped. She had forgotten about him. “… No,” she decided. She looked back at Harm. “You planned tonight to be special for just the two of us, didn’t you?”

Harm nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then just the two of us it will be.”

“What about Tiner?”

Mac thought for a second and then said, “If he’s still out there, I think he should be the first one to hear our good news.” She began to lead Harm out again, but he resisted, holding her back by the hand.

“Don’t you think,” he asked, “… under the circumstances, it might be pouring salt on his wound?”

Mac shook her head. “This is a whole different league, Harm. We’re announcing marriage plans. He’s sulking over a girl he just wanted to get to know. I don’t think he’s going to compare the two. … As a matter of fact, I think our news will cheer him up.”

“Really?”

“Sure. He’ll get to enjoy having the upper hand over Gunny. Put the odds in his favor regarding our status. … I’m sure there is some bet or other to be had.”

Harm frowned slightly. “Since when is our love life worth wagering on?”

With an expression that said, ‘duh,’ Mac suggested, “… Since we met?”

“And you would betray a fellow marine by giving privileged information to a sailor?” Harm questioned, amusing himself with feigned surprise. “… I’m shocked.”

“It’s not privileged information,” Mac insisted. “And there is no betrayal. It’s a matter of circumstance. Had Gunny not chosen to take off with the blonde ditz at the bar, he’d be here for the news. … Marines have to deal with consequences,” she explained.

“Yeah, but, … it sure looks like you are being more loyal to Navy than a fellow jarhead.”

“I’ll always be faithful to the Corps,” Mac firmly declared. Softening, she added, “But considering that my most important loyalty is to a certain squid …” She ran a finger over Harm’s chest. “… I’m already at risk of losing any untainted Marine icon status.”

“So sorry to tarnish your image like that,” Harm ‘apologized’ with a twinkle in his eyes.

“No, you’re not,” she disagreed, picking up on his sarcasm. “… But for the record …” She put her arms up behind Harm’s neck. “… I’d choose being in love with you over the quality of my Marine image any day.” She reached up and gave him a soft kiss.

Harm was taken aback. “That may have been the most meaningful thing you’ve ever said to me,” he commented.

“Not ‘Yes, I’ll marry you’?” she asked lightly.

“That’s the most important agreement you’ve made with me,” said Harm.

Mac’s eyes were sparkling, but she had no words to say. So she kissed him again.

“Mmm …,” groaned Harm as the feel of her left his lips. He was reeling from the kiss. Feeling a bit mischievous and referring to Mac’s earlier threat, Harm asked, “So, if I were to bring up the possibility of getting past certain bases now, would I still be eating alone tonight?”

Mac laughed. She was surprised he had even picked up on her earlier joke, since he seemed so distracted at the time. “No,” she told him. “… But only because I’m not letting you off the hook for feeding me.”

“Hey, I have no intention on breaking our reservation, Mac. You have no idea how much fancy footwork I had to do to get them.”

“Are we back to boxing metaphors, now?”

“Well …” said Harm, giving Mac a once over, “you certainly are a ‘knock out’ tonight.”

Mac blushed, but insisted, “Stop with the sports already.”

“You started it,” he pointed out.

She had to admit to herself that that was true. “Well, then let me finish it,” she declared. “We’re going to find Tiner, and, if need be, explain that attempts at casual dating are like a tennis match.”

“We’re moving on to more sophisticated sports, I see,” noted Harm.

“He served; she didn’t volley back.”

“That’s supposed to make him feel better?”

“Yes,” said Mac, “because it’s just a silly game. But a real relationship, … when the time comes, isn’t a game, as you so astutely pointed out earlier. Least of all is it like tennis.”

“Why is that?”

“Because in tennis, love is zero, … nothing. But in real life, … love …”

“.. is everything,” Harm finished, appreciating Mac’s play on words.

“You hit the nail on the head, Harm. … Everything that matters.”

“That wasn’t a sports metaphor,” he pointed out about the nail comment.

“No, I thought we’d move on to more generic ones.”

“Like what?”

Mac thought for just a second, before coming up with, “Like, … ‘I’m walking on air right now.’”

“Flying, Mac,” Harm suggested.

She shook her head slightly. “Flying is your thing. This is different,” she tried to explain.

“I hope so.”

“Why is that?” Mac asked with surprise. Harm loved flying, so she didn’t understand how he would want it to be unlike his love for her.

“Well, every time I fly,” he explained, “… it’s only for a little while. … I always have to come back down. … But, I don’t ever want to have to stop … being with you.”

Mac looked up into his eyes and gently caressed his face with her hand. “If I have anything to say about it, you’ll never have to.”

“I love you,” Harm said without any thought.

In awe, Mac reflected, “There was a day when I thought you’d never say those words to me.”

“I’ll say them as much as you want to hear them,” he assured her. “I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen that I love you, … tell them that I’m yours, and …” He was beaming with pride, as he continued his list, “that you’ve agreed to be my wife. … I’ll tell the room of people out there, shout it in the streets, … tell the whole world, … the …”

Mac laughed at Harm’s exuberance and interrupted him. “Harm, … we can tell the world later. Right now, … I think there is a better use for our mouths than talking.”

Harm stopped and looked at his partner turned fiancée; she was positively glowing with joy. He quickly lowered his mouth to hers, and as she wrapped her arms behind his neck, he grasped onto her tightly, lifted her just enough for her feet to come off the ground, and then spun her around with him. She kicked her feet just a little. It seemed she really was walking on air.

When he set her down and released her mouth, Harm agreed, “Yeah, much better use for our mouths.”

Mac giggled. “I was actually referring to using them to eat dinner,” she partially teased, “… but this works too.” She kissed him again, and then asked, “… What time did you say our reservations are?”

Harm shook his head. “What is it with you and dinner tonight?”

“I’m hungry,” she answered. Then suddenly sobering a little, she asked, “Harm, … are you sure you want to marry me?”

Harm did not like the slight doubt in her eyes, even though he knew she was anticipating a positive answer from him. “Yes, Mac, I’m very sure.”

Mac gave him a crooked smile, and told him, “Well, if I’m going to be your wife, you are going to have to get used to the fact that … sometimes I have a very voracious appetite.”

Something in her voice let Harm know that she was not just talking about food. He grinned and told her, “I’m counting on it.”

Their smiling lips met again before they were interrupted.

“Oh, … I …”

They stopped their kiss and turned to the new person in the room, but did not completely let go of each other.

“I’m sorry,” muttered Tiner. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. … I just … I was told you came back here. … That one of you might be upset. But they didn’t tell me why. … I wanted to check to see if everything was okay or not. But I guess it is. … Is okay, I mean. … I’ll just, uh, …”

“Tiner,” Mac interrupted him.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Everything is much better than okay,” she said and then looked up at Harm, giving her consent for him to share their news.

“The Colonel here has agreed to take my hand in marriage,” Harm said without taking his eyes away from Mac. Then he finally looked over at Tiner and rephrased his statement, “We’re going to be married.”

Tiner’s eyes widened. “Really?” he looked to Mac.

“Really,” she confirmed, holding up her left hand to show the ring as proof.

“That’s great, sir!” Tiner told Harm. Then he remembered not to leave Mac out. “… And ma’am,” he added. “Great for both of you. … Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” Mac replied. Then she gave Harm a look that said, ‘See, I told you he’d be happy for us.’

But just to double check on Tiner’s general frame of mind after his bad luck with the girl earlier, Mac asked, “Tiner, … um, how are you tonight?”

“Me? Oh, I’m fine. … I’m gonna hang out with Linda tonight.”

“Linda?” asked Harm, unfamiliar with the name.

“Yeah, I just met her. She’s one of the people who told me you two came back here.” In almost a whisper, he made the side note, “… I think she likes me.”

“Oh,” replied Harm, slightly surprised at Tiner’s ability to move on to a new interest so quickly.

“A couple of smooth moves and she won’t have a chance,” said Tiner in a voice that was not nearly as confident as he intended it to sound. But his mind was largely on Harm’s and Mac’s news.

As if to make Mac’s victory complete in her prediction of Tiner’s reaction, the petty officer then mumbled, “Oh, wait ‘til Gunny hears this.” His face twisted with thought, and he then decided, “I’ve got to up the terms of our bet first.”

He congratulated them again and then headed out to find ‘Linda.’

“I don’t believe it,” said Harm.

“What don’t you believe?” asked Mac. “That there really are bets going on about us?”

“Well, that, … and his ability to move onto the next girl just like that. I thought he was enamored with this last one?”

Mac shrugged. “Looks like he’s found himself the next contender for a tennis match.”

Harm frowned at her. “I thought we were done with sports metaphors?”

“We are,” said Mac. “We’re done with any new ones. I was simply referencing back to one that was previously mentioned with the tennis thing.”

Harm smiled at Mac, being ever the lawyer. He asked in reflection, “Why should a man be playing in opposition to a woman he finds desirable?”

“Ideally, he shouldn’t,” answered Mac. “And neither should she be playing against him. It’s much better to just … be together.”

“Like we’re together,” said Harm.

“Mmhmm,” she agreed. They hadn’t always been, of course. At times they had, by definition, been adversaries. “We are now,” she clarified. “… Two peas in a pod.”

“Ahh, … we have, of course, moved on to food metaphors now,” said Harm as he gently hugged her.

“Hey, I’m hungry,” Mac reminded him in explanation. She looked up at him with puppy eyes. “But I chose a vegetable metaphor just for you.”

“Oh, well thank you. But I think that if you’re involved, we should probably be talking about something sweeter,” said Harm, causing Mac to smile a little wider at her fiancé.

Getting to practical matters, Harm decided, “We should go to the restaurant now.”

“Finally,” Mac joked.

“Just remember not to overstuff during dinner,” he warned her. “I want you ready to handle dessert.”

Mac cocked an eyebrow at Harm. “Is, uh, … that a metaphor too?”

Harm gave her his famous grin and held out his elbow to escort her out. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

She began to accept, threading her arm through his. But then she decided she wanted to hold his hand instead, so she slid her hand further to meet his and take it. On equal standing, but bound together, they set out, got into a red corvette, and rode off into the sunset.

The end

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A/N: Probably not my best work, but what did you think? Any good for a one-shot?