Spoilers: Anything up to and including "Pulse Rate."
Author Notes: Many thanks to my beta readers, who keep me on track. Feedback welcome at aerm1@aol.com
2200
Georgetown
Mac's apartment
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Things were supposed to get better once Harm returned to JAG. The admiral would get off everyone else's case, the workload would ease, and Harm and I would go back to being best friends. Everything would be back to normal, and I'd be happy again. But it didn't happen that way. The admiral is still upset with Sturgis ( and rightly so -- that pompous jerk had the gall to tell me I'm "sanctimonious" and a "prig"). Admiral Chegwidden is also bent out of shape about his wedding plans and is taking his frustration out on anyone who gets in his line of fire.
And then there's Harm. Or rather, there's the stranger inhabiting Harm's body. The first week or two he was back, I'll admit, were all right. He actually came to me, his "hat in his hand," and asked for help. I never thought I'd see that happen. But there he was, pleading for help with Terrence Minnerly's case. It was like old times. It even seemed like old times when the admiral called us into his office to chew us out for keeping him out of the loop. Harm was so cute when he told the admiral he needed to know what was expected of him. Again, a definite surprise -- a humble, respectful Harm. I don't know that I'd ever seen him so unsure of himself before. I kind of liked the new model.
Maybe that's why it was such a shock to see him revert back to the Harm that was curt almost to the point of rudeness over the Imes case. I honestly don't understand what his problem is. Anytime I even barely mention the CIA or Clayton Webb, Harm's hackles rise; and the next words out of his mouth are sarcastic and snide. You'd think he didn't enjoy his five months of being a flyboy again the way he acts. He has a lot of nerve, considering the fact his absence from JAG put extra work and stress on the rest of us. And to top it all, there's the way he completely ignored everyone that tried to get in touch with him after we got back from Paraguay. What kind of person doesn't return a single phone call for five months? I mean, I know he said he was out of town a lot, but he could have made time to give somebody a call, if only to say, "Yes, I'm alive. I just don't have time to see anyone right now." You'd think he blamed us for his not being in the Navy or something.
Harm used to be one of the kindest, most compassionate people I knew. He's still that way with strangers -- look at the way he helped Mr. Minnerly. But when it comes to his friends, lately he's closed off and almost brusque. And when it comes to me, he's just plain mean. He tried to get the admiral to talk me out of charging Petty Officer Yates with manslaughter on the grounds that I was unreasonably prejudiced against the kid because he was addicted to nicotine. I may never forget the sotto voce comment about recovering addicts in the courtroom. And Sturgis says I'm sanctimonious. Right. How about Mr. Harmon "I'm so pure" Rabb? He did apologize, but I'm still in shock that he could say anything that hurtful to me or about me. I have never done anything to deserve that kind of treatment. Harm may have said he wasn't angry that night in his apartment, but if he's not, I'd like to know what his problem is. And he has no reason to be angry. He's back in the Navy, back at JAG. So what if his career is pretty much down the tubes in terms of future promotions? It's not like he ever seemed all that ambitious in the first place, except when it came to beating me in court. He'll be all right. He always is.
You know how they say, "Be careful what you wish for; you might just get it"? I'm beginning to wonder if wishing Harm was back at JAG was such a good idea. I told Bud once when he asked me if I missed Harm that I didn't. It was a lot more peaceful around the place. I think I should have held to that position. Then I wouldn't have to watch the definitive demise of what once was a beautiful friendship. In some ways, it was better when I didn't know that I was right when I told Harm we'd never work as a couple. We can't even work as colleagues anymore.
Perhaps I should talk to the admiral about one of us transferring. It would be a lot more comfortable, that's for sure.