Disclaimer: Nothing here belongs to me except the dream that Harm and Mac would eventually get it right!

Set a week after Jagathon; after the terrible things Harm said to Sturgis about the men in Mac's life, and after Mac let slip to Sturgis that she was in love with Harm. What would it have been like if Sturgis actually did something with that important piece of information?

I'm trying something new here, as I had a heap of dialogue running around in my head for this one….so that's all it is – dialogue! I hope you still manage to feel the emotions I'm trying to convey. If not, just chalk it up to a failed experiment!

HOPE NO MORE - By JagfanNat

KINGS CLUB GYMNASIUM,

BASKETBALL COURT 1

WASHINGTON, DC

FRIDAY 1703 LOCAL TIME

"You're an ass."

"What…why?"

"If you need to ask, then you're a blind ass!"

"Care to elaborate?"

"You told me that Mac was your best friend."

"Well, she is."

"You sure have a funny way of showing it!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No one talks about their 'best friend' the way you did in the elevator last week."

"Now, wait! I apologized to Mac about that…"

"Unless…Oh, Lord!"

"Unless what?"

"You're in love with her; that explains it!"

"What?...No!...I'm not in l…"

"Oh, yes you are, my friend."

"No, I'm not."

"You are in love with Mac."

"I am?"

"uh huh!"

"I am! Sturgis, you breathe a word of this to anyone and all of JAG will know about the time you dressed up as Diana Ross at…"

"Say no more; your secret is safe with me. But, you really should tell Mac."

"Are you crazy? We just agreed to start at the beginning with our friendship. There's a lot you don't know, Sturge; there's a lot of water under the bridge between Mac and I. And I mean a LOT!"

"All the more reason to tell her, don't you think?"

"I don't know, Sturge. Looking back, she must have some idea of how I feel about her. But she obviously doesn't feel the same way."

"How could she possibly have any idea how you feel, Harm; when you had no idea yourself, until just now? And I wouldn't be so sure she doesn't feel the same way about you, either."

"What do you know about how she feels?"

"I know the hurt I saw in her eyes, when you made that remark about the men in her life."

"Well, her supposed best friend had just hurt her!"

"No, I sensed there was more to it than that. And judging by the way you have been with each other since I arrived, I would say it's a safe bet that she feels something more for you than just friendship. Tell her."

"I don't know. If I tell her, and she doesn't feel the same way, then our friendship will be ruined. I can't risk losing her, Sturge, even if it's just as a friend."

"You know, my mom always told me: Love is a risk. And if you risk it on the right person, what you get back always out weighs what you risked. Tell her!"

"How do I know she's the right person?"

"You know she's the right person, Harm."

"Yeah… I do."

"Promise me you'll tell her?"

"Okay, but I can't promise you when."

"Just don't leave it until it's too late. I gotta get goin'."

"Yeah, me too. I owe Mac a Beltway Burger; time to pay up."

"Seize the day, my friend!"

"See you at the office on Monday, Sturge."

SARAH MacKENZIE'S APPARTMENT

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

FRIDAY 1910 Local Time

"Hey, Harm, you're late."

"Sorry, drive-thru took forever. Here you go; payment in full. Although, I don't know how you'll be able to sleep with all this dead cow and grease in your stomach!"

"Mmmm, thanks, I'm starving. And, I'll sleep like a contented baby! I've been working on the Caleca case on the dining table, so we'll have to eat on the couch, okay?"

"Sure, I got myself a sandwich at Subway, so that's fine. What are you watching?"

"Nothing. I had it on more for company. I work better with a little noise in the background; must be from all the ruckus in the Bullpen at work. Oh! This is delicious! You're welcome to turn it over to whatever you want."

"This is fine."

"You like 'Bones'?"

"I don't mind it. You finished that already? You really were hungry!"

"Hey! I still have my fries and apple pie…pies?"

"Oh, one of those is mine."

"Since when do you eat deep fried apple pies?"

"I just wanted to see what the fuss was about, so I got one to taste."

"Harmon Rabb, trying something new!"

"Don't look at me like I've grown an extra head! I try new things…now and then."

"So how was your game with Sturgis, did you win?"

"Actually, we lost count in the end. We got to talking."

"Really? What about…I mean, it's really none of my business, sorry."

"Actually, we were talking about us; you and me."

"What about us? there is no 'us'." 'Oh, crap! Sturgis had better not have said anything!'

"Power down, Mac. He just pointed out that I wasn't really acting like a best friend towards you when I made that remark in the elevator last week."

"Oh…" 'Phew.'

"I explained to him that I had apologized to you and that our friendship was back at the beginning…and uh, actually, he insisted that there was more to us than meets the eye."

"Uh, really?" 'Sturgis Turner, you are a dead man!' "You want some coffee with your pie?"

"In a minute, Mac, sit down." 'Okay, Rabb, seize the day.' "He, uh, seems to think that my feelings for you go beyond that of a friend, and whilst I tried to explain that we had been through a lot together…" 'Breathe, Hammer, breathe!'

"We have been through a lot together, Harm, and we've been there for each other through it all…"

"Exactly! And those kinds of circumstances bind people together, like it has us…"

"Right…"

"And…and…" 'She is so beautiful. Oh my God! I am in love with her! She is the right one!'

"And?"

"And, uh, I need to kiss you now…okay?"

"Ok…" 'Harm is kissing me! He hasn't kissed me like that since he thought I was Diane.'

"I'msorry; I just had to do that."

"Had to?"

"It turns out that Sturgis thinks I'm in love with you, and I just had to …check."

"Check?" 'That kiss has turned me into a bloody parrot!'

"I love you."

"You do?"

"You didn't know?"

"I'd hoped."

"Well, hope no more. I do love you, so much."

"I love you, t…" 'God, he's such a great kisser!'

THE END