Title: Unexpected Results

Disclaimer: I have no delusions of grandeur, so I know these characters really don't belong to me. No copyright infringement intended.

Summary/Spoilers: I was very surprised that no one (at least not to my knowledge) quickly wrote a story after we read that TV Guide spoiler about "...Renee and Brumby get to know each other-with unexpected results." So, I kinda jumped on it, and then I made Susan help! Here are the results. Enjoy.

Author's note: No, I don't really think this will ever happen...and I've always liked Brumby...yes, even with Mac...and I'm kinda liking Renee now...please, somebody stop me...but I think this story could be...um...interesting.

My undying thanks and friendship to Susan, also known as the only person I'll watch football...or any sporting event for that matter...for.

Unsure of how he was managing to stay awake, Harm swung the car into a parking space in front of Mac's apartment building. Stifling a yawn, he looked over at a very silent Mac and laughed softly.

"Snap to!"

At that sharp cry, Mac sat up suddenly and just barely missed hitting her head on the car's ceiling. She looked over at Harm with contempt in her eyes, but that soon faded when she saw the smile on her friend's face. "Cute, Sailor. Very cute," she smiled in return.

Carefully, she rolled her neck, trying to work out the kinks that the long ride from Virginia Beach had caused. Another investigation was finished. Another several days spent together with Harm, working, joking, talking, and doing the things Mac was afraid they'd forgotten how to do. She looked over as he fumbled around a bit looking for the button that would release the lock on the trunk and wondered if he was as tired as she was. Yes, she saw the weariness resting there in the depths of his eyes and instantly regretted allowing Harm to drive the whole way home.

Feeling a bit guilty, Mac got out of the car and made it to the back of the car before Harm did. She had one bag slung over her shoulder and the other held firmly in her hand by the time Harm reached her.

"Hey, Mac, I was gonna do that. I figured I owed you that after that little 'Snap to!' stunt."

Mac smiled in return as she closed the trunk. "No. I can carry my own weight, Harm. I thought you knew that by now."

"I've known that since the day I met you." With that, Mac looked up and met his eyes, seeing something other than tiredness there. She was trying to decide whether to comment when something else captured Harm's attention.

"Did you leave a light on at your place, Mac?"

She turned, and her eyes searched the mostly darkened building. It only took seconds until she located her apartment and saw a dim light shining in her bedroom window. Her eyes straining to see into the room, she said a distracted, "I don't think so."

As she began to make her way quickly towards the building, Harm stopped her with a quiet call. "Mac, wait." She turned to meet his eyes once more.

As much as he hated to say it, Harm carefully controlled his voice and asked, "Is it...I mean, is there any way that Mic could be here to surprise you?"

Suddenly, Mac closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "Mic...I completely forgot," she said almost to herself. Shaking herself a bit more, she said to Harm, "I actually forgot to call him and tell him I was coming home today, but he's...he's been staying here while I'm gone. It's easier than leaving the dog with someone, and I hate coming home to an empty..."

Harm dropped his voice to a low whisper as he said, "You don't have to explain anything, Mac. I understand."

For a long moment, Mac searched Harm's face, wanting more than anything to believe that he did understand. Giving a gentle smile, she nodded slowly and shifted her bag more comfortably onto her shoulder. She paused only a second as Harm took the other one from her hands and fell into step beside her.

They were silent as they reached the elevator and Mac wondered if it was wise for Harm to walk her to her apartment door if Mic was indeed waiting up for her. "Harm, maybe you should just let me carry my bag up myself."

Harm met her gaze with a small smile. "I'm not going to pick a fight with Brumby. I just want to make sure that it's not somebody else waiting to surprise you. Okay? I promise to behave, Mac."

Mac reluctantly nodded her agreement as the elevator doors slid open. "Well, I suppose if you promise."

"I do," Harm said as they stepped into the elevator. "Besides, I was kind of hoping to get a cup of coffee for the road."

Mac shot him a sideways glance as she leaned back against the elevator wall. "Harm, if you're that tired, maybe you should just crash on my couch."

Harm pondered that for a moment. Did he really want to sleep on Mac's couch knowing that Mic was sharing her bed with only a thin wall separating them? "Thanks for the offer, Mac, but I think a cup of coffee will be enough to get me home."

"Are you sure?" Mac asked as they reached her floor.

"Positive."

Mac said a silent thank you that Harm had turned down her offer. She wasn't sure she could have shared her bed with Mic knowing that Harm was sleeping on the couch just outside the room. Letting out what she hoped was an inaudible sigh, she adjusted the bag on her shoulder and found her key, only fumbling it in the lock for a moment.

As the door slowly opened, Mac opened her mouth to call out, "Mic? I'm home." But she stopped suddenly when she heard the soft music and a playful, all-too familiar voice coming from her bedroom.

"Oh, we're not finished yet, luv."

She looked quickly at Harm, who had only been trying to steel himself against finding Mic Brumby in Mac's home and hadn't paid attention to the sounds. However, as he saw Mac's eyes widen, Harm listened more closely, and was shocked at what he heard.

"Then why don't you finish it, Mr. Brumby." He then heard a soft, husky laugh that often echoed in his own head, followed by the muffled squeak of bedsprings.

Looking over at Mac, he saw that the anger in her eyes was not dampened at all by tears. Instead, he heard her whisper as she stared at the closed door, "I don't believe it. How could he? He has some woman here, in my home...in my bed."

Silent for a moment, Harm knew better than to let himself comfort Mac right now. Unfortunately, he knew she needed to hear the truth, so he said quietly, without emotion, "It's not just *some* woman, Mac."

"What do you..." Mac didn't understand for a moment, but then she knew. Shaking her head imperceptibly, she took a moment before she squared her shoulders and stalked towards her own bedroom. The door flew open with enough force to knock it off its hinges, but it stood firm as Mac, followed by Harm, made their way into the room.

"Well, isn't this a nice welcome home party?" Mac's voice was deceptively even, though the ice in it got her audience's attention quickly.

"What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to be..." Seeing the venom in Mac's eyes, Mic realized this wasn't the route to take. He stopped for a moment, and tried to gather his wits before he said lamely, "Sarah, this isn't what it looks like."

Letting our a short, spiteful laugh, Mac looked around, saw the flowers and candles, and heard the music that continued to play in the background. "No, I'd say it's exactly what it looks like." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked over at Harm, who was busy trying to look anywhere but at the woman who he'd spent the best part of a year with.

By this time, Renee had managed to drape a sheet around herself and was looking pleadingly at Harm, "Really, Harm, it was just...it started because I was angry that you missed my premiere, just like you'd missed everything else for the past six months, and I needed someone to talk to. I ran into Mic, and he...he felt the same way. From there, it just...it just went further than either of us thought it would."

Trying to take it all in, Harm finally let himself meet Renee's eyes. Then he thought back over the past weeks and said distractedly, "Premiere? What premiere? When?"

Lowering her lashes for a moment, Renee replied, "When you were in Russia, Harm...with her. You were gone so long, and I kept watching the news, and I was scared. I needed someone...someone who understood what I was going through. Then even when you got back, you wouldn't talk to me about it, about your father or your brother or any of it, but you could talk to her. And then there were more trips, more investigations, more late nights..."

"You mean this has been going on for months?"

As Mac's voice slowly broke off, the room was silent for only a few moments until Mic, who had by this time shrugged on a robe, finally said, "You followed him to Russia, Sarah. You were in a war zone, and there were no phone calls, no messages, nothing. I was the man who'd promised to spend the rest of his life making you happy, and you couldn't even let me know you were alive? But you could risk your life getting to him, and that wasn't the first time...and something tells me that it won't be the last." He paused for a moment, and looked away as he said, "I couldn't wait an eternity, Sarah."

Frozen, Mac let the words sink in before she said, "Maybe all that's true, and maybe I could even be sorry for it, but that doesn't change what you've done. Now I just want you out. By tomorrow, I want every reminder of you taken out of this apartment and my life." She paused for a second and slowly twisted the ring from her right hand. "You can start with this," she said as she placed it on the nightstand and turned to walk out the door.

She paused only when she heard him call, "Sarah, wait. I never meant to..."

Stopping at the bedroom door, Mac let a tear escape down her cheek and swore that it would be the last. Turing slowly, she said, "I know, but please don't call me Sarah."

With that she swept past Harm, who was having trouble digesting all that Mic had said. Renee looked at him with a short, pleading look. "Harm, I'm so sorry."

Trying a smile, he said, "Me, too." Then he closed the door behind him and found Mac standing in the living room.

"I would offer you that coffee now, but I don't think..."

He stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "We'll get it at my place." He grabbed the bags that had been hastily discarded in the living room and steered her towards the door. With a gentle hand on the small of her back, he led her from the apartment and neither looked back.

The End