Harm stood there, “Come on Mac, you can’t be mad at me forever!”

“Yes I can Harm.  You pulled some underhanded sneaky things before, but this takes the top!”

“You’ll get over it just as you always get over it.”

“Not this time, this went too far.”

“Mac, don’t let this affect our friendship.”

“We can’t be friends, we are just too different.  Sometimes people who are too different, they can’t be friends or be together; that is just the way that the universe works.” She answered sadly.  “We are total opposites, maybe that is why we work so well against each other.”

She watched him give her a defeated look and he left the office.  His universe was out of sorts and spiraling out of control.

One month later:

0600 Local time

La Jolla Pier

Harm had knocked on Mac’s door in the early morning with the jet lag that he was still experiencing, but when he didn’t answer, he got worried so he went out looking for her.

Harm strolled down the La Jolla pier.  They were slowly working their way back after the last fight.  The sun was coming up over the bay and he wanted to find her before the sun rose so he could watch her watch the sunrise over the bay.  Harm found her standing a few feet away from the hotdog vendor her eyes dancing as she watched the sun rise above the horizon.

“Harm, you missed the most beautiful sight.”  Mac told him as he walked up beside her.

“No I didn’t.  You are the most beautiful sight.”  Harm whispered.  She didn’t hear it.  “What are you up to tonight?” He said in a normal tone.

“Why?”

“I just thought maybe we could do something together, I mean I did grow up in this area, I do know some things that we could do.”

Mac looked like she was going to say no, but the she let out a small smile, “I guess we could do something, I mean we used to hang out.” Mac said, silently happy that they could spend a couple of hours together, just the two of them, she would never admit it, but she was in love with him.

Harm let out a thousand watt smile.  “Great, I will pick you up around 2100.” Harm would never admit it to Mac but he was in love with her.

2100 Local Time

San Diego, CA 

Harm knocked on her door, he was nervous.  He didn’t understand why he was so nervous, after all this was Mac.  Maybe that is why he was nervous, the woman was his everything.

Mac came to the door.  “Is it okay if I’m casual?”

“Sure.”  Harm looked at her.  She was beautiful in his eyes no matter what she wore, and today was no exception.  She was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a light blue and white button down shirt paired with a brown belt and brown flip flops.  Harm wasn’t dressed up all that much either wearing khakis with a black short sleeved shirt.

She watched him walk up beside her as she put on her necklace in the mirror.  She mused about how different they were.  In the back of her mind, they were so different lately and were never on the same wavelength.

“What is the plan tonight?”

“It’s a surprise.”  Harm told her.

“Oh.”  Mac answered as she turned to lock her door.

Harm led Mac to the car where he drove her to his parents’ house not to far from where they were.  He parked the car and led her inside.  “Wow, you live here?”

“Lived.  It’s Mom and Frank’s house.  We moved here when I was 11.  It was a good move for Mom.”  Harm told her.  “They know we are here, but you’ll meet them in the morning, tonight is for us.”

“Are you being presumptuous that I will spend the night with you?”  She asked him, goading him.

“No, of course not,” he answered fairly quickly.  “You are in the guest room, and I am in my old room.  I left a pair of pajamas in there for you.  Are you ready to have a little bit of fun Colonel?”

“Sure.”

Harm started walking down the beach with Mac from his parents’ house when they came across a street carnival.  Harm looked at Mac, “Every year the community gets together and throws a carnival to raise money for an earthquake fund.  I thought we might enjoy this after the case we had.”

“I couldn’t agree more Flyboy.”  Mac said.  The case they had gotten was a double murder case.  It was a hard on for both of them, they were on the same side, but had different views on how to prosecute the case.  Surprise, surprise.

They wandered around the various booths when they heard a fortune teller calling them in.  “Would you like to know the future?”

Harm smiled, “Sure, why not.  You up for it Mac?”

“I’m gamed,” she told the old Chinese woman.  They walked into the tent that was black and white.

She proceeded to hold Mac’s and Harm’s palm in both her small hands.  ‘Interesting.’ She thought.   She started speaking to Mac first.  “I see babies in your future.  Two, twins perhaps, they will be much loved and wanted.”  Mac yanked back her palm. 

“I’m pretty sure that will never happen.” She said sadly and left the booth.

“She seems so sad.  That was good news I delivered to her.”

She ran a finger over Harm’s palm, “You, you will be married with two children.  Wait, you already have an older daughter.”

“Mattie is the light of my life, but as for a woman and other children, I have to find the right one.”

“She wants you, you will be together.” She said referring to Mac.

“We are as different as night and day.”

“Let me explain something to you my boy, do you know about the yin and yang?

“Yeah, the black and white circle thing.  Everyone knows about it.”

“The symbol, the yin and yang represent the ancient Chinese understanding of how things work.  The outer circle represents “everything,” while the interaction of the two energies, the yin which is black and the yang which is white which causes everything to happen.  They are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white.  They cannot exist without each other, just as you cannot exist without each other.”

“We can exist without each other.”

“Oh dear boy, you can’t.  Trust me, your energies since birth were always meant to be together.  That is why she was able to find you all those years ago.” Harm looked at her somewhat surprised, “Your lifeline and her lifeline intertwine with each others.”

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“The yin and yang can be seen as opposites, opposing forces that need each other to exist.  While yin would be dark, downward, cold, and weak, yang would be bright, upward, hot, and strong.  Opposites, they have to exist for the universe to work.”

Harm smiled realizing the analogy.  “Thank you Madame.”

“No Harm, thank you.  I have something for you.”  She reached into an old trunk and handed him two necklaces, a yin and a yang.  “Please take these.”

“I can’t, they must be very old.”

“They are.  But I was told to give these to people worthy to wear them.  The yin and the yang.”

He looked at the necklaces, the yin made of onyx and the yang made of pearl.  “I can’t take these.”

“You must, it is destiny.  You are the only ones worthy to pass it too.  Give it to Sarah when you see fit.”

“How do you know our names?  We never gave it to you.”

“I know things, take the gift please.”  Harm reluctantly took them from the older woman, and she smiled.  The circle was now complete.  “The shape of the sections of the symbol gives a sense of continual movement of the two energies, yin to yang and yang to yin, causing everything to happen.”

“Kind of like Newton’s law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

“Precisely my boy.”

Harm reached into his wallet and handed her some money.  She kindly refused it smiling at him.  He walked out of the tent to find Mac sitting on the bench waiting for him.

“Did she at least tell you something good?”

“She told me some very good things.” He answered her back putting the yin and yang into his pocket waiting for the best time to give her a half.

1300 EST
JAG Headquarters

One month later

“Mac, why is this so hard?” Harm asked her over lunch.  They had ordered from the Chinese food place up the road.

“I told you it is because we are opposites.”  Mac answered him.  Just then Harm thought about what the woman at the carnival had told him.

“Opposites can’t exist without each other.” He pointed out finally fighting her on it.  He pulled out a pencil and saw the yin and yang in his desk drawer; he was going to give them to her the day they got married. 

“What are you talking about?”

“We can’t exist without each other.  I love you, and it doesn’t matter how different we are.  Love and hate, Hot and cold, fast and slow, black and white, sweet and sour, up and down, yin and yang, the pairs can’t exist without each other.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I love you, I can’t live life without you.  Marry me.”

“We haven’t even dated yet.”

“We have known each other for ten years.  There is no need to date.”

“Yes.” She answered softly.

“I want to be with you, and only you.  You are my other half, you are my opposite that makes everything whole.” 

“Harm, didn’t you hear me, I said yes.  Yes, I will marry you.”  Mac said.

He got this huge smile on his face and pulled her into a kiss.  Finally the yin and yang were together and the universe was right.