Disclaimer: JAG and its characters belong to Bellisarius Productions. No monetary gain is made from this endeavor.

AN: This story was written for the Fortune Cookie Ficathon and also answers to the HBX November 2007 Challenge. The fortune to be used was:

You can never be certain of success, but you can be certain of failure if you never try.

AN: In Boomerang II, it was indicated that Mac and Mic's date was at Sydney Harbor and it appeared to be on some type of boat or ferry. For the purpose of this story, it needs to take place at a stationary restaurant and within walking distance of a beach, so I took creative license and moved it. Also, the black outfit Mac is wearing looks like a dress, but I am assuming for this story that it is a skirt and top combination.

The abbreviation AEDT stands for Australian Eastern Daylight Time, EST for Eastern Standard Time (USA). I confused even myself when trying to use ZULU, so I opted for this.

Many thanks, as always, to my wonderfully helpful proofreader Staz! Please enjoy!

No Holds Barred

Prolog

December 25th, 2000
Undisclosed apartment
0900 EST

Their first Christmas tree, Mac dreamily thought as she let her eyes wander up and down the large, sparkling creation. Their very first shared, beautiful Christmas tree! Grown flawlessly straight, with thick branches that gave it a perfect roundish-triangular shape and shiny green needles, it took up at least half their living room space. He had grumbled a little about how big it was when she had picked it out. He had been right, it was huge, but it was also absolutely beautiful. He had continued lamenting good-naturedly and teasing her when they had to heave the tree up the three flights of stairs to their apartment because it hadn't fit into the elevator.

Now it was shining with hundreds of white lights and sparkled in gold and color from decorations both old and new. It was perfect. She had been delighted to discover that he owned a collection of tree decorations amassed over the years from locations all over the world. It was a tradition she herself had indulged in ever since she joined the Marines, buying ornaments at places she visited, countries she worked in, or to commemorate important occasions. They had decorated their tree together while sharing stories about their respective treasures. A new family tradition was born.

Eyes half closed, Mac sighed happily. Their first Christmas together.

She snuggled deeper into her new, gorgeous, hand-made quilt. It was a gift from her grandmother-in-law, who was only one of the many wonderful changes that had been happening in her life over the course of the past few months. The ultimate best, of course, was the man sitting across from her on their living room sofa, gently massaging her feet.

She had a husband now. They were married. She would have him forever by her side, and he had her. The thought still made her giddy; a giddy happiness she could not contain. She looked at him mischievously and wiggled her toes in his lap. He moaned softly, held her feet a little tighter, but then he placed them against his thighs and smiled at her warmly. His eyes shone with equal parts admiration, desire, and love. She felt flushed and it had nothing to do with the crackling heat from the fireplace that permeated the room.

Mac leaned her cheek against the back of the couch and returned his smile. She took in the warm sparkle in his striking eyes. His dark hair, still sticking up spiky and tousled from last night's sleep… and activities. Her tummy fluttered at the recollection. His strong cheekbones, the morning stubble sprinkled across his chin, his luscious, tempting, delicious mouth. Features that she felt she could look at every single second of every day without ever tiring of it. What a difference only ten months could make.

Their first Christmas. So many firsts over the past months, both big and small, life-altering as well as considered insignificant by anyone but them. And it had all happened so unexpectedly, so quickly. She never would have thought such happiness was possible after the shattering heartbreak she had suffered the one night that had jump-started it all.

Noticing his wife staring into space, he asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"

"Sydney."

"Ooooh," he chuckled, his face showing this cute mixture of equal parts embarrassment and pride he always displayed when they talked or thought about all that had happened between them back in Sydney.

Just like Mac's, his mind started wandering, flashing back to those days in Australia, when he had found himself acting in a way he never thought he ever would. The days that had completely and unexpectedly altered both their lives…

TBC