Disclaimer: They don't belong to me but you know that already.
HBX March Challenge.
Doctor Walden: The man I'm travelling with is
Navy. We're sneaking off to the
islands for the weekend.
Mac: Sounds romantic.
Drop Zone
It was cold, wet, and dark outside the frosted window of Mac's office as she rubbed a small patch to look out. Noting the miserable conditions, she sighed deeply, it was a perfect match for her own mood.
Usually, Mac was able to shake off these feelings but today was the exception; the early blast of winter had just reinforced her negative feelings towards everything and everyone.
Well, not everyone, just a certain Navy pilot – lawyer – Commander who at this moment was climbing into his car, ready to head off for the day, all his tasks completed and squared away. All except one, Mac corrected herself. Although he'd spoken to her seven times during the course of the day, he hadn't once wished her a happy birthday and he was supposed to love her.
Thinking it was all too hard, Mac turned from the window, turned off her computer before straightening her desk. Grabbing her cover and bag, she flicked off her office light and headed to the elevator.
"Plans for the weekend, ma'am?" Jennifer Coates asked, stopping next to her.
"Not really," she replied, her foot tapping impatiently at the delay in the carriage's arrival. "Yourself?"
"I'm heading to Blacksburg to see Mattie," she said, smiling widely, she had really missed the girl since she had returned to her father.
"That will be nice," Mac said, trying not to sound as disinterested as she was.
"Yeah," she nodded as the doors slid opened and they stepped in.
As she drove home, Mac decided she wouldn't spend yet another birthday thinking about what should have been, she'd make the most of it and Harm be damned. She also decided that she would do something totally out of character, something to mix things up.
Home, changed and back in her car, Mac headed for one place she usually detested, the mall. Never one for hours of shopping and the latest fashion trends she decided a few hours of inane wandering would occupy some of her time.
First, she went into one shoe store, then another. Next, came the jeans shop, before pausing momentarily at a lingerie shop, not that she went in, after all what was the point of sexy lingerie on your birthday when it was obvious he wasn't going to see it.
After stopping for a junk filled snack, Mac made her way into Borders Books and soon found herself in the travel section. Picking up one book, then another, she sighed looking at the picturesque photographs of exotic places which currently seemed further away than the moon.
"Good choice," said a lady perusing books on the adjoining shelf. "Going somewhere nice?"
"No," Mac sighed, "Just wishful thinking. What about yourself?"
The lady grinned. "The man I'm travelling with is Navy. We're sneaking off to the islands for the weekend."
"Sounds romantic," Mac replied, trying to hide her jealousy.
"Yes, very," the lady sighed.
"Have a great time," said Mac, replacing the book and departing. The last thing she needed was to have her mind filled with romantic getaways to paradise with gorgeous Commanders – not that that was what the woman had said, but at this moment, the only Naval man she could think of was a Commander.
Realising the bookstore encounter had completely defeated the reason for her being at the mall in the first place; she headed out to her car and returned home.
Her first inclination that something was wrong upon returning to her apartment was the light coming from beneath the door. Silently, she approached and pressed her ear against the wood, there was definitely someone in there. Grabbing her cell, she dialled 911 and reported the intruder. Not wanting to wait for a car to be dispatched, and knowing she could take on nearly anyone she found beyond the door, she eased her key into the lock and slowly turned it.
Opening the door, just a crack, she peered through hoping to see the intruder without him seeing her, but she couldn't spot him. From the sounds, the man was in her bedroom which infuriated her beyond belief. How dare this bastard invade her most personal space? Slinking into the apartment, she eased her bags down by the door before creeping to her bedroom door, pressing her back against the adjoining wall, she reached over and picked up the marble ornament she'd been given as a present years ago.
Steeling herself, she took several deep breaths, before stepping into the doorway and realising the bedroom itself was empty. Meaning the one she was looking for was in the bathroom. Moving stealthily to the closed door, she listened once more and could make out the sound of running water, which confused her. What sort of intruder stole water?
Counting to herself, she once again prepared herself for the encounter.
Five, she took a deep breath.
Four, she took another.
Three, she gripped the door knob tightly with one hard and held the ornament tighter with the other.
Two, she turned the knob ever so slightly so as to disengage the lock.
One….
There was no time for one as the person pulled open the door at the very same time and Mac swung the ornament hitting him hard in the chest before swinging back her arm ready to relaunch.
"Mac!" Harm yelled, raising his arms to defend himself. "Stop!"
Both her arm and the ornament stopped mid-air as she finally looked at his face.
"What the hell, Harm?" she yelled back.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologised, taking hold of the ornament, just in case.
"Marines don't scare!" she growled. "And I'll ask again, what the hell are you doing breaking into my apartment?"
"Well, first of all, I didn't break in, I used my key," he said, flashing a smile, hoping to diffuse her anger. "And, secondly, I was cooking you a special, surprise birthday dinner and spilt the sauce all down my shirt, which was why I was in here."
It took her a moment to compute his words; he was there for her birthday, to surprise her. It should have made her happy, instead it angered her more. How dare he do something nice for her after making her whole day and evening miserable?
"Mac?" he said cautiously, watching her emotions dance across her face. "What is it?"
"Sometimes, Harm, I just want to slap you!" she growled.
"Well, I think you did enough damage with this," he said, raising the ornament in one hand while using the other to pull open his shirt and reveal the reddened welt across his chest.
"Well, you deserved it," she snapped. "You're lucky it wasn't a gun."
"You wouldn't have really shot me, would you?" he asked, concerned he wasn't winning her over as easily as he thought he would.
"In a heartbeat," she replied, turning on her heal and heading back to the living room. Harm trailed behind her.
Watching as she picked up her belongings, he tried to figure out what he could do to smooth things over. This definitely wasn't the way he had anticipated the evening going.
"Mac, if you want me to go, I will… otherwise, I have a few things in the kitchen I need to see to," he said, glancing towards the kitchen, hoping nothing had burnt in his absence.
Stopping at her bedroom door, Mac took a deep breath. "Do whatever you want!" Harm stood stock still not knowing which way to go. He knew why he was on the receiving end at the moment and knew it was probably deserved; he also knew if she was really annoyed then she would have told him to get out. As she hadn't, he felt it was probably safe for him to stay. He'd only taken one step towards the kitchen when the apartment door sprung open and three uniformed and armed officers stormed in.
"Freeze!!!" yelled the first one. "Police!" Harm froze.
"Get down on the floor!" instructed the second, pushing Harm onto him stomach and grabbing his hands.
"Who else is here?" asked the first.
"Mac, Sarah MacKenzie, it's her place," Harm replied, turning to look at the men.
"And who are you?" asked the third officer, scanning the kitchen.
"Commander Harmon Rabb Junior," he answered. "JAG Corps."
"Harm, what's…?" Mac began but stopped as the guns trained on her.
"You, Sarah MacKenzie?" asked the first officer.
"Yes, I'm Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, Marine Corps," she replied, moving over to Harm and reaching down for him.
"You the one who called in the break and enter?" he asked her, holstering his gun.
"Yes, I did, but it was a mistake," Mac said. "I'm sorry, I should have called back."
"You know this man?" he asked.
"Yes, I do," she replied.
The third officer moved to pat down Harm, to ensure he wasn't concealing any weapon. It wasn't the first time a victim had claimed the intruder was known to them when under duress of bodily harm. All was going well until he came across a hard object in Harm's pocket.
"Well, well, what's this?" he asked as he dipped his hand in to retrieve the box. As he opened the box it was clearly apparent to all what it was. "Well?"
"It's Mac's, I mean, Sarah's birthday present," Harm said, not daring to look her way.
"Looks like an engagement ring to me," quipped the first officer. "Don't you think?" he said to the officer beside him.
"Yep, I'd definitely say it's an engagement ring," he said with a smirk. "Is it?"
"Yes, it is," Harm said, confidence returning now he understood the situation.
"And was this what the break in was about?" asked Officer three. "You were going to surprise her with a proposal?"
"Yes," said Harm.
"Well, then…" said the second officer, "unless you need us for anything else, ma'am, we'll leave you to it."
Several minutes later, when they were alone once more, both stood at opposite ends of the living room, neither too sure about what to say. It was Mac who finally broke the silence. "If you expect an answer you have to ask the question."
"If I ask, will you say yes?" he replied, taking a step closer to her.
"You can't hedge your bets, you're either asking or not, no question, no answer," she said, taking a step towards him.
"Well, this isn't how I planned to do this," he began slowly, reaching out for her hand. When she slipped her hand into his he dropped to one knee. "I came here tonight to ask you to marry me, Mac," he began. "It was supposed to be a surprise and I knew if I mentioned your birthday today then we would have made plans and then I probably would have chicken out, again. So, I came here to surprise you and when you weren't here I let myself in to cook for you, I figured you wouldn't be too far away….in hindsight it wasn't the brightest of plans… I never expected my proposal to include, what are now, burnt offerings in the kitchen, nor three of DC's finest, fully armed. So, given you're still standing there and haven't kicked me out or killed me, I want to ask you something... Sarah MacKenzie, would you please marry me?"
Pausing for effect rather than deliberation, Mac stared at him for several long moments.
"Are you ever going to ignore my birthday again?" she asked, stepping right up to him. "Because if you do they may be removing that ornament from your brain in autopsy."
"Never, Mac, and in my defence, I never ignored it this time… I just wanted this to be your best birthday ever," he said, squeezing her hand.
"Well, it's the most memorable, I'll give you that," she replied, her hand coming up to his face.
"Do I get my answer now?" he asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Yes!" she whispered.
"Yes, I get my answer or yes, you'll marry me," he questioned as she lowered her face to his.
"Yes, I'll marry you, Harm. I love you so much," she whispered, brushing her lips across his.
"Love you too," he replied, before claiming her lips.