Disclaimer: Not mine, Bellisario's

… lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh

Thanksgiving Eve

Late in the evening

Harm's car

It was dark outside, music played softly and inside the car is was warm and cosy. The Thanksgiving party at the Admiral's house had been pleasant and busy for he had invited quite a lot of people.

"You planning on shopping day after tomorrow? Adding your part to black Friday?" Mac suddenly asked.

Harm shook his head. "No. Although I'm glad Harriet managed to round up the gang to draw names for secret Santa. Gives us plenty of time to think about what to buy."

Mac laughed. "Yes. Last year she was so late we had only four days."

"But I don't wish to throw myself into the crowds. Besides, first I have to decide what to buy."

Mac nodded affirmative. As she had drawn Tiner she had to find out what he would like.
They drove in silence for a while until Harm asked "What was that discussion about presents?"
Mac look puzzled; she had already forgotten.
"After dinner; coffee was just being served."
"Oh, you mean Carol's rant about the present her boyfriend gave her on her birthday?"
"Yes."
"Well, apparently he gave her just the wrong thing."
Harm slowed down a bit. He loved these rides with his best friend, discussing all kind of subjects.

"Why is that? I thought you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"That is… well, it's true but … a present, especially between lovers or spouses, is not just a thing you buy and give."
Harm didn't understand. "What do you mean?"
Mac took a moment to gather her thoughts.
"You see, giving a present says a lot about the relationship you have. It mirrors how things are going between the two of you. How much attention you give your partner. How you feel about your relation. Carol's boyfriend gave her tickets to a basketball game."
Harm frowned. "What's wrong with basketball?"
"Nothing if you like it. Carol does not; in fact she dislikes it and goes only to a game because Robert likes it so much. Now he gave her two tickets, expecting her to take him with her. So you can say: in fact it was a present he gave to himself in stead of to her. And that's not a present; that's egocentric!"
Harm nodded thoughtfully. "Guess you're right. But what is a good present; how do you determine what the other will like?"
"Pay attention. Lots of attention," Mac simply stated. "The best presents don't require a lot of money but a lot of thoughtfulness. And be sure not to give something she needed anyway or something which holds hidden criticism."
"Needing anyway? Hidden criticism?" To Harm it became more unintelligible by the minute.
"I mean, if you give something the other needs anyway it's like wanting to hit two birds with one stone. Like, I know it's you're birthday but you needed a new vacuum cleaner anyway so let's be practical. It doesn't make your significant other feel special."
"Mm, mm." This made sense to Harm.
"Next to that, a vacuum cleaner can send the message you need to vacuum more. That's what I mean with hidden criticism. If you give electrical devices to a woman you also tell her to use them. And that is easily seen as telling her she is not using them enough."
Again Harm nodded.

"So you have to think: what would she, or he, like. Hobbies, something she might have let slip during conversation… Something saying: I see you, you're special, you matter to me."

"So electrical devices are never a good thing at all?"
"No, they can be. When a woman likes to cook and you catch longing looks to a ... a crock-pot for instance and she is drooling over recipes, she will be thrilled to receive a crock pot. But if she dislikes cooking …"
"It would be a silent hint to cook more, and better, and she would hate it," Harm completed.
"Exactly."
"But I gave you a new coffee-machine two years ago," Harm frowned.
"Yes and I loved it. It was so much more than I was willing or able to spend and it has so many facilities. Every time I make a special kind coffee, like an espresso or a latte, I have to smile." Mac patted his arm reassuring. "It's not the money you put in it. It's the thought which counts the most. You know how much I love my coffee and you wanted me to have it."
Still there was some doubt on Harm's face so Mac decided to prove her point a bit more.
"Think about something you gave to your mum. By the way, you already decided what to buy her this year?"
"Yes, you know she collects a special kind of ceramics. It's rare but I found a piece in a small curiosity shop a few days ago. The owner is keeping it for me. I made pictures and mailed them to Frank, just to be sure she doesn't have it already."
Mac smiled. She knew Trish. Indeed it would be the perfect Christmas present. In the mean time Harm went on.
"When I was a boy, I once went on a school trip to a botanical garden. I must been about 8 years old. I bought a glass for my mum. You know, with a picture of a flower and the name of the garden on it. She used it to store teaspoons. I even believe she still uses it. Not with her posh tea set but for daily use. And it's a complete mismatch to her china!" He chuckled.
Mac smiled, too. "It might be a mismatch but think of it: You cared enough to remember buying your mum a little something, you sacrificed spending money to buy it and you thought about what she would like, right?"
"Yes. That's true." Harm clearly remembered he had watched all the glasses carefully; trying to come up with the one his mother would like the most. "It must have taken me at least ten minutes to decide for the one with the daffodil. Mum always loved springtime. In fact, it took me so long the teacher had to call me and tell me to make up my mind."
"See, that's why it was the perfect gift. The effort you put in it. Like you now remembered what she collects, acted upon it when you saw a piece and had the thoughtfulness to ask Frank to check whether she has it already. Like last year you visited three flower shops because I like white poinsettias more than the red ones."
Harm blushed. He hadn't known she knew and made a note to himself to give Bud a chew out. The younger officer should have kept his mouth shut!
"But if you don't know what to give, run out of options? Or don't know her or him that well yet? What would Carol have liked?"
"As I said, everything showing her she is special to Robert. Like flowers, jewellery, something she likes to eat, a fashion check, or better, a shopping trip, a dinner of her choice, a day in the spa."
"Would a day in a spa not suggest she is not taking good care of herself?"
Mac shook her head. "No, a spa is something you pamper yourself with. Something extra. And then, it matters how you bring it. If you give someone a bar of soap you can mean 'go and wash better' but when it's a special brand of soap and you tell her how much the smell reminds you of her, then it's a different thing."
"Like you have a shampoo with a hint of coconut and citrus," Harm said without thinking "and use Elizabeth Arden's Mediterranean."
Now it was Mac turn to blush, grateful they were in a dark car. "Yes," she whispered.
Only minutes later they reached Mac's building and the conversation was over.

Month of December
JAG Office
Over the next month they grew closer every day.
There were lots of cases they were assigned to together and which required long hours of investigation, sometimes trips.
There were 'working' dinners and move nights.
There was decorating the Christmas trees, both hers and his.
There were touches. A brush of fingers against fingers when he handed her a cup of coffee, his hand on the small of her back. All casual, all innocent, but sometimes she sensed, she hoped there was more to it.
Not that you could say she didn't do the same. Finding ways to touch him, that is. Like straightening his insignias when they seemed a bit wonky or laying a hand on his shoulder when he showed her something in the paperwork.
Mac looked forward to the Christmas party at Bud and Harriet's. There might be mistletoe and she might be able to lure Harm under it. What could be more innocent than a kiss between friends under the mistletoe? She sighed. Except it would not be innocent and she sure wanted them to be more than friends. She knew she could give Harriet a hint but at the same time she knew it would only fuel the younger woman's meddling attempts. She just had to wait and see.
In the mean time Harm had his own preparations. Next to shopping for his parents and grandmother – they would come over on Boxing Day and stay a few days at the old farm with his grandma – he had to pick up something for Harriet since he was her secret Santa. And then there was Mac. Shopping for her took up the most of his time and effort.

Christmas Eve

Mac's home
11.15
No mistletoe. No kiss. No nothing. Mac bit her lower lip in disappointment when she entered her apartment. It had been a pleasant evening, though. Dinner with a roast and lots of trimmings, amiable chatting, nice presents. Singing carols till it was time to go to church. Harm's shoulder against her during service, his smile once in a while. Nothing had been wrong. And yet she had hoped for something more, something ….
She decided she didn't feel like doing something anymore tonight. She would make herself a nice cup of cocoa, go tot the bedroom, take the book she got that evening and read till she felt sleepy enough to sleep. Used to her surroundings she didn't bother to switch on a light. In the kitchen the street lantern provided enough light to make her cocoa and a few moments later she had changed into warm flannel pj's and was in bed flipping page after page.

Christmas Morning
Mac's home
8.15
Slowly Mac emerged from sleep. Wow, that book had been good. She had been reading way too long yesterday evening. Yawning she walked to the bathroom to shower. Then clad in a joggings she headed for the kitchen to make breakfast, flipping on the lights in the Christmas tree in passing by. She had the whole day in front of her. Harm wouldn't expect her before four o'clock that afternoon to have dinner with him. It was not before she returned, coffee and a plate with waffles with butter and syrup in hand that she noticed. There had been presents under the tree but just a few. Now there were at least four times more. Large ones, small ones and ones that looked like a wrapped envelopes. And all of them had her name on them!
She resisted the urge to run over and start unwrapping. In stead she sat down at a chair from which she could see the pile of gifts and savoured her breakfast, thus prolonging the anticipation. But then …
She couldn't remember she ever had so many presents. Not even as a kid. She extended her hand to the first package.

Almost 40 minutes later Mac sat on the couch surrounded by countless items. What the …?
Suddenly it dawned to her. Everything was there. Everything they had talked about during the trip back at Thanksgiving Eve. The flowers - her eyes wandered to the pot with paper white daffodils on the side table - the chocolates she loved, two packages of a special brand coffee, promises for a shopping trip and a dinner of her choice, a voucher for a day in the spa, together with Harriet. Every little wish she had expressed in the previous months. The books she wanted to read, the Elizabeth Arden perfume, a nice shower gel, a fluffy bathrobe, a ticket to a lecture about dinosaurs. Everything!
Everything that made a woman feel special and, yes, cherished. Loved?
All of a sudden she couldn't sit still anymore. She needed to see him. She knew they would have dinner together in the afternoon but that wasn't soon enough. She jumped to her feet and was heading for the door when she realized what she was wearing. No way was she going to him in ratty sweats. She rushed to the bedroom, snatched the cloths she had already selected to wear that afternoon, changed, grabbed her purse and key and within minutes she was in her car driving north.

Christmas morning
Harm's loft
10.40
She should have noticed by now, shouldn't she? So why hadn't she called? Didn't she like it? Did he overdo? Did he overstep lines? Did she feel he invaded her privacy by sneaking into her apartment? Was something wrong? Was she…? With an effort Harm forced himself not to run ahead. After all, it was only 10.40am. Maybe she was just sleeping in. And she was to come for dinner!
Too jittery to sit he rose. He'd better start preparations for their dinner. But he hadn't set two steps towards his kitchen area when there was a knock on the door. Harm changed directions and without looking through the peephole he yanked the door open. Mac!
For moments they just looked at each other. Then Mac took the first move and flung herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"I love you too," she whispered in his ear.
Some time later, when they sat on the couch, she asked "How … when did you do it?"
"Yesterday afternoon I was laying in wait just around the corner. I watched you leave and as soon as your taillights had disappeared around the corner I was on my way.
"Mac laughed. "Sneaky. But I loved it."
"And I love you," was Harm's glib answer. Mac didn't know whether to pinch or to kiss him but opted for the latter. When they resurfaced, Harm changed the subject.
"Tomorrow I'm going to Grams' farm. My parents will be there, too. Come with me, please?
"Would they agree," she asked a bit uncertain.
"They will love it," Harm reassured her with a kiss. "You know, when we visited then last summer…" he referred to an investigation that summer that had led them to Los Angeles, "mum told my she wouldn't mind having you for a daughter-in-law."
"She did?" Mac was baffled.
"She did," Harm laughed. "Ask her if you want."
Mac gave him a look that clearly mirrored her thoughts. "And your Grandmother," she went on with her objections. "It's an extra guest she didn't count on."
"She counts on you," Harm said calmly. "When I called her last week to confirm I was coming to the farm as well this weekend I told her I was hoping to bring you, too. She is very happy to have you."
Mac just hid her face against his chest. It meant so much to her that his family would welcome her.
"You know this is not a fling, do you?" Now it was Harm's turn to sound unsure. It made Mac laugh and push herself up so she could look into his eyes. "You better be serious," she told him in a stern voice. "I'm not letting you slip away. Not any time soon. Not ever! You are by far my best Christmas present ever."
Suddenly she stiffened. "Oh shit!"
Harm's jaw dropped. What could be wrong?
"Honey, what's wrong?"

"I forgot your presents. I was in such a hurry to see you I completely forgot your presents!" She looked disgusted with herself.
Harm laughed out loud.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. As you said, you are by far the best Christmas present ever."
They sat in silence for a while till Mac hopped from his lap and pulled him up, too.
"Presents are to unwrap, right?" she whispered seductively while she started to undo his buttons. Harm gulped.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I want you, Harm." She underlined her words with a firm kiss. Harm got a wolfish gleam in his eyes. Suddenly he swept her up, causing her to shriek.
"I agree, my love, I agree," he said, carrying her to his bedroom.

The end