Summary: Harm and Mac go on investigation to an island paradise…seemingly.

Disclaimer: JAG and its main characters belong to DPB and to CBS. I don't make any profit from writing any of these fics, but simply get to exercise my overactive imagination every now and then. Please don't sue me, as I'm just a student with no money!

Rating: M, a bit further in, for adult situations and very emotive content.

Author's warning: This story was begun in December of 2004. It was finished before Boxing Day of that year, a day that changed the lives of so many, in many different countries throughout the world. Some of the similar circumstances you will find in this story and other instances of natural disasters will be unnerving, to say the least. I know that they still catch me by surprise, even now. Needless to say, I delayed in posting this story because I believed that emotions were still much too raw to do so, my own included. The plan was to post further on in the year…but the events just kept coming. 2005 was a bad one for many, who have since faced rebuilding their lives. I have done my best to portray this story with a sense of compassion, humanity and in keeping with good taste. I hope I have managed to get across the important message behind this story adequately, as well as including some special interaction between our favourite shipper couple. Never-the-less, I must include a strong warning that some may find it difficult to deal with the images conjured up during this story, especially in the aftermath of the many natural disasters that occurred last year.

Category: H/M shipper.

Spoilers: The end of season 9, the events of 'Hail and Farewell.' Also, a little bit of 'Going After Webb.'

AN: I'm afraid that I have little idea about the geography of the islands collectively known as Vanuatu. The events of this story are therefore based mostly upon imagination. There is an island called Malekula, but I have little idea about the people, their traditions or the weather they experience. If anyone who reads this actually knows something about Vanuatu and it's people, I'd be very interested to hear about it! However, please accept this story in the adventurous spirit in which it was intended.

Oh yeah, and feedback is always very 1

Saturday, July 5th

2345 Local

Malekula Guest House,

Malekula, Vanuatu

Harm gave a sigh as he sank into his bed.

'Well,' he thought, "the whole week hasn't all been that bad.'

Sure, Mac was now even more awkward around him, which was going to cause difficulty, because it was just the two of them, away on investigation on a tiny island in the Coral Sea. Just how had things gone so suddenly wrong?

OOOO

Monday, June 31st.

1103 Local

Malekula Ferry Port,

Malekula, Vanuatu

The week had started off well enough; they had arrived on the island of Malekula in Vanuatu after a long journey to be greeted by sun, sand and sea and not too tough a week ahead of them. They were investigating a set of mishaps occurring at a small research station sponsored by the US military, out in the dense rainforest. However the rest of their time was spent in a small village, a couple of hours away. They had been welcomed warmly by the people, both those contracted in to work at the station and those local to the island. They had settled into their sparse but pleasant accommodation then spent the next few days investigating at the research station.

On the fourth evening they had sat down and written their preliminary report, which the research station would e-mail to JAG Headquarters, seeing as it was the only place with such technology. Even the few hotels on the island had no such luxury; they didn't have air-conditioning or ceiling fans, let alone e-mail! The report, outlining the chance nature of the mishaps and advising no further investigation, was sent off the very next morning and Harm and Mac then settled back to enjoy the rest of their time there.

OOOO

The next day was a public holiday, so all inhabitants launched into a flurry of preparation for a night of celebrations. Harm and Mac watched the decorations for a parade and a street party go up. Because there would be a large feast after the parade, by afternoon the air had filled with the incredible aroma of enticing, exotic foods. Children were running around excitedly, because all schools were out for the day. They all wore their best clothes, because it was customary to visit relatives and neighbours, especially the elderly ones, during the day before the festivities began.

"What a wonderful custom!" Mac exclaimed to Harm, as they saw children running in and out of houses, "If only the youth back home afforded their elders such respect."

"If only," Harm agreed, "Some do, but most don't."

After that, Harm and Mac met up with some of the workers from the station, who had all come through to watch the festive events. Sipping refreshing, non-alcoholic beverages (which Harm thought was a nice change from the norm, but could not blame, later on), they chatted in relaxation with some of the people they had met over the past few days.

"So are you going to be taking part in the parade, Ms. Tomašić?" Mac asked one woman who had provided them with a lot of help during the course of her investigation.

The young woman, probably in her late twenties, looked up in surprise from where she was fiddling with a small, hand-made grass skirt. She just laughed as she caught onto Mac's joke, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh, gosh, no!" she laughed, holding the garment up, "I doubt that this would go around one of my legs! No, this is for my daughter, for the dance performance that she and her school will be doing tonight, after the celebration dinner. All week she's insisted on wearing it to rehearsals, so the grass in it had been getting thinner and thinner. Yesterday, I knew that something would have to be done about it…and please, call me Janna."

Mac was surprised to hear that the woman had a child, not only was she young, but she also spent the majority of her time at the research station (At least over the time she and Harm had been there.)

"How old is your daughter, Janna?" Harm got pulled into the discussion because of the subject matter. The past few days had been a welcome distraction for him, since Mattie had moved back to her Mother's house in Blacksburg to live with her Father. He desperately missed her and never missed the chance to get into the whole 'parent-child' discussion again. Even just talking and comparing stories with other parents cheered him up a bit.

"She's six and getting smarter and smarter by the week!" Janna Tomašić smiled and Harm nodded in understanding, "I only get to see her each weekend, but she's just growing so fast. Sometimes I'm worried that I'm missing it all."

"That must be hard," Harm sympathised, "when she can't stay at the station with you."

He hadn't seen any children at the station over the week he and Mac had been there.

"The station is no place for a child to live," Janna shook her head, "and Mara has her schooling to concentrate on. But she can come to the station to visit every second weekend and I make the journey across the island to stay in the village with her every weekend between those, so it is not so bad. But she seems to be growing up in barely the blink of an eye. One day, she will no longer be my baby."

By now many other people had gotten into the conversation, so they all began swapping stories. Harm and Mac gradually tuned out, Mac because she felt decidedly out of place and Harm because he misinterpreted her unease as upset.

"Sorry for going on and on, back there," he told her later, when most of the group had dispersed and they were on their own again, "I should have thought about how it might upset you, having to listen to that all, especially in light of…everything with the endome…"

"Oh, it didn't upset me, really Harm," Mac assured him, as she shook her head, "I just felt a little out of place with the whole children-talk, when I'm childless, myself. I mean, I have little AJ, Jimmy and the twins as my God-children, but it's not really the same thing."

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Harm checked.

"Of course!" Mac exclaimed, "How could it not be? Look at where we are; it's a literal paradise, here. Life is so simple, so laid-back. Every person here is happy, from the youngest child to the oldest great, great-grandparent. Everyone is getting in on the celebrations!"

And indeed they were! A group of elderly men had started up the music, playing on traditional instruments and it seemed that the whole village was alive with festivities and good cheer.

"I wish everything was this simple back in DC," Harm commented.

Mac couldn't help but agree. Everything had been very difficult, lately. Much change had gone on at JAG Headquarters in DC; Admiral Chegwidden had retired, several members of staff, including Sturgis Tuner, had been moved onto other duty stations and to Harm and Mac Falls Church felt less like the 'family atmosphere' that they had taken for granted previously. Now, with so little going on with those around them, Harm and Mac were spending more and more time together. This might have been a good thing, if they were able and ready to address some of the issues between them, but they were both still as out-of-synch with each other as ever. Some things never changed!

"At last," Janna exclaimed as she came to sit back down at the table. She tossed a small wreath of weaved flowers and vines onto the table, obviously the crown to accompany the grass skirt that she had re-weaved for her daughter.

"I've been working for three weeks on this outfit," she told them, "I know plenty about geology and rock formations, but ask me about weaving, braiding and foliage and I'm absolutely lost!"

"Your daughter and her class are dancing?" Mac asked, looking at the pretty headband of beautiful, fresh flowers.

Janna nodded, "It's not exactly the national dance of Vanuatu, but it has special significance to the people here. You'll see it after dinner tonight, but if I had to describe it, I'd say it looked like a cross between Hawaiian and New Zealand traditional dancing. It has elements of the Hakka and the Hula."

"The Hakka and the Hula? That's quite a blend!" Harm smiled, "Is your daughter's school the one on the other side of the village from here?"

"No," Janna told him, "It's across the island from here. The school is quite a bit more rural than the one here, but I wanted her to fully embrace the culture here. She even stays with a local family. She can learn the basics of education and a lot about Vanuatu's culture, I can supplement that with what I feel she's missing out on, then, when she gets old enough, she can travel to a more developed school. For now, I just want her to enjoy being a child."

"It's a wonderful environment to grow up in," Mac commented and Harm nodded in agreement.

OOOO