You volunteer….?

Set shortly after Capital Crimes

Friday, 19:00 Zulu

Balancing three shoe boxes, two bags and her briefcase, Sarah MacKenzie entered her apartment and kicked the door closed behind her. With a sigh she managed to put the things on the table just before they would drop on the floor. Then she headed to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.

When she returned, still in uniform, she sat down on the couch, hot cup of tea in her hands. God, hadn't it been a lousy day….? With a snort she looked at the result of the little shopping spree she had thrown herself into after work. Well, at least it left her with some comfortable shoes…

And to be honest, the day had not been as lousy as she kept telling herself. Two of the cases she was prosecuting in had ended in a plea-bargain, the one she had been in court for that morning she won. On top of that, the admiral had called her to his office to tell her the Pentagon was very pleased about the way she had handled a high profile and top secret investigation and informed her that a letter of recommendation was to be added to her file. Surely her career was taking a turn for the best.

Two down, one to go. That left her with … She snorted again. Stop fooling yourself, MacKenzie. It wasn't a lousy day, or week, at all. It was just …

Flashback

Coming out of the courtroom she saw him or better said, them. Clearly he was explaining something to her, she standing so close her sleeve brushed his. He smiled at her, apparently unaware of the affects of that smile. She, that would be the new intern, just freshly from law school. Linda-Sue, only 23 years of age, all legs and curly blond hair and smiles. Tiner and the other young officers ran for her, reading every desire of her lips. Even Bud, although happily married, wasn't insensitive to her charms. But, of course, she had only eyes for him, Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. By far the most attractive man in the office.

End of flashback

She sighed. If at that moment she could have come up with an excuse, however poorly it might have been, she would have used it to call Harm away from her. Her shopping spree hadn't been a celebration; it had been out of frustration and jealousy. Harm was hers, or so she wished. God, she wished so much. It seemed that after confessing to Sturgis that she was in love with Harm, it had been more difficult every day to keep her feelings in control. She almost had acted like a jealous bitch that morning, making an ass out of herself in front of the whole office and damaging her career in the process. Angrily she wiped a stray tear away. Pathetic she was, sitting alone in her apartment, indulging herself in buying things she didn't really needed nor wanted.

She rose to her feet. Putting her purchases away, taking a shower and changing in something more comfortable and then ordering something to eat, that would be the program for the next hour. No more self-pity, action.

She headed for the table to pick up the boxes when there was a knock on the door. She raised her eye brows, no expecting anyone. Before she opened the door, she took a look though the peephole, to discover an all too familiar figure standing in the hallway. Harm!

When she opened the door, he gave her his usual smile.

"I come bearing food," he proudly proclaimed, showing her a bag with Chinese takeouts and walking past her into her apartment. "I thought you earned a little celebration, considering what you achieved today."

For a moment she didn't know whether she should be annoyed by him striding into her place as if he belonged or just be happy having him there. She decided on the latter, after all, wasn't that what she had wished for during the day, having him all to herself. Harm, in the mean time, had headed for the kitchen to get some plates. As he returned his gaze fell on the table with the bags and boxes. He chuckled. A bit embarrassed Mac went to pick them up and bring them to her bedroom.

"Seems you did a little celebrating already," he teased. "Let's see, that's at least three pairs of comfortable shoes. Next to the boost your career got today, that leaves you with …"

Suddenly Mac she couldn't take it anymore.

"I know," she snapped at him. "A good career, lots of comfortable shoes, all I need now is the good man! You volunteer…?"

When she realized what she had said, Mac froze and wished she could extract her foot from her mouth. She looked down on her hands, not daring to look at him. He remained silent and after what seemed minutes she finally looked up to meet his eyes. What she saw caused her to drop the boxes, scattering the contents on the floor. Not that she noticed or cared. The look on Harm's face was as intense as she only experienced once, on the Admiral's porch, the night of her engagement party. And his head was slowly moving up and down, nodding yes.

Slowly she walked over to him, stopping right in front of him. Tentatively Mac raised her right hand and placed it against Harm's cheek, to feel the movement as well as seeing it.

"Yes?" she whispered, almost inaudible.

"Yes," he answered, leaning into her hand.

"Why?"

He swallowed, started with a harsh "because…," then had to stop and wet his lips. His second attempt was more successful, "because I love you."

Mac looked at him as if she couldn't believe him.

"You love me?"

He nodded again, "Yes, I do."

She slowly released his face, let her arms slip around his waist and laid her head against his chest. Immediately she was enveloped in his strong arms and hold while he buried his face in her hair.

They stayed like that for several minutes, until Mac raised her head again, her eyes beaming.

"I love you too."

They shared their first real kiss. It was warm, tender, loving, filled with promises. Passion could wait.

After a while Mac settled her face into the curve of his neck again, sighing with contentment. Harm chuckled. "Why don't you change in something more comfortable, when I reheat the food? See you on the couch in five?"

She nodded, then went to her bedroom, taking the boxes and bags with her. While picking up a maroon velour jogging suit she carelessly dropped them on the floor of her closet. After all, who needed shoes when the good man was in the room next door, waiting for you?

The end