Set in season 10

The characters aren't mine and all that...

A Change is gonna come

Chapter 1

Thursday morning

Mac's apartment

Harm knocked on Mac's door. Seconds later the door opened and Mac's face came into view.

"Hi, Harm."

"Good morning."

She stepped aside to let him enter the apartment, before closing the door. "Why aren't you at JAG?"

"I took the morning off. I wanted to check up on you." He walked further into the apartment, and put a bag of doughnuts down on the table. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. Still a little cramping, but that's normal. I should be as good as new in a day or two," she looked at him nervously. "Thanks for taking care of me last night. I really wasn't in any condition to go out, but I felt that I needed to be at the Admiral's retirement party. You took care of me, like always."

"It's what friends do," he offered a reassuring smile. "I have to admit that I didn't sleep very well last night. After I dropped you off I drove around for a while, thinking. I finally fell asleep around 0300, after making a decision."

"About what?" Mac asked carefully.

He hesitated. "Well, after what you told me last night there were so many thoughts rushing through my head. I felt sad, and I guess a little guilty."

Mac was confused. "Guilty?"

He nodded. "If we got it together years ago maybe this wouldn't have happened. I always thought there were time for us, in the future somewhere. I let you slip away so many times, and I'm not sure how to get you back."

"I'm right here," she smiled. "You never lost me."

"Were you really in love with Webb?" he wondered.

"I wanted to be," she shrugged. "He was in love with me, and it was easy to just play along. He let me know how he felt, and I thought it was nice to be wanted," her eyes met his. "But no, I wasn't really in love with him."

"You took his death pretty hard." Harm's eyes fell to the floor. "I didn't know how to..."

"I just couldn't stand the idea of losing someone again. People always die around me, or at least it always comes to a pretty bad ending. But Webb's death, if he's really dead, had nothing to do with me. I know that now. I just wish I could tell him that it's over in person," she walked slowly over to the couch and sat down. "I wish we didn't waste so much time, Harm."

He sat down beside her and reached for her hand. "I know it's a little late, but I'm here and I'm stepping up. I want you, and I want a family with you."

"You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that, and it feels good." She moved closer to him and removed her hand from his, she pulled him in for a hug. Then she released him and moved a little away from him.

Harm studied her face for a long time, before he smiled. "Let's get married."

"That would push us forward." She agreed.

He reached for her hand again. "I don't want to push you. We've both got a lot to deal with. I'm just suggesting that we deal with everything together."

"It would be nice to have you around more. I've missed us, our friendship. I love you." She smiled, and her eyes met his. "I'm in love with you."

He returned the smile. "I'm in love with you too."

They shared a nervous smile before harm pulled Mac close and kissed her sweetly. He released her and was glad when she sat closer to him and snuggled into his arms. He happily put his arms closely around her and rested his chin on top of her head.

Saturday morning

Harm picked up Mac around 0900 and took her to a park he used to go to for walks or to run. Since Mac's surgery on Wednesday, and their talk on Thursday, he hadn't been able to see her because he'd been in Norfolk from Thursday afternoon and until Friday night to investigate an accident on board one of the ships in dock there.

"How did your check up go?" Harm asked as they were walking along a trail. "I would have called you last night, but I got home so late I didn't want to wake you."

"It went well. I asked my Doctor about my chances of conceiving, and with the work she did on Wednesday I have about forty percent chance. It's not great, but its better than before she removed the scar tissue." Mac walked over to a bench and sat down.

"Are you okay?" Harm was worried that Mac wasn't feeling as well as she had promised before he agreed to take her for a walk.

"Fine," she smiled reassuringly. "I just think we should talk."

"Sure," he sat down beside her.

Mac hesitated, unsure of how to begin. "What are we doing?" She finally said.

Harm looked confused.

"On Thursday we sorta agreed to get married. I think," she continued, noticing that Harm hadn't understood what she was asking about.

"Yeah, we did," he smiled. "I meant what I said."

Mac eased up. "Good, because I did too."

Harm reached for her hand. "So, now what? We're in the same chain of command, same rank, but still..."

"We should talk to Sturgis, see what he thinks. I could transfer out..."

"Or I could." Harm interrupted.

"Either way, we'll figure it out," she looked into his eyes. "Right?"

"Absolutely," he agreed.

They were quiet for a moment, both of them thinking about what to say next.

Harm was the first to bring a new subject into the conversation. "When do you want to get married?"

"I don't know." Mac hadn't really thought about that.

"Okay then, maybe we'll have to think about that for a while?" he waited for her to nod in agreement before he continued. "Then there's the baby issue. How do we attack that?"

"I have a follow up with my Doctor in two weeks, I'll ask her about it then." Mac said.

"I can be there with you?" Harm suggested.

"Yeah, sure," she agreed.

"I have done some reading about it though," he admitted. "It could get expensive."

"If we need help, yeah it could," she hesitated. "I was hoping that we'd try the natural way though."

Harm felt himself blush. "Me too. I don't like to think about our baby being created in a lab. It's so impersonal."

"We might not have a choice." Mac warned.

"I know, and if that's what we have to do I'm all in," he felt himself blush even more. "Either way I should probably be tested, to see if I'm... You know..." he looked down. "Qualified."

Mac had to smile by the bothered way he was acting. "Probably."

"So, we'll talk to Sturgis on Monday?" Harm was still staring at the ground, waiting for the redness to leave his face.

"It's probably wise, yes." Mac stood, letting go of his hand. "Let's walk some more. I've been sitting still for days now, and I need some serious movement."

"As long as you don't overdo it." Harm said as he stood. "Want me to make you dinner tonight?"

"Sure, I'd love a home cooked meal," she reached for his hand as they started walking.

He finally let his eyes meet with hers again, and he smiled by the gesture and lifted her hand to kiss it. "I'll do some grocery shopping, and I'll come over to your place to cook."

That night

Mac's apartment

Mac was stretched out on the couch flipping through channels. Harm had made her dinner, and now he was cleaning her kitchen. A girl really could get used to being that spoiled.

"Coffee?"

Mac saw Harm approach the couch with two mugs. "You're spoiling me."

"Are you complaining?" he asked with laughter.

She chuckled. "Nope, not at all."

He put both mugs on the table, then he lifted her feet enough for him to sit down and put them in his lap. "When we're living together you can expect home cooked dinner all the time."

She hadn't really thought about living with him, but now that she did she found that she loved the idea of spending her free time with him. She'd always enjoyed his company. "I can't wait."

He offered a sweet smile as he reached for his mug. "Mattie will be back next weekend."

"Has she said anything about moving back with her dad?" Mac wondered.

Harm shook his head slowly. "Not yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before she's ready."

"You really did a good thing with her, Harm. I'm really proud of you." Mac complimented.

"Thanks Mac, but without your help I wouldn't have been able to," he put the mug down on the table and reached for her hand. "We're a good team."

"We always were," she agreed.

Harm tried unsuccessfully to hide a yawn. "I'm sorry. I got in late last night, and I was up early to finish my report."

"You could have slept in, and finished the report later in the day, or tomorrow." Mac pointed out.

"I wanted to get it done so that I could spend today and tomorrow with you," he smiled. "I can pick you up tomorrow morning too, and we can have a walk before breakfast."

"Are you sure you want to walk? You usually run." Mac didn't want him to change his routines for her.

"I'll run some other time. When you can join me." He yawned again. "I should probably get going. I don't want to fall asleep at the wheel," he prepared to stand, but was pushed back when Mac held him back.

"Why don't you just stay here? I'm sure you have a packed bag in your car, if I've thought you anything these past years it is to always be prepared," she smiled and kissed him sweetly. "I'm not up to any fun activities yet, but it'll be nice to have you here when I wake up."

He was surprised, but pleasantly so. "I'd like that," he relaxed into the couch again. "This new relationship is going to take some getting used to, isn't it? I mean, I didn't even think about the possibility of spending the night."

"Well, we're getting married, so I think sleeping in the same bed is okay," she teased.

He laughed softly. "Then I'll stay."

To Be Continued...