Title : The Jumper
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Rating : T
Summary : Just a bit of fluff inspired by a jumper! Set in the aftermath of season 10.
London, England
They had been married a year and a day, and it was now Christmas morning, and Mac couldn't wait any longer.
"Harm?"
Nothing.
"Harm…" A whisper of a sound as she brushed her lips over his right ear.
Still nothing.
"Harm!"
"Uh?"
Mac smiled at the unintelligible response from her usually articulate husband.
"Are you awake?" she asked softly, and Harm opened the one eye that wasn't buried in the pillow.
"I am now," he responded, still groggy but waking up fast.
"Merry Christmas, Harm…"
"What? Oh…right…um…Happy Christmas, sweetheart…" Harm managed almost a whole sentence and raised his mouth for a kiss, which Mac laughingly bestowed.
There was something else though, Harm realized, and began to push himself into a sitting position against the pillows. The sheet dropped to his waist and Mac's train of thought was temporarily derailed at the sight of Harm's well-toned body.
"Mac?" Harm's amusement broke through the haze and Mac raised her eyes to his.
"Huh?" she managed, and then grinned as she realized she'd been caught out. Leaning forward, Harm returned the gentle kiss Mac had given earlier and then settled back against the pillows to take stock of what his wife was wearing – or rather what was 'wearing' her!
The cream colored jumper bore two words – 'Marine' in green thread going down the right side of the material, and 'Navy' in dark blue thread going across the front of the material, with the common letter 'a' in gold thread, tying the two words together. Aside from the lettering, which Harm found a touching gesture, the garment was obviously much too large for Mac's figure. If he had to be honest, he thought it was too large for him also, but why else would she buy an oversized jumper?
"Do you like it?" Mac asked, hopping off the bed and doing a mock twirl and bow. Harm scrambled to come up with a suitable reply, and Mac raised her head to pin him with a glare.
"Um…it's…different," Harm offered, wondering what was actually going on; considering neither of them generally 'dressed' for bed… Harm's mind took him on an all too brief trip down memory lane at the few times Mac had dressed for bed, just so he would have the pleasure of 'undressing' her. He was brought back to earth by the sound of a throat clearing, and his wife looking at him. With her right and on her right hip, and her left hand thrown up in the air, Mac struck a model's pose and couldn't hide the amusement shining in her eyes. The jumper still looked incongruous on Mac's slim, toned figure.
And Harm was still at a loss as to why she was wearing it. He had to ask…
"Um, Mac…is that my Christmas present?"
Mac shook her head, blowing him a kiss.
"It's the wrapping," came the cryptic answer.
Wrapping? As in a 'gift' inside the wrapping? But what sort of gift would require an oversized…
"Omigod!" Harm shot out of the bed at the same time as Mac shoved the nearest pillow under the jumper, turning side to side to see what her figure would look like. When Harm grabbed her from behind, pillow and all, she shrieked in laughter. When he swung her up in his arms, pillow and all, she gave him a saucy wink. But when he reverently laid her on the bed, pillow and all, she looked up at him with mute adoration.
"A baby," Harm made the question sound more like a statement, and Mac could only nod at his expression of tenderness, and amazement.
They had agreed to have some time to themselves first before attempting to start a family, and while they were mentally prepared for the onslaught of doctors and tests and possible surrogacy or adoption, and they were physically prepared for the processes of IVF treatment and alternatives, neither had considered the need for protection necessary in the meantime.
"How…?" Harm began, and then found he had to clear his throat as the tears threatened to choke him. Mac gave him a gentle smile, conscious of his emotions but in better control of hers as she'd known a little longer than he had. At the time of discovery she, too, had been very emotional.
"Well, Sailor…" Mac began, her voice husky, but Harm leaned in and sealed his lips to hers in a brief, hard kiss. As he pulled away his eyes sought Mac's, and her voice came out a whisper. "Ten weeks."
"The vacation in La Jolla," Harm responded and Mac nodded, knowing intuitively that Harm was also remembering the many occasions they had made love during that time. "Wow…"
Mac raised a hand to cup Harm's unshaven cheek and he nuzzled against her palm. With one hand he withdrew the pillow from beneath the jumper and placed his palm against Mac's still-flat abdomen. Mac placed a hand over his, and squeezed his fingers.
"I only just found out, Harm. I was due on, and when I didn't start I bought a test kit."
Mac watched as Harm moved his hands to lift the hem of the jumper, and as her abdomen came into view he leaned down to place a kiss where their hands had been seconds before. Mac held her breath at the intimacy of the gesture, and only remembered to breathe again as Harm's fingers pulled once again at the hem of the jumper, now raising it to just below her breasts.
"Harm?" Mac questioned with a hitch in her voice.
"I'm unwrapping my gift," he explained, continuing on his self-appointed task. When he urged Mac up, so as to pull the jumper over her head, she obeyed without question and then as she lay back against the pillows she watched as he carefully folded the jumper before laying it on a nearby chair. When he turned back to find Mac wearing nothing but a puzzled look he grinned and moved up to cover her body with his. "I'm just being careful; we're going to be using the wrapping for a while to come, right?"
Mac laughed at the silliness of the action. When she had bought the jumper it was the size that attracted her at first; thoughts of wearing it while she would be heavily pregnant was the sole factor behind its purchase. The idea of the logo was easy; green for her, blue for him. Hope that wearing it would happen sooner rather than later was something that she had only just dared to believe in. The knowledge that Harm understood her reasons for buying the jumper was priceless, and Mac hugged the thought to herself before sharing it with the man himself.
"What?" asked Harm, dropping a gentle kiss on Mac's nose as he then nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, knowing that this drove her crazy…
Instead of answering in words Mac turned her head to find Harm's lips, and conversation became unnecessary as emotion took over…
Harm briefly thought of making the logo a traditional part of the family wardrobe but then his mind was taken elsewhere by Mac's attention to his body…
And the jumper lay folded on the chair, forgotten…but not for long.
THE END