Hi, everyone! I realize it's May and not December. But my muse apparently went a little crazy and just couldn't let go of this Christmas story. So if you don't mind reading Harm and Mac Christmas fluff in May, I hope you enjoy the story. Thanks for reading!

"Good morning, ma'am."

That wasn't exactly how Sarah MacKenzie would have described it. It was a chilly, gray December morning in Falls Church, and Mac could have sworn she saw a few snow flurries spitting from the sky on her commute into JAG. But Harriet seemed undeterred by the weather as she approached Mac's desk with a bright smile and a sparkly garland of red and green tinsel.

"Morning, Harriet," Mac greeted.

"I hope you don't mind if I hang some tinsel over your door, ma'am," Harriet said. "We're just trying to get everybody into the Christmas spirit here at JAG. The admiral has already given us permission to decorate."

Mac sighed. She didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings, but she wasn't really in the Christmas mood this year. It had never been one of her favorite holidays, but this year she was finding it harder than usual to get caught up in the excitement.

"Ma'am? If you'd rather not—"

Mac forced a smile. She didn't want her own feelings about Christmas to detract from Harriet's happiness. "No, Harriet, it's fine. Go ahead."

Harriet's face lit up. She left the room and quickly returned with a step stool so that she could string the tinsel around Mac's doorframe.

"So Harriet got to you, too."

A little while later, Mac was interrupted again as Harm stopped by her office, ducking under a loop of tinsel.

"I told her she could hang it over the door," Mac explained.

"At least your office was spared the light-up snowmen."

Mac's lips curved into a small smile. "I keep telling myself that she's just trying to spread some Christmas cheer."

"But you're not into Christmas cheer." The way he said it was more of a statement than a question.

Mac shrugged.

Harm crossed his arms over his chest and studied her carefully. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Mac said defensively. Sometimes she hated the way Harm could read into her moods, and he had been doing a really good job of it lately. She didn't know whether to be glad or annoyed that she had such a good friend.

Is that what he is? Just a friend? Sometimes she wasn't sure. They worked together all the time, in the courtroom and out on investigations. They teased each other and looked out for each other, but sometimes Mac felt like there was an electric undercurrent running between them that she didn't quite understand.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "Things have been a little crazy lately, and this has just never been my holiday. You know, Christmas at my house always meant a bigger pay day. And a bigger pay day just meant more alcohol."

"Yeah, well, Christmas at my house was never the happiest day of the year either."

Mac saw the sadness flash through his eyes, and she knew he was thinking of that fateful Christmas Eve back in 1969.

"Harm." Her voice softened with understanding, and she wondered if he even realized he had such a calming effect on her.

"A lot of kids stayed up waiting for Santa that night," he said quietly. "And I stayed up waiting for my dad. I guess I would have had better luck with Santa."

"Commander Rabb? Colonel MacKenzie?"

They both turned to see Petty Officer Tiner standing at the door behind them. "The admiral would like to see you."