18:25 EST

Hilton Garden Inn

Washington, DC

December 24th

Mac looked over and saw Harm dancing with Lt. Linares and she sighed softly, returning her attention to Keeter.

Keeter noticed and tilted his head in Harm's direction. "I don't know what you see in that long drink of charged water but, honestly, after you get to know him he's almost endurable. How long ago did things end between you two?"

Mac smiled slightly and shook her head. "It's not like that Jack. Harm and I are partners and friends; nothing more."

"Sarah, I spent two weeks in the desert pretending to be your brother and listening to you talk endlessly about Harm. Do you know what the leader of the Bedouins said to me when I told him that Harm was your betrothed?"

Mac winced slightly at the memory and then raised an eyebrow. "No; what did he say?"

"He said that he saw you two say goodbye to one another and he could tell that you were very much in love with one another," Keeter told her. "A complete stranger could see it; why can't the two of you?"

Mac sighed and shook her head. "Jack do you know how complicated office romances can be? We're in the same chain of command for crying out loud. If we got involved it could be disastrous. If we got involved and things didn't work out it could be really awkward and could cause all sorts of problems in the office. Harm and I argue like crazy on a good day and we're not romantically involved. Can you imagine what it would be like if we were involved and then broke up?"

"Can you imagine what would happen if you two got together and things worked out amazingly? What if the two of you ended up married with a dozen kids and lived happily ever after?" Keeter asked her with a pointed look.

Mac smiled ruefully. "Why are you so interested in me and Harm anyway? A lot of guys in your position would be trying to seduce me into bed, yet here you are asking why Harm and I aren't together. What kind of man are you anyway, Jack Keeter?"

"Well, I'm, uh, more the 'I-don't-mind-pushing-my-best-friend-into-but-I'm-scared-stiff-when-I-get-anywhere-close-to-it-myself' kind." Jack replied nervously.

Mac laughed outright at this and shook her head. "I should have known. Don't worry about me and Harm; you can't force what isn't there."

"What isn't there at all or what you think isn't there on his end?" Jack asked.

Mac sighed, shaking her head. "Harm doesn't think of me in that way so it doesn't really matter how I feel, does it?" She smiled ruefully at him. "I appreciate your concern, though."

"Hey, that's what big brothers are for, right?" Jack asked, putting his arm around her waist as the music ended and they headed back to their table.

"Is that how you think of me; as your little sister?" Mac asked softly.

Jack paused and looked her up and down before looking right into her eyes. "I do not think of you as a sister Sarah," he told her truthfully. "But my best friend is in love with you and I'm not the kind of guy that would move in on his best friend's girl, even if he is too stubborn to admit it even to himself… yet."

Mac's eyes were wide and she was blushing furiously as Jack again put his arm around her and continued to lead her towards their table.

Harm had spent most of the time he was dancing with Alannah trying to surreptitiously watch Mac and Keeter. When the music ended, he tilted his head towards the table where their friends were seated. "Shall we head back?"

Alannah smiled and nodded. Harmon Rabb was gorgeous and a perfect gentleman, but she could tell that his mind was on the stunning brunette that was seated on the other side of him at the table by the way he kept looking at her and the man she was dancing with. "Of course," she said. "Thank you so much for the dance."

"You're welcome," Harm replied, giving her a small smile. He saw the exchange between Mac and Keeter as they were walking back to the table and frowned, wondering what he'd said to make her blush like that.

Alannah took her seat at the table and began talking to Harriet, noticing that Harm was now asking Major Mackenzie to dance. The Major's smile was bright as she stood and took his arm, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. She watched as they practically melded together when the music started and realized finally why he had been so jealous of the other man: they were in love with each other.

19:37 EST

Hilton Garden Inn

Washington, DC

December 24th

Bud went up to Harm and Mac as their dance ended and gave them a slightly panicked look as he called out to them. "Sir, ma'am, I need your help."

"What's wrong Bud? Is Harriet okay?" Mac asked in concern, looking towards the table and not seeing Harriet.

"Harriet's fine ma'am, but I put her present in a utility closet when I first got here and now I can't find it," he said. "If I don't have a present for her when she gives me mine, I'm in serious trouble."

"You only bought your wife one gift?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I got her other things, but this one was the expensive one," Bud told them. "The only really personal one," he said with a slight grimace. "If all she gets from me are flannel pajamas and maternity clothes, I'm a dead man sir."

Harm and Mac glanced at one another in amusement before turning back to Bud with sympathetic smiles.

"Take us to this closet and we'll help you look," Harm said.

Bud led them to a side door and then to a large walk-in utility closet. "I put it in there," he told them. "It's a small box wrapped in gold paper with silver ribbon."

"How small of a box are we talking here Bud?" Mac asked.

"I got her a necklace and a pair of diamond earrings ma'am," he told her. "It's maybe a two by four inch rectangle shaped box."

Mac looked in the utility closet and saw how much stuff was in there and she looked at Bud incredulously. "And you have no idea where in there you put it?"

Bud shook his head sheepishly. "I was in a hurry because I didn't want Harriet to catch me," he explained. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"Well, let's get started then," Harm said, stepping in and moving to the very back of the closet.

Mac followed him and moved to stand near him, checking the shelves to her left.

Bud followed them in and pretended to be checking the shelves near the front on the right. A few minutes into the 'search' and his cell phone rang. "Hello? Oh, hi honey," he said, stepping out of the closet. "No, I'm with the Commander and the Colonel; we're, uh, talking about a case… I know sweetie, but it's really important and~ All right; I'll be right there. I love you, too."

Bud looked apologetically at Harm and Mac. "I need to go back out there for a minute; Harriet apparently wants me to talk to the people in charge about something and she wants me to do it right now. Do you mind looking until I come back?"

Mac glanced at Harm in amusement and then looked at the younger man. "Not at all Bud; go take care of whatever it is and if we find it we'll meet you out there."

"Thank you so much ma'am, sir," he said in obvious relief. "I really appreciate it and I'll do whatever~"

"Bud, go!" Mac laughed.

Bud nodded and disappeared.

"I sometimes wonder how someone so smart can get himself into the fixes he manages to find himself in," Harm said, grinning at her.

Mac smiled widely and shrugged, turning her attention back to the shelves she had been searching.

A minute later, the door to the closet closed suddenly and Mac looked alarmingly at Harm.

"I wonder what caused that?" she asked as she moved to open the door again, only to find it was locked from the outside. "Oh no… no, no, no!" she exclaimed as she tried several times to force it open.

Harm made his way to her and asked her to let him try, with no luck. He banged on the door and yelled loudly, "Hello? Is anyone out there? Hello?" He stopped to listen, only to find silence answering him. "Great," he muttered.

Mac sighed. "Well, at least we know Bud is going to be back soon," she said. "Let's keep looking for the gift until he comes back," she suggested. "It'll keep us from thinking about the fact that we're locked in."

Harm nodded in agreement and they continued their search.

Outside, Bud, Harriet and Keeter looked at one another with broad grins.

"How long should we leave them in there?" Bud asked, slightly worried.

"Maybe an hour," Keeter suggested.

"An hour?" Harriet asked, shaking her head. "Mm-mm, I got a flash for you."

"What?" Keeter asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She's a real slow mover," Harriet told him, grimacing.
"Honey, I got a flash right back for ya: she's in there with the champ," Keeter told her, shaking his head. "Maybe a couple of hours?"

"They'll kill me," Bud said worriedly. "Especially when they find out the present they're looking for isn't even in there!" he said, pulling the box out of his breast pocket and showing Keeter.

"If it works out, they'll forgive you~ us," Keeter grinned. "Don't worry; I have an idea about that, if you'll trust me to borrow that gift for a few minutes when I come to let them out."

"We'll come let them out when the party wraps up," Harriet said decisively and they all headed back to the banquet room, Bud and Harriet listening to Keeter's plan as they did.