So here's the final chapter. Thanks for all who have reviewed, you have no idea how much I appreciate hearing what you guys think!
Song is by Sir Paul McCartney
Enjoy!
20th June
Harm had been packed and ready to go for the last day and a half. He couldn't wait to dock in Norfolk and finally get to hold Mac in his arms the way he had been dreaming for the last 4 months. He could barely believe that the 4 months was finally up; four long months of emails, flirtation and promises. He just couldn't wait to see her. He was a little nervous as well though; terrified that she would take one look at him and decide that she didn't want to be with him. He was up on Vultures Row, looking down at the row of Tomcats standing on the deck. The coast was visible in the distance, a dark grey hue against the blue sky. His heart skipped a beat when he realised that Mac was on that dark mass of land, waiting for him, and that he would see her in a couple of hours.
"Taking a last look?" Skates' voice came from behind him. Harm turned slightly to look at her and smiled,
"It's funny." He replied, "I thought I'd be sadder. I've spent so much of my life wanting to fly. I get my second chance and I'm more than happy to give it up." Skates gave him a knowing look,
"And I'm sure that has nothing to do with a certain Marine Major who is, I imagine, waiting at Norfolk with bated breath for us to dock?!" she replied as she leant onto the railings next to him. Harm shot her an amused look,
"It might." He replied, with a grin.
I'm very sure
This never happened to me before
I met you and now I'm sure
This never happened before
At the same time, Mac was sitting in the backseat of Bud and Harriet's car, with little AJ on her right napping in his carseat. When they had heard that Harm was arriving in port, they had insisted on driving her in their people carrier, so that little AJ could welcome back his Uncle Harm. It felt a little like a trip to a family reunion, although with less dread about seeing the embarrassing relatives! Mac had been touched when the two of them had appeared in her office the day before and recounted their plan. In his last email, Harm had been worrying about everyone's reaction to him coming back to JAG. It was obvious he had nothing to worry about. If she was honest, she wouldn't have minded meeting him on her own so that they could have some long-awaited alone time; but that would just have to wait until they got back from Norfolk, and she knew Harm would be thrilled to see Bud, Harriet and little AJ.
She glanced over at her sleeping godson and then turned her gaze back to the passing scenery. She could barely sit still. They had been waiting for this moment for 4 months and she was more than a little bit nervous. What if they had built things up between them to be something they weren't? What if he had changed his mind? What if they ended up slipping back into their old routine as friends? Mac shook her head slightly, trying to clear the pessimistic thoughts from her head. This was Harm after all. She had fallen a little bit in love with him the very first time they had met, and the few kisses they had shared had made her weak at the knees. She knew he loved her, but was scared that she wasn't good enough for him; that he would see her and realise he was making a mistake.
Now I see
This is the way it's supposed to be
I met you and now I see
This is the way it should be
They arrived at Norfolk with plenty of time to spare. The Patrick Henry could just be seen navigating through the channel that led to the Norfolk Navy Yard. Mac felt her heart skip a beat. This was it.
Bud and Harriet, with little AJ in her arms, patiently followed her as she made her way through the crowds to join what seemed to be an entire gaggle of expectant wives and girlfriends, the majority of whom had babies in their arms or toddlers standing next to them.
"What time is it Mac?" Harriet asked
"11.13" Mac replied absently, her eyes nervously fixed on the hulking dark shape that was inching its way towards the dock. Harriet smiled knowingly at her friend. She was over the moon that they had finally admitted their feelings for each other, and she could tell Mac was nervous.
"How much leave does Harm have before he comes back to JAG?" she asked, shifting slightly as AJ started to wake up in her arms.
"2 weeks I think." Mac looked at her, "Do you want me to take him?" she nodded towards the now fidgeting child.
"Sure, thanks." Harriet replied as she handed her son over. "I'm sure he can't wait to see you." she added softly, so Bud couldn't hear her. Mac smiled at her gratefully.
From behind them, a marching band started to play and Mac's attention snapped straight back to the Patrick Henry, which was now mooring. Hundreds of sailors could be seen on the decks, waving and cheering.
This is the way it should be for lovers
They shouldn't go it alone
It's not so good when you're on your own
The new fathers disembarked first, racing down the gangway to find their wives and girlfriends and meet their children for the first time. Harm grinned as Tuna slapped him on the back, and joined the throng. Well this is it he thought to himself. He joined the queue of sailors with Skates and started scanning the crowd, trying to seek out Mac's dark brown hair.
"Do you see her?" Skates asked as they walked slowly down the gangplank. Harm shook his head, not quite trusting his voice, his eyes still scanning the crowd until he suddenly spotted her standing slightly to the side of the group of women and children who were now being joined by sailors. She was standing with a child in her arms, and he felt his heart skip a beat at the image it presented. He knew it was AJ, the blonde hair and the presence of Bud and Harriet a couple of feet behind her served to remind him of that, but the idea of Mac holding their child in her arms was something else. He knew, now more than ever, that he wanted that kind of future with her.
"She's over there." He said, finally finding his voice.
"Well go get her, sailor." Harm looked at her for a moment, then, much to her surprise, pulled her into a quick hug.
"I'll miss you, Liz" he said smiling at her. Skates laughed,
"I'll miss you too Hammer. Now go get the girl will you?!" Harm chuckled.
"Is John here yet?" he replied, knowing how much Skates was looking forward to seeing her big brother, who was meeting her instead of her husband who was serving in Iraq. Skates nodded, and gave him a little push.
"He's over there waiting patiently. Now go, will you! She's waiting for you!"
"I'm going, I'm going." Harm responded good-naturedly, "Look me up next time you come to Washington, ok?" Skates nodded,
"Just make sure I get an invite to the wedding!"
"See you later," he replied, rolling his eyes at her and then, nervously, started making his way towards Mac, Bud and Harriet.
So come to me
Now we can be what we wanna be
I love you and now I see
This is the way it should be
He stopped in front of her, a nervous smile lighting up his face. She looked so beautiful.
"Hi Mac." He said quietly, never taking his eyes of hers. They stared in silence at each other for a second, then both moved forward at once, falling into a clumsy embrace. Mac buried her head into his chest for a moment, before pulling back and looking up at him.
"Welcome back," she said, with a shy grin, before he leaned down and pressed his lips onto hers in a kiss that made both Bud and Harriet, who were watching the scene with soppy grins on their faces, blush like there was no tomorrow. AJ was watching the scene with the interest that one a toddler can show. He squirmed in his father's arms, and tried to slide to the ground. Bud lowered him gently to stand on his feet and kept hold of his hand. AJ looked up at his father and then to the still kissing couple. He pulled away from his father and toddled, in his unsteady way, up to them and grabbed hold of Harm's trousers to stop himself from falling over. (AN: I am putting AJ to be about 14 months here)
The sudden tugging motion caused Harm to pull back from the kiss, blushing hotly.
"I should go away more often if that's the welcome I'm going to get!" he murmured softly, causing Mac to blush even more than she was before. He then looked down at the little boy who was staring up at him with wide blue eyes. He bent down quickly and pulled the little boy up into his arms,
"My god, AJ, you are quite the little heffalump" he groaned, giving the little boy a kiss on the cheek and then glanced behind Mac to Bud and Harriet. He moved over to them quickly, pulling Harriet into a half hug and shaking Bud's hand.
"Bud, Harriet, it's so good to see you both." He said with an easy smile. "I didn't expect to see you!"
"Welcome back, sir! I mean, Harm." Bud replied, "It'll be good to have you back at JAG." Harriet nodded her agreement.
"Thanks." Harm replied, turning to reach for Mac pulling her to his side and wrapping his arm around her, "it's good to be back." Mac couldn't help but blush again at this new side of Harm.
"Shall we go?" Harriet asked,
"Sure." Harm turned and glanced one more time in the direction of the Patrick Henry's flight deck, then turned back to the group. "Let's go."
They started to thread their way through the slowly dispersing crowds.
"Do you want me to take AJ, Commander?" Bud asked, glancing at the little boy who seemed to be contentedly pulling at the gold wings on Harm's uniform. Harm glanced at Mac, longing to hold and kiss her again, and replied
"Sure, thanks Bud." As he relinquished his hold on the little boy, passing him over to his father. As Bud and Harriet moved off, Harm paused, causing Mac to look up at him.
"I've missed you so much." He said softly, flashing his flyboy grin at her, as he leant down for another kiss. When they pulled back, both looking a little flustered,
"I've missed you too." Mac replied, "so much."
This is the way it should be
This is the way it should be for lovers
They shouldn't go it alone
It's not so good when you're on your own
"Where do you want us to drop you both?" Harriet twisted round to look at the couple who were curled up together on the back seat, Mac with her head on Harm's shoulder. He looked down at her, the question in his eyes,
"Do you want to go to the loft? Make sure it's still standing after 6 months?!" Mac said with a grin.
"You mean you didn't water my plants?!" Harm replied, teasingly.
"I went and got some food in and tidied your place up a bit, so we can go there if you want." She replied, rolling her eyes at him.
"I want to go wherever you go." Harm replied softly, grinning at the look of awe on her face.
"In which case, do you mind if we go to mine?" she replied, thinking of the newly purchased lingerie set sitting in her wardrobe, along with the general comfort of her flat, in comparison to the slightly incomplete, bachelor pad feel of his loft.
"That's fine, honey." Harm said, the endearment slipping out before he could stop it. To his delight, Mac blushed and lowered her eyes shyly and he gently pressed a kiss onto her soft hair.
"Georgetown it is then." Harriet said, unable to stop the huge grin from appearing on her face at the sight of the pair of them together; they were just too adorable.
I'm very sure
This never happened to me before
I met you and now I'm sure
This never happened before
This never happened before
After Bud and Harriet had dropped them off, they stood in Mac's apartment in silence for a moment, both suddenly nervous at being left alone together.
"Can I get you a drink?" she asked, saying anything to break the silence that had been growing exponentially between them. The corners of Harm's mouth twitched in amusement,
"No." He said softly, taking a small step towards her. Mac licked her lips nervously,
"Anything to eat?" He shook his head.
"No." He took another step.
"Do you want a shower?" she was rewarded with a full-blown flyboy grin.
"No." he stopped in front of her and reached out to tilt her chin upwards so he could see her face. Leaning down, he gently kissed her, pulling her into his strong embrace and running one hand up her side to tangle in her hair. As the kiss grew more passionate, they moved towards Mac's bedroom as if connected by the same thought, collapsing on her bed, pulling at each other's clothes.
This never happened before
This never happened before
A short while later, Harm was woken by the sound of thunder and rain against the window panes. He shifted slightly, careful not to wake Mac, who was curled up, with her head on his chest, her arm flung carelessly across his torso. He couldn't ever remember being this comfortable, or this happy. It was then that it occurred to him; he was finally home.
This never happened before
This never happened before
This never happened before
So that's the end! Hands up for more!! (or even, press the blue button and let me know if you want more! As I have a couple more chapter ideas...although this is where I originally planned to finish)
Thanks for sticking with me through this, all your reviews have been great, thank you for taking the time both to read and review!