Dead End?

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything. If I did, things would have been much, much different!

Author's Notes: Thanks for all of your reviews! Special thanks to Airplain Harm for giving me a head start with some really great suggestions. I hope that everyone likes the way things turn out. Let me know how you like it.

Mac had long returned from her meeting with the General, and much to her satisfaction, everything went as smoothly as it possibly could have. She was cuddled up on the couch with Harm's t-shirt and sweats on again. As odd as it seemed, she needed to feel close to him even now when it appeared that she had lost him forever.

'How could I have been so stupid? I was so afraid of getting hurt that I let the only man I have ever loved slip through my fingers. He was right; I always try to protect myself. I never think about him until it is too late.'

Was it too late? She didn't know. What's done is done. She could only try to mend the damage that had been done.

She picked up the phone and dialed his number.

"It's Harm. You know what to do at the beep."

His machine.

The simple sound of his voice had sent her into tears.
Her voice reflected her tears in every word, "Harm? I don't blame you for not answering. I just….I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I wish that I could take it all back, but……but I can't, Harm. I'm so, so sorry. Please call me back……I love you."

She knew that he was just as torn about the situation as she was. Mac wanted to give him the space he needed, but as much as she thought she needed to be away from him, she needed to be just that much closer to him now. She had never been surer of that than now.

Around seven that night she fell asleep and found herself dreaming of him. His dark hair waved in the ocean breeze, those blue eyes entranced her, and his arms encompassed her. He made her feel safe, a feeling that she was not accustom to. Even as she dreamed, her body relaxed at the thought of him wrapping his arms around her. Oh, how she needed him. Ring…ring……ring…the phone startled her. She jumped from the couch and ran to her phone. It was him.

"Harm?"

"Hey, Mac."



"Harm…I'm sorry. I've never been sorrier. I just…."

He interrupted her, "Mac, will you come downstairs?"

She ran to the window and saw him sitting outside. Mac still couldn't read his tone.

"Yea I will be right there. Harm?"

"Yea?"

"I do love you."

She hung up before he could disappoint her. Mac ran down stairs and rushed through the door. There he was. She could tell that he had not gotten much sleep, and he had an exhausted expression on his face, more emotional than physical. His eyes lacked their normal luster. She slowly made her way to him—who was leaned against his car.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

"Harm, I don't know what to say. I don't know how to make you see how sorry I am. I never should have said any of those things. I wouldn't blame you if you hate me…"

"I don't hate you. Will you go somewhere with me?"

"What?"

"Get in the car, Mac."

"Where are we going? We need to talk about all of this."

"Please, come with me," he pleaded.

"Harm, look at me; I'm a mess. I can't go anywhere without cleaning up. We really should just talk first."

"Mac, do you trust me?"

She sighed and let him open the door to his SUV. Mac wasn't going to let him get off this easy. They would have that conversation, eventually. They rode in silence. She couldn't interpret him like normally. He was so solemn, but he didn't seem angry. Maybe there was hope. He pulled up to a Mediterranean style building in the middle of a neighborhood that she had never been in. He walked around and opened her door, and then he led her to the building. It was late, so there was no one in the building and the door was locked.

"Harm, there is no one here."

He held up a finger to silence her and took out a set of keys that she didn't recognize. He unlocked the door and tugged on her hand until she followed him through the building. They came to a set of 

French doors that led outside to the darkened courtyard. He stopped and opened the door for her to go out into backyard. She couldn't see anything, but she was doing her best to trust him. He guided her by the small of her back into the center of the yard.

Stopping her he said, "Mac wait here for just a second."

His touch lingered on her skin. She wanted him, needed him to forgive her. Living without that man was not an option. The sound of a surge of electricity frightened her, but she didn't dare move from that spot. As he came back to her, the lamp posts all around them were beginning to slowly lighten the night.

"Harm, what are you doing?"

He opened his hand and revealed a beautiful diamond ring.

"I'm fighting for you."

As the lights came into full glow, the roses that surrounded them were revealed. Mac melted into a puddle of tears, but this time the tears were different.

"Harm….."

He stopped her, "Mac, I would say that my life wouldn't be the same without you, but that's not true. My life is you. If you left it, there would be nothing. I made the mistake of letting you walk away without a fight once, but I can't do that again. We may fight and argue, but I would rather fight and argue with you than be with anyone else. Some people are worth forfeiting your pride or anything else standing in the way over. I want you to know that I love you more than anything. I need you in my life. Sarah, you are my best friend and the only woman I ever have or will love. I know that we can be happy. Just give me that chance. I want to wake up with you every, single morning and go to bed with you at night. I want to make love to you on rainy afternoons and to hold you in my arms when life gets tough for us. I want to raise a family with you and grow old with you. I just…I want to love you. Will you let me do that? Will you marry me?"

Just like that, all of the anger and regret had fallen away. They both put aside their pride and decided to believe in their love. She was speechless; he had taken her breath away. The words were swimming around in her head, but nothing was coming out. The tears cascaded down her face as he wiped them away. The touch of his fingers against her face snapped her back to reality.

"Mac, I know this might be too fast, but…"

She quickly stopped him from going any further, "Harm, I love you so much," she paused and took a deep breath, "Yes, yes, yes."

He picked her up and spun her around amidst the roses.

"Mac, I love you."



"I love you, too." She leaned into his touch.

That was the moment. Their moment. He took her in his arms and lowered his lips to hers. The gentleness of his touch made her surrender. She wrapped her arms around him and stood on her tip toes to deep the kiss. His hands cupped her face, and he snuggled his body as close to hers as possible. They were lost in the moment. All of the love over the course of nine years came pouring out. She could feel his love for her radiating through his every touch and kiss. Desperate for air, they reluctantly broke apart. He slipped the ring on her finger.

"It is so beautiful, where did you….." she trailed off.

"It was Gram's. She told me that when I found the love of my life, I could propose with the same ring that my grandfather did."

"That's where you were." She said as she made that realization.

He nodded.

"Thank you for forgiving me, and for loving me unconditionally."

"We have both made mistakes. As for loving you unconditionally, that seems to come naturally. "

"And for the roses."

"It is where it all began, in a rose garden—just not the same one."

"I just wish I would have been dressed differently," she laughed.

"You are beautiful," he reassured her.

He smiled at her, and she nearly went weak in the knees. She reached for him and placed a lingering, hungry kiss on his lips.

"Let's go home, Mac."

They walked hand in hand back to the car. As they pulled up in front of her building, she looked over at him and took his hand.

"Flyboy, our lives are changed forever."

"We needed a change."

"No, we needed each other."

Without another word being spoken, he leaned in and kissed her. They walked up to her apartment and barely were able to get the door open before the urge to touch each other became too much for them to handle. He picked her up just as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They were starving for each other like neither one of them would have previously admitted. He carried her to the 

doorway of her bedroom where he sat her down. She knew that he was asking permission, and she was more than willing to accept. She took his hand and led him to the bed. He tenderly lay her back and once again kissed her breathless. He could feel her wrestling for control and trying to rush what he wanted to be special for her, so he stopped and smiled at her. She knew exactly what he was doing, and she was a bit embarrassed.

"Sarah," the sound of her name rolled off of his tongue and teased her senselessly, "Let me make love to you."

She gave an encouraging smile that melted his heart. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her like his life depended on it. She let go of the control and let him take over. Slowly, he trailed his fingers down her body, unbuttoning one by one the barriers between him and her………….

Author's Note: I got a bit of inspiration for one line from the movie 'Wedding Date.'