Mac's apartment December 23rd
Harm studied her thoughtfully. They were watching a movie but he didn't have any idea what it was about. He was thinking about the mistake made by the jewelry store and the hope that the ring would be ready in the morning or his plan would fail completely. He was trying to figure out why it meant so much to him that he had the ring engraved and that he gave it to her on Christmas Eve. By doing it that day he'd restore his complicated relationship to Christmas Eve, and by giving her the ring engraved with the word, he knew that she would know the meaning of it all.
"You're staring."
"Huh?" he noticed that she wasn't watching the movie anymore.
"What's up with you tonight?" she wondered.
"Me?" he shrugged. "Nothing."
She didn't look convinced.
"This film is great," he motioned for the tv.
"Really? What's it about?" she wondered.
"Well…" he knew when he was busted. "Okay, so I admit that I find you way more interesting to watch than the film." He was pleased with the way he had handled that one.
She chuckled. "Smooth."
"I'm just being honest. That woman in the movie has nothing on you," he flashed her a cute smile as he ran her hair behind her ear.
"It's Drew Barrymore, and I thought you had a thing for blonds," she teased.
He laughed softly. "Nah, never had much luck with them, or anyone else for that matter. Except you. You are the only woman who's kept up with me for this long."
"Marines are trained to handle anything," she reached for the remote and shut the tv off. "Even sailors who throw around compliments because they don't want to say what is really on their mind."
He smirked. "There's really no way to throw you off is there?" he wondered.
"Not really," she moved over him. "I can pin you down and make you tell me."
"I like being under you," he moved his arms around her.
She offered a pout. "Please tell me what you were thinking about earlier."
"Mac," he cupped her face. "I can't tell you because that would ruin the surprise."
"I don't like surprises," she reminded him.
"This one," he leaned in and kissed her softly. "You will love."
She thought about it, then nodded. "Okay, fine. Let's go to bed."
"I'm always motivated to go to bed with you," he kissed her again.
December 24th
Mac put the scrambled eggs on the table. She had gotten up early to prepare them a nice breakfast before work. They were both pulling duty this Christmas. She didn't mind that. She still had plans to enjoy every single minute of Christmas with her man. Her man. The words she never thought she'd say about Harm.
"What's with the silly smile on your face?" he walked out of the bedroom buttoning his uniform. "Was my performance that great last night?"
"It was," she smiled cleverly. "I'm just enjoying the day."
He kissed her softly. "Merry Christmas, beautiful."
"Merry Christmas," she kissed him again. "I made breakfast."
"We better hurry up and eat," he sat down.
"We have time," she pointed out. "JAG is quiet, the boss is on vacation, I'm in charge of things…"
"I guess the officer in charge won't mind us being late," he smirked. "I do know ways to keep her pleased," he added in a dirty tone.
She shook her head with amusement.
"I'll be late anyway. I have something I need to do this morning," he filled his plate with scrambled eggs.
"Really?" she raised her eyebrows.
He shrugged. "You'll see."
"I will?" she was curious for real now.
"Soon enough," he smirked.
She nodded, deciding to let him have his secrets.
JAG Headquarters
"You're late."
Harm smiled as he stepped into the bullpen. "I had some personal business."
"Yeah?" Sturgis looked at him with curiosity.
"Follow me," Harm motioned for his office. He waited for Sturgis to follow him inside then he closed the door.
"What do you have up your sleeve now?" Sturgis wondered.
Harm smiled and took a jewelry box out of his coat pocket and opened it.
Sturgis jaw fell slightly. "You're asking Mac to marry you?"
"No, I'm asking the lady who cleans my teeth," Harm rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm asking Mac."
Sturgis nodded. "So, you're sure about this? This is it?"
"This is definitely it," Harm assured his friend.
"It's beautiful, Harm. I'm really happy for you," Sturgis slapped Harm's arm.
A knock on the door made Harm hurry up and put the box back into his coat pocket. The door opened. "Hi, Mac."
"Commanders," she looked curiously between them. "What?"
"Nothing, just conferring about the Manuel Court Martial. It's starting up after the New Year," Sturgis said.
"Yeah, it can't hurt to be prepared," Harm agreed.
Mac nodded. "Okay," she handed Harm a note. "Can you take a look at this? A young Petty Officer just walked in with his very pregnant wife. He didn't get his pay this month."
"It's probably not possible to get that figured out on Christmas Eve," Harm looked at the note. "Where is Petty Officer Crusoe?"
"In my office," she smiled sheepishly. "I'll work out of the Admiral's office until you figure this out."
"You have a lot of faith in me," Harm accused.
"I figured if anyone could pull this off on Christmas Eve, it had to be you," she motioned to leave. "Besides, I'm swamped so…"
"I'll take care of it," he promised.
Later
Mac walked up to Harm as he shook hands with the young Petty Officer and wished him and his wife a happy Christmas. He had been in and out of the office all day and she wondered what he'd been up to.
"Ready to go?" she wondered.
"I am, " he smirked.
"You worked that one out," she assumed.
"I did, eventually. I had to go down to the DFAS office myself. They originally wouldn't help until after the Holliday, but I pulled some strings and the Chief eventually decided that he had the time to check it out. If he'd only done that when the Petty Officer and his wife was there in the first place this thing would have solved itself," Harm motioned for his office.
Mac followed him. "You called his supervisor?"
"You bet I did, and he was in vacation mode so I threw Admiral Chegwidden's name out there and suddenly he was helpful as hell and ordered the Chief to fix it. It turned out that another Petty Officer Crusoe died last month and they stopped the payments to the wrong guy," Harm explained as he put on his coat. "Can you believe they are having a baby. They are babies themselves," he shook his head in amusement. "When I was twenty-two I was working on my car, studying hard at the Academy and... other things," he smiled cleverly.
"Really? Other things?" she was amused.
He chuckled.
"I think it's sweet," she smiled. "Some people meet and just know it's right."
He reached into his pocket to find his keys and his hand found the jewelry box. He nodded. "Yeah, and some people use a little more time, but it doesn't mean that it's not just as right."
She studied him. "That's very deep, coming from you."
He hesitated. "Mac, it's going great this thing with us."
"It is, she confirmed, still watching him with slight caution.
"Christmas hasn't been great for me, you know that. But this Christmas I feel like I'm right where I should be," he stepped closer to her. "This thing with us, I'm serious about that. And I think we should make some plans for the future."
"The future?" she questioned.
"Yeah, because I want to be with you," he reached for her hand. "You're amazing and beautiful and I love you."
She smiled. "I love you too, you know that. And I want to be with you too."
He smiled. "Good," he reached into his pocket and took out the box, opening it. "Marry me?"
Mac's jaw fell slightly. "Harm?"
"I know I'm not the easiest person, but you seem to have found a way to like that, and I promise you I will never hurt you or leave you behind," he took the ring out. "I got it engraved."
She took the ring and looked inside. "Eternity."
"Yeah, both because that's how long I want us to be together and because my biggest regret is that I didn't take a chance on us in Australia."
Her eyes found his.
"I won't make that mistake again," he promised.
She smiled as a tear escaped her eye. "I really want to marry you, so much."
He smiled and took the ring and slipped it on her finger. "I love you, Sarah."
"I love you too, Harm," she moved her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. "I can honestly say, that this is the best Christmas of my life."
He smiled. "Mine too."