Burnett House, La Jolla

Harm leaned on the railing and looked out over the ocean. His parent's house had an amazing view. They lived about ten minutes away, and they saw each other almost daily. Trish was thrilled when Harm finally settled down.

"Frank, Sarah, and the kids went for a walk on the beach. Betty has lunch ready in twenty minutes. We could walk and catch up with them," Trish suggested.

"Yeah," Harm had already spotted them from his place upon the terrace. "That sounds nice."

"Sarah looks great. Healthy," Trish studied her son.

"Did she say something?" Harm wondered.

"She didn't have to. I see the way you're looking at her, son," Trish smiled warmly. "You're worried."

"She works a lot," he hesitated. "I worry that she's overdoing it. And Logan is pretty active."

"You know, Harm, women have been carrying children for centuries, under far worse conditions than we find ourselves in," Trish put her arm through his. "It's normal to worry, but women are built for this."

"She has this condition…"

"Endometriosis, I know," Trish let Harm lead her through the house and for the front door. "But she's healthy. The doctors aren't worried. Sarah knows her limits. You married a smart woman, son."

"I know I did," Harm smiled. "You think I should chill?"

Trish chuckled. "You know, your father, he was a worrier. He was picturing all kinds of scenarios. He had dreams at night. In one of them, you were born without a head."

Harm chuckled.

"You are a good husband," Trish patted his arm with her free hand.

"I try," he smiled. "Mac is so calm. Maybe I'm just afraid that something will go wrong. We won't get any more chances."

"Believe me, Sarah is afraid too, so she needs your support and love," Trish reminded him.

That night

Harm had some errands to run so Mac had stayed behind at Trish and Frank's house to spend time with the kids. They had agreed to meet back at the house around 1800.

"There you are," Mac met her husband as she walked down the stairs after changing into a dress.

"You look beautiful," he kissed her softly. "I'm sorry that I'm late but there were some last-minute things I needed to fix."

"What are we doing?" she wondered curiously.

He smiled. "Give me a minute to dress up a little and we can get going."

"So we're going out?" she assumed. "To where?"

"Not far," he chuckled when she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "I promise you'll love it."

Later

"What is this?" Mac turned to him.

They had walked down to the beach. There was a gazebo, a small table nicely decorated, two chairs and candles. A waiter was standing ready.

"Wow!" Mac couldn't believe he had done all this.

"Do you like this?" Harm wondered.

"When did you become so romantic?" she wondered and kissed him softly. "I love it."

"I'm glad," he nodded to the waiter and guided her to the table. "I wanted to do something memorable."

"It's amazing," she reached across the table when he'd sat down and squeezed his hand. "You are amazing."

"I don't know about that, but I try," he hesitated. "I love you, and I know I've been giving you a hard time about work, but apparently I'm a worrier now. I'm sorry."

"Hey," she smiled. "I kinda like this side of you. And I've had a talk with my XO and he's ready to take on more responsibility. I want you to know that I would never do anything to risk hurting the baby."

"I know that," he kissed her hand.

"I love you," she squeezed his hand again.

The waiter walked over and filled their glasses. "The delivery has been made."

A delivery boy appeared and put a pizza box on the table, then disappeared again.

"Your favorite," Harm opened the box. "From that Italian place where we had our first real date."

"I love this," Mac smiled. "All of it. You are amazing."

"I try," he chuckled.

Mac took a slice from the box. "So that was our first date? I never thought about it, but I guess it was."

"We were already engaged, but yeah, that was our first real date," he took a slice too. "Mattie had finally been allowed to travel. We had settled into the house."

"We agreed that it was the best pizza we'd ever eaten," she remembered.

"We did," he took a bite. "Yeah, definitely still amazing."

She took a bite too. "Delicious."

"So, I did well?" he questioned with amusement.

"You did very well, Harm. I'm a lucky girl. You're so considerate and you're taking such good care of me," she smiled sweetly.

"So I'm not just annoying and infuriating?" he questioned.

"I might have overreacted a little," she admitted.

He chuckled. "Have you thought any more of what you'll do once the baby comes?"

She hesitated and shook her head. "No. Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, Mac. I support you no matter what you chose," he reassured.

"You won't be disappointed if I'm not a Marine anymore?" she wondered.

"Why would I be disappointed?" he questioned, unsure of what she meant.

She hesitated. "Sometimes I think I don't know who I am without the uniform, Harm. Maybe I'm afraid you fell in love with the Marine."

"You are a lot more than the Marine, Mac. Is there something intriguing with your powerful side? Yes, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think so. But I fell in love with the person, not the uniform," he reassured. "What about you?"

"What about me?" she wasn't sure what he meant.

"Did my choice to hang up my uniform change anything for you?" he clarified.

"No, but you are still you," she said with a smile. "You're still cocky and confident."

He chuckled. "Is that how you see me?"

She laughed softly. "It's not just that. But you have that confidence that is really attractive."

"I'll remember you said that," he warned.

"Yeah, well, you're also a great man, so that's probably the most important quality," she reminded him.

"Yes, ma'am," he smiled. "So what is it with the uniform that defines you?"

She hesitated. "I feel respected. I've worked hard and I'm good at it."

"That you are," he agreed. "But that respect won't fade even if you're a civilian."

"I feel that people would respect me less if I was just a mom," she admitted. "It's silly because good mothers have super powers, but it's a feeling."

"I wouldn't respect you any less," he promised. "And being a mom doesn't mean being just a mom. It won't erase all your skills. And there's still a place for you in the Marine Corps even if you'd decide to take a break to be a mom. I haven't decided yet if I'm leaving the Navy for good."

She nodded. "You could go back, you know."

"I know," he reached for her hand. "We'll see. And for the record, I will support you no matter what. Maybe I'll take time off to be with the baby."

She was surprised. "You'd want that?"

"I've been thinking about it," he admitted. "But we still have time to make a decision."

"We do," she squeezed his hand. "I love you, Harm."

"I love you too, Sarah," he leaned across the table and kissed her softly.

The next day

They were about to sit down for dinner when the doorbell rang. Mac said she'd open and headed for the hallway. She found a teenage boy outside and smiled.

"Sam, come on in," she stepped aside.

"Colonel Rabb, I can't stay but I wanted to speak to Mattie," Sam said hesitantly.

"I'll go get her," Mac said and headed for the kitchen.

"It's for you, Mattie," Mac said and joined her family by the table.

Mattie stood and headed for the hallway.

"Why do you look so smug?" Harm wondered.

"It's Sam," she explained. "I knew he'd come around."

"How did you know?" he wondered.

"Most guys do eventually," she said in a teasing tone.

Harm chuckled. "Most guys, huh?"

"Yup," she confirmed.

Fifteen minutes later Mattie was back.

"So?" Mac questioned. She could detect a smile on the teenager's face.

"Sam apologized," Mattie said and her mouth cracked into a smile.

"That's great, Mattie," Mac said.

"We agreed that we should just ignore the teasing. Girls and boys can be just friends," Mattie reasoned.

"Yeah," Harm agreed but he had a slight hesitation in his tone.

Mac chuckled by his tone. "I have a lot of guy friends."

"When we met, the two of you were just friends," Mattie pointed out. "Or at least that's what Harm said. Jenn's story was a completely different one," she teased.

"What?" Harm raised his eyebrows. "Coates said what?"

"That you were secretly in love," Mattie admitted. "And I totally thought the two of you had dated."

"Well, we hadn't," Mac clarified.

"I know that now," Mattie said with laughter.

Logan laughed too when he heard his sister laugh.

"It turned out just right," Harm pointed out and ruffled Logan's hair.

"Exactly," Mac agreed.

"Lucky for us, right Logan," Mattie questioned her brother.

Logan nodded. "Mattie play."

"Okay, after I've had dinner," Mattie promised.