Chapter Twenty-Three
Leather and Lace

Flashback

May 1998
Washington DC

Harm and Mac were standing in the middle of the dance floor, looking more like a couple than a pair of friends. They were the only ones there who didn't seem to notice that. "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks was playing in the background and Mac had her head resting on Harm's shoulder, humming softly along with the music.

"Do you like this song?" Harm asked.

Mac nodded. "Uh-huh."

They continued to dance, enjoying the quiet (relative quiet, it was a wedding, after all) and each other's company. After a little while, Mac lifted her head from Harm's shoulder and looked up at him.

"Harm?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you'll ever get married?" she asked. "Or at least find someone to spend the rest of your life with?"

"Jeez," Harm chuckled. "You're really asking the hard-hitting questions tonight, Mac."

She smirked and shrugged. "I was just wondering."

"Sure," he nodded, always Mr. Confident. "I think I'll find the right girl."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Harm answered. "She'll show herself eventually. What about you?"

"I think the right guy will show himself," Mac said as she lowered her head back onto Harm's shoulder. "Eventually."

WEEK 18
OCTOBER 2ND, 2001

1320 EST
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mac was in her office when she felt it. It was a small sensation, a small twinge low in her stomach. It was barely detectable, and Mac probably wouldn't have noticed it if she was doing something other than just sitting at her first time she ignored it, assuming it was nothing, but then it happened again. And again. Mac suddenly became concerned. Trying her best to act discreet, Mac got up from her desk and walked out of her office. She went to the one person she knew could provide some insight.

"Harriet, can I talk to you in my office?" Mac asked, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible.

Harriet looked up from her computer. Immediately, she could tell something was off. Mac's tone was conversational, but Harriet could see the worry in her eyes.

"Of course," she replied, getting up as she spoke.

The two women walked back into Mac's office, and Mac immediately shut the door behind them.

"Something's wrong," she said. Harriet blinked, not quite understanding what Mac was talking about.

"Something's wrong with the baby," Mac clarified, and Harriet's eyes widened.

"What's happening?" she asked. "Are you cramping? Are you bleeding?"

Mac shook her head. "No, it's not any of that. Every now and then I get this weird feeling. Kind of like a flutter. It doesn't really hurt, it just feels weird."

Harriet tried to rack her brain to see if she experienced anything like that during either of her pregnancies. Mac's hand suddenly went to her stomach.

"See, it just happened. Right here," Mac said, holding her hand over the place where she was feeling the sensation. Harriet's eyes traveled down to where Mac had her hand, and it suddenly clicked. She knew exactly what it was. She looked up at Mac's worried expression and smiled. Mac looked at her like she was crazy.

"Why are you smiling?" she demanded.

Harriet laughed. "Mac, nothing's wrong."

"Then what is it?"

"The baby's moving."

Mac's breath caught in her throat. Slowly, her hands went down to her stomach. It was a movement she'd repeated many times before, but up until now she hadn't expected a response. Now, she could expect one. Of course it was definitely a fluke, but feeling that little flutter at her touch was something akin to magic, and Mac wasn't someone who believed in stuff like that.

A broad smile broke out across Mac's face, "Oh my god," she whispered in wonderment. She was glad her office door was shut, so she could be as giddy as she wanted without the entire office seeing her act so unprofessional. The flutter was so small, yet so amazing at the same time.

Harriet's smile widened at Mac's obvious delight. She remembered the first time she felt her children move inside her, too. Those two moments were things she would cherish forever.

"I didn't expect it to happen this early," Mac said softly.

"It's pretty great, isn't it?" Harriet asked. Mac immediately nodded.

"I just don't know how I'm going to tell Harm."

Harm was currently TAD to the Patrick Henry, and in hindsight he couldn't have picked a worse time to be out of town. More than anything, Mac wished he could be there to share in her excitement. She knew that if he knew what he was missing out on, it would tear him up.

Harriet shrugged. "Why don't you surprise him when he gets back?" she said. "There's going to be a lot more baby kicks to look forward to, so I doubt he'll mind if he misses the first few. Even if he does mind, his reaction when you tell him will be worth it."

"You think so?" Mac asked. Harriet nodded.

"Oh yeah. I bet it'll be priceless."

2200 LOCAL
USS PATRICK HENRY
SOMEWHERE IN THE ATLANTIC

When the Admiral brought Harm back to JAG, one of the stipulations he gave in order for Harm and Mac to work together was that they couldn't work on the same cases anymore. Both of them understood why that rule had to be, but it was still hard. They had been partners for years before they shacked up together; their old habits would have to die hard..

Harm was in his room aboard the Henry, missing his Marine more than he'd anticipated. It wasn't the first case he worked without Mac, but it was the first time he'd been TAD without her. It felt strange, and he didn't like it.

Throughout the day, he habitually pulled out his cellphone whenever he got a free moment, staring at it for a few moments before stuffing it back into his pocket. He knew it would only be foolish to call and bother Mac when she was fine. Plus she would hit him with the "You wouldn't be calling me if I wasn't your girlfriend," which would be 100% true.

However, now that his first day of investigating was done, Harm felt he would be a bad boyfriend if he didn't call. So he did.

"Evening, Flyboy."

Just the sound of her voice made Harm smile. "Hey, Marine."

"How are things going?" Mac asked. Harm took note of the wistful tone in her voice. Due to her pregnancy, Mac was restricted to local investigations. She didn't have to elaborate for Harm to know she missed traveling.

He shrugged. "Same old, same old," he said. It was a routine case, nothing he hadn't seen before. Two sailors had gotten into a bad fight, with one of them ending up in a coma for a few days. Pretty open-and-shut. "It would be a whole lot more interesting if you were here."

"I wish I was there too, but I gotta keep the home fires burning. I got a bun to bake."

"Speaking of which, how's the bun?"

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, giving Harm some cause for curiosity.

"They're fine," Mac finally said. "We're fine."

"Your poker face doesn't work over the phone, Mac."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied coyly. "I'm just missing my Sailor, that's all."

Harm folded one arm underneath his pillow, trying to prop his head up in a more comfortable position. "You are?"

"Uh-huh. I am."

"You sure that's it?"

"Well…" Mac hedged. "I do have a little surprise for you."

"Really?" Harm almost sat up. "What is it?"

Mac giggled. "I'm not telling you," she answered in a singsong, teasing tone.

"Oh come on," Harm scoffed. "I'm a thousand miles away, throw me a bone."

"No, you'll find out when you get home. I want to get your reaction in person."

Harm's brows knit together. He knew pressing her for further answers wouldn't do any good. Mac was too good of a secret keeper. He tried to go through all the possibilities on what it could be, but he came up with nothing. If it was something about the baby, she'd surely tell him.

"Is it a good surprise?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. Harriet thinks your reaction is gonna be priceless."

"You told Harriet?" Harm's eyes widened.

"Well, she kind of figured it out," Mac explained.

That solidified that it wasn't anything about the baby. He'd like to think that if it was something with the baby, he'd be the first person Mac would tell.

2000 EST
APARTMENT OF SARAH MACKENZIE
GEORGETOWN

When Harm returned three days later, the baby's movements were still limited to just the occasional fluttering, but that didn't dull Mac's enthusiasm about it. In a way, the baby moving solidified to Mac that she was pregnant, that there was an actual baby inside her. She started to feel way less 'alone', slowly coming to the realization that she was sharing her body with someone else. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about it yet. It was a weird feeling, regardless of its happy connotation.

Harm spent the entirety of dinner pestering her to know what the surprise was, and she'd successfully held him at bay. However, it was proving to be more and more difficult as the night wore on. Mac wasn't really sure how to tell him without just blurting it out, and she was determined to come up with a better way of breaking the news than that. She'd never been good with surprises, but this time she wanted to get it right.

Thankfully, Harm, in his usual Harm-y way, helped her out without even realizing it.

"Do you wanna dance?" he asked her. The proposition took Mac by surprise, but she agreed.

She was surprised when he pulled out a record instead of a CD. Harm wouldn't call himself a vinyl collector, but he did have a collection. A few of them were his dad's, but a fair portion of them were his own.

"Stevie Nicks?" Mac asked with surprise when she saw the record Harm picked out.

"Uh-huh," he placed the record on the player and lowered the needle.

"I didn't know you liked Stevie Nicks."

Harm turned around as the record slowly began to spin. He walked over to Mac and took her by the hand, drawing her in close to him.

"I know you like Stevie Nicks," he answered. The first few notes of "Leather and Lace" gently began to play. "I figured we could dance to this, for old time's sake."

This was the first time they'd danced to the song since Bud and Harriet's wedding, and Mac enjoyed the nice bit of nostalgia she was getting. It was crazy for her to think about how much had changed since that night. Changed for the better, she corrected.

Mac wrapped her arms around Harm's neck, resting her head against his chest. She had a specific place where she liked to place her head, right where she could hear his heartbeat and the timbre of his voice resonating in his chest. Harm and Mac were concentrating more on just being close to one another rather than truly dancing. They swayed gently back and forth to the sound of Stevie Nicks and Don Henley.

"Do you remember the first time we danced to this?" Mac asked. "At Bud and Harriet's wedding?"

"Of course, how could I forget?"

Harm softly sang along with the music, and Mac should've figured their baby would enjoy Harm singing as much as she did. Still, that didn't stop the little flutter from catching her off guard. She picked her head up from Harm's chest and looked up at him. Harm was unaware of what Mac had just experienced, still rocking her with him along with the music, humming the lyrics.

"Harm," she said.

He looked down at her. "Was I off key?" he asked with a small smile.

She smiled and shook her head. "Guess what?"

They stopped moving. "What?"

"The baby's moving."

Harriet was right, seeing the grin on Harm's face definitely made the wait worth it.