Chapter Thirty
Fright Night

WEEK 22-PART 2

OCTOBER 30TH, 2001

0130 EST
APARTMENT OF SARAH MACKENZIE
GEORGETOWN

Mac's eyes fluttered shut as she felt Harm's hands drift down her body, smoothing over her ribcage and hips. He left a trail of kisses- slow, burning kisses that felt sent shivers up Mac's spine. She took a deep breath, trying to force herself to feel relaxed, or pleasured, or aroused, or anything. She tried to keep her focus on Harm. She tried to focus on what he was doing with his hands; on his kisses, on what pleasure he was about to give her.

Harm kissed her again, and Mac's breath hitched. It felt amazing, just like everything Harm did. The problem wasn't Harm; it was Mac.

She felt Harm stop. Mac opened her eyes and saw Harm looking up at her. "Nothing?" he asked.

Mac sighed, shaking her head. "Nothing."

Harm sighed too, propping himself up on his elbows. He ran his fingers through his hair. A few seconds of silence passed between the two of them.

"I'm sorry," Mac finally said.

"No babe, it's okay. Don't apologize," Harm crawled up to lay beside her. Mac looked down, her eyes landing on Harm's boxers.

"Are you sure? Because we could-"

"Mac it's okay."

She gestured down to his boxers. "I could-"

Harm shook his head. "Mac, it's okay. This is normal."

"Normal?" Mac looked at him with wide eyes. She had to resist the urge to swat him on the back of the head. "Harm how is this normal?" she gestured around them.

"Hon, plenty of couples don't have sex every night. We don't even have sex every night."

Mac sat up. "We aren't a normal couple! What about us is normal? Nothing!"

Harm raised an eyebrow. "Mac, hon, don't you think you're being a little dramatic-"

"Dramatic? Harm, I haven't had an orgasm in eight days, seventeen hours, and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it-" Harm held a hand up. "I'm not trying to shift blame, but that really isn't my fault Mac-"

"What-"

"Hey," Harm placed a finger over Mac's mouth. "You know it's true."

Mac huffed, flopping back down onto her pillow. Harm was right. They hadn't had sex successfully in eight days and it was her fault. Well, it wasn't technically her fault. Mac definitely wanted to have sex, but her body wasn't cooperating. She'd read in some book, or on some website, or somewhere that a symptom of pregnancy could be low sex drive, but never in a million years did she think it would happen to her. Yet here she was.

It wasn't anything Harm was doing. Mac had been with guys who were bad in bed before; she (unfortunately) knew what it was like. Harm hadn't stopped working his magic, his magic had just stopped working on Mac. For the life of her, she couldn't put her finger on why. Something down there just seemed to have stopped working.

The last time they were able to have great sex, really world-rocking sex had been the night of the gala. For a week or so after that, they had the standard good sex, then Mac slowly started to notice she was having a little trouble getting in the mood, and before she knew she couldn't get in the mood at all. In fact, the mood had disappeared entirely. Mac felt like her sex drive had taken a nose dive off the Grand Canyon, and for the first time ever, things between her and Harm became awkward.

Well, not the first time ever. Things had definitely been awkward between the two of them before, just not in the bedroom.

The night of Harm's birthday had been an absolute disaster. No matter what they did, Mac just couldn't...get there. No matter what position they tried, no matter how many fingers Harm used or what he did with his mouth Mac felt...nothing.

It got so frustrating that Mac ended up on the verge of tears and Harm, as tactfully as one could manage, suggested that maybe they just go to bed. And that's just what they did. Harm and Mac went to bed, just like two people who didn't have sex.

"I'm sorry," Mac told Harm again. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I think my vagina's broken or something, I don't know."

That made Harm chuckle. He wrapped his arms around Mac and placed a kiss on the top of her head. It was a nice, sweet kiss, which Mac enjoyed. It would've gone great with some nice sex.

The next morning while Harm was showering, Mac couldn't help but ponder whether or not Harm was doing something other than showering in the shower. If he was, she honestly couldn't blame him.

She didn't blame Harm. Of course she didn't, but Mac would be lying if the thought of Harm jerking off in the bathroom while thinking about the body she had two years ago didn't bother her.

I really can't blame him, Mac thought, I was pretty fucking hot two years ago.

The two year anniversary of the infamous Sydney trip was coming up in February, which ironically was the same month Mac would probably be giving birth. Mac found herself thinking almost nonstop about herself in the blue bikini -the blue bikini that was arguably more infamous than the entire trip.

Mac missed that bikini. More importantly she missed the body that could wear that bikini. Yes, she knew that "pregnancy was beautiful" and she was "bringing life into the world with her body" but she also missed having a toned stomach and being able to jog every day. It wasn't fair that Harm could become a father without gaining thirty pounds.

She'd actually stumbled upon the blue bikini a few days prior. Finally having her guest room cleared out inspired Mac to go through other clutter in her apartment. She'd recognized it as soon as she picked it up. The bikini looked a lot smaller than it had two years ago, and Mac was confused as to how she'd even fit into it. Then Mac realized that the bikini hadn't gotten smaller, she'd just gotten bigger.

With a light sigh, Mac tossed the bikini back into the bottom of her closet.

1030 EST
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Mac thought about bringing up her intimacy issues with Melinda. Partly to confide in someone, but mostly to see if she had any magical doctor advice to give her. Things had been a little awkward between the two of them in the aftermath of the gala, but they both silently agreed to just not bring it up. Mac didn't want to relive her affair with Farrow and Melinda didn't want to think about how she went out with one of her patient's exes.

It was a good thing Mac wasn't there to talk about romance; she was just there for an ultrasound.

"They're actually starting to look like a human now...not so much like an alien," Mac said as she watched the screen. She was by herself for this appointment. Keeter had missed Harm's birthday and the two of them were going out for lunch with Sturgis as a belated celebration.

"I know," Melinda nodded, pointing to the screen. "Look-there's a hand. They must be waving."

Mac smiled, looking at the silhouette of her baby and they're tiny little hands on the screen. She felt inclined to wave back, as if they were greeting each other. Hi baby, Mac wanted to say, It's me, your mom.

Suddenly, Mac was overcome with a wave of guilt. There was an almost constant tug-of-war going on in Mac's mind. Whenever she caught herself thinking about how much she hated being pregnant, the other half of her mind would berate her for how selfish she was being. It felt like she had the devil and the angel sitting on her shoulder, with one telling her it was okay for her to complain and the other telling her that she was the worst person in the world for even daring to think about herself now that she had a baby to think about too.

The other day, Mac had gone to Harriet seeking counsel. She explained how she felt guilty about absolutely everything on a semi-daily basis. Mac asked Harriet, "Does it get any better?" to which Harriet laughed and shook her head.

"Trust me," Harriet told her, "After the baby gets here, the guilt only gets worse."

"Mac, are you alright?" Melinda asked.

"Yeah," Mac quickly nodded. "I'm fine."

Melinda eyed her with uncertainty. "Are you sure?"

"I just, I just," Mac took a deep breath, then buried her face in her hands, murmuring something Melinda couldn't make out.

"What?"

"I said, I just feel like everyone's having orgasms except me!"

The door to the room was open, and two nurses standing at the nurse's station in the hall looked up with alarm. Melinda gave them an apologetic smile as she quickly shut the door. She looked around the room, trying to find some tissues for Mac, who was fully crying now. There were none.

Why are there no tissues? This is a hospital, Melinda thought as she opened a drawer. The best thing she could find was a clean pair of latex gloves.

"Do you have a latex allergy?" she asked. Mac shook her head.

"Here."

Melinda was surprised to see Mac take the gloves and blow her nose into them. "What wrong?" she asked. "Is it Harm?"

Mac shook her head. "It's not Harm. It's me."

"You're losing interest in Harm?"

"No," Mac wailed. "I'm still interested in Harm, I love Harm. I want to have sex with Harm. I just-I just can't."

"Oh," Melinda frowned, suddenly understanding what was up. "Mac, lack of sex drive is pretty common during pregnancy. I have a pamphlet on it in my office if you would like to see it-"

"I don't want a pamphlet! I know what I'm going through!"

"Okay, okay," Melinda sat down on the edge of the exam table, placing a hand on Mac's elbow. "I know this can seem frustrating, but your body's changing constantly during pregnancy, so there's a big chance your...intimacy issues could be resolved by next week-"

"Next week?" Mac's eyes widened. "I've already gone eight days without it!"

Melinda furrowed her brows. "Is that not normal…?"

Mac looked at her like she had two heads. "No. Every day's normal. Maybe every other day on a slow week."

"Oh," I guess once a week is only normal for me, Melinda thought, and that's on a good week.

"Mac, if it'll make you feel better, I could check to see if everything's alright-"

"Yes."

Melinda blinked "Wait, really?"

"I'll try anything. I'm desperate. Melinda, I don't think you understand-"

"No, no, trust me. I hear you," Melinda said as she hopped off the edge of the exam table. "I haven't had sex since last November, so I totally understand involuntary celibacy."

With that, Melinda put on a fresh pair of gloves and an impromptu exam was performed. Melinda was quiet for a few moments and Mac quietly began to panic. Oh God, am I actually broken? she wondered, And Harm thought I was crazy. What am I going to do now? How do you fix a broken vagina? It's a muscle, so would you treat it like you would an ACL-

"Nothing," Melinda finally said. "There's nothing."

Mac froze. "Nothing? Nothing's there? Where did it go-"

Melinda quickly shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. Everything's there. I don't see anything wrong. Everything looks fine."

That news would've been a relief to anyone else, but it just made Mac more frustrated. If she had a concrete problem, they could start working towards a concrete solution. With the examination yielding no results, Mac was back at square one. She suddenly began to feel tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Mac," Melinda stood up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Mac nodded, staring up at the ceiling. "Are there any churches near here?"

"I think so…why?"

"I need a place where I can go pray for me to get railed soon."

"I don't think God works like that."

Mac huffed. "Well nothing else is working."

Melinda sighed and took off her glasses. "Something will start working again, eventually. I promise. Do you want that pamphlet? It has stuff that could help. You know, positions, stuff like that…"

Mac paused, thinking it over. She never thought she'd be the type of person who would have to ask for advice about sex. Then again, she also used to be the type of person who relied on the 98% success rate of condoms.

"I'll take it."

1310 EST
MCMURPHY'S TAVERN
WASHINGTON DC

"So Keeter, do you have a new girl?" Harm asked.

"Or any new girls?" Sturgis added.

Keeter gave them both a wry look before shrugging. "Nothing too serious. Just a few weekend flings here and there. I haven't gotten anyone pregnant," he looked pointedly at Harm. "At least not my knowledge."

Harm rolled his eyes. "Have you dated any Congresswomen? Sturgis is currently doing that."

"Oh really?" Keeter suddenly turned his attention to Sturgis, something Harm was grateful for.

Sturgis wasn't too grateful. He chuckled, blushing a little. "Yeah uh, I've gone on a few dates with Bobbi Latham."

"Bobbi Latham?" Keeter's eyebrows shot up. "You really went out of league with that one, huh?"

"Like you do with every woman?" Sturgis asked. Keeter's smile faltered.

"He has a point," Harm added.

Keeter frowned. "And Mac isn't out of your league?" he countered.

Harm shrugged. "I never said she wasn't."

What bothered Harm the most about him and Mac's intimacy issues was that Mac was worried he was losing interest in her. He was still crazy about her, just as much as he had been the day they met. They just...had to get back in the groove of things, that was all. In the meantime, Harm had to brainstorm what he could do to better so Mac could...finish.

She insisted he wasn't the issue, pulling the 'it's not you, it's me' card. Harm was inclined to believe her, knowing Mac wasn't one to mince her words, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong.

"Uhhh hello? Earth to Harm?" Keeter asked. Harm blinked. He had no clue he'd completely drifted out of the conversation.

"Yeah, Keeter?"

"How are things with you and Mac the Marine?"

"Oh," Harm said. Oh shit, Harm thought. "Things are...good. Yeah, things are good. Some couples have intimacy issues during pregnancy, but Mac and I are fine. We've never been better, actually. We're perfectly….intimate. It's not like we're not able to. We've been able to for the last eight days."

Keeter and Sturgis exchanged wide-eyed glances. Finally, Sturgis got up the courage to ask, "Are you sure about that?"

"About what?"

"About you and Mac being perfectly fine?"

Harm looked at them innocently. "I'm positive. Why?"

"Because it didn't sound like it," Sturgis answered. Keeter nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," Keeter continued. "The description you gave about 'intimacy issues' was oddly specific."

Harm frowned. "Was it that obvious?"

"Yeah," both his friends answered in unison. Harm sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He thought he would be spending this lunch reminiscing, not discussing his sex life with his friends.

"What happened?" Sturgis asked. "Did you two lose the spark?"

"Harm, erectile dysfunction is nothing to be ashamed of-"

"Keeter." Sturgis said.

"What? Is that not the issue?"

Harm shook his head with a glare. "No, that is not the issue. Everything's working fine on my end."

Immediately Harm realized how bitter that sounded, and he wanted to kick himself. Way to go and make yourself look like the most selfish asshole on the planet, he told himself.

"So it's Mac?"

"Come on Keeter, don't blame her-" Harm started.

"I'm not blaming her, I was just asking."

"What have you tried?" Sturgis asked.

Harm sighed again. "Everything."

"Other than that kind of stuff, what have you tried?" Sturgis clarified.

"What are you talking about-"

"Wooing her, Harm," Keeter said. "Have you tried wooing her?"

Harm's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Mac and I have been dating for months. I don't need to woo her. She was wooed months ago."

Keeter and Sturgis exchanged another glance. It was times like these where both of them wondered how Harm was even able to get with women in general, let alone a woman like Mac.

"I know, but just try it," Keeter explained. "Light some candles, throw some rose petals on the ground, put on some music. Woo her, make her feel extra special."

Harm turned to look at Sturgis. "What do you think?"

Sturgis shrugged. "It's worth a shot. That worked for Bobbi."

"What?" Both Harm and Keeter's eyes widened. "You and Bobbi-"

"We're here about Harm, not me," Sturgis said quickly. "This is his birthday lunch."

"And his inadequacies in the bedroom," Keeter added, with just a little smugness.

Harm's mouth dropped open. "I am not inadequate in the bedroom," he huffed. "Just ask Mac tonight after I woo her." he grabbed his jacket and stood up to leave.

As he walked out, Keeter called after him. "Hey, are we still on for tomorrow night?"

"What's tomorrow night?"

"Halloween."

Harm paused. "Yeah, we are. I just forgot."

"That's okay," Keeter told him. Then, to Sturgis, he said. "You'd think with all the sex he's not having the blood flow would be going to his brain for once."

Sturgis shook his head. "That's too much to hope for."

"Colonel Mackenzie?"

Mac jerked awake, looking around wildly to make sure she knew where she was. Dozing off at work had become an issue, along with her heels not fitting comfortably because her feet were starting to swell. Those were just two of the many small prices to pay for experiencing the miracle of motherhood.

"Yes, Bud?"

"Do you have the files for the Davidson case?"

"Sure. Yeah..it's around here...somewhere…" Mac stifled a yawn, looking around her desk to the files. She sat them down (somewhere) right before she dozed off, but for the life of her she couldn't remember where…

"Oh ma'am, they're right here," Bud said, picking up a small stack of files that were laying a few inches from Mac's hand.

She sighed. "Of course they are. Sorry, Bud."

Bud smiled. "It's okay, ma'am. I get it. Harriet took a lot of naps in the library while she was pregnant."

I bet you and Harriet still had sex when she was pregnant, Mac wanted to say, but didn't for obvious reasons. She watched Bud leave, and as soon as he did, she buried her face in her hands and groaned.

I can't even get an orgasm in my dreams, she thought bitterly as she felt a flutter from her stomach. She looked down at her bump, placing a hand there.

"Do you think this is funny?" she asked aloud.

Mac sat there for a silence for a few moments, halfway expecting a response. She thought back to the dream she had, surprised at how well she remembered it. It was all fresh in her mind, in vivid, erotic technicolor.

Suddenly, Mac froze, afraid to move and make the feeling go away.

Is this it? Mac thought, almost standing up out of excitement, Am I horny? Is this what this is? Am I finally horny?

1730 EST
APARTMENT OF SARAH MACKENZIE
GEORGETOWN

The Admiral was busy fixing the budget (which always needed fixing, apparently) so Harm was able to leave the office at 1630 without any detection. As soon as he left, he immediately went to work. He went out and got candles and some rose petals. The rose petals were actually fake ones from the craft store, but Harm hoped Mac wouldn't inspect them close enough to know. At least the candles were real.

Harm was lighting the last one when he heard the door open. He straightened up, eyes widening in a panic. How could Mac be home already? Harm hadn't even gotten around to fixing dinner or starting the music.

Speaking of which, he had to go meet Mac. Harm rushed out of the bedroom, deliberately slowing his pace as he entered the living room. Mac was standing there, obviously looking for him.

As soon as their eyes met, Mac announced, "I'm horny."

"That's great, babe. Look, if you just sit tight for a few minutes-"

Mac took a step closer to him. "Harm, I'm definitely tight but I'm not going to sit-"

"I just need to put the lasagna in the oven-"

She took another step towards him. "Fuck me, Harm. I want you to fuck me."

"Do you have any preference for what music we listen to?"

"For the love of God-"

"I can give you a massage too if you want-"

"Commander, Take off your pants."

Harm finally got the message. He abruptly stopped in his tracks. "Yes ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am, just take me to bed."

Harm obeyed, sweeping Mac into his arms and pressing a smoldering kiss on her lips. Mac moaned against his mouth, feeling herself actually go a little weak in the knees. Usually Harm couldn't make her moan with just a kiss, but she'd been thinking about him nonstop since her dream and was already wet from it. Also, it had been eight days. Eight excruciating, painfully un-arousing days.

But all of that was about to end.

Mac decided Harm was taking too long undoing his pants, so she did it for him, fingers blindly finding his belt buckle and undoing it. She pushed her hand into his waistband, feeling for him. Mac smirked at hearing Harm moan when her fingers brushed against his cock.

"I like that," she murmured, gently biting Harm's lower lip.

"Like what?" Harm reached down to squeeze Mac's six through her uniform skirt. Great, I have to hang that up before we can do anything, she thought.

"Hearing you moan."

Harm chuckled as he walked them both backwards towards their bedroom. He had more important things on his mind than watching where he was going, so he ended up bumping his head on the doorframe.

"Ow."

"Harm are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I could get you some ice?"

He quickly shook his head, the back of which was throbbing at little. "No, the ice can wait."

They both stumbled into the bedroom, Mac practically launching Harm onto the bed. He landed with a soft thud on his elbows, fully expecting her to climb on top of him. Only, she didn't. Harm watched as Mac huffed and slowly began to unbutton her blouse.

Kicking off her heels, she said. "I hate this thing."

Harm grinned as he began to undo the buttons on his own shirt. "I don't," he said. "I love a woman in uniform."

Mac smiled. "I like that shirt on you; it brings out your eyes."

"So you've told me."

"Let me take it off you."

Gladly, Harm thought as Mac changed out of her uniform and hung it up in record time. She climbed on top of Harm, straddling his hips and pushing him flat onto the mattress with more force than he was expecting. The surprised look on his face only turned Mac on more. Mac grinned and bit her lip as she began to undo Harm's buttons.

"You're awfully impatient," Harm observed. He decided to keep his hands up near his head, out of Mac's way. She was a woman on a mission and he didn't want to interfere.

"You aren't? It's been eight days." Mac smoothed her hands over Harm's bare chest, fingers dancing over his abs.

"I know," Harm reached up to tuck Mac's bangs away from her face. "I missed this."

She smiled. "Me too."

Reaching out, Harm's hands found Mac's hips. "Come here," he said gruffly, getting into a sitting position.

"But-"

Gently, Harm shifted Mac so she was the one pressed up against the headboard. He pressed his finger against her lips. "Let me make up for the past eight days," he said. Mac settled down onto the pillows, finding no reason to object.

Mac collapsed onto the bed next to Harm, trying to catch her breath. Their bodies were slicked with sweat from spending the last two hours making up for the past eight days. It had been absolute heaven, in Mac's opinion, and she was pretty sure Harm would agree.

Mac turned to look at Harm. He swallowed, meeting her gaze. "How was that?" he asked.

Mac smirked, reaching up to run her fingers through Harm's hair. "Well," she said. "I heard that some women have more intense orgasms during pregnancy, and I didn't believe it. Until tonight."

"So it was good?" Harm grinned.

Mac nodded, "Best thing to happen to me in the past eight days," Nuzzling her nose into the hollow of his neck, Mac inhaled, taking in the sweet musky scent that was uniquely Harm's. She remembered the first time she caught a whiff of it, that night in the woods when they were being chased down by those hillbillies. Ever since then, she'd been hooked on it.

"How did you know about that?"

"Hm?"

"That women have more intense orgasms during pregnancy," Harm clarified "How did you know that?"

"Oh," Mac blushed, looking down to avoid Harm's gaze. "I don't know. I just read it off something."

"Off what?"

Mac's blush deepened. "Off something Melinda gave me at the appointment today."

Harm was growing more and more curious. "What did she give you?"

"A-a brochure."

"A brochure about what?"

Mac hid her face in her pillow. She just got finished having it, so she shouldn't be so embarrassed to talk about it. "Sex," she murmured.

"Sex?" Harm repeated, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

"Yeah...sex during pregnancy."

Harm snorted, and Mac swatted his arm. "Don't laugh, I was desperate," she told him, and he chuckled.

"Are you still desperate?" Harm asked. Mac lifted her head from the pillow.

"Well," she said, looking like the cat who got the canary. "There were a couple of other things in that brochure that I wanted to try, now that you mention it…"