Ch. 5

The blanket is laid out and tacked down by Mac while Harm begins working on the sun shade. It is one of the half tent, half umbrella looking things so it doesn't take Harm too long. Harm sits down and begins helping Mac by removing the items from the picnic basket. Mac grabs the cutting board she brough and starts to arrange everything. "Mac, this looks great! What did you bring for us?"

"Well, I wanted to make sure we both had plenty of options so we have egg salad and chicken salad with sourdough rolls, smoked salmon and prosciutto, an assortment of crackers and cheese, dried fruits and nuts, some fresh veggies and a bubbly lemon flavored mineral water to wash it all down with."

"Mac, you really put some thought into this, didn't you?" Harm just watched as she continued to arrange everything in such a way that was appealing to the eye. "You're really good at making everything look so tasty. I have to admit I wasn't expecting this domestic side of you, and I don't mean that in a bad way, you just never want to cook so I may have made the assumption that it was not a strength of yours."

"Well, I may have led you to believe that simply because I enjoy watching you in the kitchen. Truth is I am actually quite proficient in the kitchen but I prefer to save that little bit of myself until the time is right, besides this is fun. I really like the creativity involved in putting something like this together and I kind of...wanted you to know how important you are to me." She watched him as she finished saying this and was pleased to see such compassion in his eyes.

"Hey, what's this at the bottom Mac?" Harm reached in and pulled out the brownies that Mrs. Loenstein gave Mac at the end when she was checking out.

I totally forgot about those," Mac said as he handed them to her. These are Mrs. Loensteins' delicious double fudge brownies. "The proprietor of the deli, Mrs. Loenstein, gave those to me while I was checking out. She said she hadn't had so much fun putting a picnic together in all her wonderful years and she was grateful for the many sacrifices she was sure we had made in the years of our service so she just gave them to me."

"Well, that was nice of her. Maybe we can swing by there tomorrow to grab a few things so I can meet her."

"Oh, Harm I bet she would get such a kick out of that." Mac continued arranging things for their picnic when harm noticed a camera in the picnic basket. He took it out and snapped a picture of Mac as she was concentrating with her tongue slightly exposed at the corner of her mouth. He had never noticed how she did that when she concentrated before and was convinced it was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

"What ya doing sailor?"

"Just capturing this moment where my kick ass Marine is exploring her creative side with the cutest look of concentration on her face. That's all" Harm chuckles as she gives him a look of warning.

"Mac, I love seeing this side of you. I think it's wonderful. Thank you for sharing it with me" He grabs her hand and pulls her close to him and a sweet, chaste kiss is shared. Mac grabs the camera and settles into his chest as he wraps his arms around her stomach.

"Ok, let's try one with both of us." Mac lifts her arms as Harms leans in close. Mac snaps the picture hoping they were both in the frame.

"Mac, I'm ready to eat, how about you?"

"So ready! Here, open up" Mac feeds Harm a piece of dried fig infused with rose water and honey.

"Uhmm, Mac that is delish. I don't think I've had a fig so sweet before.

"They're infused with rose water and honey, aren't they yummy? Mrs. Loenstein has a great Persian section of goodies at her deli. I remember my grandmother sitting me up on the counter as she cooked, giving me these treats. She used to tell me it was candy." Harm and Mac continued to sample and eat their way through their tasty picnic. Occasionally stopping their conversation to share in a few tender kisses. They spoke of so many little things that increased their knowledge of each other's preferences like new music they enjoyed, authors they were reading, movies they wanted to watch, and vacations they wanted to take. Harm was touched when Mac shared about the good memories she had as a child and hoped that she would share more and more as time went on.

Mac shared her dreams of returning to camp in the desert at Red Rock mesa one day and Harm shared his love for the Raab farm that he was hoping she would like to go to some day with him. Things flowed easily with no reservations or fears. Simple desires, plans and dreams began to take shape as the conversation continued and before either of them realized it they had begun talking about plans for the future. Futures that up until today had been uncertain, but now were filled with hope in each other.

"Harm, I want to go cool off real quick. Do you want to join me?"

"Sure but only if you hold my hand." Mac smiled as she stood up to remove her sarong that she had tied around her waist.

"Mac, you are so beautiful...My fantasy of seeing you in that swimsuit pales in comparison to reality." Holding his hand they walked down to the water and continued in together but they stayed close to the shore. The water was up to their waist as the waves splashed into them.

"Harm don't let me go ok," wrapping her arms around his waist letting the waves sway their bodies to and fro against each other.

"Hey, Mac, what's your favorite thing to do at the beach?"

"Well I guess that would depend on if i was alone or with someone!"

"Both," Harm said as they began walking back to their covered area. Harm sat and pulled her close to him.

"Well, when I'm alone I really enjoy reading while soaking up the sun. I don't necessarily get in the water when I'm alone unless it's just to cool off really quick."

"And when you're with someone?"

"Friend, or more than a friend?" She eyes Harm as he hangs his head to distract himself by running his hands through the sand.

"How about more than a friend, you know maybe someone interested in say... something close to forever?" Mac grabs his hand out of the sand and he raises his head to look into her big brown eyes. Mac's eyes are shiny and filled with unshed tears.

"What are you trying to say, Harm?" Mac can hardly believe what this day has twisted and turned into. Trying to get him to open up and throw him off his game and suddenly it's me who is totally thrown. 'Can this really be happening? Is he really talking about my dreams of a lifetime with him?'

"We'll get to that later...you didn't answer my question." Mac raised her eyebrow looking at him with a bit of a smirk.

"How about I show you?" Mac pulls his head down to her lap and runs her hands through his hair. Harm closes his eyes and enjoys the way her hands become so gentle in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, Mac, that feels wonderful." Mac leans down for a quick little kiss.

"I love to touch...in an appropriate way. You know? Like this. Stroking through your hair, applying sunblock, holding each other, reading to each other, and even playing in the water together but never too far from each other."

"Are you afraid of the ocean mac? That's the second time you've mentioned something about the water. Mac continues her ministrations slowly alternating between his hair and his chest.

"I am actually. The first time I ever saw the ocean was in boot, remember I grew up in the desert. The next time I saw it was when I was sent out to a carrier with you." Harm felt a slight shiver go through her so he sat up and shifted behind her. Mac leaned into his embrace as her head rested on his shoulder. He loved how perfectly they seemed to fit together.

"I never knew Mac. Why didn't you tell me?" He squeezed her tightly.

"I didn't want to appear weak or incapable of fulfilling my duty. I can handle it when I'm on a ship or in a submarine or any of the other ways we've been assigned. I just get anxious about being in the water without anything around me. I don't know if it's just a feeling of insignificance that starts to take over or what."

"That makes sense...I felt that way after my crash being tossed around in the ocean for hours hoping and praying that they would find me. I haven't been in the ocean since."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Really. That little walk in with you was the first time since my crash. I have some anxiety just thinking about it."

"Maybe we can work on that together?"

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. How about we make that our focus tomorrow?"

"Ok, that sounds lovely but right now my internal clock is sending out an alarm. If we don't get going soon we will miss our last interview." Harm gives her one last squeeze and a quick kiss to her temple. They make quick work of gathering everything up and begin their short walk back to the condo.

"Mac, that was the best picnic I have ever had. Thanks for making it so wonderful." With a sweet smile she looks over at him.

"Thanks for convincing me that we could make it happen. I feel so much better than I did this morning."