TALKING TO MOM


Chapter 4


MAC'S APARTMENT
30 minutes later

The doorbell rang and brought her back from her daydreams. Quickly, she stood up and walked towards the door. Her heart started racing when she looked through the peephole. After a stabilizing deep breath, she opened the door, to reveal Harmon Rabb, Jr., the love of her life. She recovered quickly from the vision in front of her and stood to the side to allow him to enter.

"Hi, Mac"

"Hey, Harm" she answered in a shaky voice once they were inside.

"Uh, I need to talk to you"

"Well, uh...come sit down. What's this about?" she said nervously. She knew she had to talk to him, but curiosity had gotten the best of her; or was it that she had chickened out of her plan? 'Oh, well. Either way, Harmon Rabb Jr. just said he wants to talk. That's a miracle in my book any day no matter what the talk is about.' She smiled as these thoughts flooded her mind.

"Well, Mac, I just wanted to..." he stopped abruptly and drew his hand from his back to reveal what looked to her like a photo album. She looked at him quizzically.

"Go ahead, look at it"

Mac took it in her hands and gasped as she read the words on the first page. "The Love of My Life" it read. As much as she wanted to jump him that instant, her curiosity had already been awakened. She turned the pages one by one. There was a hand written note next to every picture in every page. It was like a diary with visuals. She saw pictures she recognized. Others she never knew had been taken. She looked up at him after the first mysterious picture and he smiled sheepishly.

"I paid Bud to take that for me" he said with a shrug and another disarming smile.

"You ...did?" she asked amazed at the man before her.

"Uh, yeah, well, don't look so surprised. There are lots more where that one came from, Just keep on looking"

She just nodded and resumed her task. A second unrecognizable picture greeted her eyes as she turned the page. In the picture, she was sitting in her office, staring out through the window. The sunrays were gracefully touching her skin and she wore a contented smile on her face. The picture had been taken from outside the office, she could tell. She looked at him once again.

"Uh, I took that one. You just looked so beautiful, and relaxed, and I couldn't help myself. So I ran to my office and got the camera from the drawer. I rarely see you like that anymore" he smiled sadly.

"I know. I remember that day. We had just won the Smith case. Life was sure less complicated back then, wasn't it?"

"We make simple things complicated, Sarah" he said softly looking at her.

His eyes pierced her soul as she heard her own words from her engagement party spoken back to her. "We sure do, Harm," she answered matching his tone and meeting his gaze straight on.

"I love you, Sarah" It was a simple statement. No fancy restaurant, no candlelight, no soft background music, no dress whites, and no fancy sexy dress. All they needed was each other's hearts. And they certainly had that.

"I love you too, Harm" she managed to answer before his lips descended on hers and graced her with the most tender of kisses. All the feelings between them flowed freely. Love and tenderness came first, and when their brains stopped working, the magnitude of six years of hidden passion and desire broke loose.

Nothing had ever felt so right in his world. The sensations the soft skin of her hands was provoking on him made his mind race a thousand miles a minute. Oh, the things he'd dreamed of doing to this woman, and finally their time had come.

"We have the rest of our lives, baby" he said to her tenderly as his hands left their idle position on her back.

"Yes we do, Harm. Yes we do" she replied in a whisper.

His hands moved slowly to rest on her breasts, and immediately began their delightful assault. Even through the fabric of her blouse she felt amazing. 'God help me when we finally...." His train of thought was interrupted abruptly as her hands reached lower and started massaging the well-toned muscles of his midsection.

A small gasp escaped her mouth and he smiled. Not a cocky flyboy grin, but an amazingly shy smile. "Harm..." she breathed as the feelings hidden behind his smile surfaced and hit her full force. After looking at him for a few seconds, she snapped out of her daydream and realized he was actually there, with her, for her.

Gently, she took both his hands in hers and guided them slowly towards the buttons on her blouse. Harm understood the unspoken message, and at the nod of her head he began his sensual workings on her body. One by one he divested her of the garments that had stood between them for so many years.

She looked up at him shyly and smiled. "God, Sarah. Please tell me you know how beautiful you are," he whispered as his eyes were still transfixed on the vision before him. She simply shrugged.

"Nobody ever took the time to really look at me before. I wouldn't know" she replied with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Harm saw the tears well up in her gorgeous brown orbs and allowed himself to feel hatred for a second. Yes, hatred towards the men that had the privilege of having Sarah Mackenzie right in front of them and had done nothing but damage her self esteem. She noticed the tightening of his jaw and the lost look in his eyes, and years of knowing her partner kicked in.

"Harm. It's okay. It's not your fault," she said softly. He focused on her once again and wrapped his arms tightly around her once her words registered on him.

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to tell you how beautiful you are. I'm sorry I was such a jerk I couldn't see what I had right in front of me all this time."

She knew he would blame himself for her past if she didn't stop him. "Harm?"

"Yes, baby?" he replied and kissed the top of her head that was tucked safely under his chin.

"Harm, do you love me?"

He looked down at her in surprise. "Of course I love you. Didn't I just...." She stopped him with a finger to his lips.

"Then you have nothing to apologize for. Now, would you please make love to me?"

Those words made him snap back to reality and he remembered where all this had started. 'God, she's naked in my arms and all I can do is babble. What's wrong with me?' Without any warning, he lifted her in his arms and strode towards the bedroom.

**********************************************

"Harm...." she whispered long minutes later, after they had calmed down considerably.

"Hmm, baby?" he answered and kissed her forehead lovingly.

"Harm, I need you to promise me something"

"What do you want me to promise, sweetheart? That this is forever? That I will never again give myself like this to anyone else but you? That I'll love you from today until eternity? Does that about covers it?" he asked softly and smiled at the look of wonder on her pretty face.

"Harm...um.how did you know?"

"I felt it too, Sarah"

"Wow" was all she could say.

"Sleep now, angel. I'll be here with you forever, Sarah"

"I love you, Harm" she whispered, as they both drifted off to a peaceful slumber in each other's arms.


MOTHER'S DAY
0600 EST

"Good morning, beautiful" Harm said as he watched her stir and open her eyes.

"Hmm, good morning, Sailor"

"How are you feeling?" Harm asked her as images of their first night together flashed before him, again. He felt his body reacting to her once again, but decided it was time for them to talk. Really *talk*.

"Better than ever, Harm. I guess Stickboy doesn't really fit you anymore" she smiled and looked at him seductively as she moved her hand slowly over his midsection, admiring the amazing body that was hers at last. She let her hand wander until finally letting it rest on his manhood.

Harm groaned low on his throat and shifted a little, while Mac only smiled and retrieved her hand running it slowly up his abdominal muscles, satisfied to know she finally had that type of power over him.

"Ma-ac" he said almost whining. "I'm trying to start a conversation here with you. Would you please behave while I tell you what I want to say?" he said, begging her at this point to spare him the seductive tactics.

"You? Talk? Wouldn't miss it for the world!!" she said sarcastically, but with a smile on her face.

She sobered up at the serious look he gave her. "Harm? What's wrong?"

"Sarah, I'm scared," he whispered.

"Of?"

"I'm scared of what you might think about last night," he said in a low voice, diverting his eyes from her.

A wave of fear ran through her as she contemplated what his words might mean. "What do you mean Harm?" she said with a very shaky voice.

"Well, I don't want you to think that I said the things I said last night because I was caught up in the moment. I need you to know that I'm serious about this, but at the same time, I don't want to scare you away. I tried to talk to you about this yesterday during lunch and you didn't seem too comfortable hearing what I had to say"

"Harm? I don't understand...."

He propped himself up in one elbow and traced her face with his left hand. "Sarah, I'm tired of the 'let's see what happens' type of relationships. We've had one of those the past six years, whether we admit it or not. I want you to be sure about "us" for once. I want you and only you. You're the only woman I'll ever love no matter what happens."

"Oh, Harm, I love you, and I'm also tired of the uncertainty and the fear of not having you for myself"

"Sarah, I don't think you understand me yet. I want you as in I want you to be my wife. I want a family with you. I'm tired of saying "someday". I want it soon. I'd marry you tomorrow if you'd have me. It's all or nothing Sarah. If I can't have you, then my life is over"

"Harm...I don't...wow....don't get me wrong. I feel the same way about you. I just never thought you could ever feel the same about me, I mean..."

"Mac, this is exactly why I hadn't been able to let go before. I knew once we were together like this I wouldn't be able to let you go again. I wanted to make sure I was in a position to be what you need me to be when this finally happened. I'm ready, Sarah. You know better than anybody that I'm not perfect, but I'll do my best because I love you. I promise you that"

Mac couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer. She reached up and wrapped her arms around him and cried for a long time. Happy tears. Harm just held her and whispered loving words to her.

After some time, she calmed down and he wiped away the tears left in her lovely face. "What do you say we go give mom her mother's day present?" he asked her, remembering her mother's wish. 'Each other would be nice' she had told him. Well they had certainly found each other, and it was time to share it with the world.



Thanks for your interest in the story...:) LeE