Harm raced to his SUV jumping in and peeling out of the parking lot.  The last thing he wanted was to have to get into a discussion with Mac in the middle of McMurphy's.  Now that he knew her true feelings and he was sure of his own he knew he had to have a talk with her, but it needed to be a private talk not one where people and noise were all around. 

Harm got half way down the road and stopped at the next traffic light when he saw a car stop behind him and a person get out.  It was too dark to tell who it was so he just locked all the windows and doors.  Harm was relived when he saw Harriet approaching his car; well he was until he saw the look on her face.  Harm unlocked the doors and let Harriet in the passenger side door.

            "Excuse me sir," she said after she got in. "But what the HELL do you think your doing!!"

            Harm was taken back by her tone.  He knew Harriet could be angry at times but this side of her he had never seen.

            "Huh?" was all Harm managed to say.

            "With all do respect sir you are an idiot.  Do you know what you just did? The colonel is now back at McMurphy's crying like her I've never seen her cry before.  You ran out on her for last time.  I've seen that look on people before.  She's through she's not giving you another chance you blew it!"

            Harm sighed.  Maybe things were worse than he thought.

            "Sir I'm only going to ask you once.  Do you love her?"

            Harm's head shot up.

            "What?"

            "Oh come commander I'm already pretty damn sure of the answer.  Do you love her?"

            "Yes," Harm said looking straight ahead.

            "Well you sure have a way of showing it," Harriet muttered.

            "It's a lot more complicated than it looks," Harm said in his defense.

            "What's so complicated? You love her she loves you.  Neither of you have significant others at the moment so I really don't see what's so damn complicated about it!"

            Harm could tell Harriet was pissed.  Harriet always looked after her friends.  In this case she had to side with Mac and Harm could understand why.  He had been a heel.  He shouldn't have run out.  He should have told her that he wanted to speak to her in private.  But yet again he let his urge to run take over.

            Harm was about to say something when Harriet cut him off.

            "Now I think this situation can still be helped.  She hasn't left McMurphy's yet.  Look Harm I can't tell you what to do but I can tell that if worry about stupid things like the regs getting in the way you could miss out on something great.  I mean I don't know where I would be without Bud or little AJ," Harriet said with a smile.

            Harm sighed.  Harriet was right.  Every time he got close he pulled away and after he pulled away he tried to get close again.  It was a never-ending cycle he finally wanted to see an end put too.  Mac had once said she was sick of this dance well so was he.  No more two steps forward two steps back.  From now on all the steps taken would be forward.

            Mac sat in her car unable to move.  She just kept staring straight ahead reciting in her head a poem she had read awhile back.

Another step and I'm still no closer 

This pathway of broken glass is all around me like the shattered pieces of my heart

  Each step more painful than the last

  Blood like tears flows and all I can see is your face but I keep walking with no end in sight

The pain of the glass masking the pain in my heart

 Maybe if I walk long enough the pain will be a distant memory and the glass will disappear

But I fear if it does so will my heart

            It seemed like each step Mac took it brought her no closer to a relationship with Harm.  Every action she made she tried to think about how it would not only affect herself but Harm as well.  She had been doing that for some time now.  But it seemed like each step was another failure and these failures were taking their toll on her.  But she also knew that when they stopped taking their toll on her then that would be the worst.  Because that would mean that she truly would lose her heart.  It would just stop hoping for love; it would close itself off.  And she couldn't afford to let that happen.  Because if it did, a large part of what made Sarah Mackenzie the women she is would die.

            Mac was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice an occupant enter her car on the passenger side till after they had turned on the stereo and put a CD in.

            Alarmed, Mac turned to face her intruder.  She was only slightly relieved to see that it was Harm.  He looked at her and his gaze never wavered which was starting to make her nervous.  Then the soft strains of Michael Bolton's voice filled the car.

            Harm took her hand in his as the music washed over them.

            Mac at first tried to pull her hand away but stopped after she saw the pleading look in Harm's eyes.

You are the candle, love's the flame
A fire that burns through wind and rain
Shine your light on this heart of mine
Till the end of time
You came to me like the dawn through the night
Just shinin' like the sun
Out of my dreams and into my life
You are the one, you are the one          

Harm never let go of her hand.  When the chorus started he sang along until the end of the song.

Said I loved you but I lied
'Cause this is more than love I feel inside
Said I loved you but I was wrong
'Cause love could never ever feel so strong
Said I loved you but I lied

With all my soul I've tried in vain
How can mere words my heart explain
This taste of heaven so deep so true
I've found in you
So many reasons in so many ways
My life has just begun
Need you forever, I need you to stay
You are the one, you are the one

You came to me like the dawn through the night
Just shinin' like the sun
Out of my dreams and into my life
You are the one, you are the one

            "Sarah you will never fully understand how I feel about you.  I know that my lack of communication when it comes to these things is no excuse.  You should know I feel. You should have no doubts in my feelings towards you.  The truth is tonight I truly realized how deep your feelings for me ran.  I knew I couldn't tell you how I felt in front of all those people with all that noise.  What I should have done was tell you how important this conversation was to me and to make sure we continued to conversation in private.  But as usual some cowardly part of my brain told me to just run, like I've done so many times before.  The truth is what I feel goes way beyond just loving you.  You are my soul mate my other half.  I now can acknowledge the fact that without I know I certainly could not go on living for there would be no purpose."

            At this point Mac, who had promised herself it was finally over between them, was crying.  She couldn't believe what he had just revealed to her.  When she first noticed him in the car she thought he was just going to throw some cryptic apology at her like he always did.  And knowing herself, she knew that although it would hurt a lot she would accept it and they would begin their dance all over again.  She sure as hell wasn't expecting this to happen. Not that you would hear this marine complaining.

            "Mac?" Harm asked when he got no response.

            Instead of telling him what she thought of his declaration she showed him in one breathtaking kiss.

            Outside in the parking lot one very happy blonde Lieutenant was already planning in her head future wedding and baby showers.  With a smile she pulled out of the parking lot leaving, a finally, happy couple alone.

Well that's the end and I hoped you enjoyed it.  The song used is Michael Bolton's "Said I loved you but I lied." And the poem is an original.  Thanks to all who reviewed ^_^,