A/N: Again thanks to readers and reviewers. I really did change the rating this time—nudity—descirbed nudity, but nudity nonetheless along with a brief, tasteful (IMHO) sex scene.



For Every Action 8: 3 Days, 3 Cities, and Three Little Words Part I

Day 1

0730

Laramie, Wyoming

Mac woke slowly, stretching languidly, slightly confused by her surroundings. Something told her she was fine—that the unfamiliar surroundings were safe or at least that she'd be safe in them. Throwing her feet on the floor, and swinging her self out of bed she smiled at the man she's loved for such a long time. The one who'd finally become her lover last night. She sighed remembering all the inuendo, flirtations, even out right rejection their friendship had endured. She wondered vaguely if the friendship would survive the strain of romance, and shrugging went to put on coffee. Waiting for the coffee to brew she stared out the window into open space and replayed a million events that had lead her to this place and decided if Harm loved her, loving him back was worth any risk—even risking the most serious, intimate relationship in her life. Grabbing another mug she went to wake him and see what their first day together would bring.

Harm woke to the booming sound of the thunder outside and frowned at the empty bed. He reached over to the pillow where Mac had been when he went to sleep and fel the warmth there. A satisfied smile crossed his features. She just left. Probably went to put on that sludge she calls coffee. He smiled knowingly. Throwing the covers off, he planted his feet on the floor and pulled on a pair of sweatpants before heading to the kitchenette. She was there, standing at the window staring or dreaming with a half smile playing on the corners of her mouth—she wore nothing else. The window overlooked a wide green pasture that climbed into deep blue mountains. Lost in her thoughts, Harm was sure she wouldn't see or hear him as he snuck up behind her. Seeing her in the morning, naked, rumpled, uncharacteristically dreamy eyed made him want to entice her back into the bed. He wanted to start today the way they'd ended yesterday. He smiled as he snaked his hands over her waist and across her bare stomach.

"Good Morning, Marine."

"Hey there, Flyboy." she smile and turned her head to catch his mouth in a brief but eloquent kiss.

"It's a pretty pasture." Harm comment blandly. "But I bet that cowpoke over there is enjoying his view much more than you're enjoying yours." He'd moved in front of her before he'd finished. Her eyes wide, Mac looked around Harm and swore. A little less than fifty feet away sat a man on horse back, grinning like a fool. He lifted his hat and spurred his horse when he saw that Harm had moved to block his view of the show.

"I can't believe it." She said quietly laying her forehead against Harm's chest.

"Get dressed, Marine, You'll never have to see him again." As Harm spoke his cell started ringing and once he'd answered it he waved Mac into the shower. "Hey, Bud!"

Bud frowned at the information in front of him. "Are you all right, sir?"

"Great, Bud. What'cha got for me?"

"O'Hare used his credit card again, this time a diner in Salt lake City. I looked through his service record and did some digging. Turns out he has an old shipmate who retired in Salt Lake City. If he's gone there, we probably won't see a hotel bill."

"Do you have an address on the buddy?" Harm scribbled what Bud relayed and smiled as he heard Mac humming in the shower.

"Bud, give my best to Harriet and hug little AJ for Mac."

"Yes, sir." Bud frowned again drawing Harriet's attention. "Are you sure you're all right, sir?"

Harm smiled briefly at the bathroom door. "Never been better Bud, see you soon."

Harm slid into the shower just as Mac had finished washing her hair and he updated her while he washed her back. Resisting the urge to indulge the fantasy he'd toyed with earlier, Harm placed a chaste kiss on Mac's shoulder and smiled. "Come on, Marine, Let's get on the road."

Mac smiled and nodded. She slid on a pair of comfortably inexpensive jeans and threw on a cotton peasant top. As Harm vacated the bathroom she pulled on a cardigan and garbbed her make up bag.

The intimate morning routine made Harm wonder if every morning would be like this: comfortably queit, mostly unhurried. He smiled, thinking he'd be happy to start everyday this way then shook the thought from his mind and packed his belongings. "Hey, Jarhead! Salt Lake City is an 8 hour drive!"

"I'm coming." she called. Her face was freshly scrubbed and mostly unpainted for which Harm was grateful.

The car ride began quietly, and ended with a rousing, if off key duet of U2's, "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The pair laughed until they hurt, and just as the sun slipped from the sky, they pulled into the driveway for the address Bud had provided.

Since they were in civvies, they decided to forego an official introduction. Mac went to the front of the car and pulled the hood up. Searching for a moment, she found the hose, and taking a pen knife loosened one end then the other, and slipped it into the outside pocket of her bag.

"It's a risk."

"Scared, Flyboy?" Terrified. He heart screamed, but his head shook curtly. Taking her hand and threading his fingers through hers he walked with her to the front door. They were greeted by an older woman wearing angel oven mitts. "Yes?"

"Hi," Mac and Harm started at the same time. Mac looked at Harm and deferred to him. "Our car, uh, it just stopped. It died at the end of your driveway. We were lucky to get it off the road."

"Oh!" She looked at the two of them and nodded. "Let me get my husband." She ushered them inside and called for the man of the house. "Huey! Come, on in here. I bet you were on your way to see the Salt Lake, huh?" she smiled at the thought. "Tourists?"

Mac nodded, "Yes, Ma'am. I'm Sarah and this is Harmon. We decided to take a scenic route. Harm here has an amazing sense of direction. He's never once gotten us lost." Her tone was surgury sweet, but her eyes told Harm just how sarcastic the comment was.

"Really? Huey!" she called again.

"Well, in seven years, Sarah has never once given me the wrong time—and she doesn't even own a watch." They all chuckled as she demonstrated her uncanny sense of timing remembering to translate to the twelve hour civilian time. "Do you see many people out this way?"

"No, Huey and I have had more visitors in the last two days than we've had in all the months we've lived here."

"Really?" harm raised a brow at Mac. "I'm sorry if we're intruding when you've guests."

"No, no. Tom and his brother-in-law left this afternoon, on their was to Vegas I believe."

"Wow, that's a decent drive. What time did they leave?"

"Oh right after Oprah, so around 3:30." the little woman smiled at the couple before. "We're just about ready for dinner. Stay and eat, then Huey will look over that car."

"Thanks, Ma'am that would be great." Four hours later, new hose in place, Harm and Mac drove off headed for the Southern suburbs of Salt Lake City. Mac squeezed his knee as his eyes tried to drop closed. "That Holiday Inn up there looks awfully inviting."

"Yes," Mac groaned. "Sleep." In twenty minutes they were checked into the Holiday Inn, fast asleep, and totally unaware of the piercing blue eyes that followed them.



Day 2

0530

Salt Lake City, Utah

After a bare 5 hours of sleep Mac woke to the rumbling of her traitorous stomach. Finding it hard to be cheerful, she rolled from the bed and dialed room service, Fifteen minutes later she was gorging herself with eggs and toast. She watched Harm sleep, half wishing him awake, half wishing him to stay sleeping. After the food was gone, though, she let the part of her that wanted him awake win. Easing back into the bed, she lay her hands on his stomach and glided them down his body. Smiling at his unconcious response she took full advantage.

Harm's eyes snapped open as she shattered the dream world around him and called his name. "Sarah." He mumured as she collasped onto his chest. Definitely the best possible way to wake up. He mused running a hand down her back. Disentangling himself from her, he rose to devour the breakfast she had ordered them.

As they woke up to each other, Tom O'Hare and his brother-in-law returned to their Vegas hotel room to sleep off the night they'd spent of the casino floor. As Harm devoured his breakfast, a pair of baleful eyes watched their every move.

@~~~~~~~

Deciding to drive in shifts, Harm took the first shift and allowed Mac the time to sleep—time they probably wouldn't get in Vegas. He smiled at the thought of Elvis impersonators and slot machines. He drove four hours listening to the soft twang of the country music he liked and she tolerated. She slept soundly, but not queitly, as a nightmare was ripping through her mind.

The eyes were blue, like the crystal water of the Caribean. They could've been Harm's eyes but there was a hard sheen to them, like maybe he was angry. As those strangely familiar eyes walked away from her she shivered. There was a flurry of pink feathers and the glitter of hundreds of lights. Mac, with a distinct sense of disgust and hurt, turned away from the flash of glitter and caught the glint of steel. Running toward the man screaming "Gun!" at the top of her voice seemed to warn no one. The man with the gun raced ahead of her to find a break in the crowd. "Mac!" she heard her name from far away. Harm's eyes. These were blue, and warm. Friendly, loving. She felt the dread curl in her stomach and poise to attack. The gun flashed and the bullet screamed across the wide opening catching Harm's chest just as she tried to push him out of danger.

Mac sat bolt upright in the passenger seeat. "Idiot!" Harm yelled as another car cut in front of him nearly close enough to trade paint. "You all right?" He asked as Mac settled back against the seat.

She took a deep breath and recalled the lifeless eyes that had ended her dream. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You ready to let me drive a while?"

"Sure." He said doubting the steadiness of her voice, but thinking better of metioning it.

Once she was behind the wheel, Mac settled into a brisk pace for the drive. Harm watched her for a few minutes then drifted into a heavy sleep that Mac envied. She turned on the radio to keep her company and listened for a minute to the country drivel Harm liked so much. Shrugging she tuned into a rock station and sang quietly with Tori Amos or The Clash with a wry smile and a lighter heart. Soon the nightmare was a memory, and she was turning the volume up to drown out Harm's incessant snoring.

Four hours later she turned onto The Strip. Harm had only been awake a few minutes and he was glad he'd gotten to she her admiration for the obnoxiously lighted strech of highway. "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah." she commented with just a little whisper of admiration for the gaudiness of it all. Just past The Mirage they pulled into a hotel. Checking-in and dropping their bags in the room, Harm and Mac headed for the Bellagio, where O'Hare had last used his credit card.

"Why is he doing this, Mac? He seems to be leading us straight to him."

'I know it doesn't make sense really." She said straightening the jacket of his dress whites. "If he's guilty he sure isn't trying to hide his whereabouts."

They finally stepped up to the counter, showed their ID's and were told that the Commander had gone to see the review in the theatre. Harm grinned and Mac rolled her eyes. The Desk clerk stopped them. "You won't find him in the audience. His friend bought a back stage package for both of them." Harm's grin grew and Mac swallowed a lengthy sigh.

When she stepped into the stage door Mac stopped dead. There were pink feathers and rhinestones flashed everywhere. A slick knot of dread formed in her stomach.

The eyes that follwed the couple narrowed as Harm put a hand at the samll of her back. "What is it, Mac?"

"I-I don't know." She shook her short, dark cap fo hair. "Nothing." She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Let's go."

Harm left his hand where it was until they were separated by a line of onry chorus girls. Continuing to look for Tom O'Hare, Mac marched the stage lef to right and back again. Throwing up her hands in exasperation, she turned to see with a busty, blonde showgirl Harm wrapped around him. Her costume, consisting of pink feather and stick on rhinstones ruffled and flashed as she cruched her lips to Harm's. Mac swallowed hard recognizing the sense of disgust and hurt. She didn't want to turn around; she knew what she would see there, but just as she decided she couldn't stand it anymore Harm's eyes locked onto hers. There was an apology in them. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she turned, and saw the glint of steel. She looked up and caught the andry azure eyes. So much like Harm's. She thought even as her feet began to carry her into the foot chase. "Mac!" she heard Harm's voice far behind her. She caught the man where she'd known she would. The lobby wasn't crowded and it was huge. It remained clear of people until Harm stepped out of a door across from her. His eyes found hers and held them. "Gun." She whispered, frozen by fright only a moment. "Gun!" she screamed racing toward him aiming to tackle him. Instead of pushing him to the side as she'd seen in the dream, she pushed him straight back. Harm's eyes went wide as he heard the crack of gunfire and felt her hands pushing him from the line of fire. His heart dropped to his knees when Mac's eyes went wide and her hand brushed over her chest. The pain exploded through her body as blood covered her hand then the oblivious darkness overwhelmed her.