Part 4
*

Mac tossed her bag down on the floor inside the door of the cabin and felt around for the light switch. The Admiral had said the place had electricity.

"Ah ha!" she exclaimed when she finally found it.

"What?" Harm asked as he walked through the door with more luggage.

"Nothing. Just found the light."

"Oh," he said, looking around. "Nice place he's got here."

Mac picked up her bag and hauled it to the bedroom. Of which she found there was only one.

"No kidding," she responded. "Ya think he knows it only has one bedroom?"

"What?" Harm said, raising his eyebrows.

"That seems to be your question of choice tonight."

Harm shook his head. "Sorry." He walked up behind Mac and peered in the bedroom.

There was one very large bed, an overstuffed chair, a night stand, and a desk. It was your typical hotel room, only larger and with better decor and furnishings.

"Maybe the couch folds out?" he asked.

Mac just shrugged. "I guess you could try it."

Harm removed the cushions from the couch in the living room, and looked at Mac. "It doesn't."

"Great."

"Yeah, great."

"Look," Mac said. "Let's just get a fire started in that huge fireplace, and we'll worry about that later."

"Sounds good to me."

There was already a good stack of wood next to the fireplace, so Harm went about starting a fire, while Mac lugged their things into the bedroom.

That bed is at least king size, Mac thought. There's no reason to be children about this. She sighed.

Not children. Two very attracted adults.

Two very attracted adults who would act like children by sleeping as far away from each other as possible.

Mac came back into the living room where Harm had a blazing fire going.

"I think we can manage to share that bed and have plenty of personal space."

Harm immediately looked like a deer caught in headlights, but quickly tried to recover.

"Uh, fine. We can do that. This couch isn't going to hold up to either one of us."

Mac just sighed. "Well, I'm going to see if we have water, and if so, I'm going to shower and then you can do... Whatever," she said with a wave of her hand, turning for the bedroom again.

As soon as she left the room, Harm collapsed on the couch and started praying to God and anyone else who would listen.

*

"Your turn," Mac said, walking out of the bedroom in nothing but her robe. Her hair was wet, and she was trying to towel dry is as best she could.

There was no response from the couch - Harm had dozed off.

Mac shook him lightly. "Harm, wake up. Harm? You're really some bodyguard, ya know?"

He grunted and opened his eyes. "What?"

"You fell asleep."

"Oh, sorry. You done in the bathroom?"

"Yeah, you go ahead. I'll try to put this fire out in here, and get one started in the bedroom."

Uh oh, she thought and gave Harm a *very* sharp look. Watch the wording, idiot, she warned herself.

Harm wisely said nothing and left the room.

Mac sat down and put her head in her hands. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she berated herself.

This whole situation had gone too far. Somebody was going to leave this cabin with a confession, and she was afraid it was going to be Harm.

Resigned to keeping her mouth shut, Mac got up and began covering the last burning embers of the fire with ashes. She gathered up the remaining firewood and carried it to the bedroom. She was thankful there *was* a fireplace there. Alternative ways of keeping warm were completely out of the question.

Just keep telling yourself that, she thought.

*

Harm was on his back, under the covers, on the right side of the bed. Mac was on her side, back to him, under the covers on the left.

There was at least six feet between them, and there they were practically hugging their respective edges.

Harm could barely take listening to her breathe. He'd just been the victim of a very cold shower, and it still wasn't helping. It seemed that every five seconds he was turning his head to look over at her on the other side, all curled up in her flannel sleepshirt.

Eventually, the erratic beat of his heart calmed down, and the nerves gave way to a deep, painful longing within his chest. They were so close, yet so far away.

This bed was a perfect metaphor.

He wanted to hold her, but he didn't want to push her. The worst of it was, she'd already given him his chance a long time ago, and he was afraid she'd never give him another.

"Mac?" he whispered.

"Yes?" she asked, rolling over to face him.

He didn't think she'd been asleep, but she might've been close.

"Do you ever think about if things were different?"

He was only rewarded with a puzzled look.

"Like... If I wasn't in the Navy, or you weren't in the Marines."

Mac got the picture quickly enough. "Sometimes," she answered softly.

"Do you think things could be different then?"

"Probably."

"So there's no chance now-"

"Maybe," she answered and rolled back over.

She wanted to be honest with him, to tell him that she was willing to do anything to make them work. That they both had to want it, and she'd go up against the Admiral and anyone else she had to for them to stay together.

But she was also willing to wait for him to make the big, risky, heartbreaking move this time. He had to prove, once and for all, that he'd let go.

*

Neither of them had slept well all night. But then, trying to be aware enough that you didn't move didn't exactly prove for restful sleep.

Harm stirred at about two, only to find that Mac had somehow made her way over to his side of the bed. She was nestled into his chest as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if she belonged there.

In his half-sleep, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, and as he did so, Mac's hand began to run up his chest, settling behind his neck.

Before he could shake away his grogginess, Mac's lips were on his. He gave in instantly, without a moment's hesitation, without thinking. His hands were on her back now, pressing her closer, as she raised up slightly to gain better access to his mouth.

Harm still had his left arm around Mac, while his right hand trailed up her bare leg, just underneath the edge of her sleepshirt.

But as her warm hands began to slide beneath his t-shirt, he paused. He was now quite alert, and had to stop this before they both did something they'd regret.

Harm slowly broke the kiss, dragging himself away from Mac, as he gently took her by the arms, sliding her hands from beneath his shirt.

"Mac," he said softly, as not to startle her.

She opened her eyes with an agonized groan, and slowly pieced together what was going on.

Harm gently let her down on her back, still lightly holding her arms.

"I wasn't dreaming, was I?" she asked, her voice emotionless.

He only looked at her, thinking he'd blown everything, and shook his head.

Mac removed herself from his grasp and sat up, making sure to gather her night shirt around her as much as possible.

"I, uh - " She raked a hand through her rumpled hair. "I don't know what happened. I usually sleep a *hell* of a lot light than that."

"You haven't been getting any sleep lately."

"That's still - I'm sorry."

She sounded angry with herself, but he couldn't understand why.

"Don't -" He was cut off by a flash of light through the window above the bed.

Mac turned to look at him, her voice automatically lowering. "What?" she asked.

Harm sat up now, too, and carefully peered through the window. "I saw a light. Could've been one of the guards with their flashlights, but I don't know."

Mac looked slightly worried. "Should we check it out?"

"It's okay. I will," he said, and for once she didn't argue.

As he started to stand, Mac grabbed his hand, and he turned back around.

"You don't think Coster...?"

"It's not likely, Mac. But you just never know," he answered honestly.

He grabbed both of their guns from the nightstand and handed Mac hers.

"I'm going to go have a look outside, and you stay here and hold onto this."

She nodded.

"I mean it - stay here. Don't try to be a hero."

"Of course not. That's your job," she replied, but her tone was teasing.

Harm just rolled his eyes and stood. "I'll be right back."

"Be careful," she said as he left the room.

TBC...