Chapter 3

1830 EST Harm's Apartment North of Union Station

To Harm the time droned on endlessly, as if 1900 would never come. As the evening progressed, the pit in his stomach grew. Harm's mind was like a drunken monkey, jumping from one inconsequential thought to an other. He was dreading and relishing his dinner tonight with his marine. The preparation for dinner was quick and easy. Harm knew Mac would enjoy the fettuccini alfraido with smoked salmon and scallops. Now with everything ready he was tortured with the wait. No sooner the clock read 7:00 than a knock could be heard. "Sometime she will have to tell me how she does that." Harm muttered to himself. He rushed to the door knowing Mac would be hungry and ready to eat. Mac walked in holding a bottle. " Sparkling apple cider?" "It will complement dinner superbly. The crispness apple and the bubbles-" "Shut up sailor" Mac quipped. She too was starting to relax. Harm flashed her one of his quintessential flyboy smiles that made Mac weak in the knees. "Now about that promised dinner." "I see filling your stomach is top priority marine." Harm teased. "Oh you bet my six it is" Mac retorted laughing. She Harm blush and quickly retreat to the kitchen. When he returned Mac was seated at the table ready to devour any food placed in front of her. "Mmmm, looks delicious." Mac said as her eyes followed the noodles. 'Not as delicious as you' Harm thought. At that moment Mac thought back. 'I can't believe I almost married Mic. He would have never gone out of his way to cook something like this, unless he was manipulating for something.' After they were through with dinner Mac brought up the subject of their vacation. "Well I need to tie up some loose ends at work, so we could leave on Saturday" Harm suggested. "That works, but where are we going? What abut hotel reservations, car rental, and plane tickets? Did you think about those things?" "Well-" "Here, I brought these brochures." Mac handed him a very large stack of papers. "Oookay, do you have any ideas?" Mac looked down at the table and mumbled something about going to Fiji. "Well then Fiji it is." "Really you would go to Fiji?" Mac asked skeptically. "Yeah, if it means seeing you in a bikini." The gleam in Harm's eyes fully expressed that he was looking for trouble. "Well we do have to work tomorrow, so I should get going." Mac got up and headed to the door. "I will take care of the plans, and you just get your beauty sleep." After the door closed Harm quietly said "Sweet dream, my sweet Sarah."

2300 EST Mac's Apartment Georgetown, D.C.

Mac walked through the door almost squealing. She was going to Fiji with Harm! She could hardly contain her excitement. The week would be hell. How could she concentrate on work when on Saturday she would be flying to a tropical paradise with the man of her dreams? She let out a sigh as she flopped on her bed. 'I am going to a dream place with a stunning guy. I need to be able to dress for it. Something special, and that means SHOPPING!' Mac was elated at the thought of new clothes; she wanted Harm to see her drop dead beautiful. As she got ready for bed Harm and the romantic possibilities found themselves in her mind. "You've got it BAD marine" Mac said to herself. "You are an adult acting like a love sick teenager." She paused a moment at her dresser. "I have to pack that white silk nightgown that Harm likes so much. I could have had him eating out of my hand that night in Russia. Dreams of Fijian beaches, fruity drinks with little umbrellas, and the company of the one they each loved invaded the wanting minds of the JAG team. Both wanting more from the relationship, but afraid they will destroy their friendship they had fought so hard to preserve. This could be just what they so desperately needed.

0717 EST JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA

Harm strolled into JAG looking like he just won the lottery. He was oblivious to the fact he was almost twenty minutes late. On any given day he would have been concerned, but he was still on the high from last night. Harm's elation was bubbling over. He had spent a fair chunk of last night procuring the plane tickets, choosing where they would stay, and an added surprise that would make Sarah his at last. As Harm was about to enter his office he a voice from behind him asked, "Any special reason why you are so happy today?" It was Sturgis, 'Leave it to him to bring me back to the mundane Tuesday morning.' Harm thought as he answered "No, just ordered to take a vacation." Harm responded coolly, he did not want to sound overly excited. "To where are you going?" Sturgis' interest was peaked. He saw on the office calendar that Col. MacKenzie was taking next week off too. "Fiji" was the matter of fact answer given from his college buddy. "What's in Fiji?" "Sand" Harm answered plainly. "Right, sand" Sturgis commented with a shake of his head. There was more to this than his friend was letting on, but it would no good to pry. It was good to see Harm happy. Maybe he would finally see what the rest of JAG had been seeing of a long time. Sturgis had only been at JAG for a short time but he as well as everyone else could sense the emotional tension between the colonel and the commander. He also recollected the time when Mac unintentionally confessed her love for Harm. Fiji would be good for both of them. Harm entered his office, sank into his chair and started tackling the mountain of paperwork on his desk. Only the image if both Mac and him on a white sandy beach kept him going. As the morning faded into the afternoon, his mind was loosing the ability to concentrate. He was in need of a break. He wondered what Mac was thinking, and if it was of him. Mac sat in her chair and brushed a lone strand of hair behind her ear. It was nearing lunch, and like Harm could not concentrate. The slew of paperwork was leaving her dazed. She was still a bit irked from her altercation with Lt. Singer that morning. She allowed visions of her sailor to dance across her distractible mind. She was shook out of her dream world by a knock at her door. "Enter" was the turse reply she gave, not trying to hide her irritation. With that Harm cautiously entered her office. He could tell that she was pissed about something and did not want it unleashed on him. He immediately felt for her, he hated to see her pissed or in pain. He just wanted to help. As soon as Harm walked in all the irritation melted away and she felt her spirits lifting. "Bad day Marine? Or is the paperwork getting to you?" "Well, I had the immense pleasure of meeting with Lt. Singer this morning and Mount Everest is not getting any smaller" Mac said pointing to the stacks of paper on her desk. "Should have guessed. Lunch sound good?" "Only if you're buying." Mac said playfully as she grabbed her cover and jacket. Throughout lunch Harm explained their travel plans. Mac was in a state of disbelief. What had gotten into Harm?, she wondered. First he let her talk him into Beltway Burger and now she was hearing about this unbelievably picturesque vacation. Although he said he was finished telling her about the plans, the glint in his eyes told her there was something more. "What aren't you telling me Harm, because I can tell you are hiding something." She asked pointedly. "All you get to know is that I have a surprise planned." 'It is so much fun to see her squirm." Harm thought. "Haaaarrrmmm.c'mon tell me!" Mac whined. She was dying to know. Harm would have to be on his guard because Mac would not miss a moment to try and weasel it out of him.

0730 EST (Friday) JAG Headquarters Falls Church, VA

Mac had been anxiously waiting for Harm's arrival. She could barely contain herself and concentrate on the tasks at hand. Fortunately she had finished most everything on Thursday, and now it was just last minute details, dealing with e-mail and voice mail. Fifteen minutes after Harm reached his office Mac came bursting in. As she shut the door and sat on his couch Harm asked her if she was getting excited. "Hell yes!" was her exasperated reply. She could not believe that he could ask such a question. Of course she was excited. The wait was driving her insane! While Mac was telling Harm about something, he should probably be paying attention to what she was saying, but her thigh captivated his attention. She had crossed her legs just so that his eyes were allowed the freedom to wander. He followed the contoured lines of her legs from the tip of her shoe up into the darkness of her marine green skirt. Mac leaned back and, smiled, her ploy worked. She had gotten the reaction she hoped for from her flyboy. 'This is going to be a great week.' She thought. "So squid, what time are you going to pick me up?" "What'?" Harm was shaken from his less than gentlemanly thoughts about her legs. He knew she asked something. "Oh, um, how about 0430, we have a 0630 flight, so that should give us enough time for security, check in, traffic." He was well aware he was rambling. 'Harm, just shut up, before you make it worse.' he told himself. "0430 it is." And with that Mac left his office. It saddened him whenever she left. He loved her presence. The smell of her hair, the way she could reduce him to a babbling idiot, and the way he felt like nothing else mattered except her.

0430 EST Mac's Apartment Georgetown, D.C.

Mac was ready to go when Harm appeared at her door. She double checked everything and was out the door. She piled her bags into Harm's SUV and smiled. 'This is going to be perfect, sun sand, and Harmon Rabb, Jr. all to myself. He would have to be comatose to not get the signals I am going to be sending." Mac thought with a huge grin plastered on her face. As the plane was taking off Harm fully realized that they would be separated from work. 'Good, no distractions, I can focus all my attention on that stunning jarhead sitting next to me." "Wish you were flying?" Mac could sense that he was off in world of thought. No, not this time." He paused and decided to open the can of worms. "Because if I were I would not be sitting here with you." He quickly looked at his feet. Mac blushed and was at a loss for words, but her coy smile was noticed by Harm. 'Maybe he does share my feelings' Mac thought. After the in-flight movie Mac fell asleep and her head found its resting spot on Harm's shoulder. When the flight attendant came by he requested a blanket. 'She looks like an angel when she sleeps' he observed. The flight attendant returned with the blanket and Harm gingerly covered her, as if not to break her. He then brushed a single strand of her silky brown hair off her face. This caused Mac to cuddle even closer to him. Harm found one of her hands and took it in his. When Mac awoke, she could hear Harm's heart beat. It was one of the most comforting sounds. She noticed he had covered her with a blanket. It was all the simple things that made her love him so. Laying her head back on his chest, she leaned closer into him and dozed again. Harm woke to the announcements of their preparation for landing. He did not want to wake he, but knew he should. He gently shook her and whispered her name. "Sarah, time to wake up. We're landing" She looked at him groggily, "You still haven't told me what the surprise is yet sailor." Mac could not believe it. They actually were in Fiji!

(A/N) I have been having a bit of writer's block, and sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, but I had to get some background. Ch4 will heat up a bit, so stay tuned.