Author's Note: You wanted it and now here it is, part eleven. This part has some very shippery moments. This one is really long so you will want to get comfy in your computer chairs. This one I have been working on for a little while finally it is ready for you to read. I think I found all the errors but if I made one please let me know! Feedback is as you know is much appreciated and I love to hear from you! Once more I am droning on and on so I am going to shut up now so you can read.
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The Royal Tahitian
Out in the Pacific Ocean
0900 Romeo
Day 7
Mac woke up early and went to breakfast alone. Her mind had been racing all night long and she needed to be alone to clear her head. At about seven thirty she had gone to the Horizon Deck and had a cup of coffee and clear her thoughts. Tonight was the big formal and she and Harm were pulling out all the stops. Were they really getting even with Bud and Harriet or we they being beaten by them? If her guesses were right then the Roberts were ahead. She had fallen for Harm all over again despite the fact that she really didn't want to admit it. She did love him even after all of the stupid and even downright low things he had done. Was he thinking the same thing that this was finally going to happen that maybe just maybe their luck was improving and they had a chance? Mac certainly hoped so.
Now she stood on the balcony fully dressed staring at the beautiful island of Bora-Bora that lay before her. Bud and Harriet were already on their tour of the island, they would be back by five when the ship shoved off.
"Good morning Mac, how long have you been up?" Harm said stepping out on the balcony next to her.
"Well hello sleepy head. I thought you would never wake up. I've been up since six."
"Doing what?"
"Thinking about the jigsaw that is my life." She sighed stepping back inside. Harm followed her in again and began his daily regimen.
By nine forty-five they were walking out the suite door and down the hall to the stairs and then the main gangway. When they stepped onto the dock the overall scene was much more serene they were no vendors crowding the docks and the road was not jammed with cars. Harm and Mac walked along the sidewalk side by side occasionally stopping at a window of one of the small shops that lined them on one side and the ocean on the other. They past the boardwalks that lead to bungalows over the water that was so blue you could see the fish swimming around on the shallow bottom.
"Hey Mac what do you say to a taxi ride to a secluded beach and spend the rest of the day there?"
"That sounds great but how will we get back?"
"I'm sure we can have the driver come back out and get us for a few extra dollars."
"One flaw in that plan they don't use dollars here I happen to be fresh out of the local currency."
"Well while you were in that little shop a ways back I exchanged some money for the local currency."
"What are we waiting for let's go!" Mac stepped off the sidewalk and hailed an incoming taxi. They climbed in when the man stopped.
"Where can I take you fine people today?" He asked as they pulled back onto the street. His accent had a trace of French to it.
"A nice secluded beach if you can manage it." Mac said smiling.
"That I can do ma'am and I think you will need a ride back too at say what four o'clock?"
"Yes that would be delightful. Thank you." Mac said. The man smiled and they headed out onto a small access road and within ten minutes the man pulled up along the side of a small sheltered white sand cove. Mac climbed out and Harm paid the man and made sure that he would be there at four o'clock. They stood on the side of the road until the man drove away, then turning away Mac slid off her sandals and stepped on the sand, which she was surprised, to find was cool. Harm did the same and they walked down the slight incline to the beach. Mac was amazed at how clear of a blue the water was not like the somewhat dingy blue of the other beaches she had been to. She walked to the edge of the surf, which tickled her toes and looked out at the ocean again.
"Mind if I take those from you." Harm asked, motioning to her sandals and purse.
"Uh, sure but don't be gone too long." Mac smiled. She handed her things to Harm who walked a ways up the beach and after setting them down in the sand rejoined her with his hands in his pockets.
"This really great the beaches at my mom's house aren't as wonderful as this and they don't have as great of company either." Harm thought out loud. Mac sighed,
"Yes it is wonderful, too bad we only have three and a half hours to enjoy it."
"It can't be that late already."
"Sorry to disappoint you Harm but unfortunately it's 1210. Now if you hadn't slept in we may have had more time."
"Well Mac maybe if you hadn't spent so much time window shopping." Harm teased back.
"Harm we aren't going to see who is at fault here we do too much of that already."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that we are always arguing instead of compromising and everything around us is suffering." Mac concluded. Harm couldn't come up with a comeback for that because everything she said was true. Their friendship lately had been running on a downward spiral, but things were slowly improving and that was reason enough to hope. He decided to change the pace a bit and suggested,
"Let's go swimming."
"In what Harm?"
"The water Mac."
"In case you haven't noticed I'm not exactly in swimming attire." Mac stated she turned around to see Harm in nothing but boxers once again.
"Oh no Harm. No way! I am not doing to swim in my underwear or much less skinny dip!" Mac protested.
"Who said anything about skinny dipping all I asked was if you wanted to go swimming. Your welcome to stay in all your clothes but I will swim in my skivvies if that's alright with you." Harm said shrugging.
"Well what if well… someone sees?" Mac worried.
"Mac they won't even notice and if they did all they would see is two people swimming." Harm said walking out in the water until it almost reached his waist then dove in. When he surfaced again he called,
"Come on Mac the water is fine!" Mac looked at him for a minute then said to herself.
"To hell with it! I'm going in." She too stripped down and swam out to him. He was right the water was great. When she reached him she had a look of victory on her face.
"I see my Marine has conquered her fear of water." Harm joked.
"Your Marine? Well aren't we protective."
"Do not like the fact that your partner is protective of you? I would hate to break in a new one you know." Harm said and dove under the water before Mac could reply. She rolled her eyes and began swimming parallel to the currant. It was a little more difficult then she thought but enjoyable none the less Harm had caught up to her in no time and they swam side by side for awhile before she stopped and treading water she asked,
"Hey Harm what do you say we race to those rocks over there then we can dry off put our clothes back on. We only have about a half-hour until four."
"Okay but I'm going to beat you. I'm a Squid after all." Harm said sticking his tongue out then began swimming off.
"No fair!" Mac yelled before following suit. Harm reached the rocks just before Mac did and when Mac surfaced she gasped,
"You cheated! You got a head start."
"I did not! You just weren't as fast." Harm protested. He was grinning from ear to ear he had finally beaten Mac at something other than flying and that just blew up his ego even more. Mac rolled her eyes and began to head in and Harm followed close behind her. When Harm was about waist deep in water and Mac was standing dripping wet at the edge of the surf he asked,
"Have you ever body surfed?"
"No. Why?"
"I was just wondering. The swells are pretty good." Harm shrugged.
"Maybe another time Harm we have to…Ahhh!" A huge swell hit Mac and caused her to fall over into the sand. Harm had body surfed in and came ashore right next to Mac.
"You knew that was coming didn't you?" She said pinning him down in the sand.
"No I had no idea but you should know better than to turn your back on the ocean. It puts you at a disadvantage." Harm stated softly. Their faces were a mere inches apart and Mac replied,
"I'm always at a disadvantage when it comes to…" She didn't finish as she placed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. His lips were warm and tender against hers with a tinge of salt water to their taste and she wanted to deepen the kiss but as another wave hit them she pulled away slowly and stood up quickly pulling Harm with her. The look on his face was one of pure shock mingled with delight. Mac's on the other hand was embarrassed, but Harm could see the enjoyment of it in her eyes.
"Well we need to get ready the cab should be here within a few minutes." Mac said brushing of and walking up the beach to their clothes. They put them on in silence and walked up to the roadside and within a couple of minutes the cab pulled up and they climbed in.
When they arrived back at the pier Mac got out as did Harm and paid the man the correct amount and a little tip. Where was he going to use the money anyway? They walked up the gangway and back to their suite and when Harm opened the door he was surprised to see the message light on the phone blinking. Mac came in behind him and sitting on the bed it the play button.
"Hello, Commander and Colonel this is Harriet and we got back early from the tour and I was calling to see if the Colonel wanted to join me at the spa before we get ready for the formal the Commander is welcome to come along too. We are going to stop by at oh about four thirty, so if your back we'll see you then. Bye." The message ended and Mac asked,
"You don't mind do you Harm, besides I'd be hogging the bathroom otherwise. Maybe they have a way to get all this sand off me. It's everywhere."
"Of course you are welcome to go."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes besides I really don't need a facial or a manicure right now and I never saw the point in a mud bath. I'll just chill here and then get ready, but since when you come back you'll be busy getting ready I want to give these to you now." Harm reached into the dresser and pulled out a velvet box. Walking back over to her he opened it and asked,
"Will you wear these tonight?" Mac stared at the contents of the box. Nestled inside the velvet was a pair of black pearl earrings and a string of perfectly matched black pearls to match. Picking up the necklace and examining it she exclaimed,
"Oh Harm these must have cost you a small fortune. I could never wear them it wouldn't seem right. I mean this isn't the kind of gift that you give…"
"A partner, a best friend and the most wonderful JAG lawyer I know. I find it a very suiting gift, and you don't dress up often anymore and you need to and I thought these would be a nice reason to do so." Harm finished for her.
"Oh thank you I'm sorry for seeming ungrateful I just wasn't expecting it, but how did you get them?"
"Well when we were in Papeete I saw them and when while we were walking back to the ship I slipped Bud my credit card and he knew the ones I was talking about and picked them up. They did cost quite a bit but I think it was worth it."
"How is that possible Bud was with us the whole time except for when they fell behind just before we got to the pier…" Then it dawned on her and she smiled at Harm who gave her his signature grin and laughed. Then there was a knock on the door and Mac stood up to answer it.
"Hello Harriet we got your message, is there anything I need to bring and where's Bud."
"Hello ma'am there is nothing you need to bring and Bud is back in the room he didn't want to come along so it's just us. Did you go swimming ma'am?" Harriet replied smiling seeing Mac's damp hair.
"I'll tell you all about my adventures today at the spa Harriet." Mac smiled and turned to Harm and said,
"Of course I'll wear them. Now don't get yourself into too much trouble." Mac advised and picking up one of the room keys left Harm alone in the suite. He carefully closed the box after returning the necklace and set it on the dresser and opening another drawer he pulled out another smaller velvet box and set it alongside the other one. Sitting down he turned on the TV and watched a military drama that had just come on. He found the episode to be somewhat of a coincidence to a recent experience he had in the courtroom, but brushed it off as just that a coincidence.
The Royal Tahitian
Off the coast of Bora-Bora
1700 Romeo
Suite 19
Harm stood up and began to ready himself for the evening. He had been watching the show and forgotten about the time. Opening the closet he pulled out his dress whites, which were ironed neatly, the laundry had gotten the wrinkles from being packed out and they were crisp. He laid them on the bed and from his suitcase pulled his bars, boards, and polished wings out of a flat box. He also pulled out his formal gloves. He wanted to impress Mac as much as possible and the gloves were technically a part of his uniform. He quickly showered and dressed and was pinning his wings on when there was a knock on the door. He stepped over and opened the door. Bud greeted him in his dress whites.
"Hello sir, I see that we were thinking on the same path."
"Hey Bud. I don't have a tuxedo and the tailors didn't have a coat long enough so I had to go with the whites, but I'm not complaining. Was there something you needed?"
"Well sir I was wondering if you wanted to have a drink while we waited on Harriet and the Colonel. Mary just arrived and told me that if we left all their things on the bed that she would take them up to the spa and they would get ready there." Bud stated.
"Sure I'll join you for a drink just give me a minute to lay out Mac's things." Harm quickly reached into the closet and pulled out what he assumed was Mac's dress, and set the pearls on top of it. Grabbed the other box off the dresser and tucking it safely in his pocket he walked out the door with Bud and they headed down the main stairs to the ballroom.
The Pacific Ballroom
1 hour later
Harm and Bud were at the bar each with a beer in their hands. People were already arriving and finding tables on the edge of the dance floor. Bud looked at his watch and said,
"Sir, they should be coming down soon. Should we meet them at the main staircase?"
"Sure Bud. After all we are their dates tonight." Harm said finishing his beer and putting it on the tab they left the ballroom and went to stand at the foot of the polished mahogany staircase. They watched people coming down and after a minute or two, Harm thought he heard Mac's laughter from the top of the stairs, and looking up he saw her.
Mac was standing at the top of the stairs in a beautiful strapless silk gown that was a deep emerald green. He noted the pearls at her neck and hanging from her ears. He was absolutely mesmerized by everything about her. Her makeup was done wonderfully and her smile was one he hadn't seen in a while. She descended slowly and with as much grace as an angel. The light from the chandeliers created a soft light around her and Harm knew he was falling in love with her all over again.
Mac had seen Harm at the bottom of the steps and her heart skipped a beat or two. He looked just handsome as he had when they met in the rose garden. The look on his face caused her to smile a little wider and she noted he was in full dress uniform right down to his gloves. She tried to maintain her composure and walked slowly down but as she got closer to him she found it extremely hard to do.
After what seemed like an eternity for both of them Mac reached the bottom and Harm offered her his arm. She gladly took it and her breath was a still taken away at the sight of him and she couldn't say anything.
"You look gorgeous tonight Mac." Harm said softly as he escorted her into the ballroom.
"Thank you Harm and you look quite dashing yourself." Mac replied looking up at him. They saw Bud and Harriet who had gotten ahead of them and already had a table close to the dance floor. Harm pulled out Mac's chair and helped her get settled and then sat down next to her. The orchestra played softly in the background and Mac slipped Harm a note under the table. He opened it and inside was scrawled,
"Remember all out romantic assault!" Harm smiled and nodded and tucked it in his pocket. Then he summoned a waiter, who asked politely,
"Yes sir? Is there something I could get you?"
"Yes I believe a bottle of sparkling cider will be order if that is okay with everyone?" Harm asked and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Would you like to order dinner now as well? Our special tonight the surf and turf which is a filet mingion with a marinated vegetable mix and grilled shrimp glazed with a light lemon sauce." The waiter recited. Then looked at Harriet.
"That sounds wonderful, and I would like a glass of water as well." Bud ordered the same and Mac ordered the cedar plank salmon and Harm went with a vegetarian lasagna. The waiter took down their order and quickly left to place the order.
"Didn't you have the salmon the other night ma'am?" Harriet asked.
"Yes I did but it sounded really good tonight and I can't cook one for myself at home so this was the best way to get it." Mac agreed.
"Well we know that you can't cook that well, but you make okay cookies." Harm teased.
"Just okay? You ate the whole plate of them the last time I made them, so they couldn't have been that bad."
"I was hungry." Harm shrugged. Mac rolled her eyes and they continued to banter back and forth pleasantly not aware to Bud and Harriet conversing quietly.
"Did you see the way the look at each other? Bud I really think this is working. Only problem is when they get back to JAG…"
"The Admiral will most definitely pull privilege. He likes them a lot." Bud reassured Harriet who smiled and watched Harm and Mac discretely. They talked on and on until dinner arrived and over her plate Harriet didn't miss a single wistful glance they shared.
Mac was on her third glass of cider and watching the people revolve slowly on the dance floor when Harm asked,
"Do you want to dance Mac?"
"I would love to." Mac said setting her glass down and standing. They walked out on the dance floor and Harm carefully put one hand around her waist and with the other he intertwined their fingers and began revolving around the floor slowly.
"Remember the first time we did this Harm?"
"That was at the NATO Ball wasn't it?"
"Yes and you said you didn't think of me like a sister, do you still think the same?" Mac asked looking up at him.
"I still don't think of you as sister, but a lot like a…"
"Yes…" Mac chided. Harm just smiled and pulled her closer as they danced. Mac relaxed against him and listened to the music, until Harm stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing but I just felt…" He paused and looked down and then felt it again. Someone was pulling on his pant leg. He let go of Mac and looked down. There was a very shy seven year old David looking back at him.
"Sir do you mind if… if…I umm cut in?" He asked shyly. Mac and Harm both smiled and Harm said,
"Not at all. Just don't dance with her all night, she is my date after all."
"Yes sir." David said before Mac took his hands and placed them appropriately and was surprised to learn that a seven-year-old knew all the dance steps to the waltz that was know playing. Harm went back and sat down at their now empty table. He watched Mac with a smile on his face and then looking around spotted Jim Carson dancing with his daughter and Teresa dancing with another man. He also spotted Bud and Harriet, he laughed at that because he could see Harriet wincing slightly as Bud stepped on her foot.
Mac and little David shared a couple more dances before she joined Harm at the table again.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Harm asked.
"Yes but it wasn't as much fun as dancing with you."
"Or as kissing me?" Harm muttered under his breath. Mac heard him though and stammered,
"I… I was just caught up in the moment. That's all." She protested but her eyes told Harm otherwise. He cocked an eyebrow at her and she changed the subject.
"Can we go outside? It's a little stuffy in here."
"Hey why not. It might even get Bud and Harriet thinking something is up." Harm shrugged and as they walked out onto the deck he slipped an arm around Mac.
Bud and Harriet watched them as they walked out and smiled at one another. Their plan had worked they just didn't how well.
