Title : Where The Sea Meets The Sky

Author : Jaggie 107

Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. 'Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye' belongs to PAX TV - and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you. (Here's the disclaimer for NCIS, as above...I'll leave it in for the rest of the story; makes life easier when I need to 'borrow' Gibbs and his team!)

Rating : G to PG-13

Thanks go to cbw, jtbwriter, beegirl, katydid13, ninjaturtle, capriceann, starryeyes10, kirsten, soonerfan, another tracy, tomcat-all, lori4, carol, eliv.thade, alicia5, fragmentpieces, kesh, claysmvl, chicmns, skyefire, tammy-jet, abigaile, kjflygirl87, anna7, nikki, jbird7986, angelab, pineapplehead, rosa, manda, rinkrat, bard2003, laura carr, tj , sahc, kstorm and arian04 for their reviews. As before, any reviewers I miss between posts will be added to the list for the next chapter!

Replies to previous chapter reviews :

nikki Thank you so much for your review - you've renewed my faith in my abilities to write! Hope you enjoy this chapter, and please keep reading!

jbird7986 Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

anna7 Thank you so much - I'm glad the writers' block has gone too! It's a weird feeling, knowing you have something to put down on paper, but not being able to transfer it. Please keep reading!

jtbwriter Hiya! Hope you like this chapter, Harm and Mac sharing time together! He, he! ;o) Hope the pinky luck held out and your interview went well. Thanks as always!

ninjaturtle Don't worry about Dunstan - I like the guy, so I'd never do anything too bad...but a little suspense never hurt anyone! Gets the adrenaline running! Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

abigaile Thanks for your support, and please keep reading!

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UNNAMED MILITARY BASE

KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

MONDAY MORNING

Harm was waiting on the tarmac as the COD touched down. When it came to a halt and powered down he was stood, arms crossed, legs wide, as though bracing himself against the swell of a deck on a high sea. Mac couldn't help the smile that reached her lips, and it was still there when she disembarked the COD and walked across the tarmac towards Harm.

"Good morning, Captain Rabb." Her salute was smart and Harm grinned.

"At ease, Colonel. Welcome back to Bahrain."

"Thank you. Pardon the formality, but I don't think the authorities would take kindly to me throwing myself at you."

"Understandable, but I'd take kindly to it. I missed you last night."

"I missed you too, sailor."

Their words were inaudible to others as the wind that blew across the tarmac whipped them away, and from a distance they appeared to be two military officers greeting each other with suitable formality. As Mac looked at Harm his eyes darkened briefly, then he drew himself together and looked beyond her shoulder. Mac realized then that Carson was being led over by an MP, along with Jorgensen, who had been waiting nearby.

"Ma'am, it's nice to see you again."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Same here. I hope the captain hasn't been giving you too many problems this trip?"

"Nothing I can't handle, ma'am," Jorgensen returned, and Mac laughed. Turning back to face Harm she lifted her briefcase up slightly.

"I have some papers for you from Captain Johnson. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Yes. We booked into rooms at a hotel nearby. The MP will escort Carson to a room on the base here. It's basic, but amenable." Harm looked at Carson as he spoke. "You can get some sack time, if needed. The handcuffs stay on."

"No problem, Captain Rabb. Thank you."

Harm dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement, and then turned back to Mac and Jorgensen. "After you, ladies..." he grinned as he indicated the car nearby.

"Actually, Harm, I'm afraid Lieutenant Jorgensen has to return on the COD. It's doing a quick turn-round."

Jorgensen looked surprised, but shrugged her shoulders in response.

"No problem, ma'am. We have our stuff stowed in the jet. I'll just go retrieve mine."

"This is Captain Johnson's idea, Lieutenant. I can't tell you anything more than that."

"Understood, ma'am. Sir, I left a book at the hotel, if you wouldn't mind picking it up and bringing it along?"

"No problem," Harm answered, and shook hands with Jorgensen. "See you back on board."

Jorgensen nodded, saluted them both, and walked away to the hangar where their jet was housed. Harm and Mac watched her walk away, and then faced each other again.

"All right, Colonel, after you..." Harm tried again, and Mac grinned up at him.

"What?" Harm asked, feigning innocence, but both he and Mac knew he had just upped his timetable on spending time with Mac.

"I don't know what exactly is in the orders from the captain, but I do know my flight out of here isn't until this evening, and you are going into Saudi by helo, so they can't do that until it gets dark. Have you heard anything here?"

"Nope. No sign of any helo activity either. There are none on the ground. I guess most of the air-power is based in Qatar now. Bahrain is mainly the naval base."

"Seems reasonable to do that. It's not too far to fly up here. Maybe they're on their way?"

"Let's get back to the hotel and I'll check out the orders. Then we'll know exactly how much time we have on the ground."

"Yes, sir." Mac saluted, and then laughed softly. "I hope it doesn't take you long to open the envelope, sailor. I don't think I can stand all this formality much longer."

"It's not far to the hotel. Think you can make it?"

Mac groaned and turned to walk towards the car. Harm fell into step behind her, and they made the walk in record time. Once seated in the car they maintained a silence that lasted the duration of the drive to the hotel, and the brief registration process that installed Mac in the room now vacated by Jorgensen. On paper, at least, their room arrangements were as per standard operating procedures! In reality...

ROOM 12

LOCAL HOTEL

KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Mac glanced up at the ceiling of the hotel room as Harm studied the papers in the envelope she had handed him.

"Anything I need to know in there?" she asked. Harm glanced over and smiled as he shook his head.

"Not much more than you already seem to know. Johnson wants me to helo in, locate the signal, drop and collect, and return whomever to the Sea Hawk."

"Whomever?" Mac sat up at that. "He didn't believe me."

"Yes he did, Mac. He just couldn't put it down in black and white. Believing your visions, and proving them to others isn't in his SOP book."

"I guess not. At least I know you believe me," Mac murmured, lying back against the pillows again, and smiled as Harm dropped the papers on a nearby table and got on the bed with her, pulling her towards him, and she went willingly into his arms.

"Always, Sarah."

"How long do we have here?" she asked, lifting a hand to his face and cupping his cheek, then moving it to run through his hair.

"Enough time," Harm answered cryptically, as his own hands moved against her body, making Mac's breathing change tempo, and causing her voice to hitch slightly as she spoke, echoing Harm's words.

"Enough time?" Mac's voice had grown huskier, and her lips were busy finding familiar parts of his body that would elicit matching groans from him.

"For this..." Harm dropped a kiss on her forehead. "And this...". A kiss to her neck, a spot he knew would cause her to shiver in anticipation, as she always did. "And not forgetting this..." at which point Harm dropped his hands to her hips and lowered his lips to her abdomen. Nuzzling against her rounded stomach caused Mac to giggle huskily, and Harm raised his head briefly, smiling at her. "I love you, you know..."

"I know..." Mac nodded as she whispered a response, and then her head dropped back as Harm continued to explore. "You're spoiling me, you know that?" Mac managed to murmur without raising her head.

"And that's bad?" Harm's response was clear as he leaned up on his elbows to look at her, and Mac's face broke into a beatific smile.

"Not at all, sailor. I just hope you realize that you have to keep up the same SOP for the rest of our lives together."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, marine." That was the last legible verbal response for a while. Anything audible after that was indiscernible through the door of the room.

HARM'S APARTMENT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

SUNDAY EVENING

Mattie stood in the center of Harm's apartment, her arms around herself, shaking despite the warmth in the room. Jennifer found her there a few minutes later.

"Mattie? What are you doing?"

"I...I needed to think, about what to tell Harm...and Mac..."

"About what? Did something happen today when you saw your father?"

Mattie nodded, looking miserable, as Jennifer put an arm around her shoulder.

"It can't be 'that' bad, Mattie, surely?"

"Yeah, it can," Mattie's voice was small and distant, and in her mind she recalled the conversation she had had with Tom Johnson.

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To be continued