This part has an nc-17 version, if you want it, drop me an e-mail with your AGE verification. No AGE verification, no smut. If you don't want it, it's your loss! I had to snip a lot of parts to not get the NC-17 rating. So if it don't flow, now you know why. ;) I just pretty much chopped away. This part you can say is an R rating more or less. . .

Enjoy!

Jackie

Part 7 – Time To Be Lovers
2320 Zulu
Mac's Apartment
Georgetown

"That was one hell of a meal, Commander." Mac said, pushing herself away from the table with her good arm. It had been two days since they arrived from Aceh and much to her chagrin, she was ORDERED to stay home and get some rest. She was going so stir crazy, that when Harm had called suggesting to cook her dinner, she practically sang the "Hallelujah" chorus. He was supposed to go over the day before, but due to a case in Norfolk, they had to settle for tonight.

Grinning, Harm took the plates into the kitchen. "Get comfortable, Mac. . . I brought some desert."

"Alright." She said, her mouth watering with hopes that he brought her a chocolate mouse cheesecake from that coffee shop near her house. "Can you put some coffee on?"

Harm poked his head out and shook it. "Wouldn't tea be better with your meds, Colonel?"

"Don't make me hurt you, Commander." Grinning, she plopped into the sofa and brought her injured arm to the arm rest.

"Okay, okay. . . but when you can't sleep, don't call me to help pull you from the ceiling." He chuckled at his own banter, having a funny imagine of him have to bring Mac off of the ceiling.

Mac smiled as he walked out of the kitchen with two pieces of non-other than chocolate mouse cheesecake and two cups of coffee. "Ooooh, God, Harm, I love this stuff." She dove into the cheesecake, closing her eyes as the taste exploded in her mouth.

Amused, Harm watched the look of pleasure on her face. It gave him a bit of an ego boost that he put that look there, even if he just bought the piece of cheesecake. When one of Mac's eyes met his, he quickly ate a mouthful. Once the slices were done, they remained seated next to each other, sipping coffee. "Good to be home?"

"Yea it is." Looking around her apartment, Mac glanced at all of the things that made up a piece of who she was. Was it good to be home? No, it was awesome. It was ridiculous to her how much she missed silly things like her favorite coffee mug or her favorite pajamas. Most of all, it was good to be back home with him. She noted the slightly sad look in his eyes that meant something was missing from his life. Maybe it was her? At least, she wanted it to be her, because she wanted to be with him. There was a place she needed to start though, even though she swore that apologizing was a weakness. "I have to apologize. ."

"Mac. . You don't. ." Harm brought his hand to hers and held on loosely, hoping not to scare away the moment they seemed to be having.

"Yes I do." Turning in her seat, but not removing her hand from Harm's, Mac leaned closer. "And I also need. . . I need to say. . .that I'm. . sorry." The words caught slightly as words that she told him in the past came to mind. 'Never say you are sorry, it's a sign of weakness.' She looked away for a moment and then turned back to him, surprised that Harm hadn't used her weakness against her. There was no snarky comment, no bantering, only a concerned look in his eyes. "I am sorry for leaving."

Harm sighed. "Just, don't leave again. . . these last few months have not been fun."

Maybe it was the pain medication she was taking. Maybe it was the altitude or the fact that she could finally start to heal, but Mac became more up front with Harm than she ever had been. "Now you know how I felt when you left to fly."

That confession alone felt like if Harm had been slugged in the gut. They had never really discussed what his leaving had done to her, only that things had changed. He felt the slight unease between them, one that was never ever recovered, but to hear her confirming that she was in pain over him leaving, chipped a piece of his ego. "I am sorry that I hurt you." Sighing, Harm turned to face Mac. "I understand why you left, Mac. . .but, it bothered me that I couldn't do anything for you. . . Hell, I tried coming to you and. . .it felt futile."

Mac closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. "I shouldn't have given you an ultimatum. . . Especially when you are engaged." Removing her hand from Harm's, Mac took the moment to stand and move behind the sofa. Somehow, between everything that happened, she came to realize that he never really told her that he split up with Renee. She just went on assuming that he had. "I was being selfish. . . you have a right to be happy."

"Mac. . . Renee and I are through. . . we've been through since that night I came to you." But, there was more than that, if anything, he did then just what she wanted him to do. "She knew, like Mic did that there would always be something between us." With a sigh, he stood and walked up behind Mac. "When we broke up, it was because. . . because, I wanted you, Mac. . ."

The words cut straight to her soul. In not so many words, she got what she wanted from Harm, confession that he was ready and willing to start something "What happened to you when we ejected? What happened to the arrogant flyboy?"

"He decided that maybe it is time to take a non-guarded chance."

Mac shook her head. "In English, not Rabbspeak?"

Harm grinned. "In English, he realized he was in love with his best friend and he would always be." Slowly, he moved closer to her, brushing his hands up her arms, careful of the cast on one of them. His hands cupped her face, thumbs stroking her cheeks, catching a stray tear. "We need to make this work Mac, because I can't keep dancing." Without hesitation, he took her lips with his own in a searing kiss that left them both speechless.

Mac stepped back slightly, using her good hand to start unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing. Letting it drop to the floor, Mac glanced up at Harm with a saucy look. "Sarah I. . ." He began to object knowing full well she was still injured.

"I want to Harm. . . I need to know you find me attractive."

Harm shook his head and halted her movements. "You don't think you're attractive?"

"If I were, why did he leave?"

If he hated Mic Brumby before, at this moment, Harm could have killed the man for making Mac think she was anything but the most attractive woman on the planet. "Brumby is a fool. . .You are intelligent, tough, you are the most beautiful woman I've known. . ." His gaze on her softened a bit as did his voice. "You are sexy, Mac. . So much that you capture my fantasies."

"You've fantasized about me?" Mac shivered at the thoughts of Harm fantasizing about her. She felt somewhat relieved that she wasn't the only one living in fantasyland. The fact that he had admitted it, well, it was icing on the cake.

A light pink flushed his cheeks as he nodded stupidly. "More times that I should have." He was waiting for a slap, an argument, something other than what he received from Mac. Her arms came around him and the kissed softly. He could feel Mac's lips upturned while they kissed, he knew full well she was smiling. Pulling back, he saw a look of desire in her eyes and couldn't help but groan when her thigh brushed against his arousal. "Mac. . .are you sure?" He asked breathlessly, feeling whatever had kept them apart for so long start to snap. He glanced down at her mouth, her lips beckoning him to join them together once and for all.

Mac watched him try to control his emotions for her sake. He couldn't take much more, for that matter, neither could she. They'd waited too long, much too long and she need him now. "Yes. . ." Whispering, she locked one hand around his neck and pulled Harm's head closer to her own. "I want you. . .and I don't want to wait anymore. . ." She kissed him then, slow, passionately. Breaking away, she saw a dazed look in his eyes, all of his control was sunk. "Don't make me wait anymore." She said in a seductive voice before adding. "I want to make love with you."

That finally made Harm crack. He moved his head down, crushing his lips to hers, kissing her hard with fervor. "God, I've wanted to do this for so long." He ran his hands up and down Mac's back, his nails slightly nicking her skin. Her hands were between them, working diligently to unbutton his summer whites. He stood still as she worked and merely feasted on her neck, licking past her pulse point, tracing her clavicle with his tongue.

Mac moaned when his lips came down on her throat which he nibbled slightly. She threw her head back to give him access and let out a frustrated growl when the cast would not let her remove Harm's blouse quickly. "Damnit."

Stopping abruptly, Harm glanced down at Mac who was still fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. He stilled her hands and worked on the buttons himself then dropped the blouse to the floor. Grinning, he saw Mac lick and bite her lower lip, apparently liking the look of him in just pants and an undershirt. Brining his mouth back to hers, they kissed again, deeply and as they did he began working on removing his trousers. Somehow they wound up in her bedroom.

"Mac. . ." He moaned when one of her hands brushed him. Mac wrapped her arms around him as they kissed. Years of wanting and waiting was making his slow pace was driving her crazy. But, then again, she didn't want it any other way. She tried pushing him to his back, but Harm grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Harm!" She said in protest of his obvious teasing. "You're killing me here."

Harm chuckled again. "Good." Sighing, he stopped kissing her. "This isn't going to last long. . ." He rasped in her ear.

Mac grazed her nails up and down his back. "I don't care. . . we have all night. . . to try." Breathlessly she said. She licked a drop of sweat from his chin and then kissed him, the sweet and salty taste mixing together. They made love. Wonderful, passionate, intense love and as Harm had predicted, soon after they were both spent.

Harm was shivering, not from the cold but from the knowledge that he had just had the most incredible sexual encounter of his life. Things really were different & special when you were with the one you loved. Rolling onto his back, Harm reached out and pulled Mac with him. He placed her injured arm on his chest and kissed her fingertips. "I love you, Sarah. . . and I always will."

"I love you too, Harm." She said, snuggling up even closer to him. With a happy sigh she fell asleep.

It was sometime around two am, when Harm awoke to find himself in Mac's empty bed. Closing his eyes, tightly, he was hoping it wasn't happening again, that she didn't just disappear and leave him some sort of Dear John letter on the nightstand again. Touching her side of the bed, he found it warm. If she did leave, it couldn't have been that long ago. Sitting up in bed, he grabbed the sheets and wrapped them around his waist. "Mac?" He couldn't help the catch in his voice, nor the rapid beating of his hear. 'No, no. . . not again.' Worried, he headed out of the bedroom and out towards the living room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the French door to her small balcony open and one Sarah MacKenzie standing there glancing up at the skies. He took a deep breath and moved quietly outside, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

It should have startled her, but Mac felt him the moment he stopped to watch her. She smiled, wrapped her arms around his and leaned into his chest. "Your heart is beating so fast."

"I thought you ran off again. . ." He said, softly, well aware that his voice had caught the moment he said it. Harm didn't care if his emotions were showing, simply put, he was scared to lose her. "I didn't want to go through that again."

Turning in his arms, Mac glanced up at him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I am not leaving you ever again, Harm. . . you mean too much to me." Moving her hand around and to the back of his head, Mac pulled him down and kissed him softly. She smiled and turned in his arms again, closing her eyes as she raised her head to the heavens. "It's gorgeous tonight, isn't it?

Harm glanced down at her, seeing that her eyes were closed. "It is and am surprised you can see it with closed eyes." He teased, tightening his arms around her. Mac jabbed him gently with her elbow. "Owww. . . what was that for?"

"Don't ruin the moment, Commander." She warned in a playful tone then sighed happily.

They remained together for a few more minutes until a cloud ended up covering up the moon and lightening lit up the horizon. "C'mon Mac, let's go back to bed." Not getting an argument, he tugged her through the apartment and curled up together in her bed, drifting off to sleep.

--
Nikki – Feeling better but not that much better, drugs ain't kicking in as fast as I'd hoped. :P Bronchitis sucks!

Foxy – I thought it was an amusing line, myself LOL!!

Claire – The key thing to any Harm and Mac story is the stubbornness, they are both idiots. LOL!

Froggy – Oooh, Renee will be rearing her ugly head soon enough. ;) Brace yerself!

LtJgMeg – I loved "Guilt" it was a great episode because you see both sides of our favorite Colonel. You see Sarah, her caring, motherly, loving type and Mac the kick ass jarhead. :) Lilyana was a sweetie, I am glad she was found.

CBW – It was fun screwing with the actual stories, sometimes difficult but fun. Glad you like it :)

Blonde – Look! I updated!! :D LOL!