Disclaimer in chapter one.
Thank you to Froggy0319, MaidenPride21, DD2, GuitarVixen, KittyX, Harley1, HarmsGirl11355, Elizabet, and cbw for reviewing chapter three.
Also, I thought I should let you all know my current plans for the story. I would like to go until the wedding, then stop and go back and fill in between chapters. For example, I'll write a chapter 3 ½ to go between 3 and 4, which will be more with them on vacation in Cali.
Sorry if chapters are few and far between, but English, Math, History, and Geography are all kicking my butt. I cannot wait until winter break, because the semester will be freakin' OVER!
Now on the story.
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Friday, October 15, 2004
Oceanside Marriott
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2025 EST—
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Harm went into he and Mac's bedroom, where she was laying on their bed reading.
"Hey." He kissed her softly. "Come on, let's take a walk."
"I'm reading. Go away."
"That can wait."
"It's getting to the good part. Octavian is about to profess his undying love to Sandra!"
"Like I said, that can wait…" He took her hand and they went outside and down to the beach.
They went down the beach about 300 yards and sat down in the sand to watch the sunset.
"Are you cold?" He asked.
"No, I'm good."
"Okay." He wrapped his arms around her.
Fifteen minutes later the sun was down and the beach was lit by moonlight.
"We need to come here often. This beach is beautiful." Mac said.
"Not as beautiful as you are." He kissed her hair. "We could always come back alone sometime. I'm sure Mattie wouldn't mind, especially if we asked Jen to stay with her."
"I'd like that. Not that I don't love Mattie like a daughter, but some alone time is nice sometimes."
"I'll check to see if we can get reservations for New Years. Mom and Frank will likely be in town, and so will Joshua, so Mattie won't care that we're gone."
"I'd like that."
"Good. I'll make the reservations if possible."
"What do you have planned for tomorrow?"
"I thought we might explore the town a little. I'm sure you and Mattie would enjoy some shopping."
"Yes we would." She grinned.
"And I would enjoy being the bag boy that follows you around."
"Uh huh…"
"Well okay, so I wouldn't exactly enjoy the bag boy part, but I would enjoy spending time with my two favorite girls."
"That sounds more like it."
"How about a movie in my room? Any one you want."
"That sounds nice."
He stood up and took her hand to pull her up beside him.
They walked back to the hotel at a slow pace, taking in the beauty of the crashing waves.
When they reached the hotel they took the elevator up to their 2-bedroom suite where Mattie was sitting, chatting on her laptop.
"Hey Mattie, do you want to watch a movie with us?" Mac asked.
"Nah. I'm talking to Josh. I might come in after he has to get off, though."
"Okay, come in whenever you want to."
"Okay."
Mac went into Harm's/their bedroom and sat down on the bed.
"What's on tonight?"
"Not a lot. Let's see, there's Planet Of The Apes, Alex and Emma, Mean Girls, Shrek, and Basic."
"Mean Girls sounds good."
"Okay."
"What? You're not going to complain that it's a chick flick??"
"Like I said, whatever you want to watch, we'll watch."
She smiled.
"Mattie might come in later. She's talking to Josh on AOL right now."
"I have a feeling we'll be having at least one more guest for part of Thanksgiving…"
"I was actually going to call Rose-Anne and ask if they wanted to have Thanksgiving with us. If you don't have any plans that is."
"No, I was thinking the same thing. It'll be nice to have a house full of people."
"There are 20 people that I can think of right off."
"Who?"
"You, me, Mattie, Jen, the Admiral, Francesca, Bud, Harriet, AJ, Jimmy, Big Bud, Mike, Sturgis, Varese, Rose-Anne, William, Matt, Grace, Taylor, Joshua…."
"Mom and Frank may be coming in."
"Okay, make that 22."
"Are you sure we can handle that many people?"
"I think so. You and the rest of the boys can go to the basement and watch football while we're not eating, and we girls can talk."
"You all are good at that."
"We like to talk about our men." He smiled.
"Juxtaposing us??"
"Yeah, pretty much. Harriet talks about how handsome you are, and I say how caring and sweet Bud is."
"But I'm caring and sweet too, aren't I?"
"Hmm, sometimes."
He looked at her, somewhat hurt.
"Okay, Most of the time."
He pulled her closer and kissed her.
"Hey, shut the door if you're going to do that crap…" Mattie said as she came in the room.
"We'll remember that for next time." Harm said.
"What movie are you watching?"
"Mean Girls. It looked cute." Said Mac.
"Jump in Mattie." Harm said, gesturing at the bed.
Mattie climbed in….right between Harm and Mac.
"Not what I had in mind…"
"You two need a chaperone."
"No, we do not. Now if you would kindly move to my other side."
"You're such a party pooper." She said as she climbed over him.
Harm in turn put his arms around both his girls and they both laid their heads on his chest.
"Isn't that better?"
"Sure." Answered Mattie.
"I'm going to go put my PJ's on, because I know I'm going to fall asleep." Mac said.
"I should probably go ahead and do the same." Mattie added. She walked out the double doors and into her own room.
Harm looked over at Mac, who was digging through her bag for some pajama bottoms to wear. She found some and proceeded to change.
"Hey, that's no fair…" Harm whined.
"What's not fair?"
"That I have to look, but don't get to touch." He answered. "Not that I don't love the sight of you in those strips of fabric that Victoria's Secret has the guts to call underwear."
"You're the one making the rules in this relationship. If we'd done it my way, I'd have had you in bed long ago."
He got out of the bed and walked over to her. He placed his hands on her bare sides, and kissed her neck.
"Down boy, Mattie will be back any second now."
"Aww, you're no fun." He hugged her from behind. "You know you really are beautiful standing there like that. I like that you're comfortable enough around me to not worry about changing in front of me."
Mac smiled.
Mattie came bounding in and jumped onto the bed.
"Oh wow, private moment…" She observed Mac standing by her suitcase in her underwear, with
Harm hugging her.
"I was just changing. Harm was the one making it difficult."
Harm stuck out his tongue at Mac.
Mac slipped on some silk pajama bottoms with lips on them and a red long sleeved shirt.
Mattie had on some sleeping shorts with little ducks on them and a white tank top.
Harm lay back down on the bed with Mattie and Mac to either side and they continued watching the movie.
90 minutes later the credits were rolling, and Mattie was sound asleep.
"I'll be right back. I'm just going to put her into bed." Harm said to Mac, who was waking up from a light dose.
"I'll go in and turn down the bed." A sleepy Mac answered.
"I can handle it. You can go back to sleep."
"No, I'm awake now." She climbed out of the bed and followed Harm.
They went into Mattie's room and Mac lifted the sheets while Harm laid Mattie in the bed.
She stirred slightly when he laid her down, but immediately snuggled into the pillows and fell deeper into sleep.
Harm and Mac each gave her a kiss on the cheek, then left the room quietly, turning off the lights on the way out.
"I like those pants, by the way. Nice and silky." He slid his hand across her backside.
"Don't start something you're not prepared to finish…"
"Who said I'm not prepared?"
"You did, Mr. "I keep my Grams in mind when making a move." Which reminds me, we need to talk."
"About what?"
"Sex."
"Okay…"
"I think we should wait until we're married."
"Okay. Any particular reason?"
"I just think it will be more special if we wait. I mean, I assume we will get married one day…"
"Yes, we will. If you're crazy enough to accept my proposal that is." He sat down on the bed, and she sat beside him.
"I will be, well, am, crazy enough."
"Good, now that we have that settled. I think it's a good idea to wait."
"I'm happy that we're in agreement about that."
"This doesn't mean we can't make out like teenagers, does it?"
"No. I rather enjoy that aspect of our relationship." She grinned before catching his lips in a kiss.
"I agree. This could be one of the best things about it." He said when they parted.
They both fell back onto the bed and continued to kiss. They stopped after a few minutes, and smiled at one another.
"So what do you want for your birthday, Sailor?"
"You." He kissed her again quickly. "Honestly I can't think of anything I want. I have a good career, a wonderful woman, and a child who will hopefully be my daughter next year."
Mac got an idea after hearing him say that Mattie would be his daughter the next year.
"Well, what else do you want? Or should I just rely on how well I know you, and try to find something that you'll like?"
"I'm not picky, you know that."
"There has to be something you really want."
"Surprise me." He kissed her again, before slipping off his jeans and t-shirt.
"Fine. But don't blame me if you don't like it."
"If it comes from you, I'll love it. Now let's go to sleep. You and Mattie have a long day of shopping ahead of you tomorrow."
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Sunday, October 17, 2004
Mac's Apartment
Georgetown, DC
2200 EST—
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Harm, Mac, and Mattie pulled up to Mac's apartment building. Harm looked back at Mattie, who was typing away on her laptop.
"I'll be back in a few minutes Mattie. I'm just going to walk Mac upstairs."
"Okay, I'll be here." She said without looking up.
'Damn Intelä for inventing Centrinoä' He thought.
Mac opened the back hatch and pulled her bags out.
They walked up to her apartment.
"You know I could have walked up alone." She said.
"Yeah, but I wanted to be able to do this without the peanut gallery and her comments." He bent down and gave her a long kiss.
She smiled at him, then put her arms around his middle.
He hugged her back.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning." She said after a few minutes.
"Eager to get rid of me?" He grinned.
"Well for one, Mattie is in the car. Two, I have an appointment with my bathtub."
"I guess I'll leave then." He kissed her once more. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye."
It was getting increasingly hard for him to leave her at night. He walked down the stairs and out to the car where Mattie was waiting. He took one last look up at her apartment,
"Wish you didn't have to leave?" Mattie said from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, something like that."
Meanwhile, inside Mac realized it was about 1900 in La Jolla. She picked up the phone and dialed the number to Harm's parents.
'Hello, Burnett Household.' Trish answered the phone.
"Hi Trish, it's Mac."
'Hello dear how are you?'
"I'm doing good. Harm, Mattie, and I just got home from Virginia Beach."
'A little weekend trip?'
"Yeah, Harm wanted to go down before it got too cold."
'It's very nice down there.'
"Yeah, it is. Anyway, the reason I called was because I need some help figuring out what to buy Harm for his birthday."
'Let me guess. He told you he didn't want anything?'
"Exactly."
'I just thought of something. Harm Sr. used to play Harm songs from a book he had on his old guitar. I sold the guitar years ago, but I think Harm's grandmother still has the book somewhere. I'll call her in the morning to find out '
"Did you say Harm Sr. had an old guitar?"
'Yes.'
"What kind was it?"
'Well, I don't remember. I do know it was a dark cherry color, with HDR burned into the body. The man who bought it said it gave it character. Are you thinking of trying to find that old thing?'
"That's exactly what I'm thinking. I'd still like to give Harm the sheet music. I'll call Grams tomorrow and maybe we can work out a joint gift. If I can find the guitar, and she still has the music."
'That's a wonderful idea.' Mac could tell Trish was excited. 'Honey, if you do find the guitar, let me know so I can fly in. I would like to see the look on his face when he sees it.'
"I'll keep you updated."
'Good.'
"I'll talk to you later. And thank you for the idea."
'You're welcome. Bye.'
"Bye."
Mac decided to wait until the next day to start her search for the guitar. She went into the bathroom and started running hot water for a long bath. Just as the water finished running her phone rang.
"Mackenzie."
'Well, hello Mackenzie.'
"What do you want?"
'I miss you…'
"Harm it's only been 30 minutes."
'Yeah, I know. But I still miss you. Mattie is asleep, and so I don't have anyone to talk to.'
"I'm sorry. I'm getting into the bathtub now, so you can talk to me."
'No, it's okay. You relax. I'll see you in the morning.'
"Are you sure?"
'Yeah. Bye Mac.'
"Bye Harm."
Mac put her hair up in a bun on top her head, and then got into the soothing bath water.
An hour later…
Mac had gotten out of her bath when the water started getting cold, and she started to prune up.
She put on some sweats and got into bed. But she couldn't sleep, not without Harm.
After an hour of tossing and turning she put on some shoes and grabbed her car keys.
25 minutes later she was at Harm's house in Great Falls. She quietly let herself in, put the code into the alarm system so she could get upstairs, set the alarm back, took off her shoes and climbed into the bed with Harm.
"Well hey. This is a surprise." He said when he rolled over.
"I couldn't sleep…" She said bashfully. "I have an extra uniform in the car."
He pulled her to him and gave her a kiss.
"I'm glad you came. I'll sleep a lot better now too."
She snuggled into his chest and they both fell asleep in each other's arms.
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Monday, October 18, 2004
Harm's House
Great Falls, VA
0700 EST—
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The next morning Harm awoke with a numb arm. He opened his eyes and saw Mac laying across it sleeping peacefully.
"Hey Mac, time to get up." He said softly before kissing her forehead.
"Don' wanna…" She mumbled.
"I'm sorry, but you have to. Or I could call the Admiral and tell him you're in my bed and won't get up…"
"Fine, I'll get up." She rolled over.
"I'm going to go take a quick shower, then fix you and Mattie some pancakes."
"Okay." She yawned.
10 minutes later he emerged from the bathroom dressed in his blues, minus the jacket.
"Bathroom is all yours Mac." He said as he finished with his tie.
"Thanks."
"Do you want apples or chocolate chips in your pancakes?"
She grinned at him.
"Some of each, of course. And can you go out to my 'Vette and get my uniform? Or send Mattie out to get it?"
"And miss a possible glimpse of you in your naked glory? I think not." He grinned back.
She went into the bathroom, and he went down to the kitchen to start the pancakes.
25 minutes later Mac came down to the kitchen where Mattie was finishing her pancakes, and Harm was making fresh ones for her.
"I thought we took you home last night…" Mattie said.
"I came back when I couldn't sleep."
"Harm, why don't you just ask her to move in with us? It would make things less complicated for Mac. Anyway, I'll see you this afternoon. Bye." She kissed him on the cheek and gave Mac a hug, then was out the door to meet the bus.
"You know she makes sense." Harm said awhile later while Mac was eating her pancakes and he was drinking coffee.
"About what?" Mac asked, knowing the answer.
"You moving in here."
"What about that?"
"It really does make sense. I mean, last night was yet another time we proved that we can't sleep very well apart. And I did buy the house with the thought that you would eventually come to live here."
"So you want me to move in?"
"Only if you want to. I won't push it if you don't want to. I think it would be good, because not only would you not have to pay rent anymore, but you'd be closer to JAG. Less gas."
"Sounds like you've thought this through."
"Yeah, a little." He smiled sheepishly.
"Well, if you want me here 24/7, I can't really think of a reason to say no. Although the Admiral is going to have a cow when he sees my COA forms…."
"Yeah, but it'll be worth it to have you here with Mattie and I."
"We better get to work."
"Do you want to drive together or apart?"
"Well you know I'm going to end up back here for at least a little while tonight, so we might as well go together."
"That's what I thought." He slid his jacket on and buttoned it, picked up his cover and briefcase. He and Mac went out to his Lexus and he drove the short distance to JAG. Once there they went upstairs and to the daily staff meeting.
The rest of the week went by uneventfully, and soon it was Friday afternoon. Harm, Mattie, and Mac prepared to start moving some of her belongings into his/their house. Some were being moved into the house, others into a storage facility, and others being given away to Goodwill.
"You ready to go?" Harm asked Mac at 1830.
"Yeah, in a second."
"I'll wait by the elevator."
"I'll be there in a minute."
At 1830 on a Friday night, they were the only ones left on that floor of JAG HQ. Jen had left just after the Admiral did, and went to pick up Mattie for a girls night, leaving Harm and Mac to themselves.
A moment later Mac met Harm and they rode down to the ground floor.
"So, what do you want to do tonight, since we have all night to be alone?"
"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe dinner and then a movie?"
"Okay, but lets go change clothes first. I can't have fun if we don't."
"Why not?"
"Because I can't do this with everyone watching." He kissed her lightly.
She smiled before they walked out into a nearly deserted parking lot.
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Monday, October 25, 2004
Harm's (and Mac's) House
Great Falls, VA
1840 EST—
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It was Harm's birthday, and after a dinner at Wong Ho Hong's Noodle House, he, Mac and Mattie went home.
Mattie gave him his gift from her, a photo album filled with pictures from her early childhood up to the present. He gave her a long hug before starting to look through it with much interest. Mattie excused herself, saying she had homework, but she knew Mac's gift was probably special and thought it best to leave them alone.
"This is great." He said, while sitting on the couch looking through the pages of the album.
"I haven't even given you mine yet." She sat beside him.
"You got me something too?"
"Of course I did." She handed him an envelope.
"What's this?"
"Open it and find out."
He opened the large envelope and pulled out a stack of papers.
"You did this for me?" He said after a moment.
"Yeah. Of course Mattie still has to sign, but they're ready for whenever you two decide to sign."
"How did you manage to do this?" He was still shocked.
"I know someone in the family courts. He got it pushed through for me."
"You are absolutely amazing." He pulled her tightly into his arms. "Thank you so much Sarah."
"You're welcome Harm. When are you going to tell Mattie about the adoption?"
"Probably for her birthday. But there is one thing wrong with the papers."
"What's wrong?" She asked, worried.
"Well, it says here 'name of adopting mother'."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well it's blank."
"And you're not married, therefore there is no adopting mother."
"There's you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. I was going to ask you nearer to Christmas, because I thought it would be at least then before I got the papers, but I want to put you as the adopting mother."
"You want me to be her mother?"
"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have helping raise a child."
"Oh, wow. I never expected that."
"I also didn't expect this, but I'm thrilled beyond belief as the thought of having Mattie as my daughter. And you as her mother."
"If you really think you should do it, I would love to be Mattie's mother."
"Good." He kissed her. "Now about a movie before bed?"
"Sounds good."
He stood up and pulled her up with him and together they went upstairs to watch a movie.
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Alright kids, that's chapter four. Once again, sorry is it was boring, but life is boring so I'm not getting much motivation. I also just realized that I'm a month behind. I'll attempt to get chapter six (December) up by Christmas. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Mine was "fun" filled with relatives I hardly know telling me I don't eat enough….