Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own them…I'm just playing with 'em!

A/N: Okay, this chapter has flashbacks (in italics) to Mac/Mic's marriage; so if you can't stand the thought of them and have a weak stomach, brace yourself. Actually, it's not that bad, but I just want everyone to be prepared. Also remember that little Nat's full name is Jonathan and that his parents called him that when he was first born. Happy reading!

Chapter 6:

That night Harm sat in his apartment an hour after Mac and company had left. The rest of the dinner had gone very well. He and Mac had talked, updating each other on their respective lives. Mac had talked mostly about her kids, and Harm quickly realized that she was just as good of a mother as he had told her she would be. Through all the stories, Harm found it odd that she never once mentioned friends she had made in Australia or anything outside her family. He respected that she was a devoted mother, but that kind of thing did not seem like the Mac he knew.

There were times over the dinner when he forgot that she was not just the Mac he knew. It was easy for them to slip back into the comfortable banter of the old days and forget about the last three years. Any time his mind did drift off, the occasional look in Mac's eyes would bring him back. Her eyes always appeared guarded, like there was something she didn't want to let out. It's not that her eyes ever really revealed her emotions because she always held some things back, but there used to be more.

In fact, the only time she had ever let her guard drop was that night in Sydney harbor, but after he told her 'no' it was back. Looking back on it, Harm knew that he did not come out and say that, but his answer of 'not yet' to her question about letting go had the same effect. He had never regretted saying any words like he did with those. If only he had been honest, then Mac's whole marriage to Brumby may not have happened. Rationally, he knew that he should not blame himself. Mac was the one who said 'I do' and walked way from him. Unfortunately, Harm also knew that he gave her no reason to stay. They were both guilty.

It was not until Mac told him that she was pregnant that Harm truly realized what he had lost. The baby deal was over and he had lost the woman he truly loved. Harm did spend the last three years pining away for Mac. On the contrary, he dated and had fun but his mind would eventually drift back to her, like a nagging thought in the corner of his mind. And now she was back.

Harm's thoughts were interrupted when he spotted a bit of pink sticking out for the corner of the couch. Walking over he picked up the cushion to find one tiny ruffled pink sock, which no doubt belonged to Talia. After they had finished eating, Mattie and Chloe dropped the kids back with them and retreated to Mattie's room to chat. During the 'playtime' Talia insisted on crawling around barefoot, which gave him the perfect excuse to visit Mac the next day.

"Where are you going?" Chloe muttered to Mac when she felt her get up from the bed. The two were sharing Mac's bed while Chloe was there.

"Just to get some tea," Mac slipped on her robe, "Go back to sleep."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Chloe rolled over and promptly did just that.

Mac quietly shut the door, and headed downstairs to make some herbal tea. She had work the next morning and should be sleeping too, but her mind was going a mile a minute thanks to for little letters: H-A-R-M. The dinner had gone well, almost too well. Everything was almost easy. Harm made great lasagna, didn't pressure her for extra details about Mic, and was great playing with her kids, who clearly adored him. This was all good, right?

Wrong, Mac thought as she set the pot of water on the stove. She could not understand why Harm was not upset with her. She was the one who left D.C. and everything in it behind only to show up suddenly three years later. He should be mad at her, not accepting and understanding. She had screwed up and it was her fault. It was her marriage that fell apart and she should have to rebuild her life alone. Harm did not have to help.

Mac sighed as she dropped her tea bag into her mug and poured the boiling water over it. Her mind naturally drifted to Mic. Her current situation would be so much easier if she could look back on her engagement and marriage to Mic and see it as all bad. If she could look back and say it was doomed from the start, then she would be able to justify how it ended. Unfortunately she could not, because Mac legitimately loved Mic. Of course there was that lingering…thing…with Harm, but she wanted to build a life and a family with Mic. Things were good…

"Mic where are we?" Mac laughed as he helped her out of the car, "We've been driving for 1 hour and 7 minutes and you've had be blindfolded for the last 21."

"You have to wait," he led her down a path, "That's the point of a surprise."

"Well, I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one."

"So you say."

"Okay," he stops them and unties the blindfold, "Open your eyes."

"Oh, Mic," she gasped as she looked at a beautiful three-bedroom house. It was surrounded by gardens and lay steps away from the ocean. She looked up to her husband and gave him a kiss, "It's beautiful."

"Wait until you see the inside. With that he took her hand and led her inside. The first floor was spacious and had plenty of windows offering great views. He led her up to the second floor and ended it in what was obviously the master bedroom, "So what do you think?"

"What do I think?" she turned away from the windowed doors that led to a balcony.

"Of this place," he smiled, "It could be our home."

"Our home?"

"Yeah, imagine waking up every morning to that view, Sarah," he walked to the window and guided her out of the room to the bedroom right next door, "Walking down the hall to the nursery to wake up our little boy or girl. Then later we can watch our little one take his or her first steps on the beach."

"Keep going," she told him as she began to imagine the room with gauzy curtains and white furniture.

"There will be sandcastles, seashells, and surfing," he wrapped his arms around her letting them rest on her stomach, "And when we're old and gray, we can sit on the porch and watch our grandchildren play in the waves."

"We're already to grandchildren?" she smirked looking up at him, "I'm barely six months pregnant."

"Well, what do you say?"

"About grandkids?"

"About the house."

"Yes," she turned around to face him, "It's going to be perfect."

"Just like you," he smiled before kissing her.

The house really was perfect, except that the nearest neighbors were about fifteen minutes away. At first this freaked Mac out, but Mic explained that he wanted his children to grow up in a place where they could run without having to worry about traffic or strangers. Having loved the solitude of the Arizona desert as a child, Mac agreed that the privacy would be a good thing and they moved in. Mac got her gauzy curtains in the nursery and Nat was able to take his first wobbling steps in the sand.

Like she had told Harm, things started going down hill a little after Nat was born. Mic became overprotective and possessive, but it was more than him not wanting her to work. He also did not like her driving because she wasn't used to Australian roads and he didn't want Nat to be in any danger. Mac told him he was being ridiculous, but agreed not drive unless it was an emergency because she would never forgive herself if something happened to baby boy. She never realized that he was allowing him to isolate her. There were a lot of things she failed to realize…

"What are you looking at?" Mic came up behind Mac while she was on the computer.

"I didn't hear you come in," she stood up to give him a kiss and put his cover and briefcase away. After they decided they were going to stay in Australia, he had returned to the Navy, "How was work?"

"The same," he walked over the Jonathan's rocky-swing to give the six-month-old a kiss on the head.

"That case you were telling me about – Rawlings or something – how is it going?" she slipped the casserole she had made into the oven.

"It's going well," he glanced at the computer, "What were you doing?"

"I was looking at flights."

"Flights?"

"Yes," she wiped her hands on a towel, "I was thinking we could go back to D.C. for Christmas. I'm sure Harriet will be throwing her usual party and I'd love to bring Jonathan to see everyone. It's been so long since we've seen everyone and I really miss them all. What do you think?"

"I don't think so, Sarah," he clearly did not look excited about the prospect, "I already told my uncle that we would host my family's Christmas party."

"What? When did you do that?"

"A couple weeks ago."

"You committed us to this without consulting me!"

"I didn't think you'd object," he shrugged, "They're your family too."

"I'm going to have to do all the cooking and cleaning, so asking me would have been a good idea."

"I'll make sure I do that next time."

"Good," she handed him the phone, "Now call your uncle and tell him that we won't be hosting the party."

"I can't do that."

"Christmas is over a month away and one of your cousins can host the party, because we are going to be in DC!"

"I am not going to DC!" he slammed the phone on the counter causing her to flinch slightly.

"Fine! Jonathan and I will go and you can throw the party," she brushed past him to look in one of the cabinets, "Where are our passports?"

"In a vault at the bank. I wanted to keep them safe."

"Well bring them home with you tomorrow after work."

"Sarah, don't do this," his voice lost the confrontational tone.

"I'm not doing anything," she sighed, "I just want to see my friends – our friends. We haven't seen them in so long and after what happened with Bud, we need to. He was your best man, don't you want to see him?"

"Of course I do, but not now," he looked over at their son, "It's going to be his first Christmas and I want him to spend it with his parents in his house. We can visit Harriet and Bud in the spring."

"Okay."

"Good, I'm going to go change out of my uniform" he gave her a quick kiss and headed for the stairs, "Besides when was the last time you heard from anyone from JAG? They probably aren't even thinking of us."

At the time, Mac had said nothing about that comment and when Mic came back downstairs he made no mention of it, but that night she began mulling over it. It had been a while since she had heard from anyone. Phone calls were always rare because of the time change, but it had been two weeks since her last e-mail. She began to think that maybe they were all forgetting about her. As for the passports, Mic never brought them home and Mac never asked for them.

Mac whipped her teabag into the garbage can as if throwing out the memory and walked to the couch with her tea. Other than Christmas cards, Mac received no contact from her friends in D.C. It was not until a few months after Talia was born that Mac discovered that Mic had been screening her e-mails and deleting e-mails before she could read them. He had even told the phone company to block any incoming international calls. After that Mac began making plans to leave Mic and Australia. It was odd that this was the final straw considering…

It was Nat's first birthday and she and Mic had thrown him the birthday party to end all birthday parties. Mic's entire extended family was present and everyone was having a good time. Mac was walking through the kitchen holding Nat when Mic's cousin Ian came over.

"That little boy's adorable, Sarah."

"Thanks Ian," Mic came up behind him with a beer and slapped him on the shoulder with his free hand.

"I was complementing, Sarah," Ian took a swig of his own beer, "This little boy takes after her."

"Watch it," Mic warned jokingly, making them all laugh.

"Really though, that kid doesn't look a thing like you," he teased, "You sure he's yours?"

"Ian!" Mac slapped him lightly and laughed, "You're terrible."

She walked away laughing, completely unaware of the angry look in Mic's eyes. The rest of the party went well. All the men drank a little too much, but Mac had quickly learned that this was typical behavior for a gathering of Brumby men. Under normal circumstances she refused to have anything to do with Mic if he drank, but an occasional party she could overlook. After the last of the guests left, Mac took a very tired Nat upstairs to sleep and returned to start cleaning up the kitchen.

"Hey Mic!' she called into the family room, "Could you bring the appetizer trays in here."

"Here," he unceremoniously plopped them onto the counter.

"Could you put them in the sink?" she asked without looking up from the leftovers she was putting into Tupperware.

"You do it."

"I'm a little busy. Can't you help?"

"This is your job. I bring home the money and you keep the house."

"God, Mic!" she snapped the lid closed on the container and put it in the fridge, "I hate how you act when you drink."

"And how is that?"

"Like a chauvinistic pig!"

"I'm sorry I'm not the perfect gentleman that your Flyboy is."

"What?"

"Come on, Sarah, I know how you call Harm 'Flyboy,'" he mocked, "It's just so cute."

"You're upset about Harm? I haven't heard from him in months."

"But you heard from him plenty when I was with my mother in Sydney and you were in D.C." he sneered angrily.

"I saw him at JAG, that was it," she put her hand on his arm to calm him, "You're the man I married and a year ago today I gave birth to your son."

"Is he?" he pulled her and off his arm and gripped it tightly.

"Mic!" she jerked her hand from his grasp, "Is this because of what Ian said, but he was giving you a hard time."

"Am I the father?"

"This is crazy," she shook her head."

"Am I?"

"Of course you are!"

"You're lying," he took a step towards her.

"I'm not," she took a step back.

"Yes, you are!" with that he lunged to hit her, but Mac ducked out of the way. She may have left the Corps, but some things stuck.

"Get out!" she ordered fiercely and he turned to leave, allowing her to exhale with relief. This brief distraction gave Mic the opportunity to slam her against the wall.

"Don't tell me what to do," he held her tight as she struggled. When she realized that she couldn't break free she froze and glared at him disgustedly, "Now tell me the truth!"

"I did not then nor I have ever slept with Harm. The only man who could possibly be that little boy's father is you. If still don't believe me, tomorrow we can all go to the hospital and get a DNA test," he released her from his grip and she quickly moved across the kitchen, "I'm going upstairs," she spat, "And I do not think it would be wise for you to follow me."

Mac raced up the stairs and gently took Nat from his room. She carried him into the master bedroom and locked the door behind her. After making sure he was safely settled in the middle of the large bad, Mac dashed into the bathroom and threw up.

Just thinking back to that night made Mac's stomach churn. She took deep breaths and calmly sipped the tea, waiting for her stomach to settle. The morning after Nat's first birthday, she had awoken to find Mic gone and an apology note saying that he was staying at a hotel until she was ready to talk to him. When she finally called him a few days later, she did so with the intention of asking him for a divorce, but he managed to convince her to have lunch with him. He apologized profusely and swore he would never drink again, and two weeks later Mac allowed him to move back in.

In hindsight it was stupid, but Nat missed his father and she missed having her family together. She had never made any real friends in Australia and without e-mails from people back in the States, Mac found it terribly lonely without Mic. Plus Mic kept his word and did not consume a drop of alcohol and was the perfect husband. Three months later, he was back to having the occasional beer but Mac let it slide because he never got drunk.

Mac walked over to the sink and dumped out the liquid that remained in her cup, deciding that it was doing nothing to help her sleep. Instead, she pulled out some files from work. If she couldn't sleep because of her thoughts, she would drown them out with legal contracts.

macandharmlover – Ask and ye shall receive…hehehe!

JamieAKAaclassyone – So did that hit your suspicions?

' - I'm trying to be more "fair" on this, but this story is based on the fact that they both love each other and they're both guilty because she walked away and he gave her no reason to stay…thanks for reading even though our opinions differ.

Sammy – I'm glad you like it and thanks!

Harmless128 – Exxxcellent…we're going to need it!

Mxfan214 – Thanks…Mic's a bum that's what happened with him…plain and simple.

Nix707 – Thanks and welcome aboard…I'm always happy to have another shipper reading!

Jaggurl – Because we all know that Chloe's discretion is – well that of a 16-year-old. Although she is exactly what Harm and Mac need.

Shalimar – Thanks!

XLovexnxPainx – Hehehe…yup!

Radiorox – Well that really couldn't count as a full chapter…of course you can help with the frying pan…the more the merrier…they need it!

Starryeyes10 – Thanks!

All those other cool people who are reading – thanks and click that button to let me know what you think!