Disclaimer: All I own is Talia and Nat...the rest aren't mine…if they were I'd have given us shippers more!

A/N: Okay, it's been a while but I have a number of things to blame. First of all there's the stress of school, but I've whined about that enough that you guys already know that. (On a bright note, the grades are doing well!) The other issue was writer's block. I had the last scene of this written, and I had to work my way backwards to finish this and it just wasn't going. Also, this one is going to be drawing to a close soon, but until then I've just got to savor the moment. Happy Reading!

Chapter 21:

Mac returned to JAG by way of the judiciary and her life began to feel like her own again. The summer flew by and before she knew it they were well into fall. Things with Harm were also going well and by mid-August he had merged his way into her daily routine. Normally, Talia would rise much earlier than her brother, so Mac would feed her breakfast long before Nat had even opened his eyes. One morning when she was washing the dishes, there was a knock on the door and she opened it to find Harm with two jogging strollers. Upon her return to active duty, Harm had teased her about being out of shape to which she responded that for two kids she was in darn good shape although she did admit that she missed her morning runs.

Since running with a double stroller would be difficult, Harm volunteered to be her running buddy. Mac had laughed when she first saw him at her door as he explained his plans, because Harm had no idea how difficult Nat could be in the early hours of the morning. Harm brushed it off and went to Nat's room while Mac changed into running clothes. When she returned downstairs, Mac found Nat sitting on Harm's lap, all smiles and munching on graham crackers with a sippy-cup of apple juice. They then set off on the run with Harm pushing Nat in one stroller and Mac pushing Talia in the other. By the end of the jog, Nat would once again be fast asleep, while Talia would be smiling serenely as she took in the morning air.

They would return to Mac's house where she would shower and Harm would reawaken Nat and get him dressed for school. Once Mac got out of the shower, Harm would get his uniform from his car and get in the shower himself while Mac would make a gourmet breakfast of cereal and fruit. Following breakfast, they would all pile into Mac's SUV and head to the Roberts household where they gained two more passengers: a sleepy A.J. and a wide wake Jimmy who immediately entered into a babbling conversation with Talia. Their first stop was the daycare for the youngest two, and by this point A.J. and Nat were both awake enough to start their own animated conversation. Once they reached the primary school, Harm walked over to kindergarten classroom and Mac took Nat over to pre-k.

Then they would drive to Falls Church and work the day away, eating lunch together when their schedules permitted. When the work day ended, they would drive back to the Robert's home to pick up the kids who Harriet had picked up when she finished work at an earlier hour. The foursome would return to Mac's for a dinner that was either home cooked or take-out depending on the stress level of the adults. At first, Harm would return to his place after dinner, but one night in early November he stayed to help Mac with Nat and Talia who had both come down with the flu. The kids were better in a couple of days, but Harm did not leave. With Mattie back in Blacksburg with her father, Harm found alone time in his apartment to be much less appealing and Mac found his presence in her house to be natural.

A week before Thanksgiving, Mac found her self happily waiting with her daughter in the kitchen for Harm to come downstairs so they could head out for their run. It was unseasonably warm for the time of year, and Mac knew she would have to savor the last of these brisk fall runs before it would be too cold to take the kids out in the morning.

"G'morning Mummy," Nat mumbled sleepily from Harm's shoulder.

"Good morning, Mr. Nat," Mac greeted brightly, taking him from Harm who gave her a kiss on the cheek. She sat him down on the edge of the counter, handed him his cup of juice, and began putting on his shoes.

"Good morning, princess," Harm gave Talia a kiss and took her from her high chair to dress her in her fleece jacket, "Are you reading for our run?"

"Yeah," she giggled happily.

"What about you, Mr. Man?" Mac asked as she pushed her son's sleepy arms into his jacket.

"I guess," he shrugged.

"You guess?" Harm teased, "Well, maybe Mommy and I will leave you at home."

"Yeah, we'll just take Talia," Mac placed Nat on the floor and began walking to the front door, "Let's go Uncle Harm."

"We'll see you later, Nat," Harm followed her to the door with Talia in his arms, "Bye."

"Bye," Nat waved, convinced they would return. He listened to them talk and realized that they would indeed leave without him, so he raced to the front door, "I want to go!"

"Really?" Mac looked up from strapping Talia into her stroller.

"Yeah," he nodded emphatically, "I changed my mind."

"Well, I guess you can come, buddy," Harm scooped him up and into the other stroller, which had clearly been prepared for Nat's change of heart, "Then we better get moving if we're going to beat your mommy again."

"We'll see about that, Flyboy," Mac grinned down at her daughter, "Won't we, Tali-babe?"

"Yeah," she clapped her hands, "Fast!"

One week before Christmas, Harm returned from renewing is quals and immediately headed for Mac's house. Since he had unofficially moved in with her, Harm found himself torn between his love for his job and his family. He could not pinpoint the exact moment when he began thinking of Mac and her children as family, but it was just natural. They had yet to make anything official, although the entire JAG family knew that the couple shared a serious commitment. Neither of them wanted to rush things, because not only did Mac need time to completely renew herself after her marriage to Mic but they also had their own complicated emotions to deal with. After all these months, they had actually made progress and the idea of commitment no longer seemed terrifying and began to feel necessary.

"Surprise," Harm crept into the house to find Mac at the table reading.

"Hi," she smiled as he bent over to kiss her, "I thought you weren't getting back until tomorrow."

"I was able to catch an early COD," he sat in the chair next to her, "Are the kids already asleep?"

"Yeah, about an hour ago."

"What are you reading?" he asked, knowing that it was the source of her current distraction.

"A letter."

"From whom?"

"Mic," she slid it in front of him to read.

"He's not going to see them for Christmas," Harm looked up at her when he finished reading.

"No, he's not. He said it's too soon."

"It is too soon."

"It's been over six months."

"And that bothers you?"

"No," she sighed, "Yes. I don't know."

"Talk to me," Harm prompted with the three words he had said so often since her return from Australia.

"It will be their first Christmas without him."

"And you think they'll miss him?"

"Honestly, no," she bit her lip, "Talia has already started to forget, and I know Nat missed him at first, but even he's starting to adjust. I'm glad they've forgotten some things, but I don't want them to forget him completely. It makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing."

"You did," he told her as he had many times before, "Getting away from that was the best thing you could do for your family."

"I know, but Mic is still their father and someday they will want to know him."

"And until then, all you can do is give them a loving family," he squeezed her hand, "And that is exactly what you're doing."

"So are you," she said softly, "Nat idolizes you and Talia thinks you hung the moon. I don't know how they would have adjusted to everything without. They love you."

"And I love them."

"I don't know what I would do without you."

"Well you won't have to find out," he stared deeply into her eyes, "Because when I'm here with you and the kids, I'm home."

"I love you," she kissed him.

"Me too," he kissed her back and then took her hand, "Let's go to bed."

"One second," she placed the letter from Mic in the back of a drawer, "Now I'm ready."

Mac stepped out of the shower and slipped into her robe. It was Friday night and the night before Christmas Eve, and Harm had insisted that they go out to celebrate on their own before the Christmas spirit of the children completely overwhelmed the adults. Harm had though everything through, even arranging for Nat and Talia to spend the night at the Roberts house. With all the arrangements taken care of, Mac had no choice but to agree, even though the decorating and gift wrapping of the season made her more than ready for some adult time.

"Mummy!" Nat shouted as his little fist pounded on the door to her bedroom.

"Coming sweetie," she opened the door to find him dressed in his winter coat with his suitcase next to him. Harm stood a foot behind him with a bundled up Talia in his arms, "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yeah," the little boy broke out into a huge grin, "Auntie Harriet's going to let us make our own pizzas! I'm going to put lots of pepperoni and sausage on mine."

"That's my boy," Mac grinned back at him and picked him up, "You're going to be a good boy, right?"

"The best."

"And you'll tell Auntie Harriet and Uncle Bud 'thank you'?"

"Of course," he answered solemnly.

"What about you angel?" Mac looked over at Talia, "Will you be a good girl?"

"Yeah," she smiled.

"Okay, give me a kiss," she gave her daughter a kiss.

"Kiss."

"You too Mr. Man," Mac kissed Nat's head and he gave her a kiss back. She set him back on the ground and looked up at Harm, "Thanks for driving them."

"Don't worry about it," he said taking Nat's hand, "You've got thirty-five minutes and we're out of here."

"I'll be ready."

"Uncle Harm," Nat tugged insistently on his arm.

"What is it buddy?" Harm asked.

"Come here," he motioned and Harm leaned down so Nat could whisper in his ear, "You didn't kiss Mommy?"

"You think I should?" he whispered back, glancing up at Mac.

"Yeah," Nat nodded.

"Okay," Harm stood up and gave Mac a kiss, "Nat said that I had to."

"He's very smart," she gave him a second kiss back.

"Now we can go!" Nat declared.

"Okay," Mac laughed, "Be good."

"You're kidding," Mac looked across the seat at Harm in disbelief.

"I'm serious."

"You actually expect me to put that on?"

"Come on, Mac."

"No."

"If you don't, I'll tell the driver to pull over," Harm threatened. He had gone all out for this 'date' and had hired a driver for them.

"And we were having such a lovely evening," she said lightly.

"It's a blindfold, Mac."

"Fine," she sighed dramatically, closing her eyes, "Go ahead."

"Thank you," he teased and tied the blindfold over her eyes. The evening had gone just as he had planned: dinner at a classy restaurant followed by his surprise. He could tell that Mac had an idea of what the surprise would be, but Harm could also tell that she was going crazy with that fact that he refused to confirm any of her suspicions, and that was half of the fun.

"Can you take the blindfold off yet?" Mac asked once he had led her out of the car and into a building.

"Hold on," he said slipping off her coat, "Now keep your eyes closed."

"Sure," she felt him untie the fabric and remove it.

"Okay, open them."

"Wow," Mac opened her eyes to find that they were in a department store. At first it seemed like a ridiculously odd location, but then she looked around at the display cases, which were the only thing lit in the room, and realized that they held nothing but shows. That's when it hit her, she turned to look back at Harm and gasped softly when he saw him on one knee.

"You once told me that you wanted what every woman wants: a great job, a great man, and lots of comfortable shoes. Now will you give me what I want?" he pulled out a small velvet box and revealed a diamond ring, "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she whispered with tears in her eyes, "Yes."

"I love you, Sarah Catherine MacKenzie," he slipped the ring on her finger and stood up.

"And I love you Harmon David Rabb Jr."

A/N: So…how's that for an ending? Well, not the complete ending, but you know what I mean…

Judy52sa – It's like you read my mind…hehehe…I hope you like how I fast forwarded through the slow parts and got right down to the important stuff!

TV Angel 711 – Crazy college times…hehehe…I hope you liked it!

Duchovny0901 – Aw shucks! Your review made me smile. I did debate having Mic return for a Christmas visit, but then I decided that would just be awkward and prevent the proposal….although it would be interesting if he made trouble before the wedding…but that would just depend on whether I'm feeling adventurous.

JamieAKAaclassyone – I have so much fun writing the kids, especially Chloe. For Harm and Mac it takes effort to get inside their head, but for Chloe, I just take myself and subtract a few years.

Nix707 – There's nothing wrong with fighting over the baby names. Mine get to be mature because they don't have complications like that…yet! (Did I just say yet…oy…I'm not even sure if I want to go there)

JeanMary – Thanks! I feel like after all the craziness they deserve some happy normal times!

Janlaw – Woohoo! I figured out a way to that works (more or less) …thanks for watching out for the technical errors.

KittyX – Thanks a bunch!

Lani – We all hate homework…it's a fact of life! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Mxfan214 – Thanks a lot…I'm working on the consistent updating again…I've been bad and slcaking.

Jaggurl – I love fluff…it's so happy and fun to write...and I'm glad you liked it!

Radiorox – Well, Mic is staying in Australia, so that means you can keep those knives at bay, although if you had some Anthrax you could always send it via mail.

Prinnie – Thanks for the luck…I think they went okay. Hopefully this chapter gave you a break from finals studying!

MiDushiNoSushi – It's all about the butter…well not completely, but it is all about the fluffiness associated with butter. I hope this chapter made you smile too!

Starryeyes10 – Thank you!

Shippergrl25 – I'm glad you liked it!