AN – Okay everyone… please don't take it the wrong way but right now I'm using you all and posting part 16 as excuse to get away from my uninvited guests for a while… So BIG thanks for letting me use you lolol and of course for all the great reviews :-)

A Snowy Weekend – Part 16

Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

2:03 PM

Mac walked out of her kitchen, holding two mugs of steaming coffee in her hands and saw that Harm had turned on the TV. He obviously was checking out the latest news about the weather situation around Washington DC.

The moment Harm saw her coming out of the kitchen he turned off the TV and took one of the mugs from Mac. "Thanks," he said and took a big gulp. "Hmm, you learned how to make squid-coffee."

"Just for you, Harm," Mac answered and smiled at him. "How's the forecast?" Mac wanted to know, motioning with her head to the now turned off TV. She sat down on the couch right next to Harm and pulled one of her legs underneath her.

"The newscast said that the chance for more snow is slim and they hope that Dulles will reopen on Monday morning at the latest."

"Good. That means Harriet and Bud will get back to Washington as planned," Mac softly concluded and took a sip of her coffee.

Harm raised his eyebrow and looked astonished at Mac. "What? You're already getting tired of babysitting the boys, Marine?" Harm smirked, trying to hide his roguish grin behind his mug. He enjoyed teasing her a bit. "I thought marines are tougher than that."

Mac slightly smacked his arm and shook her head. "They are tougher than that and no, I'm not already tired of it. I am enjoying this weekend very much, thank you."

Harm gave her one of his flyboy grins she loved so much and took her right hand into his to give it a gentle squeeze. "So am I, Mac. So am I." He frowned for a second and then smiled. "Maybe we should do this more often."

Mac liked his suggestion and gave him a smile of her own. "I like the idea. This way Harriet and Bud can have more time for themselves before the twins arrive."

Harm nodded his head. "Yeah, and it also gives us the chance to practice some more before…," Harm pursued his thoughts but suddenly stopped, losing the smile on his face and the glimmer in his eyes in the process. He then looked apologetic at Mac. "I'm sorry, Mac. I shouldn't have said that," he started to apologize but was stopped by her soft fingers on his lips.

"Don't Harm," Mac tenderly said and looked deeply into his eyes, seeing that he blamed himself for what he'd just said. "There's no need to apologize and maybe it is time for us to really talk about this all."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured or anything."

She nodded her head and placed her mug on the coffee table. Then she readjusted her position on the couch so that she was able to look better at him. "I am sure, Harm. Not talking about this or simply running away from it obviously doesn't make the situation any better or make it go away," Mac gently explained, took a deep breath and then continued to explain in a whisper. "I've tried it too many times and I have to accept that it doesn't work like that. I'm tired of running away."

Now it was Harm who let go of his mug to place it on the coffee table. Then he took both of Mac's hands into his to give them yet another gentle squeeze. "Then we both should stop doing that and start to take some steps forward and in the right direction."

"It may not be easy, Harm," Mac quietly interjected and continued to look deeply into Harm's eyes, trying to absorb all the strength she could see there and to convert it to her own strength.

"No, it may not," Harm admitted in honesty. "But is running away easy, Mac?"

"No. No, it's not easy. It actually is getting harder and harder each time I try," Mac softly confessed and gave him a little smile.

Harm nodded his head in understanding. "Come here," he softly said and readjusted his position on the couch. He sprawled out his left leg on top of it before tenderly pulling Mac between his legs, so that she was now lying with her back against his chest. Then he kissed the top of her head and fondly embraced her. "There, that's much better," he whispered and this time kissed her right ear. "And now let's make a deal."

Mac snuggled deeper into Harm's arms, enjoying the warmth coming from his solid body. Then she lightly turned her head so that she could look up at him and was greeted by a warm smile. "What kind of deal?"

"From this moment on, we both won't ignore any kind of problem if there is one. Not if it is between us, or if one of us has a problem. Also, we will never ever run away from them again. And should one of us actually forget about this pact and starts to run, the other has the permission to use a lariat to lasso and capture the running one. Deal?"

Mac giggled and threw her hands to her mouth, trying to hush herself. "Kinky," she answered between her giggles.

"Hey, I'm serious here," Harm said but couldn't hold back some chuckles of his own. The picture of him capturing Mac with a lariat or the other way around indeed had something kinky to it. At least in his own way of imagining it.

Mac tried to get herself under control again. "I know, and I'm sorry," she said, then got serious again and finally nodded her head. "It sounds like a good deal to me."

"Good. Now that that's settled, why don't we try to work with this new pact?"

Mac immediately knew what Harm wanted to talk about. She also knew that she was ready to share the story with him. "The crib?" She softly asked, took his folded hands into hers and started to caress the palms of his hands.

"Yeah, I would like to know more about it. I thought it was Jimmy's crib but AJ told me that you actually bought it for your own children and that Jimmy was only using it."

"Not only Jimmy," Mac quietly said and continued to caress Harm's hands.

Harm frowned, not understanding the meaning behind Mac's comment. "What do you mean by that?"

Mac took another deep breath and then once more turned her head a little so that she could look right into Harm's eyes. "Jimmy is not the only child who slept in this crib, Harm. Years ago, Little AJ used to sleep in it as well when he spent the night."

Mac could practically see how the wheels in Harm's head were running now, trying to work with the information he just got and to understand the meaning behind her words.

"When did you buy the crib, Mac?" Harm asked in wonder. "I never saw the crib before, and AJ told me that you talked with Harriet about it while you two were getting Jimmy ready for bed."

"The day of Little AJ's birth," Mac whispered her straight answer.

She could immediately hear and feel Harm's reaction by the sharp breath he took and by him intensifying his embrace.

He didn't say anything and Mac took it as a clue to continue her story. "After we'd visit Harriet and the baby in the hospital, I was on my way home when I drove pass a baby store. I thought I should go in and try to find a present for my godson. I was amazed at all the cute little things you can buy for babies to wear, or all the toys you can get for them. I spent quite some time in the store and finally found a blanket for AJ. I was on my way out when somehow I ended up in the furniture department and I saw this crib."

She stopped her story to take another deep breath and Harm took the opportunity to kiss her cheek but he still didn't say anything.

Mac chuckled and shook her head in wonder about her own reaction back then. "I stood there, simply looking at it in awe when one of the saleswomen came to me and asked if she could help me and if I was looking for something for my child."

"What did you tell her?" Harm softly asked, still feeling slightly taken aback by the story Mac was telling him.

Mac shrugged her shoulders and then smiled up at him. "The moment she said 'my child' all I could think about was the deal we'd made earlier that day. Back then, I was so sure that I would have a child of my own one day. May it be in five years or even earlier. It didn't really matter to me, so I told the saleswoman that I indeed wanted the crib for my child."

She once more shook her head and started to chuckle. "I really have no idea what happened next but I ended up with that crib and moreover, I had to get that thing to my apartment with my new 'vette. I can tell ya, that was quite an experience."

Harm laughed and squeezed her hands. "You have good taste, that's for sure. I love the crib. It really is beautiful."

Mac just sighed and didn't say anything.

"What?" Harm asked, trying to find out what her sigh meant.

Mac moved out of Harm's embrace and sat up again. She interlocked her hands while her gaze was focused on them. "Maybe the saying is right," she answered him in a whisper without looking up.

Harm could clearly hear the sadness in her voice and quickly laid his finger under her chin to pull her head up so that he could look into her eyes. "What saying?"

"That you never should buy something for a baby before…," Mac started to explain but was immediately interrupted by Harm's finger on her lips.

"Don't, Mac. It's not true and moreover, it is not the reason why things happened the way they did," Harm told her with a strong voice. He had to make her understand that buying the crib had nothing to do with her having problems getting pregnant. "The saying is simply a superstition. And I know that you don't believe in something like that. So don't start now, okay?"

"I'm trying," Mac whispered and looked down at their clutched hands. "But that at least would give me a reason why I can't…."

Harm once more interrupted her. "Then try harder, Mac. There could be a lot of reasons why things are the way they are. Heck, who knows, maybe us getting in contact with the radiation back then in Afghanistan is the reason," Harm gently told her, wanting to make her believe that it wasn't her fault. "The point is that we can't always have control for the things that happen around us. Some of them simply happen for no reason. But, please, believe me when I say that buying this beautiful crib is not the reason for it."

Mac looked up at him and couldn't hold back the single tear which slowly ran down her cheek. Harm once more wiped it off with his thumb. "I really want to believe you, Harm."

"Then do it, Mac. And if you can't believe my words, then I guess I'll have to show you the test results I got from my doctor," Harm said with a grin, knowing that he would win this argument.

"What test? I don't understand."

"The test about my swimmers."

Mac raised her eyebrow and frowned. "Your swimmers?"

"Yup, my swimmers. If the saying is true and buying things for a baby you don't have yet means bad luck when it comes to pregnancy, then it means that I can't have any babies either, right? But the test I had told me otherwise and my swimmers are doing just fine, thank you," Harm explained and smirked.

"You had a test about your swimmers?" Mac asked bewildered and pointed with her forefinger to a certain part of Harm's body.

He only nodded his head and gave her another grin. "Yup, I did."

"When?"

This time it was Harm who shrugged his shoulders. "A few months ago," he vaguely told her, and Mac could hear that he was holding something back.

"Shortly before the Admiral's dining-out?" Mac asked, trying to get all the little pieces of their puzzle together.

Harm nodded his head. "Yes. I… I just wanted to make sure… you know… to make sure that everything was okay before I would make the final step."

"Oh, Harm," Mac responded and threw herself into his arms, giving him a bear hug. "That's so sweet. However, I'm not sure if the saying goes for men too, you know," Mac said and suddenly let go of him. "Whoa," she yelled and pulled herself out of his grip.

"What? What's wrong?" Harm asked, not understanding Mac's reaction.

She stared at him with wide-open eyes, not believing what she just discovered. "You told me that if the saying's true it would mean that you can't have children but that the test told you that you could have them."

"Yes, that's what I said." By now Harm knew what Mac's reaction was about and a slight blush covered his face.

"You bought something for your child?" Mac asked in a whisper and got a nod from Harm in response. "What? When?"

"A few months ago. I was getting some gifts for our godsons and saw this cute little outfit for a girl." Harm shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Mac. "I pictured our little daughter in it and had to buy it."

They couldn't hold back anymore and together they started to laugh, trying to keep it as quiet as possible so that they wouldn't wake up the boys.

"Boy, we're quite a pair, aren't we?" Mac asked and continued to laugh.

"A perfect one," Harm submitted.

"A totally crazy one," Mac suggested.

"A being in love one?" Harm proposed this time with a question and hoped to make yet again another step in the right direction. He softly cradled Mac's head into his hands, tensely waiting for her answer.

Mac slowly moved forward until her lips softly touched his. She gave him a short but sweet kiss before pulling back as far as needed to be able to look into his eyes. "A perfect and totally crazy being in love one," Mac replied and returned Harm's smile.

Once more their lips slowly came together for yet another kiss. However, this time their kiss was much more passionate and demanding.

"Yuck!"

Harm and Mac immediately pulled away from each other in surprise and looked at their intruder. Harm at once had to groan while Mac let herself fall backwards onto the couch. She took one of the cushions into her hands so that she was able to cover her head and most of all her laughter with it.

"Kissing like that is yucky," AJ explained as a matter of fact. Then he looked at Harm. "Can we go out now and play in the snow, Uncle Harm?" Little AJ wanted to know, already wearing his snowsuit.

Harm could hear his younger godson through the baby monitor and knew that Jimmy was awake too. "Sure, AJ. Why don't you get your shoes on and then we can go outside. Okay?"

"Okay," AJ answered in satisfaction and then quickly made his way to the guestroom.

Harm's eyes followed his godson and as soon as AJ disappeared behind the threshold, he let his gaze wander to the still laughing woman right next to him. He carefully moved on top of her and slowly took the pillow away from Mac's face, only to be welcome by a beautiful smiling face. "This guy for sure has Bud's timing," he annoyingly told her before capturing her lips with his for another loving kiss.

"We better get ready before he once more catches us while doing this yucky thing," Mac said with a giggle after they broke their latest kiss.

Harm sighed and stood up from the couch before holding his hands out for Mac so that he could help her up. "Yeah, we better. Why don't you get Jimmy ready while I get the mugs to the kitchen?"

"Sounds good to me."

"But we're not done yet, Marine."

Mac smiled and looked with a raised eyebrow at him. "We'd better not be done yet, Sailor. Otherwise you'll have one angry marine on your cute little six," she said with a chuckle and started to move to her guestroom.

Harm's hand immediately caught her arm before she was out of reach and pulled her back to him. He tenderly touched her cheek with his fingertips and finally said the words he wanted to tell her for so long. "I love you, Mac."

Mac took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She captured Harm's hand, which was still caressing her cheek, and kissed the palm of it. Then she looked up at Harm and got on her tiptoes to give him a soft kiss. "I love you too, Harm," she said and just like him was finally able to tell him what she wanted him to know for so long.

"I'm ready," Little AJ yelled from behind and looked impatiently at his godparents.

"We're coming," they said together and quickly parted to get done with their tasks.

TBC