Madhouse Family Restaurant

2146 hours

San Antonio, Texas

"I trust you with everything I have, Harm," Mac said softly. "My work, my emotions, my thoughts, my feelings, my worries, my life."

"What about your heart?" Harm asked before he could stop himself.

Mac tensed up and Harm immediately pulled his hand away, averting his eyes and trying to find a safer subject. They had danced around the topic of furthering their relationship for so many years that it was instinct to continue in that fashion.

However, Mac didn't want to hide from her feelings anymore.

"You have had every part of me since the Rose Garden, Harm. Mind, heart, and soul," Mac said.

"I thought it was supposed to be 'mind, body and soul'," Harm said.

"It is, and you could have had that, too, since you first flashed me that smile of yours," Mac admitted. "Harm, we've been dancing around… around us for so long… and whenever we get close to stopping and truly talking about our feelings one of us gets their heart ripped out because things aren't said or because of circumstances or whatever. I'm sick of dancing. I'm going to lay it all on the line here, and I don't want you to interrupt me. If I don't get this all out now I don't know if I ever will."

Harm nodded and kept his mouth shut.

"I'm sick of denying the fact that sometimes I want nothing more than to curl up in your arms and stay there for the rest of my life. I'm sick of being your best friend and wondering if one day one of the blonde bimbos you seem to favour will manage to get you to commit to them completely. I'm sick of watching you with other women, of being jealous whenever someone starts hitting on you, of not being able to say to the world that you are taken, that you are mine. I'm tired of thinking about you all the time, wondering what you're doing and who you're doing it with," Mac said. "I want to be with you, Harm. I want to have a life with you. As more than your friend, your partner. But my feelings for you… I can't do it halfway. I know it's a lot to ask, but if we do anything we need to be one hundred percent invested in this relationship. And, even though it's not one of our strong suits, we need to keep the lines of communication open at all times. What we have… or, what we could have, rather, is too special to be ruined by a lack of communication." Mac stopped and took a sip of water and didn't start talking again.

"Can I talk now?" Harm asked.

"Yes, you can," Mac said, blushing slightly.

Harm smiled. "Good," he said before reaching for her hand and lacing their fingers together. "I have to admit that when I first saw you, I thought you were Diane. But once I realized that you were just someone who looked eerily like her, I put all my effort into seeing the real you instead of the confusing Diane-double," Harm said honestly. "When we stopped at that gas station and traded our car for that beat up old truck and I saw you in that little sundress I saw you, the real you, for the first time. And I fell for you. Hard. And then we started working together and I got to know the details, the things that make you who you are, I got scared because I had never felt that much for one person in my life. So, because I didn't want to ruin our friendship with the added awkwardness of me hitting on you, I tried to be with women who were your polar opposite. But the fact that they were nothing like you just made me… pull away from them, I guess. And then I got my act together and I was ready to lay it all on the line and you start talking bridesmaid dresses and honeymoon locations with Mic. You're completely right about us not communicating well. Maybe it's because we both lost people we loved at young ages. Or maybe it's the fact that we're both lawyers and we are trained to keep incriminating evidence away from opposing council. Or maybe it's because of our military lifestyles. Or maybe it's a combination of all the above plus more elements that I haven't even thought about. But I think we're communicating pretty well right now, don't you?"

"We're doing okay," Mac said with a smile. She looked around the restaurant and noticed that it was quickly emptying out. "Why don't we get out of here… go somewhere more private to talk some more," she suggested.

Harm pulled out his wallet and dropped some bills on the table to cover their uneaten dinner and then he placed his hand on the small of Mac's back and led her out to the car.

Stopping at the door to the car, Harm put his hands to Mac's cheeks tenderly, framing her face with his warm touch. "I didn't get to say the one thing I really wanted to back there, and I can't wait any longer to say it now," Harm said as he moved one hand back to tangle in her hair. "I love you, Sarah MacKenzie. I love because you're my best friend and I love you because you are the woman I want to spend my life with. When I imagine my future I see myself married to you, living in a house with an actual yard and a bunch of happy children running around, knowing that both their parents are going to be home in time for dinner and that nothing bad can happen to them. My favourite dream is of lying in bed with you, my hand resting on your stomach, our child growing inside of you. I want to be with you, Sarah, and I refuse to hide that fact any longer."

Mac's eyes filled with tears for the second time that night, only this time her tears were happy ones. "God, Harm, I love you, too," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him with everything she had. "I want that, Harm. The house and the yard and the marriage and the kids. I want you to hold me and I want you to be the father of my children and I want you to be my husband," she declared. "I love you so much, Harm," she whispered into his neck.

They stood there for several minutes, just holding each other, loving each other, enjoying the fact that they had finally opened up about their feelings and that they no longer had to hide their love from each other. Mac turned her head to the side and brushed her lips against Harm's earlobe before taking the sensitive lobe into her mouth. Harm groaned loudly and pulled back only far enough so that he could look into her eyes for confirmation. She nodded and Harm leaned down and kissed her slowly, sliding his tongue between her lips and past her teeth and exploring her mouth thoroughly. His body moved even closer to hers and Mac soon found herself pressed against the car. She kissed him back with every ounce of passion she had for him and groaned when she realized that the poking in her belly was from Harm's growing erection. Knowing that she was the cause of his arousal made Mac groan into Harm's mouth and wetness gushed between her legs.

Breathless and longing for more contact they broke the kiss and took several deep breaths without moving their bodies away from each other.

"Wow," Mac said after she caught her breath.

"Yeah," Harm agreed, leaning down and brushing his lips over hers before leaning his forehead against Mac's. "God, I've wanted to do that for so long, Sarah," he said huskily, his voice uttering her given name like a caress.

"No regrets?" Mac asked.

"Only that I didn't do it sooner," Harm said before capturing her lips again. He moved one of his hands around to unbutton her coat, needing to touch more the fabric of her military-issue raincoat. Sliding his hands over her sides and stomach, caressing her shapely body though her summer-light uniform, Harm moved his lips down her neck.

The feeling of Harm's hands on her body and his lips and teeth and tongue playing on her neck drove Mac crazy. She knew that they shouldn't be doing what they were; especially not in a public area while they were both wearing their uniforms, but there was no way she was going to stop Harm from doing what he was doing to her. All Mac could manage to do was moan and press her belly against Harm's erection and give herself over to the feelings she had only dreamt about. She knew from the moment they met that he would be as passionate in his personal life as he was in the courtroom. But she never knew what it would feel like to have all that passion directed solely at her. Mac idly thought that it was a good thing she was trapped between the car and Harm's body because the things Harm was making her feel were making her swoon for the first time in her entire life.

Harm's warm hands moved down to her waist and slowly and methodically slid under her drab uniform shirt, the first touch of skin-on-usually-hidden-skin. He groaned loudly when he realized what wonderful skin it really was. Harmon Rabb Jr was by no means an innocent virgin, but the moment he slid his hand under Mac's top and slowly started working his way up to her lace-covered breasts, he felt like he was some untried high school loser who was praying his date would let him cop a feel before he walked her home in time for curfew.

Since their current combined logic was about as useful as a newspaper over you head during a monsoon they were both shocked when Harm couldn't quite get the fabric, that had no give whatsoever, to allow him access to her breasts. He was less than an inch away and the words 'so close yet so far' immediately sprang to both their minds.

They looked at each other for a minute and then the situation sunk in and they both started laughing. They were standing in the middle of a well-lit parking lot outside what was considered a 'family restaurant'. He had her pressed up against Meg's Navy-issue fleet sedan. Her coat was halfway down her arms and his hand was stuck inside her uniform top. Her hands were under the waistband of his pants, one under his boxers and one trying to get under his boxers, both cupping his amazing six in her hot little hands. She could feel the evidence of her arousal running down her thighs, soaking the crotch of her uniform pants. And he was so hard from just a few kisses that he was sure he had more restraint when he was a horny teenager.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Mac said, easing her hands from Harm's pants. He disentangled himself from her clothing and then he handed her the keys. "I assume this means you're too distracted to drive," she teased, unlocking the door for him, pressing her rear into his crotch for a moment before moving around to the driver's side and slipping behind the wheel. She started the car and put it in gear, pulling out of the parking lot and pointing the car in the direction of the ranch.

"We're going to have to have a long talk about where this is going," Harm said logically as he thought about certain topics—crashing in a Tomcat, listening to Bud go on about Harriet's sore nipples from nursing, having to deal with Allison Krennik again—to tramp down his arousal at least enough to be comfortable. Krennik seemed to work the best.

"Naturally," Mac nodded. She had certain topics of her own running through her mind—the memory of waiting for word on Harm after his crash, drying out in Red Rock Mesa, the memory of the pain of being shot in the thigh by the psychotic poachers—to try to temper her own desire.

"And we're going to have to talk to Chegwidden about work," Harm continued, focusing on Krennik as she seemed to be a highly effective tool to reverse the effects of Mac's body against his.

"The sooner the better, I think," Mac agreed.

"And we'll have to decide what we tell everybody," Harm finished.

"That one will be a bit tougher," Mac said. She wanted to tell the world that Harmon Rabb Jr loved her, and that she loved him, but Mac knew that there were people who not only could but would use their relationship against them.

Harm reached over and laced his fingers with hers. "We'll find a way," he said, so sure of himself that Mac couldn't do anything but believe him.

The Ranch

2200

San Antonio, Texas

Mac turned off the car and pulled the keys from the ignition before unbuckling her seatbelt and shifting her body so she was facing Harm. "What's the plan?" she asked.

"Plan?" Harm asked as he turned towards her.

"Are we going to talk… or not talk… or go our separate ways and wait until we're home to do anything?" Mac asked.

"Well… as much as I want to make love to you right now," Harm said, reaching across and caressing her cheek with his thumb, "I want out first night to be special."

"Me, too," Mac said softly. "And as much as I want to talk this out right now… if I get you alone in a bedroom right now I'm positive I won't be able to be a good little girl."

Harm laughed at that and leaned over and stole a kiss. "How about we just wait until we get home before we do anything that could get… loud," he suggested.

Mac smiled and nodded. "We can wait to be loud. But I reserve the right to kiss you whenever and wherever I want." Harm raised an eyebrow at that. "Within reason," Mac amended.

"As long as I get the same right," Harm said, leaning in close and brushing his lips over hers.

"Mmmm, that is definitely a right we can share," Mac said with a dreamy smile. They sat in the car for a long time, trading kisses and innocent caresses, both taking their decision to wait until they were home to take their relationship further very seriously.

Neither one of them noticed when a slim blonde Naval Lawyer got out of a cab and took a long look at them before rushing into the house, her hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs.

JAG Headquarters

0600 hours

San Antonio, Texas

Meg sat behind her desk in her cramped office, her head pounding, her spirits sinking, and her day heading from bad to worse.

After getting reamed out by her CO for not looking into other possibilities for who was at fault for the car accident, Meg had taken a taxi home, hoping to get the chance to talk to Harm or Mac about how they had ended up going at the case from such a skewed point of view, only to find Harm and Mac trading kisses in her Navy fleet sedan. Despite the fact that she had wanted them to get together, Meg had been hoping that they would have waited a little longer so that they could all keep their heads clear until the end of the investigation. Also, she had to admit that a rather large part of her wanted Harm for herself, though she knew that his heart belonged to Mac and always would.

She hadn't seen either one of them that morning, taking a friend's truck so she could get to work early and get a head start on some of the paper work she had let go by the wayside over the past few days. Meg knew she should have taken it home and done it before going to bed the night before, but she hadn't even felt up to losing herself in official forms and reports like she used to when she needed to get away from the world for a while.

Her mother was nearing the end of her life, the doctors all agreeing that two months was a generous estimate. Admiral Chegwidden had been trying to get her back to DC for a while and Texas just didn't hold the same appeal it once had for her, so Meg was planning on making a move, but she didn't want to leave until her mother was at peace.

The case was dragging on. The Wade family was being torn apart—Meg had a message from Ryan's mother saying that she and her husband had separated—and both Miller and Lleavaier were being targeted by others on the base who were calling them murders despite the lack of evidence. Plus the media had been particularly interested in the case and a friend of Meg's at ZNN told her that if they didn't get an interview by the end of the day there would be reporters on her, Mac, and Harm twenty-four-seven until they got their story. It wasn't a big deal for Meg, who could easily slip away from reporters—she had in the past—but, being virtual unknowns, and therefore strnagers who would stick out because they were unknowns,in San Antonio, Harm and Mac would be easily recognized as the JAG lawyers investigating the death of Ryan Wade and they wouldn't have time to enjoy their new relationship because they wouldn't be able to risk it being caught on film. Blackmail material was becoming easier and easier to get as technology advanced.

The message in her hand was the worst news she had received all morning, however.

I'm gona leave it there for now. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with not having Harm and Mac jump right into bed, but, other than the fact that I think they should take things a little slower than just going right to the 'screwing each others brains out' stage, I also wanted to keep with their characters and not have them disrespect Meg or her dying mother by going at it in the next room.

Please let me know what you thought of this chapter.

M