Chapter 7:
"I'm excited, how about you?" Harm asked her as they got in the car.
"Yeah, it's really nice to feel like we've actually got a chance of making this work", answered Mac as she fastened her seatbelt, "but I'll be honest with you, part of me refuses to hope too much".
Harm lovingly put his hand on Mac's knee. He didn't have to ask why she was afraid to hope, he knew why. Short falls hurt less than long falls, and the lower she kept her hopes, the shorter the fall if they were dashed again.
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The pills Dr. Kendall had prescribed worked remarkably well for Mac. When she went for the ultrasound on day 11 of her cycle, he pointed out to her 2 large follicles on the screen.
"Well done, Sarah, " he said "you do nice work!"
Mac smiled, "thanks, but it's not like I had any control over it. Now, does the fact that there are 2 follicles mean there's a greater chance of having twins?" she asked.
"Technically, yes", said Dr. Kendall, "but only a 10 percent chance, not as high a chance as many people think". Mac was a tiny bit disappointed with that number, but she would be thrilled to have even one baby.
"Well, too bad the Commander couldn't join you today, but it's more important that he's available tonight - he is, I hope?" asked Dr. Kendall.
"Oh yes, he couldn't get out of court today, but tonight won't be a problem" said Mac.
"Fantastic" said the doctor, "well, I'll have my nurse come give you the shot to trigger your ovulation, and you need to make plans with the Commander for tonight and anytime tomorrow. Understand?" She understood, she also understood that Harm would be thrilled with their "orders" for the next 2 days.
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After getting her shot and checking out, Mac went back to JAG and happened to catch Harm in his office during a recess. She filled him in on the appointment and what their orders were for that evening and the next.
"Oh boy, doctor-ordered sex, can it get any more romantic than that?" laughed Harm.
"Hey, just because it's doctor-ordered doesn't mean we can't make it romantic" said Mac as she teasingly ran her fingers against Harm's neck.
"Mac!" he said as he stepped back, knowing that it was neither the time nor place for things to go any further.
"Sorry, flyboy, I'll have to learn to control myself" said Mac with a sneaky smirk on her face.
"Well, at least until tonight" said Harm as he headed out the door.
He stopped, said "same time, same place, my dear" and flashed her a smile that made her weak in the knees.
"I'm gonna get him for that…" Mac thought to herself as she did her best to make it through the bullpen without giving anyone a reason to wonder what was going on, something much easier said than done.
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The evening began at the same time, same place , same everything. Harm had gotten out of JAG later than he wanted to, so instead of cooking he ordered in Chinese. It arrived just a few minutes before Mac did, so when she got there they dug in.
"This tastes really good tonight, I must have been hungry for it" said Mac as she reached for the sweet and sour pork.
"I'm glad you like it. I knew you'd be hungry and I didn't have time to make anything by the time I got home and got changed and all" said Harm, continuing the banter of small-talk that seemed to be present at all of their "working dinners". They'd made love enough times now that the initial sense of uncertainty and awkwardness had faded, but not enough times to be totally comfortable with it. The fact that that night was "doctor ordered" didn't really make much difference except to threaten the romantic side of it, but Mac wasn't about to let that happen. After all, she'd promised herself she'd "get him" for sending that amazing smile her way at work when there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Harm was standing at the kitchen sink rinsing out their iced tea glasses when Mac came up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his back.
"Whatcha doin', Mac?" he asked, not at all minding that she was there, but wondering what she was up to.
"Making things romantic" she said, sliding her hands underneath his U.S. Navy T-shirt and rubbing his back.
"Oh, really" he said "so a backrub while I do the dishes constitutes romance?"
"Sure" said Mac, knowing her little plan was working.
"You really need to get out more, my dear" joked Harm as he rinsed the glasses and put them in the dish rack, then grabbed a towel and dried his hands.
Just as he tossed the towel back on the counter, Mac maneuvered her way in between Harm and the sink and kissed him with everything she had in her. They embraced for what seemed like hours before Harm whispered "let's go", intending to continue their "assignment" in the bedroom.
"No" said Mac softly.
Confused, Harm asked "what do you mean 'no', we have to, doctor's orders, remember?"
Mac simply answered "here".
"The kitchen? You want to do this in the kitchen?" asked Harm.
"Mm-hmm" she said as she sat down on the floor beside the sink, "right here".
Harm looked a little bewildered at first, "are you sure you'll be comfortable?" he asked her.
"I'm sure" she answered, pulling him down to the floor "I think it'll be romantic".
"Well, as long as you're sure" said Harm as he joined her on the floor.
As they picked up where they'd left off, Mac thought to herself "I got him, I got him good".
"That was definitely an interesting twist on things" said Harm as he slipped his T-shirt back over his head.
"I'm so glad you thought so, flyboy" answered Mac, who was still looking for her shirt. Harm found it in the corner, along with his lounge pants.
"Looking for this?" he asked as he handed it to her.
"Thanks, my gosh, we scattered stuff all over the place, huh?!" said Mac with a bit of a laugh.
"Yeah, we did" said Harm with a grin, "we just fling our clothes wherever and worry about finding them later."
Once they finished re-dressing, they retreated to the living room where they could actually be comfortable for awhile.
"So, what wild and adventurous location do you have in mind for tomorrow night?" Harm asked Mac as he held her close, running his fingers through her hair.
"Who said anything about tomorrow night?" she asked in reply.
"You did, Mac, you said Dr. Kendall said we had to do it tonight and tomorrow night because you got the ovulation shot today and this is our window for this month" answered Harm, a bit puzzled as to how he knew that and she seemed not to.
"No, what he said was tonight and anytime tomorrow, not specifically tomorrow night" she said with a devilish tone to her voice, "so I was thinking maybe I could stay here tonight and we could wake up a little early in the morning and…"
"Or" said Harm, "you could stay here tonight and we could wake up a lot early in the morning and…"
"You're such a bad boy, Harmon Rabb, Jr." said Mac as she kissed him again.
It was nice, just for those two short days, to be able to focus on the romance and the fact that they were with one another and not think quite so much about trying to conceive, but all good things must end.
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A/N: the kitchen scenes were total Harm & Mac - no personal experience there, but I thought it made for nice reading.
I hope the romance in this chapter can help make up for the pitiful lack of romance between our favorite couple in "Automatic for the People"!!!! We waited 3 weeks for a new episode, and they weren't even in one scene together - aaahhhh!!!!!!! PLUS, next week is another rerun - aaahhh!!!!! Sigh, at least Harm made reference to Mac not yet being "his girl", I guess that's better than nothing…