Chapter 19:

A/N: If any of this chapter copies anything that's already been done by another author, I sincerely apologize!!!

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"The Commander asked me to deliver this to you, Ma'am" said Petty Officer Jen Coates as she handed Mac a small, folded piece of paper.

"Thank you, Coates" said Mac, taking the note and reading the contents:

I'm in he mood for a dinner date, what about you? HR

She smiled, grabbed a pen and wrote her answer on the paper, folded it back up and handed it back to Jen.

"Please return this to the Commander" said Mac.

"Yes, Ma'am" replied Coates, and she headed for Harm's office. Moments later, Mac's phone rang.

"Mackenzie" she said.

"So we've got a date tonight, huh?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"We sure do" said Mac. "Where are we going?"

"Not telling" said Harm, "it's a surprise."

"Oooh, mystery" said Mac, "you just love to keep me guessing, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do" replied Harm. "I will tell you this much though - dress up."

"How dressy is 'dressed up'?" asked Mac.

"Just use your best judgment" answered Harm.

"OK, I'll see what I can do" said Mac, "What time should I be ready?"

"7:00 sharp" said Harm.

"Consider it a date, flyboy" replied Mac. "I love you."

"I love you, too" said Harm.

Mac hung up the phone and shook her head. Every day with Harm was a new adventure, and she loved every one of them.

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She stood in her closet that evening, looking at all her maternity dresses and not liking any of them.

"I have 10 dresses I could choose from if you weren't along for the ride, little one" she said to her tummy. She was 25 weeks along now and couldn't wear anything that wasn't a maternity item or one of Harm's old shirts. Of course not fitting into her clothes was a very small price to pay, and one she didn't mind.

"I guess we'll go with this one here" she said pulling a long, dark purple dress out of the closet and laying it on the bed. Trish had bought it for her when they'd gone shopping during the time she and Frank were visiting, but Mac hadn't had a chance to wear it yet. She could wear her black heels with it and carry her little black clutch, it'd do nicely. She finished her hair and make-up and put the dress on.

"We look stunning if I do say so myself, little one" said Mac standing in front of the full-length mirror with her hands on her tummy. "Daddy will be pleased." Just then, she heard a knock at the door. "Right on time" she said to herself as she walked to the door to greet her man.

Harm just stood in the doorway and looked at Mac for what seemed like years.

"Wow, you look…..wow!" he said. She always did possess a knack for leaving him at a loss for words, whether she was trying to or not.

"Thanks, babe" said Mac, "you look great yourself." He was wearing his black suit with a white banded collar shirt, one of her favorite outfits of his. She thought it made him look like he'd stepped off the cover of GQ Magazine, but then to her he was sexy in sweats and a T-shirt.

"Shall we depart, my love?" Harm asked holding out his arm for her to take.

"Lead the way" said Mac. "This is going to be fun", she thought to herself.

"You're still not going to tell me where we're going, huh?" she asked him as they got into the car.

"Nope" said Harm, "but I think you'll like it."

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When they arrived at their first stop, Mac looked very confused.

"The airport? What are we doing here?" she asked. She knew that wasn't where he kept his Steerman, and even if it was she knew there's no way he'd expect her to get into it in her condition. Besides, why would they need to be dressed up if they were going flying?

"You'll see" he said, the same tone of mystery about his voice as had been there all day. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

"Ok" said Mac, still trying to figure out what he was up to. He returned a few minutes later and opened her door.

"Come with me" he said, helping her out of the car. They held hands as he led her around the other side of the office building to where the private planes were kept. Mac noticed that one plane was parked out towards the runway, and the door was open.

"Harm…?" she said, as confused as ever.

"Just come with me" he said. They walked to the plane parked out near the runway, and a man standing nearby greeted them.

"Hello, Harm" he said.

"Hello, Matt" said Harm as he shook Matt's hand. "This is Mac, Mac this is Matt Conlan, a pilot buddy of mine from the Academy."

"Nice to meet you, Matt" she said as she shook his hand.

"You're right, Harm, she's just beautiful" said Matt.

"I know, she sure is" replied Harm. Mac blushed just a little.

"Are you ready to go?" Matt asked.

"Go where? Harm, what have you cooked up here?!" asked Mac, hoping to maybe get a real answer out of him this time.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out in due time, my love" he said, kissing her on the cheek. With that, they boarded the plane. It was a small private jet that belonged to a friend of Matt's dad, who was a big corporate mogul. It had a kitchen and a bar and seated 12, but that night the manifest had only 3 names on it.

It didn't take Matt long to complete his pre-flight checklist and get clearance from the tower for takeoff. Before long, they were cruising high above the twilight sky, and Mac was still bewildered as to where they could possibly be going and why. Just as she was about to ask Harm - again - for some details, he got up and went towards the bar.

"Here you go" he said as he returned carrying two bottles of tonic water with lemon.

"Thanks" said Mac as she took a bottle from him. "Any chance you'll tell me where we're going?"

"Nope" replied Harm.

"Ok then, any chance there's anything to eat on this plane?" she asked him. "Your child is hungry and it's mother could use something, too."

"Your wish is my command" said Harm, getting up again, this time heading to the kitchen. Mac could hear him doing something, but she couldn't tell exactly what. Ten minutes later, he returned carrying two plates piled high with food.

"Did you cook all this?" she asked him in amazement.

"No, I ordered it from that bistro you love so much and had it delivered to the airport" he replied. "Matt put it in the onboard fridge for me so I could warm it up once we got on our way."

"Oh Harm, that was so sweet of you, thank you" said Mac before diving into her dinner.

"You're welcome" he said, pleased that she was enjoying it so much.

"That was so good" said Mac a short bit later, after she polished off the last bite of her food. "I'm stuffed."

"I'd hope so after all that!" joked Harm. Her appetite had always been big, but since she'd gotten pregnant it was even bigger.

"We've been in the air for an hour and 54 minutes" said Mac, "we must be going pretty far away from DC."

"Yes, we are" said Harm, "and while I won't tell you any more than that yet, I will say if you want to take a nap, you've got plenty of time."

Mac was pretty tired. It had been a rough Friday at JAG and she realized she could use a nap.

"Alright, I think I will sleep for awhile, babe" she told Harm. "Wake me up when we get to wherever we're going."

"Will do, don't worry" replied Harm. Mac leaned her seat back, rested her head on Harm's shoulder and fell fast asleep. Soon after, Harm decided she had the right idea, and he got as comfy in his seat as he could without waking her up, and fell asleep as well.

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"Harm, we're here, buddy." Harm awoke to find Matt standing over him.

"What time is it?" Harm asked as he came to.

"Almost midnight local time" answered Matt, "you've been out for hours."

"I guess so" said Harm. He looked over at Mac and she was still asleep.

"Hey babe, time to wake up" he said as he gently caressed her cheek. "We're here."

"Mmmm….what time is it?" asked Mac, which was totally uncharacteristic for her, but she was tired and they'd been flying to who-knew-where for who-knew-how-long, and her internal clock was a bit out of tune.

"It's midnight local time" said Harm, "we've been sleeping for awhile."

"Where are we?" she asked, sitting up in her seat and trying to wake up.

"California" answered Harm.

"California?!" exclaimed Mac.

"That's right" said Harm, "now to use the bathroom if you need to and we'll be on our way."

"California?!" she said again. "We traveled all the way across the country and didn't pack so much as a toothbrush! Have you lost your mind, Harmon Rabb, Jr.?!"

"No, I haven't Mac" he calmly said. "Don't worry about anything, I've got it all taken care of."

"I hope so!" she said as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Hey pal, thanks a ton" said Harm to Matt. "I owe you big time."

"It was no big deal" said Matt. "I'm glad I could help you out. Your rental car is waiting right over there, here are the keys to it and to your hotel room."

" Ok, great" said Harm. "My mom called today and said she got everything I asked her to and made sure it was in the room, so I think we're all set."

"Cool deal" said Matt. "Well, have a great time, I'll see you back here Sunday afternoon, right?"

"Yep, Sunday at 3:00" said Harm.

Mac came out of the bathroom looking a little more awake, and she'd calmed down considerably from the minutes before.

"I'm ready to go…..wherever we're going" she said happily. They made their way off the plane and to the waiting rental car. It was a quiet, peaceful drive, being that hour of the night there wasn't a lot of traffic on the roads they were taking. Mac, still tired from the day, nodded off in the passenger seat as Harm drove for another couple of hours.

"Wake up, babe" he said. "We're here."

"Where have I heard that before?" she asked. She looked around outside and realized where they were.

"We're at….the beach?" she said, quite confused.

"That's right" said Harm, "We're at Santa Monica Bay."

"Where are all the people?" she asked.

"Mac, it's 3 in the morning, they're all at home, asleep." said Harm with a little laugh. "Come on, let's get out." He took off his shoes and socks and went around to open her door.

Mac slipped her shoes off and climbed out of the car. She took hold of Harm's hand, and together they walked down to the shore.

"It's so pretty here" she said.

"It is." replied Harm. The moonlight was reflecting off the water, and the sound of a few gentle waves echoed in the silence of the night. They walked along for awhile, neither saying anything, until….

"Let's stop here for a minute" said Mac. "The view is so magnificent, I just want to soak it all in."

"I know the feeling" said Harm, only he wasn't looking at the water.

"Oh, Harm…." said Mac upon realizing he was referring to her.

He took a deep breath.

"Mac?"

"What?" she replied, turning to look at him.

"I…." He tried, to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

"What is it, Harm?" she asked. "Are you OK?"

Harm nodded. He had no idea this was gonna be so hard. "Let's try this again" he said to himself.

"I love you, Mac. I've loved you from the first moment I saw you, and the longer I've known you, the deeper that love has become.

"Harm, I - " said Mac.

"Let me finish or I might never get it out" said Harm. "I've done some crazy and stupid things in the last 8 years, and I know now that they were all just futile attempts on my part to talk my head into what my heart already knew. You're my one and only, Mac, you always have been. The times in our past when it looked like I was losing you, I've never felt so alone."

Mac began to tear up. She'd felt the same way over him so many times, but had never said anything.

"I don't want to ever be alone again" continued Harm as he brushed away Mac's tears. "I want to fall asleep next to you every night, and wake up next to you every morning."

Mac was on the verge of bawling as Harm kept speaking.

"I want to be right beside you as you bring this little life into the world" he said, putting his hands on her tummy, "and I want to share every precious moment of that life with you."

Mac's tears were unstoppable.

"I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life, and more than I'll ever love anyone else as long as I live and breathe. It's taken me far too long to realize that, but now that I have there's only one thing to do about it." He reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed the small velvet box his mother had given him. He knelt down on one knee and looked up at Mac.

"Sarah Catherine Mackenzie" he said, fighting to keep from breaking down, "will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal the ring that his father had so painstakingly chosen for his mother all those years before.

Mac, too overcome with emotion to speak, nodded her head and held out her left hand. Harm took the ring from the box and placed it upon her finger. She looked at it for a moment as she pulled herself together, then looked up at Harm.

"You are the most wonderful man God put on this earth" she said, "and I love you more than you'll ever know."

Harm pulled her close, and they shared a long, tender kiss.

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"Why did you bring me all the way out here to propose?" asked Mac as they walked hand-in-hand along the shore.

"This is one of the last places I remember coming with my dad" answered Harm, "Once I decided that I wanted a moonlight proposal on the beach, this place was the only choice for me."

"That's so great" said Mac. "Why the fancy clothes, though?"

"Because" he said, "I knew we'd both remember this night for the rest of our lives, and I wanted us to look amazing in those memories." He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it softly. "Besides, if ever there was a reason to get dressed up, this was it."

"I can't believe you put so much thought into this, babe" said Mac. "It's just about the most romantic thing you've ever done for me."

"You deserve it, Mac" he replied. "You mean everything to me, and I wanted my proposal to reflect that."

They stopped walking and shared another kiss.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her when the kiss finally broke.

"Go where?" she asked.

"To our hotel" he said.

"That'd be good" replied Mac, "I hate to see this moment end, but I'm totally beat. How long are we gonna be here, anyway?"

"Until Sunday afternoon" replied Harm. "Matt's flying us back."

"Wow, a whole weekend" said Mac, "you're just too good to me."

They made their way back to the car, and headed for the hotel.

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"I'll wait here while you go check in" said Mac when they pulled up at the hotel.

"Oh, we're already checked in" said Harm, showing her the card key Matt had given him at the airport.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Mac with a smile. "Well, let's go find our room, I've gotta go to the bathroom really bad and then I've gotta get some sleep."

Harm went around to her side of the car and helped her out, and they headed for their room.

"Here it is" said Harm, "605." He slid the card key into the slot, and the door unlocked. He entered ahead of Mac and held the door open for her, waiting to turn the lights on until she was inside.

"Oh, Harm!!" said Mac when she first laid eyes upon the room. There were 8 dozen red roses - a dozen for each year they'd known one another - in vases throughout the room. In a basket atop the table was a box of Godiva chocolates, a bottle of sparkling grape juice and 2 wine glasses.

"Do you like it?" he asked her.

"I love it" she said "but how…??"

"My mom helped me with this part" he said. "When she found out we were gonna be out here, she asked if she could help me with anything, and I knew this was something she'd love taking care of. She made our reservation and made sure the room was all set up before she met up with Matt to give him the key, and she went shopping so we'd have some clothes and everything else we didn't bring with us."

"She bought us clothes?" asked Mac, a bit surprised.

"Yep" replied Harm, "go look in the drawers, everything should be in there with the exception of a couple outfits which should be hanging in the closet over there." Mac went to look, and sure enough, everything was there.

"How did she know my size?" asked Mac before remembering that Trish had taken her shopping not long before then. "Oh yeah. Well, she did a great job, these things are really cute!"

"We'll have to be sure we let her know you like them" said Harm as he took off his jacket and slipped off his shoes. "All our bathroom stuff should be in there, mind if I go first?"

"Not at all, just let me pee real quick" she said, "then I'll find our PJ's and get changed."

"OK" he said.

While Harm got ready for bed, Mac looked in the drawers for their pajamas. She found the maternity nightgown Trish had bought for her, and the lounge pants she'd gotten for Harm. She slipped her dress off and put the nightgown on, and laid the pants out on the bed.

Harm came out of the bathroom carrying his shirt and socks. He had his pants on, but they weren't zipped or buttoned. "Oh, wow…" thought Mac to herself as she went to take her turn in the bathroom. When she came back out, Harm was already in bed, all the lights in the room out except for the lamp by her side of the bed. She turned off the light and climbed into bed, putting her arms around her fiancé.

"What was that for?" he asked her after she planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

"For everything" she said. "This whole night has been amazing."

"Not as amazing as you, Mac" he said softly. "You're my whole world, I want you to know that."

"You're my whole world, too" she replied as she moved in for another kiss, this one even more passionate than the first.

"I thought you were tired" whispered Harm.

"I thought so, too" Mac whispered back, "but the sight of you in nothing but your undone suit pants has a way of giving me a second wind."

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I stayed up REALLY late tonight writing this - I'd love to know what everyone thinks!!!!!!!