AN: And the good reviews keep on coming...thanks again, all of you. So I'm gonna hold on to my part of the deal and give you the third chapter...enjoy!

Disclaimer: Hoping, wishing, waiting, but never owning...sigh...

On with it...

How she managed to actually fall asleep was beyond her, but at two am the fun was over. She was jolted awake by what was probably a very unsettling dream, even though she couldn't remember any details. Sitting up straight she shivered when the sudden cold of the room hit her. For a moment she was confused about her whereabouts until her eyes had adjusted enough to see the outline of her office.

When she shivered again it had nothing to do with the cold. Mac felt uneasy and if she were honest, a tiny bit scared. A sudden fierce wind blowing directly against her window startled her even more. Marine or not, she felt like a little lost girl imagining there were ghosts underneath her bed.

Deciding that she could use a sip of water she glided out of her bed and slipped into the deserted bullpen. In the dark, she could barely distinguish the desks and machinery, looking quite menacing in the middle of the night. The eerie silence in the usually busy room didn't help either. The only reassuring rim of light came from underneath Harm's door.

Wait a minute…so either her flyboy needed a nightlight or he wasn't sleeping either. For a moment, Mac stood in the middle of the room, undecided. Till her longing for human contact won. Determinedly she made her way to his door, gently knocking.

"Come in, Mac."

His voice was soft but strong, indicating he wasn't the least bit sleepy. She smiled a little and opened the door. Harm was sitting up on his mattress on the floor, the bed still folded in the corner as he wisely assumed it wouldn't support his large frame. He was wearing nothing but his boxers (or so she hoped, since his lower half was covered by the woolen blanket) and he had his pillow propped up behind his back, leaning against it with his hands folded behind his neck.

Mac had to close her eyes for a second (how dare he look this sexy, with his bare chest and his tousled hair) to get all the mental pictures out of her head before slipping inside. At least with her eyes closed she didn't notice the appreciative glance Harm gave her lean figure, only clad in black panties and a tight green Marine issued tank top.

"How did you know it was me?"

A lazy, incredibly sexy grin splayed on his lips, making her stomach churn.

"I know it might be hard to believe, but I don't get that many visitors in my office this late at night. But I must say, when they look like that…"

He let his voice trail out on purpose, and more than anything he resembled a hungry predator sizing up its prey. Mac decided to just smile at him, but shivered at the same time. Immediately his voice changed from seductive into concerned.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No, it's cold and dark and I don't feel at ease."

She hesitated, afraid he would tease her mercilessly for sounding so childish. For a moment, he looked like he might, but when he saw genuine fear in her eyes, he quickly ruled against it.

She shivered again.

"Come here, Mac."

Harm lifted the blanket in an invitation to crawl next to him. She remained rooted to the spot, teeth clattering by now. Using his more commanding voice, momentarily forgetting she outranked him by seniority, he repeated himself.

"Come here, Mac, before you turn into a pop sickle and your teeth wake up the entire building."

It looked so inviting. Not just the heat from the blankets (or from his body), but the warmth of his voice, the gentle smile that had replaced the cocky grin made her shiver from anything but the cold or her fear. Her body disobeyed the last part of her reluctant mind as she took three steps toward him. With a content sigh, she lowered her body onto the mattress. Almost automatically she felt herself being enveloped into the blanket and, even better, his strong arms and chest. Was she dreaming? Because if she was, she would kill the person who tried to wake her without any regrets.

Instinctively she snuggled closer to him, relishing the welcome heat his body provided for hers. Harm leaned back until he was lying flat-out on his back, with Mac on top of him, the blanket tugged around them.

"Comfy?"

Mac, almost lulled back to a peaceful slumber, simply nodded.

"Very. Love you, Flyboy."

Even in her semi-conscious state could she feel and hear Harm gulp, before he whispered in an audibly tender voice .

"Love you too, Sarah."

She smiled while she drifted further into a deep sleep.

He woke at around five, disoriented but happy, though he didn't realize why, until he remembered who he was holding. Making sure she was peacefully sleeping, he kissed the top of her head, causing her to stir and smile in her sleep.

"I meant it, Sarah, I love you."

He hoped his confession, the one he still couldn't say out loud, would find its way into her unconscious brain. Somehow, she had to feel it was true.

Shhhh, we'd better let them get some sleep while they can, things will get pretty interesting when morning comes...

Wanna find out? You know what to do...