Title : The Old Fashioned Way
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount – and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Summary : Mac asks Harm to 'help' her have a child as he promised – with IVF – but while they wait for the doctors to give the go-ahead, Mother Nature has other ideas!
Spoilers : None, pure fluff, but imagine it to be shortly after the time of the Admiral's Dining Out, where Mac told Harm the truth about her condition. Sturgis is acting JAG – don't know why I want it to be him in charge, but I'm sure all will become clear in time!
Rating : Racy!
Thanks to : Peggy – VeraBell – BrittanyLS – aserene – bluejay65 – TV Angel 711 – pryrmtns – T. Roesch – McRose – BrookeUT – shron – Odakota – KJFlygirl87 – jtbwriter – kchs123 – Jeanaz8 – daisymh – froggy0319 – ams – charming-kayleigh – starryeyes10 – CAZ-TX – Lynnp – Niout-FrenchFanficAddict – judy52sa – SmileyMare1810 – michelle UK – Lori – Staz – Lu78 – ColieMacKenzie – AllAboutMe123
To old friends and new, for all your good wishes and wonderful reviews.
Dance in the old fashioned way
Won't you stay in my arms
Just melt against my skin
And let me feel your heart
Don't let the music win
By dancing far apart
Come close where you belong
Let's hear our secret song
LA CHAUMIERE RESTAURANT – GEORGETOWN, DC
"Oh?" echoed Harm, his anxious gaze fixed on Mac's face, both ignoring the waiter laying their plates in front of them. As the man looked between the pair of them he realized that at that moment he might as well be invisible. Nevertheless, he rolled off his spiel of asking if anything more was needed, and receiving no response from either of them, he wished them bon appetit and returned to the kitchen.
"Did you…do you…mean it?" Mac's voice was tremulous; far removed from the confident tone Harm was used to.
"Absolutely. If this isn't what you want, Mac, you have to tell me now. I can't go on wondering if you're ever going to be 'in' my life."
"I do…" Mac murmured, and the tears in her eyes spilled over, creating a wet path down her cheeks. As she fumbled in her purse for a tissue, Harm came around from his side of the table and reached out to wipe the dampness from her cheeks. "I must look a mess," muttered Mac, still fumbling blindly and at the same time unable to tear herself from Harm's gaze; not that she wanted to. It would just be much easier to look in her purse for the damned tissues then!
"You look beautiful, Mac."
Mac laughed through the tears, and gave Harm a glimpse of the humor he remembered in the woman he loved. "You really must love me, Harm, if you think I look beautiful when I resemble a panda…" Mac faltered then, realizing that although Harm had said he wanted her he hadn't said he loved her. Pushing her chair back awkwardly, Mac got to her feet.
"Mac?" Harm stepped back as Mac stood up, and he saw the disappointment in her eyes before she managed to smile at him. "What's wrong?"
"Noth…nothing. I just need to use the Ladies' room, for a moment. I'll be right back."
"I'm counting on it."
Mac froze for a moment and Harm did too, wondering if he'd said the wrong thing once more. He relaxed a little when Mac gave him a tremulous smile and then he sat down again to wait for her as she walked away from the table.
A few minutes later…
Harm was beginning to sweat. Mac had been in the Ladies' for about ten minutes now, and he was worried. Something was wrong. Although he knew Mac was probably repairing her make-up, and he remembered how long it used to take Renee to put on the 'mask' - as he called her morning routine, he also knew that in the same space of time Mac could be showered, dressed and battle ready and still have time to spare. He looked up at the same moment as a flash of red crossed his vision, and he was aware of Mac crossing the room into the lobby. Getting to his feet, food forgotten, Harm made to follow Mac, but was halted by a hand on his arm. The waiter stood beside him, a fixed smile on his face as he tried to hold Harm back.
"Sir? Your food?"
"Not hungry."
"Then there is the small matter of payment. You did order the…" The waiter began, but as Harm shoved two large denomination bills at him he stopped speaking. Harm pushed past the man and strode out through the lobby and onto the street outside. There was no sign of Mac. Biting back on the bile rising in his throat, reacting to the worry of why Mac would have left him, Harm called over to the valet.
"Your car, sir?"
Harm nodded, not speaking; not trusting his voice at first. The valet returned with his Corvette, and the man was grinning widely as he got out of the car.
"She's a beauty, sir!"
"What?" asked Harm, confused, his voice shaky.
"The car, sir. Did you restore her?"
Distracted, Harm glared at the man, then regained his manners enough to acknowledge the question, and to ask one of his own.
"Yes, I did restore the car. Listen, did you call a cab just now, for a woman in a red dress?"
"The hot brunette? Yep, sure did!"
Harm resisted the temptation to strike the smiling face and managed to speak again. "Did you happen to catch the address?"
"Local," came the hurried response as the valet spotted an approaching vehicle and moved to intercept the driver. Harm nodded and muttered 'thanks' as he slid in behind the wheel of the Corvette and pulled out into the evening traffic.
OUTSIDE MAC'S APARTMENT - GEORGETOWN, DC
Harm parked up outside Mac's apartment building and climbed out, looking up at the windows that he knew fronted her particular apartment. There was still the table lamp lit, as they had left it when he had called to collect her, but there was no sign of Mac moving around in the apartment. The bedroom window was still in darkness. Torn between banging on her door until she opened up, or waiting on her doorstep until she appeared, Harm decided to head back to his apartment, get changed, and then return. Getting back in his car and starting the engine, Harm headed for Union Station.
OUTSIDE HARM'S APARTMENT - NEAR UNION STATION, DC
The sight that met Harm as he rounded the top of the steps in his building tore at his heart. Mac was seated on his doorstep, head bowed, shoulders shaking with the strength of her sobs.
"Mac?"
At the sound of Harm's voice Mac scrambled to her feet and put her arms around his neck in one movement, in silence, still sobbing. Harm didn't hesitate, bending to lift Mac into his arms. Managing to open his door despite having his arms full, he carried her across to the couch and sat down with her still in his arms, waiting out the storm of her tears. It wasn't long before Mac hiccupped, and then he heard her husky voice.
"I seem to have wet your shirt."
"I'll dry," Harm responded softly, nuzzling Mac's hair and waiting for her next move.
"I'm so sorry, Harm. I don't know…I spoiled our date."
"There's going to be plenty more."
"Really?" Mac lifted her head up then and looked at Harm. A sudden clarity came to her, making her realize that Harm's way of loving her was in what he did, not what he said, or rather didn't say. "I've made a mess of things, haven't I?"
"As long as you're okay, that's all that matters to me." Harm rested his forehead against Mac's. "You up to telling me what happened?" he asked, and Mac nodded mutely. Then she began speaking.
"When…when I needed to use the Ladies' room, I said…something…and I realized that you hadn't…that you wanted me, but not…" Mac halted, knowing that she wasn't making much sense. Harm was trying to make sense of the muddle himself, and as he thought back to what had been said in the restaurant his face reflected first his confusion, then a dawning comprehension, and finally a knowing smile. Mac watched all the expressions cross Harm's face, and then he put his finger to her lips and asked her to 'wait', lifting her up slightly so that he could slide out from beneath her.
"Here," Harm murmured as he slid back onto the couch beside Mac, handing her a small gift-wrapped box.
"What…what is it?"
"Call it a belated birthday present," Harm looked shame-faced as he confessed to having missed her last birthday in the furore that had surrounded his life and hers when they had returned from Paraguay.
Mac unfastened the ribbon and then removed the foil wrapping to reveal the box beneath. Lifting the lid slightly, Mac raised her eyes to Harm. In his eyes she saw fond amusement as he waited for her to reveal his gift to her, and something else…
"Harm?" Mac looked bemused, not sure what to expect now.
"Need help?" Harm replied, reaching out to help lift the lid further. Mac grinned and batted his hand away lightly.
"No, I can do this…" Mac responded, and removed the lid completely. There was a layer of packaging, and Mac rifled through this to lift out the contents. As her slim fingers pulled out a hard, round object, Mac realized it was a fossilized stone that had been made into a keyring, and she laughed delightedly.
"It's a key…" she began, then her voice registered shock as she added faintly "…ring." Mac pulled out the keyring to reveal another 'ring' attached to the keychain. An engagement ring. Mac watched in silence as Harm dropped from the couch to kneel in front of her.
"I love you, Sarah. I have for a long time, and I know I always will. I'm just sorry it took so long to…"
"Shh!" Mac put her finger on his lips. "You said it earlier, that the past brought us to where we are now. I love you too, Harm."
"Here…" Harm unclipped the platinum ring with its solitaire diamond from the keyring and took Mac's left hand in his as he held the ring at the tip of her third finger with his right hand. Their gaze locked as Harm spoke softly. "I promise to love you, honor you and cherish you, for eternity. Will you please marry me, Sarah?"
Mac nodded, and then found her voice. "I will…oh, Harm…". As Harm slid the ring down her finger they both watched the movement, and then Harm lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed the ring as it rested against her skin.
Words were unnecessary at that moment, and more tears fell as lips met in a gentle, affirming kiss.
To be continued
Omigosh – did I really write all that? Hope you like it!