I had no intentions for continuing this story any further, but since some of you asked, inspiration struck and I decided you could get a short bit more.

Plus, I am feeling conflicted about Harm and Mac's appearance next week, so I needed a distraction.

14 months later

Rabb Residence
Friday
1905 Local

"Ma'am, are you sure that this is alright?" Harriet asked as she set AJ's suitcase on the floor by her feet.

Sarah MacKenzie Rabb gave her friend a pointed look. "Harriet...please don't call me "ma'am" in my own home."

"Sorry," Harriet replied, her face wrinkling as she did so. "It's a hard habit to break."

Mac chuckled softly before answering Harriet's question. "This is absolutely alright. AJ has been looking forward to having a sleepover at Aunt Mac's and Uncle Harm's house for a very long time."

"I know," Harriet began, "but you guys just moved in. I'm sure there's a lot to do, and AJ will just get in the way, and..."

"Harriet!" Mac interrupted her. "It's fine."

"But you're new homeowners and newlyweds still – having a sleepover with a seven year old is probably not the way you imagined spending your first weekend in your new house."

"Harm and I will behave ourselves if that's what you are worried about," Mac smirked, an eyebrow raised.

Harriet blushed. "I meant more along the lines of unpacking the few odd boxes that haven't been organized yet and just enjoying your new house alone – not someone getting fingerprints on the windows, crumbs on the floor, you know, all the things little boys do."

"I'm honestly looking forward to it." And she really was.

"Give it some time, Mac," Harriet laughed. "Seriously, though, thank you for doing this for AJ. Things can get a little overwhelming at home since the twins are constantly on the go now and I'm afraid he feels a little left out every now and then. I think this one on one time will really do him well."

"We're happy to do it."

"Well, I have to go pick up Jimmy now. I'm just going to say goodbye to AJ and then I'll be on my way."

Mac smiled warmly at her friend before she poured herself a cup of tea from the kettle. She sighed contently as she walked over to the large bay window in the kitchen and watched her husband – now Captain Harmon Rabb – and AJ pitch a tent in their backyard.

She took a sip of tea and thought back on the last fourteen months of her life.

That night after their kiss in the Roberts' kitchen, she and Harm talked for hours and hours. They talked about everything.

"How do we go about this, Mac? Dating in the military, I mean?" Harm asked. Mac had her head resting on his lap and he was running his fingers through her hair in a soothing manner. They both made it way too far in their careers to risk a fraternization charge.

"Do we have to date?"

"What?" He was clearly confused.

"You heard me," she said as she sat up and shifted herself so that she was sitting in his lap.

She watched his facial expression go from confusion to understanding – or at least she hoped that's what she saw. "Mac?" He asked.

"Isn't the whole point of dating getting to know someone? Awkward first dates and awkward first kisses?" He nodded, and she continued. "Newsflash, Harm, we are way past that. So, why can't we skip that and go right into the whole lifetime thing instead? Marriage and all, I mean."

"Mac..."

"I need you in my life, Harm. I'll always need you in my life. I don't want to waste anymore time." She continued, as she stared at her hands that were pressed flat against his chest. She could feel his heart racing quickly beneath her fingertips and it made her feel so alive – she felt like she was physically touching her future.

"Mac!" he said more forcefully, trying to get her attention.

She stopped talking and stared at him. She saw that he was looking back at her with the smile that he used solely for her. "Ask me then," he said simply, as he gently placed his fist under her chin, forcing them to maintain eye contact.

"Harm?"

"You heard me, Mac." He cupped her face in his hands, his eyes were sparkling with amusement.

She laughed. "Really?"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "It's the 21st century..."

She didn't give him a chance to say anything else. "Harmon Rabb, will you marry me?" she blurted out quickly.

"Yes," he replied quickly, his smile morphing into a grin.

"So, it's really that simple? We're engaged?"

He nodded. "It's that simple, Sarah." He leaned forward and kissed her. It was one of the most erotic kisses in the history of kisses. It could easily put their kiss on the admiral's porch to shame. The kiss was filled with hope and love and possibility. "What? No ring?" he teased when they finally pulled away from each other, chests heaving as they tried to catch their breath.

"Those details can be worked out later."

"We have to stop at my apartment tomorrow," he said seriously.

She wasn't expecting him to say that. "Okay?"

"There's a ring there with your name on it."

"I'm sorry – what did you say?"

"I, um, bought a ring for you," he began to explain. "Right after your accident. I knew something shifted with us that night, Mac. I was trying to figure out if I should approach the idea of dating with you or just flat out propose, but I kept debating it and, well, I guess you beat me to the punch..."

Anything else he was going to say died on his lips as Mac lunged forward and pushed him further against the couch to kiss him again. "I love you so much," she whispered when they pulled away.

"Right back at ya, MacKenzie." The silence between them was comfortable and lasted several moments before Harm spoke again. "Uh, Mac?"

"Hmm?"

"This doesn't really solve our career dilemma."

"I will draw up my terminal leave papers on Monday." Her answer was steadfast and firm.

"Mac, slow down. Let's talk this through. Can't we flip a coin or something?" He suggested.

In between kisses and declarations of love, they did discuss it more. However, Mac's mind was made up, and Harm realized that nothing he could say would make her reconsider. Mac had told him that he gave up his career for her once before, and he wasn't going to do it again.

Monday morning, Mac found herself in the general's office.

"At ease, Colonel," General Cresswell said. He waited a beat, but Mac still didn't say anything. "Something on your mind, Colonel?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, sir."

Cresswell leaned back in his chair and studied the senior attorney standing before him. "Please have a seat then, Colonel MacKenzie."

Mac couldn't help but to think about the irony of the situation. Nearly fifteen years ago, Cresswell was the JAG who knew about her affair in Okinawa with a senior officer. Now, years later, she was preparing to tell him that it was time for her to resign her military career to begin a life together with a naval officer.

"Well, sir, I wanted to inform you that I will be drawing up terminal leave papers today. I thought you should know first."

The general couldn't mask his surprised reaction. "Enlighten me, Colonel."

"Sir, I had a very rewarding and fulfilling career, but now it is time for me to move on." Mac continued rambling as the general crossed his arms. "I'm at that point in my life where I want more than just a career. I want to be a wife and mother. And…it's just that…well, you see, the commander and I have always had a very unique friendship and in some ways, it was always destined to be more. It's time for us to be able to start a life together. We don't want to look in on each other's lives anymore; we want to be a part of each other's lives. The time is now."

"I didn't know you and Commander Turner felt so passionately about each other."

The comment forced Mac to stop rambling. Where did that come from?! She wondered. "Commander Turner? Sir?"

Creswell cracked a smile. "I'm only teasing, Colonel. I know you are referring to Commander Rabb."

Mac visibly relaxed.

"So you and Rabb, huh," Cresswell tapped his pen against his desk. "How long has this been going on?"

"Truthfully, sir, in some ways, it's been inevitable since we met nearly nine years ago at the Rose Garden. However, I can assure you, that we have never compromised the chain of command. We only just decided to move our personal relationship forward this weekend, which is exactly why I am here now to do the right thing, sir."

"Did Rabb put you up to this? Resigning, I mean," he clarified.

"No, absolutely not. I came to this decision on my own, sir. The commander actually suggested we flip a coin to see who would resign," she let a chuckle slip out. "I told him that wasn't necessary."

"Sounds like something a squid would say," Cresswell mumbled. On the inside though, he gave Rabb points for creativity.

Mac cleared her throat and began again. "Almost two years ago, I was on a mission with the CIA," she began to explain. "The mission went bad, and Commander Rabb asked for permission to go to Paraguay to find me. Admiral Chegwidden denied his request for that as well as his request for leave. Commander Rabb resigned his commission to come to Paraguay and find me. He saved me just in time. I would have died, sir, but Harm...he saved me," her voice cracked with emotion. "He gave everything up for me." She paused for a moment and then continued again. "Anyways, it took some time before he was reinstated and his career took a hit."

Cresswell nodded – he pulled the personnel file after Commander Turner vaguely told him about this months ago. Most of it was still classified, but he was able to piece it together pretty well.

Mac continued. "His career is back on track now, sir, and rumor has it he may be in the running to make Captain soon. It makes more sense for him to stay in the military."

"Do you feel like his career is more important than yours?"

Mac shook her head. "I would say that both our careers are equally important, sir."

"So why are you are adamant about retiring instead of transferring?"

"Well, we would like to have a family. I love JAG, but I would want to be involved in my child's life. I would like to find something with more regular hours and less travel."

"What if I offered you a compromise that would meet those two requirements and keep you in the military?"

"Sir?"

"There's still a shortage of military judges, Colonel. Your time on the bench was remarkable, and I think you would have a very fulfilling career on the bench, if you are interested."

Mac furrowed her brows. "How would that work?"

"You transfer to Marine JAG HQ in Quantico. The travel is significantly less for a judge – only the occasional TAD and hours are fairly consistent. Plus, if the scuttlebutt is true and the commander does make captain, his new billet will most likely be at The Pentagon."

Mac didn't say anything. Her brain was going a million miles a minute. The general's suggestion made the most sense and she didn't know why she and Harm didn't think of it themselves.

"Well, Colonel? What do you think? It's not a perfect solution, but it buys you two time. Eventually new orders will come up, I'm sure, and at some point, in the future, one of you may in fact have to resign. I just don't think that time is now, Colonel MacKenzie."

Needless to say, Mac discussed the general's suggestion with Harm and they decided that it was what best for them at the moment. Mac's official orders came through two weeks later, and once they did, Harm and Mac began preparing for spending the rest of their lives together.

They got married twelve months ago in a small, military ceremony at the chapel at Annapolis, and spent the better part of the year trying to find a house that they both saw potential in. Four months ago, they found what they were looking for and it was halfway between The Pentagon and Quantico. It didn't need a lot of work, but just enough that Harm could feel like he was turning a house into their home. They took their time getting everything just right and this week they finally turned in their keys to the apartment and officially moved into their home.

By now, Mac had finished drinking her tea and went over to the kitchen sink to rinse out her cup. She returned to the bay window just in time to see that Harm and AJ had finished putting up the tent for the sleepover.

It was AJ who spotted her first at the window. He smiled widely at her and began running towards the house. Mac walked over to the French doors and went to meet him on the deck.

"I love your house, Aunt Mac," he said in a very, serious, grown up tone.

"Well, thank you, AJ."

"Uncle Harm said we can haves s'mores!"

"I think that's a great idea. Let me get everything ready and I'll be right out."

"Okay, Auntie Mac. I wanna change into my Superman clothes for s'mores. Can I please?"

Mac laughed. "Of course. Go change and we can make s'mores when you come back."

"Okay!" AJ called as he ran inside.

"Where's the ball of energy off to?" Harm asked as he came up the steps of the deck and wrapped his arms around his wife's waist.

"To change into his Superman clothes so we can make s'mores. Do you really think he'll sleep in the tent all night?"

Harm shrugged. "I'm not sure. Are you sure you still want to camp out with us?" He placed his hands against is wife's flat stomach and caressed gently.

"Absolutely," she whispered as she placed her hands over his.

"It's not going to be very comfortable and..."

"I've camped outside before, Harm. Hell, we've camped out in war zones before- our own backyard seems rather pleasant to me." She smiled warmly.

"But you weren't pregnant then!" The way he said it was like an excited utterance and somewhere between shock and wonder, and amazement, too.

Mac chuckled and then smiled as she pressed herself closer to him. "I guess there's a first time for everything then, Captain."

He leaned down to kiss her, but they broke apart quickly when they could hear AJ running outside again announcing he was ready for s'mores.

"Well," Harm chuckled. "I think we better start getting used to these interruptions."

Mac nodded as she pictured their own son or daughter running towards them in the backyard. "We'll make it work. After all, Bud and Harriet owe us a few nights of babysitting," she winked.

By now, AJ had reached them on the deck and rushed to throw his arms around their legs.

"What's that for, Big Guy?" Harm asked as he bent down to lift AJ into his arms.

AJ shrugged. "I'm just glad you and Aunt Mac love each other and got married and live in the same house."

Harm smiled. "Me, too, AJ."

Mac ran her fingers through AJ's hair. "Me, too."

AJ smiled and looked back and forth between his aunt and uncle. "See, I knew you guys loved each other! I knew the whole time!" He announced proudly.