Saturday June 11th

Harm was finally feeling normal again after his weekend back in DC. He couldn't believe that a week had passed already since they married. One week together. And even though he couldn't say after a week with her that this was how it would always be, he could definitely say that he would do his very best to make sure that it would be. The week had been amazing, even with the stress to get to DC in time for the wedding, the actual stress of the wedding day, Mattie's custody hearing and rushing back to London because he couldn't take more leave. He felt her move beside him and soon a hand was caressing his chest softly. He smiled and turned to her.

"Good morning."

She smiled. "It is a good morning.," she snuggled into his arms. "You don't have to work today."

"Two days where I can fully focus on you," he ran his hand up and down her arm. "What do you want to do?"

"We can go for a run," she suggested. "You haven't done any form of exercise all week, you must be going crazy."

"Well, I've had some exercise," he argued as he moved to pin her under him, kissing her softly.

"Yeah," she pulled him close. "I have enjoyed that."

"You are so beautiful," he kissed down her throat and neck. "Let's just stay in bed, huh?"

"We could do that," she snuggled into his arms. "It's been a week already."

"It has," he went back to caressing her softly. "How are you feeling? Are you happy?"

"Yes, maybe for the first time in my life," she admitted. "I didn't know that just being with someone could feel so…"

"Fulfilling?" he suggested.

"Yes, exactly," she smiled. "It's hard to put into words exactly how I feel at the moment."

"Even with all you gave up?" he looked at her curiously. "You were really happy about that new command."

"I was," she agreed. "I was looking forward to a new start. I just dreaded not seeing you every day."

"Truthfully, I had almost given up on you when you came that night," he admitted.

She let out a sigh "I'm sorry."

"You had a lot to deal with," he ran a finger down her cheek. "It's okay. We're here now."

She smiled. "We are. And today we can start moving our things into the new house."

He chuckled. "I can't believe you made that happen in your first week here. I was sure we had to wait longer."

"A little luck, and a little convincing and we got our house," she smiled. "I can't wait to show you. It's a little bit bigger than what we need, but you know, maybe one day we'll need the room."

He smirked. "We can work on that right now."

She chuckled. "You really believe you can make me pregnant, just like that. Four percent chance, Harm."

"I'm definitely going to try," he ran his hands down her body. "And think of all the fun we'll have while we're at it, huh?"

"It's true, it is fun," she agreed as she ran her hand down his chest. "You're really, very good at this Harm."

"I aim to please," he whispered towards her mouth.

Thursday June 16th

Harm closed the door behind him and put down his briefcase while balancing their take-out in one hand. He put his cap on the table in front of the mirror. He wondered if Mac had made it home yet. She'd been at their new house getting it in order for the final move. It would be their last night in this apartment.

He crossed the empty living room and entered their bedroom. He put their take-out on the bed. The movers had been there earlier that day and the apartment was almost empty. He started removing his uniform, when the bathroom door opened and Mac, only clad in a towel, stepped into the bedroom. "Hey."

She smiled. "Hey there," she walked over and kissed him. "How was your day?"

"Well," he finished removing his pants. "I came home and found my beautiful wife wearing nothing but a towel, so I'm doing pretty good," he drew her close. "Dinner is on the bed," he kissed her again.

She smiled as she moved away from him. She removed the towel on her head and reached for the hairbrush. "Last night," she said chipperly.

"Yeah," he found a t-shirt and put it on. "Only thing is we don't have a bed yet at the house."

"The movers will take the rest tomorrow. We'll have to sleep in the guest room until we get our own bed. I'm hopeful that it will arrive sometime tomorrow though," she finished brushing her hair and dropped her towel.

He smiled. "Stop!"

Smirking she reached for her panties and slipped them on. Then she took one of his t-shirts and slipped on. "Sorry, but no funny business until I've been fed."

"All right," he slumped down on the bed.

"I spoke to Mattie's Doctor this morning, my morning," she joined him on the bed.

"And?" he handed her the burger. "Here's your massive heart attack wrapped in paper."

"I hardly ever indulge in burgers," she pointed out. "I eat healthy ninety-five percent of the time, but," she smiled at him. "What's life without a little fun, huh?"

He laughed softly. "Well, I'll tell you what," he opened his own carton. "I'm having a burger too."

"What?" she raised her eyebrows.

"I found this place where they make everything from scratch and only use ecological products. It costs more, but it's delicious and healthier than all those places of mass-produced food," he smiled sweetly.

She opened the wrapping. "Home made burger bread too? Wow, Harm, this is amazing."

He opened his own wrapping. "Whole wheat. I'd like to keep you around for a long time, so I'm trying to keep you healthy."

"That's so sweet," she took a bite and chewed slowly. "And people say that you're not romantic. This is good."

He studied her curiously. "Who says that I'm not romantic?"

"You know," she hesitated and said quietly. "Exes."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Well, not in so many words, but you pick up a thing or two through nine years," she chuckled.

"Women just doesn't see the sweet things, they expect it to be all flowers and fancy candlelight dinners all the time, but you know what?" he studied her.

"What?" she wondered.

"I can give you all of that, but what's important is to pay attention, listen and a good hug always goes a long way. All the glam doesn't make a great relationship."

She thought about it. "I agree."

He hesitated. "I should let you know that I haven't been great at the small things either, before, but I'm definitely going to do better with you."

She nodded. "I know you will."

"You do?" he questioned.

"Yes, because when a guy like you finally commit, it's because you mean it. It goes both ways," she leaned in and kissed him softly. "I'm committed to us too."

"Good," he smiled widely.

"And this was great burger, Harm," she complimented. "You have to take me to this place sometime."

"Of course, I will," he promised. "So, about Mattie?"

"Yeah, Doctor Harris feels that she is ready to travel soon. She's making great progress. We're talking again over the weekend and we'll make a plan. He's been having a dialogue with her new Doctor here."

"Doctor Snowden," Harm nodded. "I like him."

"Me too," she hesitated thoughtfully. "Oh, and her stuff arrived at the house today. Thankfully I managed to avoid that it ended up here," she chuckled. "That would be chaos."

He reached out and cupped her face. "You are amazing, Mac."

She shrugged. "I don't know about that, but I'm invested in making this work out for all of us. Mattie too."

"She's looking forward to coming here, but as her Doctor said, if she keeps pushing herself she'll eventually hurt herself. Her trip here could be postponed," he hesitated. "I wish I could be there for her. Sometimes I think that I made a mistake saying yes to this new assignment. I'm so far away from her."

Mac put her burger away and moved into his embrace. "Hey, she supports you."

"Yeah, but she shouldn't be the one doing that. She's the kid and I should be supporting her," he moved his own burger out of the way and gathered her into his arms.

"You do," she reassured. "Mattie will be here soon, and we'll be a real family. We'll help her through this. It's a new start for all of us."

"It just bothers me that I'm here and she's over there, you know," he kissed her forehead.

"I know, but she's doing great and we'll just keep making those daily calls and trust that Jenn and Tom take good care of her," she smiled. "It'll be okay."

Harm nodded. "I have to admit that I'm impressed with Tom."

"He just has to keep going to his meetings and do the hard work. It's important for Mattie," Mac reached for her burger again. "I thought I'd make sure that Mattie's room is ready for when she arrives. She should feel home."

"The house is great, Mac," Harm smiled.

"Thankfully the Navy hadn't given it to another family after Captain Reece was relocated," she looked thoughtful. "It's a nice neighborhood too."

"Should be a good place for us to start our life together," he leaned in and kissed her softly.

She nodded. "It'll be great."

Monday June 20th

Mac looked around the room and let out a contented sigh. She was very exited to show her husband when he came home. She had been working on their living room all day and in her eyes, it was perfect. She had started painting the previous week, changing the colors into something warmer. She had put a sitting group in the room with the fireplace, her own vintage cabinet and a bench by the window that she had found at an antique store earlier in the day. Moving her look into the TV room, it was more modern looking, a nice blending of her and Harm's tastes, she thought. She just hoped that he'd like it. He had left yesterday for Naples, where he had meetings all day. A little travel came with the responsibility of his command. She had kept herself busy with the house, and she was pleased with the result.

The front door opened and shut, and she hurried to the hallway to meet him.

"Hey," he put his suitcase down and hurried over.

She more or less jumped into his arms. "Hey," her mouth found his in a passionate kiss. They didn't exchange many words for the next twenty minutes.

"That was a nice welcome home," he said between heavy breaths. "Wow!"

She chuckled. "Wow is right. So," she turned on her side. "How was your trip?"

"Well," he turned and propped himself up on an elbow. "It went well. The usual dry talk, you know the drill," he leaned in and kissed her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she smiled sweetly. "You have to take a look downstairs. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," he moved over her. "It's no hurry."

She patted his behind. "Get up, Captain. I want to show you something."

He reluctantly released her. "Have you been busy?"

She found his shirt on the floor and put it on. "Yup."

He found a pair of sweats in his closet and put them on. He stopped and looked at her. "You wear that shirt better than me."

She touched his Captains shoulder boards and smiled as she looked in the mirror. "I look good with O6 rank," she joked.

He sobered up. "It would have happened in a month when the Marine Corps selection board make their decisions."

She shrugged. "Probably, but it's not important."

"You gave up a lot to be here playing housewife," he hesitated. "Sometimes I think that you'll wake up one day and regret it."

"Harm, I want you more than a want a command, and I want a family more than I want a promotion," she stepped closer to him. "I really want to try and conceive, and a stressful command wouldn't make that any easier."

He moved his arms around her. "Good point, counselor," he kissed her softly. "I love you."

"I love you more," she smiled and turned. "Come on, you have to see what I've done."

He followed her downstairs. "Wow, Mac," he looked around. "You did all this while I was away?"

"I did," she looked hopefully at him. "So?"

He smiled. "It's great. Everything is perfect. I especially like this," he walked into the smaller room with the fireplace. "I can see myself spending time here," he pointed to the bench by the window. "This is new."

"I found this amazing antique place," she moved her hand over the bench. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Everything is perfect, Mac," he smiled. "You did good. This is turning into a real home. Thank you."

"To tell you the truth, I loved every minute of it," she admitted.