Disclaimer: For general disclaimer, see Part I.

On we go with Mac's next vision… Short but sweet; I hope you'll enjoy it – it's my favorite. :-)

o o o o o o

Her head was still throbbing, but she wasn't going to admit that to anybody, lest they insisted she see a doctor. That was the last thing she needed – a dreaded trip to the hospital. She would be perfectly fine. She flipped over a page in her file that had taken her three reads until she truly comprehended what the words were trying to express. Maybe the next page would be better. She looked up when someone knocked on her door – and all the air left her lungs in a forceful rush. Her mouth dropped open.

In her doorway stood Harm – completely naked apart from a pair of crisp white boxer shorts, a stark contrast to his golden, glowing skin tone. Why would he be naked at the office, she wondered for a mere second, before her mind immediately honed onto more enjoyable things. Her eyes leisurely wandered up his body, roaming from his large strong feet planted on the cold stone floor, over his long, muscular legs and towards his very well filled boxers… Her mouth instantly watered.

Completely unfazed by her ogling, he simply remained standing there, waiting for her to finish her examination. She chased the thin strip of hair that ran up vertically from out of his waistband toward his belly button, and her fingers twitched from wanting to follow in the wake of her eyes. She took all of him in… how his waist was narrowing below his ribcage, how his powerful abdominal muscles rippled under his soft-looking skin. Her gaze settled on his chest – and then, for the second time, her breath caught forcibly in her throat. Not yet having recovered from her initial shock of seeing him in his state of undress, this second one took her even more by surprise.

Lying on his chest was a tiny baby, equally naked apart from the diaper and a pair of knitted pink booties she was wearing. One of Harm's hands was under her diaper-clad bottom, holding the baby up, while the other hand was lightly resting over her head, neck and shoulders, making sure the little one was secure from bouncing her head around, since her neck was not yet strong enough to hold it upright on her own. Said tiny head, covered with wisps of soft-looking, dark-brown hair, was nestled trustfully in the crook of his neck.

"Our daughter is hungry, Mac," he suddenly whispered, all the while walking over towards her desk. He smiled at her, a smile so warm and tender as she had never before seen on him, and her heart started to ache.

"I'm afraid I can't help her with that," he winked, then lifted this tiny, beautiful, perfect being off his chest. All at once, the strangest sensations were claiming her body. All the muscles in her womb contracted forcefully, warmth rushed through her and pooled heavily in her belly, and her breasts felt full and almost painfully achy. Every instinct kicking in, her arms reached out.

"Give her to me, Honey." But when she pulled her arms back, they came up empty. Her vision swam, and she blinked it back into focus. There was no more baby, no more naked Harm. Instead there was 'normal' Harm slowly coming back into focus, properly dressed in his uniform, a file folder in his outstretched hand. The sudden sense of loss was so strong that she had to close her eyes, while her knees turned wobbly.

Harm was growing increasingly worried. She had stared blankly at him, not saying a word, ever since he entered her office. He was sure she hadn't heard a word he had been saying to her, while her eyes continued to focus on a world far away while her facial expressions had run a gamut of emotions he couldn't make sense of. When he was closer, he had held out the file to her, and instead of taking it, she had risen from her chair, outstretched both her arms, and called him 'Honey'. He was stunned into speechlessness. When she suddenly swayed unsteadily on her feet, he quickly reached for her while throwing the file in the general direction of her desk, not caring where it actually landed. His hands grabbed her elbows, holding her steady until he could feel that she had stopped wavering. "Mac," he called out to her softly, "Mac, are you alright?"

Her eyes fluttered open, and he was shocked to see an almost palpable sadness reflected in them. A sadness that he couldn't comprehend where it had come from so suddenly. It took mere seconds until her strong walls were back in place, her Marine strength and will replacing every personal emotion – he could literally observe the transformation taking place.

"Yeah, I'm ok… I was just…" She extracted herself from his grasp, and moved to sit back down behind her desk. "Really," she looked up at him, "I'm okay now. What do you have for me?"

"Oh, just the…" He bent down to pick it up off the ground, "…Martin case file we talked about earlier." He handed it over. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you really should see a doctor."

"Harm, I'm fiiiiine." She stretched out the word in a way that told him she was getting exasperated by people telling her to go see a doctor. It was her decision, she was a grown-up, after all. He shrugged.

"How about I finish these two files, and then take off a little earlier tonight. Would that satisfy your care-taking urges?" She smiled an honest smile at him; truth be told, she really liked it when he tried to be protective. It were these rare moments that allowed her to pretend for a while that he might think differently of her than just 'the girl next door,' or 'best buddy Mac.'

"Ok, have it your way, Marine. But if you don't get out of here soon, I'll make it an order. You know I can do so now!" Smiling slightly triumphantly, he left her office.

It took Mac a very long time to concentrate on her files again while she simultaneously fought with the overwhelming urge to cry.

TBC