1057 Zulu

Harm's Apartment

North of Union Station

Mac awoke to the sound of packing tape being pulled and then ripped off its roll. Pulling the sheets back, she grabbed her white lace nightgown off a box by the closet and slipped it on. She found Harm in the living room repacking a box and then taping it shut again. What surprised her was that he was already freshly shaven, his hair was gelled and spiked neatly, and he was fully dressed in his dress whites…and it wasn't even six o'clock yet. His back was to her, so he didn't see her come in.

"What's the occasion?" Mac asked, watching as he suddenly tensed and turned around slowly. She didn't, however, see him slip something small and black into his pocket.

"Good morning," Harm walked over, picked Mac up at the waist, twirled her around, and kissed her passionately on the lips. "The occasion," he said before kissing her again, "Is I am taking my breathtaking fiancé out to breakfast," he flashed her his heart-stopping smile, "because she spent the night with me."

Mac laughed. "I can't believe you remembered that…I hate to disappoint you, but I didn't bring anything that fancy with me to wear today."

Harm chuckled. "That's okay. I'm overdressed for where we're going anyway."

"And where would that be?"

Harm glanced down nervously, which Mac realized was so unlike him. "It's a surprise."

"Harm, you're leaving the country in less than three hours. There's only so many-"

"Actually, I called the airport this morning, and there's another flight leaving for London at 17:10 tonight, so I changed my ticket." He glanced at his watch, "And we need to leave in thirty-two minutes, is that enough time?"

"More than enough," she eyed him suspiciously. "How long have you been up this morning?"

"Do you mind if we stop and see Mattie today too? I was worried about leaving before we got a ruling from the court, and she didn't call last night, but now since you're going to-"

Mac gave him a soft, sympathetic smile as she put a finger over his lips. He stopped talking. "You didn't sleep at all did you?"

Harm gave her a mischievous grin and shook his head 'no'.

Mac moved her hand to his cheek. "We were up so late; you must be exhausted."

"I was laying down for almost four hours. I'm okay. I'll have ten hours to sleep on the plane."

"I guess I need to work harder to wear you out next time huh?"

Harm pulled her in close, and spoke in a soft, gentle tone. "Mac, last night was without a doubt the most incredible night of my life. You were incredible. Believe me, it's not that I wasn't tired."

Mac smirked. "What'd you do then, force yourself to stay awake?" Harm glanced down. "Harm?"

"I, uh, never mind. You'll think it's stupid."

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean I don't want to know."

Harm laughed. "I'll tell you after your surprise I promise."

About twenty minutes later, Harm and Mac headed down to the car. Reaching into his pocket, Harm pulled out a handkerchief and folded it neatly to create a makeshift blindfold.

"If you think I'm wearing that, you're insane."

Harm mustered up the most-sad-puppy-dog face he could. "Please?…trust me, Mac."

And she did trust him, so she decided to be a good sport. As Mac put the bandana on, she realized she'd have to strengthen her resolve if she was going to be able to resist that look again. Mac calculated from the time it took them to get to their destination that they must still be in downtown D.C.

Harm pulled the car up to the security gate and put his finger to his lips, indicating that the guard should please be quiet. The guard smiled and nodded. He checked the names on the two sets of I.D. that Harm handed him to a list on his clipboard. Finding a match, he waved them through. Harm followed the drive and eventually parked at the curb.

He helped Mac out of the car and led her over to the open gate at a brick wall lined with rose bushes. Standing in front of her, he gently reached around to untie the blindfold. Harm pulled the small black box out of his pocket and knelt down in front of her on one knee.

It only took Mac a second to figure out they were in a rose garden…The White House rose garden…At the exact spot where they met…at sunrise no less. As she looked down to find Harm on one knee opening a black velvet ring box, her jaw dropped. Even after all these years, she didn't know Harmon Rabb Jr. could be this romantic. It suddenly occurred to her that she never directly answered him when he proposed the night before.

Harm patiently gave her a minute to collect herself after taking the blindfold off. When she finally looked down he spoke. "Sarah, will you marry me?"

"Yes. Harm, yes."

He stood up and gently slid the ring on her finger and gave her a soft kiss before offering her his elbow. "We have time for a walk if you'd like."

Mac nodded, too overwhelmed to do anything else, and hooked her arm in his. She pulled her hand up to admire her new ring. It fit perfectly, and had a gold band with a large diamond set in the middle. Surrounding it were two other stones, a sapphire on the right and an emerald on the left.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. It's beautiful." She paused. "You didn't just run out and buy this yesterday, did you?"

"No. I couldn't find one like that, so I designed it myself and had it custom made. I wanted to get you a diamond, but I thought it'd be nice if the Navy and the Marine Corps were represented somehow too since that's why we met, so I added the other stones.

Mac leaned up as they walked and kissed him on the cheek. "You did good, sailor." She chuckled. "Is this what made you nervous this morning?"

Harm nodded. "Oh my gosh, yes. I set the ring aside so I wouldn't pack it by mistake. So of course, I packed it by mistake. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find it before you woke up." They both walked in silence for a moment, watching the sky turn from a purple and rose color to different shades of orange. "Go ahead and ask." He grinned.

Mac sighed and smiled. "How long have you had the ring, Harm?"

"I ordered it a week after the Jagathon."

Mac stopped dead in her tracks and pulled Harm's elbow so hard he spun around in front of her. "That was over three years ago!"

"Three years, 5 months, and 14 days." At the surprised look he was receiving he added, "I checked the calendar yesterday," he added sheepishly.

Mac did a quick mental calculation. "That was right after you broke up with Renee."

"It was."

"But…but…you've…"

Mac didn't have to finish the sentence. He knew where she was going with it anyway. Harm was floored, the shock apparent on his face. Mac thought she saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes, but it disappeared almost immediately. "You're the only person I've been with since then, Mac," he said softly.

All the looks he'd cast her and intimate moments they'd shared in the last few years suddenly took on a whole new meaning. All of the doubts she'd been harboring for the last year fell away instantly. "I'm sorry."

Harm looked confused. "What for?"

"I misjudged you. More than once," she told him as images of Catherine Gayle and Alicia Montez flashed unbidden through her mind. "And I pushed you away because of it."

Harm took her hands in his. "I thought we talked about this. Everything that's happened before is all past. All past. Let's just concentrate on the future. Together."

Mac smiled. "I, ah, I don't know what to say."

Harm shrugged and grinned. "You could tell me you love me?"

"I love you."

"I know." Harm grunted as Mac punched him in the arm.

1408 Zulu

Blacksburg Hospital

Blacksburg, Virginia

"Rise and shine squirt!"

"Ugh, Harm…the sun's not even up yet."

"It's been up for two and a half hours Mattie." Harm chuckled at the audible and overly dramatic sigh. "You didn't call last night."

"Oh my gosh. Harm, I'm so sorry. My therapist was here for a while…making me move my fingers." She paused, and while Harm noticed the improvement in her speech, he also realized she was still having difficulty with longer sentences. "See." Mattie demonstrated by slowly wiggling her fingers on top of her blanket.

"Wow!" Harm leaned over and kissed her forehead. "That's great sweetheart."

"No, it's not…I was exhausted yesterday."

"Hey. Give yourself a break. I know you want to just hop out of bed and go play volleyball, and you will. Just be patient, and yes I do understand that's the hardest thing to ask of you right now."

"I guess I can try."

"That's my girl. Hey, you sound a lot better today."

"I never thought I'd have to practice talking."

Harm chuckled. "Well, I have bad news, good news, and excellent news. What would you like to hear first?"

Another deep sigh. "Bad news."

"You remember I have to leave for London today, so I won't see you for at least a couple weeks."

"Yeah that does suck…wait…you're leaving…then what's the good news?"

"Your social worker just called right before we got here. The court granted my emergency request for sole custody. Everything's just a formality now, so we're just waiting on some paper work. I'll go to the courthouse later this morning and take care of it."

"That's great…Harm?...You said adoption this time, right?"

"Yep. Instead of just being your guardian, I'll be your legal father. That's still okay right?"

"More than okay." A tear slipped down her cheek and she added softly, "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Your dad will only be allowed supervised visitation and only if you and I both say it's okay."

Mattie nodded. "He can't drive down the road to visit me in the hospital. He's not going to cross an ocean. All right. Now…what's the excellent news?"

"Just a second." Harm went to the door and stuck his head out. Mattie couldn't hear what he said, but she was pleasantly surprised when Mac followed him back into the room.

"Hi Mac."

"Hi sweetheart. It's so good to see you."

Harm scratched his head unsure of how to start. "Mattie, you know how you asked when we were going to add a Mrs. Harm to the family?"

Mattie nodded and looked at him thoughtfully. Then it clicked. "No…way."

"Mac and I are getting married."

"I thought you said it was complicated?"

Mac raised a questioning eyebrow at Harm, who squirmed slightly. "Well, it was. I mean, it used to be."

"He loves you, you know," Mattie said boldly to Mac. Harm's ears turned red.

"Yeah, I know." They all smiled.

"So are you both leaving today?"

"Nope," Mac answered. "I'm going to stay here with you until you're ready to travel, and then we'll both go to London together."

"Where exactly are we going to go?"

"They have family housing on the base, so we'll be there temporarily when you guys first arrive until we find something together that we all like."

"With a yard."

Harm smiled. "Yeah. With a yard."

"And a dog."

"I did promise you a dog didn't I?"

"Does Mac like dogs?"

"I love dogs."

"Sweet."

Mattie let out a huge yawn, just as her nurse came in. After an emotional goodbye, with Mac promising to be back soon, Harm and Mac headed back to D.C.

On the way out to the parking lot Harm asked Mac the question that had been weighing on his mind for the last few hours. "Hey Mac? Do you…do you mind if we call my parents?"

Mac laughed. "I can't believe we didn't call already. Why didn't you call sooner, I didn't even think of it."

"I didn't think they'd believe me unless you were there."

"Harm, I've never met your parents, I don't know if…are you sure you don't want to talk to them yourself first?"

"I'm sure. They're in Venice right now. I'm sure I'll see them in a few days. Besides, the first thing they're going to do is tell me to put you on the phone."

"Wait a minute. They're in Venice? I thought they lived somewhere in California."

"They do. In La Jolla. My mom's art gallery is there. They go to Europe for a month every spring.

"Oh." A random statistic that La Jolla was in the county that had the highest cost of living in the United States floated into Mac's mind and she felt a knot start forming in her stomach.

"Mac relax. My mom's been dying to meet you for years." They made their way over to the outdoor garden at the hospital and sat down on a bench. Harm pulled out his cell phone and found the number he needed, pressed the call button and turned on the speakerphone.

"Cell phone?"

"No, Frank owns a villa in the city. I'll try his cell if they're not there."

The knot in Mac's stomach got a little bigger. Since she didn't have a family to speak of, meeting her future in-laws hadn't been something she'd given much thought to until now.

Hola

"Hi Maria, it's Harm. Are mom and dad around?"

Harm! Hola! Como estas muchacho?

"I am absolutely perfect Maria."

Bueno, bueno! Uno momento muchacho.

Harm and Mac heard the click as the phone was put on hold.

"Now I know where you learned to speak such good Spanish."

Harm?

"Hey Frank!"

How's everything going with the transfer?

"Great. I'm leaving D.C. this evening around five. Listen, Frank, is mom with you?"

Of course. She's right here, Harm, just a minute.

"No, that's okay Frank. Can you just put the speakerphone on?"

Sure. There were a few muffled noises, a click, and then Trish came on the line.

Harm, darling! How are you?

The greeting caused Harm to feel his ears getting red again. Mac stifled a giggle. "I'm great mom, how are you?"

I'm wonderful. I've already booked a suite in London for next week, so we'll stop in and see you as soon as you're settled.

"That's great Mom. You didn't have to do that."

Of course we did. Now how are things at JAG? Did you make all your staffing decisions?

"It's good. I'm still looking for three or four officers, but I want to wait and get settled at the new office before I decide who will stay and who I need to cut orders for."

Sounds like a good decision Frank piped up. There was the slightest of pauses.

How's Mac? Trish ventured.

Harm blushed furiously this time, and Mac couldn't stop the laugh. "She's good, but you can ask her yourself. She's right here."

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Burnett."

Mac hello! But please, it's Trish and Frank.

"All right, thank you."

To what do we owe this pleasant surprise? Trish asked politely, saying a silent prayer to God that her son didn't get someone pregnant out of wedlock. It had certainly never been a problem before, but Harm had never just put one of his girlfriend's on the phone with them before either.

"Well, ah, um, I proposed to Mac last night, and she excepted; we're engaged." There was a considerable pause. "Mom?"

Harm would you mind repeating that?

Mac answered instead, "Last night, Harm proposed and I said yes. This morning he took me to the White House Rose Garden where we first met at sunrise and gave me the most beautiful ring I've ever seen."

That sounds very romantic, Frank said, getting over the shock first. Trish swayed slightly on her feet and he reached out quickly to put an arm around her waist. She found her voice a few seconds later.

Do you have any immediate plans? She didn't really think her son would have a quickie wedding at city hall, but he'd just proved how unpredictable he could be yet again.

"Not as far as the wedding is concerned," Harm started.

"But I'm going to stay in D.C. with Mattie until she's ready to travel," Mac added.

"So it will probably be at least a month until we're all in London," Harm finished.

Harm and Mac's ability to finish each other's sentences snapped Trish fully back into the conversation. I'm so happy for you both. Congratulations sweetheart.

"Thanks, Mom."

Mac, dear, how long do two think you'll be in Washington?

"Unfortunately, we can't put an exact number on it right now. It really depends on how quickly Mattie recovers."

Frank, when we leave in a few weeks, why don't we stop in Washington? Would that be all right with you Mac?

Mac glanced nervously at Harm, but managed to respond with a fair amount of confidence in her voice. "Yeah, that'd be great. I'll look forward to it."

Well, Harm, I'm sure you've got a lot to do before you leave so we'll talk later. Tell Mattie we said hello, Frank said.

"Of course."

I'm so glad you called dear. Take care of yourself.

"Bye."

Goodbye, Echoed from the two voices on the other line.

Harm turned to Mac as they headed for the car. "Now that wasn't so bad was it?"

"It could have been worse, I guess."

"Mac, my parents love you already. I promise. Look, I'll fly back with them from London for the weekend and I'm sure Frank will take us all out to dinner."

"Harm, don't be ridiculous. By the time you got here you'd have to turn around and leave."

"You're forgetting," he said, kissing her softly, "That we'll have been apart for two whole weeks by then." He helped Mac into the Vette and hopped in on the other side.

Mac smiled. "I can definitely get used to this thoughtful and romantic side of you. How is it I never knew it even existed until now?"

"Because I never let you know…especially when you'd show affection and I'd give you the cold shoulder." Harm glanced back at the hospital building. Mac understood what he wasn't saying.

"The other day when I came to visit Mattie, and you asked me to leave."

"Yeah…I…Just…don't know how to explain it."

Mac's look turned serious. "I'd like you to try. I want to understand. It was pretty obvious you were hurting, and you know I can't stand it when you are."

"Yeah, I know." Harm thought for a moment, his hands resting on the steering wheel. "I was really upset, Mac. I couldn't lean on you. I think deep down I knew the comfort would just be temporary, and that wasn't enough for me. I wasn't willing to deal with that emotionally on top of everything else. And…it felt too good. I didn't have the energy to hold back and stay in control like I have always promised myself I would with you…until now that is." He turned to face her. "Does that make sense?"

"It does, I just wish I would have been able to convince you that you can lose control with me. I don't want you to hold anything back."

"I know," Harm picked up Mac's left hand and fingered her ring. "But I also know that I can always count on you to be there, and I don't have to hold back anymore. Everything's changed and I couldn't be happier about that."

Lightening what had turned into a serious moment, Mac quipped, "That was a pretty deep conversation, sailor."

Harm chuckled. "There's plenty more where that came from."

"I'll look forward to it."

"Me too."