Gang! Hello! Well, I promised myself an X-mas edition and that is what youa
re getting. THere is a second part to this one and they will get to their
destination. These two will probably be the only not so funny ones and are
more of the romantic types.

Happy Holidays and I will try my best to get Part 37 BEFORE Christmas. :)

Enjoy!
Jackie

Thanks to: e-dog, Macaroon, BeachChick, Dessler, dansingwolf, Maria, blueangel, Vrbinka, BiteBeccy, SarahRabb, my.evian, anna, Jaggie107, snugglebug, Manda, Lisa, cbw, Xblue, froggy, aserene, crazybum, VrbinkaCZE, sally, trooper, starryeyes, Martini, NavyBabe, jaggurl, Nix, joanoa, jagdreamer, Kinga, JAGChic, Jagfan 724, littlemaccyd, ninjaturtle, blueangel, Kinga, JK, zoomie, myevian, CathyF, CBW, jagdreamer, joanoa, alix33, arian, Lurkz, LiseGirardi, Beach chickJASSNL, Tracy, Lisa, roz, Peggy, Elizabeth Ayers, Disaster Child, trooper, LtCmdrFlygirl, Roz, Peggy, KJFlygirl, Roxie, ltcolonelnijgagrl, hellen, Jill, Kyizi, Broesel, blueangel, Rocket Rain, Ashley E, Sunset, Cristina, mp111275, SarahRabb705, Brooke, Odakota, daisymh, JeanMary,janlaw, bluejay, mari217, bookworm, papillon ephemere, Shan/JJ, Nikke,and mizukimar for the feedback :)

Part 36 – Our Christmas Eve Adventure

"Yes, sir. . .Of course. . .Yes, Colonel. . .Uh. . .Well. . .Yes." Colonel? As I step into Harm's apartment, I am slightly put off by the whole (or half) conversation I am hearing. Please, oh please, oh please, please, please do not let Harm work this Christmas. Please! It's the only thing I want. I mean, I've been a good girl, save for a few closet adventures that I stupidly embarked on with him. I don't care if I don't get any candy canes, or if my stockings have coal as long as I have a sexy sailor in my bed when I wake up tomorrow morning. "Oh, I will, I can promise you that, sir. . .Oh, and Colonel? Thank you. . .Thank you very much. You just made my Christmas."

I tune out the rest of the conversation and drift on over to the living room where Harm's bags are placed on the sofa. I just KNOW my present is in there. Grinning smugly, I remember the conversation we had a week or so ago when we'd agreed to venture out of Washington for Christmas this year. Mattie would be with her father and his new girlfriend. Bud and Harriet were taking the kids to Naples, Florida since it had been about a year since they last saw their grandparents. Sturgis and Varese were heading to California so that he would visit her parents. Creswell was staying home with the family and Vic. . .well, I don't care much what he's doing as long as he's not doing it with us and doesn't give us details afterwards.

The man actually had the nerve to come up to Harm during lunch on Tuesday to ask him what type of tawdry little things Barbie (ugh, yes, they are still together) liked to wear to bed. I swear, I thought Harm was going to throttle Vic, the man has the patience of a saint. Vic didn't believe Harm when he said he'd never been that close to the woman and that's his problem because I believe the flyboy one hundred percent. "Hey, stay out of that bag, Marine!" Harm barks out and I snap to attention.

"Sorry, sir. . .Just. . .Well, I was just." My back is to him, so I can't tell his expression at the moment, but I know he's smiling. I feel him getting closer as the little hairs on the back of my neck start to tense up and so does the rest of me. I expect him to place a kiss on my shoulder, but he doesn't and chooses to come around me, standing toe to toe like a drill instructor and me his trainee. Oh, instruct me baby, instruct me! Ahem, anyway.

"MacKenzie, I know what you were doing and that is a black mark in my book." He keeps that commanding tone, his voice trying to remain stern and impassive, but he's failing miserably as I notice the side of his mouth fight off a twitch. "Now, what sort of punishment shall I work out for you?"

I raise my eyebrow slightly and I couldn't help it. . .My ideas of punishment are rather of the risqué and fun types. "Did I tell you to eyeball me, MacKenzie?"

"Sir, no, sir." I bark out, wanting to explain that this game was really getting old and if his lips didn't meet mine in two seconds flat he was toast.

He's standing right in front of me now, his lips so damned close that I have to fight myself not to attack him. Damn the squid. "Personally, the only thing I want to do right now is kiss the daylights out of you."

"Sir, yes, sir." I agree with a nod and let my Commander make the first move. As usual, the kiss gets way out of hand before either of us have a chance to stop it. By 'out of hand' I mean his hand is on my six and mine is somewhere under his shirt. I pull away, chuckling as he groans at the lack of contact. "Ready to go?"

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention, since no one will be around, I had the bright idea to head out this year. For a whole weekend we fought about where we wanted to go. Harm thought about heading to Florida and hitting the beaches. Yea, like that's really Christmasish! Nothing says Christmas like Santa Clause in sandals, Bermudas, a flowery shirt holding a fruity drink while leaning against a palm tree. That idea was tossed out rather quickly. I suggested a Bed and Breakfast and that got the Sailor moving. He called about three different friends before he settled on an idea of Bud's.

Yes, BUD ROBERTS. Seeing as Bud's idea of a romantic weekend is him and Harriet at a Star Trek convention dressed as. . .those characters with pointy ears. I was worried. In the end it came down to two places. A cabin for two, by the lake on the Eastern Coast of Virginia or a Bed and Breakfast overlooking the ocean in Maine. Since Maine is still a few States away, Virginia was the winner. Neither Harm nor I were off until December 23 so we decided to head out in the daytime on Christmas Eve so that we could buy a tree in the little Village the cabin was situated in as well as pick up groceries and other necessities. Assassin would stay in the care of Cresswell and his wife who wanted to 'try things out' with a dog before getting another. Uh huh, good luck with that.

"Yup, just let me get my jacket, gloves and scarf and we'll be on our way." I reminded him that before leaving we needed to head to the Wall, I know I'd feel terrible if he didn't go visit his father because he was spending time with me. He goes up the steps to his bedroom and comes down two seconds later. "This is going to be nice, huh?"

"I'm hoping so." But, knowing Harm and I, something will happen like we get stuck in the Cabin's closet and end up having to wait until Spring's thaw for someone to get us out. I give him a peck on the cheek and head for the door, holding it open as he grabs his bags and trots on after me. Taking his keys I turn all of the zillion and two locks that he has. – Ever since I've been staying over more often, the man had decided to barricade the door like he did in my apartment. I mean, c'mon, I am a Marine! Alright, so the locks aren't Vic proof, but. . .oh, whatever. - "I hope it snows sometime this weekend. It'd be nice to have a white Christmas." I'll have to agree.

When we arrive at the Wall, I stay behind, choosing to walk down and way from Harm so that he could have a silent moment with his father. I turn to him for a brief moment to find Harm with his head cast down and a gloveless hand pressed against the marble. Even after knowing the truth, I know it still pains him and it always will. All I can do is be there for him and I will.

Bringing his head up, he smiles brightly and then beckons me over with his finger. When I am next to him, his hand takes mine. Harm slips one of my gloves off then presses my fingers against his father's name. Under his breath he says a thing or two, things that I can't hear and don't question, maybe I should have?

Harm keeps my hand in his as we head towards the parking lot and into his SUV. "It's freezing today." I comment then look up to the skies to see dark clouds rolling in. "We may just get that white Christmas after all."

Finally, we hop on the freeway and move out of the city to the more rural sections of Virginia. I sigh happily as I stare out of the window. It's then that a thought occurs to me. "Harm?"

"Yeah, babe?" Babe. I grin. I love it when he calls me that.

Ahem. "Umm, who were you talking to when I walked in?" I turn to him and raise a brow, waiting for an answer.

All I get is a confused, "What?"

Hmm. "Well, I walked into your place and hear you taking to a Colonel."

His head snaps over to me so quickly, I wouldn't be too surprised if the man now has whiplash. "How much of that did you hear?" Harm's staring at me now, with a wide eyed, crazy look.

I nod towards the road which he's now neglecting to keep an eye on. "Ah, you wanna watch the road there, Sailor? I might want to make it to the cabin in piece not pieces." Shaking my head, I chuckle at his antics slightly wondering what cross road we've now hit. I can just imagine it's work related and our little getaway will be cut short.

"No, really. . .How much of that did you hear?" He's now alternating between watching the road and staring at me. Harm's eyes have hit his hairline, his breathing has quickened. What the hell is up with him now! "Mac?"

I shrug. "Something about a Colonel and. . .that you can promise him something. . .Not much, really."

When I turn to look at him, Harm seems almost. . .relieved? "That's all you heard?"

"Yup."

He starts to laugh almost in a hysterical fashion. Really he's starting to freak me. . "Harm! Look out!" I yell as a deer hops onto the road. Using those pilot reflexes, he swerves to the right, then to the left and then to the right again, missing the deer entirely. I hang on to the dashboard as the car skids off of the road, down the embankment and farther still. "Make it stop!" Yelling doesn't really help, I realize this but when your car is out of control and speeding towards a tree. . .TREE! "Harm! TREE!"

"I SEE IT!" Well, actually, clearly he didn't see it as that's the one thing that stopped our trajectory. In fact, the whole front of the SUV is now part of the tree.

Mercifully, the SUV came to a stop and, from the looks of it, neither Harm nor I have been injured. I'm willing to bet the only thing injured is his pride. "You okay?" I ask, removing my fingers from the little holes I left on the dashboard.

Harm turns to me and sighs. "Yea, you?" He's about to say something else when a loud bang on the roof of the car startles us both. "What the hell is that?" He asks, removing his seatbelt and nearly making it all the way to my side.

"I don't know. . .But. . .Woah!" There's the bang again. Alright, this is really starting to get freaky. "It's the deer!" I say, pointing to the animal which skidded off the roof and onto what's left of the hood. I swear, it gives us this evil eye before merrily jumping off of the car and heading on its way. "Alright, someone has GOT to say it. . .Are we trouble magnets or what!"

I mean, really, what else can happen?

Harm groans loudly. "We're never going to make it to the cabin now. . .This is. . .this SUCKS!" He yells, then bangs his fist onto the steering wheel. The car horn makes this God awful sound before finally dying. "I make these. . .plans and. . .Damnit! I HAD PLANS!"

"Well I did too." I offer, but he turns to me and. . .alright, I don't like that look. Can we say 'disdain?' "I did!" I defend. To be perfectly honest, my plans only involved a bed and him. But, they were plans nonetheless. "What? Were your plans THAT important? I mean, we're literally staying in the middle of no where." Not quite, I mean there is a village near by, but it's not like we're in the city where there's entertainment or something. "The population of that little. . .village is like twelve." Alright, so I'm embellishing, but I remember it being a three digit number, that's pretty low when you come from a city like DC. "You know. . .You were screaming like a girl." I snort and break out laughing so hard I have to hold my stomach.

Nothing seems to be pacifying Harm who's mumbling something about 'setting dates' and 'special moments.' Men! "I was NOT screaming like a girl, Mac. . .Sheesh! Look, just get on the cellphone. . .maybe we can get this stupid car out of here and we can get a rental. . .something!"

I shake my head. "No. . .Given the circumstances, we should cut our loses and just stay in town. I mean, it's pretty obvious something doesn't want use to leave." It's probably Assassin doing some sort of doggy spell from the Cresswell's.

"OH, I don't care if we have to have some. . . some. . .CLEANSING ritual, we are getting our sixes over to that cabin, missy." He points at me, then proceeds to remove his seatbelt and jacket.

Missy? Did he just call me missy? "Missy?"

He looks at me and then shrugs. "At least I didn't call you 'sister!'" Jumping carefully over the seats, Harm winds up in the back with a rather loud thud. "Woops."

"Sister?" Sister? Harm's been watching too much television. "Are you alright?"

"Peachy." He groans. "Just make the stupid call!"

Wow, what a grouch! "Fine, I'll call." I grab the cell phone, dial the number and am patched through to the police, assuring them that both Harm and I are fine, just in need of something to bring the car (and us) back on the road. "Oh, really? Yes. . .No. . .Well. .Oooooh. . .Gosh. . .alright. . .bye." Disgusted, I toss the phone on the dashboard and since we are at an odd angle, the sucker slides down, hitting the glass. "Great. Just friggin' great!

"That didn't sound promising." No shit.

Is this my punishment for some past life? Really, I want to know so I can steel myself. "Apparently, our little evasive maneuver caused a bit of a pile up on the freeway. . .It's going to take a whiiiiiiile before anyone gets here."

"You're kidding me!"

Did it sound like I was kidding? "No, I'm not. . .Apparently, several people also called about the accident. . .And what the hell are you doing in the back seat anyway?"

"Umm." His hands which were inside of his bag stop abruptly. Harm stares at me as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Just. . .well, making sure your gift is alright."

Ah, a gift. Yes, I have his as well, however, being a Marine a I am, his are safe, sound and efficiently packaged. I can only image the mess my squid has inside his bags. Thought Harm is quite neat, the man has no concept of PACKING. I guess he failed 'how to pack a seabag' class in Annapolis or something. "So what DID you get me?" I raise an eyebrow in question and Harm just goes BEET red. "Or didn't you get me?. . . You forgot it, didn't you?"

Harm shakes his head. "No. . .It's just. . .well I have a few things but this specific gift is. . .well it's somewhere in here and fragile" He grunts out, his hand flying deep into the bag. "Argh! Damnit!"

Oh, what now? I peak over at Harm to find his shirt's sleeve now attached to the zipper tag. "How'd you manage that?" After removing my seat belt, I hop onto the back seat, traipsing over Harm as I go. "Sorry."

"Suuuure you are!" He tries to remove his hand from the bag but it's futile. "Stupid thing! Give me my hand back!" He tries again and as he does, I hear a ripping sound, no doubt coming from his shirt sleeve. Something small and black sails through the air. "NO!" Harm yells and lunges forward to grab the object. In the process, I also move to catch the object, the end result is a head butt which leaves me dazed. "Owww, Mac!"

"Harm!" I rub my aching forehead and manage to peak out at him through the tears of pain that have formed in my eyes. "What the hell was that?" I ask, my voice laced with irritation. Following his gaze, I look down and, to my surprise, I find a black, velvet box.

A black, velvet box. A ring box. My mouth goes dry, my heart tightens so much it feels as if I'm having a heart attack. Maybe I am? And this head butt induced migraine isn't helping. I blink a few times, hoping that maybe it's not just my imagination. Alright, so I haven't seen inside of the box and it could be just a regular piece of jewelry, earrings, something of the sort. But, I am hoping it's something else. . .Something I've wanted from Harm for such a long time. Hey, a girl can dream right? "Is. . .is that my. . .my Ch-Christmas present?" I stammer out, managing to lift my eyes from the box long enough to make eye contact with Harm.

"Yes." He breathes out, his face is this cross between embarrassment and fear. Harm swallows a few times and reaches down to pick up the box. "Damnit, Mac I had plans." I am sure he did. . .Now if he would just let me have a peak. I reach over to snatch it from him, but Harm smacks my hand away. "No. . .Let me talk here."

"You're not going to start babbling are you?" Please, no. My migraine can't take it.

Harm sighs dramatically. "I wanted to give you this at midnight. . .Well, I was hoping I would work up the courage to give you this at midnight." Oh God. . .Maybe I was right? Maybe today, on this embankment, inside this car which is now part of a tree, I'll get what will be the sweetest Christmas present ever? His deep breaths are unnerving, so is that frightened look. I'm tempted to bop him over the head and steal the box when he finally opens it. "This isn't quite the way I planned. . .But. . .Sarah, will you marry me?"

I could have sworn that he just asked me to marry him. Right? Was that what he said? I'm not so sure, at the moment, the car is spinning and. . .and. . .woah. . .umm. . . I'm not going to faint. . .I'm not going to faint. . .I'm not going to.

In some part of my unconsciousness I feel the pain when my head comes in contact with the window. THUD.

(AN: Is the Fine Art coming to an end now? No. . technically, a courtship
is a form of 'dating' I mean, there's lots of things to plan, right? So,
for now, it will continue. . .Happy Michi? ;))