PART 37 – Yes? No? Maybe!
"Sarah, will you marry me?" Oh, oh. Now I've done it. I knew, well. . .no I didn't know, but, I had this sick little nagging feeling that things weren't going to end up well. Now, Mac looks like she's going to hurl. I can't be THAT repulsive, right? I mean she's managed to spend a whole YEAR with me and now. . .Oh. . .Umm. JESUS! Now it looks like she's reenacting some scene from the Exorcist!
Oh. . .Woops, she umm. . .she passed out?
'THUD' And hit her head against the window which, miraculously, has not shattered. "Mac!" I crawl over the bags, tossing them towards the very end of the SUV and sit next to Mac. I press my fingers onto the back of her scull and find a bump starting to form. "Great, just friggin' great!" Yup, that went over well and will go right up onto Rabb and MacKenzie's misadventures. I breathe a sigh of relief as she comes to and presses her hand against her head. "Mac?" What is passing out considered anyway? Yes? No? Maybe!
"Stop yelling." Mac barks out and settles herself more comfortably against the seats. I move my hand away from her head and watch her for a moment. "Argh. My head."
Great, now I'll have a pissed off Marine on my hands. "You hit it against the window."
"No shit." She grounds out, then slowly opens her eyes and looks. . .nervous? "What just happened?"
There are so many answers really. But, I'm still leaning on playing dumb. I mean, her passing out CAN'T be a good thing. I've never seen her pass out. Actually, she passed out once on me right when I pulled her off of 'Sarah' the day the poachers were hunting us in the Appalachians, but that's understandable. She'd lost a lot of blood then. "Uh, you passed out."
Her eyebrow does that raised thingy and her eyes, which are still dazed and confused pin me with the glare of death. Screw 'glare of death' she looks positively manic. "Yes, I gathered. . .But, I meant BEFORE that."
"We crashed?" I offer, suddenly realizing that the box is no where to be found. I had it in my hand two seconds ago. "Uh, hang on." Where the hell is it? Ignoring her for a moment, I tear through the SUV wondering where the box could have gone.
"I know we crashed, Harm!" Hmm, she sounds irritated.
Finding my bag, I start to toss clothing out of it, trying to find the damned box. "Well it wasn't my fault!" Sheesh! Women! "Aha!" C'mere you stupid little thing. "Woah!"
When I pop back to the seat that Mac's in, she looks at me and starts to laugh hysterically. "What?" Fighting fits of laughter, she points at my head, and just breaks down again. "What!" I rake my hands through my hair and find one of Mac's bra's (Yes, it was in my bag, she left it when she was over last week! Get your mind out of the gutter!) clinging to my hair by the clasp. "Oh for the love of God!" Trying to remove it only seems to lock it farther in place and Mac, well she's just having a blast. "Could you stop laughing for all of two seconds and help?"
She doesn't stop laughing, only bites her lip in order to stop it from being so loud. It works, but now it comes out in machine gun bursts of snorts. Finally, she manages to extricate her bra from my hair, dangling it on one finger. "Mmm, nice color."
"I wouldn't know." I growl out. On second thought, screw the proposal!
No. . .I don't mean that, but this is LESS than romantic. I heave a sigh and hold the box up so she could see it. "Can we try this again?" Mac nods expectantly and I am suddenly feeling at ease. She does want me. . .She has to. How could she not? Slowly opening the box, I let the words pour out of me once again. I think it's harder this time. "Sarah, will you mar. . ."
"AH!" We both yell in surprise when a knock on the window of the SUV brings us out of one of those moments. Annoyed I glare at the intruder, then feel a wave of relief as I realize it's Virginia Highway Patrol. Amen!
The VHP officer gives us an aloof expression and then smiles. "We have a winch to pull your car out, but I don't think you'll be going anywhere today." He informs us. "But, I am sure we can find a way to get you to where you were going." It's obvious he saw what was about to happen if the wink in my direction was any indication. Either that or he has the hots for me. Eww.
It takes us about two hours to hit the road again. And that's after dropping my car off at the garage, getting a cab to take us to the car rental agency, renting the car and putting our stuff into it. "Keep your eyes on the road this time, huh?" Mac said with a chuckle as we pulled out on the freeway again.
Once we arrived in town, we selected a tree, bought food and other necessities before heading towards the cabin. I am happy to report that this trip was made without incident. When we arrive at the cabin, Mac lets out a low whistle. "Jeez, I remember we saw it in a picture, but this is. . .this is. . .wow." I'd have to agree. The Little Lake Cabin is situated in about an acre of land. It has this small, wooden dock that leads out to the 'Little Lake.'
"Head on up, I'll get the bags." I hand her the keys, grinning as Mac takes off like a kid, practically skipping her way up the steps. She steps inside, disappearing as I grab a few of the grocery bags and make my way back. "How about a fire?" I yell as I pass a stack of firewood and an axe.
As I make to step into the cabin, I run right into Mac, colliding with a combined. "Ooof."
"Woah there, Marine. . .We're on vacation, no need to throttle the Navy." I say with a chuckle as she blushes and excuses herself, heading out to the car. The place is quite cozy. There is a fireplace and a small living room/dinning room area. The kitchen has a wooden door that leads to the docks and the bedroom is past the living room facing the lake. The decoration is rustic, everything made out of strong woods and deep green colors. In the corner, by the sofa, I spot the empty space the owners left when I asked them if it would be alright to buy a tree. "Nice." On the sofa I find a box full of ornaments, lights and all sorts of trimming goodies along with a Christmas Card and a congratulatory statement from the owners who know I plan to propose on this trip. Sigh, I hope she says yes.
It doesn't take too long for us to put away the goodies and our clothing. Then we move to the task of trimming the tree. "Ouch!" Stupid thing just attacked me!
"What?" Mac says, poking her head out from under the tree. She's laying on the floor, under the tree, trying to tighten the stand's screws that hold the tree in place.
"I almost poked my eye out with a pine needle."
She snorts, LOUDLY. "Tree trying to attack you, babe?" Hah. Funny. "Alright I think that's it." She says triumphantly coming to her feet. We take a few steps back, standing side by side staring.
"It's crooked." I announce, then turn my head slightly. "I mean, really, it's crooked." And it is, the thing is literally about forty five degrees to the side and hitting the wall. This is the mode hideous tree I've ever SEEN in my life.
Mac shrugs. "Guess I'll just dive under and play with the screws." She does so and I take to the task of holding the tree again. A few minutes pass by and I feel the tree shifting towards my side. "Erm, stop that."
"Stop what?" I ask, staring down and seeing nothing but Mac's torso and A LOT of pine needles.
She pokes her head out and glares at me. "The pine needle thing. If they have sap they are going to stick all over me. . .It's kinda gross."
Alright, at a loss here. "What pine needle thing?"
"Harm, don't tell me you weren't just tossing pine needles down at me. . .I don't know how you managed to get a few in my shirt, but I have some there as well." I feel the tree moving more towards me by the second.
"Mac, I swear, I didn't." Alright, now the tree really IS attacking me. "Woah, would you stop turning those things?" The moment Mac pops back up, I can't help it, I start laughing. "What. . .the. . .hell. . .happened. . .to . . .you?" I ask between fits of laughter.
Mac's covered with pine needles. There are some in her hair, shirt, arms giving her this completely crazed look. "This is your fault. . .Tell me you weren't tossing down pine needles at me."
"I wasn't!" I defend, and really I wasn't.
"Great!" She says, throwing her hands up in. . .in. . .disbelief? "The stupid tree is dying."
Ah, well there is a reason for that. "I told you we should forgo the tree, I mean it was the only one on the lot." I point out.
"Harm, it's Christmas. . .and it isn't Christmas without a tree!" She sounds like a little kid as she says that. Stepping in front of the tree, she runs her hands over one of the branches and guess what? Every single pine needle falls off of it.
"Woops. . .Maybe we should just decorate it and. . ." Her glare tells me otherwise. "Maybe not." Staring at Mac I practically see the light bulb pop up above her head. "Uh oh, what's that look for?"
"There was an ax outside, right?" If I say 'no' and she still finds it, would I be killed? A mischevious grin forms on her lips. "Yep, right next to the log pile."
"Mac!" Before I can get a word out, she's out the door, grabbing the axe and heading towards the little forest not too far away. "What are you doing?"
She waves her arm at me, beckoning me to join. "Cutting down our tree!"
To her credit, it was a wonderful idea. Wonderful if you ignore the deer that scared the hell out of us, the stubborn tree that took about an hour to cut and the fact that we got LOST on the way back to the cabin. It's nearing Midnight and FINALLY we've finished with the tree. I decided to start a fire while Mac showers. As I hear the water running, it gives me time to dig the ring out of my bag and stare at it for the millionth time. It's really pretty and just right for her. Nothing too flashy, just perfect. Perfect.
Nervously, I shove the ring into my pocket and sit on the sofa by the fireplace waiting. When she comes out, Mac's not wearing a slinky number as I thought she would. Instead, she's wearing these flannel, dinosaur PJs that look so damned cute on her. "What you do to flannel should be a sin." And probably is in at least two states and one country.
"C'mon, these aren't sexy."
Yes they are. "If you say so, but, to me. . .You look pretty damned hot, Marine."
Mac settles next to me, snuggling up before placing a soft kiss on my lips. "Flattery will get you everywhere." She closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them up. Her lips curve into a smile. "It's midnight. . .Merry Christmas, Harm."
I take a deep breath and pull the box out of my pocket. I have to get it right his time. "Merry Christmas, Sarah." I hold up and open the box for her, grinning like an idiot when the expression on her face changes from mischievous to shocked to. . .enamored. Yes, that's the best description, enamored. Removing the hand I have draped around her shoulders, I push myself off the sofa and come to kneel in front of her. "Sarah, will you. . ."
"Yes!" She yelps and tries to launch herself at me, but I stop her. "Harm?"
I sigh. "Mac, I've been trying to get this right for a while now. . .all day in fact. . .Will you just let me ask?" She grins impishly at me and nods. "Good. . .Now. . ." Take another breath and don't forget to let it out, wouldn't it just suck if I passed out right now? "Sarah, will you marry me?"
Mac hesitates for a moment and then a lazy grin spreads across those full lips of hers. "Yes, Harmon, I'll marry you. . .Now can I throw myself into your arms and kiss you senseless?" Like I am going to object to that? The twinkle of the Christmas lights combined with the warm hue of the fireplace cast a myriad of colors on the walls. My heart swells with pride as the woman in my arms pledges herself to me with kisses that are just that much more powerful than they've ever been. "Make love to me, Harm. . .Here, in front of the fireplace."
Again – Like I'm going to object to that. "Actually." I say with a grin. "I've always wanted to have a little fun under the tree."
Bursting out laughing, Mac shakes her head 'no.' "Not such a hot idea, there Sailor. With our luck the tree will probably fall on us."
I can't really argue with that. "Good point." I say, then fuse my mouth to hers.
"Oh!" Mac suddenly calls out, abruptly stopping our kiss. "I get it now."
Hmmm. Nice. What's she talking about? "What?"
"Uncle Matt?. . .The Colonel you were speaking to? You called Uncle Matt." Guilty as charged. Leave it to the Marines to figure something like THAT out.
I grin impishly and nod. "It felt right to ask him for your hand in marriage."
"That's awfully chivalrous of you, Harmon." Even though she's trying to joke it off, I KNOW my Marine, she likes it. A lot.
"I want to do this right."
Mac nods. "I know. . .And I can give you a good idea of a right way to start." She waggles her eyebrows suggestively. We kiss again, hungrily, passionately as we prepare to spend what I am sure will be the best Christmas of my life. The best Christmas of OUR lives. Happy Holidays!
- - - -
Of course, TBC. . .Since now they have to start the wedding plans and all of that stuff. Imagine Harm fighting with caterers and florists and Mac stressing about wedding dresses and coordinators? ;) Yup, lotsa fun!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS gang! Stay safe huh!
Jackie - Who had the TEST FROM HELL today but is going to ignore that until January. . .3rd? 2nrd? Whatever. ;)