Sorry for the delay! Hopefully once Christmas is over I'll have time to write again. Happy holidays, every one!!

-JAGJAGJAGJAGJAG-

Stars fading but I linger on, dear,
Still craving your kiss.
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,
Just saying this-

Harm whistled as he prepared supper, a tune that always reminded him of Mac was on his lips. He suddenly looked up. He knew her knock.

"It's open," he called. Mac walked in wearing a light blue sweater and khakis. He noticed how she always looked so beautiful whether in civvies, her uniform, or even just sweats.

"Hey, Mac."

"Hey." He could already tell she was mentally tired.

"How'd the investigation go?"

"Ugh. I don't want to talk about it. I was too distracted by this new case to get anything worthwhile out of it."

"Have you gotten to look at the Marsh case?"

"Some. Been avoiding it some, too." Harm put the food on and they sat down to eat.

"So what do you think about the case?" He asked, watching her carefully. 'GOD she's beautiful.'

"That I really don't want to talk about."

"Well then let's talk about you. How are you doing?" Her expression darkened ever so slightly. She shook her head, wanting to be strong, but also knowing that she needed to be honest with him. Moreover, she needed to be honest with herself.

"This is gonna be difficult for me, Harm."

"I know. That's why I'm here." She considered that for a second. It made her think of this morning when he suddenly went missing as they walked out of the Admiral's office.

"Why did the admiral call you back this morning?"

"Oh. Well, he knew this'd be hard for you. He wanted to remind me to play my supporting role well."

"He asked you to watch over me?"

"Well, in a way. It's not like he told me to be your babysitter or something..." Harm just knew he'd stepped in it. 'Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut around her??'

"I honestly don't know whether to be offended or comforted," she said, angry yet impressed at the same time.

"He knows you can handle it, Mac, that's why he involved you. He only involved me cause Sturgis is sitting second chair as well."

"Yeah, I wonder why him and not Bud?"

"Well apparently this civilian lawyer is something of a hot shot."

"Oh, just like you, flyboy?" She teased.

"Maybe so," he chuckled, "but not in the sense you're referring to." He knew she was teasing him about the time he shot an automatic into the ceiling of a court room. 'Man, am I EVER gonna live that down??'

They spent the rest of supper and coffee teasing each other about past court cases. They moved into the living room after cleaning the kitchen and started talking about everything else in the world. They hardly noticed the minutes turning into hours. It wasn't until a yawn escaped Mac's lips that Harm asked what time it was.

"AHHH, almost three," Mac yawned, surprised.

"Is that right?" Harm checked the clock and watched the new hour roll in. 'Man, she's good.' Mac yawned again.

"I better get home." Mac stood too quickly and lost her balance. She tried to play it off, but Harm noticed.

"Oh no, ya don't. You're sleeping here tonight."

"Harm, I'm fine. I'm in the best mood I've been in all week."

"Fine, but you're too tired to drive."

"Harm, I don't have any clothes-" She started to protest but he cut her off.

"You can sleep in one of my shirts. I'll sleep on the couch, you sleep on the bed, and you can go get fresh clothes tomorrow morning." Mac considered this. It was really late, and she knew Harm's bed was really comfortable. Plus it was just right there...

"Okay, sailor. Get me one of those big shirts of yours. I'm gonna go shower."

"You know where the towels are."

"Yeah." She headed off to the shower. Harm laid some blankets and a pillow on the couch for him to sleep on. Then he got a t-shirt and some boxers for Mac and laid them on the toilet. Mac saw him walk in and out through the frosted glass of the shower and smiled to herself. She was so lucky to have him in her life...

Mac walked out of the bathroom to find Harm lying on the couch in his boxers, reading.

"Good book?"

"Definitely." He showed her the cover.

"Oh, The Shining." She read the title out loud.

"Are you a Stephen King fan?" Harm asked, looking up at her radiant face.

"Mmh, he's a little dark for me."

"So then what do you like?"

"I'm pretty partial to the Nancy Drew series." They both laughed.

"Really?"

"Really! She's one of the reasons I wanted to be a lawyer." Mac smiled. "I don't get to read as much as I'd like, though."

"Well why don't you go curl up on that bed with a book."

"I didn't bring one."

"Look on the bookshelf, you might find something you like."

"Okay..." Why did he look almost smug? Mac walked into Harm's bedroom and looked at the bookshelf next to his bed. She glanced over when a familiar yellow spine caught her eye. Mac picked up the book and smiled as she walked back into the living room. "Mystery at the Ski Jump?" She smiled. "This is my absolute favorite Nancy Drew book! Why do you have this?" Harm smiled.

"The last time you slept over you mumbled something about 'the ski jump' and 'Nancy Drew', so I went and bought it the next day."

"Have you read it?" She smiled even wider.

"Maybe." 'Twice.' He jerked his head toward the bedroom. "Go. Enjoy." Mac smiled.

"Good night, Harm."

"Night, Mac."

Mac walked into the bedroom and turned on a lamp. She propped herself up on some pillows and snuggled into Harm's warm down comforter. Having read this book so many times, it only took her an hour to read the whole thing again, and she enjoyed every minute of it. When she finally turned off the light, she noticed Harm sleeping peacefully on the couch. He really was a good man. Mac settled into the sheets and fell asleep with a huge smile on her face.