Harm's Apartment

North of Union Station

Friday, December 23, 2005

2200 Hours

Harm unlocked his door and stepped inside. The apartment was dark and quiet. He wondered where his new little companion was. He turned the light on and saw the little fluff ball curled up in the corner of the couch, sleeping. He gently patted him so as not to wake him and moved on to the bathroom where he had a quick shower and brushed his teeth.

Then he put boxers on and pulled a blue t-shirt over his head with the words 'NAVY' written across the chest and laid down on his bed.

The rest of the Christmas party had been wonderful. He had laughed and talked with friends and danced with Mac and everything had almost felt normal again.

He closed his eyes and as he drifted off to sleep he felt his feet being covered by his warm and fuzzy new friend and he fell asleep smiling.

Mac's Apartment

Georgetown

Washington, D.C.

Saturday, December 24

1700 Hours

Harm was nervous. He was standing outside Mac's door getting up the courage to knock. In his arms were the little fuzzball he had gotten recently. He laughed softly as it licked him on the nose. He thought back to that day in the office a couple of weeks ago. Mac had seemed down and he had finally managed to get out of her that she missed Jingo - missed having a dog around. Then a friend of his had called out of the blue a few days later and it turned out his dog had just had puppies! Harm had taken it as a sign and had gotten the cutest, most fluffiest one for Mac.

He took a deep breath and knocked.

Mac was in the kitchen when she heard a knock on the door. 'Just on time', she thought, 'he really has changed'. She laughed a little to herself as she made her way to the door. She opened it and there was Harm, looking handsome as ever in dark jeans and a buttondown black coat. What surprised her though was what he was holding: The cutest little golden retriever puppy she had ever seen. The little pup gave a small yelp and stuck it's tongue out. Harm gave her a sheepish grin and sat the puppy down. It immediatly started sniffing Mac's legs and laughing she bent down and patted him. After a few minutes it was satisfied and wandered off to search the apartment.

Mac looked up at Harm and laughed.

"Merry Christmas, Mac." He stepped inside and hugged her tight. She responded by putting her arms around his midsection and placing her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head before moving around and shrugging off his coat. "I know it's technically not Christmas yet, but I couldn't hold off on giving you your present anymore." He gestured to the little ball of fur that was now snuggled up on the couch, fast asleep.

Mac laughed again as she headed toward the kitchen to fix them up some hot chocolate.

"No worries, thank you for that." She smiled warmly. "He's adorable. Does he have a name?" Harm shrugged. "I named him Bongo, but you can name him anything you want." He plopped down next to the little puppy and scratched his head. The dog sighed contently in his sleep.

Mac returned with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate and sat down next to him. "Bongo sounds just right."

The room was warm, the fire was lit and everywhere was burning candles. The smell of chocolate mixed with the smell of the Christmas tree in the middle of the room. Harm felt warm and happy. He looked and Mac and found her staring right at him. Her soft hair framed her beautiful face perfectly and a soft smiled graced her features. Harm took her hand in his and she laced their fingers together. He brought the other hand up to caress her cheek and she leaned into his touch. He slowly leaned closer and Mac closed her eyes. Just before their lips touched Harm heard Mac breathe his name. Their lips met in a gently kiss that quickly deepened as Mac brought her arms up to encircle his neck. Harm's tongue begged for entrance and it was granted. He slipped in to explore her mouth and they both moaned.

"Harm..." Mac but her hands on his chest and he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. When he pulled back he looked ridden with guilt.

"Mac, I'm sorry about this whole mess. I never should have left... That whole thing with Denise ... I'm just so sorry.." Mac stopped him by putting a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry about it, Harm. We both made mistakes and I am sorry too. But it's in the past now. Just try and forget about it, okay?" She smiled as she stood. "Now how about that tree?"

After about an hour they both stepped back and admired their work. The tree was beautifully decorated with ornaments in all shapes and colours and underneath lay a big bunch of present. They were both very happy with the result, but before either one of them could say anything they were interrupted by a tiny little bark. When they turned around little Bongo were standing by the door, it's cute little head tilted sideways as to say 'are you coming?'

Harm laughed. "I'll go, I've got a bunch of food and stuff for him in the car that I need to bring up anyway."

Mac looked out the window "Did you bring a seabag, Sailor?" Harm nodded "Looks like you might want to bring that up as well, it's snowing pretty heavily out there." Harm did a mock salute before leading Bongo out the door "Yes ma'am" he grinned.

Mac's Apartment

Georgetown

Sunday, December 25, 2005

0800 Hours

'Wow, they sure got a lot of snow here last night' Cole thought as he looked his car and did a quick run into the building. Keys in one hand and fresh bagels and a shopping bag in the other he dashed up the stairs to Mac's apartment. Unlocking the door with his key he stepped inside. 'She must still be asleep'. The place was dark and he carefully stepped over to the window, pulling the drapes back and letting the light in. Turning around he jumped a little, startled. 'Rabb, what the hell? And is that a dog?' On the couch was Harm in only boxers, a blanket draped over him and a dog at his feet.

The whole apartment was decorated nicely and the tree was beautiful. 'They must've been decorating last night and got caught out by the snowfall.. Yep, that must have been it.' He peered into the bedroom were Mac was still asleep and decided to start making breakfast.

Mac woke to the smell of fresh coffee and bagels. She stretched lazily in bed and decided to have a quick shower before breakfast. Afterwards she got dressed in black sweat pants and a blue top. She let her hair hang loose. She then stepped into the living room where she found Harm and Bongo still asleep on the couch. Puzzled she turned to the kitchen from where she heard someone whistling 'Jingle Bells'.

"Cole! What are you doing here?"

"Well goodmorning, Sunshine, and merry Christmas" Cole replied cheerfully. He was toasting bagels and putting cream cheese on them. He looked good in faded jeans and a dark shirt, sleeves rolled up.

"Merry Christmas" Mac stepped closer and he brought her into a tight one-armed embrace and kissed the top of her head. "How did you get here?" She picked up a bagel and took a bite "Yum, this is delicious." Cole poured her a cup of coffee to go with the bagel.

"Christmas miracle" he smiled. Just then they heard a groan from the living room.

"Mmmh, something smells good, Marine." They saw Harm's mussed up hair as he sat up on the couch, his Flyboy grin firmly in place. Until he spotted Cole that was, then he shot up like he was struck by lightning.

"Andrews!"

"Goodmorning, Rabb. Merry Christmas." Harm mumbled a merry Christmas to you too while he was looking for his shirt. He found it under the still sleeping dog, pulled it out, shook the dog hairs off it and put it on. Mac was relieved. She found that she was enjoyed the sight of him in only boxers just a little too much. Pulling his pants on, Harm quickly got his things together and finally looked at Mac and Cole.

"We were decorating the tree last night and uh.. I'd better go.."

"Harm, you don't have to go.."

"Yea, I'd better go. Have a great day, guys." He flashed them a halfhearted grin as he patted Bongo on the head and as he slipped out the door he turned slightly and said "Merry Christmas."

A/N: Don't worry, it'll get better in the next week ;)

Merry Christmas guys. Have a safe and blessed holiday :)