Author's Note: It has been an incredibly stressful week, so I decided to post a few chapters of things to make my heart happy and hear people's responses to JAG awesomeness. I love that so many people are still into reading and writing JAG fic even though it ended almost ten years ago... it's crazy and awesome all at the same time.

They strolled around the aquarium for hours looking at the different exhibits and checking out the various shows and presentations they had going on before Mac notices that Harm's eyes are starting to look a bit tired.

"You want to go back to the hotel?" she asks, and he looks down at her with a pleading look.

"Mac, I have loved being here, and getting to spend some time with you, but do you think we could spend our last day of the long weekend at home?"

"You want to go home tonight instead?"

"I really do. I feel like we haven't gotten a chance to really relax there either. We spent Friday night here, yesterday we did the Art Museum and the piano bar, and today we did the aquarium. We're just an hour away… we can come back another weekend for the rest."

She agrees and they start walking out of the aquarium, met with a line that was just as long as when they came. When they got to where they could, they hailed a cab to take them to the hotel and back to the train station. They had to wait a half hour for the Metra rail that would take them to Libertyville, but made it home a little bit before dinner time.

"What do you want for dinner?" she asks as she is walking up the stairs to their bedroom to unpack her things.

"Why don't we get Chinese food? I still don't think that we've found the best place yet."

"I'm pretty sure that we have tried every Chinese place from Vernon Hills to Gurnee, Harm… what is it you are looking for?"

"D.C.?" he says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You miss it?"

"I miss it, but only in that I was so comfortable there, you know? It was the only place in my life aside from when I was a kid that I got to stay for more than a few months."

"I get that, but maybe this is going to be that place for us too."

"Maybe you're right."

They call for their food from the place up the road and settle in for an evening together at home.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" she asks, later while they are getting ready for bed.

"Honestly?" he asks and is met with a raised eyebrow from his Marine. "I want to stay in bed with you all morning and well into the afternoon, I want to talk about all those things that we've been talking about including the revelation you had this morning at the Aquarium, and I just want to be us for a little while.

"Yeah, we've been together for only two months and we haven't really enjoyed a leisurely weekend at the house, have we? Every time we had a few moments to spare, they were spent on working on the house or preparing for you to leave for those few weeks."

"Can I just tell you something?"

"Sure?" she says in a questioning tone, not knowing exactly what to expect from him.

"It feels so right. You and I just feel right together and it's something that I can't get over. All those years we spent as just friends were great, but you and me like this is just so much better."

"You just like the sex." She says with a small smile hinting at the corners of her mouth.

"While that is the added benefit, I just notice how well we do in the day to day, you know?"

"Are you forgetting the past few weeks?"

"That made me realize it even more though, Mac. If something like this had happened when you and I were just friends, you know that I would have been right at your side from the beginning."

"You were the last time." She points out, remembering what happened after Dalton had been murdered and she had to deal with the stalker. He was there for her instantly, even with all the rude things she said to him.

"It just boggles my mind the amount of time you and I waited for this with each other."

"That's part of what we're working through with Dr. Miller though… getting past all of that in the beginning."

"Speaking of which, have you thought about our assignment for Tuesday?"

"I have, but I admit that I'm reluctant to talk about it."

"Why?"

"You know how I am about letting people in like that… even you."

"But that is something that we both want to work on, and you know that no matter what you say, I'm still going to love you and care about you."

She thinks for a minute, thinking about the line of conversation stemming from him talking about how settled and fitting the two of them were together. She felt the same way, and knew that he meant what he said about her sharing her fears with him.

"I love you Harmon Rabb."

"And I love you… it took me too long to say it, but I do love you… so much."

When the time came on Tuesday for the two of them to attend their counseling session, they were in a good place. They spent the rest of the weekend lounging around the house, making love, and talking about everything under the sun.

"How did your week go?" Dr. Miller asks when all three of them sit down to talk this week.

"It went well. We took a weekend in the city and saw some sights and then came home and relaxed for a while. We realized that we hadn't really gotten to enjoy being married or even being a couple since we started all of this." Harm says, taking Mac's hand as he says the last part.

"The two of you never really got the dating stage or the couple stage because of going straight into what you are basically in right now. How do you feel about that?" he asks, curious about a couple falling into this so quickly.

"We actually talked about that this weekend, how we fell into things so easily as a couple. We fit almost instantly regardless of the past that we have. The now seems to be exactly what both of us hoped for." Mac answers for both of them.

"That's great for you to be talking about things like this. It is my firm belief that the best way we can move past our histories, which we talked about last time as being a sort of stumbling block for the two of you, is to look toward the future. That is why I had you think about your three biggest fears for the future. I want you to share them with me and each other so we can talk about what they actually say about our past."

"Okay… can I go first?" Mac asks wanting to get things over with and is met with a nod from the Dr. and Harm. "My three biggest fears for the future are not being able to have children, being alone, and not having a purpose."

"Okay, what about you Harm?"

"Mine are not seeing my children grow up, regretting my career choice in terms of what it entails, and losing Mac."

"Okay." Dr. Miller says, pausing for a minute as he watches his two patients absorbing the fears of the other and thinking about what they mean. "What are your thoughts?"

"What do you mean?" Mac asks, breaking the silence first.

"Well… talk about what you heard. Are either of you surprised by any of those fears?"

"I don't know. I think I am, but at the same time I don't think that they came out of left field." Harm says, thinking about the things Mac said.

"Okay, expand on that for her." He says gesturing between the two of them.

"Okay, not being able to have children is something that I know you thought about before, but with the miscarriage, I think it really made you realize how badly you wanted it. Being alone, while I'm sad that you think I would ever leave you, I know that it stems from everyone in your past leaving or not being there for you. Having no purpose though… that is one that I can't really understand."

Mac thinks about what he said for a minute, and tries to come up with an explanation of that last part, "Well, you know how I told you one time that I needed something to put my back up against?"

"You said that was the Corps."

"It was, and then you told me that it could be you, and I know that it is you that I can put my back up against, but you also know me, Harm. I can't be a doting housewife because it isn't in my nature. I'm worried that I'm not going to really find a place for myself now."

"I thought you said that you thought of something you would like to do a few days ago?" Harm reminds her of their stint in the line at the aquarium that weekend.

"I do think I know what I would like to pursue, but I don't know how to make it happen or how I'm going to fit in it."

"Did something happen this weekend that caused you to think of something you would like to do?" Dr. Miller asks, turning toward her.

"When we were in line at the aquarium I left to go get some food and met up with an Army veteran who served overseas. He was injured and walks with a limp. Then upon closer observation, I came to the realization that he wasn't doing too well. His clothes weren't kept well, things looked a bit more worn than they should be. His money was crumpled. I bought him his lunch and he thanked me and I mentioned to him that there were places he could turn for help, and he said that he didn't ever get the help."

"Why did that speak to you?"

She presses her lips together tightly, wondering why it struck a nerve. "I think it's because we came into contact with so many people during our work with JAG. To think that a lot of them could be injured or killed in the line of duty sometimes gets to me. Then to see someone who that happened to, who isn't taking advantage of their rights and privileges as an injured soldier… it's not right. He wasn't a low ranking guy either. He had advanced up the ladder a bit and he still wasn't getting the help he needed."

"So you want to do something to help the veterans?" Harm asks, raising his eyebrows in question.

"I do." She says hesitantly, hoping that he would support the idea.

"Mac, I think that's great! I think that with your law experience and your knowledge of the military, you can really help people fight for the help that they deserve."

"You think I could do it?"

"Did you think that I wouldn't support something like that?" Harm questions, confused as to where she would get that idea from him.

"I didn't think that, I just wasn't sure of myself."

"Mac, you were a senior JAG attorney based in Washington, D.C. and the Chief of Staff under the Judge Advocate General himself. What is there to not be sure of… Hell, you beat me in the courtroom more than I would like to admit. You're an amazing attorney."

The compliments were welcome, but as always she had a hard time coming up with the right response to them. She knew that Harm was being genuine, and part of her believed some of those things he was saying to a degree, but it was still hard.

"Mac, what did you think about what he said?"

"I kind of agree with him that I wasn't really surprised by any of them, because I can trace them back. I just need clarification on that last part. Why do you think you'll lose me?"

"I don't necessarily think that I'm going to lose you. I don't think that you're going to up and leave me or anything like that. I'm just scared of something happening to you. The few times that you have brushed death, I was there to save you. I went after you the first time you fell off the wagon and that asshole was stalking you, I tried to keep you alive when we were stranded with the poachers, I went after you in Paraguay… that's not even the end of it. Mac I've almost lost you too many times to count. I always think about that one time that I'm not there to save you. I would be destroyed."

"You don't think that I've thought the same thing trying to find you after we ejected from that MIG or almost losing you in the Atlantic?" she almost yells, wiping at tears she didn't know had started falling down her face.

It forced her to take a breath, realizing that she had raised her voice at the last comment. When she looked up, she saw the doctor looking at them with a curious stare. Harm saw it at the same time and returned the look.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"Yeah, most people think that being a lawyer is boring." Harm says with a smirk that makes Mac even crack a smile.

"This is totally unprofessional of me, but how many brushes with death are we talking about here?" he asks with a small laugh.

"We'll just say that you don't have enough fingers and toes." Harm answers.

"Knowing that Mac isn't a Marine anymore though, doesn't that alleviate some of that fear?"

"No. Not at all, because any number of things could happen to her that have nothing to do with our experience in the Military."

"Harm, that's just everyday life though. You can't walk on egg shells thinking that you'll lose me."

"I don't. I don't walk around thinking that this could be the last day, but I do think it every now and then. I can't help it."

"Okay. So, now that the two of you have put these fears out there, I would like each of you to draft a response to each other's fears. Mac, I want you to tell Harm why he shouldn't fear those things anymore. Harm, I want you to do the same. Now this is not saying that you aren't allowed to feel those fears, because everyone is entitled to that. This is, however, trying to explain to you that those fears can be divided in half if you release some of the burden your carrying by letting your spouse help you with the load."

"Thank you." Mac says, rubbing her hands on her thighs and standing up next to her husband. "This really has been helpful."

"You guys are the ones doing all the work. I like all the talking that you're doing, and I'm pretty sure that you've always been great communicators with each other. I think you just needed someone to steer some of the conversations to things that might be a little scarier to talk about."

Harm extends his hand to shake the doctor's and they walk out arm in arm, off to another meeting for Mac and more of the future they hope to have together.