Wow, Christmas is only a few weeks away now! It's been busy here, but we still have 12 more ficlets to get Harm and Mac married, and I will definitely try to update regularly. Hope everyone is still enjoying the story and the holiday season!

Peppermint

"Harm?"

Mac had already called his name several times without a reply when she finally found him sitting at the kitchen table, intently studying the papers spread out in front of him. He was dressed in sweatpants and an old T-shirt, and Mac hid a smile behind her hand as she realized that not everyone got to see the U.S. Navy's senior European lawyer out of uniform. His back was to Mac as she entered the room, and she came up behind him and slid her arms around his neck.

"Hi, flyboy."

"Hey." Harm's right hand reached up to cover hers, and he turned slightly as she leaned down to kiss him. Mac smiled against his lips, as his mouth was warm and his kiss was gentle, and he tasted like—

"Peppermint," Mac murmured.

Harm nodded and took another sip from the mug on the table next to his paperwork. "Mom always keeps a huge stock of peppermint tea in the house around Christmas time. Help yourself."

"A few days before our wedding, and you're still working," Mac teased with a roll of her eyes.

"Just going over some files," Harm answered distractedly.

Seeing his look of concentration and the wrinkles in his forehead, Mac only took a small sip of tea before she put the mug down and moved behind him again to rub his shoulders. She heard him sigh softly as she ran her fingers over a couple of particularly tight spots.

"Sorry, Mac. You know how it is. Tough cases right before the holidays. No one wants to settle, but no one wants the verdict to drag out past Christmas."

Harm reached for another file as Mac continued to knead the knots in his back.

"We just had a pilot brought up on charges of manslaughter," he said quietly. "There's a lot of evidence that he was drunk when the plane crashed, and the prosecution has a solid case."

Mac's fingers stilled on his shoulders. She and Harm had been partners in the courtroom for long enough that she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"But you don't believe he's guilty." It was a statement rather than a question.

Harm shrugged. "I didn't say that."

Mac narrowed her eyes and moved around to face him. "Harm, I know that look."

"What look?"

"The look that says you're going to try to prove otherwise." She threw up her hands. "This is an aviator thing again, isn't it? Harm, if there's solid evidence that the pilot is responsible for someone's death—"

"And what if there's reasonable doubt?" Harm challenged, setting his jaw line firmly and crossing his arms over his chest.

Mac tilted her head and met his gaze with a stubborn stare of her own. "Is there?"

"You guys aren't even married yet, and you're already fighting?" Mattie asked as she breezed through the kitchen, maneuvering easily in her wheelchair.

"We're not fighting," Harm and Mac replied in unison.

Mattie shrugged but wasn't able to hide the sassy smirk on her face. "Could have fooled me."