Author: PreppyPrincess5103

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: Harm. & Mac begin their life together, while both deal with the reality of Harm's decision to resign his commission. Spoiler alert: Mac doesn't handle it very well. (Continuation of It Started in Russia, and Everything is Going to Be Okay)

Part Three

Harm and Mac walked into the kitchen and found his parents and grandmother sitting around the breakfast table. "Good morning!"

Trish looked from him to Mac, and raised an eyebrow. Her son had never been a morning person, and that greeting had been entirely too cheerful. "Good morning, darling."

Frank stood and brushed toast crumbs from his sweatshirt. "Ready for our run, Mac?"

She nodded and smiled. "I am. I'm pretty excited about it. I don't think I've ever run around a farm before." She filled her water bottle and gave Harm a brief kiss. "Are you sure we can't talk you into joining us?"

"I'm definitely going to pass on that. You two have fun." He watched as Frank filled his own water bottle, and the two of them headed out of the back door. He turned to his mother and grandmother. "Have you two had breakfast yet?"

Sarah nodded. "We have. Help yourself to anything in the fridge." She and Trish sat quietly while he fried two eggs and toasted a slice of homemade sourdough. When he sat down at the table, he noticed they were both watching him.

"Why are you two staring at me?"

"We've been waiting to get you alone." She glanced at Sarah, and the two women smiled. "We have something for you. I don't want you to think we're being presumptuous or anything, or think we're trying to pressure you into anything, it's just something we think you should have."

He sat down his fork and folded his hands in his lap. "I'm afraid to ask." Trish reached into the pocket of her cardigan and took out a worn and faded green velvet ring box. She placed it on the table and pushed it toward him with one finger. Harm's eyes widened and he hesitantly reached for the box. He opened the box and saw his mother's emerald cut solitaire engagement ring. He looked back up to her, and then to his grandmother.

Sarah reached over and plucked out the ring. She ran her finger over the stone and smiled. "Did you know that this diamond was originally in my engagement ring?" He shook his head. "My engagement ring had the daintiest band imaginable. It was barely thicker than a piece of string. By the time your father met your mother and I offered it to him, the band was in bad shape. So, I suggested he take the ring and have the stone reset into a new ring for your mother." Sarah handed the ring to Trish.

"I loved this ring so much." She held the diamond between her thumb and forefinger and moved a finger over the white gold band. "I would love if you did the same thing when you're ready to ask Mac to marry you." Trish handed the ring back to her son, and smiled. "She seems like the kind of woman who would appreciate a family heirloom."

He nodded and studied the ring. "She is." He ran his finger over the large stone and smiled. "She doesn't have any family. Just an uncle she doesn't see very often."

Trish frowned slightly. "What happened to her parents? Her mother?"

Harm glanced up and met her eyes. "Her father was an alcoholic. He was physically violent toward his wife, and she eventually left him." He bit his lower lip and tried to force back the image of a young Sarah MacKenzie coming home from school on her 15th birthday and finding her mother gone. "She left Mac behind too."

Sarah shook her head. "That poor girl."

He nodded and put the ring back in the box. "Her father passed away earlier this year. Her mother showed up. That was the first time Mac had seen her since she had left." He stood and slipped the ring box in his pocket. "It's going to be a while before I give this to her." He looked from his mother to his grandmother. "I'm going to ask her someday. I'd marry her tomorrow if she'd agree to it, but she wants to take things slow and enjoy this stage of our relationship."

Trish smiled and placed her hand over his. "She's worth the wait, darling."

He nodded. "I know. She's it for me. I've known that for a while."

Mac slowed as they approached the top of the hill. She came to a stop and bent over, placing her hands on her thighs. She took a few deep breaths before straightening. The view was spectacular, and she took a few steps to the boundary fence. She stood for a minute to take it all in while waiting for Frank to catch up. He approached the fence and crossed his arms over the post.

"So how are you, Mac?"

"I'm fine." She glanced at him, and then back at the hills. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "You seem distracted." He watched a cow in a nearby pasture and then glanced at her. "Trish is thrilled that Harm resigned. All of those close calls are hard on a mother. She asked how you reacted to the news, and he told her you were still processing it."

She bit her lower lip and looked at him. She nodded. "It was a bit of a shock." She turned her own attention to the cow and watched it for a minute. "Did Harm ever tell you about how we met?" She turned back to him in time to see him shake his head. "We met at a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House. When he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. I've seen many handsome men in uniform, but something about him just floored me. It was like I was looking at a living breathing advertisement for the Navy. He's everything an officer should be. He's honorable and trustworthy. He's so brave. He truly loves this country and is willing to sacrifice for it." She turned back to the cow. "And he truly loves the Navy. It's hard to accept that the Harmon Rabb Jr. that I met and fell in love with can just walk away from that."

"Do you think less of him for getting out?"

Frank's voice was gentle, but it felt like she had been hit. She turned to face him; her eyes wide. "No! Of course not. He doesn't lose those qualities by giving up the uniform. I'm just worried he gave it up for the wrong reason. I'm scared he did it for me. For us."

"Ah." Frank put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "If he did, is that such a bad thing?"

"It would be if he ever regretted it."

He offered her a gentle smile. "Whatever his reason, he's not going to regret it. Now that the obsessive search for his father is done, he can move on to other things. He wants a family. A wife and children. He told Trish he wants to spend more time with us. His father and the Navy have dominated the first thirty years of his life, and he's ready for something different for the next thirty years."

"I'm just scared. I love him. I know this sounds silly, but I didn't know love could be like this. I'm just scared I'm going to lose it." She took a deep breath. "Things have been tense since he told me. I've actually agreed to talk to a therapist about it once we get home. I want to feel confident in us, and his feelings for me again."

"You will. It'll get better." He squeezed her shoulders again. "Are you about ready to head back?"

She nodded and they began the trek back to the house. Their pace was leisurely, and Mac allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts. She was a little surprised she had told Frank so much. There was something about him though that just made her want to tell him things, and she thought for what felt like the hundredth time that her life would have been so much different if her father had been more like him.

Mac opened the door to the bedroom, and stopped in the doorway. Harm was standing in front of the dresser, buttoning his shirt while looking in the mirror. Judging by his damp hair, he was fresh from a shower. "Hey."

He turned to her and smiled. The blue button-down shirt he wore made his eyes more vibrant, and his smile still made her weak in the knees. "Hey." She walked over to him and smiled. She could smell his aftershave and she put her hand on his cheek. For some reason, she absolutely loved how his face felt immediately after he shaved. He placed his hand over hers and leaned in for a kiss. "Did you and Frank have a good run?"

She moved her fingers over his jaw and smiled. "We did. The property is absolutely gorgeous."

"It really is. After dinner we should take a walk. I'd love to show you some of my favorite places out here."

She nodded. "I'd like that." She reluctantly pulled her hand back and looked him over. "I guess I should go take a shower. You're making me feel a little underdressed."

He leaned in for another kiss. "Take your time. I'm going to go see if my grandmother needs any help. We'll be in the kitchen when you're finished."

He left her to shower and change, and headed back to the kitchen. Sarah was hoisting the turkey out of the brining solution and he grinned as she unceremoniously dropped it on to a cutting board. "What can I help with?"

She looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. "Put on an apron first. You look very handsome. I'd hate for you to get turkey parts all over your nice shirt." She waited as he grabbed an extra apron from the adjacent laundry room. "I haven't done much yet, so take your pick. The cornbread is made, if you'd like to make the dressing. Or you could start on the sweet potatoes."

He grimaced. His grandmother's sweet potatoes were cooked with an unhealthy amount of butter and brown sugar, and then topped with mini marshmallows. It wasn't a dish he cared for. "I'll start on the dressing. At least that has vegetables in it."

She rolled her eyes and went back to patting the turkey dry. "I don't think celery and onions count as vegetables when they're sautéed in multiple sticks of butter."

He set up his own work area with another large cutting board, knife, and mixing bowl. They worked in companionable silence – the only sound was the knife slicing through vegetables.

"Did her father ever hit her?"

The sound of his grandmother's voice caused him to jerk his head up, and the knife slipped. "Shit," he muttered. He grabbed a paper towel and wrapped it around his bleeding finger. He looked at her. She was watching him, a concerned look on her pretty face. "No. He was verbally abusive towards her, but as far as I know he never hit her."

Sarah nodded. "I know you said she's worth the wait. I just want to make sure you mean it. She loves you. I could see it within thirty seconds of meeting her. You can't be cavalier with her, Harm."

He frowned. "I'm not. I would never-"

She raised a hand and cut him off. "I know that. But you may need to be more patient than you think. Those scars don't heal easily." She saw him start to open her mouth and continued. "The people who should have shown her the most love instead mistreated her and abandoned her. I'm just saying it may take more time than you think for her to be truly ready."

"I know." He glanced at the stairs and then turned his attention back to her. "I will never, ever do anything to hurt her." A thought popped into his head, and he wiped the hand that wasn't bleeding on the apron, before tugging it over his head. "I'll be right back."

He ran up the stairs, and barged into his boyhood room. The bathroom door was open, and she popped her head out. She wore a bathrobe, and her hair was tucked under a towel.

"Is everything okay?"

He nodded and smiled. "I need to show you something." He went to his suitcase and pulled the ring box out of a zippered pocket. Her eyes widened and her face paled.

"Harm, we've talked about this."

"I know." He opened the box and handed it to her, but didn't take the ring out. "My mother gave this to me this morning. The stone was originally my grandmothers. My dad had it reset when he proposed to mom. And when we get home, I'm going to take it to a jeweler and have it reset for you." He sat down on the bad and smiled when she joined him. "I've already thought about what your ring would look like, but I really like the idea of using this stone, so I may have to change my original plan a bit."

"Harm-"

He leaned towards her and kissed her hairline, breathing in the coconut shampoo she used. "I'm not asking now. I know you're not ready. Hell, you weren't ready before I resigned my commission, so I know you're probably less ready now. But when we get home, I'm going to have your ring made. And then it's going in this box, and this box will go in my nightstand. And when you're ready, just let me know. You can take the box out and put it on my pillow, or hand it to me, or leave me a note, whatever. I don't care. You tell me when you're ready, and then I'll ask."

"Harm-"

"My first proposal didn't count. And all of the joking about that lead to our six-month agreement. But with everything that's happened since I've been home, I just realized you might not be ready in April. And if I did propose in April and you said no, or not yet, I know it would hurt my feelings and I probably wouldn't handle it well."

"Harm-"

"I love you, Mac. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'll take what you can give me for now, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Nothing is going to change that."

"Harm-" She saw him open his mouth again, and she quickly placed her fingers over his lips. "I love you. And I want to marry you. And I will let you know the very moment I'm ready." She looked down at the ring. The stone sparkled against its green velvet nest and she smiled. "It beautiful." She closed the box and handed it back to him. "The next time I see it, you're going to put it on my finger, and I'll proudly wear it for the rest of my life." He leaned in to kiss her. Her hand went to his neck pulled him closer. His tongue parted her lips and she let out a low moan. She indulged for another minute and then pushed him away. "I need to finish getting dressed. Go away."

He trailed his hand down her chest and stopped at the opening of the robe. "I could help…"

She raised an eyebrow and swatted at his hand. "You would be a really terrible helper. Go away. I'll be downstairs in a minute." He kissed her one more time, and flashed his most beautiful smile before hopping off the bed and returning the ring to his suitcase.

Mac entered the kitchen a little while later. Her hair was dry and lightly curled and she wore a green sweater dress with black tights and the short gray boots she had decided on during her panicked repacking. Harm lit up at the sight of her. "You look beautiful."

She beamed at him. "Thank you." She turned to Sarah. "How can I help?"

Sarah looked her over. "Apron first. That dress is lovely. Oh, to be young again and have a figure like that." She smiled as Mac blushed, and Harm handed her an apron. "Harm refuses to help with the sweet potatoes, because they're not exactly healthy. So that needs to be done."

Mac nodded. "Is there a recipe?"

"There is." Sarah wiped her hands on her apron and went to a binder and removed a recipe. "Everything you need should be in the pantry. I have more measuring cups and spoons in there as well." She gestured to the walk-in pantry. "Anything else, just ask."

Trish walked in the kitchen and smiled at the three of them. All were wearing blue and white striped aprons over their nice clothes, and were spread out over the massive island. "I want a picture of the three of you."

Harm glanced up and saw the expensive camera hanging from his mother's neck and groaned. "Another hobby, mom?"

"Hush. I took lessons with a photographer who had an exhibit at my gallery. I've gotten pretty good. Now. The three of you get together." She waited while her son positioned himself between the two women and wrapped an arm around each waist. She took a few photos and smiled. "Thank you." She put the cap back on her lens and went to a cabinet. "I'll go set the table."

"There's going to be six of us this evening." Trish and Harm both glanced at Sarah. Trish smiled at Sarah's blush, while Harm frowned. "Andrew, the man I've been seeing, is joining us." Trish beamed and reached for another place setting.

Mac noticed Harm's scowl and lightly pinched him. He winced and rubbed his arm. "What was that for?"

"Stop scowling."

Sarah laughed and squeezed Mac's arm. "Good luck with that request, sweetheart." She put one finger on the prominent wrinkle in between his eyes. "I think the frowning he's done over the men his mother and I have dated is the sole cause for this particular wrinkle."

He thawed as Mac laughed and Sarah smiled at her. He couldn't remember the last time his heart had felt this light, or he had been this happy. He just knew he wanted to feel this way forever.

End Part 3