The phone rang far too early for a Sunday morning. Harm rolled over, reaching for the cordless on his bedside table, "hello?"
"I got it!" came an excited voice on the other end. "Halloween!"
"Keeter?" He pinched his eyes, glancing at the clock, "it's 0537, and it's Sunday."
"Sorry, man, I couldn't sleep. It was Kelly."
"Who?" Harm's mind was cloudy.
"The girl from the bar! I figured out how to find her." Harm could sense the smile on his friend's face. "They're coming to McMurphy's on Halloween! First thing she said was that she and her friend stopped by the bar to scope it out, see if it was worth coming back for the party."
"Great, can I go back to sleep now?"
"Yeah, just make sure your whites are ready for Saturday, Goose."
"Okay, Keeter," He mumbled onto the receiver before hanging up and turning back to the very sexy, very naked Sarah Mackenzie in his bed.
She hummed, nuzzling into his solid warmth without opening her eyes. "What was that about?"
"Keeter," he replied, shifting to his side, and wrapping his arms around her. "He wants me to be his RIO on Firday." His voice was a tired whisper but as he began to drift off to sleep, Mac sat up.
"Friday? But that's Halloween." She looked down at him crossly.
"Mmhhmm," he responded, eyes still closed, arms trying to pull her back to him.
She refused to budge, "We're supposed to go together? Surprise everyone?" her eyes were big, "Bonnie and Clyde? Does any of this ring a bell?!"
"Yeah, Mac," he finally propped on his elbow to meet her gaze, "I can go with you and still be his RIO, it will be fine."
"Why does he need a RIO if he's meeting a girl?" She was still annoyed.
"I don't know, would you like me to call him back and ask?" Her expression told him she did not appreciate the sarcasm.
He sighed, "You want me to call him back and ask." It was a statement, not a question, and Harm rolled over to reach for the phone. He skipped over any greeting and got straight to the point, "Why do you need a RIO if you're meeting Kelly?"
"I'm not meeting her. I don't know when she's going to show up – I need your height and eyes to be-"
"I promised my girl I would go with her, I can't do it," he cut Keeter off, shooting a grin Mac's way as he balanced on his elbow.
"C'mon, man. You're the only one who knows what Kelly looks like, and she'll be wearing a costume," he paused. "Tell you what, you find her and you're off the hook for the rest of the night."
Harm sighed, "Fine."
"Thanks, man. I told her we were Navy pilots, so when she sees the whites, she'll know it's us."
"Whites? What are you talking about?" He sat up.
"Goose and Maverick wear whites at the bar, Hammer."
"No," Harm shook his head, "That was not part of the deal."
Keeter stated clearly, "You agreed to a Goose and Maverick on the night of my choice. That night just so happens to be Halloween."
Harm's eyebrows raised, "I agreed to be your RIO for a night, not to dress up as characters from Top Gun for Halloween." He could feel Mac's gaze turn angry.
"Since when have we not worn our whites when we're Goose and Mavericking?!"
Harm would have laughed at the situation, but judging from the look coming from across the bed, this was not funny. "Since I'm in a relationship, and we're adults who don't need uniforms to get women."
"Look, I have to go, I've got a thing. But this is happening, man." Keeter hung up without giving Harm a chance to reply.
He held the receiver in his hand, trying to formulate an explanation. Harm breathed out as he placed it on the nightstand, deciding to start with the answer to her original question. "So, Keeter thinks he needs a RIO to spot this Kelly girl since she'll be wearing a costume."
"And?" She waited expectantly for the bomb to drop.
"…and he thinks we need to wear our whites so she can spot us."
Mac shook her head, "So the costumes I spent all night shopping for on Friday?" Her eyebrows raised.
"Maybe we can save them for next year?" he tried to sound cheerful, "Make it a tradition for us, dressing up together." Mac brushed his hand away when he reached for her.
"And this year? What am I supposed to do? Should I even come to the bar? Or are you going to be too busy scoping out women with your buddy?" Mac's eyes had narrowed.
"Maaaac," he whined, "Of course I want you to come. I told him I was going to be with you, and he said as soon as we spotted this Kelly girl I would be off the hook. All yours for the rest of the night." His voice turned softer, almost seductive, but she wasn't in the mood.
"So I'm supposed to just go out, buy a new costume, and sit around the bar waiting for this chick to show up?" Her sharp tone turned disappointed, "I thought we were going to surprise everyone. To finally go out together, no more hiding."
"Hey," he reached for her, happy when she let him rest his hand on her sheet covered hip. "We can still surprise everyone. Dance," he snuggled into her, "…touch," he ran his hand to the edge of the sheet, "…kiss." His lips found the skin at the top of her breast, just above the crisp white cotton.
She pushed him back, "I wanted to dress up together, Harm, for the night to be about us. It's not going to be this whole thing if you're dressed as some guy from Top Gun and I'm, what?"
"You could be Goose's wife – Meg Ryan's character. You know, 'take me to bed or lose me forever.'" He smiled at her, feeling clever and confident until she glared back at him.
"You know what, Harm?" she replied, climbing out of bed, "You go and have fun with your friend. Call me when you're done playing RIO." Mac grabbed her clothes and left.