Disclaimer: JAG and its characters are the property of Belisarius Productions, CBS and Paramount. No copyright infringement intended. Original characters, story ideas and story are the property of this author.
Author’s Note: The fifth story in the series.
Story Summary: Harm and Mac's wedding and honeymoon are among the things you'll read about.
THANK YOU to my beta reader for her contiued support. I appreciate it more than she knows. She is preparing to take a vacation so I hope she has a great time and a safe trip.

CHAPTER ONE – Countdown, Two Days to Go

Thursday, September 15, 2005
JAG Office
Falls Church, Virginia
Mac’s office
Early morning

Mac’s life had been in complete chaos from the moment a date had been set for the wedding.

Mac had met Julia, Mattie’s aide, the morning after Harm had left. Even though, for the most part, Mattie had been able to care for herself, Mac had found herself worrying about Mattie and had called during every recess from court for the first few days, but after that, she'd started started to relax, knowing that Julia was there with her.

No wedding goes off without a hitch, and theirs was no exception. An error in booking had caused a need to change the venue for the wedding. One of the other places on their list had been booked by the time they were scrambling to find a new place, and the third place had had no space available for a reception. However, a reception room had been booked, and divine intervention, of sorts, had provided the chapel. Chaplain Turner had come to JAG HQ to see his son, and he'd made a call when he'd heard about the problem. Within a few minutes, they'd been set to be married in the chapel at Annapolis, and they had a volunteer to officiate who knew both of them when Chaplain Turner had offered his services.

Mac had decided to go with the dress that she’d seen months ago, making that one of the easiest steps in the process. Mattie had accompanied her two days ago to her final fitting so that she could see the dress. The dress had been moved to Jennifer’s apartment last night to keep it away from Harm’s prying eyes when he arrived later today.

With Harriet’s experience in putting together shows and fundraisers, she was more than just a Matron of Honor. She'd taken charge of anything that Mac didn’t have time to do or had simply turned over to her. Jennifer and Mattie had worked as Harriet’s staff. An example of how the operation had worked can be explained by what had happened with the florist. During a pizza dinner at Harm and Mac’s apartment, the ladies had brought out Mattie’s planner and begun to make definite decisions, and Harriet had begun to assign tasks. When it came to flowers, Mac had said that she didn’t have a clue as to what she wanted except in the area of her bouquet and arrangements at the altar. They needed to contain mostly roses because roses were meaningful to her and Harm. Armed with that information, Harriet and Mattie had taken on the task of finding a florist.

A week later, Mac, Harriet and Mattie had met with the chosen florist for Mac to view the suggested arrangements and give her final approval. Three weeks ago, during a lunch break from court, Mac had received a call from the florist saying that roses would be out of the question at the price quoted, and he'd suggested that they meet to view possibilities for new flower arrangements. Mac had called Harriet to arrange for them to go meet with the florist, but Harriet had said that she’d call and get more information and make an appointment if it was still necessary. By the time Mac had gotten out of court for the day, Harriet had left a message that the florist had been taken care of and that the original flowers would be delivered as promised for the quoted price. Mac had wondered what Harriet had done to change his mind, but, at the same time, she hadn’t wanted to know.

The caterer and food for the reception had been another area where Harriet had taken charge. Harriet had arranged for a tasting session, and all the decisions had been made in the course of an hour and a half while nibbling on sample menus.

Cake tasting and selection was the one thing that Mattie had seemed to be the most excited about. However, she certainly hadn’t been happy about picking out a dress to wear to the wedding. Mattie's excuse for not wanting a new dress was that she really didn't like to get dressed up. Jennifer supplied Mac with the real reason the next day at the office. Even though Mattie was walking well, her confidence level and her self esteem still hadn't risen to a pre-accident level. To put it in the simpliest terms, Mattie felt awkward and unattractive. Mac had two ideas to correct that problem. One, Mattie now had to have a great dress, not just a pretty one. Two, she asked Jennifer if she knew any more about the boy, Kevin, who Mattie was crazy about in Blacksburg.

A wedding, a honeymoon, and a hearing on Mattie's permanent custody were all happening in the next couple of weeks and, if that wasn't enough, there was the transfer and move across the country. Why had she agreed to a wedding between assignments? She must be losing her mind!

The hectic atmosphere of wedding planning had been interrupted in the past three months for a few minutes for prayers of thanks. Mattie had indeed gone back to crutches at her next doctor's appointment, and she'd been doing so well that, thirty days later, she'd been allowed to upgrade to a cane. Mattie had some short term memory lapses, but, overall, she'd been doing very well. When the doctors had heard about all the changes in Mattie’s life, they'd wondered if her memory lapses had more to do with the stress in her life than with any injuries. Harm was proud of her progress, but Mattie had a surprise for him when he came home.

Another opportunity for thanks also came in July. The news that bombs had exploded in the London TUBE system had caused hours of worry for Harm's family and friends. The worry was quickly forgotten and focus was back on the wedding after Mac had finally been able to get in touch with Harm. He hadn’t been near the TUBE system at the time and was fine. Perhaps Mac was the only one who had said a word of thanks in mid August when Harm had called to say that he was back in London after his flight quals and would see her in a few weeks.

Mac had stacks of files on her desk. Most of them were finished cases needing to be sent to central filing. A couple of them were ones that she'd presided over at the end of last week, and she needed to finish reports so that they could go to General Cresswell for his final review. The stacks had purpose, but it made her feel like she wasn’t going to get done today.

Mac had ridden in with Jennifer this morning because Harm was renting a car at the airport. Mac would be starting her leave time once she got through these files, and her leave would last until October 5th when she’d be reporting to her new command. She expected Harm to arrive at JAG HQ near lunchtime, if his plane arrived on time and traffic wasn’t too bad. He was coming here because, once she was on leave, they were going to get their marriage license.

JAG Office
Falls Church, Virginia
Mid day

As he approached the building that housed JAG Headquarters, Harm stopped for a moment, taking in the familiar sights, sounds and smells of the place. As he stood there, he let his mind reflect for a moment. If someone were to write a book about the life of Harmon Rabb, Jr., it should be written in two volumes. Volume one would be about the boy who'd become a man too soon by searching for his father in a place where most men were afraid to go. The first volume would end with the 'death' of his career as a naval aviator on the deck of a carrier many years later. The second volume would begin here, where his next career was born and through which he'd meet the woman who'd capture his heart.

A nervousness had filled him yesterday, making it hard for him to sleep last night or on the plane this morning. He was sure that grooms who'd gone before him would understand - he was getting married in two days! He was marrying a woman whom, at one time, he'd come to believe would never be his. He loved her so much that it scared him at times and invigorated him at others. His thoughts of Mac and their future caused a surge of energy to course through him and he pulled the door open to enter the building with renewed excitement.

As he came out of the elevator and entered the bullpen area, he scanned the space for familiar faces while his eyes made a path to see if Mac was in her office. The door was shut and the office was dark. Mac wasn't in. She was expecting him so he knew that she'd be back. His eyes moved away from her office and towards his old one. The nameplate above the door read: Lt. Commander Bud Roberts. His eyes then darted to Bud’s old office. The nameplate over Bud’s old office read: Lt. Gregory Vukovic. Reading the guy's name made him queasy. He’d only worked with him once, but he really didn’t like the guy. Of course, if he were questioned about his opinion of the guy, it would center on scuttlebutt, the rumors after the JAG conference in San Diego, to be more precise. The rumor that Vukovic had made a play for Mac there fueled most of his dislike.

Out of the corner of his eye, movement caught his attention. It was Bud asking Lt. Douglas, whom he’d met at the Roberts' cookout, to do a records search and several other pre-trial tasks. Listening to Bud's requests reminded Harm of the times when he'd asked Bud for the same type of help…it seemed so long ago. The activity in the bullpen reminded Harm of his days of investigations and courtroom battles. The memory of the excitement of investigations and the drama of courtroom battles saddened Harm a little. He liked the feeling of accomplishment that achieving the rank of captain and getting his own command had provided, but he missed the 'rush' that he got in the courtroom. The staffing decisions that he’d made and his command style seem to be a perfect fit to that office and climate, and it was running smoother than anyone had expected, including himself.

Harm was still reconciling his achievements with his losses when a familiar voice pulled him out of his thoughts. It was Bud. Mac was upstairs and should be back in a few minutes. Bud invited Harm into his office to wait for Mac. They talked about Mattie, Harriet, his kids, and the upcoming wedding. Harm made sure to thank Bud for his assistance in getting Mac’s uncle permission to travel to her wedding from the probation department. Bud was trying not to burst with pride that Harm had chosen him as his Best Man. Bud and Harm visited for about twenty minutes before duty called Bud away.

Mac had passed Bud’s office on her way back to hers, but since his door had been closed, she'd had no idea that the person with whom Bud was speaking wasn’t a client, but rather her sailor, so she'd proceeded to her office. Harm would be here soon, and she had a few things to finish up.

Twenty Minutes Later…

Mac had her head down, concentrating on proofreading the report that she was adding to the last file folder. Harm rapped lightly on the doorframe. She didn’t look up.

“Enter.”

He decided to see how engrossed she was in her reading. “Ma’am, do you have the wedding file?”

She was in lawyer mode and didn’t look up, but grabbed at a stack of file folders. “I don’t remember being assigned the wed…” Her voice trailed off as the recognition of his voice caught in her head. She lifted her eyes to see Harm standing in front of her desk.

He smiled down at her. “You don’t remember being assigned the wedding case? I must be in the wrong place then."

Mac smiled. He looked good in uniform, but he was looking mighty fine in his jeans and shirt at the moment. His voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“It doesn’t look like you’re ready yet. I was hoping to grab some lunch. My stomach is on London time and it’s almost dinnertime there, and I haven’t had lunch yet.”

“I got a snack earlier. Why don't you get something from the cafeteria? I’m almost done here. I shouldn't be too much longer."

They smiled at each other, and Harm nodded in agreement at her suggestion. The desire to be close enough to embrace or kiss was evident to both of them as they looked into each other's eyes.

Downstairs in the cafeteria, Sturgis approached Harm as he sat eating his lunch. Harm asked Sturgis why he hadn’t taken his old office. Sturgis first joked that it was because the office had ‘bad vibes’ before explaining that he’d be moving into the colonel’s office when it became vacant. Harm appreciated Sturgis' father's help in securing the new location for the wedding and agreeing to officiate, and he communicated that to Sturgis. Harm knew from the email discussions with Mac about her old apartment what some of the answers might be, but, as a means to reconnect with his old friend, he asked about Varese. Sturgis made a few wise cracks about Harm’s end of bachelor status, and Harm returned fire with a jab or two that, from what he’d heard, Sturgis would be the next bachelor to fall. The two men who’d been friends and had become rivals were now having a friendly chat and a laugh or two. Harm wondered which one of them had changed. Maybe it was a combination of both. It was soon time for Sturgis to return to work, and Harm said that he’d go up with him to see what was taking Mac so long.

When he reached the bullpen, he saw a petty officer in Mac's doorway, removing a couple of boxes from her office, and heard her voice from inside. “Those boxes go to central filing.”

The petty officer acknowledged her instructions and left. Harm moved into the doorway to see that Mac’s desk was clear except for a box of personal items with her uniform laying crumpled across the top. She’d changed into civilian clothes and was now wearing gray slacks and a light blue blouse. He moved closer to her, and they greeted each other with a short, sweet kiss.

“Is this everything?” he asked, looking at the box on her desk.

“Yes,” she said as she took one last look around the room.

He reached for the box. “Then let’s go.”

They crossed the bullpen with her hand grasping his elbow. Leaving today was easier for her than the last time that she'd had orders to report to San Diego. The last time, she’d felt as if she were leaving her life behind. This time, she felt as if she were heading towards the life that she’d always dreamed about.

North of Union Station
Early Evening

Mac had begun packing, and boxes were stacked around the apartment. Mac and Harm entered the apartment one after the other. Harm was carrying the box from her office, and Mac was carrying their marriage license and a bag of Chinese food for dinner. Once they’d cleared the threshold, they moved to put down their loads.

They’d held hands on and off since he’d picked her up at JAG and they'd shared a couple of brief kisses in the car, suitable for a public place, but they were alone at the moment behind closed doors, so he moved quickly to a place behind her.

Mac was at the counter, putting down the bag of Chinese food. She was going to turn to ask him to go get Mattie while she got out some plates, but before she could, she felt Harm’s breath on the back of her neck. She turned slowly as she felt his arms wrap around her. Once in his embrace, their lips found their way to each other in a kiss that was both loving and passionate. When their lips parted, she leaned against his firm body, relishing in the moment of togetherness. It was a short lived moment because a tap on the door a second later warned that they'd no longer be alone. The door swung open. “I told Julia that I'd heard you come home.”

Harm released Mac to both of their dismay, though he was glad to see Mattie. Mattie had taken several steps into the apartment before Harm realized that she was walking without using anything for support. When she reached him, unlike the awkwardness of their first hug, his arms went around her immediately. Harm was so overcome with emotion that he closed his eyes and, for a moment, he was speechless.

Mac knew that Harm was holding back tears of joy at seeing his daughter walking again and felt as if she were invading on a very private moment, so she moved to close the door that the excited teenager had left open. After she'd closed the door, Mac turned around, and his eyes met hers.

“You knew about this, MacKenzie?”

“She wanted to surprise you, so I didn’t tell."

He gave Mattie another brief squeeze before pulling back and looking down at her. “I’m so proud of you.”

With the hug broken, Mattie was standing at Harm's side and added more information. "I've been using the cane less and less. The doctor says that he wants me to take it with me to school, the mall, you know, places where I might be walking a lot, but I haven't been using the cane here at the two apartments in weeks."

He and Mac both got choked up when Mattie thanked them for being there for her when she needed someone the most. Mattie was choked up too as she hugged Mac first and then Harm.

Mac watched Harm and Mattie hug. Seeing the paternal side of him was a double-edged sword. Her heart felt joy that he was the right man to father her child, but her heart was also weighted by the sadness that the odds were slim that that would ever happen for them. She'd told him about the chances, and he'd said that it was okay. She needed to quit thinking about it, enjoy the fact that he was home, and be happy that they were going to be married in two days. “We should eat our dinner before it gets cold,” she announced.

Mac went next door to let Julia know that she was home and that she could go for the day, then she returned to the apartment to eat dinner with Harm and Mattie. As they ate, the topics ranged from how Mattie liked Julia to questions about Harm's parents, who were arriving tomorrow, and Mac's uncle, who was also flying in tomorrow. Mattie couldn't resist the topic of the wedding either, but not just reviewing the order of events. She started relating a list of things that she'd seen on a television show about wedding diasters. Harm looked to Mac to see if Mattie's ramblings about what could go wrong was bothering her. Mac commented that she wasn't worried about the wedding plans going off smoothly because, if they could get away from poachers in the middle of nowhere, she was sure that they'd get through the wedding no matter what happened. Mac's comment led to the telling of the story about being chased by poaches after having to put down Harm's plane because of a fuel line problem.

Once the dishes were cleared, there was a discussion about tomorrow's schedule. A movie was the night's planned entertainment, but about halfway through the movie, Mattie noticed that Harm was yawning and excused herself by saying, "I've watched this movie before with Jen, and if I'm going to meet my new relatives tomorrow, I'd better get some sleep." After a round of hugs and goodnights, Harm walked to the door with Mattie and watched from the doorway until she was safely inside the apartment that she shared with Jennifer.

Mac made her way up to the bedroom while Harm was watching over Mattie. Harm's dress whites were hanging up and his bags were next to the bed. He'd apparently come by the apartment before he'd come to pick her up at the office. Not thinking about Harm being in the apartment, she began to undress for bed. When Harm came up the steps, his eyes were delighted by the sight of Mac standing next to the bed in just her bra and panties. Sensing his eyes on her, she turned to face him. "I was getting ready for bed. I should have changed in the bathroom."

"You could sleep in what you have on...or in nothing at all."

His gaze was making her weak in the knees. He was moving towards her.

"Thought you were tired, sailor," she said breathlessly.

He embraced her as his lips claimed hers. She responded to the intense kiss and, when his tongue slid across her lower lip, her lips parted involuntarily, and soon their tongues were dancing inside her mouth. The kiss decreased in intensity and the pressure of his lips on hers began to ease. "Unless you have some kind of pre-nuptial rule..." His eyebrow rose. "...I'm not too tired."

Her lips missed the warmth of his, and his hand on her back felt as if it were burning its imprint on her. They hadn't seen each other in three months, and she wanted him. Her arms went up around his neck. "I believe that superstition or tradition applies only to the night before the wedding." She managed to utter the entire sentence before hers lips met his in steamy kiss.

At the end of the steamy kiss, she took off his shirt, and, during the next kiss, a flick of his wrist released the clasp of her bra. It wouldn't take long for their love and the time apart to have them out of their clothing and making love before settling into each other's arms and allowing themselves to succumb to the sleep that they both needed.

CHAPTER TWO – Countdown, One Day to Go

Friday, September 16, 2005
North of Union Station

Mac started to stir. She was still in a sleepy haze when she opened her eyes. She had a clear view of the steps and, just as her eyes were able to focus, she saw Harm, fully dressed, approaching the bed and carrying a tray. She sat up, trying to see if she could eye what was on the tray.

“Good morning. I was beginning to think that you were going to sleep all day. I brought you breakfast. If memory serves, you expect a guy to make you breakfast after you spend the night.” He smiled. Telling the story last night had brought the event to the forefront of his mind.

After she was sitting up comfortably, Harm lowered the tray across her lap and bent down to kiss the top of her head.

“I believe your memory is still sound. As for sleeping all day, I think the time change between London and Washington has your clock a bit off. We’ll see if you’re the first one up when we’ve been in the same time zone for awhile.” She was smiling and teasing him, and he liked it. She looked down at the breakfast that he’d brought her: juice, coffee, some sliced fruit, half a bagel, and some cream cheese.

“It may not have anything to do with time zones. I’m feeling very good today. You see, I’m getting married tomorrow.”

Mac put an indigent tone in her voice. “Well, I think you should’ve mentioned that fact last night. I’m not sure that I appreciate being your last fling, and I don’t think your bride would like finding out that you spent last night here with me either.”

She could see that he was going to tease back by the look in his eyes. “You may be right. This might upset her, but I saw that ring on your finger. I don’t suppose that he’d be happy that you spent the night with me either.” He paused and watched her take a slip of juice. “I’ll tell you what, since they’re probably both going to be upset, why don’t you and I just marry instead?”

She moved the tray off the bed and sat it on the floor. She snaked her arms up around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. His arms went around her and he pulled her close to him. Then she abruptly ended the kiss and pulled away with a look of panic on her face.

“Mac what is it?”

“I didn’t sleep the day away, but I slept through getting Mattie's breakfast and her off to school.”

“Relax and eat your breakfast.” He reached for the tray to put it back over her lap. “Jennifer said that she’d take Mattie to school today in case there were any last minute things that we needed to do before our out of town guests arrived. I fixed the three of us breakfast, and got Mattie off to school before I made you breakfast." He paused and then continued, "Over breakfast, Mattie told me the story about you registering her for school and that she wasn't too happy about it."

“No, she wasn’t. I’m surprised that she didn’t tell you before this morning.” Mac began eating her breakfast.

“I don't think she mentioned it before because she knew that you were right. She was just trying to see what you’d let her get away with. From the story this morning, I understand that her argument was that, if we get permanent custody, then she’ll be in school for less than a month before she moves. She said that you countered with the fact that, if she wasn’t in school, the court might not give us custody because we weren’t seeing to her education. Nice job.”

“Thanks,” Mac replied with a smile as she took a sip of her hot coffee. The smile that Mac had displayed was gone when she lowered her coffee cup and shifted her gaze to the tray on her lap. “You think we’ll ever have a baby?” she questioned in a soft voice.

He needed to be sensative to her feelings about this and he was trying to form an answer that would do that and echo what he'd said before. While he was forming his answer in his head, another thought struck him. He'd always been so careful in the past, providing his own protection if he couldn't be sure that the woman in question was using something. With Mac, he'd never asked. If she'd have become pregnant the last time they were together, she should know by now because it had been three months. Asking Mac now if she were trying to prevent pregnancy wouldn’t really be about prevention, but rather about wanting to know if last night held any possibility of pregnancy. Unsure of how she’d view the question, he asked in a tentative voice, “Are you doing anything to prevent…”

Mac eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t surprised by the question, but by what her answer was. Even when she'd been married before and engaged to Mic, she'd always taken precautions. She'd been so careful in the past. If there'd been any doubt that she'd forgotten to take her pill, she'd made certain that a condom was used as a backup. "No, I'm not. I never even thought about it because I was with you. You're the only man that I've ever wanted to have a baby with."

“That’s why I didn’t ask sooner...I was with you. I want a child with you...even if it can't be the old fashioned way. When you’re ready, we’ll find out our options. I think, when the time is right, it'll happen.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

She moved her breakfast tray to the floor again. In her mind, his words were so close to the ones in her dream that she knew that she could really put her concerns about not being able to give him a child to rest once and for all. After placing the tray on the floor, she sat up, slid her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her. “Maybe we can practice. You know what they say...practice makes perfect, and having a baby with you would make my life...perfect.”

He managed to get out “mine too” before her lips covered his.

The clothes that he had on soon ended up in a pile on the floor. After lovemaking, they cuddled together and enjoyed a few minutes of quiet time until Mac's internal clock alerted her that she had an errand to run. As Mac dressed, she explained to Harm about the deal that she'd made with Mattie. Mattie hadn't wanted to go to school today, and Mac could understand. Between Harm being here and out of town guests, the pre-wedding excitment would be building all day to the rehearsal and dinner afterward, and Mattie hadn't wanted to miss any part of it. However, Mattie had a quiz to take in first hour and an oral presentation to make in her speech class for second hour, so Mac had made a deal with Mattie that, if she went for those two hours, she'd spring her early so that she could spend some time with Harm and get some rest before the rest of the day's events began. Matttie agreed and said that she could get the rest of her assignments and class notes from a friend, so Mac had called the school to have her excused for the rest of the day.

Once showered and dressed, Mac headed for the door. She looked back at Harm who'd slipped on only his pants when he'd gotten up. "You'd better shower and get dressed, or your mother might figure out what you've been up to this morning." Mac giggled, but it turned into a laugh when she caught the blush on Harm's cheeks.

Harm moved towards her at the door. "Hey, you forgot something. You try to embass a guy, and then you don't give him a goodbye kiss?"

After a quick smooch, Mac left to pick up Mattie.

About 45 minutes later...

Mac and Mattie entered the apartment. Mattie called out, "Harm," but there was no answer.

A moment later, Harm came down from the bedroom, waving a piece of paper in the air. "You left your list. Did you get anything done on your list while you were out?"

Mac looked towards Mattie. "My list is almost entirely a checklist of things that I need to do tomorrow before the wedding, so this is Harm's way of getting us to ask what he's done on his list while I was gone."

Mattie obliged, "Harm, you asked Mac what she'd gotten done on her list, but did you do anything on your list?"

"I did two things on my list and two that weren't. From the list, I double checked my dress whites to make sure that they were wedding day perfect and I made sure that I knew where Mac's ring was."

"You may have checked off the uniform item today, but it shouldn't really count for something you did today. You had your uniform hung up and inspected before we got home yesterday. So let's hear what else you did, flyboy."

"I also went off the list and cleaned up the breakfast mess and talked to my mom. She called to say that their plane was in and they were waiting for their luggage. Once they got the rental car, they'd be on their way." Harm checked his watch. "Based on the time I talked to them and the time now, I'd say that they'll be here soon."

The exchange between them was fun for Mattie to watch. As words were exchanged between them, the looks that they gave each other and the tone they used made Mattie feel like they were having a completely different conversation on some other plane of the universe where only the two of them existed.

After the brief banter with Harm, Mac found that it was time for her to leave again. However, she didn't try to leave the apartment this time until after she'd given Harm a little 'goodbye' kiss on the cheek.

After Mac left, Harm and Mattie had about ten minutes to talk before there was a knock on the door. Harm answered the door to find that it was his mom and Frank. Trish was so happy that her son was getting married tomorrow that she hugged him before even attempting to enter the apartment. After both Trish and Frank had made it into the apartment, Harm began the introductions.

“Mattie, these are my parents, Trish and Frank Burnett. Mom and Frank, this is Mattie."

"It's good to finally meet you, Mattie," Frank said before giving Mattie a brief hug.

Trish echoed her husband’s sentiment and hugged Mattie as well.

"Darling, where's Mac?" Trish inquired.

"She's on her way to the airport to pick up her uncle. She'll be here in time for lunch," Harm replied.

The grandparents asked Mattie about how she liked school, if she liked the beach, and other generic questions. After Mattie had called Frank Mr. Burnett several times, he asked Mattie to call him Frank, and Trish added that she should call her Trish as well. When they asked her how she was feeling and doing, Harm got to brag about how well she was doing and told them about his surprise. The use of first names seemed to ease tensions some, but there were awkward moments of silence as they tried to fill the next hour with conversation.

An hour almost to the minute after his parents had arrived, Harriet arrived. Harriet had picked up a couple of party platters from a local restaurant for lunch for the incoming guests. Harm thought that it was probably to get a little space from his parents more than to be helpful when Mattie volunteered to help Harriet set up for lunch. When Harriet mentioned the lack of a table, and Mattie suggested that they use her and Jennifer’s apartment, which had counter space and a table, Harm was sure that Mattie had had enough of her new grandparents. Harriet thought that it was a wonderful idea - guests in one apartment and food in the other. So, quickly, the food trays were moved to the other apartment, leaving Harm in the apartment with his parents.

Harm waited a polite minute or two before he excused himself to check on lunch. He returned a minute later. "They said that I could help by staying here until they announced that lunch was ready."

Frank snorted, "Sounds like something your mother would say to me."

Harm smiled as he sat down, prepared to be questioned about either Mattie or Mac now that it was just the three of them, but it didn't happen. He'd just taken a seat when the door opened. Mac was back with Uncle Matt. After introductions of the Burnetts and Uncle Matt were made, Mac asked where Mattie was. Once she'd been told that Mattie was helping Harriet set up lunch in her and Jen's apartment, Mac took her uncle over to meet Mattie. Moments later, Harriet tapped lightly on the door before opening it.

"Lunch is ready."

A leisurely lunch was enjoyed by all. After lunch was over, Mac pulled Mattie aside and reminded her of their agreement...if she picked Mattie up from school early, then Mattie had promised to rest for a little while before the afternoon kicked everyone into high gear.

Harriet and Trish were going to restore Jennifer and Mattie's apartment to its pre-lunch state of order, while Harm and Mac loaded Mac's luggage into the SUV that Frank had rented. Frank knew that there'd be goodbyes between the couple that he didn't want to witness or rush, so he tossed Harm the keys to the rental. He looked over at Mac's uncle and said that they'd stay to 'supervise' the lunch clean up. Frank and Matt sat on the couch and talked while the ladies got the apartment back in shape.

Once Harm and Mac had closed the door to his apartment behind them, Harm pulled her into his arms and administered a tender kiss. The kiss came to a natural close, and he pulled back.

"For the record, I'm not thrilled with this spending the night alone idea tonight."

"I told you the other day that the superstition is for the night before the wedding. You don't want to risk having to ask yourself someday, 'what if we hadn't spent the night together, would it have worked,' do you?"

"I can stay on my side of the bed."

Mac's eyes lit with a michieveous sparkle. "But I can't...not anymore."

Harm smiled, and she kissed him before bringing their focus back to getting her bags from the bedroom to load into the car.

After the clean-up was complete in Jennifer and Mattie's apartment and the SUV was loaded, it was time to put the afternoon plan in motion. Mac, her uncle, Trish and Frank were all going to check into the hotel where they'd be staying the night. Mattie was going to ride with them to the hotel and to the chapel, but she'd be coming back with Harm after the rehearsal and dinner this evening. Harriet was going home to get AJ, her son, and wait for Bud to get home. Bud, Sturgis, and Jennifer were all getting off work a little early to have time to change before attending the rehearsal at the chapel. Harm was to make the next run to the airport to pick up Chloe before joining the rest of the group at the chapel for the rehearsal. Chloe had started her freshman year in college a few weeks ago, so she'd had to wait until after she'd attended class today before she could fly down for the wedding. With Mac having made one trip to the airport and Mac's uncle not knowing anyone other than Mac and Harm, Harriet had assigned Harm to make the airport run to pick up Chloe.

Chapel at Annapolis
Two and a half hours later

Chloe's plane arrived fifteen minutes late, so Harm and Chloe were the last to arrive at the chapel. Harriet conducted the rehearsal with all the control of a professional wedding planner. She went through everything, step by step. Harriet even had the order of the ceremony typed out on sheets to hand to the participants to study tonight and in the morning. Harriet had never seen Mac happier than she'd been that night at McMurphy's, and she expected nothing less than military precision from the wedding party to make sure that Mac's wedding day was perfect.

Hotel Capri
Private Dining Room
One hour later

Harriet's drive to make tomorrow run without a hitch for Mac caused the group to arrive about ten minutes late for their dinner reservation at the hotel. The hotel where they were staying tonight was the location of the reception tomorrow and the dinner for the wedding participants tonight. Mac and Chloe ran Chloe's bag up to her room when they arrived at the hotel, so it was Mac and Chloe who were the last to join everyone at the dinner table. Since they were running a little behind, the first course of dinner was delivered to the table shortly after everyone arrived. The group dined on a previously arranged menu before the fun began.

After dinner, glasses were raised to the couple, who sat side by side, with Mattie sitting next to Harm and Chloe sitting next to Mac. Mac's uncle sat next to Chloe, and he was the first to call for everyone's attention.

"I met Harm not too long after my niece did. From what I saw of the man who I met that day and have heard about from my niece since, he's a man of intergerity and courage. Take care of my niece, or I'll come looking for you." Eveyone thought his comments were sweet and felt a little 'ah' feeling inside.

Harm stood. "I will sir," he uttered while moving behind Mac and Chloe to shake the older man's hand.

Mac smiled at her uncle as he shook Harm's hand.

Frank was the next to speak. "I didn't think that Harm would ever get married. I didn't know that he'd meet a Marine who wasn't only tough enough to tame him for marriage, but one who was smart and in such a pretty package. I'll bet Harm was a goner from the beginning." The guests found his comments to be complimentary to Mac, but they had to laugh at his last remark.

Some comments were more of a "roast" than a toast, but all the guests took a turn saying something about the bride, groom or both. Chloe commented, "I knew the two of you were in love a long time ago, so what took you so long? Sheesh, I thought kids weren't suppose to know stuff."

Mattie didn't know what to say, but once Chloe had spoken, she had to say something. "I just want to say that I'm happy for the two of you and I hope that you're married for a long time."

The comments from around the table had been a mix of humor and sentiment, so it was hard to know exactly what to say in response. Harm and Mac stood together. Harm had an arm around Mac at the waist. Mac stood at Harm's side and began. They spoke in short bursts, allowing the other to have the next line or two. They were in perfect sync tonight, much like they'd been when announcing their engagement.

"We want to thank all of you for your kind words," Mac started.

"And for those words that weren't so kind, be careful, we out rank most of you in the room," Harm finished. A light chuckle was heard.

"We'd like to thank Harriet, Jennifer, and Mattie for all the hard work in putting this wedding together," Mac said, acknowledging them. Each one of the ladies stood to accept their applause.

After the applause, Harm reached for Mattie's hand so that she'd remain standing with them.

"We want to thank all of you for your support," Harm added.

Mac was feeling a little teary eyed and leaned into Harm a little. "I'm giong to miss all of you more than I can say. Transfers are a part of the job, but I've never been closer to a group of people than I am to the people in this room," Mac said sincerely.

"There are people who've told me over the years that I was lucky. I personally never thought luck had much to do with it. Looking around and seeing the faces of good friends and family while standing between the two most important people in my life..." Mattie's grip on Harm's hand tightened at his remark. "...I don't know whether I should say that I'm lucky or blessed," Harm finished.

"Thank you all for coming, and we'll see you tomorrow," Mac choked out through tears that Harm's words had caused to finally flow.

Immediately after completing her sentence, she turned into Harm and put her arms around him and gave him a squeeze. She looked up at him. "I love you," she whispered.

"Good, because I hear that's an important prerequiste for a happy marriage," he whispered back, pausing before also whispering, "I love you, too."

Their guests came by to shake hands or hug one more time before the big day tomorrow. Once it was down to just the people staying at the hotel, and Harm and Mattie, it was time for Harm and Mac to say goodnight.

Everyone stepped out of the private dining room to give them a moment. Mac looked at Harm. "I guess this is good night."

"Yeah, did I mention that I'm not fond of this part?"

"Yeah, you mentioned it. I'm not fond of sleeping alone either, but this gives me time with Chloe and you time with Mattie before the wedding."

"You're right, but I don't have to like it."

"Are you sure that Mattie's not your biological daughter, because she made a similar statement a couple of weeks ago about the school situation."

"They aren't going to wait forever out there, so we need to say goodnight," Harm reminded her.

"Goodnight," she said as her lips met his in a sweet kiss.

"Goodnight," he replied and placed another kiss on her lips.

They walked out of the dining room, holding hands and, with one last peck to her cheek, Harm said, "See you tomorrow."

Mac replied, "I'm looking forward to it."

Mac, her uncle, Chloe and Mac's future in laws turned to go to the elevators to go to their rooms, while Harm placed a hand on Mattie's shoulder and turned to leave the hotel and head back to Washington.

CHAPTER THREE – Wedding Day

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Chapel at Annapolis
Bride's Room
Two hours prior to the wedding

Jennifer had arrived early at Mac's hotel to bring the wedding dress that had been purposely left behind yesterday so that Harm wouldn't see it when he and Mac had loaded the car. Jennifer hadn't left Mac's room yet when the room phone rang. The limousine had arrived, so Jennifer joined Chloe and Mac in the limo ride to the chapel. After dropping off the ladies at the academy, the driver was to turn around and pick up Harm and Mattie from the hotel. The newlyweds would arrive back at the hotel via the limousine for the reception, thus leaving Harm's rental car at the hotel as a means of escaping to start their honeymoon.

Capri Hotel - Mac's room
One and a half hours prior to wedding

With Mac at the chapel, Harm could change in Mac's hotel room. He went to get the key from his parents and to leave Mattie and her dress with them while he changed clothes. Soon after Harm had left for Mac's room, Frank excused himself to 'go check on the limousine'. Actually, Frank really went to check on Harm.

Frank knocked firmly against the door with the hand not holding a glass. Harm had worn an undershirt, so changing wouldn't take very long. He answered the door, already wearing his white pants and the uniform top, although it was still unbuttoned.

"Frank?" Harm questioned.

"Drink this."

"What is it?"

"Bourbon, straight up."

"I'm okay, Frank."

"Sure you are...right now...but in a couple of hours, when you see that beautiful woman walking towards you in her gown, you'll be glad you took the edge off."

Harm took the glass, but didn't drink from it. Instead, he set it on the table near the door. "Actually, I'm glad you stopped by. I want to ask you a question." After looking down to make sure that he'd matched up the first button to the correct button hole, Harm looked directly at Frank. "How does Mom really feel about Mattie?"

"Harm, you should ask her."

"I asked you because you've always told me the truth, even when I didn't want to hear it." Harm knew that he had Frank's attention so, as he continued to button his uniform, he began to pace. He was going to say things that were hard for him to admit and he couldn't look Frank in the eye until he'd gotten it out. "Don't get me wrong. I don't think that my mother's lied to me, but in her attempts not to hurt me, she hasn't always been as straightforward as you've been. Do you remember the conversation that you and I had the day you were marrying my mother? I'd been acting out for months, and the wedding day had finally arrived and I was full speed ahead on trying to stop it. I remember that you got down on my level and looked me in the eye. I don't remember the whole conversation, but I do recall two things you said. 'Harm, the first thing you need to know is that causing a scene today isn't going to get me to leave, but it will hurt your mother. I know that you love her and you don't want to do that.' You were right. The other thing you said that day was about my dad, and I definitely didn't want to hear it, but it was the first time that anyone had ever said it. 'I know that I'm not your dad and I know that your mother loved him very much, but he's gone. I know that you want him to be out there somewhere, but I don't think that's possible. If I thought that he were out there, I'd get him back for you and your mother, because I love you both and I want you to be happy.' So, Frank, I need to know. How does my mother feel about Mattie?"

Frank was a little shocked to hear Harm talk about that day as if he'd learned a life lesson. "It isn't Mattie. It's her age. She isn't sure what to say or do with a teenager. When a grandchild enters the picture, one usually gets to know them as they grow, whether that's by babysitting or pictures. I think she feels a little robbed of baby clothes shopping. I think she's also worried that she's never going to get to see a child that looks like you and, therefore, your father. She's moved on, Harm, but she hasn't forgotten what she had with him."

Harm had finished buttoning his whites. He reached out and patted Frank's shoulder. "You see, I knew you'd have the answer. Maybe you can explain to her how a man can love a child who isn't his. I should have said it a long time ago, but it's taken me longer than most to get to a place where I recognize what you did for me. I know that I didn't always listen, but I learned a lot of things from you, Frank. Today, I want to say thanks." Frank was filled with emotion, and embraced Harm in a father and son style hug. The brief hug broken, Harm spotted the glass of bourbon on the table. "You sure about this?" Harm asked while raising the glass.

"I haven’t lied to you yet. I wouldn't advise more than one, but when you see your bride walking down the aisle towards you, you'll get butterflies, and it'll be good if they're a little stunned."

Harm downed the shot before the two men left Mac's room. Frank had a glassy look in his eyes, and his wife wondered what had happened, but he waved off her question before she could ask in a way that only people who really know each other can communicate.

The room phone rang moments after the men entered the room. The limousine was here for him, Mattie, Mac's uncle and his parents. The party met in the lobby and was soon on their way to the chapel.

Chapel at Annapolis
Forty-five minutes before the wedding
Bride's room

Once Mac had dressed and Harriet had attached Mac's veil, Mac began to pace. She said that it was so that she wouldn't wrinkle her dress, but no one believed that story. Today, she was a bride, and nerves were permitted.

There was a knock at the door, and Mac was halfway to it before Harriet cut her off. "A bride doesn't answer her own door." Mac nodded and resumed pacing. Mac couldn't hear the person at the door, but she didn't have to play guessing games because Harriet moved to let the person into the room. It was Mattie.

Mattie's arrival signaled to all that Harm had also arrived. After Mattie had changed into her dress, the conversation in the bride's room went quickly from complimenting Mattie on how lovely she looked in her dress to talking about Harm.

Twenty-five minutes before the wedding
Bride's room

A knock on the door had everyone except Mac looking at their watch. "I still have twenty-four minutes and thirty-two seconds until my wedding starts."

Mac couldn't believe it. During the planning, she hadn't used the term 'my' wedding once, but she just had. For the first time, she believed that her wedding to Harm was going to happen.

The visitor at the door was Harm's mother. Mac swallowed hard, hoping that she wasn't here to stop the wedding. Trish asked for a moment with Mac and Mattie. The three of them went to the dressing area. "I know that you don't have much time left before you marry my son, so I'll be brief. When we left the hotel, Frank was upset. He'd been talking to Harm, and I thought the worst."

Mac was trying to pay attention, but she was getting married in a few minutes, and she really didn't care if Harm and Frank had had a fight or not.

"After we arrived here, I asked Frank what had happened. He said that he'd talked to Harm many times in the past as a father, but for the first and, perhaps only time that it would ever happen, today, they'd had a father and son talk." Trish was starting to tear up. "Frank says that Harm loves the two of you very much. He also says that you two are perfect for him because he's a better man with the two of you in his life." Trish looked directly into Mattie's eyes. "I know that yesterday was uncomfortable for you, but it's a bit hard for a mother who was expecting to someday have a grandbaby to be introduced to her beautiful, almost grown-up granddaughter. I hope that you'll forgive me."

"I don't remember my grandparents, so I probably didn't know what to do either," Mattie replied.

"Thank you," Trish said before giving Mattie a big hug. To keep the tears from putting streaks in her makeup, she took a tissue out of her purse and dabbed the corners of her eyes.

Trish turned to Mac. "Do you love my son?'

"Yes, ma'am, very much."

"Then I wish you the very best. Have you gone over your checklist yet? You know, something old, new, borrowed, blue and a lucky sixpence in your shoe?"

"No, ma'am"

"Call me Trish, dear. We're going to be family shortly. The dress serves as something new, and I hope that you can use a couple of things that I brought." Trish reached into her purse and pulled out a square box. "This should cover the old, borrowed, blue and sixpence." Mac opened the box and stared at the contents. "I'm afraid that I lost the original box years ago. Harm Sr. saved for months to buy that necklace for me. He gave it to me for our anniversary the year that he was shot down. It might sound silly, but if you wear it when you marry our son, it'll allow him to be here somehow." The tissue was back up at her eyes again, and she was dabbing at her eyes with it.

Mac took the platinum chain out of the box and let the heart shaped pendant drop while admiring the sapphires embedded in the face. Dangling from the center of the heart was a one carat diamond. In the bottom of the box was a silver dime.

Trish had regained her poise and spoke again. "I loved sapphires, and he said that he loved me so it was the perfect gift. I was crying, so I don't think it was the real reason, but my Harm said that the diamond was so that Tom wouldn't think that he was cheap. The silver dime is the one that I had in my shoe on my wedding day. Harm's grandmother, Sarah, gave it to me. She couldn't be here today. She said that the trip was too much, but I was to be sure that you got the dime that she'd used on her wedding day as well." Trish reached inside her purse to get Mac a tissue this tme.

Mac continued to dab at her tears with the tissue, hoping not to ruin her makeup as Trish put the necklace on her. Trish hugged Mac. Pulling out of the embrace, Trish said, "You're a beautiful bride, and my son is a very lucky man. Now, I'd better get to my seat so this wedding can start."

Mac said "thank you," and Trish left the room as Harriet entered. It was time to double check Mac's hair, makeup, veil, well - everything. While Harriet completed her inspection, Mattie told Mac how beautiful she looked. After Harriet completed her once over, Mac slipped off a shoe and slipped the dime inside. She slipped the shoe back on and embraced Mattie. She couldn't express it at the moment, but she hoped that, one day, Mattie would find a man like Harm and be as happy as she was at this moment. As the two generations hugged, they could hear the faint strains of the organ as the prelude music began filling the chapel. Harriet immediately went into wedding planner mode upon hearing the music, lining up the bridesmaids and giving last minute instructions as she did so.

Mac stood looking at herself in the mirror in front of her. She didn't feel or look very much like a Marine today. She brushed the front of her satin dress with her palms. Today, she looked and felt like a woman, a very lucky woman. Harriet's voice broke through her thoughts. "It's time," Harriet said from the doorway behind her.

"I'm ready," Mac said as she turned to follow Harriet out of the dressing area and the bride’s room.

Fifteen minutes before the wedding
Groom's room

Bud and the rest of his groomsmen were already in the room when Harm had arrived thirty minutes ago. Bud seemed to be as nervous as when he'd married Harriet, and his habit of announcing the time every two minutes was starting to take a toll on Harm's nerves. Harm wasn't nervous. He was just ready to get married, and he knew that he was marrying the right woman, so there was no reason to be nervous. A knock on the door caused Bud to almost jump out of his skin.

It was Chaplain Turner, wanting a few moments with the groom before performing the ceremony. After Chaplain Turner finished speaking with Harm, he asked Mac's uncle to follow him. It was time for people to start taking their places.

Five minutes before the wedding
Groom's room

Bud looked at Harm. “Are you ready, sir? It’s time.”

“Bud, today you’re my best man. Do you think you could call me Harm?”

“I’ll try…Harm.”

“Let’s go, Bud.” Harm and his groomsmen moved from the room to take their places.

Bridal party
Same time

The processional had begun. Her wedding had begun. As Harriet moved forward in front of them, Matt looked at his niece.

"Sarah, you look beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Do you love him?"

“With all my heart.”

"Then get ready. You're about to make your big entrance."

Harm stood in front of the altar with Bud at his side. Harriet was walking towards them, the last one before Mac. Harm had thought that he'd be nervous once the ceremony had actually started, but he was absolutely calm.

When the first notes of the wedding march were heard, Harm unwittingly began to hold his breath as he watched eagerly for Mac to appear. Mac and her uncle, arm in arm, came into view. They stopped momentarily under the arch that marked the entrance to the sanctuary, per instructions from Harriet at the rehearsal, for dramatic effect and to allow the photographer to get one clean shot.

Harm's eyes looked at the woman who was about to walk towards him. He let out the breath that he'd been holding. He took in another breath, letting it out slowly as he looked at his bride. She was wearing a shining gown, probably satin. It had a scoop neck with three-quarter length sleeves. It was the dress from his dream of their marriage that he'd pictured many times. He tried to breathe normally as Mac walked towards him. Her hair was down, framing her face. No veil covered her face. Instead, she had something in her hair to which the veil was attached, and the material flowed down her back from it. Mac took another step closer and, just as Frank had predicted, the butterflies began to flap wildly in his stomach. She took another step closer, and he struggled to breathe. The diamond and sapphire necklace that was hanging around Mac's neck sparkled in the candlelight as she took another step closer. The necklace looked familiar to him. It was the necklace that his mother had worn every day for many months after his father had been shot down. The momentary distraction of remembering the necklace's origin allowed him to regain his composure and, just in time, because Mac was only a step away.

Mac relinquished her uncle's arm and moved her bouquet to her left hand. Her uncle kissed her cheek and reached for her wrist. He moved her hand to Harm’s now extended hand.

Harm’s eyes hadn't left his bride's, so when Chaplain Turner’s spoke, it startled him. Harm and Mac turned towards the altar to listen.

Chaplain Turner began “We are gathered here today to witness the union of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. The state of matrimony should not be taken lightly…” He spoke about love and the institution of marriage for a few minutes before he said, “If there is anyone who knows of a reason that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Chaplain Turner continued after a brief pause that would allow someone to object if they desired. "Do you, Harmon Rabb, Junior, take Sarah MacKenzie to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Then repeat after me. I, Harmon, take you, Sarah, to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love." Harm repeated each vow with sincerity in his eyes and a smile on his lips. "I will cherish our union and I will love you more each day than I did the day before. ... I will be your partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as in sorrow. ... I promise to love you unconditionally, and to honor and respect you for as long as we both shall live."

“Do you, Sarah MacKenzie, take Harmon Rabb, Junior to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“Then repeat after me. I, Sarah, take you, Harmon, to be my husband.” Mac repeated his words until she’d completed the same vows that Harm had taken.

“These two have chosen to exchange rings as a symbol of their love and commitment to each other."

"Harmon, place the ring on her finger and say these words. I give this ring to you as a symbol of my constant faith and devotion." Harm slipped the gold band with three small diamonds onto her finger and repeated the words previously spoken.

"Sarah, place the ring on his finger and say these words. I give this ring to you as a symbol of my constant faith and devotion." Mac slipped the plain gold band onto Harm's finger, and her voice was shaky as she repeated the words that echoed in her head.

"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

“A collective sigh could be heard as the bride and groom’s lips came together in a sweet and traditional kiss.

The formal wedding turned military as the newly wedded couple exited the chapel. The command “Officers, draw, swords" was uttered by Lt. Commander Roberts. As Harm had done for him, Bud continued to issue the orders. "Arch swords. ... Blades to the wind. ... Presenting for the first time in public, Captain and Mrs. Harmon Rabb, Junior." Bud even duplicated Harm’s performance by including the “Go Navy” swat to Mac's rump. Bud had considered not doing the swat at the end because, when Harm had done it to the new Mrs. Roberts, the new Mrs. Roberts hadn’t outranked him and wasn't a Marine who could do him bodily harm. Bud, at the last minute, hoped that Colonel MacKenzie would understand the tradition and not make him pay for it later. Bud needn't have worried, because the Marine wasn’t present today, only the woman who was in love and having the most wonderful day of her life.

CHAPTER FOUR – The Reception

Limo in route to the Capri Hotel

The bride and groom had been whisked into a limousine outside the chapel for the ride back to the hotel. Unbeknown to them, Harriet had instructed the driver to drive them around for about twenty minutes in order to give everyone else a chance to arrive at the reception before them.
Once the newlyweds were seated inside and the driver had closed the door, Harm looked into Mac's eyes. They seemed a richer, deeper brown than he remembered.

He was staring at her. "Is something wrong, Harm?"

He realized that he'd been staring when Mac spoke. "No, nothing's wrong. Everything is wonderful. I'm still just admiring my bride. You took my breath away when I saw you in that dress."

"So you like the dress?" Mac asked.

"I like you in that dress," he said as his lips came to hers. His lips touched hers briefly, and then briefly once again.

"Keep talking like that, and those dress whites and gold wings are going to keep you from being lonely tonight, sailor." She giggled as he raised that eyebrow of his and moved his lips towards hers again. His lips touched hers and his hand snaked around her, pulling her into a kiss that was a culmination of a night apart, the love that he felt for her, and his utter joy in knowing that she was now his wife. Mac returned the kiss for all the same reasons.

Occasionally, the need to breathe would force them to part, but little else was said. They enjoyed every kind of kiss imaginable until the limo came to a stop, from the gentle touching of lips to the tangling of tongues and toe-curling passionate ones.

The motion of the car halted, but it wasn't until they heard the sound of the driver's door closing that the newlyweds parted, becoming aware that they’d reached their destination. After they'd broken apart, they immediately began to check to make sure that they were still presentable.

Capri Hotel – Ballroom

Harriet had driven the mini van to the wedding and drove it back to the hotel for the reception. Jennifer, Chloe and Mattie rode with her. Bud had driven their other car and would be responsible for getting Harm's parents and Mac's uncle to the reception.

It was important to Harriet to be at the reception first in order to inspect the final details that the hotel staff were supposed to have done that morning. The only problem that she found wasn’t because of the hotel staff. The photographer’s assistant had placed the camera for the picture of the bride and groom entering the reception at the wrong door. With not enough time to move the equipment, they’d have to change doors or lose the picture.

Hotel Capri – Outside the Ballroom doors

An employee of the hotel greeted the bride and groom at the limo outside and told them that he’d been informed that he should show them to a different set of doors than previously planned. He walked them down a hall to a set of double doors and asked them to wait for a moment while he notified someone inside that they’d arrived.

Harm and Mac stood outside the double doors, arm in arm.

"You ready for this?" she asked.

"After the limo ride, I'm ready for the honeymoon," Harm said with a wink and a grin.

"Speaking of the honeymoon, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?"

"No, it's a surprise."

Mac pouted and batted her eyes. "Harm, you really shouldn't keep secrets from your wife."

The man opened the doors, and Mac muttered, "I guess I’ll just have to be surprised.”

As they stepped into the ballroom, they were hit by a bright flash of light when the photographer took their picture as the DJ announced, "Captain and Mrs. Harmon Rabb, Jr. have arrived and will dance their first dance together as husband and wife."

Harm and Mac took to the dance floor. A moment later, the music began. Harm and Mac danced, but their stance was rigid and more formal than intimate. Those watching thought they were dancing like a royal couple who didn't want to act inappropriate in front of their subjects. The couple danced the entire song alone on the dance floor. As the couple's dance ended and the guests applauded, the DJ announced that the dance floor was open for all dancers, and the next song began to play.

With the first dance out of the way, guests would be able to dance while the newlyweds were busy with other activities. The advantage to an afternoon wedding was that there was still daylight outside. Equipment for photos had been setup in the hotel's garden. The disadvantage was that the light didn't last forever, so the couple’s next activity was to pose for photos. The assistant had taken photos of their dance and then ushered them off to the garden for pictures when the dance ended.

A small room just inside the door to the garden was decorated with flowers and fabric in the colors of the wedding so that bridal party pictures could be taken in either or both places. As the shutter on the camera clicked at the couple, the DJ inside announced that certain people needed to join the bride and groom for pictures. The picture taking reminded everyone of senior prom, but the system was working very nicely.

When Mattie came out with Harm’s parents for pictures, she was grinning from ear to ear and quickly shared the reason for her excitement. Kevin and his parents had arrived. While Harm was in a picture with Mattie and his parents, Mac asked the photographers' assistant to make sure that she got a picture of their daughter with her 'date' as a keepsake for their daughter.

When the couple returned to the ballroom, guests were dancing, drinking, talking and having a good time The couple received many congratulatory handshakes and hugs as they crossed the room. The couple was happy to receive any well wishes along the way, but they were in search of Kevin and his parents. Mac had spoken to them on the phone to invite them to the reception, but had never met them or Kevin.

Harm and Mac finally located Kevin and his parents. It was a terrifying moment for Kevin when he met Harm. Kevin thought that the man whom he met was much taller than the man in the picture that Mattie had shown him.

The music faded, and the DJ announced that everyone should find their seats because dinner was about to be served. The DJ put on a CD that he'd burned for times like these. It would play for almost two hours if he didn't stop it. Before leaving his station, he made sure that the music was playing at a background level so that people could hear each other talk if they preferred conversation with dinner.

Dinner was served and conversations were had. It was a wonderful meal, but it was soon over, and wait staff began to clear dishes as the DJ returned to his station. The DJ allowed a couple more songs from the CD to play before switching to individual songs again. He played a few more songs, giving time for dinner to be digested some before announcing the next planned dance.

The next dance was Mac with her uncle and Harm with his mother. The two pairs took their places on the dance floor as the music began. Harm waited until they'd danced for a while before speaking to his mother.

"Mom, I want to thank you for supporting my decision to take Mattie. I'm sure that it isn't easy for you to become a grandmother to an almost grown granddaughter. You should know that Mattie isn't the only child that we want, but we are starting a little later at this than most. Mattie may be the only one and maybe not. Don't lose hope."

Trish smiled at her son’s words, assuming that his comments had something to do with something that Mac had said to him about their conversation. Trish would never know that the subject had been on his mind since he'd felt the tension in the apartment yesterday and that it was Frank who'd let him know what he needed to say to her to make her feel better about his new family.

The music had ended and, as Mac's uncle and Harm's mother left the dance floor, Harm called to his mother. "Mom" Trish turned to see a mischievous smile spread across Harm’s face. “Have Frank explain why I didn't want to use your house on our honeymoon."

The bride and groom remained on the dance floor as the DJ announced a special third dance. Harm was going to dance with Mattie and Mac was going to dance with Frank. When the song was about half way over, the DJ said that others should join them on the dance floor.

The song ended, and Harm was telling Mattie how nice she looked in her dress when he heard the words "Excuse me, sir" from the nervous crackling of a teenaged boy's voice. Harm turned to see Kevin. "Could I...I mean, may I dance with Mattie, sir?"

Harm wanted to say no, but he knew that that would be the wrong answer. "If she’d like to dance with you, you may." Kevin and Harm looked at Mattie who was eagerly nodding yes.

"I guess I'll have to find another girl to dance with," Harm said as Kevin took Mattie's hand. Harm didn't think that they'd heard him, but Mattie had.

"Try finding your wife, you know, the girl in the wedding gown. I'm sure she'll dance with you."

Harm chuckled. His eyes met Mattie's, and he knew that his relationship with her was going to lead to heartache for him because, someday, he'd be dancing with her at her wedding.

Harm turned to go find Mac, but he almost ran into her. She'd been standing right behind him, watching. "I think you need a new dance partner."

Harm looked over his shoulder at Mattie and Kevin slow dancing together. It was a brief look, and all he saw was the wide smile on Mattie's face. "I haven't seen her smile like that since before the accident. It was a wise thing you did in inviting him and his parents here." He took Mac into his arms with space between them in a pose that was suited for a picture or dancing with your sister, and they began to move to the music.

"Wisdom, is that why you married me?"

"One of many reasons," he answered, his arm snaking further around her waist as he pulled her in closer to him. He brought their joined hands to rest on his shoulder as the music played. They were dancing now as if no one else was in the room. It was only when the third song began to play with a faster tempo that they finally decided that it was time to leave the dance floor.

The music played on, and people danced for about thirty more minutes before the DJ called for everyone’s attention for the cutting of the wedding cake. Harm and Mac stood side by side, his large hand easily covering hers as they pushed the knife through the cake.

Mac used a fork to lift a piece of cake to Harm's mouth. Harm's mouth opened and Mac inserted the fork. Harm reached up and removed the cleaned fork from his mouth and used it to serve Mac a piece of their wedding cake.

Having everyone's attention on them and having exchanged cake, it seemed like the perfect time for Harm to speak to their guests. "I want to say that we hope everyone is having a good time. We want our friends and family to know that we're especially happy that they could join us for this special occassion today. We also want to express our gratitude to everyone for coming to give us your support and best wishes. Thank you." The gathered people clapped at the acknowledgement of their attendance.

The applause quieted and cake was served. While others ate cake, Mac went to the ladies room. The last two customs were going to be happening soon, and she didn't want her dress to have to be raised too far up for Harm to be able to remove her garter.

Mac went in search of Chloe when she left the ladies room. When she found Chloe, she was making eyes at one of Mikey Roberts' friends, but Mac pulled her away to remind her that Jennifer would be staying at the hotel tonight and that she'd be taking her to the airport tomorrow. Chloe said that maybe she'd be able to come visit Mac in California over a school holiday. Mac said that she'd like that and gave her a hug before she let Chloe go back to flirting.

Mac had just located Harm and was on her way over to him when the single ladies were asked to gather for the tossing of the bouquet. Mac tossed it and it was caught by Varese.

After the tossing of the bouquet, the single men were gathered for the tossing of the garter, and Sturgis caught it.

The couple was ready to leave, but moved about the room for several minutes and danced to the next slow song played to avoid just running out on all who'd joined them today. After everyone had had an opportunity to see the couple on the dance floor, it was time for Harm to find Frank.

Frank was coming back into the ballroom and saw the couple leaving the dance floor, so he appoached them. Frank handed Harm a plastic card and a set of keys and said, "It's done." Harm nodded, and Mac looked confused. Harm tucked the two items into his pocket, then he and Mac set out to find Mattie.

Mattie was with Kevin, talking at the table while his parents were dancing. Kevin turned pale as Harm and Mac approached, but the color returned quickly when they just asked to speak to Mattie for a moment.

Harm told Mattie that they'd be back on Friday evening. Mac reminded Mattie that she was staying in the hotel tonight with Jennifer and that Harm's parents would be taking her back to the apartment tomorrow while Jennifer took Chloe to the airport. Mattie gave each of them a hug before returning to Kevin.

No one seemed to notice them standing near the door, so one second they were in the ballroom, and the next they were gone.

CHAPTER FIVE - The Wedding Night

Harm and Mac had slipped easily out of the ballroom. Outside the ballroom door, Harm took Mac's hand and headed for the elevators. He pushed the 'up' call button, and they stood in silence as if speaking would alert their guests in the ballroom that they'd escaped. Mac was scanning the area around them to see if any of their guests were looking for them and didn't see Harm remove the plastic card from his pocket. He read the sticky note attached to the front of the card: Tenth floor, room 1025, and then slipped the card back into his pocket. The ding of the elevator's arrival signaled that they were about to make a clean getaway. The couple moved quickly into the elevator, and Harm pushed the '10' button.

The doors closed. "My room's on the fourth floor," Mac reminded him.

"But our room's on the tenth," Harm replied.

"Does this have anything to do with what Frank handed you?"

"Yes, he gave me the key to our room and the keys to my rental car. I had Frank move my rental. I know that most of our guests probably wouldn't even know that it was mine, but for those who would, if it had been parked in exactly the same place, they might realize that we hadn't left the hotel."

"Frank knows we're here."

"Yes, but someone needed to. I'm to slip our room key under his door when we leave the hotel in the morning. He'll come in and pick up your wedding dress and my dress whites and anything else that's wedding related that we don't want to take with us."

"Oh, that's a good idea." She moved closer to him. "You gonna tell me where we're going now?" The elevator made that ding sound, alerting them to their arrival on the tenth floor. "Saved by the bell, Rabb."

They stepped off the elevator, and the sign on the wall pointed to the right for rooms 1015-1025. A few moments later, Harm was swiping the keycard in the door. The indicator light turned green, and Harm reached for the knob and pushed the door open. He waited a moment to make sure that the door would remain open before turning towards Mac. The next thing Mac knew, her feet were leaving the floor. He'd scooped her up to carry her over the threshhold.

Harm turned around with Mac in his arms, and Mac pushed the door closed. Harm then put Mac down, but didn't let go, opting to pull her into a kiss. The kiss came to a natural close, and they took a moment to look around the room. Mainly, they wanted to check out the bed, but they did take in the warm colors in which the room was decorated before they took in the comfortable looking oversized bed. "Harm, the room is lovely, but I'd like to freshen up and change, and my luggage is on another floor."

"No, it's here." He scanned the room and saw their bags on a stand near a door that was probably the entrance to the bathroom. He pointed. "Over there."

"Frank, too?"

"Yeah."

"Are we going to San Diego for our honeymoon?"

"No. What makes you think that?"

Mac turned her back to Harm. "Unzip me, please." He reached for the zipper. "I heard you tell your mother to ask Frank why you didn't want to use their house for our honeymoon. Why did you say that if we aren't going to San Diego while they're here?"

He began pulling the zipper down her back. "They own a couple of houses, not just the one in San Diego, and Frank and I were talking about one of the others."

"Why didn't you want to use the house then?"

He finished unzipping the dress and turned her to face him. "If we used the house, we'd have to starve, go out to eat, or we'd have to cook and clean up after ourselves. If we stay at a hotel, we can have room service."

"Why did your mother need to know that?"

"It's a long story." He knew how to stop the questions and placed his lips on hers in a gentle kiss.

"Why are we leaving in the morning? Aren't there any planes to 'it's a surprise' leaving tonight?"

"You're sure full of questions." He gave her a quick peck to her lips. "If you must know, I added up the time that it takes to get to the airport and through security, the flight and waiting for our luggage..." He blushed. "I didn't think that I'd be able to wait that long." He pulled her into a much more passionate kiss.

She didn't say it out loud, but she was thinking that he was right. She didn't know if she could've waited either. "I want to get more comfortable. It'll probably take me a few minutes, so you should get more comfortable, too."

Mac stopped at her bags, grabbed some items and disappeared into the bathroom.

Hotel Capri - Room 1025
Five minutes later

Harm had gone to the door and hung the cheesy looking DO NOT DISTURB sign on the doorknob. When he closed the door, he made sure that it was shut, locked, and dead bolted, because, tonight, he didn't want any interuptions. He unbuttoned and removed his jacket.

Five minutes later

Harm had surveyed the room and glanced through the items in the mini bar. He went to the bathroom door and hollered through. "Mac, do you want anything to drink or something?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

He removed his shoes and socks and added them to the stack of his clothing for Frank to pick up in the morning.

Five minutes later

Harm didn't want to take off too much and appear too anxious, but he was running out of things to do. He shed his t-shirt and added it to his pile of clothing.

Five minutes later

Harm opened a bottle of water. He was trying to stay busy and not think. He took a mouthful of the water and swallowed. What was she doing in there?

Five minutes later

She'd been in there twenty-five minutes now. He'd finished the water and turned down the bed before beginning to pace. He walked towards the bathroom door and tapped lightly and asked, "Are you all right in there? Do you need some help?"

"I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute."

Harm walked to the another side of the room and paced between the bed and the door. Well, she hadn't junped out the window, but what was taking her so long? He started a silent debate in his head. Take the pants off too or leave them on. He was getting more anxious by the minute. He'd never be able to tell his modern, independent bride about the feelings that he was having about their union tonight. He recognized that his feelings were a bit prehistoric, but it was the way he was feeling, nonetheless. Until they consummated their marriage, they were married, but she wasn't his wife. He wanted her as his wife. He wanted to know that she was his. He certainly would never force her to do anything that she didn't want to do, but he wanted her in a way that he'd never wanted any other woman before.

Hotel Capri - Room 1025
Bathroom
Thrity minutes after Mac had entered it

Mac had needed the first fifteen minutes in here to take off her veil, get out of her wedding gown and hang it up, and shed her underclothes. Then she'd needed five minutes to put on the floor length ivory colored silk and lace nightgown, brush her hair and and freshen her lip gloss.

Five minutes ago, when Harm had knocked on the door to check on her, she'd been sitting on edge of the bathtub, trying to get over the dizzy feeling that she was having.

For the last five minutes, she'd been standing in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at her reflection. She needed to be sure that she was ready to go out there. She'd bought this nightgown just for tonight. Why was she standing in the bathroom and feeling so nervous? She'd been with a man before. She'd even been with this man before. Hell, she'd even been married before. That's when it hit her. She was married, really married. She'd always found it hard to consider that her marriage to Chris had been real. Yes, legally, they'd been married, but they'd been drinking when they'd gotten married, and their wedding night was a drunken blur to her. This afternoon, she'd been sober when she'd said her 'I do's'. She was really married, and her husband was on the other side of that door waiting for her, his wife.

Harm was pacing, and his back was to the bathroom door when Mac finally worked up the courage to pull the bathroom door open after being in there for thirty minutes. She opened the door just a crack at first, and then took in a deep breath before stepping out of the bathroom. She saw that Harm’s back was to her and she slowly let out the breath that she'd been holding.

Harm was preoccuppied with his thoughts and didn’t realize that she’d finally come out of the bathroom.

Mac moved closer, but stayed a few paces away from him. Hoping that she wouldn’t startle him, she spoke softly. “I’m sorry that it took me so long. … I wanted to be sure that I looked okay.”

He turned and took in the sight of her in an ivory colored satin, spaghetti strap nightgown. “You look lovely.”

As he closed the distance between them, he added, “To be honest, you’ve never looked anything but beautiful to me.”

His hands came to rest on her bare arms. “You’re trembling. Are you cold?”

“No.”

“What is it then?”

“It’s silly.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sure it isn’t silly.”

“Yes, it is. I’m nervous.”

“Nervous about…” Mac looked up at him with a look that left no doubt that she was nervous about the wedding night. Harm did think that it was a little silly, but it was sweet at the same time. With his own feelings about the wedding night, he had no right to say anything about the way she was feeling. “You know, I read that around seventy percent of newlyweds don’t consumate their marriage on their wedding night.”

Mac wondered where he'd read it, but she didn’t ask. “Really, I wonder why.” She really wasn’t expecting an answer, but she got one.

“The article gave the reasons of: too tired from the wedding and reception, by the time they traveled to their honeymoon destination it was the next day, or one or the other of the couple were too drunk, and a few listed that they were too nervous.”

“We didn’t serve alcohol at the reception, and I didn’t see you go to the cash bar outside the ballroom, so we can eliminate that. We didn’t travel, so…”

Harm’s lips came over hers in a searing kiss. He loved her more than he thought loving someone was possible.

His kiss is what she needed. The simmering desire that she had for him was brought to the surface by his kiss, and her nervousness was replaced by passion.

They kissed and kissed some more, each kiss more passionate and hotter than the previous one. Each kiss was like adding another log to a fire that was already ablaze. They were both hot and flushed.

After an unknown number of kisses, Harm scooped Mac up into his arms, moved to the bed and placed her down on it. Then it hit him. The room was bright with light. The one other thing that he could have done while he'd been waiting for her was now obivous. He could've flicked the light switch by the door so that the larger, brighter lights would have been off. He left Mac on the bed and moved to shut off the overhead lights. Having switched off those lights, he walked towards the bed, unfastening his pants as he approached the little shelf where he'd placed his other discarded clothing. He removed his pants and added them to the pile before moving towards the bed.

Mac watched as his tall form moved towards her, and she moved into a kneeling postion for a better view. His muscular chest with a smattering of hair narrowed to a waist proportioned nicely to the rest of him. As he came closer, the bulge in his boxers was obvious. A flash of heat coursed through her body at the thought of having him inside her again. Her eyes moved down his muscular legs as he came closer. The scar on one shin from the injury that he'd sustained while saving her from being hit by a car years ago was visible to her. He now stood at the edge of the bed in only his boxers. She lifted her gown off over her head, revealing her near perfect body.

“I’m ready. Are you?”

His boxers were a memory a second later, and he climbed into bed with her. Taking it slowly at first, they kissed while their hands roamed. Tonight would be the same slow and gentle lovemaking that they'd experienced before. Nothing new, but somehow, it was as if it were the first time. In fact, it was the first time as husband and wife. They enjoyed each other until need took charge, and then he moved his body into position over hers.

As they both neared the height of their union. Mac asked. “Together forever now?”

“Yes, together forever,” he replied.

A few moments later, the last of his energy drained into her. They then lay together and whispered "I love you" to each other in panting, breathless voices.

At last, they were husband and wife.

CHAPTER SIX – The Honeymoon

Sunday, September 18, 2005
Hotel Capri – Room 1025

After the excitement of the day and the feeling of completion that their post nuptial union had provided, they'd fallen asleep, tangled together and holding on to each other last night. Harm had awakened about an hour ago to use the head. He'd returned to bed and watched Mac sleep for a few minutes before closing his eyes and trying to go back to sleep.

Mac woke with a need to use the bathroom. Unaware that he was awake, she slipped from the bed. On her way back to bed, she spotted her ivory nightgown on the floor. The corners of her mouth started to curl up into a smile at the thought of their lovemaking. She moved to her luggage and put the gown away. As she headed to bed again, the stack of his clothes caught her attention, and she moved towards them.

Harm knew that she'd gotten out of bed, but didn’t open his eyes. He heard her shut the bathroom door and reopen it a couple of minutes later. He waited for what he thought was enough time for her to get back into bed, but she hadn’t returned. He opened his eyes and scanned the room for her. Seeing her over by the stack of his clothes, he rolled to his side to better see what she was doing. Lying on his side facing her, his eyes focused on his dress white jacket draped over her shoulders. She stroked the polyester blend fabric like it was something far softer, obviously thinking about something. After a few strokes of the cloth with her palm, she removed the jacket and started folding it, presumably to put it back on the pile.

The jacket had been on the bottom, but Mac wasn’t trying to hide the fact that she’d had it out, and returned the folded jacket to the top of the stack. She started towards the bed and noticed that Harm had rolled to his side, facing her, but she didn't realize that he was awake until he spoke as she was crawling into bed.

“What were you thinking about?” he asked in a soft tone so as not to startle her.

"About dress whites and gold wings."

"What about them?"

"At least, when they’re your dress whites and gold wings, they aren't so overrated."

"Do you need to do more research to be sure about that?" He wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Do we have time before we need to head to the airport?"

He mumbled, "We’ll make time" as he began to assault her senses with his touch and his kisses. As the moment arrived to blend their bodies and sate their passion, Mac made him her husband by being on top and taking them over the edge from desire to satisfaction.

Mac was in the shower when the hotel room phone rang. It was the wake up call that Harm had requested in order to make sure that they made their flight. Mac was dressed when she came out of the bathroom, carrying her wedding gown and veil. "I thought we should put everything together to make it easier for Frank." Mac draped the garment bag over the pile of Harm's clothes. When her arm came out from under the bag, she had a square box in her hand. "You're mother loaned this to me for the wedding. I didn't remember to give it back to her last night. I don't think I should just leave it with the rest of the items, so do you have a suggestion?"

"Put it in the bag with your dress. We'll leave a message on Jennifer's machine on our way to the airport for Mattie to tell Mom where it is. Since we know that no one will be there to answer, we won't get tied up with talking to anyone."

"Good plan." She unzipped the garment bag and placed the box inside. Before rezipping the bag, she turned to look at Harm who was watching her. "Are you going to shower and get ready?"

"I'm going. I'm going. I just find it difficult to take my eyes off of you." He winked and fled her wrath by hurrying into the bathroom.

Mac just rolled her eyes. His words were sweet, but if they were going to catch a plane, he needed to get dressed.

Harm knew that he needed to get moving, so he took a five-minute shower and dressed in five more. He strode out of the bathroom to gather his luggage. “You ready?” he inquired as he reached for his bag.

“I have a bag packed and I’m able to leave the hotel, but I don’t know if I’m ready.” At Harm's a puzzled look, she continued, “You told me to pack for a warm climate, but to put in long sleeves or a sweater for evening. You also said that I should bring a bathing suit. So am I ready for where you’re taking me?”

Harm moved to her and dropped his bag next to hers. “Is this your new way of asking where we’re going?”

“Yes.”

“ We’ll be there in a couple of hours, so there's no reason why you can’t know now.” He took her into his arms. “We’re honeymooning in the Bahamas… warm days and tropical evening breezes.”

Mac was pleased with his choice in honeymoon destinations and kissed him as a means to tell him so.

Their lips parted. “Hey, I thought you were ready to leave the hotel,” Harm teased.

Mac swatted him on the six. “Let’s go.”

They left the room, made a quick stop on the sixth floor to slip the key under the door for Frank as planned, and they were on their way to Harm’s rental car.

On the way to the airport, Mac made the call, leaving the message for Mattie about the location of Trish’s necklace.

They returned the rental car, made the security check point, and caught their flight.

A shuttle from the hotel picked them up at the airport in the Bahamas and drove them to the hotel.

The Sand Stone Resort and Spa
The Bahamas

They passed through a grand lobby with marble floors and high ceilings on the way to their room, and were told that they had a suite. Inside the suite, the newlyweds found a note attached to a fruit basket next to a chilling bottle of bubbly: Enjoy the upgrade. Love, Mom and Frank.

After further examination of the room, Harm found the information sheets about activities offered by the hotel or that could be booked through the resort. Harm took the opportunity to tell Mac that he’d picked the destination, but he hadn’t scheduled any activities so that she should look over the offerings and see what she’d like to do while they were there. He pointed out that some of the items required reservations. The time needed to get reservations varied from a few hours prior for spa items like facials and messages to twenty fours hours or more for such things as a beach picnic for two and scuba diving. She needed to look over the list so that arrangements could be made for anything that she wanted to do.

Mac was sitting on the edge of the bed, reviewing the list of activities while Harm poured two glasses of the chilling liquid. After pouring them, he moved over and sat on the bed close to her, offering her one of the glasses.

“Harm, you don’t have to ply me with liquor.” She hadn’t really thought much about the statement, but was simply teasing him.

He replied in a tone that said that the implication behind her words had hurt him. “I wouldn’t do that. It's non-alcoholic champagne.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything.” She batted her long lashes at him. “Forgive me?”

“You ask that like I could say no.”

She scooted closer to him on the edge of the bed and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Since I’m forgiven, let’s talk activities.” She took a sip of the chilled drink and, after she'd mulled over the choices, she started pointing out things that she’d like to do.

Harm agreed to all of her ideas. After a call to the front desk to request that reservations be made for the items that she’d selected, Harm asked. “We have a plan for what we’re doing for the rest of the week, but what are we doing with the rest of today?”

She put down her now empty glass on the table next to the bed on top of the list that they’d reviewed and the room service menu. She turned to him and wound her arms around his neck. “Since we’re on our honeymoon, I think we can come up with something.” She leaned into him and nibbled on his lower lip.

They peeled each other’s clothes off and made love, ordered dinner from room service and made love again, then allowed sleep to replenish their energy.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Harm was in the shower when Mac woke, but there was a small gifted wrapped box on his pillow with her name on it. She sat up and reached for the box. She pulled the paper off and lifted the lid of the white box. The box contained a charm bracelet with three charms hanging from it. One charm was a Marine Corps emblem, one was the Navy emblem, and the third was a heart with a pair of interlocking rings on it with their wedding date engraved on the back.

Harm entered the bedroom, and she felt his presence. She looked up at him with moist eyes. “You know, I’ve learned something about you since you proposed and we became an ‘us’.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“That you’re a mushy romantic.”

“You can’t leak that information. It’ll ruin my reputation. Besides, if you tell, I’ll tell,” he bargained.

“Tell what?” Mac asked with a frown.

“That the camouflage garter was the only thing Marine about you at our wedding, and you’re not just a woman, you’re a girlie one.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, but I wish that I’d known sooner. You know...that the flower and candy routine would’ve worked on you. You were so independent, and Marine tough and proud that I was never sure what to do with you.”

“Do you know what to do with me now?”

“I think I’ve got it figured out...well...mostly.”

“Help me get my bracelet on and we’ll see what you’ve figured out.”

Harm got the bracelet on, then they made love before they showered and dressed and left for the day’s activity. Today, Mac had selected a sightseeing excursion and shopping. She hoped to find some postcards to send to Mattie and Chloe. She also hoped to locate some trinkets or a photo that she could take back with her to remind her of the Bahamas and, therefore, her honeymoon.

They returned to the hotel in the early evening with shopping bags in hand and empty stomachs. They had a hotel employee take their shopping bags to their room while they dined at a restaurant in the hotel.

After dinner, they went to their suite and locked themselves away for the night. After a day of shopping and sightseeing, the oversized bathtub was beckoning Mac to it.

Mac started the water for her bath. Harm had opted not to join her, but she had a plan. She began to fill the tub and added a few drops of scented oil to the water. Then she undressed and shut the water off when the level reached about the halfway point, knowing that, if she got her sailor in the tub, too, the water level would rise.

With the tub ready, she went into the bedroom without anything on except a smile. “The tub is big enough for two. Are you sure that you don't care to join me, sailor?” That was all it took for her to convince ‘shower man’ that he should join her.

She waited a moment to make sure that he hadn't only heard her but seen her before retreating into the bathroom. He’d been making himself comfortable while she'd been drawing the bath, so all he had to shed was his boxers. Moments later, she could feel his breath on the back of her neck as she was about to step into the tub.

She had him get in first and get settled. When she raised her leg to place it in the tub, Harm saw his wife’s tattooed ankle for the first time as she lowered her foot into the water. “I have something to add to the list of activities,” he breathed into her ear as she was settling her body between his legs. “I only got a glimpse of that tattoo of yours, so I’ll have to be sure to get a good look at it before we leave.”

Her back settled against his chest, and the warm water surrounded them. A faint hint of something like musk was in the air. He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a bit before beginning to kiss and nibble on her shoulder. He worked his way up her shoulder to her neck and, when she arched her back to give him better access to her neck, her bottom pressed firmly into his manhood. It wasn’t painful, but a pleasurable reminder that there were no longer any barriers to keep them apart. Mac turned and straddled his thighs so that her lips could meet his. Her breasts were pressing into his chest, their lips were together and his hands were roaming freely over her back. A tub big enough for two to bathe doesn’t necessarily give two people room to have sex, but they managed it, and before the water got cold.

The day’s shopping and sightseeing had been fun, but tiring. After the added physical exertion of bathtub sex, they decided that bed for sleeping should be the next activity.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Harm had awakened before Mac and ordered something for breakfast. While he waited for breakfast to arrive, he lay wrapped in a robe beside Mac, watching her sleep. They’d been married almost three whole days, and seeing her beside him still seemed like a dream.

She felt his eyes on her and woke to the most handsome face that she’d ever seen, Harm’s. Their eyes locked, but the spell was broken by a knock on the door, indicating that room service had arrived with breakfast.

They ate breakfast and got ready for their day. Mac readied a bag with her wrap, sunscreen and Chapstick. She made sure that she had a hat for the boat trip out to the dive location. She didn’t want to risk sunburn that would interfere with their main honeymoon activity.

They were gone most of the day. The coral reefs and sea life were fascinating, and it was an exciting day, but the sun and water had a way of tiring you out without you realizing it.

They arrived back at the hotel, but were too tired to eat, so they decided to just get some sleep.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

She’d gone to sleep lying beside him and drifted into dreamland. In the early hours of the morning, her dreams had turned to fantasies, and she woke with a start. The intensity of her dreams had made her hot and needing release. She couldn’t remember ever feeling like this when waking from a dream.

Though asleep, her movements registered with him, and he soon felt her slight frame on top of him. Moist kisses administered along his jaw line brought him out of sleep. She felt him move, an indication that he was awake, and her lips descended on his.

She assaulted his senses and met no resistance. He responded to her kisses and her touch. She captured his arousal in her body and began to move to satisfy her yearning. Her pace was fast because her need was so strong, and it wasn’t long before she won her own fulfillment and collapsed against him. Her body relaxed on top of his, and she felt the hardness of his unfulfilled need still inside her. She was satisfied, but she hadn’t succeeded in satisfying him.

She didn’t know what to do, what to say, or if she should do or say anything. She felt guilty. Maybe he’d been sleeping and his movement during sleep made it only seem like he was participating. Her heart began to race as her feelings changed from guilt to anger. How dare he be able to sleep through it? Her heart was racing, and she was seesawing between the guilt of having attacked him in his sleep and anger that he could sleep through her advances. His arms came around her as if to comfort her.

He spoke, “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” She smacked his arm. “You are awake. I…” Her mind was unable to find the words to explain what she was feeling.

“I’m awake,” he replied. She moved off of him to lay at his side. “You seemed to be on a mission, and I wasn’t going to interrupt a Marine on a mission. That can be dangerous, you know?” He smiled that flyboy smile at her, and she couldn’t be angry with him.

He then kissed her. She was bringing her arm around his waist to cuddle with him when her hand brushed against his erect manhood. He chuckled when she flinched.

He held her close and kissed the top of her head. “Are you sure that you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I just woke up wanting you so much...I can’t describe it.”

“Probably has something to do with withdrawal.”

“What?”

“You do realize that, with the timing of yesterday’s activities and the fatigue that the outing caused, we didn’t …all day?”

“Yeah, must be withdrawal. Any suggestions of what to do about it?”

He began to kiss down her chin to her exposed breasts. His cool lips kissed the firm mounds, then his tongue swirled around the nipples, hardening them. He began to suckle one breast while caressing the other, and she moaned softly. He switched breasts, and she let out another soft moan. He brought his lips back to hers for another kiss.

His hand roamed over her hip and down her thigh as they kissed. He kissed down her neck, down between her breasts, and down her abdomen to her bellybutton. He kissed down her left leg from her waist to her ankle while his hand moved slowly down the side of her right leg. Before leaving her ankle area, he forced himself to open his eyes to look closely at her tattoo. The heart shaped tattoo was small and tasteful, and he found it kind of sexy.

Having solved the mystery of the tattoo, he kissed up her right leg while his hand glided up the side of her left leg. Then he kissed from her bellybutton to her breasts, stopping to suckle them once again.

She was so enjoying being touched by him. She didn’t know what is was about his technique, but when he swirled his tongue around her nipple, she wanted to scream. She didn’t want him to stop, but she didn’t know how much longer she could wait for him.

He was now kissing his way up her neck and, finally, his lips fell on hers. Her tongue slipped easily passed his lips and danced inside his mouth with his. He moved to a position above her, keeping his weight off of her. When his lips met hers again, she put her arms around him, pulling him down to her.

He eased his tip in. She closed her eyes as he did so. He slid in a little further. Her body writhed under him. She moaned as he continued to slowly enter her until, finally, his entire length had penetrated her.

He wondered what she was thinking. If she was thinking at all, it was how good his loving her made her feel. Her body tensed around him, and he pulled out just a little and pushed right back in. With her hips twitching under him, he wasn’t going to be able to hold on long. He pulled out a little bit more than before and pushed back in. He pulled out completely, and a disappointed look appeared in her eyes. He thrust himself quickly back inside of her. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her. However, in this act of pulling out and thrusting back in quickly, he found that it sent her head back, caused her eyes to close and a moan to escape from her lips.

He repeated his actions. First, out a little and in, out a little more and in, all the way out and slowly back in. First, out a little and in, out a little more and in, all the way out and quickly back in. A few more strokes in and out, and she let out a louder moan than before.

He began to repeat the motions again, but lost track of the order as he began to feel the affects of his motions building within him. He closed his eyes, trying to focus and slow the pace. There was no hope for him when her hips began to thrust up to meet his, and he moaned.

Her hands began to move up and down his back, and she pulled him to her. Her back arched as he increased the frequency and strength of his thrusts. Their breathing quickened. Her body tensed around his shaft, and he heard the sounds of her fulfillment escape her lips. A couple of strokes later, his body released itself inside of her.

He rolled to her side, bringing her to him, and they rested there together, face to face, kissing and cuddling until they drifted back to sleep.

*****

After three days of planned activities, Mac had intentionally planned nothing for today. When they woke again, it was mid morning. They ordered the item listed as the ‘honeymoon brunch’ from the room service menu. When the trays arrived, it was finger sandwiches, sliced vegetables, and strawberries and whipped cream. They ate a few items until Mac, offering to share the strawberry from her mouth, had them back in bed.

Lovemaking and naps were the primary activity of the day, but they decided to leave their room for dinner. They took a taxi to a local place recommended by the hotel clerk. They ate dinner and went dancing before calling it a night and taking a taxi back to the hotel. Back at the hotel, they decided to take a moonlight walk on the beach.

It was late when they returned to their room. Harm used the same rhythm that he’d discovered that she enjoyed this morning when they made love before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

They both started to stir. As they opened their eyes on the new day, it was hard to believe that this would be their last day here.

They ordered breakfast and made love while they waited for it to arrive. This morning, they ate breakfast on the balcony and enjoyed the view of the ocean.

The activity for today was a day on the beach, complete with a picnic lunch supplied by the hotel. They spent the day on the beach, sometimes under the umbrella and sometimes Mac would take off running down the beach, only to have Harm chase her. His reward for catching her was a giggle and a quick kiss or two.

They returned to the hotel towards the dinner hour, having had a great time in the sun: laughing, running, swimming and sometimes just sitting and relaxing.

Once back in the privacy of their room, they spent their last night in paradise taking a bath together, making love, and enjoying just being alone with each other.

CHAPTER SEVEN – Back to the Real World

Friday, September 23, 2005

Mac hadn’t slept well knowing that, this morning, it would be time to leave this paradise and go back to the real world. Harm had awakened alone in bed and found Mac on the balcony, watching the sun slowly come up over the water. He'd joined her on the balcony and stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her and, together, they'd watched the sunrise.

After the sun had come up, they'd moved inside and spent time loving each other before gathering up their things, checking out of the hotel, and catching the shuttle to the airport.

The flight back had been uneventful, as had been the stop at baggage claim and the rental car desk. The traffic back to the apartment, however, was another story. Several accidents were making traveling the beltway a long and frustrating adventure. They were definitely back in the real world.

A call to Mattie while they were stuck in traffic verified that, as planned, Jennifer had been taking her to school and Julia had been picking her up as usual, and she was home waiting for them.

It took them another half hour after the call to get to the grocery store closest to Harm’s place. The traffic had been rough, and making dinner was a way for Harm to relax. Another plus of Harm offering to cook dinner was that, the next few days were going to be busy and they were probably going to be doing a lot of eating out, so a dinner at home before the kitchen items were packed up would be nice.

Harm was able to shake off his traffic tension by cooking, and dinner was just the three of them. After dinner, Harm’s parents stopped by. Trish and Frank had gone up to see Harm’s grandmother in Pennsylvania, and had hugs and well wishes to deliver to Harm and Mac from his grandmother.

After delivering the words of wisdom that his grandmother had sent and the photo album of Harm’s grandparents and his father as a little boy, the conversations varied during the remainder of their visit. The last discussion they had before they decided that they should leave the newlyweds alone was about how they could help with the packing and moving tomorrow.

Shortly after Harm’s parents had left, Mattie, armed with the trinkets that Mac had retrieved from her luggage, excused herself to get ready for bed.

With Mattie’s departure, they were alone. When you're newlyweds, there's only one thing to do when you’re left alone – go to bed. They made love and fell asleep.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Harm went over to Jennifer’s to get Mattie for breakfast. When Harm and Mattie got back to the apartment, Mac had started the coffee and the French toast.

The plan for the day was simple. Go to Mac’s Georgetown apartment to pack it up and move it over to Harm’s for the movers to pick up on Wednesday. With Harm in her life now, Mac no longer felt the need to leave all her belongs behind and start over. The lease wasn’t up on her apartment until the first of the year, but paying out the remaining three months to move everything at once made the most sense. Varese had moved to a hotel while they were honeymooning so that Mac could pack up her apartment when she returned. Varese had tour date obligations and would be leaving in a few days anyway.

Since Mac had moved a few furniture pieces and all of her personal items over when she’d moved into Harm’s, the packing and moving wasn’t as big a job as it sounded. Even though the job wasn’t as big as it could’ve been, it still took most of the day.

Harm’s parents, Mattie, Harm and Mac were all tired when they put the last of Mac’s things in the storage area downstairs. Frank suggested that he take everyone out to dinner, and everyone loaded up into Frank’s rented SUV to go.

When they returned after dinner, Frank and Trish just dropped the other three off, saying that they’d done more physical labor today than they were used to doing in a single day, so they were going back to their hotel and going to bed. They’d be back after a good breakfast in the morning to help pack the loft.

Everyone was tired, but no one more so than Mattie. Harm and Mac hadn’t wanted to exclude her from packing, but they’d been concerned that it would physically be too much for her and had watched for signs of fatigue, but hadn’t seen any. In fact, until dinner, she’d seemed fine, so when she said that she wanted to go get some sleep for tomorrow, they weren’t surprised. They were tired, so she had to be, too.

With Mattie gone, they shared a couple of gentle kisses before they strolled hand in hand to the bedroom. She slipped from her clothing, and he removed his. They climbed into bed and cuddled up to each other to sleep.

A few moments later, Harm broke the silence. “Why is it that I’m not sleepy once I get into bed with you?”

Mac kissed him. “I don’t know, but the same thing happens to me when I get into bed with you,” she said with an exaggerated puzzled look on her face.

The newlyweds then made love before letting their bodies get the rest they needed.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Harm went to get Mattie for breakfast, but Jennifer said that Mattie had been up late the night before. Jennifer said that, when she'd asked Mattie about not being able to sleep, Mattie had said that she was thinking. Jennifer said that she thought the packing had made the move more of a reality to Mattie, because Mattie had made the comment that she wondered where was she going to live if the judge decided on Monday that she couldn’t live with Harm or Mac. Jennifer said that it might be a good idea to let Mattie sleep in. She’d have Mattie come over when she got up.

Armed with this new information, Harm returned to his apartment to have breakfast with Mac. She was going to be surprised that it was just going to be the two of them this morning. Over breakfast, they discussed the information that Jennifer had given him. They knew that it would be difficult to have a talk with Mattie with his parents there, so they decided talk to Mattie after his parents had left for the day.

With breakfast almost over, Harm asked, “My parents will be here to help in about an hour, so do you want to shower first?”

Mac’s thoughts immediately turned to her fantasy of them taking a shower together. “We don’t have to take turns...the shower is big enough for two.” He raised his eyebrow in trademark fashion at her suggestion. She turned and laughed at the expression on his face. “What do you say to a little you wash my back and I’ll wash yours?”

Mac dashed for the shower, and Harm wasn’t far behind. He worked the bar of soap between his hands until his palms contained a soapy lather. He rubbed the lather over her body. Instead of stepping back under the water to rinse, she stepped forward and put her arms up around his neck and pressed her soapy body into his. She smiled at him and then she lathered his body with hers in a combination wiggle and rub motion. How was it that, when he giggled, it didn’t sound ‘girlie,’ it sounded sexy? He moved forward, putting them under the cascading water that rinsed away the soap while their lips came together for a kiss that heated her to the core. She knew that they were expecting company, so she pulled away, but she couldn’t let go. Water ran between them, washing away the last of the lather from their bodies. She kissed him - he kissed her. He moved with her until she felt the cool tiles of the shower against her back. It was then that she knew that her fantasy about the two of them being together in the shower was about to come true. With his body leaning into hers, holding her firmly in place, she was secure in making her next move. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around him. The minutes that followed left her with a fond memory. Fantasy was no longer needed.

When Harm’s parents arrived, Harm and Mac were dressed. Mac was in the bedroom, packing clothes and other items, while Harm had done the breakfast dishes and was packing the last of the living room items. Mac had packed some of her clothing and non-essential items in the week prior to the wedding, so the living room, for instance, only had a few pictures left to pack to have the room ready. Some items weren’t going to be packed. Harm had been told not to take his electrical appliances to Europe because the electrical current was different, so his kitchen appliances were packed and downstairs so that Mac could take them, and they’d leave her items here. They’d come up with several things that could be left here to make this a sleepover spot if they needed to come to town for any reason.

By mid morning, Mattie made an appearance, but she didn’t look like she was feeling well, so they suggested that she go back to her room and rest. Harm told her that they should be done by lunchtime, and he'd been right. They were done by then.

Harm’s parents offered to take everyone to lunch, but Harm and Mac declined the offer. Harm didn’t go into details, but he told them that they needed to spend some time with Mattie today and make sure that she didn’t have any questions about the hearing tomorrow. Trish and Frank understood, but Trish had one more thing to do before she left today.

Standing to leave, Trish pulled a familiar, square, white box out of her purse. “I’ll let you pack this last item wherever you think best. I wanted you to have it, but if I’d given it to you at the wedding, you couldn't have used it for something borrowed.” She pushed the box at Mac, and Mac took it from her mother-in- law’s hand. Trish and Mac hugged. Before Trish hugged her son, she had a few words for him, too. “Harm, your father would have loved her. He’d be very proud of you.” After a hug between mother and son, and a handshake between Harm and Frank, his parents left for the day.

Mattie was helping Jennifer pack when Harm came over to get her for lunch. Harm and Mac had agreed on a gift for Mattie to be given to her before the hearing tomorrow, but based on what Jennifer had said this morning, they felt that they should give it to her now.

Where do you take a teenaged girl who’s a little depressed for lunch? The food court at the mall, of course. The food court isn’t an easy place for practically a vegetarian to find a meal, but Harm was able to find something. They consumed their lunch before starting the conversation that they wanted to have.

Harm started. “Mattie, we thought, with all the changes going on in your life, you might have a few questions or concerns, and we wanted you to have time to ask us anything you wanted or needed to.”

Mattie smiled at him for a moment and then the smile faded. “How likely do you think it is that the judge will give me to you tomorrow?”

Harm answered. “I think the chances are very good that the court will release you to us.”

“But they could say no,” Mattie said sadly.

“They could,” Mac answered. “But it isn’t likely. We had two home visits in the last three months, and we did fine. You’ve kept all of your doctor’s appointments and you’ve made progress in your recovery while you’ve been in my care, so it's unlikely that they won’t let us have custody.”

“If they say no, I don’t have anywhere else to go. Jennifer's moving to San Diego, too, so I’ll have to go back to that foster home. I don’t want to go back there.” Tears had started to roll down her cheeks.

Harm handed her a napkin to dry her eyes. “I really don’t think that'll happen, but if the court does rule that way, then you'll go. We’ll petition the court again and again until they see things our way, okay?”

Mattie nodded while drying her tears. Mac produced a small gift wrapped box from her purse and set it on the table near Mattie.

“Harm and I wanted to give you something, and it took some debating before we decided on what the gift should be, but once we saw this, we knew that it was the right one. We were going to give it to you tomorrow, but it seems right that we give it to you now. We hope you like it.”

Mattie pulled the wrapping paper off the box and turned the box over to drop the black velvet box inside into her palm. Mattie opened the little velvet box to reveal a little diamond ring inside.

Mac spoke, “It’s a promise ring and, most of the time, it's given by a young man to tell a girl that he promises that someday he’ll give her a wedding ring. For you, it's a promise that, no matter what the judge says tomorrow, we promise that we’ll keep trying to get custody. It's also a promise that you’ll always be a part of our family, no matter what.”

Mattie was smiling from ear to ear as she slipped the gold ring with a single small diamond mounted in the center on her finger.

Harm broke the moment. “We'd better get out of here. We promised to help Jennifer pack, and we still have to pack up your things, Mattie.”

They returned to the apartment building, and Mac helped Mattie pack a suitcase for traveling and box up the rest of her things. Harm helped Jennifer until Mattie and Mac had finished with Mattie’s stuff, and then they joined Harm and Jennifer in finishing the packing of Jennifer’s stuff.

Mattie was feeling much better by now. You could see it in her posture and in her eyes. Mattie gave Harm and Mac big hugs before going to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

With the fate of their family hanging on the decision of a mere mortal man tomorrow, they weren’t in the mood for anything more than conversation tonight. They hadn't formally discussed where Mattie should live if they got custody tomorrow. In emails and during phone conversations, things had been said that implied that they were on the same page, but they needed to be sure that they agreed where Mattie was going to live before they appeared in court tomorrow. The most logical choice was that Mattie would move to California with Mac since it was Harm’s hope that he’d be able to get a co-location billet and move to San Diego soon himself. Once in bed, Harm and Mac talked about when the three of them would be able to see each other again if a billet for him didn’t open up soon. Since Christmas was three months away, if Harm hadn’t been transferred by then, they decided that Mac and Mattie would fly to London for Christmas.

After their talk, a couple of kisses and muttered goodnights to each other, they tried to get some rest for tomorrow.

CHAPTER EIGHT – Saying Her Goodbyes

Monday, September 26, 2005

The hearing was at 1100 this morning, but they had to drive to Blacksburg, so there was no sleeping in this morning. They did stop on the way to Blacksburg for a late breakfast.

The judge asked a few questions before rendering his decision with a big smile. “I sometimes wonder if I make the right decision when I’m up here, but with this case, I’m sure that I’m making the right one. I hereby grant joint permanent custody of Matilda Johnson to Harmon and Sarah Rabb. Take care of each other.” The gavel fell against the block of wood on the bench, and court was dismissed.

Harm and Mac took in a deep breath, realizing that they’d been holding their breath while the judge had been rendering his decision. They all hugged. It took longer to sign the papers than it did to hear the decision. The drive out to Blacksburg had taken twice as long as hearing the decision and signing the papers put together.

Once the trio had left the courthouse, they made their way to Harm’s rented 4-door sedan. Harm shook his head in disbelief. It wasn’t a mini van, but the rental car said 'family man' just the same. Harm watched Mattie get into the backseat, all smiles that she had a home. Mac slipped into the passenger seat.

Harm folded himself into the driver’s seat of the sedan. “You know, ladies, we should have some lunch and then, if there's any place that you’d like to stop on the way back, we have time to do it.”

Mattie spoke timidly, “While we’re still out here, can we stop by Grace Aviation and my old house?”

Mac had reservations about Mattie going to those places, but made no objection to doing either as long as lunch was first.

Harm started the car and backed out of the parking spot. “Okay, lunch first and, since I haven’t seen Sarah in awhile, we’ll make Grace Aviation our second stop.”

Harm wasn't surprised that Mattie persuaded Mac that they needed pizza for lunch. They stopped at Mattie’s favorite pizza place. It was only a few minutes from the courthouse, so there wasn't much time for conversation.

They lingered over lunch. As promised when they left the pizzeria, Harm drove towards the airfield where Grace Aviation was located. They were within a few blocks of the airfield when Harm slowed the car.

“Mattie, are you sure that you want to see the place?” Harm asked, concerned.

“You mean, do I think I can handle going back to the scene of the accident?”

“It can be rough.”

“I’m sure that I’m ready to try, but I know that I don’t want to do it alone.”

“If it gets to be too much, give me the word and we’ll leave.”

“Thanks, Harm.”

Harm nodded and returned to the posted speed limit. The airfield came into view, and Harm drove towards the Grace Aviation hanger where the office was located.

They’d exited the car and were looking around the hanger. There was no sign of anyone and no sign of anything that Mattie would recognize as her Grace Aviation. Mac knew that this was one area with which only Harm could help Mattie.

“Harm, I’ll stay close to the office to see if anyone comes around. You two can go check on your plane and whatever else you need to do.”

“Thanks,” the two said in unison.

Harm watched Mattie get a few paces out in front of him before slipping his arm around Mac’s waist and placing an appreciative kiss on her cheek.

“Harm, she needs something from this visit. I’m not sure that she’ll find it without you. Until she asked to come here, I hadn’t thought about how her crash might effect her feelings about flying out of here in a few days. I can hold her hand on the plane, but I think it's going to be up to you to help her get on the plane in the first place.”

Harm gave her waist a little squeeze before pulling his arm back and turning to walk away. He took a few steps and stopped. He looked back over his shoulder. “You’re pretty smart. You know that?” Mac smiled at him for the compliment.

Harm caught up with Mattie. Neither said anything as they walked towards the hanger where Harm’s plane was stored. Nothing was said until they began giving his vintage plane the once over, looking for any signs of damage.

“Harm, have you ever crashed your plane?”

“This plane, no, but I’ ve been in four crashes. Of course, naval aviators prefer the term uncontrolled landing to the word crash. I took a plane into some trees a little more than six months before I met you. I dumped a Navy F-14 into the Atlantic four years ago. I got shot down in a Russian MIG seven years ago. I think the only word for the first one is crashed, though. The Tomcat that I was piloting hit the ramp on my attempt to land on a carrier.”

“None of them killed you, obviously, but did you get badly hurt any of those times?”

“I had a concussion after parking the plane in the trees. I had stage-four hypothermia after the dive into the ocean. I was sore form ejecting out of the MIG. I didn’t have injuries like yours after the ramp strike, but I was in bad shape for awhile. It took me months to recover. A crash like my ramp strike or your crash does more to your head than it does to your body, though.”

“So it’s normal to feel like you never want to fly again even if, before the crash, you didn’t think you could live without flying?”

“Yeah, it’s normal. Some people never go back...some people do. Do you think you’ll be able to get on that plane on Thursday?”

“Why did you keep going back after you crashed?”

“I probably wouldn’t have gone back after the first one, but my grandmother wouldn’t let me give up. I can’t explain how she did it. She pulled the tarp off of Sarah here, and the thought of flying again started to build in my head. She didn’t push me or lecture me, but she led me to the answers just the same. Since then, no matter what's happened, I’ve never doubted how much being in the air means to me.”

“You named your plane after Mac?”

“No, after my grandmother.”

“Oh. Sarah looks to be fine, so maybe we should go get Mac and get out of here. If I’m scared on the flight, do you think Mac would hold my hand?”

“I’m sure she would if that’s what you need.”

“I need to fly again to know that I can, but Grace Aviation is over for me. I just needed to say goodbye.”

Harm and Mattie came back through the hanger from the opposite side of the office. Mac was sitting behind a desk, looking bored when they arrived. She'd actually been wondering how Mattie was handling all this, and was glad when they returned and were ready to leave. Neither one of them seemed to be upset, so Mac assumed that, either they hadn’t talked or they’d talked and things had gone well. She'd have to wait until later to find out.

Grace/Johnson Home - Blacksburg, Virginia

They allowed Mattie to go up the steps and enter the house alone. Unaware of what she needed from visiting here, they stood ready to be there for her if she needed them. Once Mattie had entered, Harm and Mac moved up the steps. While standing on the porch, Mac seized the opportunity to put her arm around Harm, and he responded in kind.

At Harm’s side, she snuggled against him. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she just needs to say her goodbyes.”

Harm placed a soft kiss on her lips and, before their lips parted, they heard Mattie calling for Harm from inside the house. Harm dropped his arm from Mac’s waist and went into the house. Mac waited for a few seconds before following Harm inside.

Mattie was standing in the living room and saw Harm coming towards her. As she made a waving gesture with her hand towards the stairs leading up, she said, “I don’t think I want to try that many steps. Would you go up for me and see if he’s here?”

Harm had made it up the first couple of steps when Mac entered the living room. “Mattie, are you okay?”

Mattie hadn’t heard Mac approaching, so she was a little startled. “Yeah, I’m fine. I thought if my dad’s here, I could say goodbye.”

Mac couldn’t help it. She reached out without thinking and rubbed Mattie’s shoulder. It was a simple gesture, but it meant a great deal to Mattie, even though she didn’t say so.

Mattie was looking towards the stairs where she’d sent Harm. A few minutes passed, and Harm was almost halfway down the steps before he saw the inquisitive look on Mattie’s face. He shook his head no. Mattie nodded in understanding that her father wasn't here and turned towards the front door.

She walked to the mantle and removed the picture of her parents and the picture of her mother holding her when she was a baby. “He won’t miss them, and I want to be able to remember that things used to be different.”

Mac relied on her sixth sense to guide her actions while Harm made sure that Mattie made it down the front steps and back to the car okay. Mac’s sense didn’t fail her. She spotted a small, two-door cabinet in the corner and she knew that it would contain what she was after. She walked over to it and retrieved a leather bound family bible, a family photo album and a scrapbook. Mac had a single moment of shame when she removed the family items from their home. Mac knew from her own childhood experiences, however, that Tom would probably lose everything to the bank and never think to remove these treasures from the house and, therefore, Mattie would lose these things that would later bring a smile to her face when she reflected on them.

Mac emerged from the house and discovered that Harm and Mattie were already in the car. Mac motioned for Harm to open the trunk. She’d hold onto these items that she'd taken for now. Mac closed the trunk and joined the others in the car.

The car ride back into Washington from Blacksburg was quiet. Harm and Mac held hands in the front seat while Mattie slipped on headphones and listened to her MP3 player. Harm did call his parents during the drive back to ask them to meet them for dinner at one of Harm’s favorite restaurant for a little celebration of the fact that Mattie was officially their granddaughter.

Harm’s parents were returning to San Diego tomorrow, so the proper goodbyes were said before they left the restaurant. After dinner, they returned to their apartment, and Mattie wasted no time in going to tell Jennifer that she was definitely going to San Diego, too.

Mattie hadn’t slept well for the last couple of nights, worrying about the way the judge would rule today and about the move, so it was no surprise when she started yawning early in the evening, said that she was tired and excused herself to go to bed.

Harm and Mac found themselves alone again. They started to watch a movie, but the movie couldn’t hold Harm's attention. He began to kiss her neck. She responded by turning to kiss his lips. Soon they were making out like two teenagers on the couch. Mac pulled off Harm’s shirt and he removed hers. “We won’t be able to do this on the couch when we’re living together with our teenage daughter,” Mac reminded him.

“Good point, but since our daughter's next door, let’s be sure that we don’t give her a show.” Harm made it to the door, and locked and bolted it before returning to Mac. They made love on the couch before going to bed.

CHAPTER NINE – Starting with Three, not Two

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Harm awoke when he sensed someone’s eyes on him. His eyelids started to flutter. She placed a barely there kiss on his lips. He opened his eyes, and Mac was staring at him.

“Did you get any sleep?” he asked.

“Yes, but I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. I couldn’t take my eyes off my wedding ring at first, then I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”

“Your wedding ring was keeping you awake?”

She ignored his statement to direct the conversation to her point. “Did you pick the three-diamond wedding ring for a particular reason?”

He thought for a moment about his trip to the jewelry store. He remembered selecting the channel set three-diamond ring, but couldn’t remember any particular reason why he’d picked it. “I thought it went well with the three-stone engagement ring. Why?”

“I was thinking that you might have picked it because you had confidence that we were going to get custody of Mattie. And, with Mattie, that means that we're starting out our life together with three and not two.”

“Maybe it was a subconscious thing. I hadn’t thought of it, but it certainly works.”

She had a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, knowing that he'd given her the rings on her finger. She placed another barely there kiss on his lips. “I love you.”

He slid his hand behind her head and rested his palm there. “And I love you.” He pulled her head towards his and kissed her gently at first, and then his tongue slid across her lower lip, asking for entrance, but instead of granting it, she put her palm against his chest and pushed. He didn’t attempt to keep her in a kiss that she didn’t want, but he was a little confused.

She pulled away and looked into his eyes. “Don’t you think that we should be cutting back? I wouldn’t want you to get tired of me.”

“I'll never get tired of you.” He paused and, in a joking tone, added, “I might get too old to do anything about it, but I'll never get tired of wanting to be with you.”

Her shy girl smile appeared, but her actions were far from shy as she rushed her lips to his with her mouth slightly open, prepared to accept his tongue from the start.

After lovemaking, it was time to shower and dress. After Mac was dressed, she went to make sure that Mattie was up while Harm showered.

With the apartment packed up, the first order of business for the newly formed Rabb family was to have breakfast. Over breakfast at the restaurant, they went over the list to make sure that they could get everything done today.

By the time they lost daylight, everything on the list had been done, from taking Mattie out of school, to Mac returning her leased Corvette, to meeting with the wedding photographer to look over proofs.

With Jennifer’s apartment packed up, too, they called her to see if she wanted to meet them for dinner. During dinner, Jennifer was just trying to make conversation, but, with the judge’s decision yesterday, Mattie’s goodbyes to her past, and Jennifer’s question, the look on Mattie’s face said that it had all just become real in her head.

Jennifer had asked if Harm’s parents had a place lined up for Mac and Mattie to stay or if they’d be doing their own looking when they arrived. When Harm’s parents had found out that Mac’s new office would be in the Naval Reserve Center just outside the gate of the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar, they’d offered to let Mac and Mattie stay with them while Mac got settled in at work. The navy lodge and transition housing were farther south, and their home in La Jolla would put Mac closer to work. Having an address in the area where Mac would probably be looking for a place anyway, would make it easier on Mattie. She wouldn’t have to change schools a second time. Mac hoped that, if everything went the way she planned, the stay with Harm’s parents wouldn’t be long. They'd have a few days to look for a place of their own before Mac had to begin her new command, and Frank had already placed a call to a realtor friend of his to start looking for them.

After dinner, everyone returned to their apartments. The Rabb family knew that their time together was coming to an end, so they watched a couple of movies to spend more time together before it was time to go to bed.

Mac had undressed and was waiting in bed for Harm when he came out of the bathroom in his boxers Her face was very serious when she looked at him and asked, “Does your wedding ring fit okay? Not too loose? Not too tight?”

“Yeah, it fits fine, why?”

Her serious face softened. “I was just checking. I should warn you that some women are attracted to men with wedding rings.”

He slipped into bed next to his wife. “I already know the answer if I’m approached.”

“You do?”

He kissed her neck and whispered his response in her ear. “I tell her that my wife says that she doesn’t share.”

“If that doesn’t work, you can tell her that your wife's a marine and that she’ll kick her six.” He grinned. “I’d wipe that grin off your face, sailor. I’ll kick yours, too.”

His grin didn’t fade, but he pulled away. “I guess the hot brunette that I’m after tonight will have to go then.”

She reached for him and pulled him to her. “I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered and kissed him.

“All teasing aside, you know that you don’t have anything to worry about. I may have dragged my feet in getting to this point, but I wouldn’t risk losing what I have with you.”

Mac kissed him passionately and pulled away. “You know, for all the missteps, misunderstandings, miscommunications and whatever else you want to call it in getting to this point, we’ve never had any trouble communicating here without words.”

“So let’s stop talking.”

Their lips came together as their bodies would soon. Their lovemaking would relax them into each other’s arms, and sleep would come to them.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Harm and Mac were awake early enough to make love before they needed to get up for the day.

Today, the movers were coming to pack the boxes into a moving truck that would take their things to California.

Harm went to get some bagels and donuts for breakfast. When he returned, he moved Mattie’s things from Jennifer’s apartment into his in an effort to keep Jennifer and Mattie's boxes from getting mixed up, because Jennifer’s things were being picked up today, too.

The movers arrived around nine, loaded Jennifer’s apartment first and conveniently finished her apartment in time to take a lunch break. With Jennifer’s apartment completed, she volunteered to make a lunch run to bring back Chinese food for everyone.

The movers returned after lunch and loaded Harm and Mac’s apartment except for the few things that they’d agreed to leave behind. The movers had everything loaded and were gone by late afternoon. Some of the things that were to be left in the apartment were in the storage area downstairs, so it took Harm about half an hour to move the items upstairs and into place. Mac helped Harm move the furniture, while Mattie packed usable refrigerator items into a box to take to Harriet.

The last two things to do was to take the trash out and load the box of usable food items from the refrigerator, stuff like half a bottle of ketchup, into the car.

From the apartment, they went to check into a hotel. Mattie was thrilled to have a room of her own. She'd probably have thought ‘yuk’ if she'd let herself think about it. She had a room of her own because her parents were newlyweds and were spending their last night together for what could be weeks or months.

After they’d taken what they needed from the car and looked over their rooms, it was time to head to Bud and Harriet’s. Harriet had invited Harm, Mac, Mattie, and Jennifer to dinner as a way to say goodbye to her friends.

As usual, Harriet’s meal was delicious and her dinner party was a success. Harm saw Mac whisper something to Mattie just before Harriet asked if anyone wanted dessert. Harm found it interesting that both Mac and Mattie declined dessert. At the hotel later, he’d find out what she'd said.

They took Mattie to her room first. Even though her room was right across the hall, the new parents wanted to talk to her about hotel safety and make sure that she was locked in for the night before they left.

Once in Mattie’s room, Mac asked Mattie if she'd like to have a banana split. While they waited for room service to deliver the dessert, Mattie got a subtle speech on not opening the door for anyone and how to call their room from hers if she needed anything. Once the room service delivery had been made, Mac and Harm left Mattie to enjoy her dessert and watch television, and they went on to their room.

Once in their room, Harm verified what he suspected. “You bribed her with a banana split.”

“I wouldn’t call it a bribe. I call it a treat. While you were doing the maunal labor of bringing up our bags after we checked in, I read the room service menu. When I saw the dessert section, it struck me that room service would be a pretty cool thing to an almost seventeen year old who's never had it before. She’s been through so much. She’ll never forget the bad things that she’s been through and she shouldn’t because it'll make her stronger in the long run, but she should have good times to remember, too.”

Mac had that look in her eyes again, the one that she'd had in their room on their wedding night. Harm knew what it was now. His smart, beautiful, sexy, opinionated, strong-willed, faithful friend, outstanding lawyer, and fine Marine was a heart’s been broken, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes insecure woman who was trying not to let the hurts of her little girl past repeat itself in her life as a woman…and if Mac could stop it, it wouldn’t happen in Mattie’s life either.

He wanted to wrap the little girl who’d been hurt in his arms, but the woman whom she’d become was in front of him, so he wrapped his arms around her. It was one of those times when you think you should say something, but no words seem to be right.

She seemed to understand the gesture and buried her face in his chest, letting his arms be a protective cocoon around her for few minutes. When she was ready, she looked up at him and put her palms on the sides of his face, pulling him into a loving yet passionate kiss. After the kiss, Mac pulled from his protective embrace and began undressing, dropping her clothes on the way to the bed as if she were leaving a trail for him to follow.

He wasted no time in doing so, dropping something of his near something of hers on the floor. He watched as she slid onto the bed.

He slid onto the bed close to her, but without touching her. He raised his hand to her face, and his index finger traced over her lips before he placed a kiss on them. His hands brushed her hair off her shoulders before he kissed from her earlobe down to her collarbone on both sides. His finger then made a trail from her collarbone down to the valley between her breasts. Her breath caught in her throat as he retraced the path with kisses. His hand caressed one breast, and his finger made a circle around the nipple before he placed kisses there. His tongue then circled her nipple, first one breast and then the other. His finger made a trail from the valley between her breasts to her bellybutton. His touch was as light as a feather, and it caused her body to pulse with desire. He again followed his fingertip path with kisses.

As he kissed her lips, his palm moved between her legs, and he rubbed his hand up and down the inside of her thigh. After their kiss ended, he moved to place soft kisses on the inside of her thigh where his palm had just been. His touch warmed her skin, but his kisses set her on fire. His movements were slow and premeditated, and it felt so good to be with him. She moved to give him some of the same attention that he was giving her, but he resisted. “Tonight, it’s about you, not me.” It was probably the most wonderful thing that any man had ever said to her.

He didn’t want to rush, but the feel of her skin under his hand and lips caused sensations at the core of him, the effects of which were starting to be hard for him to ignore. He wasn’t sure if he should pull her onto him or cover her. His answer would come when she breathlessly said his name and tugged on his arm like she’d done the very first time they'd been together. He covered her body with his as she’d requested. Slowly, he entered her and moved in and out of her with the rhythm that he’d discovered that she'd enjoyed most while they were in the Bahamas. As his breathing became labored, his thrusts into her caused the walls wrapped around him to spasm to the delight of both participants. He couldn’t help the moans and groans that escaped his mouth as he was swept away in the moment of their mutual release.

He moved most of himself off of her, but placed his head on her chest with an arm draped across her. He listened to her heartbeat as they both panted in order to cool down from the heat of their joining.

They lay together, not wanting to be apart and not wanting to sleep, as if not sleeping would keep tomorrow from coming.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

They had fallen asleep, although they hadn’t stayed in the same position. They’d moved together in their sleep, keeping contact with each other.

He woke unable to see her face, but he knew that she was awake, too, because she was drawing small circles on his chest with her fingertips. “Mac.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

“You don’t want to talk about...last night?”

She corrected him. “I don’t want to talk about goodbyes or planes or -”

He cut her off. “Then let’s just lie here until we have to get up.”

They did exactly that. They lay together until Mac’s internal clock told them that it was time to get ready for another day. Harm called Mattie’s room to get her up while Mac showered. Mac went over to Mattie’s room to make sure that she was ready while Harm showered.

They were able to go to the airport together in Harm’s rental car because their flights were leaving within a couple of hours of each other. They returned the rental car and took a shuttle over to the airport. Mac and Mattie’s plane was scheduled to leave first.

Harm sat between the two of them at their gate. Mac’s head rested on one shoulder while Mattie’s head leaned against the other.

Mattie heard another passenger ask the woman at the gate how much longer it would be until the flight would be boarding. The response by the airline employee was, “Five minutes.”

Mattie took in a deep breath and waited a minute before breaking the silence. “When are we all going to be together again?”

“Mac and I talked about it. If I can’t get an assignment that brings me to San Diego before December, she hopes to have her office up and running well enough for the two of you to come to London for Christmas.”

The PA system came to life, announcing that their flight was now boarding first class passengers.

Mattie’s arm came up and across Harm, and she squeezed his neck, the best hug that she could give him from her seat. “I’m going to miss you.”

Harm’s arm went around Mattie’s shoulders and he squeezed, too. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

They fell silent again for a moment, but Mattie couldn’t stay that way. “Aren’t you going to miss him, Mac?”

Mac’s face hadn’t been visible to anyone, but when she lifted her head off Harm’s shoulder and turned to answer Mattie’s question, the tracks from Mac's tears that she'd shed in silence while they'd sat there were apparent. Mac's hand grasped Harm’s leg just above his knee as she responded, “More than I can tell either of you.”

Harm lifted his hand to brush away Mac’s tears with his thumb the way he had in the past.

The PA announcement that they were now boarding rows, cut this moment short. Harm, Mac and Mattie stood.

Neither Harm nor Mac believed in big public displays of affection, especially in front of their daughter.

Harm reached for Mac’s left hand with his left hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. “Duty separates us, but my heart is wherever you are.”

“And my heart is with you.”

“Together forever.”

“Together forever,” she replied as she looked at their clutched hands adorned with wedding bands.

The PA system came on, announcing the next set of rows to board.

Leave it to a teenager to blow a moment. “It's a good thing we have to get on a plane, because watching the two of you is like watching a scene in a sappy love story on Lifetime.”

Mac sniffled and leaned in close so that she could whisper to Harm. “I haven't said a word, but you'd better watch it or you're going to give your secret away yourself."

Harm nodded, placed a brief kiss on her lips and gave her a quick hug. He turned and gave Mattie a hug before stepping to the side to let them move towards the line of people boarding the plane.

Mattie was brave and marched right onto the plane, impressing Mac with her seemingly fearless approach to this new chapter in her life. She wouldn't be so fearless in a few hours when the pilot announced that their plane was preparing to land at San Diego’s airport. She'd reach for Mac’s hand and squeeze it hard at first, and then harder until the plane was safely on the ground and taxiing to the gate.

After take off and after Mattie was settled in listening to music, Mac reached into her carry on bag, pulled out a legal pad and began to write a letter to Harm.

During the hour and thirty minutes that Harm waited for his plane to board, he bought a pad of paper and began to write a letter to Mac.

The letters that each wrote were a mixture of questions, confessions, apologies, and words left unspoken too long. As they read over what they'd written, they'd conclude, though by different patterns of thought, that it was more a chronicle of their life together before marriage than a letter. There'd been something liberating about writing it all down. It had taken the sting out of the hurts and focused them on the bond that they'd always shared, though not always admitted to. Sliding their pads of paper down into their carry on bags, it would be clear to both of them that, no matter what they'd written, the only thing that mattered was that their love had won in the end. Perhaps the pages now tucked carefully into their luggage would be sent, or perhaps kept in a safe place to show the other on some anniversary years from now.

At the end of the day, 5,489 miles would separate them, but the gold rings on their fingers, given as symbols of their love, would serve as a reminder that distance doesn't keep apart two hearts that belong together.

The End...for now?