Title: Birthday Cake

Author: JAG Junkie (rondayoung@yahoo.com)

Rating: PG

Category: Romance (Harm/Mac)

Disclaimer:  They are (sadly) not mine.  If they were, we would have seen a birthday celebration at least once.

 

Summary: Harm takes Mac out for her birthday.

 

A/N: I recently celebrated a birthday, so I decided to reward myself by writing some fluff about Mac’s birthday.

 

This takes place sometime between Hail and Farewell Part 2 and Retrial.  I know that is a small window of time, but I’m assuming that H&F2 took place during the summer (closer to H&F Part 1).  Basically, this is set after Webb is gone, but before Alicia showed up.  And Mattie and Jen still live next door to Harm.

 

Also, we were never given an exact date for Mac’s birthday, so, for the purposes of this story, I’m just going to assume it is sometime in the early fall.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, VA

 

Harm stood in the doorway of Mac’s office, drinking in the sight of her.

 

Mac felt herself being watched and looked up.  “Can I help you, Sailor?”

 

He hesitantly walked into her office.  “You…aah…you have a birthday coming up soon, right?”

 

“Yeah.  Friday.”

 

“Got any plans that night?”

 

“Not really.  Just me, a good book, and a bubble bath.”  She cocked her head to the side.  “Why?”

 

“How does dinner at Calisto’s with a handsome sailor sound?” he asked hopefully.

 

“It sounds nice, but isn’t Sturgis still dating Varese?  I wouldn’t want to go out with another woman’s man.”  She smiled coyly at him.

 

He chuckled.  “Funny.  Would you settle for me instead?”

 

She made a show of looking him up and down before conceding.  “You’ll do.”

“I’ll pick you up at 1900 on Friday then.”  He smiled.

 

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”  She eagerly returned his smile.

 

-----

 

Wednesday

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, VA

 

For the next couple of days, Harm and Mac were pretty much business as usual and Friday night was not mentioned again.  However, there had been a slight, but distinctive shift in their relationship.  Whenever they were in a room together, each one seemed to have a heightened sense of awareness of the other one.  Their gazes seemed to linger a little longer than necessary, as if each one was trying to discern what the other one was thinking.  The sarcastic edge of their previous conversations seemed to have softened.

 

Wednesday morning, they found themselves alone in the break room.

 

“How’s the Cardinelli case coming?”

 

“Sturgis doesn’t stand a chance!  But his client is too foolish and stubborn to realize that and he won’t deal.  What about the Grimes investigation you’re working on?”

 

“Bud and I had a breakthrough yesterday.  We’re pretty sure we’ve found the missing piece of the puzzle.  All we need are the lab work results and we’ll have this thing wrapped up by the end of the week.”

 

They exchanged smiles, and then just stood there staring at each other.  The ensuing silence was suffocating.  The reason for the sudden tension couldn’t have been any more obvious than if a pink elephant had been in the room holding up a neon sign flashing the word “date”.

 

Finally, Harm took the plunge.

 

“So, are we still on for Friday night?”  He tried to sound casual, although he felt like a gigantic pretzel waiting for her answer.

 

She breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t changed his mind.  “Of course.  Why wouldn’t we be?  I never back out on a free meal at Calisto’s--especially when the company’s good too.”  She winked.

 

His shoulders relaxed.  “Good.  Be ready.  I might be early.”

 

“Now *that* I’d like to see!”  She laughed.

 

“What would you like to see, Colonel?”  Sturgis asked as he came into the break room.

 

“Harm be early for something.”

 

Sturgis grinned and let out a chuckle.  “Nah, that only happens when he has a hot date.”

 

Harm didn’t see Mac’s jaw drop because he was too busy glaring at Sturgis.

 

Sturgis held up his hands in surrender.  “Hey, I call it like I see it.  And I have plenty of examples to back me up.”

 

Harm shot him a dirty look.

 

“You know, I just remembered that I was supposed to go over that file with Bud right now.  He’s probably waiting for me.  I’d better go.”  Sturgis quickly exited the suddenly small room.

 

Mac somewhat composed herself before Harm turned back to her.  They both smiled uncomfortably and had trouble meeting each other’s eyes.

 

“So, Friday at 1900?”

 

“Yeah.  I’ll be ready,” she confirmed before adding quietly, “Early.”

 

Harm nervously grabbed his coffee, nodded to Mac, and left the room.  She was left wondering how much of Friday night was a “best friend’s birthday dinner”, and how much was a “date”.  And would any of it be a “hot date”?

 

-----

 

Friday

Mac’s Apartment

Georgetown, Washington DC

 

Mac stood in her closet, still fighting the same dilemma that she had started fighting two days prior in the break room.  The dilemma that had begun just after Sturgis unknowingly implied that Harm thought he had a “hot date” on Friday.  She didn’t know whether to dress for the platonic birthday celebration, or for the seduction of her life.  She decided that something in the middle would be the obvious choice, but that still left too many possibilities.  How “in the middle” should she be?  Should she err on one side or the other?  Her last thought before settling on a modest, yet form fitting green dress, was that, regardless of what Harm considered this night to be, she seemed to be treating it like a date.  Otherwise, why would she have spent so long deciding what to wear?  She had been out with him many times before, but she never spent *this* long picking out her clothes.

 

She had just finished touching up her makeup and fluffing her hair, when she heard him at the door.  Her internal clock told her he was ten minutes early.

 

‘Darn!  Should have gone with the red dress!’ she thought to herself as she went to the door.

 

When she opened it, she was greeted by the delicious sight of Harmon Rabb in a crisp gray suit and a blue-green shirt that brought out his eyes.  After catching her breath, she stepped aside and invited him in.

 

“Happy birthday, Mac.”  He greeted her warmly and smiled appreciatively as he entered the apartment, never taking his eyes off her.

 

“Thank you.  Just let me get my things and we can go.”

 

She grabbed her purse and a light jacket, and then followed him out of the apartment, locking the door as she went.  Once in the hallway, he offered his arm to her and she shyly accepted it.

 

The rest of the evening, he continued to be ever the gentleman, opening doors for her, pulling out her chair, offering his arm, placing his hand on the small of her back.  Ordinarily, the tough marine in her would have been protesting, but tonight was different.  It was her birthday, and if her best friend wanted to pamper her, she was going to let him.  It made her feel like a woman in a way that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

 

They enjoyed a long, leisurely meal at Calisto’s.  After the initial awkwardness of being out together on what had every appearance of being an actual date, they fell into a comfortable ease with each other.  It had been so long since they had been like that together, that they couldn’t seem to stop smiling.  Their joy at their rekindled friendship was overflowing.  The waiter sensed that they were content to sit and enjoy each other’s company, so he brought dessert menus out to them.

 

“Would you care for dessert, ma’am?  Sir?”

 

Mac was about to take the proffered menu, when Harm cut her off.

 

“No, thanks.  We have other plans for dessert.”  Harm smiled apologetically at the waiter while Mac raised an eyebrow.

 

“That’s alright, sir.  I’ll be right back with your ticket.”

 

“We do?” Mac whispered when the waiter was out of hearing range.

 

“Actually, yes.  Mattie and Jen made a birthday cake for you.”

 

“Uh-oh.  Should I be concerned?”  She giggled.

 

“No, I supervised.”

 

“Oh, *that* makes me feel better!”

 

“Cute, Marine.  I’m sure it’s fine.  They followed the recipe.”

 

“Okay, then.  I guess I can risk it.”

 

“Well, I’ll be eating it too, so if it’s not any good, we’ll be suffering together.”

 

“Well, as long as we’re in it together.  No backing out on me now, Sailor!”  They both smiled, the deeper meaning of those words not lost on them.

 

A little while later, they stepped into Harm’s apartment.  Mac set her purse down and hung her jacket on the coat hook by the door as if it belonged there.  Harm walked into the kitchen and stood in front of the cake, suddenly indecisive.

 

“What’s wrong?  Did my concerns about the cake make you worried too?”

 

“No, that’s not it at all.  It’s just that…well…it’s still pretty early and…what do you say we watch a movie while we eat our dessert?”

 

“Well, we could…only…we’re both a little overdressed for that.  Do you really want to stay in that suit that long?”

 

“No, I was going to go change.”

 

“Harm, that’s not fair!”

 

“Yes it is.  You could change too.”

 

“Earth to Harm!  This is your apartment.  I don’t keep my clothes here.  And my seabag is in *my* car at *my* apartment.”

 

“I know that.  Just wear my clothes.  I have plenty of tee-shirts and boxers.”  He walked into his bedroom and opened a drawer.  After a few seconds of digging, he pulled out a pair of boxers.  “See, these even have a drawstring, so you can make the waist smaller.”  He pulled out a tee-shirt and tossed both items on the bed.  “You change in the bathroom and I’ll change out here.  Then we’ll eat dessert and relax.”

 

“We-ell, okay.”  She picked up the clothes and headed into the bathroom to change.  Harm changed in record time and went back into the kitchen to slice the cake.

 

Mac emerged a minute later and hung her dress next to her jacket by the door.  She had briefly considered hanging her dress in the closet, but that just didn’t seem right so she decided against it.  She set her shoes on the floor and walked barefoot into the kitchen area.

 

“So, what kind of cake are we having?”

 

“It’s called ‘Yum-Yum’ Cake.”

 

“Hmm.  I’ve never heard of that.”

 

“Well, it actually has more than one name,” he said quietly.

 

She raised an eyebrow.  “Another name?  What’s the other name?”

 

He mumbled something she couldn’t understand.

 

“Say that again?”

 

He stiffened and spoke a little louder.  “It’s called ‘Better than Sex’ Cake.”  By now, his cheeks were bright red and he avoided looking at her directly.

 

The name certainly took her by surprise.  “And *Mattie* made this?”

 

“She saw it in a cookbook and couldn’t stop giggling.  She insisted that I let her make it.”

 

“I’m surprised you let her.  I believe I told you once you’re a prude.”  She laughed.

 

“I am not!” he said defensively.  “But I *did* insist that she not find out for herself if the cake lived up to its name.  At least…not until she’s…thirty…or so.”

 

She just shook her head.  “Come on, Sailor.  Let’s see how good this cake *really* is.”  She took the plate he offered her and made her way to the sofa.  He followed right behind her.

 

After the first few bites, their eyes locked.  “Nah!” they smiled and said in unison.

 

“But it *is* really good.”

 

“Definitely.”

 

“I might even say it’s better than *bad* sex.”

 

With that they both burst into laughter.  Harm took advantage of the break in conversation to select a movie to watch and they settled comfortably on the couch together.  Once they had finished their desserts and their hands were free, they moved a bit closer.  She tucked her bare feet up under her and leaned into him.  With his feet propped on the coffee table, he casually draped his arm around her and rested his hand on her upper arm.  As time passed, they continued to relax a little more and, as a result, snuggle a little closer.

 

She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when the movie was over.  She didn’t really want to go home, but she didn’t think it would be right to stay.  This evening was a big step for them and if things moved too fast it could blow up in their faces.  She decided it was best to tread carefully.  But did he feel the same way?  Did he even want to move forward at all?

 

His mind was on the movie, but only in the sense that he was concerned with how much, or how little, of the movie was left.  What should he do when it was over?  Should he kiss her?  Should they make out on the couch like teenagers?  Should he ask her to stay?  Or should he just offer to take her home?  And what the heck did *she* want him to do?  Doing something that was unwelcome was one of his worst fears.

 

The next thing he knew, the DVD menu screen was flashing across the television.  He looked over to the little light by the door, the one that was on a timer, and saw that it had turned off.  They must have fallen asleep during the movie.

 

Then it dawned on him that he had somehow shifted into a slightly reclining position.  Mac was draped across him with the back of her head resting on his chest.  He counted his blessings that his arms were wrapped safely around her waist and not around her breasts.  He was already afraid that his growing arousal was poking her in the back and he didn’t want his problem to be any worse than it already was.  Her arms rested on top of his and her even breathing told him she was still asleep.

 

He considered his options.  He could wake her up and take her home.  But that would require driving when he was half asleep, something he didn’t want to do.  And she was sleeping so peacefully that he hated to disturb her.  They didn’t need to be at work in the morning, so there was no reason that he couldn’t just take her home tomorrow, once they were both wide awake.

 

So, since he had decided they would both stay at his apartment for the remainder of the night, that brought up the question of sleeping arrangements.  They could stay where they were and he could try to go back to sleep, but he realized that sleep would be difficult with her lying on top of him.  And even if he *did* manage to sleep, their backs would probably pay for it in the morning.

 

He could try to wiggle out from under her and go to his bedroom, but he hated to make her sleep on the uncomfortable couch.  She’d surely be sore in the morning.  Some birthday present *that* would be!

 

No, *he* would have to be the one to sleep on the couch, he finally decided.  He slowly raised himself up, with her still in his arms, careful not to jostle her and wake her up.  When he made it to a sitting position, he reached down and put one arm under her knees and shifted her just enough to be able to lift her as he stood.  She murmured slightly and shifted her face towards him, but didn’t wake up.  However, the sound of her sleepy moans woke up a certain part of him even more.

 

He quickly put those thoughts aside and carried her into his room.  He tucked her under the covers and hesitated.  He had planned on going back into the living room, but he couldn’t think of a single good reason why he should.  He was way too tall to sleep on that couch and Mac would just scold him in the morning for trying, he reasoned.  After all, they had slept together before, albeit under different circumstances, so it wasn’t like he was totally out of line.  As long as he stayed on his side of the bed, they should be fine.  They were just two adults being practical.

 

Satisfied that this was the best solution, he took off his tee-shirt and crawled into bed next to her, making sure to leave lots of space between them.  He tried not to think about her lying there next to him in his bed.  He knew he could never go to sleep unless he pretended he was in bed alone and she was back at her apartment in Georgetown.  He rolled over and closed his eyes, eventually allowing himself to be claimed by sleep once again.

 

-----

 

Saturday

Harm’s Apartment

North of Union Station

 

Mac awoke with the distinct feeling of being warm, safe, and secure.  She was surrounded by a pair of big, strong, familiar arms.  Her face was buried in his beautiful, hairy, hard, bare chest.  This was a dream she didn’t want to ever wake from.  She was content to stay in this wonderful place forever.  She whispered his name and snuggled closer.  Then his arms tightened their hold.  She heard him murmur her name in a low, sexy voice.  Loud and clear.  For real.  This was no dream.

 

“Harm?”  She looked up into his eyes and saw desire and love pooling in their depths.  This was the dreamiest non-dream she had ever had.  His tantalizing mouth was mere inches from hers and she felt herself being drawn to it.  Her thoughts were consumed by the memory of the taste of those lips--a memory that needed to be refreshed and relived.  He must have felt it too because they were both moving towards each other at an agonizingly slow pace.

 

All of a sudden, they froze at an unwanted sound.

 

“Mattie’s at the door.”

 

“What?”

 

“That’s Mattie.  She always knocks first before using her key.  I need to get up.”

 

In a flash, he was out of the bed.  She whimpered at the loss of contact.

 

He was halfway to the stairs when he realized he had an obvious problem.  He grabbed his robe to cover himself, making sure to overlap it so that his lower half was completely obscured.

 

He reached the door just as Mattie pushed it open.

 

“What took you so long to get out of bed, sleepyhead?  This is awfully late in the morning, even for *you*!”  Mattie chuckled.

 

“What time is it?”  He groggily ran his hand through his hair.

 

“It’s nine-o-clock.  Or Oh-Nine-Hundred as you…would…say.”  She slowed her speech as she spotted Mac’s jacket, dress, shoes, and purse next to the door.  Her eyes darted to the empty, clean couch, and then to the bedroom.  From where she stood, she could clearly see Mac in the bed.  A knowing smile crept across her face.

 

“So, I see Mac had more than just her cake last night.”  She giggled impishly.

 

“Mattie Grace!”  He scolded her.

 

“What?  I’m only stating the obvious.”

 

“It’s not what you think.”

 

“Yeah, right.”

 

“Nothing happened.”

 

“Like I believe *that*!  Harm, I may be a teenager, but I’m not naive.”  Her mischievous smile came back.  “So I guess you finally told her, huh?”

 

“Told me what?”  Mac asked as she walked down the stairs.

 

“Nothing!”  Harm interjected a little too forcefully.

 

Mattie looked back and forth between the two adults, and then rested her eyes on Harm.

 

“You didn’t tell her?  You slept with her and didn’t tell her?”  Mattie looked at him with disbelief.  “I guess men never *do* grow up, do they?”  She rolled her eyes.  “Look, I just came over to remind you that Suzanne and I are going to the library today to work on a school project, and then I’ll be spending the night at her house.  So I’ll be gone until tomorrow afternoon.  That will give you plenty of time to tell her what you need to tell her, and then you can spend the rest of the weekend in that bed doing what you were *not* doing.”  She winked.  “I won’t be in your way.  Bye, Harm.  Bye, Mac.”

 

She quickly exited the apartment before the two officers could completely process what she had just said.  Harm was staring at the door with a look of stunned surprise on his face when he heard Mac’s voice.

 

“So, what is it that you were supposed to have told me?”

 

“What?”  He stalled.

 

“Come on, Harm.  You heard me.  What was she talking about?”

 

He tensed and avoided meeting her eyes.  “I…um…revealed something…personal…to Mattie…a few months ago.”

 

She cocked her head to the side.  “And just what does this have to do with me?  She assumed you had told me something.  Is the ‘thing’ that you were supposed to have told me the same ‘thing’ that you revealed to her?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, Sailor, care to elaborate?”

 

He was cornered.  It was now or never.  He took a deep breath and began.  “A few months ago, Mattie and I were talking about being able to open up to people we care about.  And…well…she asked me point blank about my feelings for you.”

 

She stepped a little closer.  “And what did you tell her?”

 

“I told her that--”  He forced himself to meet her eyes.  “That I’m in love with you.”

 

Relief and joy swept over her.  For so long she had hoped that her feelings were mutual, even suspected that they were, but she had been too scared to say anything.

 

“It’s kind of ironic that you told someone else first.”  She smiled.

 

He looked at her oddly.  That wasn’t the response he was expecting, but her smile told him that he would get a satisfactory answer soon.

 

“A while back Sturgis was asking me about the tension between us and I blurted something out to him.”

 

He moved closer in anticipation.  “And just what did you blurt out?”

 

“That I’m in love with you.”

 

They both smiled indulgently at each other.  He took another step forward and placed his hands on each side of her waist.

 

“And Sturgis kept this to himself all this time?”

 

“I made him swear not to tell a soul.”  She slid her hands up his arms.

 

“Hmm.  Same thing I made Mattie swear.”  He snaked his arms around her back and drew her closer.

 

“I’m glad it’s not a secret anymore.”  Her hands traced his shoulders before resting on the back of his neck, pulling his head a little closer.

 

“Me too.”  He closed the distance and captured her lips in his.  The kiss quickly deepened as they melted into each other.  He stroked her back and she rubbed his shoulders.  His hands drifted to her six and she toyed with his hair.  The freedom to touch and feel was exhilarating.  After a few minutes of exploring, they broke apart, both breathless and with their hearts racing.

 

He rested his forehead on hers and tried to catch his breath.

 

“So where does this leave us, Sailor?”

 

“I think Mattie pretty much gave us our next assignment.”

 

“Well, I’m not usually one to take orders from a teenager, but I can’t think of a single reason to disobey her.”

 

“Me neither.  Besides, we fell asleep last night so we never got to finish celebrating your birthday.”

 

“True, and I think the name of that cake needs to be tested, don’t you think so?”  She raised an eyebrow in invitation.

 

“Well, good thing she gave us the rest of the weekend to do what we were *not* doing.”  He winked and scooped her up in his arms.  “Come on, we need to get started on that celebration.”

 

She threw her arms around his neck.  “Well, Flyboy, I can definitely say this is going to be the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

 

He stopped walking just long enough to steal a quick, but passionate kiss.  “I’ll make sure of that, Marine,” he whispered as he carried her up the stairs into his bedroom.

 

*****

 

 

 

A/N: Regarding the “Better Than Sex” Cake mentioned in the story.  There are actually two different versions of this cake.  One is made with yellow cake mix with the addition of vanilla pudding, whipped topping, cream cheese, coconut, crushed pineapples, and mandarin oranges.  The other is a German chocolate (or regular chocolate) cake with fudge, caramel or butterscotch, sweetened condensed milk, toffee bars, and whipped topping.  Do a Google search and you will find all sorts of variations of each recipe.  Both versions are delicious, but the obvious answer to the obvious question is “No, of course not!”