Author: JagfanNat
Subject:
'Her Intended' - December 2008 HBX Challenge
HBX December 2008
Challenge
Disclaimer: Not mine, just having a little fun with
them. Pretty Please, don’t sue!
A/N: Set directly after
Four Percent Solution. I know it’s been done a million times,
but that only proves how frustrated we all were with the outcome, or
lack there of!! Flashbacks are in []. This is my first story ever and
first time posting here.
A/N2: Dedicated to my dear friend and
fellow JAG addict, Linda. And with special thanks to NettieC. I
couldn’t have done it without either of you.
Her
Intended -
Harm sat uncomfortably in the chair too small for
his tall frame, next to Mac’s hospital bed, watching her sleep.
He had come dangerously close to losing her forever tonight. He knew,
by all rights, Mac should not have survived her car accident, let
alone escape with little more than bruising. It truly was a miracle…a
Christmas miracle. And he also knew that when one was blessed with a
miracle, it should never be taken for granted.
God had given
him another chance to make things right between them and he wasn’t
going to let that chance pass him by. Watching her sleep these past
few hours, Harm came to realize what an integral part of his life she
was. She was the one constant in his life for the better part of a
decade. He had had many ups and downs in that time, and Mac was there
through them all. She was his best friend. He loved her. He knew
that. She knew that. The hard part was telling her he was in love
with her.
Mac stirred and opened her eyes to see Harm in
exactly the same position he was in when she had fallen asleep.
“Why
don’t you go home and get a good night’s sleep in your
own bed?” she asked quietly.
“Because I can’t
watch over you from there,” he answered simply.
“You
don’t need to watch over me, Harm. That’s what all these
nurses are for. Besides, I’ll be going home in the morning,”
she said.
“You can’t go home alone, Mac,” he
frowned at her.
“I’m not spending Christmas in
hospital!” she answered adamantly, stubborn marine kicking in.
“I’m checking myself out in the morning. All I need is
rest and I can get that far better at home than here, where the
nurses wake me up every hour to check on me,” she
continued.
He had to admit, she had a point. Hospital is the
last place anyone should go to get rest. “Tell you what; I’ll
make you a deal. You can check yourself out on the condition that you
let me look after you at home,” he said as she started to shake
her head no.
“Mac! You just had a major car accident and
you can barely move,” he continued.
“I can’t
ask you to do that, Harm. I can’t ask you to give up your
holidays for me. I can take care of myself,” she
answered.
“You’re not asking me, I’m
offering…in fact, I’m insisting! And I didn’t have
any plans for the holidays anyway, so you’d be doing me a favor
by keeping me company,” Harm reasoned, as he squeezed Mac’s
hand gently.
Mac’s Apartment
Georgetown, Washington,
DC
25 December 2004
11:02 Local Time
Slowly walking
into her apartment, Mac noticed things were not as she left them the
previous morning. For one thing, there was a fully decorated
Christmas tree in the corner by the fireplace. She had not been
feeling festive at all, not to mention too exhausted from her bout of
insomnia, to bother with a tree. After all, who was there to share it
with this year? As Harm went to start a fire she looked around
further, and found that the whole living area was festively
decorated, complete with mistletoe above her bedroom door. Her
apartment had never felt so warm and inviting.
Mac looked at
Harm questioningly. He answered her look with, “I came over
early this morning while you were sleeping to get you clothes to wear
home and I noticed you hadn’t decorated. So I brought my tree
over. Then Bud met me here with some leftovers from Harriet, and
helped me decorate a little.”
“Thank you,”
she said as she walked towards her bedroom.
Mac looked up at the
mistletoe and then at Harm.
“What’s with this?”
she asked with an eyebrow raised.
“You can’t
blame a guy for hoping to kiss a beautiful woman,” he answered
with an uncharacteristically shy smile.
“You’ve
got no hope of finding one of those here!” she answered with a
chuckle, which she immediately regretted as every bone in her aching
body reverberated.
Seeing her pain, Harm immediately came to her
side.
“Take it easy, Mac. Why don’t you change
into your pyjamas and lie down, while I get some lunch
ready?”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Mac
answered, walking into her bedroom.
“And Mac?”
Harm called to her. Mac turned around to look at him. “In my
eyes, you’re the most beautiful woman on earth…no matter
what you look like.”
Mac slowly walked back to where
Harm stood, still under the mistletoe. Standing on tiptoes, she
placed the softest kiss on Harm’s lips, turned and walked back
into her bedroom.
Harm was so surprised; his brain didn’t
have time to react, although his body had no trouble reacting to
Mac’s lips on his, no matter how briefly. His heart was beating
fast and hard in his chest, his palms were sweating and every nerve
in his body was tingling.
Smiling, he made his way to the
kitchen, humming “Santa Claus is back in town”.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Twenty
minutes later, Harm knocked on Mac’s door. Hearing “Come
in” he entered and placed a tray over Mac’s lap on the
bedcovers. Looking down at the bowl of soup and a sandwich, Mac
thanked Harm and asked “Where’s yours?”
“In
the kitchen. I’ll eat later.”
“I hate eating
alone,” she answered, knowing how silly it sounded. After all,
she lived alone and ate countless meals alone. But that didn’t
change the fact that she did hate eating alone.
Harm left
Mac’s room and returned moments later with his lunch. Mac
smiled, as much as she could with her bruised face, and patted the
empty side of the bed for Harm to come and sit with her.
“That
sounded silly, didn’t it?” she asked.
“No. I
hate eating alone too,” he answered simply, as he settled next
to her.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“This
looks delicious. Did I have all these ingredients in my
refrigerator?” Mac didn’t think she had much more than
bottled water and leftover Chinese takeout.
Harm laughed, “No.
I grabbed a few things at Safeway this morning.”
“You
have been a busy boy this morning, haven’t you? And all for
me,” Mac stated.
“Anything for you, Mac,”
Harm answered softly, looking down at his food.
“Thank
you, Harm. For everything.” Mac said sincerely, placing her
hand on his.
He looked into her eyes then. Seconds passed in
absolute silence as he tried to convey the depths of his feelings in
that one look. When he felt she understood, he answered,
“You’re
welcome, Mac. Now eat before the soup gets cold.”
Mac
was exhausted after lunch and, at Harm’s insistence that she
needed her rest, settled down into bed for a nap. In the meantime,
Harm washed the lunch dishes and settled on the couch to watch TV.
Having had little sleep himself the night before, it wasn’t
long before Harm also fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harm
awoke to noise coming from the kitchen. Stretching his back as he
stood up, he made his way toward the kitchen where he found Mac
pouring herself a glass of water.
“Are you ok? Why
didn’t you wake me?” he asked
“I’m
fine, just thirsty. And I didn’t wake you because you were just
as exhausted as I was.”
Looking at his watch Harm said,
“I better get dinner ready. Not that there’s much to get
ready as Harriet sent over two plates of roast turkey with all the
trimmings. All I have to do is heat them up.”
Mac
smiled. “She and Bud are such good friends.”
“That
they are,” Harm answered, as he turned the oven on and got the
plates out of the refrigerator.
Just then the phone rang. Mac
walked towards the living room saying, “I’ll get
it.”
“MacKenzie.”
“Merry
Christmas, ma’am,” Harriet’s cheerful voice sprang
from the receiver.
“Merry Christmas, Harriet. And it’s
Mac when we’re off duty.”
“Sorry m’…Mac.
How are you feeling?”
“Like I was in a car wreck.”
They both laughed
“Is there anything I can do for you,
ma’am?” Mac smiled. There was no changing
habit.
“Harriet, you and Bud have done so much already.
Harm is heating up dinner as we speak and I was just telling him what
good friends you both are. Thank you both so much.”
“It
was our pleasure, ma’am. We’re leaving tomorrow to visit
my parents, so I just wanted to make sure you had everything you
needed and wish you a Merry Christmas.”
“Thanks
Harriet. You all have a great trip and we’ll see you in the New
Year.”
“Ok, ma’am. Take care. Bye.”
“Bye
Harriet.”
Mac hung up the phone as Harm made his way to
the couch where she was sitting.
“That was Harriet to
wish us Merry Christmas and to see how I’m doing.”
“They
are good friends,” Harm reiterated. “Where would you like
to eat? In bed or at the table?”
“I think the
table would be more fitting for Harriet’s Christmas
dinner.”
“Okay, I’ll go set the table. You
sit and relax or watch a little TV. I was thinking earlier that I
should maybe set up the TV in your room for you?”
“Thanks,
Harm, but the couch is comfortable enough for me to watch TV when I
want and I really don’t want to spend all my time in bed.”
Mac was very touched at Harm’s thoughtfulness.
“Okay,
but let me know if you change your mind.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mac couldn’t help thinking that dinner had been perfect.
Harm had set a beautiful table with candlelight and non-alcoholic
sparkling wine. The turkey dinner was delicious and the company
heavenly. She couldn’t remember a time when she was so at ease
with Harm.
Sitting on the couch now, waiting for Harm to bring
the coffee, her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with
Commander McCool.
[Is HE the guy you’ve been waiting
for?]
[I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve asked
myself that question!]
[What’s been keeping you
apart?]
[Me. Him.]
[Do you believe he’ll ever
abandon you?]
[No.] She was sure of that fact. Now more than
ever.
[Then regardless of your choices, isn’t Harm the
one you’ve always intended to be with?]
[Then why aren’t
I?]
[Perhaps you’re biding your time.]
[No. I ran
out of time.] She was so sure of that yesterday. But now?
“Mac…Mac?
Are you okay?”
“Huh... Yeah, I’m fine. Just
got lost in thought there for a minute.”
“Care to
share?” Harm asked passing her a cup of coffee.
“Maybe
later. Want to watch TV?”
“Let’s open
presents first, we’re late!” Harm answered excitedly,
pointing to a pile of presents under the Christmas tree.
Mac
had a look of horror on her face.
“What’s wrong
Mac?” Harm went straight to her side, taking her hand in
his.
“My presents, for everyone, are in the trunk of my
car!”
“Don’t worry, Mac, presents can be
replaced. You can’t. You being here is present enough for me,
and should be for anyone else you bought presents for.”
She
kissed his cheek. “Do you really mean that? After the way I’ve
been with you these last months?”
“I told you,
Mac. I understand you had things to sort out. Nothing’s
changed. What I said at the Admiral’s dining out still stands.
And what I just said is true too.”
He so wanted to tell
her he loved her, but didn’t want to scare her and have her
pushing him away again.
“Thank you.” She didn’t
deserve him; she knew that for a certainty. But she loved him. That
was a certainty also.
[…Isn’t Harm the one you’ve
always intended to be with?]
[Then why aren’t
I?]
Breaking into her thoughts, Harm said “Now, about
those presents…”
They spent the next twenty
minutes opening their presents from Bud, Harriet and the kids. And
Mac opened hers from Harm. He’d bought her the usual bottle of
perfume he got her every year, along with a new bathrobe. He also
gave her a new digital camera saying that as she’d never owned
a camera, he felt it was time she started recording her memories
herself rather than getting photos from others.
“And
now is as good a time as any to start,” he enthused as he
opened the box, before placing the batteries into the new
camera.
Aiming the camera at Mac, she quickly placed her hands
over her face and the flash went off.
“Come on, Mac,
don’t be a spoil sport.”
“I look hideous,
Harm.”
“You do not!” he replied as he piled
a stack of books onto the coffee table and placed the camera on
top.
“What are you doing?”
“Setting
it up for a photo of the two of us. It has a timer,” he said
excitedly.
“Please, Harm, couldn’t we wait until
my face clears up before we take a photo?”
“Oh,
we’ll take one then too. But it won’t be Christmas then,
and I want a Christmas photo of the two of us. I want a photo of my
Christmas miracle.” He was like an excited child on Christmas
morning.
“What miracle?” she asked, his excitement
rubbing off on her.
“You. Alive. And… us. Sharing
Christmas together,” he said suddenly serious, staring at her.
Mac stared right back at him, speechless.
“God,
you’re so beautiful Mac.” He couldn’t help himself.
Staring at her, the thought came. And before he could stop it, his
mouth said it.
Mac blushed, and although her bruising covered
much of it, it was still evident as her neck flushed.
“Okay,”
she said quietly. “But one photo only and no one is to see it
other than you.”
“Deal!” Harm agreed as he
looked at the camera screen to line up where Mac was sitting. He
fiddled with the camera for a few seconds and quickly made his way
around to sit next to Mac.
Placing his arm around her waist,
he leaned close to her and said, “Smile!”
With Harm
looking straight at the camera, Mac looked up at him smiling and the
flash went off.
“Thank you,” he said turning to
her, only to find her lips a mere inch away from his. The temptation
too great, he slowly closed the gap and placed the softest kiss on
her lips, not wanting to hurt her.
[What’s been keeping
you apart?]
[Me. Him.]
Realizing what he was doing and
expecting Mac to pull away and possibly throw him across the room,
regardless of her condition, Harm slowly eased away from Mac. But
before he could fully disconnect his lips from hers, he felt her hand
slide up his chest and snake around his neck, bringing him closer.
She then deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue along his lower lip.
Not wanting to hurt her, Harm let Mac dictate where this kiss was
going. Mac continued to massage his lips with her tongue, then gently
forced them apart, skimming his teeth. Harm readily opened his mouth
fully to grant her access and their tongues tentatively found each
other. She tasted so wonderful. Lost in her warmth, Harm deepened the
kiss further and Mac let out a soft moan.
“I’m
sorry, Mac, did I hurt you?” Harm pulled back quickly with a
look of deep concern.
“No, Harm,” she replied,
blushing. “It wasn’t that kind of moan.”
“Oh,”
Harm replied, still concerned. Then he finally realized what she had
said and his look of concern changed to his full blown cocky flyboy
smile “Oh!” he repeated.
Mac couldn’t help
but smile, but smacked his arm for good measure.
An awkward
moment followed in which neither was sure whether they should resume
kissing. Then Mac finally broke the silence.
“It’s
probably a good thing we stopped anyway,” she said softly. “I
don’t think I’m up to…I don’t think I would
have been able to, uh, continue.” She blushed again at not
being able to say what she meant.
“It’s okay, Mac,
I understand,” Harm said simply. “How ‘bout I make
us some nice hot cocoa and we watch ‘It’s a Wonderful
Life’?”
“That would be great,” Mac
said thankful for the distraction.
While Harm went to make the
cocoa, Mac turned on the TV and put away the books Harm had piled
onto the coffee table to take their photo earlier. She was just
getting comfortable on the sofa when Harm returned to sit next to
her.
“Thanks,” she said taking a sip of the cocoa
Harm handed her. “Mmm, delicious. I think we’ve missed
the first few minutes of the movie, though.”
“Never
mind. It’s not like we’ve never seen it before.”
Harm chuckled.
Mac leaned into Harm and put her feet up onto
the couch, getting comfortable. Harm put his arm around her, holding
her closer, and put his feet up onto the coffee table. There they
settled and enjoyed the movie.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The
movie ended and Harm realized Mac had fallen asleep. He reached over
for the remote and turned the TV off. Slowly sliding out from next to
Mac, whilst still supporting her with the arm he had around her
shoulder, Harm gently scooped her into his arms and carried her to
the bedroom. Slowly he placed her on the bed and covered her with the
comforter, gently sweeping her hair out of her face with his fingers.
He bent down to place a soft kiss on her forehead and turned to
leave, when Mac grabbed his hand.
“Stay with me?”
Harm hesitated.
“I just need you to hold me,
Harm. Please?”
Seeing him hesitate still, Mac looked
hurt and said, “Never mind. Goodnight, Harm.” Maybe they
weren’t on the same page after all.
Panicked, Harm
replied “No! It’s not that I don’t want to hold
you. I want to …so much, Mac. But…”
“But
what?”
“I’m afraid…”
“What
are you afraid of?”
“I’m afraid that once I
hold you, I won’t be able to let you go again.” There.
He’d said it.
[What’s keeping you apart?]
[Me.
Him.]
The conversation with Commander McCool played over and
over in her head, until Mac swallowed hard and finally said,
“Who
says you have to?”
Harm let out a breath he didn’t
know he’d been holding and gave Mac a shy smile.
“Okay.
Let me just turn out the lights in the living room.
I’ll be
right back.”
“’kay.” Mac sighed,
thankful that they were in fact on the same page.
Moments
later, Harm returned, undressed to his boxers and t-shirt, and
climbed into bed next to Mac.
“You look tired” Mac
said, caressing Harm’s cheek.
“So do you”
Harm replied, kissing her softly.
Exhausted, she settled
contentedly in Harm’s arms, resting her head over his heart,
and immediately fell back asleep. Harm held her close, stroking her
back gently.
“Merry Christmas, Sarah,” he
whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I love you.”
Mac’s Apartment
Georgetown, Washington, DC
26
December 2004
0844 Local Time
Mac woke up to the smell of
coffee and a feeling of warmth surrounding her. Opening her eyes
slowly, she was surprised to find herself still in Harm’s arms,
although in a different position than the night before. They were now
on their sides, facing each other, arms around each other and legs
entwined. Mac looked up at Harm to find him staring at her.
“Good
morning, beautiful.” Harm placed a soft kiss on her
lips.
“Good morning.” She smiled shyly. “How
long have you been watching me?”
“Not nearly long
enough,” he answered in all sincerity.
“How are
you feeling?”
Taking stock of herself briefly, Mac
answered, “A little achy, but nowhere near as bad as yesterday.
How does my face look?” she asked touching her face
gently.
Taking her hand away from her face and holding it,
Harm answered, “Much better, looks like it’s healing
well.”
“Good. Do I smell coffee?”
“Yeah.
I put a pot on earlier, thinking you’d want a cup when you woke
up.”
“I better get up and have a shower, then,”
Mac said, moving to get out of bed. But Harm held her in
place.
“Don’t go yet,” Harm said, almost
desperately.
“Why not?” Mac asked, a little
confused.
A little embarrassed, Harm answered quietly, “I
just want to hold you a little longer.”
“Harm,
you’ve been holding me all night!”
“Not
nearly long enough, Mac,” he repeated his earlier words. “And
I, um, … I.”
“What is it, Harm? You what?”
Mac was getting a little concerned.
“I, uh, I was right
when I told you last night that I wouldn’t be able to let you
go. Did you mean it when you said I wouldn’t have to?”
“Yes,”
Mac answered in a whisper.
“Then, there’s
something I have to tell you.” Harm looked deeply into Mac’s
beautiful brown eyes. He could get lost in those eyes. He forced
himself to focus back on his mission and took a deep breath, praying
he would succeed.
“Sarah MacKenzie, I love you and I
want to hold you for the rest of my life.”
Mac froze and
Harm tried to kick start his heart when she didn’t respond
right away. Then he noticed a small tear falling from her left eye
and bent down to kiss it away. His gentle touch was all it took for
Mac to find the courage to respond.
“I love you, too,
Harm. So much. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love
you.”
“Sarah, will you be mine. Will you marry
me?”
“Harm, I am yours. I always have been. And
yes, I’d love to marry you.”
Harm kissed her
softly; a kiss of tenderness, a kiss of promise.
[Then
regardless of your choices, isn’t Harm the one you’ve
always intended to be with?]
‘Yes’ Mac thought, as
she deepened their kiss. ‘Harm always was her intended’.
The
End.