The Perfect Fit
Little AJ and the search for the perfect fit
Authors' Names: Carol and Michi
Rating: GS (PG)
Classification: Harm & Mac / Romance
Spoilers: None that would really matter… AJ and Meredith are still an item in
this story. Same goes for Sturgis and Bobbie….oh and Singer is still alive. (How
did they forget about her? – Shoe. Freudian Slip? – Gum. Oh yeah, that would
make sense. – Shoe.)
Disclaimer: JAG and its character are the property of Bellisario Productions,
CBS, and Paramount.
A big thanks and an even bigger hug to our beta-god Witchy V. We love you, girl!!
Feedback: Always welcome and very encouraging…
June 5, 1973
In a Park in Nevada
“Uncle Matt, will you marry me?” The five-year-old Sarah asked as they
walked through the park, enjoying the midday sun and its warmth as much as they
enjoyed the singing birds around them.
“What?” Matt asked, surprised about her question and slightly confused on
how to answer it.
“Will you marry me?” Sarah repeated her question.
“I can’t, honey,” Matt said as they stopped and sat down on a bench.
“Why not?” Sarah asked disappointed, looking up at him with her sad eyes.
“Don’t you love me?”
Matt smiled. “I love you more than you know. But my job is being your uncle, I
can’t marry you.”
Sarah looked at her hands. “Do you like your job?”
“I love my job. It’s the best one in the world, next to being a marine.”
Matt smiled, which in turn brought a smile to Sarah’s little face.
“How will I know who to marry?”
Matt took Sarah’s little hand into his much larger one and looked at it.
“Well Sarah. When God made us, he made one person for us to spend our lives
with. You’ll know this person when you meet him. His hand will fit into yours
like this,” Matt said as he closed his hand around hers. “Your hand will fit
perfectly into anyone’s hand who loves you.”
“Like yours fits?” Sarah looked at their joined hands and then up into his
eyes.
“Like mine, but when he holds your hand, you’ll feel something right here.”
Matt touched her chest right above her heart. “And you’ll know it’s right
and that he’s the one.”
“Will he feel it too?”
Matt gave her a stern look. “He better, because if he doesn’t he’s going
to have to answer me.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around her uncle. “I love you, Uncle Matt.”
“And I love you, Sarah,” Matt said as he held her.
*
Tuesday
August 5, 2003
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, VA
11:34 AM
“Hey Mac, you got a minute?” Harm asked as he walked into Mac’s office.
Mac raised her head and took her eyes from the file she was reviewing.
“Don’t you knock?”
“No,” Harm bluntly answered and sat down on the chair right in front of her
desk.
Mac sighed and placed her pen onto the desk before intertwining her fingers in
front of her. “What can I help you with?”
“Singer’s on the warpath again. Can you calm her down?”
“Sure. Got a 2 by 4?” She asked him with a deadpan expression.
Harm smiled at her comment and flicked his fingers. “I knew I forgot something
at home this morning,” he retorted with a chuckle. “But seriously, I think
she’s lost it this time. She thinks she can get her client off scoot-free.”
“Is this the domestic violence one? The one where the husband was video
tapping the kids’ party and left the camera on?”
Harm nodded his head. “Yup, that’s the one. He ended up recording himself
trying to attack the kids and his wife while she defended the children and
herself,” Harm finished.
“Is Singer trying to get the tape out of evidence?” Mac asked curiously,
wondering what the lieutenant was trying to do this time to get a client of hers
out of the noose, which was hovering around his neck.
“Sebring already ruled that the tape is staying in evidence. Can you just tell
her to calm down and to accept my offer?”
“You want me to talk with her?” Mac asked with a raised eyebrow and got a
nod from Harm as an answer. She sighed and gave him a little smile. “Okay,
I’ll do it. But I’m not promising you anything.”
“Thank you, Mac. You’re the best.” Harm stood up and grinned happily.
“I’ll cook dinner for us tonight.”
“And it better be something good. After all, I’m entering the lion’s
den.”
“It’s the least I can do for you. Thanks again, Mac,” Harm said in
gratitude before leaving her office.
*
1:55 PM
Mac walked out of Singer’s office, rubbing her forehead while thinking of ways
to make Harm’s life hell, when suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by
something grabbing a hold of her leg. Mac looked down and smiled at the loving
face of AJ Roberts, who smiled brightly up at her. “Hey you, what are you
doing here?”
“Daddy had to talk to Uncle Harm and I saw you,” Little AJ explained and
took hold of Mac’s outstretched hand before they made their way to Harm’s
office.
“Lt. Roberts, did you lose something?” Mac asked, standing in the doorway of
Harm’s office with Little AJ right next to her.
Bud looked up from the chair in front of Harm’s desk, saw his son and took a
deep breath. “AJ Roberts.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” AJ quickly said, hiding part of his body behind
Mac’s legs.
Bud looked with an apologizing glance at Mac. “I’m so sorry Ma’am, but
Commander Rabb and I got caught up reviewing this case.”
Mac gave Bud a half smile as she and AJ walked towards Harm’s desk. “It’s
all right, Bud,” Mac let him know and then looked at Harm. “Singer wants the
deal.”
Harm sighed in relief. “Thank you, Mac. I owe you.”
“Oh, you better believe that. And I’m starting to collect now. Give me two
dollars,” Mac ordered with her hand’s palm up extended to him.
Harm looked puzzled at her, reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollars
before handing them over to her. “Why am I giving you two dollars?” He
wanted to know with a frown.
“AJ and I are going to attack the first floor vending machine,” Mac
explained and Harm just rolled his eyes while Mac glanced at Bud. “Bud, do you
want anything since Harm’s buying?”
“No. Thank you, Ma’am.” Bud chuckled softly.
“Okay.” Mac gently tugged on AJ’s hand, which was still in hers. “Come
on AJ, let’s go get something sweet.”
“Okay, Auntie Sarah.” AJ smiled as he and Mac walked out of Harm’s office,
giving his dad and uncle a last wave.
Bud and Harm watched the four year old and the marine walking through the
bullpen, only attracting minor attention from the others in the office. Bud
turned around and looked at Harm, who was having a somehow dreamy look on his
face. “She’s great with him.”
“Yeah, she is, Bud,” Harm softly agreed and thought about Mac raising their
children one day before his mind returned to reality. “Now back to this case.”
*
2:06
PM
Mac and AJ sat outside and shared a bottle of water, while eating their Rice
Krispies Treats. “Auntie Sarah, will you marry me?” Little AJ suddenly asked
her out of the blue.
Mac smiled and looked at the little boy. “That’s the best offer I’ve had
in a long time, AJ.”
“Will you? I love you.”
“I can’t, honey,” Mac gently told him.
“Why not?” AJ pleadingly asked. “Don’t you love me?” He wanted to know,
the sad tone in his voice clearly hearable.
Mac smiled sweetly. “I love you more than you’ll ever know. But my job is
being your aunt, I can’t marry you.”
AJ looked at the bottle of water on the table. “Do you like your job?”
Mac softly ruffled his blonde hair. “I love my job. It’s the best one in the
world, next to being a marine,” she told him, hoping what she said would make
AJ feel better.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Mac took AJ’s small, chubby hand into hers and looked at it.
“You see, AJ. One day when you’re much older you’ll meet a girl. You’ll
take her hand into yours like this,” Mac explained and closed her hand around
his. “And your hand will fit perfectly around it.”
“Like yours fits?”
“Like mine, but when she holds your hand you’ll feel something right here in
your heart,” Mac tenderly concluded and touched his chest right above his
heart. “And you’ll know it’s right and that she’s the one.”
“Will she feel it?”
“She’d be crazy not to.”
“Have you felt it?”
Mac looked at AJ while Bud and Harm approached the table. “No, not yet, AJ.
But I know he’s out there.”
Before Little AJ could respond, his dad interrupted their conversation by
joining them at the table. “Well AJ, we’ve got to get home and start dinner
for Mommy,” Bud said and ruffled his son’s blonde hair.
AJ leaned over to give Mac a kiss on the cheek and a hug, “Love you, Auntie
Sarah.”
“Love you, AJ,” Mac responded before releasing the boy so that he could say
goodbye to his uncle.
“Bye, Uncle Harm.”
“Bye, AJ,” Harm replied with a smile and patted AJ on the head.
Bud took AJ’s hand into his and then looked at Harm. “Commander, I’ll be
in all day tomorrow to work on those files. Have a good day, Ma’am, Sir.”
“You too, Bud,” Harm and Mac responded in unison as they watched Bud and AJ
walk away.
Mac slowly stood up, starting to clean up the table before she threw away the
trash. As soon as she was done, Mac handed Harm a granola bar off of the table.
“I picked you up a granola bar when AJ and I were at the machine.”
“Thanks, that’s so sweet of you.” Harm accepted the granola bar before
continuing with a smirk on his face. “Since I bought the snack.”
“I got Singer to deal with you. You should be nice to me,” Mac let him know
as they started walking back into the building.
“I will be nice at six thirty tonight, when you join me for dinner.”
“What are you cooking?”
Harm thought for a second and shrugged his shoulder. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“It better be good,” Mac once more let him know before she walked into her
office, leaving him behind in the bullpen.
“With you around, the food is the last thing on my mind,” Harm muttered to
himself before he walked into his own office.
*
Saturday
August 23, 2003
Roberts Residence
4:35 PM
“Catch me, Auntie Sarah!” AJ yelled at Mac as he slid down the slide and
right into her arms.
“Got ya!” Mac twirled AJ in her arms while they both laughed.
Harm, Sturgis and Bud stood by the grill, watching their partner and the little
boy with rapture. “Is she like that with all kids or just with AJ?” Sturgis
asked in wonder.
“All kids,” Harm softly said at once as he watched Mac put AJ onto the slide
again.
Bud smiled. “AJ told us last night that he can’t wait for Auntie Sarah to
have kids so he can play with them.”
“She’ll be a great mom,” Sturgis gently said and then turned his attention
to Harm who was still watching Mac and AJ. He could clearly see the bright
glimmer in his friend’s eyes that were glued to the scene only a few feet away
from them.
“Food almost done, gentlemen?” Bobbie asked from behind and joined the three
men.
“Almost. I’m going for the burnt offering look, this is just mildly burnt,”
Bud informed Bobbie.
Bobbie looked at the grill with a raised eyebrow. “Burnt offerings?”
“I’m feeding officers and a member of the Congress,” Bud explained.
“Doesn’t that equal God-status?”
Harm took a drink of his soda and shook his head. “Sometimes I do wonder about
you, Bud.”
“Sometimes?” Sturgis joked and chuckled.
“Gentlemen, if you would excuse me. Bobbie.” Harm set his soda down on the
table and walked over to the jungle gym where AJ and Mac were playing.
*
“Uncle
Harm! Uncle Harm! Look how high Auntie Sarah can push me,” AJ exclaimed
excited while Mac pushed him on the swing.
“Wow, AJ. Any higher and you’ll be touching the clouds,” Harm acknowledged
with a bright smile as he got closer to them.
AJ reached his arm out when Mac pushed him once more towards the sky. “I
almost got that one Uncle Harm. Right, Auntie Sarah?”
“Right, AJ.” Mac smiled at her godson and then at her partner. Harm walked
behind the swing so that he was standing right next to Mac. “Want to take over,
Harm?”
“Will he let me?” Harm asked while Mac gave AJ yet another push that made
him squeal in pure excitement.
Mac smiled at Harm and nodded her head. “I don’t think he’ll mind at all.
I’m sure you can push him even higher than I ever could. He will be delighted.
Make him catch the clouds, Harm,” she softly told him and completed her
statement with a sweet smile.
Harm gave her a boyish grin and rubbed his hands. “Okay, I’m all for it.”
They quickly changed their positions before Harm started to push AJ on the
swing.
“Higher, Auntie Sarah! Higher!”
“Uncle Harm is taking over, AJ. I’ve got to talk to your mom,” Mac told
her godson while he was floating on his swing.
“Okay,” AJ said to Mac before he repeated his earlier command. “Higher,
Uncle Harm! Higher!”
Harm chuckled and gave his godson a good solid push. “You better follow those
orders, Harm,” Mac told him with a laugh, enjoying the picture in front of
her. It always warmed her heart to see him with their godson. She loved seeing
him act like he was a little boy again who didn’t care about the rest of the
world and just wanted to enjoy the time with Little AJ.
“Aye, aye, Ma’am,” Harm joked as he pushed AJ, his eyes following Mac
while she made her way to the house.
“Yiiiipppeeee,” Little AJ squealed in excitement and as loud as his lungs
were allowing him before letting some giggles follow. “Yes, Uncle Harm. Higher,
I want to catch that cloud. I want to fly!”
Harm could only laugh about the energy and enthusiasm his godson had while
enjoying their play. “Aye, aye, Sir,” he replied with a salute, even though
his godson couldn’t see it. “Mr. Roberts, please get belted up and ready for
the fly to cloud number nine,” Harm commanded with a chuckle before giving
Little AJ yet another solid push.
“Yes, Sir! Hey, Mr. Cloud, I’m coming,” Little AJ screamed between his
giggles, addressing the cloud he’d chosen to conquer.
*
Mac
walked over to the grill and joined the others. Bobbie looked at her. “Mac, we
need your help.”
“With what?” Mac wanted to know.
“Which is darker? The burgers or the charcoal?” Sturgis asked as Bud flipped
a burger on the grill.
Mac carefully looked at the burgers. “Another five minutes and we won’t have
any burgers.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Bud muttered as he took the burgers from the grill. Harm and
AJ’s loud exciting laughter made Sturgis, Bobbie and Mac turn their gazes from
the grill to the swing.
“He’s great with kids, isn’t he?” Bobbie quietly pointed out and looked
at Sturgis, getting a little nod from him in response. Then she turned her gaze
to Mac who stood next to her, seeing the gleam in her eyes as a little smile had
taken place on her face.
“Yeah, he is,” Mac quietly agreed, never taking her eyes off her best friend
and the little boy. “He’ll be a great dad one day. He’s meant to be a
father,” she continued in a whisper with a dreamy look on her face, talking
more to herself than to her friends.
Sturgis gave Mac a knowing look, but had to make it very quick due to the
Congresswoman who was giving him a questioning one.
*
7:09
PM
“Sturgis?” Little AJ asked, trying to get the commander’s attention, who
was sitting right next to him at the table.
“Yeah, AJ?”
“Do you know anyone to marry Auntie Sarah?” AJ wanted to know.
“What?” Harriet asked in surprise, nearly dropping the glass she was holding.
Little AJ took a deep breath. “I want to marry Auntie Sarah, but she said she
can’t marry me. So I need to find her someone to marry.”
Bobbie raised her eyebrows at AJ. “That’s a pretty big job, AJ.”
“Do you know someone?” AJ asked Bobbie with his eyes wide open, the hope in
his voice was clearly audible.
Bobbie, Harriet, and Sturgis exchanged confused and worried looks. “Honey, I
think you should just let Auntie Sarah find her own husband,” Harriet softly
told him.
“But I want to help, Mommy,” AJ whined.
Sturgis looked at Harriet, wondering what she would say but was saved because
Bud, Harm, and Mac walked over to the table.
“Uncle Harm, will you marry Auntie Sarah?” AJ asked his uncle right away
just to be followed by the crash of a broken glass, which his mother had dropped
after hearing his question.
*
Harm
stared at his godson taken aback and then at the adults sitting at the table.
“What?” He asked astonished as Bud sat down at the table, giving Harriet a
quizzical look.
AJ quickly stood up from the table and walked in front of Harm and Mac. He took
one of Mac’s hands and then one of Harm’s before making them hold hands.
“Does it fit, Auntie Sarah?” AJ curiously asked, looking up at his godmother
with a hopeful look on his face.
Mac took a breath, knowing exactly where he wanted to go with this. “AJ, honey.”
“Does it fit? Does Uncle Harm’s hand fit in yours?” AJ asked again.
Mac slowly let go of Harm’s hand and knelt down to be eye level to AJ.
“It’s not that easy, AJ.”
“Uncle Harm doesn’t fit. It looked like he fit.” AJ sadly looked into
Mac’s eyes and she could see that tears were forming in his eyes.
One single teardrop ran down his cheek and Mac softly started to wipe it off
with her thumb. “It does, honey,” Mac lovingly told him while the adults
around them wondered about their conversation, not being able to follow it.
“But you don’t feel it here?” AJ pointed to Mac’s heart.
Mac closed her eyes for a second. She couldn’t lie to her godson, but she
couldn’t tell him the truth either. The truth was that she didn’t only feel
it in her heart. She felt it all over her body. That slight touch, even though
it was forced, surged through her body from her fingertips to her toes and
especially in her heart. She opened her eyes to look into the innocent blue eyes
of AJ and softly gave him her answer. “I do.”
“Then why aren’t you and Uncle Harm married?” AJ asked in wonder and
frowned.
“Remember I told you that he had to feel it too?” Mac reminded AJ while a
voice in her head told her to remember that she and AJ were not alone.
AJ slowly raised his head and looked at Harm. “Uncle Harm, why don’t you
love Auntie Sarah?”
Harriet’s jaw dropped as soon as the words had left AJ’s mouth. Sturgis
choked on his soda while Bobbie covered her mouth. Bud could only stare at his
son, wondering what AJ had gotten himself into this time. And the only thing Mac
could do was close her eyes for a short moment, knowing that this just got way
out of control.
Harm looked at his godson, suddenly knowing how a deer felt realizing it was
going to be hit by a car. He took a ragged breath and slowly knelt down to look
at his godson. “Why do you think I don’t love your Auntie Sarah?”
“Because you don’t feel it here,” AJ explained to his uncle and pointed to
Harm’s heart.
Harm glanced at his friends, which were still sitting at the table, silently
asking for help but getting none. They all looked at him and eagerly awaited his
response. Harm slowly turned his gaze to Mac and noticed her composed expression.
He carefully searched her eyes and saw the pain and at the same time the hope
that stood there while waiting for his response. He slowly took her hand into
his again and gently squeezed it. “I do feel it,” he quietly gave his godson
the answer but remained locked in Mac’s eyes. “I feel it all the time.”
“Then why aren’t you married?” AJ asked.
Mac tore her gaze from Harm and looked at AJ. “It’s not that easy, AJ.”
AJ placed his hand on Harm and Mac’s joined ones. “But it fits and you feel
it.”
“It’s hard to explain, AJ,” was all Harm could say, not being able to
explain his godson the situation any better.
AJ turned around and looked at his mother. “Mommy said if you love someone,
things are easy. Right, Mommy?”
“Right, AJ. But sometimes grown ups have trouble telling each other things,”
Harriet told him, hoping her son would understand the complex idea.
“But you and Daddy tell each other things.” AJ moved closer to the table.
Harriet looked at Bud. “AJ, things aren’t always that simple.”
“Why?” AJ asked, still not understanding what the problem was. It had
sounded so easy when his aunt had told him about the perfect fit.
“Sometimes, what adults say gets lost in the words,” Bobbie tried to explain
while she focused on the little boy in front of her.
“Huh?” AJ asked with a confused look, understanding less and less what the
grown ups around him said.
Sturgis decided to take a stab at it. “Grown ups have a lot of things to think
about and sometimes they are scared of what the other might say back to them.”
“So Uncle Harm is scared of Auntie Sarah?” AJ asked, not believing that it
was possible to be scared of his aunt.
The four adults at the table glanced defeated at each other and then slowly
focused on Harm and Mac. Their expressions changed from confusion to pure
delight when they watched their two friends slowly kiss each other, obviously
forgetting where they were and that they had an audience. Their hands still
joined while their free ones held on to the back of each other’s necks.
“I don’t think Harm is scared of Mac,” Bobbie softly said to the group and
smirked.
AJ looked at his godparents and laughed. His melodic sound caused them to break
their kiss and to look at the table. They both blushed and softly chuckled in
embarrassment. “Does this mean you’re getting married?” AJ asked in hope.
Mac looked expectedly at Harm, who quickly gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “It
means that we are going to talk.”
“You’re not scared to talk?” AJ wanted to know as he thought about what
the adults had just told him.
“Not anymore,” Mac gently answered and smiled at the little boy.
*
Friday
October 24, 2003
Admiral Chegwidden’s Residence
8:56 PM
The engagement party was in full progress. Bud and Harriet stood at the side of
the make shift dance floor while several of their friends were dancing. However,
the couple wasn’t focused on the dancers because they were watching another
couple standing off to side, whispering to each other.
“Hard to believe our son did that,” Harriet said to Bud.
Bud smiled when he saw Harm kissing Mac on the cheek before taking her hand to
pull her onto the dance floor and into his arms. “I know. It’s pretty great,
isn’t it?”
“It is,” Harriet commented as a four-year-old bundle of energy bumped into
her legs, “AJ Roberts.”
“Sorry, Mommy,” AJ apologized when he looked up to his mother. “Where are
Auntie Sarah and Uncle Harm?”
“Over there.” Bud pointed to the couple on the dance floor who looked like
they were in their own world, lost in each other’s arms and eyes.
“Okay,” AJ only said and walked onto the dance floor, tapping Harm’s leg
as soon as he stood right next to his godparents. “Uncle Harm?”
Harm looked down and saw AJ. He glanced at Mac and smiled before picking his
godson up and into his arms. “Yes, AJ?”
“Are you happy about Sunday?” Little AJ wanted to know as he settled into
his uncle’s side.
“I’m very happy about Sunday. Why? Aren’t you?”
AJ beamed a smile. “I’ve been practicing, so I’ll be perfect. I don’t
want Auntie Meredith and Uncle AJ to be mad at me if I drop their rings.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Mac placed a hand on the boy’s back and
kissed his cheek.
AJ turned his attention to Mac. “When are you and Uncle Harm going to get
married? I want to be your ring bearer too.”
Mac chuckled slightly. “Uncle Harm has to ask first.”
“Ask, Uncle Harm! Ask!” AJ called loudly causing several people in the room
to chuckle at his antics.
Harm laughed, “I will, just not right now.”
Mac raised an eyebrow at Harm’s admission. “Really?”
Harm got serious, knowing he and Mac hadn’t really talked about getting
married yet. “Yeah, it’s okay with you, right?”
“Very okay,” Mac softly replied as her heart raced in her chest.
“Can I tell Mommy?”
“No!” Harm and Mac responded at the same time, causing AJ to laugh before he
wiggled out of Harm’s arms and quickly ran away.
Harm and Mac’s eyes followed him while AJ ran into the kitchen. Harm placed
his arms around Mac and chuckled in her ear before he softly kissed it. “You
do know that he is going to tell.”
“I know. He has us wrapped around his little finger.”
“Just wait ‘till we have kids.”
Mac looked into his eyes and smiled. “I can’t wait.”
“Me neither.”
They danced for a few more minutes, both lost in their own thoughts about what
just happened. Harm finally broke the silence between them. “You don’t mind?”
“Mind what?”
“Me asking so soon,” Harm quietly explained.
“Should I?”
“No.”
Mac smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “Harm, I don’t mind at all.”
“How do you feel about it?”
Mac glanced around them and saw how their friends were laughing and talking
around them. “You want to talk about this now?”
“There’s no time like the present.”
Mac sighed before making a suggestion. “Can we talk about it someplace more
private?”
Harm grinned sheepishly. “Sure, and I know the perfect place.” He took her
hand and led her out onto the front porch.
As they stepped onto the porch Harm took off his jacket and placed it on Mac’s
bare shoulders. “You know me too well,” Mac gently said and drew her arms
through the sleeves.
“I figured it might take a while for us to talk.”
Mac gave him a look of agreement. “How long have you been thinking about
asking?”
“It’s been a running thought for the last few years. But in the last few
months it’s been pretty constant.”
“How constant?”
Harm grinned with slight embarrassment. “You remember last month when we had
dinner at Yamato and ran into Stan Miller?” Mac nodded her head in response,
remembering the time she’d met Harm’s friend from high school. “I came
very close to introducing you as my wife.”
“I’ve almost introduced you as my husband quite a few times too,” Mac
softly admitted.
Harm leaned against a post on the porch, took her hands into his and brought her
a little closer to him. “I love you so much and I want this to work.”
“I know and I want this to work too. But there is still a lot to sort out.”
“Not as much as you think,” Harm told her as he received a questioning look.
“We both know the admiral is greasing the wheels for us.”
“I know.”
Harm moved his hands to rest on her waist as her hands fell to the tops of his
arms. “You’re the woman I am going to marry.”
Mac looked pleadingly into his eyes. “Then ask.”
“I will, just not yet.”
Mac playfully grumbled. “I hate the word ‘yet’.”
Harm laughed and pulled her flush against him. His hands resting on the small of
her back while her hands worked their way to the back of his neck. “When I ask,
I want it to be special.”
“I’ve got you. I don’t need a fancy proposal.”
“But I do,” Harm said before softly kissing her ear.
Mac slightly pulled away from him but looked merrily into his eyes. “I don’t
have a choice, do I?”
“No, Ma’am.” Harm grinned before he claimed her lips in a kiss intended to
show her how he felt.
The kiss took on a life of its own like many of their kisses before did. Harm
pulled her closer, if it was even possible, and Mac fell into him, letting him
take her into a world of wonder and bliss. Neither of them noticed when the door
opened and a blushing Tiner walked onto the porch. “Ma’am, Sir.”
Harm and Mac’s lips broke apart from each other and they quietly groaned. Harm
kept Mac pressed against him while he looked over her shoulder. “Yes, Tiner?”
Mac rested her head on Harm’s chest while Tiner answered him. “They’re
getting ready for the cake, Sir.”
“Thank you, Tiner,” Harm said before the petty officer walked back into the
house, closing the door quietly behind him. Harm looked down at Mac, who held
onto him. “He’s got the worst timing.”
Mac lifted her gaze to meet his. “I say we return the vase we got Meredith and
AJ and buy a bell that rings every time someone opens the door.”
Harm chuckled while Mac started to take off his coat. “Or we could stop making
out on the front porch.”
Mac looked at him, watching him while he pulled on the coat. “I like the bell
idea better.”
Harm grinned wickedly as they walked back into the house. “Me too,” he
gently agreed and took her hand into his.
*
Wednesday
November 19, 2003
Mac’s Apartment
11:06 PM
Harm pulled Mac closer to him while they lay on the couch. Both were lying on
their sides with Mac’s back pressed against his chest. “I like this,” Harm
mumbled into Mac’s hair, letting his hand run down her side and finally
grasped her left hand.
“So do I.” Mac softly sighed while Harm kissed the hand he was holding.
“We fit together,” Harm intertwined their fingers together.
Mac smiled. “Yes, we do.”
“Good,” Harm said as he moved softly behind her. He gently started to kiss
her fingers, palm, and then her wrist.
Mac giggled at the feeling of Harm’s mouth leaving a trail of kisses on her
fingers. However, she stopped the moment she felt a metal band sliding down her
left hand ring finger. Harm moved Mac’s hand in front of her and whispered
into her ear. “Does this fit?”
Mac looked at her hand to see a diamond ring staring back at her. She felt her
voice catch when she whispered her answer. “Yes.”
Harm paused to let her catch her breath. “Marry me?”
Mac turned as best as she could so that she was able to face him. Harm looked at
the tears in her eyes and watched her placing her hand on his cheek. “Yes.”
Harm exhaled the breath he was holding and gently kissed her with all the love
he had for her. He pulled back from her lips and wiped away the tears on her
cheeks. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Mac said before she kissed him again. ‘I found him,
Uncle Matt. I found my perfect fit,’ Mac’s thoughts were silently telling
her uncle before she lost herself in the arms of the man of her dreams. Her
perfect fit.
*
Saturday
February 21, 2004
Church of Arlington
2:23 PM
“And now for the rings,” Chaplain Turner instructed.
Little AJ heard his cue and felt the tap on his back from his father. AJ moved
to Chaplain Turner who was standing in front of Harm in his dress whites and Mac
in a beautiful off the shoulder wedding dress. AJ raised the white satin pillow
to Chaplain Turner, who removed the two solid gold bands from the pillow. At
this point AJ was supposed to take his spot back and stand back next to his
father, but he didn’t move.
Chaplain Turner looked down at the little boy. “AJ, you may go back.”
AJ grinned up at Chaplain Turner. “I know, but I’ve got to make sure it fits.”
Mac and Harm chuckled and grinned at the little boy. The congregation chuckled
at the boy’s innocents as well. Chaplain Turner, who knew the story, smiled at
AJ and then focused his attention back at the couple in front of him.
“A ring is a circle of unbroken love and trust. These rings are a symbol of
your love and fidelity towards each other.” Chaplain Turner paused and handed
a ring to Mac. “Sarah, if you would place this ring on Harm’s finger and
repeat after me, ’With this ring I thee wed’.”
Mac’s hand shook slightly as she placed the band on Harm’s ring finger.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” Mac spoke with a slight tremor in her voice.
Chaplain Turner then handed the other ring to Harm. “Harm, if you would place
this ring on Sarah’s finger and repeat after me, ‘With this ring I thee wed’.”
Harm smiled solidly at Mac and slipped the ring onto her ring finger. “With
this ring, I thee wed.”
Chaplain Turner took a deep breath. For some reason this was the part of the
ceremony that always made him choke up. “By the power invested in me and the
eyes of God, I pronounce you husband and wife.” He looked at Harm who was
grinning like a lovesick fool. “You may kiss your bride.”
Harm and Mac both took a step towards each other and whispered ‘I love you’
to each other before their lips met for the first time as a married couple.
Little AJ grinned up at his aunt and uncle as they kissed. “They fit.”
*
Friday
April 29, 2005
Bethesda Navel Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland
9:43 PM
“Can we come in?” Bud asked in a whisper while poking his head inside the
door.
Harm and Mac both looked up and at the door just to give their friend a bright
smile. “Sure, come in,” Harm answered for them and completed the statement
with a nod.
“Oh my gosh, she’s so beautiful,” Harriet said in awe, admiring the
sleeping bundle in Mac’s arms.
“Yeah, she is,” Harm agreed with pride. “Just like her mom.” He moved
his head down a little and kissed his daughter’s forehead first, before
letting his lips meet his wife’s.
“She has your eyes,” Mac quietly told him with a sweet smile, remembering
the moment she looked for the first time into the beautiful eyes of her daughter.
Harm chuckled. “I was told all babies have blue eyes at first, so I’m not
going there yet.”
“I hope it is okay that we’re here so late. Little AJ wanted to see his girl
so badly,” Bud explained with a big smile and looked down at the nearly asleep
boy, who was safely cradled in his father’s arms.
The moment Little AJ was told that his aunt and uncle would have a baby, he
wished it would be a girl. And when he found out that they indeed would have a
little baby girl, he always called her ‘his girl’.
“Sure, it’s more than okay,” Mac softly confirmed and then looked up at
her tired but still brightly smiling godson. “AJ, I would like you to meet our
daughter Jessica,” she told him and moved a little so that he could look
better at the baby.
Bud set his son down on his feet so that he could take a better look at Jessica.
Little AJ shyly made his way to Mac’s bed. “She’s really beautiful, Auntie
Sarah,” Little AJ whispered while letting his little fingers run down the
baby’s face. The smile on his face was a bright one and simply copied the
smiles all the grown-ups around him had on their faces.
Then he slowly let his hand wander to Jessica’s little hand and took it into
his. His smile immediately changed to a huge grin before he looked at his
parents, then his uncle before finally meeting his aunt’s eyes. “It fits,”
he said enthralled and then gave his girl a little kiss on her cheek while his
parents and godparents could only chuckle and watch him in admiration.
The End