Disclaimer: The characters of JAG don't belong to me. I just borrowed them from Bellisarius Productions, Paramount and CBS for this story. No infringement intended.

Love, Valor And Deception

1525 ZULU
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, VA

Cmdr. Harmon Rabb sat at his desk and was trying to concentrate on his latest assignment. Yet, his mind was focused on something else - his life and what he had made out of it. Being a JAG lawyer was surely not a childhood dream - it was being a naval aviator. But then again, when he had the chance to go back to flying, it was not the same. Something was missing, something - or better someone - he had left behind a JAG: his partner Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie.

A smile broke out on his face when he looked up from his file and glanced over his desk where his partner was stretched back in a chair, she as well reading in a file. He placed his chin on his elbow and unintenionally started to stare at her. Suddenly, Mac looked up from her file.

"Harm?" she asked, seeing that smile on his face somehow turning into a naughty grin.

He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, "Oh, I was just lost in thoughts, sorry."

"Regarding that naughty grin on your face, yellow light, Commander." Mac retorted, a grin on her face as well.

"Hey, I was not thinking about you, at least not the way you think. Know what? I should give you a red light just because of the thoughts you had about my thoughts."

Mac raised her eyebrows and remained silent. Just when she was about to say something, they heard a knock on the door. A moment later, Lt. Bud Roberts entered the office.

"Sir, the Admiral has been asking for you." he said and indicated his head in direction of Admiral Chegwiddden's office. "He wants to see you in his office."

"On my way, Bud."

Harm raised from his chair and a moment later found himself in his CO's office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he inquired, standing straight in from of the Admiral's desk.

"At ease, Commander. Please sit down."

Harm sat down as he was told to.

"How is your current case coming along, Commander?" Admiral AJ Chegwidden asked.

"Pretty tight, sir, but I think we got it wrapped up by tonight."

"Fine. I want you to hand this case over to the Colonel. I have an urgent task for you on my hand. Just came in from the Pentagon."

"Sir?"

Harm wasn't quite understanding what his CO was walking about.

"We have a situation on the USS Seahawk. They need a naval aviator for some special duty, and I was told to send you."

Harm was stunned, "Sir, with all due respect, I don't fly anymore."

"Don't you think I know that, Commander? This order came straight from the Pentagon. You have to report at Andrews tonight at 2300 hours. A SH-34 helicopter will wait for you to take you to the Seahawk. You will receive further instructions then. Dismissed, Commander."

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Oh, and Commander? This is security level 4. No one besides you and me will know about this. Tell the Colonel that you will leave tonight with unknown destination."

Harm nodded before he left the office. This conversation had caught him totally off guard. Never had he expected to be called back to flight duty. He was lost in his thoughts about what may be going on on the Seahawk that made his presence necessary when Mac caught up with him.

"Prepare for landing, Commander." she smiled at him when she felt he wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying.

Oddly enough, that seemed to break him out of his thoughts.

"You seem to do a lot of that thinking stuff lately."

"I, uh, I have to report at Andrews tonight. I have to hand the case over to you. I will be gone for a while."

"What?" Mac screetched as she followed him down the hallway.

"Not my choice, sorry." he pushed her into his office and closed the door behind him. "You are not to know about this, but I've been called to the Seahawk."

"To the Seahawk? And why am I not to know about this?"

"Classified, Colonel. Will you be all right with the case?"

Mac shrugged her shoulders, "Guess so. When will you be back?"

"Mac, I have no idea. All I was told was that I have to report at Andrews tonight at 2300 hours and wait for further instructions." Harm let out a short chuckle, "Don't you just love Pentagon orders?"

"This is a request from the Pentagon? And they will send only one JAG lawyer to the front?"

"Not a lawyer," Harm said, "a naval aviator."

2400 ZULU
Harm's appartment
North of Union Station
Washington DC

Harm was packing his stuff for the Seahawk. Yet, he wasn't quite sure what to take as he didn't have a clue how long he would be gone and where exactly the Seahawk was located. A knock at the door interupted him.

A chuckle escaped his lips after he had opened the door. Mac was standing in front of him, a Beltway Burger bag in her hands.

"I thought you might be hungry." she uttered and held up the bag.

Harm couldn't help but laugh when he let her in.

"Oh, and the burger in there is for me. You get the rabbit food."

Whenever she got a chance, Mac just had to tease him about being a vegetarian. She just couldn't understand how someone really could survive by not eating any meat at all - especially Harm!

"You just needed to say that, didn't you?" he uttered and followed her to the kitchen counter.

"You know, I don't understand why you like this stuff so much. A human being needs proteins, and you sure don't get everything just by eating rabbit food."

"Will you please stop calling my dinner rabbit food?" he chuckled.

"Hey, it's just the truth."

Harm just gave Mac a look before he got himself a fork.

"You know," Mac started while she placing the contents of the bag on the counter, "I was thinking about this flight mission you got assigned. Makes me think something's wrong there. Why would they need a JAG lawyer to fly one of their missions?"

"Cuz he's also a naval aviator?" Harm questioned, a grin on his face.

"Serious, Harm. The last time you flew a Tomcat was more than a year and a half ago. You were out of active flight duty for over 10 years before you went back to the Seahawk. What makes you so special to qualify for this mission?"

"I have no clue, Mac, and I won't start asking questions. I got a chance to fly again."

Mac shrugged her eyebrows, "So you just go into the lion's den without even asking why? I don't understand you."

"Orders came right from the Pentagon. If they don't wanna tell me now, I won't ask. At one point they have to tell me what they want me to do on the Seahawk, and then I'll know."

"I always could call Clay..."

"Don't you dare!" Harm stopped her immediately from her thoughts when the phone began to rang. "You won't call Webb, you hear me? I don't want him involved."

"Fine, fine."

Harm reached the phone and answered. He turned to Mac and rolled his eyes heavenwards while listening. Not even a minute later, he finished a call.

"Okay, when did you call Webb?" he asked Mac.

Mac just shrugged her shoulders, and gave him a look of 'I don't know what you're talking about'.

"That was Webb on the phone. He said to be careful and not to trust anyone."

"I didn't call him, cross my fingers, swear to die."

Harm let out a sigh, "Okay, you didn't call him."

"Said so. But, do what Clay said. Be careful out there, Harm."

Mac placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it lightly. Harm brought her hand up to his lips, and kissed it softly.

"Don't worry, Mac. I'll be back sooner as you might think."

"I also want you back in one piece, hear me? And I don't want to have to come looking for you in some god forbidden jungle or desert and drag your six out of there cuz you managed it to crash a Tomcat again."

"That won't happen, I promise you that. Maybe all they need me for is delivering some papers or something. After all, I am also a lawyer, that would make sense."

"I hope you are right."

Silence filled the room for a while. While they were eating, Harm was stealing a glance at his partner from time and to time, and the more he studied her, the more he got the feeling that something was bugging her.

"Okay, Colonel, spill it."

"Spill what?"

"I know you. Something's bothering you. What is it?"

"Knock it off, Harm, I am fine."

"Who are you trying to convince here? You or me?"

Mac sighed, "Lately, I've been having nightmares about being shot down in a Tomcat. I've had that dream the whole last week, always the same. I am sitting in a Tomcat right behind you and the next moment all hell is breaking loose and we are crashing on the ground."

"That is past, Mac. We made it through Russia."

"It was not Russia. I have this odd feeling that my dream yet has to come true. And now you going to the Seahawk doesn't make me feel very good. We get news about crashed airplanes almost every month, and do you know how many survive?"

Harm couldn't help but gather Mac into his arms. She was close to tears, and in all the years he worked together with her, he had never seen her this scared. It was unusual to see Mac in tears, he could count the times he had seen her cry on one hand.

"Mac, believe me, nothing like that will happen. I would turn down the assignment to make you feel better, but I can't. It's an order from the Pentagon."

Mac just nodded and pulled away from Harm. She glanced up at him, and their eyes met. Harm didn't know why, but he got a strange feeling in his gutt. He felt like he was having butterflies in his stomach. The last time he had felt like this was in high school. He placed his hand on Mac's cheek.

A light smile broke out on her face when she placed her hand on top of his. She placed a kiss on his palm before she pulled his hand off her cheek.

"Be careful, okay?"

"Always, Mac, always."

0400 ZULU
Andrews Air Force Base, MD

It had started to rain. His duffle bag holding over his head, Harm was running over to a helo that was supposed to take him to the Seahawk.

"Are you Cmdr. Rabb?" a Lt. asked him as he helped him getting in.

"Yes, Lieutenant. I take it you are taking me to the Seahawk?"

"Please strap in, sir." was the only response he got.

Harm shook his head, but did as he was told. A moment later, the helo was airborne and they were on their way to the Seahawk.

"I was told to receive further information from you."

"We will take you to Fort Dix." he got in response.

"Fort Dix? My presence is requested on the Seahawk, not in Fort Dix."

"Sir, if you are Cmdr. Rabb, we have orders to take you to Fort Dix."

Not really satisfied with that answer, but knowing he would not get another answer if he kept on asking, Harm leaned back in his seat and started to relax - and to think why he was brought to Fort Dix instead.

0515 ZULU
Fort Dix
MacGuire Air Force Base, NJ

The helo set down in Fort Dix after a bumpy ride. A petty officer was already waiting for Harm in the rain.

"You are late, sir." he called to top the noise of the helo. "The cargo jet was supposed to take off ten minutes ago."

"What cargo jet, Petty Officer?" Harm asked and fastened his pace to catch up with the young PO.

"The cargo jet that will take you to Naples, Italy, sir."

1300 ZULU
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, VA

Mac's first stop this morning was not her office, it was the Admiral's.

"Tiner, is the Admiral in his office?" she asked PO Tiner.

"Yes, Ma'am. He already asked for you."

Mac shortly smiled at Tiner before she entered Admiral's Chegwidden's office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked and stopped in front of her CO's desk.

"Yes, Colonel. Please, sit down." he said without even looking up.

Mac did as she was told. She leaned back in the chair, and for a some time waited for Admiral Chegwidden to talk to her. He was scribbling something in a file, and obviously had forgotten about her.

"Sir?" Mac interrupted him.

This time, he looked up. He closed the file on his desk, and leaned back in his chair.

"Yes, Colonel. I believe the Commander told you about his assignment?"

"No, sir." Mac replied, knowing fully well that Harm had not been allowed to tell her anything about where he was going or what he was doing. "He told me he would be gone for a while and that he didn't know when he'd be back."

AJ Chegwidden raised his eyebrows. Mac's loyalty was unbelievable, she even lied to her CO.

"Colonel, as your CO, I will accept your answer, but as your friend..."

Mac sighed and bit her lower lip. It was confession time.

"Admiral, I am worried about the Commander. Call it woman's intuition, but I don't have a very good feeling about this."

"I don't feel very good about this either, Colonel. I don't like to be left in the dark. I would like you to meet Special Agent Webb at the Pentagon."

"Sir? I had to promise the Commander that I would not..."

"This is an order, Colonel."

Mac raised from her chair, "Aye, sir."

1545 ZULU
USS Seahawk
Mediterranean Sea

The helo that brought Harm from Naples to the Seahawk set down on the Seahawk. Harm fumbled with his belt and then hopped off the helo. He saluted when he saw the CAG approaching him.

"At ease, Commander. I am Captain Forbes, CAG of the USS Seahawk." the man introduced himself. "I am sorry for all the inconviniences you had by getting here."

"Sir, why was I ordered to the Seahawk?" Harm asked right away. "I am not on active flight duty anymore, I am a JAG lawyer."

"We know that, Commander. We need a person with your experience on this mission. Sadly, none of our pilots qualified for the mission."

"And I did?"

Harm did not get an answer to his question. Instead, the CAG showed him to his quarters.

"Officially, you are not on the Seahawk, Commander." the CAG said as he opened the door to Harm's cabin. "There are only 4 people on this ship who know about your presence. You are not to leave your quarters unless I tell you to. We don't want to cause any misunderstandings by having a JAG lawyer on the ship. Some people may take it the wrong way."

"Am I under arrest?" Harm asked irritated as he tossed his bag on the bed.

"This is just for your own safety, Cmdr. Rabb. It's been a long flight out of DC. I take it you want to rest."

With that, the CAG closed the door to Harm's quarters.

"Freaking great!" he muttered and sat down on the bed.

Here he was, back on the Seahawk, back where he had started his flying career, back where he had transfered to from JAG - and yet everything seemed so different. He had not the slightest idea what he was doing on this ship, and just thinking about Captain Samuel Forbes gave him the creeps. He had never met that guy before, but then again if he was the second most powerful man on the Seahawk, he had to have a good reputation.

He started to unpack his bag to distract him from his constant thoughts about what this mission might be and why on earth he had been choosen to fly. Those thoughts vanished the moment he pulled an unframed photo out of the bag which had be lying on top. A smile broke out on his face when he traced the contours of the face on the picture.

"Mac, I know I said you shouldn't call Webb, but I hope you do it nevertheless." he murmured, his fingers resting on Mac's photo. "Why am I on board this ship? Why did I have to leave JAG and you behind, even if only for a couple of days? Help me understand."

For some time, Harm just glanced at the picture, then placed it on his pillow and finished unpacking his bag.

1800 ZULU
USS Seahawk
Mediterranean Sea

Harm was woken by a cracking sound coming from his cabin door. He raised from his bed to see a young man walking into his cabin.

"Commander Rabb, good afternoon." he uttered after he had given him a salute.

"At ease, Lieutenant." Harm said as he raised from his bed.

"Lieutenant Thomas Davidson, I am your RIO." the young Lt. introduced himself and shook hands with Harm. "The CAG wants to meet you in his quarters."

A moment later, Harm was dressed, and Lt. Davidson showed him to Cap. Forbes' quarters.

"Lieutenant, if you are my RIO, I assume you have been told about this assignment."

"No, sir." Lt. Davidson replied firmly. "I get my orders, and I don't ask questions, sir."

Harm frowned. Like Mac had said the night before, it more and more seemed like going into the lion's den. All the years he had been with the Navy, and all the times he had served as a JAG lawyer, Harm had never experienced this less of information about any of his cases or missions - even if they had been security level 4.

The reached the CAG's quarters, and Lt. Davidson knocked on the door.

"Lieutenant Davidson and Commander Rabb reporting as ordered, sir." the young Lieutenant saluted when the CAG opened the door to his quarters.

"Please, come in."

Cap. Forbes offered both Harm and his RIO a seat.

"I hope you had a good rest, Commander?" the CAG asked as he sat down in his own chair.

Harm just nodded, but didn't reply verbally.

"I think you want to know about the mission you have been chosen to fly."

"Yes, sir." Harm started. "I am still wondering why you need a JAG lawyer to fly one of your Tomcats."

"Diplomacy, Commander. I didn't think that any of my pilots have enough tactfullness. That's why I have chosen you. I need a pilot, but I need a pilot that knows about laws and contracts. What would be better than a JAG lawyer who used to be naval aviator."

"With all due respect, sir, I don't quite understand what you are trying to say."

Cap. Forbed handed a photo to Harm.

"Iran, about 15 miles east of the Turkish border. We lost contact with one of our F-14 over Turkey two days ago. We sent out a search team, but didn't find any traces where we suspected the Tomcat to have crashed. 36 hours ago, we received a radio message from Lieutenant Commander Chuck Monnahan. He informed us that he and his RIO are being held captive by the Hisbollah. He told us what they want in exchange for our pilots - a F-14."

"And you think about making a deal? Sir, the Navy never cooperates with terrorists."

"That is right, Commander, but policies change the moment one of the captives is a State Senator's daughter, Lieutenant Jayne Milton."

"So you want us to deliver a F-14 to the Hisbollah, sir?" the RIO asked with a touch of scare in his voice.

"Yes, Lieutenant, that's exactly what I want you to do. On this photo you can see that the Hisbollah have a hangar built into a hill . That's where our pilots are kept, and that is where we want you to deliver the F-14 to. It will not be armed, and is prepared with explosives. We will be able to blow up the Tomcat as soon as you and the hostages are free. Further questions, Lieutenant, Commander?"

"Yes, sir, I do." Harm uttered. "Blowing up a Tomcat practically means blowing up almost $40,000,000."

"$38,000,000 to be exact, Commander."

"Just to think that this is paid with my taxes..." Harm whistelled. "This is fairly a high ransom for two pilots."

"Commander, you are not to question the decisions that have already been made."

"Aye, sir." Harm replied. "But I still do have one question."

The CAG somehow got really annoyed with Harm's line of questioning, "And what may that be, Commander Rabb?"

"How will we get out of Western Azarbaijan?"

A devilish smile broke out on the CAG's face, "Ah, I see you know that area. It's just 15 miles West to Turkey, Commander."

1800 ZULU
Washington Monument
Washington DC

" Clay, thanks for meeting me." Mac said as she caught up with Clayton Webb in front of the Washington Monument.

"I am sorry we have to do this here, but open space has almost no ears." he smiled as he shook hands with Mac. "I guess it's your partner you want to talk to me about?"

It never ceased to amaze Mac that Clayton Webb knew almost everything that was going on. She just smiled and pushed a strand of windblown hair behind her ears.

"Why was he called to the Seahawk?"

"Let's walk a little."

Mac and Clay started to walk in direction of The Mall. Tourists were busily taking pictures of the Monument from all angles. Mac could just smile about that. She'd done the same the first time she had visited DC.

"So, your partner, Commander Harmon Rabb JR." Clay started. "He was not supposed to tell you he was called to the Seahawk."

"He knows I can keep such information confidential." Mac retorted. "So what do you know about this? And don't give me some mumbo jumbo. I was there when you called him the night before he left. You know what is going on, and I want to know all about it."

"This case has highest security. I shouldn't even have called Rabb."

"Clay, please."

Clay stopped and looked over at Mac. He could see that she was more than just worried about Harm. If he told her, she would probably get more worried than she already was. But, if he didn't tell her, she would certainly bug him until he finally would give in.

"He's being sent to the Iran to handle a hostage situation." Clay uttered and continued their walk towards The Mall.

"What?" Mac gasped. "I didn't hear anything about such a situation in the Iran."

"48 hours ago, a F-14 patrolling East Turkey disappeared. A search team did not find the remains of the Tomcat, neither could they locate the pilot and his RIO. 36 hours ago, Lt. Cmdr. Chuck Monnahan sent out a radio message. He and his RIO, Lt. Jayne Milton, are being held captive about 15 miles east of the Turkish border in the Iran."

"Milton as in State Senator Milton? I know his daughter was stationed on the Seahawk."

"Yes, Mac, State Senator Milton's daughter. He is concerned about his daughter's well-being. If one word leaks to the news, the two hostages are dead. If we send out a rescue team, they are dead. The President has decided to give them what they want."

"And what may that be?"

"A F-14."

"Excuse me?" Mac exclaimed. "So you want Harm to deliver a F-14 to the Iran? This is an execution command! You can't trust them! Harm just might end up as their hostage as well."

"We know that. That's why we have the best people right behind the Turkish border watching out for them. We also believe that maybe one of the two hostages may be cooperating with the Hisbollah. We have no proof of that yet, but as there were no signs of a crash anywhere, we believe the Tomcat was brought down safely without any gun force from Iran."

"You think there was a Navy officer on the Seahawk that actually sympathizes with the Hisbollah? You don't think that Senator Milton is involved in this, do you?"

"Mac, all I am saying is that there is some evidence that points to two or more traitors among the officers on the Seahawk. More evidence says that one of them either is Lt. Cmdr. Monnahan or Lt. Milton. Given the fact how her father handles politics with the East, I would not be surprised to find out she is one of them."

"And then you send off Harm to find out, freaking great!"

Clay sighed, "I am sorry, Mac, but I can't change this. As much as I would love to, but I can't."

"Clay, if there is one person who can, it's you."

"I know you are worried about Rabb, but there is nothing I can do. I am sorry. We couldn't just send off any pilot to handle this situation. Maybe if he wasn't a pilot after all, they might have just put him in the back seat. Mac, he's the best to handle this situation."

For some time, they walked in silence - till Clay touched Mac by her lower arm and stopped her.

"You love him, don't you?"

Not getting an answer from Mac was enough for Clay. He knew - he had always known.

"I take it, he doesn't know."

"Harm is my best friend, I am closer to him than I was to anyone else before in my life. How can I possibly tell him something like that without ruining our friendship? I don't wanna lose him, but I feel if I tell him and he doesn't return my feelings, I will."

"I think you really need to talk to him about this."

Mac let out a sarcastic chuckle, "Yeah right, he's somewhere out there flying in a Tomcat to some god forbidden place on a life and death mission and I'll just call him and tell him that."

"I have a flight to Turkey tonight. There's one spot left."

A light smile broke out on Mac's face, "Thanks, Clay."

2020 ZULU
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, VA

" Sir." Mac uttered and saluted upon entering her CO's office.

"At ease, Colonel. Please sit down."

Mac took place in the same chair she had used the very same morning. Admiral Chegwidden had a frown on his face as he waited for Mac to give him the details.

"Sir, I want to fly to Turkey with Agent Webb." Mac blurted out even before telling him why Harm had been called away and most of all where he was.

"I beg your pardon, Colonel? What would make your presence necessary in Turkey?"

"With all due respect, sir, but I had to give Clay my word that I would not inform you about Harm's mission. He would not have told me if I hadn't promised him. All I can tell you is that the Commander was sent on an execution command to the Iran. I want to be with him if something should happen."

"Colonel, you know that I can't accept this, but I feel like you will go no matter what I say or not say."

"Admiral, Harm is not only my partner, he is also my friend."

"You can't always save his six when he is in danger, Mac. He is capable of handling almost every situation that might occur down in the Iran. You might just put yourself in danger."

"If you knew what I know, you would go yourself. Harm is an excellent lawyer, and he's a good pilot, but this... he's not prepared for this. He needs my help."

"You can use some of your vacation days that have built up, Colonel. Permission for leave granted."

Mac smiled, "Thank you, sir."

"Oh, and Colonel. Bring the Commander back alive."

"I will, sir."

0015 ZULU
USS Seahawk
Mediterranean Sea

Harm was sitting at the table in his quarters. In front of him lay a letter he had already written - to his mother - and a letter yet to write - to Mac. He had already wasted 9 sheets of paper which lay crumpled in the waste basket. He had never come past the 'Dear Mac' or 'Dear Sarah'. Somehow, writing the letter to Mac was not as easy as writing the letter to his mother.

He tapped the pen on the table and glanced at Mac's picture that lay in front of him. He reached for it, and a smile appeared on his face. Mac was one very special person to him. Never in his life had he felt so connected to any woman before, not even Diane.

Maybe this was what made it so hard for Harm to write this letter. If Mac read it, he was dead. He needed to put all his feelings for her on this paper, and yet, he felt like it was not right to open his heart to her in some letter. He needed to do it in person. He needed to see her reaction, he needed to explain to her, he just needed to feel her. But if he should die in this mission, Mac should know about his feelings for her. Maybe in heaven he would finally get the answer from her he hoped for.

He grabbed his pen from the desk, and once again - and this time for the last time - started a letter addressed to Mac.

My dear Sarah,

when you read this letter it means I am gone. I would have given everything to stick around longer, but fate had different plans for me...

He had just put the letter into the envelope when Lt. Davidson entered his quarters.

"Sir, the CAG wants to meet us on deck in 5 minutes." he said, giving Harm a salute.

Harm nodded and strapped on his leg holster. Then he picked up his letters from the table and placed them in the deposit of his bed.

"Sir, would you please deposit this as well?" Lt. Davidson asked and handed him a third letter. "I came to the Seahawk a week ago, I don't know any person I could give this to."

"For your mother?" Harm asked, noticing the name on the envelope.

"My sister. She's all family I have left."

Harm nodded and closed the deposit. Then he picked up his gun and put it into his holster. Last thing he grabbed from the bed were his gloves.

"Do you have any family, sir?"

"My mother, in San Diego." Harm answered and made his way over to the door.

"Your wife, sir?" Lt. Davidson asked as he picked up Mac's photo from the table. "I mean, I saw you wrote two letters."

A smile broke out on Harm's face as he took out the picture of his RIO's hands.

"One day, I hope she will be."

0015 ZULU
Dulles International Airport
Washington DC

Mac was lost in her thoughts. 5 minutes ago, her flight to Turkey had taken off, and she just kept on staring out of the window, seeing the lights vanishing in the distance.

Her thoughts were with Harm. In all the years she had known him, he had managed to get caught in the most impossible situations, but always found a way to get out. This time, Mac wasn't sure if she ever would see him alive again. A lot of things were still left unsaid between them that Mac desperately needed to tell him. At this time of her life, she couldn't picture a life without him.

"Penny for your thoughts." Webb broke her out of her thoughts as he leaned over from his seat to hers.

"Not for a million, Clay." Mac replied, with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"What if I promise you get Harm back alive?"

"Don't promise anything you can't keep."

Webb leaned back in his seat, a grin on his face, "I think I know what you were just thinking."

"You Agents may know about a lot of things, but sure not what I am thinking." Mac replied, turning her gaze out of the window again.

"I am not blind, I am not deaf, and I am not dumb. I can put two and two together."

"And what may that mean, Agent Webb?"

"A lot of untold feelings. I know all about that stuff, Mac."

"Yeah, you know about everything." Mac muttered.

She wasn't in a very good mood, Clay could tell. And the last thing she needed at the moment was a conversation with anyone else than Harm. She just needed to be alone for awhile to sort out her feelings and deal with her fears - and think about what would happen to her if Harm never came back from this mission.

"10 years ago, I was in love." Clay started. He didn't turn to look at Mac, he just wanted her to listen.

"She was working with me, and we became good friends. I never dared to tell her what I felt for her as I thought it was going to ruin our friendship. One day, she was called to work on a hostage situation down in the Florida Keys while I was on vacation. I came back to work just to find out that she was out there alone trying to rescue a 4-year old girl from a dozen psychos. I sat in a plane for 4 long hours, just praying that she was all right. I had this feeling that it was too late for me to tell her that I loved her. A million different things went through my mind. Believe me, I know every single thought you have, every single doubt."

"How did it turn out?" Mac mumbled.

"I wish I could say I found her alive, but I can't. Police found her near the city border to Key West an hour before I arrived. She had two bullets in her head. In her arms, she held on tightly to the girl she was looking for. She was dead as well."

Mac turned to face Clay, "I am sorry, Clay."

"That's how life goes. Funny, a couple of weeks later I found out from one of her friends that she had been madly in love with me but never dared to tell me cuz she was afraid I wouldn't feel the same way. I don't wish for anyone to go through the hell I went through after finding out, not even my worst enemy."

Clay paused for a moment before he went on.

"I gave you two so many opportunities to sort out your feelings for each other and finally be honest with each other, but you just didn't catch on it. I didn't want any of you two suffering the pain I had suffered. And then again, here I am sitting with you and talking about just what I had tried to avoid all those years."

"All those years? How long did you know?" Mac asked astonished. She couldn't remember the time she first felt like being in love with Harm, but she knew that just last night, she had finally allowed herself to be honest to her heart.

"Oh, I have known practically from the first day I met you two. I've seen you smiling at him, and believe me, it's not the way you smile at me or anyone else. I have seen Harm return that smile so many times. There was enough electricity between you two to literally light up a bulb. I had made it to my personal mission to help you let go off your past and start a new life together. One part of that somehow didn't work out the way I had hoped it would."

"But you tried. I always wondered why you gave Harm all that money for the MIG when we were in Russia trying to find his father."

"Like I said, I made it to my personal mission to help you two. I knew Rabb couldn't make a full commitment to anyone until he could put his past and his father to rest."

Once again, Mac turned her head towards the window. She touched the spot where a little ice flower was already about to bloom on the outside.

"I've never loved anyone the way I love Harm before. And this scares me. How do I know he loves me as well? How do I know I will not mess up our friendship by telling him what I feel?"

"Just think about one thing, Mac: his biggest love was flying a Tomcat, so why did he give up that chance and came back to JAG, back to you?"

"Why did he leave in the first place then?"

"I can't give you an answer to that, only Harm can. Maybe after all he realized that there was one thing in the world he loved more than flying, and he came back for good."

"I hope you are right, Clay. I really hope you are right - and it won't be too late to tell him."

0020 ZULU
USS Seahawk
Mediterranean Sea

A helmet under his arm, Harm made his way from the pilot's hatchway over to the prepared F-14. He had a strange feeling in his stomach, and wished he could just turn around and walk away, but he couldn't. Other than his RIO, he could not see any person on deck. It was pitch dark and windy.

"Sir?" his RIO said as he stopped next to Harm. "Sir, you got the wrong helmet."

Lt. Davidson held up a helmet that read 'RABBIT' on top. Harm looked down at the helmet in his hands. On top, he read 'ZAPPER'. Thinking this was going to be his call sign again, he had picked up that helmet earlier. With a sigh, he handed the helmet over to his RIO and took his instead.

"Sir?"

"Oh, Zapper used to be my call sign when I was stationed on the Seahawk a couple of years back. How did you end up with that sign?"

A chuckle escaped Lt. Davidson's lips, "You don't wanna know, sir."

Harm just shook his head as he smiled about his RIO and climbed up the ladder to get into his seat. A moment later, both he and his RIO were strapped in, the helmets and O-masks on. The canopy closed after Harm had pinned something on the instruments in front of him.

"Tango Sierra requesting permission for take off."

"Permission granted." Harm heard a voice cracking into his ear.

Not 20 seconds later, the fighter had disappeared in the dark night. They were given their destination coordinates. Both Harm and his RIO had difficulties understanding the coordinates they were headed to, but after confirming them twice, they finally got them pointed out on their maps. This was the last contact they had to the USS Seahawk before they broke off contact.

"Zapper, you comfortable back there?" Harm asked when they finally were on their own.

"Yes and no, sir." came the answer from the officer in the rear seat.

"Zapper, please stop calling me sir. Rabbit will do."

"Yes, sir... Rabbit. I am just a little worried about not being armed at all."

"So am I. See it this way, Zapper. We are delivering a Tomcat to the Hisbollah, they would be plain stupid to shoot us down."

The RIO let out a chuckle, "They would."

"Trust me, we'll be fine. I can speak a couple of words in Farsi. Hope it will be enough though."

"I heard you were in the Iranian desert before. That when you learned to speak that language?"

"No. My partner at JAG, Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie, she can speak Farsi fluently. If I had known where we were headed, I had asked her to give me a rundown on it."

"That her on the photo, Rabbit?"

Harm didn't give him an answer. Shortly, he turned his gaze away from his instrument and glanced at the photo of Mac.

"I saw you addressed one of your letters to a Sarah Mackenzie. So she's a marine?"

"One hell of a marine!" Harm chuckled. "Anything on the radar, Zapper?"

"Nothing to be concerned about. Another 800 miles till we enter Iranian territory."

"Roger."

About 10 minutes later, they had almost reached the position where the F-14 had disappeared on the radar 2 days earlier.

"How far till destination, Zapper?"

"2 minutes, 25 seconds. I got no activity on my radar."

"Let's pray it's going to stay that way. I will go down to 2,000 feet."

"Roger, Rabbit."

Suddenly, the RIO let out a loud chuckle. It took Harm a couple of seconds to realize why he was laughing.

"Zapper, do not use Roger and Rabbit in one sentence."

"Roger. 1 minute 20 seconds till destination."

Harm slowed down the F-14. Suddenly, he heard some voice in his ear speaking Farsi. Obviously, that guy was talking to him as he could make out the words 'Tomcat' and 'ransom'.

"Cmdr. Harmon Rabb JR, United States Navy. Requesting permission for landing." he called into the mic in his O-mask, but all he got in reply was another mix of words in Farsi.

"What did he say?" Zapper asked from the rear seat.

"I couldn't understand. Let's go down."

"Roger."

Not even a minute later, the Tomcat bounced down on a runway somewhere in Eastern Azarbaijan. Harm brought the fighter to a halt in front of the hangar. When he popped the canopy open, he already had a MP in his face. Slowly, both he and his RIO raised their hands.

"Pa'een!" the Hisbollah screamed and waggled his MP in front of Harm's face.

Harm slowly turned to Zapper, "He wants us to get out of the Tomcat."

Zapper nodded slowly and started unbuckling. So did Harm. They both climbed down the ladder, and soon were surrounded by 8 Hisbollah, all pointing a MP at them.

"Pa'een!" one of the Hisbollahs screamed again.

Harm slowly lay down on the ground, Zapper doing the same. Theirs guns were taken away from them immediately. Zapper let out a loud groan when he felt a foot on the back on his head. Both his and Harm's face were crushed against the concrete that way so they couldn't look up.

"Lt. Thomas Davidson." a voice suddenly said in fluent English. "And you may be?"

Harm tried to look up, but only could see a pair of black boots in the dark.

"Cmdr. Harmon Rabb JR, United States JAG Corps." Harm replied after his face was being crushed against the concrete once more.

"A lawyer? They are sending us a LAWYER? I thought the Navy was more creative than that."

"Monnahan." Zapper mumbled into the ground.

"How bright that little boy is..." Lt. Cmdr. Monnahan turned to one of the Iranians and told him something in Farsi.

"Ba'la!" the Hisbollah called and dragged Zapper up to his feet.

Harm was up on his feet a moment later. He looked over at Zapper and saw that he had a bleeding cut on his cheek - apparently from the sharp concrete. When he felt a MP in his back, he began to follow Monnahan inside the hangar. Then everything around him faded.

0800 ZULU
Western Azarbaijan
Iran

Harm moaned when he finally gained back consciousness. His head was aching badly. He felt himself lying in someone's arms.

"Don't sit up." a female voice admonished him when he struggled to sit up. " You've been hit pretty badly."

"Mac." he mumbled.

He couldn't clearly make out whose face he was looking at as his vision was blurred and the room fairly dark. He could only recognize that the woman holding him was having dark, short hair.

"Mac." he mumbled again.

"I am Lt. Jayne Milton, sir. Please, lay still. You have a pretty bad concussion. You were out for a couple of hours."

"Zapper?"

"I am all right." a voice called from a short distance. "Got a headache though."

Harm blinked a couple of times before he was out again.

"Who is Mac?" Lt. Milton asked as she turned to face Zapper who was crushed in the back of the room.

"His partner I guess, Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie."

"I thought he was a pilot. What's he doing with a Marine partner?"

"As far as I know, he used to be." Zapper shrugged his shoulders. "He's a JAG lawyer now."

"A JAG lawyer? First, they only send two people to my rescue, and then I have to find out one of them is a lawyer. Freaking great. What was your plan? Prosecute my kidnapper?"

Zapper just shook his head and waved his hand.

"So, Zapper is your call sign." Lt. Milton tried to make small talk. " What's his?"

"Rabbit." Zapper replied.

"Rabbit? How did he end up with that?"

"Don't know. Maybe cuz of his last name, Rabb. How did you get your call sign?"

"Ice? Someone in Pensacola once told me I was cold as ice. That got stuck."

Slowly, Harm was regaining consciousness again.

"Ice? You flew with Mace." he mumbled.

"Yes, I did, sir. Till he got called to the Eisenhower about 4 months ago."

Harm moaned as he tried to sit up, but finally managed to lean against the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment till they adjusted to the fair light in the room.

"What time is it?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you." Ice replied.

"They took away everything that we possibly could use to escape, even our shoes."

Harm rubbed the back of his head. He could really use Mac's internal clock right now. He studied the room. No windows, only a door and one small light bulb lighting up the room. A small opening on the ceiling caught his eye. It possibly was used for ventilation purposes only, but - he could see the sun through it.

"Oh, Mac." was all that escaped Harm's lips before he was out once more.

1920 ZULU
Iranian / Turkish border
Turkey

Mac snapped off a sharp salute after she had entered the tent that was put up for communications not even a mile away from the border.

"Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie, sir." she uttered.

General Jeffrey Mannings raised his eyebrows when he saw the insignia on Mac's uniform.

"You are from JAG?"

"Yessir."

He turned away from her, "We didn't request anyone from JAG."

"I brought her." Clayton Webb said and entered the tent. "She's Cmdr. Rabb's partner."

"Agent Webb, this is a military operation. Your presence was not needed here, neither was Col. Mackenzie's."

"With all due respect, General, but I might be of use for you." Mac pronounced.

"And how could you be of use for us, Colonel?"

General Mannings sure seemed to be one of the old Marines who kept on to the belief that the military was no placed for women. Mac had felt his disapproval the minute she had entered that tent.

"Does any of your men speak Farsi, sir?"

"I don't think so, Colonel Mackenzie."

"Well, General Mannings, I do. Fluently if I might add that."

"She's right." Clay supported Mac. "Col. Mackenzie knows about the culture and the people. And she can communicate with them."

General Mannings just raised his eyebrow again before he turned to a table where a huge map was spread.

"Sir, when was the Tomcat delivered to the Hisbollah?" Mac asked and approached the table.

"Shortly before 4am local time." she got in response.

"That was 18 hours ago. Shouldn't they be here by then?"

"Colonel, the Tomcat was delivered, that is all we know. Maybe your JAG lawyer headed off East and not West."

Mac was about to say something that sure wasn't going to be very pleasant when Clay cut in.

"General Mannings, 18 hours is a very long time for a 15 mile walk. I know Cmdr. Rabb. If they were set free and all right, they had already reached Turkey. I assume you have a SEAL team available?"

General Mannings cringed at the fact that this Agent and some lady JAG lawyer were telling him what to do. Nevertheless, he turned to one of the officers in the tent.

"Lieutenant, will you please let Captain Harris know that I need to speak to him?"

"Aye aye, sir."

Lieutenant Addams snapped off a salute before he left the tent.

"My order was to send out a SEAL team to blow up the Tomcat 24 hours after it was delivered, no matter whether the hostages already had returned or not." General Mannings explained to Mac and Clay. "I am not going to send them out even 5 minutes earlier. That's my order."

"But, sir, they could be somewhere out there injured." Mac cut in.

"I have my orders, Colonel, and no one, and most of all no lady JAG lawyer can change that."

A man in his late forties entered the tent. He snapped off a salute.

"Captain Harris reporting as ordered, sir."

"Captain Harris, may I introduce you to Lt. Col. Mackenzie and Agent Webb. They came in from DC."

"Colonel, sir." Captain Harris said and shortly bow his head in direction of Mac and Clay.

"The Colonel here is Cmdr. Rabb's partner at JAG. She wants a status report on our hostage situation."

"At 2am local time, I will send out a SEAL team to blow up the Tomcat, ma'am."

"What about the hostages, sir?"

"We have orders not to interfere if they should not have been released."

General Mannings saw the expression on Mac's face and said, "You won't get involved in this, Colonel, this is a direct order."

Mac just waved her hands in the air, then turned on her heels and left the tent. Clay followed her.

"Mac, don't do anything stupid now." he called after her.

"Anything stupid?" Mac exclaimed. "Clay, we have only 5 hours to get Harm and the others out of Iran alive. The moment they blow up the Tomcat and they are still being held captive, they are dead! I can manage a 15 mile walk."

"And what then? According to Mannings, there are a dozen Hisbollah out there."

"I'll think about that when I am there. Either you help me, or you don't."

"Geez, Mac, this is suicide!"

"I rather die trying to save Harm than being left behind without him."

1930 ZULU
Western Azarbaijan
Iran

" Ice, can you hear anything?" Zapper asked and pushed his ear against the door as well.

"Sshh. If you keep that up I don't understand anything at all."

"C'mon, get away from the door. Let me do it."

Harm pushed both Zapper and Ice away and kneeled down in front of the door.

"Oh yeah, Mr. JAG lawyer can do everything best." Ice muttered.

Harm glared at her for a moment, before he turned his attention back to the door and the voices he heard outside.

"They will go to Khvoy."

"Khvoy? What is Khvoy?" Zapper asked.

"Sounds like it is a city not far away. 4 men, that's all I could understand."

"4 men leaving or 4 men staying?"

"Couldn't make that out, they were walking away. 4 men leaving leaves us with how many Hisbollah?"

Ice shrugged her shoulders, "6, maybe 7."

Harm sighed as he started to pace the floor. The sun had already set a couple of hours earlier, and the light produced by the bulb barely light up the room.

Suddenly, the door was unlocked from outside. Ice and Zapper were not able to move away from it fast enough, so they unintentionally fell backwards right in the Hisbollah's way. Zapper didn't even have the time to react when the handle of a MP came crushing down on his face. Ice raised her arms to cover her face, but the MP was only pointed at her.

"Nah, Kh'hesh Mi'ko'nam!" Harm called, slowly raising his hands to show the Hisbollah it all was an accident.

"Kh'hesh Mi'ko'nam!" he repeated.

Groaning, the Hisbollah pulled his gun away from Ice. He dropped a bottle of water on the ground, before he kicked Zapper in his side to move away from the door. Wincing in pain, he lay crumbled on the floor when the door came crashing in its angles.

Harm picked up the bottle and kneeled down next to Zapper, checking out his face and pouring some water over his bloody nose.

"I think it's broken." Zapper gasped.

"Let me see." Harm carefully examined his RIO's nose. "It's swolen but it doesn't feel like it's broken. Can you breath all right?"

Zapper nodded and sat up, leaning against the wall. Blood still dropped from his nose, so he put his wrist up to it, trying to stop it.

"We need to get out here before dawn." Harm uttered and watched Ice take care of Zapper's nose. "We just need to make it over to Turkey and we are safe."

"Great idea, Rabbit." Ice replied sarcastically. "We have no guns, we have no shoes, and oh, did I mentioned we are locked in?"

"Just keep up thinking that way."

Harm grabbed his leg holster. A moment later, it lay on the ground in front of him, and he fumbled at some plastic material that kept the holster in its place.

"What are you doing there?" Ice asked, watching as Harm pulled off a long piece of plastic.

"Trying to pick a lock. A needle would be better, but I guess we don't have that in here, do we?"

Harm fumbled at the door, the piece of plastic in the lock.

"Do you know what you are doing?"

Harm just waved his hand at Ice's question and kept on concentrating on the lock. About a minute later, he heard a low clicking sound. Slowly, he pulled the handle. The door opened for about an inch, only to be blocked by a plank from the outside.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed.

"At least you opened the door, Rabbit."

"He opened the door, but we're still locked in. What does Mr. JAG lawyer suggest we do now?"

Harm took a deep breath. No, he wasn't going to say to Ice what he was just thinking. His head was aching badly. He plopped down next to the door and ran his hand through his hair. Slowly, he was losing hope that they would ever get out of there and that he would ever see Mac again.

2000 ZULU
Iranian / Turkish border
Turkey

Mac attached a filled water bottle to her backpack. For the last time, she checked if she had packed everything she would need. Two flashlights, a rope and climbing gear, extra ammu, a first aid kit, a compass, binoculars and a map with the exact coordinates where she was headed. She swung the bag over her shoulder and accidentally hit Clay who was standing behind her.

"Sorry, Clay, I didn't know you were here."

"You really intend to go."

"I can't leave Harm out there waiting for his death. He needs me."

Clay sighed, "I knew nothing I would say would keep you here. I'll cover for you with the General. I'd go with you, I hope you know that, but I'd probably only slow you down."

"Thank you, Clay. I can take care of myself pretty well. You don't have to worry about me. I will be fine."

"Here," he pulled a gun out of his holster, "two guns do more harm than one."

A smile broke out on Mac's face, "Harm and I will be back alive, I promise you."

2230 ZULU
Western Azarbaijan
Iran

Mac was walking at the edge of a cliff when she caught sight of her destination. She kneeled down on the ground and pulled her binoculars out of her backpack.

She could see two Hisbollah patrolling the area around the hangar, both carrying a MP over their shoulder. Suddenly, one of them stopped and lit up a cigarette.

Mac scanned the area and noticed two Tomcats in the hangar instead of only the one Harm had delivered. Before she could even think about it, she caught sight of a small light on top of the hangar - a ventilation hole that would probably give her a look inside the hangar.

Not really knowing what she should think about the situation, she decided to climb down to the hangar and then decide what to do. She strapped on her climbing gear, attached the rope to the wall behind her and hooked the rope up to her belt.

Slowly, Mac started to climb down the 100 feet to the hangar below her. It didn't take her long to reach the ground. She unbuckled her climbing gear and crawled over to the small hole the light was coming from. When she reached it, she lay flat on her stomach and looked down. All she could see was a young man in flight gear pacing the floor. She had found Harm

"Harm!" she called in a hushed whisper as she turned on the flashlight and pointed it down in the room below her.

When she didn't get a response, she called again. This time, the young man stopped pacing and looked up at her, more being alerted by the light coming from outside than by Mac's calling.

"Rabbit!" Zapper called.

Within seconds, Harm was at the hole, looking up into a smiling face.

"What did I tell you about having to drag your six out of some god forbidden place?" Mac chuckled when she saw Harm staring up at her.

"Mac, how did you get here?"

"Long story. I'll get you out of there. Do you know how may Hisbollah are inside the hangar?"

"I heard something about 4 men a couple of hours ago. They were talking about leaving to Khvoy. I don't know if 4 left or if 4 stayed though."

"I can see two from up here."

"Mac, I picked the lock of the door, but it's blocked by a plank."

"Be ready to run. I'll be there in a few."

Mac slowly crawled to the edge of the hangar and looked down. One Hisbollah on the left, and one on the right. She needed to come up with a plan how to knock them out at once. She crawled back to the wall and detached the rope. Then she grabbed a rather large stone and crawled back to the ventilation hole.

"Harm, I need to climb down at the rope. Please hold on to it or I'll go down 40 feet." she called and lowered one end into the hole.

"What are you up to, ninja girl?" he called as he caught the end of the rope. " And how many of you are out there?"

"Just me."

Harm's mouth dropped open, "Just you? Mac, you are crazy!"

"No time to argue. Hang on to that rope or you'll let me fall!"

Harm snapped of a mock salute and began to tighten the rope around his waist. Once again, Mac hooked up the rope to her belt and crawled to the edge. For a couple of minutes she just waited - till one of the Hisbollah patrolling the area turned around the corner and was out of sight for the other. She reached for the stone next to her, aimed, and hit the Hisbollah right on his head.

"She shoots and she scores." she chuckled and pulled at the rope to tighten it. Then she made her way down to the ground.

She set foot on the ground next to the Hisbollah who was out like a light.

"Have a nice dream." Mac whispered as she plastered the Hisbollah's mouth with scotch tape. Then she reached for the rope and pulled at it a couple of times till Harm let go of it. She cut a piece off and tied the guy's hands behind his back. Next were his ankles with a second piece of the rope. Finally, Mac dragged him to the very back end of the hangar.

Then she picked up the MP and sneaked to the corner. She shortly glanced around it and saw the second Hisbollah making his way over to her. She needed to come up with a plan fast. If she shot him, everybody inside the hangar would hear it.

She had not come up with anything good, when the Hisbollah walked around the corner. The cigarette dropped from his mouth when he saw Mac. He reached for his MP, but Mac was faster. With the handle of the MP she had in her hands, she hit him in the face. The Hisbollah went down, but was not out. So Mac smacked the MP right across the back of his head.

"And off to dreamland."

Mac reached for the rest of the rope and tied this guy up the same way she had done it before. About a minute later, two Hisbollah were resting against the outside wall at the very back end of the hangar, both out like a light.

Silently, she made her way inside the hangar. It was dark inside. She couldn't see anyone, but she could hear two different voices to her left. She glanced around and caught sight of a closed door blocked with a plank to her right.

Making sure she was not to be seen by the two people talking on the left of the hangar, she slowly made her way to the door. She yanked at the plank which came down with a loud crash - and this didn't get unnoticed by the two Hisbollah. Mac grabbed the door handle and swung the door open.

"Go, go, go, go!" she yelled and ushered Harm, Zapper and Ice out of the room.

Bulletts started flying around their heads, just as Zapper and Ice found cover behind a jeep. Mac shortly glanced at Harm before she handed him one of the MPs she was carrying and went to look for cover as well.

She didn't make it as far as Zapper and Ice, and ducked behind a stack of wooden boxes, thinking she would be safe there as the bulletts came out of the other direction.

"Mac, to your left!" Harm yelled when he saw one of the Hisbollah's appearing behind her.

Mac didn't even have time to react when she already got hit and fell to the ground.

" MAC!" Harm screamed as he saw her going down.

He aimed the MP at the Hisbollah who had shot her and pumped at least 10 bullets into his chest.

"Give me cover." he called to Zapper and threw the MP his way. Then he ran over to Mac.

He dropped down to his knees next to her. A puddle of blood had formed next to her body and a big red spot of blood covered her upper left arm.

"It went right through." she gasped.

"Hold on, Mac, hold on."

Harm pulled down the zipper of his overall and ripped his t-shirt apart. Then he ligatured her arm right above where she was shot.

"My backpack, I have a first aid kit in there."

"Couldn't you have told me before I ripped my shirt apart?"

Mac put a weak smile on her face, "Sorry."

Harm returned the smile and reached for the backpack. He had just opened it when he heard the sound of an explosion. His instincts kicked in immediately, and he leaned over Mac and covered her body with his.

"What happened?" Mac cried, trying to get up but Harm pushed her back down on the ground.

Wide-eyed, he looked up to see that the one Hisbollah left had hit the tank of the jeep and had lit up the emerging gas with a second bullett, either intentionally or by mistake. Zapper and Ice were gone.

Harm reached for the MP lying on the ground next to him and was about to jump up and start firing wildly into the dark, when he heard Zapper's voice.

"Rabbit, he's down!"

Ice and Zapper appeared from the very back of the hangar. Obviously, they had seen the jeep's ripped tank and had starting running off in direction of the Tomcats.

"Rabbit? Who came up with that?" Mac chuckled.

Harm just gave her a sarcastic smile as he reached for the first aid kit in her backpack, cleaned up her arm and put a very thick bandage on it.

"Rabb it, Mr. Rabb."

"I think I am going to hear that one forever now." he grimaced and pulled Mac to her feet.

He reached for her healthy arm and put it around his shoulders to hold her on her feet. Slowly, he guided her over to Zapper and Ice who were waiting at the hangar gate, ready to run as far as their bare feet would take them before the Tomcats would catch fire as well.

"Zapper, Ice, the cavalry. Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie."

"Damn, I'll never say anything negative about JAG lawyers again." Zapper whistled.

"Told you she's a hell of a marine." Harm smiled at Mac, who returned a weak smile. "Let's get out of here."

They had not even reached the runwaywhen they saw car lights appearing in the distance. Monnahan was returning from his trip to Khvoy.

"Oh shit!" Ice exclaimed. "Monnahan's back! He'll kill us!"

"We won't make it back up there." Mac exclaimed, pointing at the cliff above them. "Not with me anyway."

"The Tomcats!" Harm called and turned back to the hangar. "Can you guys fly a Tomcat? Ice? Zapper?"

"I can." Zapper replied immediately. "I trained for RIO after I was taken off active flight duty after an eye injury. They wouldn't let me fly with contacts anymore."

"We'll manage." Ice called and ran off into the thick smoke emerging from the hangar. Zapper followed her.

"Hold your breath!" Harm told Mac, and they both ran right into the blazing hangar.

Harm lifted Mac up to the cockpit of the Tomcat as far as he could. Finally, she managed to get in. Harm climbed up the ladder after her and got in his seat. First thing he did was closing the canopy.

"Will you manage?" he asked and helped her strap in.

"I will be fine, don't worry about me. Just get us out of here."

Harm just nodded and handed her a helmet. He looked over to his right where Zapper and Ice had to be, but the smoke was too thick to see anything.

"All right, Mac, remember what I told you the last time we flew together?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

"Okay. Just one thing though. If you feel like you have to puke, do not use the cockpit again! Throw up in your overall."

Mac rolled her eyes, "Gee, thanks."

Harm put on his helmet and then checked the instruments - only to see that the fuel level was below 50%. Shortly, he turned back to Mac. Seeing that her face was painfully twitched, he decided not to tell her that with that much of fuel, they would not make it back to the Seahawk.

Harm saw a jeep pulling up in front of the hangar. He could make out 6 shocked men, obviously furious and surprised about the fire inside the hangar. He saw them reaching for their guns, so he fired up the engine. Zapper did the same.

Within 30 seconds, the 2 Tomcats had taken off the ground and were on their way back to the Seahawk, but not without having caught several bullets out of the Hisbollah's guns.

Harm was hearing groans coming from his back seat. Mac had never done very well in a Tomcat and now she was shot. Harm hoped she would hang on till they would reach the Seahawk.

"Zapper, Ice, you doing okay over there?" he called into his mic, hoping they would hear him.

"Roger. We're fine, Rabbit." came in response from Zapper.

"What's your fuel level, Zapper?"

"Full, Rabbit. Looks like they filled it up."

"Roger. Let's get back to the Seahawk."

"Roger that."

About 10 minutes later, they had radio contact to the Seahawk.

"Tango Sierra, Tango Sierra requesting permission for landing."

Harm could only hear a cracking voice in his ear that he couldn't understand.

"Tango Sierra, Tango Sierra requesting permission for landing." he repeated. " I have a wounded officer on board."

"Permission denied, Tango Sierra." came in reply.

"Tango Sierra requesting permission for landing. I have a severely wounded officer on board and I am running almost on empty!"

There was silence.

"Mac?" he called, but didn't get a response. She had passed out in the back seat.

"Tango Sierra requesting permission for landing, dammit! This is an emergency!"

Harm heard a crack in his ear, before a voice told him, "Tango Sierra, permission granted."

The same moment, a beeping sound was heard. They were running on empty. The afterburner turned off, and with just a last push of wind, they banged down on deck of the Seahawk and came to a halt. If the Seahawk had been at the same position where they had taken off, Mac's dream surely would have become true as they never would have made it back to the carrier in time.

Harm popped the canopy open immediately and unbuckled. He turned around in his seat to look after Mac. He found her slumped down in her seat.

"C'mon, Mac, hang on, please."

He unbuckled her and climbed out of the cockpit. Then he reached for her and pulled her out of her seat. Mac was lying over his shoulder when he climbed down the ladder.

"Sir!" one of the deck officers addressed him, but Harm did not take notice. He was already on his way to get Mac to sick bay.

2330 ZULU
USS Seahawk
Mediterranean Sea

Harm sat in a chair next to Mac's cot. He was holding her hand and gently stroking her hair. Once again, she had saved his life, he knew that.

The bullet hole in her arm had been taken care of, and they had changed her out of her blood spilled clothes into a clean Navy overall. To Harm, it seemed he had been sitting at her bedside for hours already when Mac finally opened her eyes.

"I see you decided to join the living again." he smiled.

"Just catching on some sleep, Commander." she retorted, a smile on her face as well.

"How are you feeling?"

"My arm hurts pretty bad but I guess I'll survive."

"Now, Colonel," Harm began and slid closer to her bed in his chair, "I was told you disobeyed an order. Do you know they can sue you for that? Besides, what the hell got into you going after me all alone? I told you not to call Webb, and I thought I made it clear a long time ago that you were not to pull a stunt like that again."

A chuckle escaped Mac's lips, "Well, for once, I followed an order when I called Clay. The Admiral wanted me to find out where you were."

"And what did Mr. Webb know about this mission? I hope a little more than I was told before they sent me off with an unarmed Tomcat."

"Clay told me there were traitors on the Seahawk, giving out confidential information to the Iran. Lt. Cmdr. Monnahan was one of them."

"Traitors? About how many are we talking here?"

"Two, maybe three or more. Clay couldn't or wouldn't tell me. You were sent to investigate and deliver the F-14."

"Investigate? Slow down for a moment, Mac. I was only given order to fly the Tomcat to Iran."

Mac shook her head slightly, "According to Clay, you were also given order to investigate about any possible traitors on this ship. That is why this whole operation was security level 4. You never knew who to trust."

A sign of panic flashed over Harm's face. Now everything going on was making sense - why he had been ordered to stay in his quarters, why he had not gotten permission for landing at first, and most of all why he had had a very strange feeling about a certain person on this ship.

"Harm, what is it?" Mac asked, a touch of frighten in her voice.

"We'll finish this later. First, I need to arrest someone."

"Harm!" Mac called after him, but he was already out of sick bay, running like hell.

He took two steps in one when he made his way upstairs to the pilot-ready room.

"Captain Forbes!" he called and snapped off a salute as he entered the room. " A word with you, please."

"What can I do for you, Commander Rabb?"

"I have a couple of questions that I hope you can answer for me, sir."

"Go on, Commander."

Captain Forbes started to walk off, so Harm followed him.

"First, what were your orders about my presence on the Seahawk, sir?"

"I think I already answered that question when I was briefing you and Lt. Davidson."

"No, sir, I want to know the exact order you were given. Isn't it correct you had order to inform me about possible traitors on this ship, giving out information to the Iran? Isn't it correct you knew about Lt. Cmdr. Monnahan's role in this? And isn't it correct that you, Captain Forbes, are the head of this conspiracy?"

"Commander, you are accusing me of conspiracy with the enemy."

"I am fully aware of that, Captain. And suddenly, it all makes sense. It had me thinking for awhile when you ordered me not to leave my quarters, but I shrugged it off. I was confused when we did not get permission for landing, but I shrugged it off - until Colonel Mackenzie brought to my attention what you were supposed to tell me but did not; that there is at least one traitor left on this ship. You, Captain."

Captain Forbes did not say anything, and Harm was proven right with his accusations.

"Captain Forbes, you are under arrest for conspiracy with the enemy. Lieutenants," Harm turned to two of the Lieutenants in the room, "would you please escort the Captain to his quarters?"

"Aye aye, sir."

Harm had a big grin on his face when he watched after Capt. Forbes being escorted to his quarters. The same grin was still playing on his face when he joined Mac down in sick bay.

"Hmmm, a grinning sailor, this means either I am in trouble or someone else is." Mac teased as Harm sat down in his chair next to her cot.

"Not you, Mac. I put the CAG under arrest."

"You did WHAT? Harm!"

"Suddenly, all made sense, Mac. He was the second traitor on this ship."

Mac just shook her head in disbelief, "You can't be serious about this."

"I am, deadly serious." Once again, he scooted closer to Mac's cot. "You didn't give me a good reason for coming after me yet. I am waiting."

Mac sighed, "They had order to blow up the Tomcat no matter if you were released or not. I couldn't let you die. You are my partner and my best friend. I knew about the consequences when I left, and I am ready to face them."

"Stubborn Jarhead." Harm paused for a moment. "I am sorry, Mac."

"For what?"

"For everything."

"Hey," Mac placed her hand on his cheek, "I wanted to go, and I knew about the risks. There is nothing you have to apologize for. You did nothing wrong."

Harm reached for her hand and placed his on top of hers. It was so good to feel her touch, her warmth. A bright smile played across his face, causing her to smile as well.

"Harm, please get me out of here. This cot is worthless. I need a bed, or at least some sort of a mattress."

"I don't think I can..."

"Please."

With a sigh, Harm helped Mac getting up. Her knees were shaking when her feet touched the ground, but eventually they managed to get to Harm's quarters. Carefully, he helped Mac lower herself on the bed.

"You comfortable?" he asked and pulled the blanket up to her chest.

Mac nodded.

"Then sleep. This is an order, and you better not disobey this one."

Mac chuckled and saw that Harm was yawning.

"Same goes for you, Fly boy. You could use some sleep as well."

"I will just use this chair over here." he said as he pulled a chair to his side.

"Don't start arguing with me. This bed may not be that big, but I think there's still enough room here for two. C'mon, I won't bite." Mac grinned as she lifted up the blanket and slid to the right on the bed to make room for Harm.

"Just let me change into something cleaner than this. Turn around."

Mac giggled, "Geez, Harm, that's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Anyway, turn around."

Mac did as she was told. She whistled softly, from time to time stealing a glance over her shoulder. It was not like she hadn't seen Harm in boxers before, but this time, it was different. Just the pure thought of him standing behind her dressed only in a pair of boxers sent a shiver down her spine.

A moment later, Harm had changed and crawled into bed next to Mac. Her whole body tensed up unintentionally when he accidentally bumped into her.

"You sure you are all right with this?"

"I said I was, didn't I?" Mac retorted.

Harm lay down and felt Mac's body weaken when he gathered her into his arms. A moment later, both of them had drifted off to dreamland, and for the first time in weeks, nightmares weren't haunting Mac anymore.

0745 ZULU
USS Seahawk
Mediterranean Sea

Harm was awoken by a knock on the door. His eyes popped open only to see that Mac's hair was tangled over his face. The knocking on the door became more insistent. Carefully, Harm slid his arm away from under Mac as not to wake her and went to open the door. It was Zapper.

"What can I do for you, Zapper?" Harm asked and blocked his way into his quarters. He didn't want him to see Mac sleeping in his bed.

"I wanted to pick up my letter. You still have it, don't you?"

"Just give me a second, okay?"

Harm closed the door and went to open his deposit. He pulled out Zapper's letter without noticing that he had dropped the one he had written for Mac on the ground. Then he closed the deposit, quickly put on his Navy overall and went back to the door. He joined Zapper outside.

"You didn't see anything, understood?" Harm said and handed him his letter.

Zapper just grinned at him, "Rabbit, that's an open secret on board after she disappeared from sick bay. Oh, and the CO has a message from some Admiral Cheggawagon for you."

"Admiral Chegwidden?"

"Yeah, Admiral Chegwidden, not Cheggawagon, sorry."

Harm had to laugh. This was not the first time he had heard Admiral Chegwidden being called Admiral Cheggawagon. As he thought Mac was still sleeping, he decided to get the Admiral's message.

Meanwhile, Mac had woken up.

"Harm?" she called, but didn't get a response.

She pushed a strand of tangled hair behind her ear before she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She was just about to get up when she caught sight of the letter Harm accidentally had dropped. She picked it up and turned it, only to read her name.

Not knowing what she should think about it, only knowing that this was the letter Harm had left for her in case of his death, she turned it for a couple of time. Finally, she gave in to her curiosity and ripped the envelope apart. Then she began to read...

My dear Sarah,

When you read this letter it means I am gone. I would have given everything to stick around longer, but fate had different plans for me. It is hard for me to say these words through this letter, but I have no other choice. There are things about me and my life that you need to know, and I have a confession to make. I can't bear the thought of dying without you knowing how I felt for you all this time. Everybody kept telling me that my feelings for you were just because of Diane, but they were wrong. You may look like her, but you are a completely different person. And that's what I've started to love about you, what attracted me to you and what made me fall in love with you. It was not the way you look, it was who you are. You were one special person in my life, a friend, a confidante, the woman I would have given my life for. I got the chance to spend my life working together with the most incredible woman in the whole world. I never want you to doubt one thing: I love you with all my heart, Sarah Mackenzie, I always have and always will. Nothing can change that, not even death. I was a fool not to tell you earlier, I was a fool not to fight for the most precious gift that was given to me. Remember that night on the ferry in Sydney? And do you remember what I said to you? That I couldn't let go? It was a lie. From the moment I met you, I knew you would be the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but I was too afraid to trust my heart, too afraid to tell you. I was scared that one day I would wake up only to find you gone - I simply didn't want to go through that pain. Maybe I thought we would be fine and you would always be there for me as long as we were only friends, I don't know. Sarah, I can't put into words what I feel for you and how much you mean to me. It goes way beyond saying I love you with all my heart. You are part of my heart, part of my soul, part of me. I wish I had had the strength and courage to tell you earlier. But now it's too late. I can't hold you in my arms, I can't see you smile, I can't comfort you, I can't love you... and I can't give you a child like I promised to the day little AJ was born. Never make the same mistake I did, Sarah, fight for your love because suddenly, it can be too late.

Love always and forever, Harm

When Harm returned to his quarters, he found Mac sitting on the bed, the letter still in her hands. A tear was rolling down her cheek. Harm knew that it definitely was not his mother's letter that she had read.

"Mac, I..." he started, but couldn't find the right words to explain this letter to her.

"Is this true? Is this what you are feeling for me?"

"Mac, please let me explain."

"I want to know if this is true, if you love me. Don't you dare back away from me now. I want the truth."

Harm approached the bed and kneeled down in front of Mac. With a smile on his face, he gently wiped away the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Every little word I wrote in that letter is true, Sarah. For so long, I had tried to desperately ignore my feelings and keep on to our friendship. When I wrote this letter to you, it felt so wrong not to tell you what I feel for you in person. But you needed to know. I never told you before because I was afraid, afraid it was too late..."

Mac placed her finger on Harm's lips to stop him from talking.

"Harm, do you know why I went after you? I thought I had passed on the chance to tell you that... I love you, Harmon Rabb JR."

Slowly, Harm lowered his head to meet Mac halfway. Their lips touched in a gently, but passionate kiss. Harm's hand wandered to the back of Mac's head and pulled her closer to him, when suddenly, there was a knock on the door and it swung open almost the same moment.

"Commaaaaaa... HOLY SHIT!" a very familiar voice exclaimed.

Both Harm and Mac whirled their heads around only to see Lt. Bud Roberts standing in the doorway.

"Bud, didn't you learn to knock?" Harm asked annoyed and got back on his feet.

"I did, sir, sorry, I didn't mean to, sir, I mean, sorry, sir, I didn't see anything, sir." Bud stammered.

Mac bit her lower lip as not to laugh out loud.

"Bud, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh, the Admiral sent me, sir. Agent Webb called him from Turkey, and he wanted me to make sure that you return safe to DC, sir, ma'am."

"As you can see, the Colonel and I are fine, Bud. Would you please leave us alone now? We have something to discuss. Private."

"Yes, sir, ma'am."

Bud snapped off a salute before he left the quarters, but returned before he had closed the door.

"Sorry, sir, ma'am, I forgot. You should have checked out your arm at a hospital, ma'am. A helo will take you to Naples shortly."

"Yes, Bud." Harm replied and ushered Bud to the door. Then he closed it after Bud had left his quarters.

"Where did we stop?"

"Right here, Fly boy." Mac whispered seductively into his ear and once again claimed his lips with hers. But again, their kiss didn't last long as a knock was heard on the door along with a "Commander, Colonel".

Harm rolled his eyes heavenwards. Sometimes Bud could be impossible.

"I think this is not meant to be." he groaned and went to open the door for Bud.

"Is it safe for me to come in, sir?" Bud asked, and peered around Harm shoulders, looking as trying to make sure that Mac was still dressed.

"What do you want, Bud? I thought you said everything a minute ago."

"56 seconds ago." Mac called from the bed.

"The helo just arrived, sir. They want to get us back to Naples as soon as possible, sir. We have a flight back to DC in 4 hours."

"Give us 5 minutes, Bud. We'll meet you on deck."

"Aye aye, sir."

Again, Bud snapped off a salute and then left for good. Harm turned back to Mac, who was smiling at him.

"Not this time, not this place." Harm muttered as he pulled Mac to her feet.

"Don't worry, sailor, we'll get our chance. Maybe sooner as you might think."

2300 ZULU
Andrews Air Force Base, MD

The flight back from Naples took the 3 JAG lawyers a little over 10 hours. The seats in the cargo jet weren't very comfortable, and Mac was feeling pain in her arm though she was given strong painkillers in Naples. Other than that, she was feeling fine, better than she ever had before. She finally had gotten what she wanted most, Harm's love. He was sleeping in the seat next to her, his head leaned against her good shoulder.

"Fly boy, time to wake up." she whispered into his ear. "We're almost at Andrews."

Slowly, Harm stretched and sat up straight in the seat.

"You had a pretty long nap, Commander." Bud said as he leaned forward from the row of seats behind them. "You slept right through that thunderstorm, sir. It was really terrifying."

"Bud, it was just a little rain." Mac chuckled. "You're exaggerating."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I really need to get out of this seat fast." Mac moaned and stretched her feet.

"How does your arm feel?"

"Pretty sore. This seat doesn't help me feel any better."

A naughty grin broke out on Harm's face, "Oh, I think I can help you with that. Bud?"

With one hand, Harm reached out behind him to cover Bud's eyes before he leaned in to kiss Mac. Their need for each other was more than obvious at that very moment when Mac's hand slid under Harm's shirt and slowly made its way up his back.

"Commander, Colonel, with all due respect," Bud uttered, "if you keep this going while I am around, I have to sue you for fraternization. It's the rules."

"Bud?" Harm shortly turned to him. "Shut up."

"May I make a suggestion, sir?"

Both Harm and Mac turned their heads back to Bud.

"5 minutes, just 5 minutes till we are in Andrews, sir, ma'am. Then I'll be out of your sight and you can do whatever you want without my knowing. And it would make me feel a lot better!"

"Roger that, Bud!" Harm smiled.

The jet arrived at Andrews exactly 3 minutes and 25 seconds later according to Mac. When they exited the plane, their welcome party was already waiting for them. A little off the runway, Harriet was standing, holding a squirming toddler in her arms.

"Commander, Colonel, I am so glad that you are both all right." she greeted Harm and Mac with a smile on her face.

"Except for that little bullet hole in my arm here." Mac managed to reply before a pair of tiny arms reached out in her direction.

"Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac." little AJ Roberts joyfully called.

"Sorry, munchkin, but I can't take you."

Mac shortly ruffled AJ's hair.

"Here, Uncle Harm will take you."

Harm tried to take AJ out of Harriet's arms, but it seemed it was either Mac or no one for that little guy. He turned his head away from Harm, and when he spotted his father, extended his arms in his direction.

"I am sorry, sir." Bud apologized as he took his son into his arms.

"Bud, it's okay, he's just a little kid." Harm chuckled. "Where did you leave that little girl of yours?"

"At home with the sitter, sir. She's having a bad cold." Harriet replied as they started to walk back to the car.

Like a reflex, Harm's arm went around Mac's waist and hers around his - which didn't go unnoticed by Harriet. Silently, she turned to Bud who just shrugged his shoulders. Turning her gaze back to Harm and Mac for a second, Harriet decided what to do to find out what their arms where doing where they sure did not belong.

"Colonel, Commander, can we give you a lift home?"

"Yeah, that would be nice. - No, that's not necessary, Harriet." they said at the same time.

They glanced at each other before Harm said, "It would be nice if you could give us a lift home. After all, Mac dropped me off at Andrews when I left, so I don't think we have any of our cars here, do we?"

Harriet smiled as she continued her pace towards the car, "And where can we drop you off?"

"The Commander's place - The Colonel's place." they answered at the same time again.

"I guess the Commander's place will do." Mac finally said, bumping Harm slightly with her elbow.

"I will give her a lift home." Harm added.

"It's not out of our way, ma'am." Bud uttered and shortly turned back to them.

"It's really not necessary, Bud." Mac insisted.

Harriet already had seems to have understood what was going on, but Bud - who even had seen them kissing - had not caught the hint yet.

"But, ma'am..." Bud tried to object, but immediately was cut off by his wife.

"They will be all right, Bud."

Harriet gave both Harm and Mac a wink. They finally reached the car, and both Harm's and Bud's bags were thrown in the trunk. Little AJ was already seated in his seat on the backseat when Harm and Mac got in. He sat between them right in the middle, enjoying the fact that for once he was not riding in the back alone.

"Mac, Mac, Mac!" he called and smacked her right across her upper arm to get her attention.

Unfortunately, Mac had gotten in the wrong side, and he had hit her right across her stitched wound. She painfully twitched her face.

"Whoo hoo, careful there." Harm uttered and reached for AJ's hands. "Mac has a little boo boo."

AJ turned to look at Harm.

"Boo boo.. tiss mate betta." AJ chuckled in his childish voice.

"I bet it does, munchkin!" Harm smiled as he turned to Mac.

"Tiss!" he ordered as he placed Harm's hand on top of Mac's. "Tiss 'n mate betta."

For awhile, AJ just stared at Harm and Mac staring at each other, not knowing what to do.

"Tiiiiiiiiiiiiss!" AJ suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.

"AJ ROBERTS!" came his father's voice from the front seat.

"Mate betta!" the little boy uttered, his voice being lowered to a normal level.

Finally, Harm gave in. He picked up Mac's hand and placed a gently kiss on top of it. Before he could let go of her hand, AJ reached for it, and placed a big wet kiss on the back of her hand as well.

"Booboo betta, yeah?" he asked and looked up at Mac with big blue eyes.

"Yeah, munchkin, a lot better!"

Mac placed a kiss on AJ's little head while her eyes were searching for Harm. He met her gaze with a smile on his face. This ride back home to DC was just too long for the both of them. One thing was for sure, if little AJ hadn't been sitting between them, there would have been nothing in the world that could have kept them apart.

Without realizing, Mac was licking her lips, and that gave Harm the rest. His lips begged for hers. His whole body stiffened just at the thought of what could be. He jumped slightly when thunder was heard outside and it started to rain.

Mac turned to face Harm. She could see how tense he was, so she picked up his hand and held on to it closely - till the car came to a stop in front of Harm's apartment.

0020 ZULU
Harm's apartment
North of Union Station
Washington DC

Harm turned on the lights after he had unlocked the door. A whiff of humid air blew into his face when he entered. He always had hated rain in summer because of the rising humidity, but today, there lay something in the damp air that sent a shiver down his spine.

He threw his bag against the couch and turned, only to see that Mac was soaking wet from their short sprint from the car to the front door. Water dripped from her hair onto her shoulders.

"Let me get you a towel." Harm didn't even wait for a reply as he went to get a towel.

He reached for a fluffy one in the top drawer and pulled it out. He backed off a little to close the drawer when he bumped into Mac. This was sure not the place where he had expected her to be - right behind him. 

"I need to get out of these clothes." she uttered hoarsely, brushing her lips against his. "You think you can help me?"

Mac hadn't even finished her sentence, when Harm already started to unbutton the front of her dark blue Navy overall. Carefully, he pushed the cotton material over her shoulders to reveal a white tank top. He watched her with anticipation when the overall dropped to the ground. Mac reached for the hem of her top, slowly pulling it up her body, teasing him with what he was about to see. The top landed somewhere on the floor, Mac didn't really care where. Then she reached for the hem of Harm's wet shirt. Her hands started to roam freely on his bare chest under the denim material.

Harm dropped his head back as he let out a light groan. Never in his life had he felt such a tenderness that electrified his whole body. He pulled his shirt off before he cupped Mac's face with his hands, pulled her close to him and claimed her mouth with his hungrily.

Slowly, they stumbled backwards, leaving a trail of unnecessary clothing...

"Wow," was all that escaped Harm's lips when he sunk down on the bed next to Mac after their lovemaking, gasping for air.

He was at a loss of words for what had just happened in that room. Their lovemaking had been fast, but he knew that Mac as well hadn't been able to control the urge being together built up in all those years they had known each other. He had intended to take it slow, to spoil her, feel her, explore every inch of her body, but finally having her in his arms, feeling her naked body against his, it all was forgotten.

"Yeah, wow." Mac replied, still gasping for air.

"I can't believe we just did that."

"Why, Fly boy?" Mac asked and placed her head down on Harm's bare chest. Her fingertips began to move around his belly button in small circles.

"I only dreamed about it before. Never actually did it."

"What?" Mac chuckled. "Making love or making love to me?"

"What do you think?"

"It's not nice to answer a question with a question."

Harm chuckled, "I wasn't too fast, was I?"

"Gee, Harm, you sent me off to starbase 7, didn't you notice?" she mumbled, her lips gently brushing against his chest. "We have plenty of time ahead of us to do this slow."

"I always wondered where one would find this damn tattoo," he uttered, tracing the outline of a Japanese sign on her pelvis, usually pretty well hidden by her panties. "What is this anyway?"

"It's called Ying And Yang. It's two fish biting in each other's tail. The black one stands for the bad in you, the white one for the good in you. It's said that it keeps your soul in balance."

"Yeah, I heard about that. It's pretty though - just not what I had expected to see. I was more thinking about some Marine logo, maybe even only a simple 'Semper Fi'."

"I got that before I joined the Marines." Mac replied and tried to stifle a yawn.

Harm wrapped his arms around her naked body and squeezed her close. This was all he ever needed, having Mac in his arms. He listened to the rain pounding against the window until he noticed that Mac had drifted off to sleep. Her steady breathing tingled on his chest. Never had he thought that one day he would be holding Mac like he was doing now. He placed a tender kiss on her forehead before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep as well.

1225 ZULU
Harm's apartment
North of Union Station
Washington DC

Mace woke up with a groan. She had to have slept on her bad arm during the night as the pain was almost killing her. She wiggled out of Harm's embrace and sat up on the bed, clutching her arm to her chest. She reached for her panties and the bra on the ground and got dressed quickly.

When she was ready to get up, she felt Harm's damp breath in her neck as he placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"Where are you going?" he asked, encircling her with his arms.

"Trying to find some painkillers."

She got up from the bed went to look for Harm's bag where she had put the painkillers they had given her in Naples. She found them almost instantly and swallowed down two pills.

"Mac?" she heard Harm call for her. "Are you all right?"

"I am okay, don't worry." she called back and plumped down on the couch.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. When she didn't come back to bed, Harm decided to go look after her, to see if she was all right.

"I thought you'd be coming back to bed."

"I think we need to have a little talk."

Talk - that sure wasn't what Harm had in mind, but he knew that there were things they needed to talk about, things that had been left unsaid between them. He loved Mac to death, he always had, but there were things that needed to be discussed. Making love and saying 'I love you' was not enough for him, and it seemed, neither it was for Mac.

"You know I love you, and last night was incredible, but..." Mac started.

"But..."

"But I feel like this was not right. God, I've wanted this for so long, tell you I love you, make love to you, but how is this going to work out? Work, friends, we'll never be able to tell them. All the reasons I had before to not get involved with you, they just don't vanish after making love."

"I know they don't, but we can deal with them, work them out. Sarah, I give a damn about office rules. All I want is you. Even if it means giving up my career for you. There's nothing more important to me than you. I want a relationship with you, I want to be together with you for the rest of my life."

"I do not want to be separated from you at work, neither do I want to have spending the nights without you. I want you 24 hours a day only for me. Am I selfish?"

"No, not selfish." Harm placed a gently kiss on her lips. "You are in love, not selfish. And I think, there is no cure for that."

"There better not be." Mac chuckled. "But, there is one thing I want you to do for me. Actually, there are two."

Harm raised his eyebrows and waited for her to go on.

"First, you need to take me out on a date. I can't say we are dating if you don't take me out on a date at least once."

Harm nodded, "Roger that."

"Second, work."

"You don't have to worry, Mac. Nobody will know anything about us unless we both think it's okay. We will tell the Admiral when we are ready to face the consequences. Until then, let's just enjoy what we just have found."

"What about Bud?"

Yeah, Bud, that was a hard question. He usually couldn't keep anything to himself. If they were just a little bit lucky, he hadn't leaked out anything to his wife - yet. On the other hand, she could sense such things, and after last night, she certainly already had debriefed Bud about what had happened between them.

"If we tell him and Harriet that we will spoil our godkids rotten with the most obnoxious and nerve-wrecking toys, do you think they'll keep quiet?" Harm chuckled.

"They better!"

"So," Harm scooted closer to Mac and gathered her into his arms, "are we officially dating?"

"Ask me out on a date, and we are, sailor." she replied, putting a smile on her face. "Ask me in a week, and I'll probably tell you we're in a serious relationship as well."

"That I can do. I love you, Sarah."

"I love you, Harm."

Mac turned around in his arms and leaned in to kiss him.