Two days later

Mac hung up the phone and put it on the table. She crossed the hotel room and stepped out on the porch. She smiled as she saw her husband standing by the railing looking out over the ocean as the sun set. He looked thoughtful she noticed as she studied his face. He was a handsome man, the few wrinkles on his face and grayish hair adding something to his already perfect features. He looked amazing to her, and the two women he had politely talked to while he was getting their drinks at the hotel bar earlier had apparently agreed with her.

"It's beautiful," she let out a contented sigh as she walked up to him.

He smiled. "It truly is. Why didn't we settle down here instead of D.C?" he wondered.

"Regrets?" she questioned.

He chuckled. "Nah, it's home. And I guess the winters does have its charm."

"Today was amazing," she looked over the ocean.

"It was," he agreed. They had spent the day with Trish at her house helping her get organized. They had taken the time to talk about their favorite Frank memories, cried and laughed over small and big things. "What did Nathan want?"

"Just called to make sure everyone is doing okay," she smiled sweetly. "He wished he could be here too."

"He's back on track again at the Academy," Harm said thoughtfully. "I'm proud of him."

"Me too," Mac agreed.

He smiled and turned to her. "So, Mrs. Rabb, we're on vacation. Do you have a list of things to do?"

Mac hesitated with a clever smile on her face, then she held out a note that was folded. "I do."

He reached for it. "I don't know what it could be, because we've been here so often it's not much more for us to explore." He opened the note and chuckled. "Sleep in. Make love. And maybe go to the beach one day." He looked at her. "Are you really telling me that you have made no plans for us to see something, or do something rather than relaxing? Are you ill?"

"Are you saying that I'm not good at taking it easy?" she wondered.

He offered a sweet smile. "On weekend trips, yes. On vacations lasting more than a few days, no."

She chuckled. "Okay, so maybe I'd like to just take it easy this time. I just want to spend time with my husband, not working. And the kids too, of course."

He reached for her hand. "I'm all for that. In fact," he put his other arm around her and pulled her closer. "Let's work on that number two activity you had on your list."

"Yeah?" she leaned in and kissed him. "I did promise Matthew a trip to the air and space museum," she dragged him toward the balcony door. "And we always go the aquarium."

He chuckled as he moved them inside and closed the door. "But first," he moved in closer and kissed her deeply. "We need to lose the clothes."

The next day

Claire let out a contented sigh as she looked over the water. She loved how the sand felt under her bare feet, and she stretched and let out a joyful shriek.

"It's amazing, huh?"

She turned to her mother. "I love it. I love vacation."

"Well, you're overdue," Mac reminded her daughter. "You've been working hard and gotten strait A's again this year."

"And next year will be even harder," Claire smiled. "But I'm ready for it. I'm not letting anything get in the way of my dream."

"Of becoming a lawyer?" Mac smiled sweetly.

"Exactly," Claire studied her mother. "I'm going to be just like you when I grow up."

Mac didn't know what to say.

"Mom," Claire hesitated. "Thanks for letting me find my way. Follow my dreams. Making me believe I can do anything."

"You can be anything you want," Mac said proudly. "You are so beautiful and smart, and amazing."

"I'm just average really," Claire smiled cleverly. "But that's good enough. I'm good enough. It has taken me a while to realize that, and I know I haven't always made the right decisions, but it means a lot to me that you and Dad let me make my mistakes so that I can learn from them."

"You know what's the hardest part about being a parent?" Mac wondered.

"No idea," Claire admitted.

"Not questioning how you handle things," Mac smiled. "It's not easy taking a step back instead of fixing everything for your kids. I question myself all the time, wondering if I'm handling things right, if I should have said no instead of yes."

"Your first instinct is to protect," Claire nodded with understanding. "Like with Tim?"

Mac nodded. "Yeah, boys are definitely hard."

"Well, I'm glad Tim and I decided to cool down and wait," Claire hesitated. "And I'm glad we got to come to that conclusion ourselves."

"I just want you to be happy and live the life you've dreamed of. You've always dreamed big when it comes to education," Mac put her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

Claire relaxed against her mother. "I still do. I have so much I want to do."

"And you'll do it all," Mac smiled. "I love you so much."

"I love you too Mom," Claire looked over the ocean again. "There's something so calming about the ocean. Maybe I should join the Navy and go to sea."

Mac chuckled. "That's always a possibility."

Claire laughed softly.

Pensacola

Harm watched as the F18 Super Hornet landed and smiled brightly. He loved the smell of jet fuel, the sound of planes taking off and landing. It was all in his blood.

"This is so cool Dad," Matthew's smile matched his father's.

"Harm!"

Harm turned. "Rick," he offered his hand.

"You look good, Admiral," Captain Rick Fowler snapped to attention and saluted.

Harm chuckled and saluted. "It's good to see you."

"You too. So, do you miss it like crazy?" Rick wondered.

Harm hesitated. "I do sometimes, but life is pretty good."

"Yeah, how is the Colonel?" Rick wondered.

"She's great," Harm smiled by the mentioning of his wife.

"And this must be Matthew all grown up," Rick offered his hand.

"Sir," Matthew shook the outstretched hand. "Are you really the boss of all the pilots?"

Rick chuckled. "Of the Blue Angels, yes I am. Do you want to sit in a plane?"

"Yeah," Matthew smiled brightly.

"Is he one of our future pilots?" Rick wondered as he motioned for them to follow him.

"He might be," Harm chuckled. "He sure is interested enough."

"I'm totally going to be a pilot," Matthew ran over to the planes. "Cool."

"You can sit in this one," Rick motioned for a plane. "But don't touch anything."

"Awesome," Matthew snapped to attention. "Sir," then he turned and reached for the ladder. "Totally awesome."

"So, retirement working for you?" Rick wondered.

"It is," Harm watched as Matthew got safely into the plane. "I have more time for this guy, and the rest of the family."

"Ben is a senior in High School in the fall," Rick smiled proudly. "He's going to the Academy he says."

"Claire will be a senior too. Nathan is starting his third year at the Academy this fall. Mattie is a Doctor in the Navy," Harm chuckled. "Time flies."

"It sure as hell does," Rick agreed. "It's not that long since we were just a bunch of kids going up there in million-dollar aircrafts," Rick chuckled. "Well, I was a kid, you were Pappy."

Harm laughed. "I remember."

"Do you ever regret going back to JAG?" Rick wondered.

"Nah, it was foolish of me to think that I could beat the odds and go back to flying, but I had to try. JAG was the right place for me," Harm smiled. "Looking back, I have no regrets."

"You've had a great career," Rick agreed. "I'm staying in a few more years I guess. Laura agrees, she's happy here. The kids are happy here."

"You're staying here then?" Harm wondered.

"Yeah, a few more years in, then I'll retire, and we'll stay where we are. She deserves a real home after moving around so much," Rick smiled. "You guys should come over for a barbeque. Friday?"

"I'll have to check with Mac, but yeah, that sounds like a plan," Harm agreed.

"Dad, this is awesome!" Matthew called out.

"I think the word awesome has been mentioned a few times today," Harm chuckled. "Thanks for this, Rick."

"Any time," Rick chuckled. "You think we'll ever get him down from there?"

"Probably not," Harm chuckled.

Later

Harm closed the car door and watched as Matthew ran straight to the house. He chuckled. The kid had a lot he wanted to tell his mom about. Harm followed him into the house and watched as he ran into the back yard. Harm had to admit that spending time with Matthew at Pensacola had been amazing. They had gotten a full tour of the base, and Matthew had enjoyed every minute of it.

"Hi, beautiful," he wrapped his arms around his wife from behind and hugged her close.

"Can you believe that Dad has flown in a plane like that?" Matthew was ecstatic.

Mac leaned into her husband. "Your dad used to be pretty adventurous."

"Used to be?" Harm questioned with amusement.

"I'm telling grandma and Claire," Matthew ran over to where Claire and Rose were helping Trish plant flowers.

"He had a great time," Harm chuckled.

"I take it you didn't hate it either," Mac turned in his arms.

"Harm kissed her deeply. "How was your day?"

"Great," she smiled sweetly. "Claire and I went for a long walk on the beach, had some girl talk and ice cream of course."

"Of course," Harm laughed.

"You smell like jet fuel," she got a wicked look on her face. "I always had a thing for you in your flight suit, you know."

"I did not know that," he raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," she bit his lower lip. "I always appreciated that cocky side of you."

"We'll come back to this conversation tonight when we're alone," he warned her as he nibbled on her lip.

"Parent's behave," Mattie came up behind them.

"What?" Harm looked innocent as he turned to his daughter. "What are you up to today?"

"Just finished my shift, so now I'm ready to have dinner," she smiled and pointed to her dad's face. "Lipstick."

Mac chuckled as Mattie walked past them and headed over to the rest of the gang. "Life is good," she let out a contented sigh. "I love you."

Harm leaned in and kissed her. "I love you too."

They turned towards where Trish and the kids stood, then shared a sweet smile.

That's it for now! I have started another story in the series and will post soon hopefully.