Hi, everyone! I was working on stretching the writing muscles and decided to try a steamy little Harm/Mac one-shot. I've never really written anything like this before, so I hope it turned out okay – please do leave a review to let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

"Would you like to join us for lunch today, ma'am?"

The clock had just struck noon when Petty Officer Jennifer Coates knocked lightly on the office door of the commander of the Joint Legal Service Center Southwest.

Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie looked up from the stack of files on her desk with a tired sigh. "I wish I could, Jen." She motioned to the pile of paper. "But I'm completely swamped, and I still have court this afternoon, and I was really hoping to secure a little early today."

Jen gave an understanding smile. "What time does Captain Rabb get in this evening, ma'am?"

Mac grinned. "1900."

"It's been a while since he's been stateside, ma'am."

"Three months, eight days, and thirty-seven minutes," Mac replied automatically.

"How do you do that, ma'am?"

"Just a good sense of timing, Jen."

"I meant you and Captain Rabb, ma'am," Jen clarified.

"Petty Officer Coates," Mac said, her voice taking on the tone of a strict commanding officer. "I really do have a lot of work to do, so I suggest you get something to eat and take it outside to the courtyard. And I suggest you do that before I make it an order."

Jen nodded and snapped to attention. "Aye, ma'am."

~*~o~*~

When she first arrived in San Diego, Jen was surprised that she made friends so quickly with several other women in the office. It was a very different atmosphere than the testosterone-laden JAG office in Falls Church, and Jen knew that Mac also enjoyed having a number of female officers under her command. Mac was well-liked as their commanding officer, and occasionally she joined them for lunch from one of the local take-out restaurants.

As Jen emerged from the building, Petty Officer Christina Maples and Petty Officer Maria D'Antonio waved to her from a picnic table. The Service Center courtyard was actually very similar to the JAG courtyard, except for the sparse greenery and the overbearing warmth of the southern California sunshine.

"So I hear the Force Judge Advocate of Naval Forces Europe is coming to town," Christina said as she unwrapped her sandwich and took a large bite.

Jen nodded enthusiastically as she opened a strawberry yogurt cup. "He'll be stopping by the office tomorrow to observe the Donaldson court-martial. It'll be great for the two of you to meet him. Captain Rabb is an outstanding lawyer. I worked with him at JAG after he helped me out of...well, uh, some legal trouble."

"You were in legal trouble?" Maria asked in surprise.

"I was a little different back then," Jen explained with an embarrassed smile. "But that's all in the past now, and I'm really honored that Colonel MacKenzie offered me an assignment on her staff here."

Maria waggled her eyebrows. "Well, I'm sure the colonel will be excited to see her husband."

"She's married to him?" Christina asked in disbelief. "I had no idea."

"Maria..." Jen said in a warning tone.

Maria shrugged innocently. "What can I say? She's a hot topic, Jen. She's a successful, good-looking woman…and her husband lives six thousand miles away."

"It must be hard for them," Christina remarked, chewing her sandwich thoughtfully. "I mean, how do they ever have sex?"

"Christina!" Jen exclaimed.

"What? I'm just saying, it's really hard to get it on with a guy when he's not even on the same continent."

"Well, the Captain and the Colonel have been through everything together, and they're used to the military life," Jen said confidently. "I'm sure they'll make it work, no matter how far apart they are."

~*~o~*~

Work had consumed most of her afternoon, and it was well past 1800 when Mac stopped by her apartment to change clothes and head to the airport to pick up Harm. Her hand froze with the key still in the lock when the sweet aroma of herbs and spices wafted through the air, and Mac realized that it was coming from inside her apartment.

When she opened the door and stepped into the kitchen, she found Harm standing over a hot skillet, already out of uniform and looking right at home in jeans and a plain blue button-down shirt.

"Hey," she said in surprise.

"Hey," he greeted, turning down the heat on the stove until the food was simmering quietly. Then he turned to Mac and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close for a long, lingering kiss.

"Hello, wife," he said softly.

"Hello, husband." Mac smiled against his lips.

It was still a novelty, she decided. My husband. A little thrill raced up her spine every time she said the words – or even just thought about them.

"How long have you been here?" Mac asked. "I thought you weren't getting in until 1900?"

"Got in early."

Mac arched a suspicious eyebrow. "You didn't commandeer a plane somewhere without permission, did you?"

Harm's eyes narrowed. "Now what makes you think I would do something like that, Marine?"

He looked so offended that Mac couldn't help but laugh. "Well, dinner smells great," she said. "Can I help?"

"No, it's all set," Harm said with a wave of his hand. "Just go get changed and we'll eat."

Mac disappeared into her bedroom – it was only their bedroom for a few days per year – and started stripping out of her uniform. Suddenly feeling a little bit mischievous, she peeked out the door to check on Harm, but he was occupied with stirring dinner on the stove and didn't notice her.

Quickly, she dug through her dresser for a lingerie set that she had been saving for a special occasion. It had been an impulse buy a few months ago, but she had never actually worn it because she hadn't seen her husband since then.

But now that the U.S. Navy's senior European lawyer was in her kitchen cooking dinner, Mac boldly decided that it was time.

She slipped into the sexy red ensemble, letting the material glide across her skin. The panties were skimpy, a barely there scrap of satin that rested low on her hips, and the demi bra enhanced her breasts with smooth satin cups lined with lace.

Mac threw on a dark burgundy top and some comfortable, well-worn jeans, hiding the lingerie but not the secret thrill she felt, eager to see the look on Harm's face when he undressed her tonight.

~*~o~*~

After dinner, Mac finished up the dishes and made her way to the living room where Harm was stretched out on the couch with his eyes closed. At the sound of her footsteps, he cracked open one eye and gave her a sleepy smile.

"Hey," she said softly. "You must be exhausted. You're still on London time."

Harm shook his head, reaching out a hand for hers and pulling her down to his lap. "Mac, I didn't fly ten and a half hours just to take a nap...I came to see my wife."

Mac grinned. "No, you flew ten and a half hours to observe a high-profile court-martial and show my junior staff how real lawyering is done."

"That, too."

He touched a finger to her chin, tilting her face towards him, and then he fused his mouth to hers in a hot, searing kiss. Mac melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and running her fingers through his dark hair.

"I missed you," she whispered.

"I missed you, too."

As the top few buttons on Harm's shirt came undone and his hands slid under the hem of her shirt, Mac knew where this was headed. With a shiver of anticipation, she guided him down the hallway...and behind closed bedroom doors, husband and wife finally set about satisfying each other.

Their kisses were heated, filled with longing and urgency from being apart for so long. Mac quickly finished unbuttoning his shirt, pushing it from his shoulders and running her hands in light zigzag patterns over his bare chest. She unzipped his jeans and let them fall open, purposely cupping his hardness before removing his boxers at the same time.

She thought she heard a deep growl from somewhere in the back of Harm's throat as he did the same to her, popping the front button of her jeans and lifting her shirt over her head. Mac vaguely registered the sound of her clothes hitting the floor, as Harm's eyes darkened in an appreciative gleam with his first glimpse of her lingerie.

She looked away shyly as Harm drank in his fill of her body, her head tilting to the side as he pressed his lips against the pulse at her throat. Distracted by the sensation of his mouth leaving a trail of kisses along her neck, she felt her bra loosen, and then he lowered the straps from her shoulders, leaving her breasts exposed and swollen with arousal.

His hands danced over her body, touching her, teasing her, and increasing the burn inside of her. He brushed the sides of her breasts with his fingers and then his mouth, moving ever so tantalizingly lower until he finally slipped his fingers beneath the band of her panties and Mac arched into him involuntarily as he peeled the small piece of satin from her hips and discarded it on the floor.

When they were both finally naked, Harm and Mac sank onto the bed almost as if they were one, tangling themselves in each other and the warmth of clean cotton sheets.

Mac laughed softly as she pressed light kisses from his stomach up to his chest and finally along his neck, marveling at the way his breath caught and his body responded to her touch.

"Is this working?" she murmured in his ear.

Harm let out a soft gasp as he hardened even more against her inner thigh. "It's working," he assured her in a breathless whisper.

He was surprised when she suddenly pulled away in an abrupt motion.

"No, Harm, I mean, are we working?" she said quietly. "You and me. Living almost six thousand miles apart from each other, visiting each other once every few months, making love even less often than that."

Seeing a dark shadow of worry cross his wife's face, Harm sank back into the pillows and held her tightly against his chest. "Mac," he murmured, brushing a lock of hair from her face. "You and I have never done things the easy way."

She buried her face in the space between his shoulder and his neck, refusing to meet his eyes, but she found comfort in the way his hand ran up and down her bare back in a featherlight touch. "Are you okay with that?" she asked timidly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

He kissed her softly, his mouth and his hands starting to move over her body again, caressing her breasts and squeezing the curves of her hips until his fingers settled between her legs with gentle strokes, finding her hot and wet.

Mac's breath was coming in sharp gasps now, her skin flushed with heat, and as her husband gently slid inside of her, she nearly convulsed in pleasure. He never took his eyes off hers as he slowly began to move, his hips meeting hers in a steady rhythm that drove them both to the edge of intense orgasm.

"I love you," Mac whispered breathlessly as her body shattered in a dizzying, satiating climax.

She felt Harm tremble inside of her, shaking with his own release, and he captured her lips in a deep kiss, his voice rough and ragged with desire. "I love you, too."

They lay in silence for a long moment, their hands clasped together, their hearts beating hard with the rush of their lovemaking.

"Harm, you're right," Mac finally admitted in a quiet voice that sounded like she was drifting off to sleep. "I don't want this any other way."

She felt him squeeze her hand reassuringly and press a gentle kiss to her temple. "Mac, we can make this work," he whispered. "Whether we've known it or not, it's always worked between us."