Secrets, a jag fanfic

Secrets

AN: This is another story in the series – "Friends or Tails" "Unfinished Business" and "Agape". All can stand on its own, but they make more sense together. This part is M/NC-17, fair warning.

AN: This part is the longest by far, but I had a lot to accomplish. Sorry!

AN: Not to give away any of the story, but, the house that Harm and Mac looked at/bought is a real house on a real estate website. I don't know who lives there but I love the house.

2100 ZULU

SUPER DELUXE SUITE

PERLE RESORT HOTEL

AKROTIRI, CRETE, GREECE

Harm was standing at the sliding glass door in their suite watching the stars peek through the evening sky. Following the ceremony and the congratulations of the few who were present, he whisked his new bride away and brought her to the hotel room he had gotten for the night. They began their journey home at 1200 the next day, but for tonight, they could just be husband and wife in this beautiful hotel room.

Looking out at the private pool, Harm was disappointed that they really wouldn't have time to take advantage of it. Although, a midnight swim did sound enticing. The knock on the door brought him back from his daydreams and he swiftly crossed the room to get the room service dinner he ordered. Having tipped the butler, he now sat at the beautiful table covered in roses and candles, waiting for Mac to come back from changing in one of the two bathrooms.

While Harm had just taken off the jacket and tie and was now comfortable in the bedroom/living room, Sarah had to change into something besides the dress. She now nervously sat at the vanity staring at herself in the mirror. Having changed into a silk nightgown and robe she had bought while she was out earlier; she was now nervously reapplying make-up and fixing her hair. The gung-ho Marine never thought that she would be this nervous and be worrying so much about her appearance. After all, this is Harm, the man who had seen her at her absolute worst many times before.

But this was also her wedding night. Although waiting until their wedding night had never been planned, and she was far from innocent, so much anticipation had built up over the past six plus years that she couldn't stop her hands from shaking.

She had been completely taken aback when Harm pulled up to the grand hotel and they had been ushered to one of the biggest suites. Never in a million years had she thought that she would have an evening as perfect as this. Her first marriage was under anything but ideal circumstances, and even though Mic had booked a big beautiful church and had planned everything to the very last detail, what Harm had done today meant so much more.

Knowing that she should go out and continue living this dream, and that any longer than the 20 minutes she had been already in the bathroom Harm would come get her, she slowly stood up, took one last look at Sarah MacKenzie and opened the door to her life as Sarah Rabb.

Harm looked up as his beautiful wife entered the room. He wanted to get up and run to her, take her in his arms, but he couldn't seem to breathe, let alone stand up and cross the room.

"Harm?" After no response she got nervous, "Do you like it? Is this OK?" Seeing the slow sexy smile come across his face, she knew he wasn't disappointed. She slowly walked over to the table and sat down on Harm's lap. Gently, Mac lowered her head giving her husband a passionate kiss, hoping to wake him from his stupor.

Harm finally regained control of his motor functions and began kissing her back, slowly drawing his tongue along the seam of her lips to deepen the kiss.

Mac leaned back and away from the kiss. "Although I want to follow that to its natural conclusion, maybe we should have our dinner first." Reluctantly Harm nodded in acceptance as Mac slowly crawled off his lap and into the neighboring chair.

Now that she had some distance from Harm, Mac could take in the rest of the room and noticed the roses and candles and the delicious food spread out in from of them; all of it finger food.

The newlyweds began their dinner with Pita and Tsatziki, each taking a turn to feed each other. Every now and then a dab of Tsatziki would end up on someone's nose or fingertip, any excuse to eat it off each other. Next came the Horiatiki, Greek garden salad with feta and olive oil. Although this required a fork, the game continued as they doted on each other. For the main course of dinner, Harm had Kolokithokeftedes, Zucchini balls, and Sarah had Souvlaki, each getting the meat or vegetable that they preferred. With teasing and kisses and jokes, they finished their meal and both were more than anxious to move onto other things.

Dessert was Baklava dripping with honey. Mac took a large bite of the sweet concoction and a dab of honey started to run down her chin. Harm quickly caught it with his tongue, slowly tracing his way back to her mouth to give her a leisurely kiss.

Breaking apart, Harm locked eyes with Sarah, took her hand in his and led her to the bed, neither one had to say a word to acknowledge what was to come next. Everything they had ever gone through led to this moment and talking would only seem to disturb the peace that had surrounded them.

Standing next to the bed, Harm initiated another kiss, this time letting his hands wander to the inside of Mac's robe. Gently he brought his hands up to her shoulders and pushed the robe to the floor letting it billow at their feet. Feeling the smooth silk run down her arms, Mac gave an involuntary shiver, more from the excitement than the cool room.

Not to be out done, Mac started to unbutton Harm's shirt, slowly letting her hands explore each newly exposed part of his chest. Just touching him, feeling his skin against her own was heaven, but it was quickly not enough. Harm sensed this and moved to turn down the sheets and lower her to the bed. Taking his shirt the rest of the way off, he quickly lost his pants too. Looking back at Mac he saw her facing him leaning on her elbow in the middle of the large bed with eyes full of desire. He didn't know how he had been able to control himself around her for this long. He wanted nothing more than to see her sexy smile and loving eyes, just for him, every day for the rest of his life.

Mac gazed at her husband now clad only in boxers. She couldn't help but to lick her lips and let her eyes wander his body. She watched as he came to lie next to her on the bed, nose to nose. He began tracing the outline of her hip gently making her nerves tingle with desire.

Neither one knew who started the kiss, and neither one cared. The sweetness of Mac's mouth was intoxicating and Harm would have gladly given up breathing if he could just kiss her forever. Gradually Mac took control, rolling Harm onto his back as she came on top of him and began kissing across his jaw line to his earlobe. Harm was not lying still either as he was gently massaging her back and even letting his hands dip a little lower, luxuriating in the feel of her nightgown against him. When she finally came to his ear she whispered, "I love you," and slowly sat up to straddle his legs.

As his answer Harm sat up to meet her and again regained her lips with such fire and passion Sarah couldn't think straight. He began to lower the straps of her nightgown, baring her shoulders and breasts to him. Harm began to work down her neck to the two peaks that were begging for his attention. Mac was lost in a dream world as he gently kneaded one with his hand while letting his mouth nip and suck his way to her pebbled nipple.

Harm rolled them over so that he was on top of her as he slowly trailed his mouth down past her breasts to her abdomen. Mac lifted her hips so that her nightgown could easily be pulled off and it got lost somewhere in the blankets of the bed. Coming back up to kiss her mouth, Harm's hand drifted lower as drew lazy circles on her thigh with his fingertips, listening to her groan as he came closer and closer to where she wanted him.

She began tugging on the waistband of his boxers, wanting to get rid of anything that came between them. He slowly rolled off of her to take off his boxers and to lock eyes with his wife again. Although they were husband and wife, he knew he had to ask and was hoping he had the right equipment in his bag. "Sarah? Should I…"

Harm didn't have to finish the question as Mac silenced him with a kiss. "Harm, we only have 21 months left until our deal…if you're ready I'm ready."

With a full-fledged flyboy grin he leaned back in for a kiss and whispered, "I'm ready," against her lips.

Playfully she took the hardness pressing against her leg into her hand and with a wink said, "I know."

She led him to her opening and wrapped her legs around his waist. They locked eyes as he entered her. He reveled in the feel of her and Mac felt so complete as he filled her like no other man had. They began to move against each other building a fire between them until neither could hold back any more. Groans and whispers of love filled the room as they both thrust their hips into the other. With every breath Mac could feel the excitement build as she desperately tried to hold on, tried to make this last. Harm knew she was holding back and brought his hand between them to help her over the edge. He could feel the instant she let go as she squeezed her eyes shut and let her body convulse around him. He too could not hold on much longer and with one last thrust fell over the edge with her.

Having regained the ability to move, he rolled so that they were on their sides facing each other. Mac pressed her face into the curve of his neck, breathing in his scent and not wanting to break their connection.

Harm broke her daze, "Sarah?" at the nod he felt against his shoulder he continued, "I love you. Don't ever leave me."

Lifting her head so she could look him in the eye she said, "Eternity is forever. And as the goats as my witness, that's what I promised you," she said with a smirk.

The night dissolved into pillow talk and making love until they couldn't stay awake any longer. That night they had everything they ever wanted or needed in their arms.

0720 ZULU

PERLE RESORT HOTEL, SUPER DELUXE SUITE

AKROTIRI, CRETE, GREECE

Sarah MacKenzie had never slept so late or so well in a hotel room bed. But Sarah Rabb was lying there content, slowly coming awake as she could feel the steady breath of her husband on her neck. Knowing that they both had to start getting ready for their 1200 transport back home, she crawled out of bed, trying her best not to wake Harm.

After a quick shower, she came out of the bathroom in her uniform, ready to face the day ahead. Seeing that Harm was yet to be among the living, she watched him as he slept. If she had her way, running out the door to get a military hop would be the last thing on her list of things to do the day after she got married. The moment they left this hotel room, they had to go back to the way things were before. She would become Sarah MacKenzie again, at least until they could tell the Admiral. Although she wanted to tell everyone about her wedding and her husband, she knew that if the wrong people found out, a court martial could be in her future. Even if she were to be exonerated, another article 32 on her record would effectively end her career. But those were thoughts for outside the hotel room, not inside. Her mind drifted back to her wedding night and she couldn't help but to smile.

While Mac was musing, Harm was returning from never never land. When he realized that he was alone in his bed his eyes flew open and he frantically looked around, hoping it wasn't a dream. When he saw his smiling wife watching him sleep he answered her with a smile.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

"Good morning to you too. But what are you doing all the way over there, and already dressed?"

"Harm, checkout is in less than an hour and we have to be ready for our transport soon after."

A sad pensive look came over Harm's face and Mac stood up and crossed the room to him. Taking her hand in his and playing with her ring set, he murmured, "I'm just not ready to go out into the real world yet."

"Me, neither, flyboy, but we have to. And hey, I love you, even outside this room," she said with a wink.

Harm sat up further and claimed his wife's lips in a searing kiss. Unfortunately, they both knew that that was going to have to tide them over until they could get home, a place which was still to be determined.

"I have something for you," Harm whispered against her lips as they broke the kiss.

"Harm, you've given me so much, I don't deserve anything else."

"You deserve so much more," he said as he climbed out of bed and went to receive a long jewelry box from his bag. "I was thinking when I was buying your ring yesterday, even though I wanted to place the ring on your finger forever, we still have to be careful. Since I used my Academy ring, I can just switch it back to the right hand, but you can't so easily hide yours. So," he said as he opened the box, "I got this chain. The pattern is called Meander; there is no end to the pattern, it just goes on forever. So I thought, when you can't wear your rings, you can at least keep them close to your heart and know that I love you forever, no matter what happens."

"Harm," Mac whispered, made speechless by the gesture. She watched as he took her rings off and placed them on the chain and then around her neck. "I love you," was all she could say to him as they both prepared themselves to go back to reality.

2017 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Although they had flown for nine hours, DC was seven hours behind Greece, making it still afternoon when they landed. Deciding it was best to try to beat the jet lag by staying awake, they went to JAG to give the Admiral their report and to pick up any messages before heading to Harm's for the night.

Entering the Bullpen, they were swept up by the whirlwind. It seemed that everyone was busy and preoccupied, understandable seeing how short staffed they were while Harm and Mac were away, and also now that Bud was on medical leave for the foreseeable future. Harriet also had taken as much leave as she could and was barely in the office, further backing up paperwork.

The two senior officers had made it to Tiner's desk and were asking to see the Admiral, when AJ himself came barreling through his office door.

"Just the two I was looking for. In my office, now!"

Looking at each other worriedly, they followed their commanding officer into his office and came to attention in front of his desk.

"First of all, at ease, sit down. Secondly, good work in Greece, people. I read the report that you emailed ahead and all seems to be in order.

"Now. Colonel, I know you just got back, but as of right now, you will be Acting JAG. I have to make a tour of the European Force Judge Advocate posts and have also planned some leave time to visit my daughter while in Italy. Hopefully this time she won't be kidnapped," he mumbled as an aside. "Anyway, there shouldn't be too much you have to do this afternoon, but have your cell phone ready, just in case. My plane leaves in 2 hours, so I really should be getting to the airport. If you have any questions, Tiner is up to speed on everything going on.

"Commander, you will be taking over all of the Colonel's open cases while she is busy. I expect you to help the Colonel, not to cause her anymore grief, understood?" Before they could even blink, let alone answer, he said, "great. See you in two weeks." And he quickly gathered his things and rushed out the door.

"Well so much for breaking the news to him," Harm said with a sigh.

Mac nodded with a matching sigh as she realized how difficult the next few weeks were going to be. Not only was she going to be JAG, but also Harm was going to have to catch up on all of her cases on top of his own. With a deep breath she got up and reached for Harm's hand. "Well, at least he said that I could go home for the afternoon. Come on flyboy, take me home, we will figure out the rest in the morning." He stood up, wrapping her in his arms for a moment before they opened the door to the Bullpen and made their way home.

DAYS LATER

1745 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

It had been rough, but Mac had finally made it to the weekend unscathed. After a full weekend together and catching up on sleep in each other's arms, both Harm and Mac were ready to face the day. Deciding to take two cars seeing as Mac would probably have to put in a longer day, again, they headed to work and even got there early.

That was the last thing that seemed to go as planned. Both bogged down with paperwork and meetings, they hadn't seen each other all morning and even had to cancel their lunch plans. And now, she knew she was going to have to do something she had been putting off for over an hour.

Congresswoman Latham's office had called with a request for an attorney to be assigned to her office for the next 3 weeks while a board of inquiry discussed and reviewed the Rules of Engagement. She knew who the best person for the job was. But she also knew that he wouldn't be too happy about it.

With a big sigh, the Colonel knew what she had to do. "Tiner, I need to see Commander Rabb ASAP."

"Yes, ma'am," came the tinny reply on the intercom.

Taking the next few moments to brace herself she heard a knock on her door and yelled "Enter."

With a smirk on his face Harm came to attention in front of Colonel MacKenzie's desk. "Reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"Ha ha, very funny Harm."

"Then why aren't you laughing, Mrs. Rabb?"

"Harm! Don't! You know you can't call me that in the office."

"Oh, c'mon, no one's around."

"Still, I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything."

"Sorry, Mac, I didn't know it was such a big deal. I was trying to make you smile."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just been a long morning. Why don't you sit down; you're not going to like this."

"Not going to like what?"

"Bobbi's office called."

"Maaac."

"Harm, listen. I am assigning you to her office for the next three weeks. They are reviewing…"

"Mac. There is no way I am going to her office. I would rather take every D&D case for the next month."

"Harm, you are the only one."

"C'mon, Sarah…"

"COMMNDER! You WILL be assigned to the Congresswoman's office for the next 2 years if I say so. That's an order. DISMISSED!"

"Well, excuse me COLONEL. I will gladly pass out my cases and report to the Hill this afternoon."

"Fine!"

"Fine!" And with that Harm stomped out of the room, slamming the door on the way out. Needless to say, the Bullpen had their feelers out. Although they didn't hear all of what went on in the office, they heard the raised voices and the Commander's grumbling as he stormed through the Bullpen on his way to the office, loudly closing his door when he got there. And they thought that the tension was improving, yeah right.

2310 ZULU

HARMON RABB'S APARTMENT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

Harm had gotten home early and began cooking dinner. He knew he was wrong, but he was still pissed to have to be assigned to Bobbi's office. Dealing with all of the politicians on the Hill was not what he wanted to be doing. He knew that Mac had to give him the assignment and that he should have respected her decision as acting JAG. As a peace offering, he had picked up a steak on his way home and was just about to start grilling it when he heard a key in the door.

In walked Sarah with an armful of files. Harm rushed over to her to help her with the files and to take her coat while Mac went to the refrigerator and grabbed a water. Harm came up behind his wife and put his hands on her shoulders.

Mac felt all of the tension seep out of her by the gesture. She knew she was right and that Harm should have taken her order as just that, an order. But she also understood how frustrated he must be stuck on the Hill. And she had overreacted to the whole Mrs. Rabb thing. She was also terrified that she had really messed up with Harm. It was their first fight and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't talk to her best friend, Harm, about it. She couldn't tell anyone else without their secret getting out. And as the day went on her anxiety grew.

Harm felt her body sigh in relief and turned her around so he could hug her. With his mouth against her ear he whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Harm, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that."

"And I should have obeyed your order."

"I didn't want to make it an order. And I love being Mrs. Rabb, it's just that at the office I can't let myself think about it or this whole secret thing gets harder."

"I know. Let's just forget about it tonight. I got you a steak for dinner if you are hungry."

"Famished. But what are you going to eat? Finally coming over to the dark side?"

"Not on your life. I grabbed some salmon."

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Harm said as he dipped down to brush his lips against hers. The kiss grew in intensity and soon dinner was forgotten as Harm picked up his wife and took her to the bedroom.

Slowly they peeled off what was left of each other's uniforms. Once they were skin to skin, slow and easy went out the window as their need for each other took over. Mac flipped Harm on his back and settled over him, sighing as he filled her. Harm flipped them again as the two lovers raced against each other, seeking the bliss they could only find in each other's arms. Mac crashed over her peak with Harm's name on her lips. Harm joined her collapsing to the side so as not to smother her.

After catching their breath Mac started giggling. Seeing Harm's upraised eyebrow she said, "So much for dinner."

"You've got that right." Harm said as he pulled her against him once again.

DAYS LATER

1930 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Colonel MacKenzie, ma'am. You have a phone call."

"Thank you, Tiner."

Hovering near the Admiral's office as always, Lieutenant Singer heard Tiner relay the message to the Acting JAG. "Who was that on the phone, Petty Officer?"

"I don't know ma'am, it was a personal call."

"The Colonel seems to be getting an awful lot of personal calls lately. And she had those flowers delivered yesterday. Is she seeing someone new?"

"I really couldn't say ma'am."

"Well, was it a male voice?"

"Yes ma'am, as best as I could tell. It sounds a bit familiar but he never gives a name and seems to be calling from a cell phone with a bad connection…"

"Hmmm…" Singer mused as she walked away. A distracted lovesick Colonel could be good for her career; along with the fact that the Colonel and the Commander seem to be arguing again. Maybe this isn't such a bad week after all.

Inside the office Mac picked up the phone, "MacKenzie."

"Don't you mean Rabb?"

"Wouldn't that shock the hell out of the SECNAV if he had been the one calling."

Laughing Harm said, "Well, anyway. I am calling to let you know that I have a meeting with the realtor again at lunch. I am going to check out that house in Arlington tonight that you looked at yesterday." Harm and Mac had been looking at houses for the past week. Although they were trying to keep everything quiet, they really wanted to settle down and start a family. They both knew that they wanted kids and wanted them together. The one-bedroom apartments just weren't going to cut it much longer. Plus, even though Harm owned his loft, Mac was still paying the steep price for Georgetown rent.

"Harm, I love that house. I know it's expensive but it's so close to the Beltway right between here and DC. 3 bedrooms. And I know you are going to love the kitchen. The realtor said it's a really good deal and I agree. And even if you don't sell your place, just rent it out, that's going to help us a lot."

"Don't worry about the money part. If the walk through goes well we can call tonight with an offer."

"I can't wait for you to see it."

"Hey, Bobbi's coming. I'll talk to you after I talk to the realtor. Bye."

"Love you."

1940 ZULU

CAPITAL HILL

WASHINGTON, DC

"Realtor?" Bobbi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ha, yeah. I decided it's time to grow up."

"You decided or is there a blond that decided for you."

"Nope, no blond. I'm ready to settle down and move on."

"Does that mean leave JAG too?"

"I don't know, it might. I haven't gotten that far yet."

"Well, you know, there are plenty of people on the Hill impressed with the work you have been doing here. There are always openings for advisors, military or civilian. If you are looking that is."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. Now, c'mon we have to get going."

0130 ZULU

EQUINOX RESTAURANT

WASHINGTON, DC

Sturgis was still picking at his salad as Bobbi put her fork down and looked up at him. "So, Harm's buying a house, huh?"

"Harm? A house?" Sturgis choked out.

"Yeah, I heard him on the phone talking about realtors and he said that it was time to move on and settle down."

"Harmon Rabb, settle down. Wow. Although, I can believe the moving on part."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, rumor has it, Colonel MacKenzie has a new serious boyfriend. Now, even though I wasn't around for the wedding disaster last year, I have heard stories of how upset Harm was. If she is really serious with someone, maybe he has finally given up."

"Hmmm. He also seemed up for the idea of making his position on the Hill more permanent."

"Leave JAG?"

"That's what it sounded like."

"Interesting…very interesting."

SAME TIME

SARAH MACKENZIE'S APARTMENT

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

Harm and Sarah decided on a change in venues tonight. Mac hadn't stayed at her apartment for the night since they had gotten back from Greece. And, her's was the one with the tub.

As they sat in the bathtub together, celebrating with a glass of sparkling cider, they toasted to their new house. It turns out the sellers were highly motivated because they were moving across country and needed to sell ASAP. Harm had talked to Frank earlier in the day after he had seen the house to talk about money. Frank had invested a lot for Harm over the years and although Harm wanted to pay for the house himself, he knew he couldn't get that kind of money together so quickly. With the money in place, Harm and Mac had made their final offer 2 hours ago. Within twenty minutes they got a call back saying their offer was accepted. The closing was only 2 weeks away.

Playing with the necklace that held her wedding rings, Harm said, "You know, I had to tell my parents something when I called Frank this afternoon. They both wanted to know what the rush on the house is. I tried the whole, I am getting older, want to settle down speech, but then they asked what the other 2 bedrooms were for. So I had to tell them that I had started seeing someone special a few weeks ago. I wouldn't tell them anything else and said that there would be a housewarming party soon and they should fly out and stay for a little while. That seemed to make my mother happy."

"Hmmm, housewarming party. That might be the perfect place to break our news to everyone…"

"Speaking of news…I had an interesting conversation with Bobbi this afternoon. She said that there were a lot of openings on the Hill for someone like me."

"Are you talking about leaving JAG?"

"I think that one of us will have to. And if we could start the process before the Admiral finds out, we might be able to avoid court martial; although if they make me decide, I will resign my commission. Bobbi said there were civilian positions available as well."

"I know you are right, but I love working with you. And I don't want to make you leave. I can start looking around too."

"I know, but you are Chief of Staff. I don't want you to give that up, you are right on track for your next promotion. And I would love to see Singer's face when my beautiful, sexy wife is sworn in as the first female JAG."

"I don't see that happening anytime too soon. Plus, I thought you couldn't stand the Hill."

"Well, it isn't my favorite place, but I am interested in the policy and what they are debating about; especially now with the current state of things. I would miss the investigations, but once we have a family, I would want to be more of a desk jockey anyway. I don't want to miss out on being a father."

"Yeah, I would have to take on the more administrative side of my Chief of Staff position once we have kids too."

"Is that OK with you?"

"Harm, I love you. I want nothing more than to have children with you. I am done competing. I am done running. I am done putting my career first. As long as you are truly OK with this, then I support your decision either way."

"I love you too, honey. Now, that's enough of the serious talk. The water is getting cold, why don't we reconvene in the bedroom…"

"Sounds like a plan, Sailor."

TWO WEEKS LATER

1215 ZULU

HARMON RABB'S APARTMENT

NORTH OF UNION STATION

A lot had changed in two weeks. As Sarah MacKenzie got dressed for work, she didn't even realize how nervous she was. They had closed on the house yesterday afternoon. It was now theirs. They planned on starting to move this weekend since Mac had to be out of her apartment by the end of the month. Harm had decided to keep his apartment and rent it out.

The Admiral had gotten back at the end of last week and Mac had finally gotten back into her normal routine. She had aspirations of being JAG someday, but the job was still tiring, especially for a newlywed on very little sleep.

Harm was coming into the office today to talk to the Admiral about his transfer. He would be acting as a military advisor for Congresswoman Bobbi Latham's office, as well as some of her other political friends. He had already started the paperwork; he just had to talk to his CO about it. And he wasn't looking forward to it. Neither was Mac. They weren't going to hide the fact that his wanting a transfer was so that they could be together.

Also, while he was there he was going to tell everyone about a housewarming party at his new house. Since Bobbi and Sturgis, and then the entire gossip circle in the Bullpen, had thought that Harm was buying the house just for himself, they went along with it. When everyone got to the party, they would see that it was her house too. The party was a week from Friday, giving them just enough time to move in. They had decided to leave the paint colors the same for now, and the house was in great condition, so it was really a matter of just setting up furniture.

Seeing her husband come up behind her in the mirror, she gave him a nervous smile. "Hey, everything is going to be alright, Sarah. I love you and nothing else matters." Without saying anything Mac turned in his embrace and buried her face into his chest.

1315 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Not only was it Harm's first day back at the office, but it was Harriet's as well. Mac felt so guilty for not sharing her news with her best female friend. But she also felt just as guilty for being happy while Harriet and Bud were going through the trial of their life. Bud was home now and they were still adjusting, but Harriet had used up all of her leave time and was ready to get into the office for a few hours a day.

About to knock on the Colonel's door, the Lieutenant saw her friend nervously glancing at the Admiral's door every few seconds. Harriet knew Harm was in there but couldn't figure out why Mac was so nervous. And there was something else there too. Something was different about Sarah MacKenzie and Harriet was going to find out.

"Good morning, ma'am."

"Good morning, Lieutenant. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you for all of the support you have given Bud and I the past month or so. It looks like we are finally making our way back and I know we couldn't have done it without our friends and family."

"Harriet, that means so much," Mac said as her eyes filled with tears. Harriet was surprised by her friend's emotion, but played it off as concern for Bud.

Just then Mac's phone rang and Tiner requested her presence in the Admiral's office. "Sorry, Harriet, looks like I'm needed." With that the Colonel got up, straightened her uniform and made her way to the Admiral's door. Harriet Sims Roberts watched her friend walk away and was determined to figure out what was going on with her.

In the Admiral's office Harm sat nervously in the chair as he waited for Sarah. This was it. They were going to tell the Admiral and pray to God that they didn't have charges drawn against them. The Admiral was initially upset when Harm handed him his transfer papers all filled out and signed. When Harm indicated it had something to do with the Colonel, before anymore more was said, the Admiral called her into his office.

As Mac entered and was asked to sit in the chair next to Harm, they shared a nervous glance. Turning back to the Admiral they were ready to face whatever was coming at them.

Harm began, "Sir, as I was saying before, I need to transfer for personal reasons. I love being a lawyer and being at JAG, however, recent events in my personal life have forced me to make a decision. To stay here would mean that I would be breaking regulations and disrupting the good order of this office."

"And what regulation would that be, Commander?"

"Fraternization, Sir."

"Since, you mentioned that this had something to do with the Colonel, I can only assume that…"

"Sir," Mac spoke up, "the Commander and I began seeing each other socially a while ago, Sir. Our relationship became very serious very quickly."

"How serious?"

"We were married when we were in Greece, Sir." As Harm said it, he could see the Admiral's blood pressure rise.

"WHAT?!"

"Sir," Mac continued, "we tried to tell you, but we were either on our way out of the country, or you were. We wanted you to be the first to know, so we have kept it all a secret until now. We closed on a house last night and we are planning on moving this weekend."

After a moment of silence the Admiral started laughing. "It took you two 7 years to have a first date and 3 weeks to get married," he said through his laughs.

Nervously, Harm asked, "Sir?"

"Now, even though I had hoped you would have come to me before you did anything so impulsive as getting married, I have expected this. As your wedding present, I will backdate your request to before you left for Greece, when you initially came to talk to me. That should protect you from any charges filed. Good luck on the Hill, Mr. Rabb, you are going to need it."

"Thank you, Sir!" they both echoed, taking a huge sigh of relief.

"So, when do you plan on telling everybody?"

"Well, Sir, with your permission, we would like to wait a bit longer. The rumors of the Bullpen have actually worked to our advantage and we were planning on surprising everyone at the housewarming planned for a week from Friday."

"Sounds good, it will give your paperwork time to get processed as well, Harm. Now, before this bombshell, I was actually going to offer the both of you some leave time. I know how much travelling you have been doing lately and now I assume you would want to have a honeymoon."

"Yes, Sir, we would."

"Well, then, Mr. Rabb, due to the upcoming August recess, you have about 3 weeks before you have to report to your new position. So after you redistribute cases today and clear out your office, you are on leave. Colonel, I will need you around this week, but I can give you next week and the week after off to move and go away with your husband."

"Thank you, Sir."

"I don't like to get too involved in personal matters, but you two are like family to me. And, I expect some more JAG children in our near future."

As Mac blushed, Harm answered with a grin, "We're working on that, Sir."

"Alright, then, dismissed." They both left the Admiral's office and went back to their offices. The Bullpen watched as Harm packed up his belongings. Those that were there three years ago had a déjà vu flashback of when the Commander packed up his belongings to go fly. However, this time Mac didn't seem to be paying much attention. No tear filled goodbye hugs this time. The tension between them must be worse than ever.

Sturgis walked over to his friend's office and asked him what was going on. Although Bobbi had already told him that Harm was coming to work for her, he had to hear it from Harm. "What's going on, Buddy?"

"It's time I moved on, Sturgis. There is nothing left for me here. But hey, spread the word, I am having a housewarming a week from Friday. Here's the address. It can sort of be my going away party too."

"You're really OK with this, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I am going to miss it here, but I'm sure I will run into everyone, I'll just be on the Hill. Plus, with me working for Bobbi, I'm sure I will be seeing a lot of you too."

"Well, good luck Harm. I wish you all the best."

"Thanks, Buddy." And with that Harm walked out of his office with a box full of his things. With a nod to Mac's office he walked to the elevator and left JAG forever.

Harriet came scurrying up to Commander Turner to ask what Harm had said. "He said it was time to move on. He also gave me this, an invitation to a housewarming party."

"So, he really bought a house, I just thought that was rumor."

"Nope, he really did."

"I wonder if this had anything to do with that rumor about the Colonel's new boyfriend."

"That's my hypothesis, Lieutenant."

"I think I will go talk to the Colonel." But as Harriet turned toward Mac's office, she could see her door was shut and the blinds were closed. This was not a good sign.

Inside her office, Sarah let a tear slide down her cheek. It was a tear of sadness for seeing him leave, a tear of fondness for all the memories, and a tear of happiness for the new future they were about to embark on.

0030 ZULU

HARMON AND SARAH RABB'S HOUSE

PATRICK STREET

SOUTH ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

Everything was ready. Harm and Mac had spent the past week decorating their house with all of the things from their apartments. They kept Harm's bed because it was bigger for their own bed in the Master bedroom and put Mac's in the guest room. The other bedroom, still empty would be reserved for a nursery, hopefully.

The den became their office for the time being. They decided to use Mac's dining set and were going to use Harm's living room pieces with a few of Mac's to fill in here and there. The Master bedroom took up the entire upstairs and was so large that the extra couch would be going in their room. The bedroom actually looked like Harm's loft with wood floors and glass blocks separating the rest of the room from the elegant bathroom. They had put off displaying pictures or anything too personal so as to keep the secret.

The backyard was gorgeous and lanterns and Christmas lights were hanging on trees to set the mood for the party. Harm's parents should be on their way from the airport now and the guests were due to arrive any minute. Little did they know what awaited them.

Guests started filtering in complementing Harm on his beautiful house. As everyone mingled and chatted, the doorbell rang announcing another guest. Mac stood there with Harm's parents. She had decided to go to the airport to pick them up. Harm waited at the house for the guests and it also made it look like Mac was driving up, just like all the rest.

Harm had told his parents to expect Mac to pick them up, as he had to play host. They were glad to finally meet their son's former partner. However, expecting a Marine, and finding the elegant Sarah MacKenzie in a white tea length dress with green and blue ribbons was a nice surprise. After the car ride getting to know each other, Trish hoped that her son realized how stunning this wonderful woman was and that he wasn't so serious after all with this new mystery girl he had.

Greeting Mac and then seeing his parents, he welcomed them with big hugs and then began showing them around the house. While Mac walked past Harriet and Bud in the living room she could hear them quietly talking to each other, "Bud, doesn't this chair look like the one Colonel MacKenzie has in her living room?"

"I don't know, honey, it's been a while since I have gone over there."

Noticing Mac was near them, Harriet merely filed this away with all of the other curious things about the Colonel that she had noticed recently.

Harm found his wife fidgeting in the kitchen and couldn't help but to sneak up behind her. He noticed how she was pulling at her wedding dress. "I love that dress on you," he whispered in her ear, startling her.

"Yeah, well, I wish it fit like it did a few weeks ago," she grumbled.

"You look gorgeous," he said, hoping to improve her spirits.

Just then the doorbell rang again. This time Sturgis was closest and answered it while Harm and Sarah emerged from the kitchen. "Dad, what are you doing here," he asked as he saw Chaplain Turner standing on the porch.

"Well, son, I was invited, mind if I come in?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

With the Chaplain now here, Harm and Mac knew it was time for their announcement.

"Can I have everyone's attention please!" Harm yelled over the voices of the group of their closest friends. "First of all, welcome to my new home. I have made a lot of changes in the past few weeks, leaving JAG, buying a home. I am glad that you could all be here for my housewarming/going away party.

"Now, I know a lot of you have been wanting to know the motivation behind all of this. And truthfully, it's a woman. A beautiful woman who, I can say now, is the love of my life." Looking back at Mac, he motioned her to come closer to him. As he said this he added, "Even though she is a Marine."

Mac gave Harm a smack on the shoulder as he took her into his arms. The entire group gathered went from silent shock to loud cheers of "finally" and "congratulations" within seconds. Harm's parents came over to him and even though his mother gave him the death start for not telling her sooner, she could not be happier for her son.

"That's not our only news," Mac added. "After we finally admitted to each other what we felt, Harm proposed," she said as she held up her left hand to show off the sparking diamond. More cheers followed and another round of congratulations.

"However, what my beautiful fiancé is not telling you is that she is not my just fiancé anymore, she is my wife. We actually were married about a month and a half ago."

This time, the crowd did not recover so quickly. Everyone stood there speechless, just staring at the couple. Deciding to continue while the room was quiet, Harm said, "and, you weren't invited here just for a housewarming. Since none of you could be there, Chaplain Turner is here so that we can renew our vows tonight, with all of our friends and family as witnesses."

Harm's mother and stepfather were the first to break the silence as they came up to the happy couple and embraced them. Harm's mother had tears streaming down her face, she was so happy for her son, even if she was still a little upset for finding out this way.

With that everyone was ushered outside to the backyard, taking in the lights and lanterns for the first time. Chairs were set up facing a beautiful little gazebo. After about twenty minutes Harm walked out in his dress whites and took his place next to Chaplain Turner. AJ, who was in on this whole thing from the beginning, flipped on the music when he saw that Mac was ready at the end of the makeshift aisle. She too had changed into a beautiful plain white silk dress with thick straps and a V neckline showing off a beautiful golden chain around her neck, the one that used to hold her wedding rings. The dress reached to the ground with a little train and she was holding a single red rose. He hair was down and a single rosebud was tucked behind one ear.

As she made her way down the aisle to her husband for the second time this summer, she couldn't control the tears streaming down her cheeks. This was perfect. Harm himself was barely breathing after seeing her in the beautiful dress. He was going to surprise her with dress whites, he didn't know she had gone out and gotten a dress too.

The ceremony was beautiful and all of their friends were so happy for the couple. Just as before, Harm and Sarah barely registered the words that were being said, as they shared their joy with their extended family.

Following the ceremony, when they finally put their rings on to stay, they had an informal reception. Keeping with some traditions they did cut the cake and smear it all over each other's face. The Admiral cut the soft music playing in the background on the out door speakers and called everyone to attention. "At this time, the Bride and Groom will have their first dance together. As my gift to the new couple I picked out this song for them. And as my last order to Harm, he has to dance with his new wife. Congratulations you two, well done."

With that the soft beat of Steve's Wonders' "I Believe" came over the sound system. Slowly the couple danced with each other as they listened to the words, seemingly written just for them.

Shattered dreams, worthless years,

Here am I encased inside a hollow shell,

Life began, then was done,

Now I stare into a cold and empty well

The many sounds that meet our ears

the sights our eyes behold,

Will open up our merging hearts,

And feed our empty souls

I believe when I fall in love with

you it will be forever,

I believe when I fall in love this

time it will be forever

Without despair we will share,

And the joys of caring will not be replaced,

What has been must never end

And with the strength we have won't be erased

When the truths of love are planted firm,

They won't be hard to find,

And the words of love I speak to you

will echo in my mind

I believe when I fall in love with

you it will be forever,

I believe when I fall in love this

time it will be forever

I believe when I fall in love with

you it will be forever,

I believe when I fall in love with you it will be forever

I'm so glad that I found someone to believe in again,

I'm so glad that I found someone to believe in again

God surely answered my prayer,

God surely answered by prayer,

You know God surely answered my prayer,

God always will answer your prayers,

Believe in one who will answer my prayer,

Thank you God

Come on, let's fall in love,

You're the woman I've been waiting for,

Come on, let's fall in love,

You're the girl that I really adore,

Come on, let's fall in love...

There was not a dry eye in the yard as the couple concluded their dance with a tender kiss.

0503 ZULU

HARMON AND SARAH RABB'S HOUSE

PATRICK STREET

SOUTH ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

Knowing that the couple needed to leave early in the morning for their honeymoon, people started leaving early, helping to clean up on their way out. Harm and Mac had decided to just go down to the shore for a few days before coming back and finishing up the work on the house.

Now that everything was put away and everyone finally gone, Harm and Mac got ready for bed. When Mac emerged from the bathroom, she found her sexy husband sitting on the bed in just his boxers smiling at her.

With a chuckle she said, "C'mon, Flyboy, come with me."

"Mac, where are we going?" Harm asked as they walked down the stairs.

"I am going to give you your wedding present."

"Wedding present? But I didn't get you anything."

"Well, the first time you gave me the chain and I didn't get you anything. Plus, Harm, you and Frank bought the house, let me just do this one thing," and with that they came to a stop in front of the extra, empty bedroom. However, when Harm looked inside, he could see it was not empty. Inside hanging from the ceiling was a mobile with little airplanes hanging off of it.

"Sarah?" Harm asked, tears coming to his eyes.

"I love you… Daddy," she said as she reached up on her toes to kiss him.

End of Secrets. Should I continue with the series?