Title: She said yes…

Author: Kimberly Knipp

Rating: G

He saw her standing alone on the beach and rose from the bench to go meet her just as he saw Brumby some into sight.

"Great," Harm muttered, sitting back down. "What does he want?"

Mic Brumby slipped his arms around Mac from behind, catching her by surprise.

"Good evening, Sarah," he whispered.

"Mic," she answered, gently disengaging herself from his embrace.

He took her gesture in stride. "Bet you’ve never seen a sunset like this before, Sarah," he murmured.

"It is beautiful," Mac agreed, wondering what he wanted. He seemed antsy as he crammed his hands in the pockets of his shorts.

"Mac… Sarah," he amended. "I’ve been thinking about something for a while now…" he paused. He withdrew his hands from his pockets and Mac caught a glimpse of what looked like a jewelry box. "Sarah, would you do me the honor of marrying me?" He opened the small velvet box and held up a diamond that had to be a couple of carats.

For a moment Mac was too stunned to even answer. "Wh.. what?" she finally asked.

"It probably seems sudden but I’ve been thinking about this for some time now. I love you, Sarah. Surely you must know that by now," he prodded lightly.

And she did. At least she’d suspected he did but she hoped he would keep it under his hat, so to speak. This was the last thing she’d wanted to happen.

"Mic…" she hesitated, truly hating what she had to do. "I’m sorry. You know I care about you and you’ve become a very good friend, but," she shrugged helplessly. "I’m sorry, I can’t marry you," she said as gently as possible.

His hopeful expression fell and very slowly he closed the ring box and closed his fist tightly around it. "I understand. It’s because you love someone else," he muttered.

"What?" Mac questioned. "No, it’s not because of that. I just…"

He cut her off. "It’s the Commander, isn’t it? I thought so, but, well, I had to try. Guess I best be going now. I’ll see later for dinner, Mac," Brumby mumbled hurriedly and walked away before she could say anything else.

"Mic, wait!" she called but he didn’t look back. She squelched the urge to grind her teeth together.

"Bad news?"

Mac whirled around and saw Harm coming toward her, looking as sexy as she’d ever seen him in a pair of black shorts. Like all the other men she’d seen wondering around since their arrival, he was barefoot and shirtless and the hot Aussie sun had already started turning him a dark brown.

"No," she murmured sadly. "Not for me anyway."

"Come again?" he asked, glancing covertly at her slender form. It was a rare treat to see her in a bikini and he was enjoying every second of it.

Mac turned troubled eyes to him. "He asked me to marry him."

"He what?" Harm asked incredulously.

The sun was setting on the water behind them, its golden rays casting an ethereal glow around Harm. Mac shook her head forlornly.

"I didn’t want to hurt him like that. I’ve suspected for awhile that his feelings were for more than friendship but I never dreamed he’d asked me to marry him!" she cried softly.

"You’ve never even dated," Harm mused. "Have you?" he amended, arching one brow.

Mac couldn’t help a laugh. "No, we never dated. He tried often but I… I was never ready. I still wish he hadn’t… that I…" she broke off with a derisive laugh. "I guess it doesn’t matter now. He asked and I said no."

Without a word, Harm closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to his chest. With a sigh, Mac held onto his slim waist and closed her eyes, her cheek pressed to the silky hair on his chest. Something inside began to unfurl as they stood there. After several minutes she lifted her head just enough to look at him. What was it Brumby had insisted? That Harm was the reason she’d said no? She studied his beloved face now in the last fading rays of sunlight. And then she realized it was the truth.

"What’s wrong, Mac?" Harm murmured, tenderly brushing a strand of hair back from her face.

"He accused me of loving someone else and I started to deny it but he’s right," she whispered, almost afraid to say the words out loud.

"He is?" Harm returned, almost afraid to hope.

"There is another man."

Harm lifted his hands and cupped them around her face, studying her carefully. "Is it me?" he asked softly, going for broke.

Mac traced a circle with one finger on his chest, feeling a tiny shudder course through his big form. Then she looked up at him, her expression grave. "Yes."

Harm’s closed his eyes as the breath he’d been holding rushed out and he hugged her instantly. "Thank God," he breathed against her hair.

Mac smiled against his warm skin and hugged him back. "You say that likes it’s a good thing," she teased.

"It is." He pulled back and looked at her. "I’ve loved you for so long I can’t remember when I started."

"You have?" She questioned. "You never gave any indication…" her voice trailed off.

"I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk it," he admitted. "Because I was afraid. But hearing that he proposed is making me see that I can’t wait around forever or one of these days another man will come along and take you away from me," he stated deeply. "I love you too much to ever see that happen."

Mac took a deep breath and cupped one hand around his jaw. "I love you, too," she murmured.

Harm lowered his head and gave her the sweetest kiss. "I don’t have a fancy ring on me at the moment but maybe this will work until I can buy you one," he explained, tugging off his Academy ring. He smiled fully at her. "Would you please marry me, Sarah MacKenzie?" He slipped the big ring on her finger.

"Yes."