********************************************************************************************

A small crash woke him from what little sleep he was getting. Harm raised himself slightly from the bed and looked through the wall partition to the living room. There was a storm raging outside and he saw Mac standing at the window wrapped in a blanket.

"Mac?"

"I’m sorry… um, I thought I heard something outside, but it was nothing. Go back to sleep."

Harm sighed and lay back against the pillows.

"Is it always this cold in here?" she asked.

"Want me to turn the heat up?

"Yeah, maybe a little."

She didn’t sound like herself. Harm got up and padded out to the living room, clad only on a pair of boxers.

"You know, Mac, you really should go home, get a decent night’s sleep. I’m gonna be all right," he assured her.

"I wouldn’t sleep even if I was at home. I rarely do."

Harm took a couple of steps toward her and realized then that she was crying. "You wanna talk about it?" he asked softly, stopping a couple of feet from her.

Mac just shook her head.

"All right," he murmured and turned to go back to bed.

"I expected there to be death when I joined the Marines. Not when I joined JAG. Not like this. It’s like everyone around me keeps dying." She dropped her head and a small sob slipped out.

Harm came closer still. "Hey, you had nothing to do with this."

"No, Dalton would still be alive if he hadn’t been involved with me. My ex-husband wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t come back to see me."

"You don’t know that, okay? And you certainly had nothing to do with Clayton’s death," Harm continued, trying to reassure her.

"Look at me, I’m crying like a big baby," she wiped ineffectually at her tears. "No wonder they don’t want women in combat."
"Hey, men cry in combat all the time. They just don’t admit it," he grinned, stepping right up next to her. He reached out and tenderly cupped the side of her face, leaning closer.

Mac curved both of her hands around his wrist, rubbing her fingers against his skin. She managed a small smile. "Hey, go on, go back to bed. I’m supposed to be here watching out for you remember?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," he gave her that little half-grin of his. "Goodnight, ninja girl," he murmured and turned to go back to bed.

"Goodnight," she called, the added, "Would you mind if I stripped it down?" she called softly.

Harm froze in his tracks and slowly turned back to look at her. "What’d you say?"

"Your pistol. Can I clean it for you? It will give me something to do."

"Can you do it quietly?" he teased.

"Yeah," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Okay," he half-answered then turned and walked away.

Harm went back to his bed and laid down, pulling the covers up. Then he turned to look out at her one more time. Instead of taking his gun apart to clean it, she placed it on the coffee table in front of her and buried her face in her hands. Even from that distance he could see her slender shoulders shaking. Sighing, he threw the cover back again and rose. His little Jarhead wasn’t as tough as she wanted everyone to believe. A second later he was next to her. Mac didn't even realize he was there until he bent over and scooped her up in his arms, blanket and all. She started and pushed against his chest.

"Harm?" she cried. "What are you doing?"

"Taking you to bed so you can get some sleep. So we both can," he answered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"But…" she started to protect.

"Hush, Mac," he ordered.

He carried her into the bedroom and gently put her down on the mattress. Mac immediately scooted across to the other side with the intention to get up but Harm dropped his tall frame down and snagged her around the waist with his arm. He pulled her back against him and then flipped the covers up over them.

"Harm, I can’t sleep in here with you," Mac stated, trying to get up.

"Yes, you can," he countered, holding onto her.

With his arms around her, all Mac succeeded in doing was turning over so that she was facing him now. Her stomach clenched as she looked into the hard muscles of his chest. "We could get in trouble for this," she muttered.

"There isn’t anyone here but you and me," he rebutted gently. "I won’t tell anyone you’re a marshmallow under all that bluff and bluster," he teased softly.

"That’s it," Mac muttered. "Let me up," she order, pushing against his chest.

"Mac, hush, I was only teasing," he returned firmly, tightening his hold on her.

Mac went still and laid there for several minutes, her hands still resting on his chest. Harm was still as well, almost holding his breath to see what she would do next. It was as if both of them suddenly became aware of where they were. Almost hesitantly, Harm slid one leg forward, almost between Mac’s. Her breath quickened almost imperceptibly and her fingers curled against the hard muscles of his chest.

"What are we doing?" she whispered.

"Something we should have been doing a long time ago," Harm muttered almost distractedly.

And then he kissed her.