Here's a sort of bonus track epilogue: One that I've come in to post on Christmas Eve… a bit shippery, perhaps, but I still think it works… Thanks to everyone who supported this little venture.

Merry Christmas, my friends!

Navy Chapel

Christmas Eve

2200

The soft glow of candles washed the chapel in gentle, warm shadows. Somehow the presence of so many uniforms in such a place of peace was more of a reminder than ever of those uniforms that were not experiencing a silent night this year; those men and women whose duty called them across the globe on this Christmas Eve.

Harm glanced at Mattie, who sat on his right, Mac on her other side. It was so close to a vision tucked carefully away in his psyche that he almost sighed. He was glad when the Chaplain began speaking.

"Shepherds. Simple, working people, alone, living out in the fields, tending their animals… when out of the blue, their lives change forever. The world changes. All because of a baby."

Harm caught Mac smiling and followed her gaze to where the Roberts were sharing a look of absolute joy. Little AJ was leaning on Harriet sleepily, while Jimmy was staring over Bud's shoulder at the people and the lights. The baby's wandering gaze seemed to focus on Mac's dark eyes and he broke into a toothless smile.

"We have to wonder, then. What would we have done? Would we have been able to recognize that this was a time of change, a time to walk away from what we had been doing all our lives and try something new?" The Chaplain swept the chapel with a look. "I'd venture to guess no one left a herd of sheep to come here tonight. But how many of us live our quiet, solitary lives, minding all the cares and worries we have, minding them like sheep, all alone? Will we be able to stop and see, stop and listen like those shepherds did in the reading tonight? And if we do, will we be willing and able to take a chance on a life we don't know?" He paused, smiled at them beatifically. "May we all find the grace, tonight and always, to be able to hear the angels calling us to see not just the miracle of a new life, but the miracle of a new way of living."

The Wall

2300

The snow was falling gently when the threesome reached the Wall. Harm stood quietly for a moment, his fingers tracing gently over the letters of his father's name. His name. "Merry Christmas, Dad." He shook his head and seemed to remember he wasn't alone. In a quiet voice, he added, "Mattie and Mac are here, too. It's all happened so quickly… I hope you're keeping an eye on me. On us." With a fond look, he stepped back and turned to Mac and Mattie, saw with some surprise that Mattie had brought a flower from the Chapel and watched as she walked a bit shyly up to the wall.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Rabb." She laid the flower on the snow under his name and stepped back. Harm felt his eyes begin to water. Mac saw the expression on Harm's face and felt like she might cry herself, but instinct took over.

Stepping forward, she snapped to attention and gave a crisp salute to honor the officer that was her best friend's father. Then she placed her palm gently on the wall and bowed her head for a quiet moment. Straightening up with a nod, she turned and walked back to where Harm and Mattie were standing. She saw Mattie slip her hand into Harm's.

"I bet my mom and your dad are happy we're together tonight."

Harm nodded, frowning back the tears. "Me too, Mattie."

Mac's Apartment

2330

"You think she's asleep?"

"Pretty sure. She was asleep in the car."

"Good. I still have to wrap her present."

"Harm!" Mac yelled in a whisper. "You have got to be kidding me." He looked at her, innocence beaming from his baby blues, and she couldn't help smiling even as she shook her head.

"Hey, have you ever wrapped a guitar?"

"No."

"Well, here's your chance."

"My chance?"

"To help, anyway." He gestured at the tree. "You can wrap anything." Rolling her eyes, Mac went to get her wrapping supply box while he went out to the car to get the presents. As they spread out the paper and Mac began cutting, he looked thoughtful. She noticed it peripherally.

"What?"

"Hmm?" He pointed to a crease and she clipped a curve before taping it down.

"Earth to Harm." She didn't look at him, but kept clipping around the base of the guitar case.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about what Chaplain Turner said."

"He's a good speaker."

"Yeah." The brief silence was filled with snipping noises and the pull of tape. "I think I'd like to try something new."

"Like what?" They folded all around and laid out a second sheet for the top.

"Like being more honest, and less defensive."

Mac stopped in mid cut, glanced up at him. "You mean with me, don't you."

His eyes were seriously dark. "Only with you, Sarah."

She stared at him, looked back to her work. "That's fine with me."

"If I ask you a question, would you answer it honestly? Without getting upset?"

"Harm…" she looked a little exasperated. "It's almost midnight. Maybe this can wait." She watched with a little surprise as his expression flashed though a defensive annoyance to something more thoughtful, more open.

"I'd really like to talk now... just… I don't know. Simply, I guess."

"You really think anything about us is simple?"

"Well, we can be a bit simple-minded…" he broke into the grin and she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, if you really want to. Go ahead."

"Okay, but let's keep working. I've noticed that we communicate better when we're working on something together and not just trying to discuss 'us'." She shrugged and resumed cutting.

"Go ahead."

"Okay." He held a flap of paper while she taped it down, and they proceeded to switch off tools with surgical precision. "You said a while ago that you were upset because I didn't fight you on the idea that there was no 'us'." She froze for a second, but cut where he pointed and nodded. "But I didn't understand why I should fight you. Either you wanted it or you didn't, right?"

She looked up at him. "Is there a non-rhetorical question in there?"

"Yeah. Why did you want me to fight?"

Eyeballing a measurement, Mac shook her head. "I wanted to know if it was something you felt strongly about."

"You couldn't tell?"

His voice was a little incredulous. There was something surreal about the whole conversation – the soft Christmas music playing, the tree lights sparkling, the guitar case for their ward slowly being covered with golden baroque angel paper. Mac taped another corner, sighed. She was tired, and right now it felt like she was dreaming. Maybe that was why it was so easy to say things.

"Harm, I've seen you travel across the world, disobey direct orders –"

"Both of which I did –"

"I've seen you shoot up courtrooms –"

"Courtroom. Singular. Everyone makes such a big deal when it was only one -"

She sat back and stared at him. "It's just that whenever something was really, truly important to you, you would do anything to make it happen. Anything. So I guess I knew when I said there wasn't an 'us' and you didn't fight me on it – well… I knew it wasn't something you were truly passionate about, something you really believed in. And I didn't want to get hurt." Mac stared at him as his eyes widened, and wondered again if she'd gotten enough sleep, or was getting it now. Dear Lord. I didn't just say –

"Not passionate –" Harm stopped, strangely. When he spoke, his voice was very quiet. "Did it occur to you that I wouldn't try to force myself on you? That I didn't want to get hurt either?" Their eyes, still locked, sparkled in the tree lights. "Mac, I have too much respect for you to try to convince you to feel something you don't. I can't make you love me."

Mac looked away first, taping the last seam on the package. "I suppose that's our problem, Harm. We're both afraid. And that's nothing to base a relationship on." Silently, she cut a length of gold wired ribbon and fashioned a bow. "We're stuck in this pattern. Able to be friends, as long as we ignore any deeper feelings either one of us has, or thinks –" she reached for the tape and jumped when his hand caught hers strongly.

"You're wrong."

Her eyes traveled slowly up to his, stone brown against sea blue determination. The water was wearing away the rock.

"What?"

"I said, 'you're wrong'." His eyes were shining in the lights as he stood up, still holding her hand. "Dance with me."

"Now?" She glanced at the stereo. The Manhattan Transfer were singing 'All I Want for Christmas is You'. She gave him a wry look. "Harm, I don't think-"

He pulled her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close as he entangled his fingers with hers. "Don't make me shoot holes in the ceiling. It might wake Mattie."

He looked deep into her eyes and began swaying to the music. She's like a purebred Arabian – beautiful, powerful – and skittish. You have to win her trust, not ask for it. And don't expect her to jump to something new without earning that trust all over again. He smiled slowly as he felt her relax in his arms, move with him to the music. Quietly, he whispered in her ear.

"Merry Christmas, Sarah."

Christmas Morning

0710

Mattie's eyes were shining brightly. "This is amazing! Thank you, Harm."

"You're very welcome."

"You'll teach me?"

"Whatever you want."

Mac smiled at them. "Here, this sort of goes along." Mattie opened the second box, which had a strap, tuner, songbooks, picks, extra strings, and anything else Harm mentioned might be useful for the new guitarist.

"Wow. Thank you-" She stopped, looked up at her guardians who were sitting with coffee on the couch. "My turn. You first, Mac. I made it."

She had knitted a long, narrow scarf for Mac out of a fur like yarn in bright red. "Oh, Mattie… it's great!" Mac draped it around her neck and threw the end over her shoulder. It contrasted nicely with her light blue flannel pj's. "I didn't know you could knit."

"My mom started to teach me, and Aunt Harriet gave me a refresher when I went over to babysit." She looked shyly at Mac. "You really like it?"

"I really do."

"I could teach you how to make one, if you wanted."

"I'd like that a lot – but I warn you, I'm a klutz with yarn."

"I'm sure we can do it."

Harm laughed. "Great. A knitting Marine in the office." It earned him a raspberry from both of them, which for some reason turned into a matched set of giggles.

"Here's yours, Harm." The commander's gift was decorated with an ornament of a little yellow biplane. "I couldn't resist." Inside the brightly wrapped package was a leather journal. "I thought that since everyone keeps talking about how exciting your career has been, you should write it down. Not to mention tell your side of the story." Harm chuckled and gave her a hug. "And if you wanted to talk about some of them first, I thought it would give us a chance to, you know, get to know each other better."

"This is really thoughtful, Mattie. We'll have to do that." Their eyes sparkled at each other and Mac smiled when he turned to her. "Your turn, Marine." He handed her a box. "Merry Christmas."

"Oooh, heavy." She pulled off the heavily taped paper and and gasped when she saw it was a new Nikon camera. "Oh, Harm… this is too much."

"Wrong, wrong, wrong." She looked at him and giggled in spite of herself. "I saw you with the camera when we were at the hanger last month, and I knew you've been talking about taking that class, that you were interested in photography again, so I thought…"

"It's wonderful. And a little ironic. Thank you." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Ironic?"

"Yeah." She reached over and picked up the package labeled 'Harm and Mattie'. "There's one for each of you."

They tore off the paper together and found two identical framed photographs. Harm stared at it, unable to say anything.

In the picture was a familiar young girl sitting in his Steerman, frowning lightly at the controls. A handsome man wearing a flight jacket stood next to the plane, explaining something to her with a winning smile.

Harm looked up at Mac and still speechless, reached out to hug her. Mattie was pulled in a second later.

"This is the best Christmas ever."

Harm and Mac's eyes met over her head, and they smiled warmly as she broke away. "Harm, you've got to teach me a song."

"Which one?"

"How about 'Stairway'?"

"How about 'Silent Night'?"

Mac laughed as she got up from the couch. "I'll get some breakfast on while you two decide the concert schedule." Stopping in the doorway, she looked back at her 'family' and exhaled happily.

It was going to be an interesting year.

END

Merry Christmas!