Title : When You're Ready…

Author : Jaggie 107

Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.

Rating : G to PG-13 (Just in case!)

To all the readers/reviewers shown – thanks for the support throughout the story. It's been great fun writing for you all, as much as myself, and I'm glad you've all enjoyed the ride!

cbw; cool cat; froggy0319; Lisa Brown; ryne'smom; anna7; harmsgirl-03; dana; suz573; Grace; jaggurl; Nikki; Kirsty; kirsten; ss; Arian04; Radiorox; iammusic; JennaTripped; JagFan; starryeyes10; Kavi Leighanna; SarahRabb705; BrokenSkye; NavyCB; SailorGirl; moe; katydid13; serendipity112233; Dreamer20715; jtbwriter; joanoa; FoxyWombat; chawkchic; maidenpride21; r; heartandy112; General Mac; jagaddict; ducktapedmoose; lehcar412; laura carr; bluejay742; dansingwolf; Tina Frank; snugglebug; Jackia; The Fiction Spider; Maria; Lisa; aserene; JAGJenni; martini1988; skyefire; MaritzaCarmicheal; Manda; Brittany4445; Jaka; Dessler; joshklar; KJFlygirl87; LiseGirardi; tb

So, this is the end of the road for the series, and the start of the road for Mac and Harm…which means more stories still to come!

What could have happened after the end of Fair Winds and Following Seas…

The St Regis Hotel, Washington DC – the last night…

"Why a hotel, Harm?" Mac had asked as they had left McMurphy's. His answer had been immediate.

"Because neither apartment feels very 'homey' right now, with all the packing boxes, and I want to pamper you at least a little tonight before we start re-packing."

And so, here they were, key card in hand, standing outside the hotel's honeymoon suite before Harm opened the door and walked inside with Mac.

"So, Lieutenant Colonel Rabb-To-Be, what do you want to do now?"

"Right now?" Mac asked huskily, looking up at Harm as they stood together inside the entrance of the suite, arms around each other, and the door still open.

"Right now," echoed Harm, reluctant to release Mac but knowing that he should close the door to the suite before they did anything! Unlike earlier in the evening, when they had been messing around while packing up Harm's apartment and he had surprised her with an impromptu proposal of marriage, and a family heirloom.

Flashback

Harm's Apartment – Earlier

"Harm, have you seen the box with the extra tape in?" Mac called out from the lounge, and Harm popped his head above the wall of the shower.

"It's in here. I'm just finishing up in the bathroom."

"Okay, I'll come get it."

As Mac made her way through the maze of boxes to the bedroom, Harm carried on taping up the box he had propped on the bathroom sink.

"Harm…?" Mac's voice had dropped to a husky note and, as he looked around the bathroom door, her eyes were wide with surprise as she met his gaze.

"Yeah?" he responded, trying to sound nonchalant.

"This…is…there's a ring…in the box…"

Harm gave up the pretence of nonchalance and stepped fully into the bedroom, moving to cup Mac's hands as she held up a glittering solitaire in a worn leather ring box.

"I really wanted to propose to you in the Rose Garden at the White House, but as we've had this reassignment at short notice, I just want to make 'us' official as soon as possible. Will you marry me, Sarah?"

Mac's eyes dropped to the box once more as her fingers rubbed the worn leather. When she looked at Harm again she was nodding her head, unable to form a single word. A tear splashed down onto her cheek, followed by a few more, but the smile on her face was incomparable. As she leaned in to kiss Harm she murmured a soft 'yes', which he captured along with the kiss. When they surfaced, for the need of air, Mac managed to find her voice enough to ask a question.

"The ring…who does it belong to?"

"It's yours now, but my grandmother wore it, and when my grandfather died, she passed it on to my father. When Dad died Mom wore it for a while, then when she finally had him declared legally dead, she removed the ring along with her wedding band, but she kept them together in her jewel box. When Mom met Frank she told me that the engagement ring would be mine when I needed it. I rang her yesterday and she had it flown over."

"You mean…it came by courier?"

"No. Frank brought it."

Mac looked up at Harm in amazement.

"If you had seen him, you would have known something was going on. I wanted to surprise you."

"It's beautiful, Harm. Thank you. I…I'm…I can't find the words to tell you how much this means to me…" Mac paused, watching in silence as Harm removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her third finger, left hand. It was a perfect fit. "It fits! Did you have it measured?"

"No. I just knew it would. It was meant to."

"Oh…" Mac burst into real tears then, and Harm pulled her close, holding her in silence as she cried into his shirt. When the storm had died a little, Mac pulled back and rubbed a finger at the wet patch on the material. "I think there's going to be a lot of happy tears in this relationship, Harmon Rabb," she whispered, and Harm laughed.

"Those I can deal with. Even the unhappy ones, but I don't plan on there being many of those. All I ever want is for you to be happy."

"We're going to have arguments, Harm. That's just who we are," Mac countered, a slight frown on her face. Harm leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, I know, but think of the making up…!"

That brought the laughter he wanted to hear, and Mac took the next step by placing the ring box on the bedside cabinet and then putting her arms around Harm's neck while she raised her lips to his…

They had made love, and it was only when they had come back to earth and decided to make a few phone calls and meet up with their friends at McMurphy's to tell them of their decision to get married sooner rather than later, that they even realized the door to Harm's apartment was not only unlocked, it was still wide open!

End Flashback

"I want to tell you how much I love you," murmured Mac, adding in an almost-whisper "then I want to show you."

"Then I definitely need to close the door this time…" Harm answered, and Mac gave a husky laugh as he leaned away from her slightly to give the door a hefty push. It wasn't enough, however, and Harm had to move away from Mac to close the door properly. When he turned around Mac was right in front of him again, and he didn't hesitate a fraction. Lowering his head to hers they shared a kiss that was at first soft, for an instant, before the heat grew between them, and suddenly it was Mac who was the aggressor, pushing Harm up against the closed door, leaning into him and pushing the jacket off his shoulders in a frenzied attempt to get to his dress shirt.

"I thought you were going to tell me, first," Harm joked softly, helping Mac by shrugging the jacket off his arms himself. As it slid to the floor behind him he caught sight of the Captain's bars on the shoulders and paused for the briefest time – Mac felt the change, and she paused too.

"Harm?"

"Don't stop…don't stop now, Sarah…please?"

"Are you sure?" Mac asked once, and Harm nodded, knowing that he wasn't just answering her question about leaving his commission behind, and his promotion. He was answering for his future. Their future.

"I'm very sure," he responded, before picking Mac up and carrying her toward the bed.

JAG Headquarters – Next Day

Vukovic was at his desk when he saw Mac and Harm arrive together in the bullpen. Their closeness was obvious, and he felt almost voyeurish as he watched Harm follow Mac across the room to the General's office. As they passed him, he was aware of Harm's hand in the small of her back. While he had seen this gesture before, it hadn't had the same impact it did now. Not yet aware of the change in their personal status, Vukovic was undeniably conscious of a change nonetheless, even if he couldn't determine what! As Mac preceded Harm into Cresswell's office, Vukovic picked up a pile of folders from his desk and walked into Jennifer Coates' office.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." Jennifer's greeting was cordial, polite, and giving nothing away.

"Good morning, Coates. You secured early last night. I was hoping we could…have a chat, over drinks maybe?"

"I had a…prior engagement," Jennifer hedged, and Vukovic's sense of 'something' was heightened.

"Did I miss something last night?" he asked, cocking his head to one side, and giving Jennifer a smile that he thought of as his 'lady-killer'. To Jennifer, however, who had the privilege of receiving Harm's inimitable smiles on a regular basis, the expression was nothing more than an attempt to get some information out of her.

"Did you? I'm not aware of anything you needed to know, Lieutenant. Are those files for the General?" Jennifer pointed to the collection of manila folders under his arm. Reminded of his 'excuse' for coming across to her office, he grinned self-consciously.

"No. My mistake. I'll finish up what I have to do. Do you know if Colonel Mackenzie is free today? I need to discuss the move to San Diego with her."

"You're going?" Jennifer feigned surprise. It was scuttlebutt around the office that Vukovic had been denied a move with Mac, and it was confirmed to Jennifer by Mac herself that Vukovic would not be going to San Diego as part of her team.

"There are a few wrinkles to iron out, but yeah, I guess you could say I'm a shoe-in for the move."

"You really are full of yourself, aren't you, Lieutenant!" Jennifer couldn't help herself, but Vukovic, unaware of Jennifer's own confirmation of a new posting, took her reaction to be one of jealousy.

"Jealousy isn't a pretty emotion on you, Jennifer. You really should learn to control yourself. Your turn will come, I'm sure, but for now you'll have to content yourself with being the General's yeoman for a while longer. Or you could try out for Rabb's team."

"That would be Captain Rabb to you, Lieutenant, and as a matter of fact I am on the Captain's team. As a member of his family, I'll always be welcome at his door." Vukovic was aware of Jennifer's relationship to Mattie Grace, and he was a little jealous of the closeness that gave her to Rabb's circle of confidants. That Harm and Mac had not been on the best of terms lately gave him some hope that he would be able to sway Mac into giving him the posting with her to San Diego, and perhaps into something more also. That hope was about to be crushed totally when the General opened the door to his office and both Harm and Mac preceded Cresswell into the bullpen.

"If I may have your attention, people?"

The movement in the immediate area ceased, and all eyes were fixed on the three officers. Cresswell turned to face Harm and Mac as he began speaking, and then he faced the rest of his staff.

"As you are no doubt aware, Captain Rabb and Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie were recently given promotional billets to London and San Diego respectively. There have been some changes to those orders, and now both of them will be posted to San Diego. The Colonel will be taking up her original posting in charge of JAG operations, while the Captain will be working in an advisory capacity to the White House, based on the West Coast. This posting will allow him to monitor his daughter's rehabilitation, while still being a part of the Navy. Despite the Captain's earlier decision to retire, it appears that the Navy is reluctant to let him go a second time," this comment was met with laughter, and Cresswell paused to allow the frivolity for a moment or two. "Therefore, following a few calls to certain people, I was pleased to be able to inform Captain Rabb that his commission is secure for as long as he would like to continue in the Navy. With the full blessing of the Colonel, he has agreed to stay." A round of applause went through the bullpen, and Vukovic joined in the general bonhomie, but his eyes sought out Mac as she stood silent beside Harm. There was more to this announcement. He could just feel the atmosphere in the room heighten with anticipation of more revelations. He didn't have to wait long.

"Petty Officer Coates will be leaving JAG also, and accompanying the Colonel to San Diego as part of her staff. As most of you will no doubt be aware, Jennifer has been a part of the Captain's family for a while now, being close friends with his ward, Mattie, and so while I'm sad to lose such an enterprising member of my staff, I'm happy that she is going to be with people I trust to look after her, and further her career as they see fit."

Vukovic turned to look at Jennifer as she acknowledged the General's words. As she felt his eyes on her, Jennifer winked up at him before walking across the room to stand beside Mac and Harm.

Sturgis was standing beside Bud at this point in the proceedings, and both men grinned at each other as they waited for what was about to come next.

"Finally, having been taken by surprise yesterday evening, I'm very pleased to announce the combining of forces, both Naval and Marine, as Captain Rabb and Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie are to be married."

At that announcement there was general uproar as many came forward to congratulate Harm and Mac at the news. When the greetings were over, albeit temporarily, the General raised his hand to quieten the residual murmurs of surprised pleasure.

"I have the privilege of one further announcement. Following the news that the Captain and Colonel were arranging to marry in San Diego, I made one more telephone call, which resulted in yet a further telephone call being made to the White House. It is therefore my pleasure to let my predecessor, Retired Admiral, AJ Chegwidden, say the next words."

Both Mac and Harm gasped as their former commanding officer came through the bullpen from the corridor outside. Walking up to Harm he brushed away the outstretched hand and gave Harm a firm hug.

"Hell, son, I've waited a long time for this. There is absolutely no way I'm standing on ceremony!"

"Thanks, AJ," Harm returned, and his eyes were moist as he gave Mac a sidelong look. AJ pulled back and turned to take Mac's hands in his.

"You, my dear Mac, are an absolute picture! I would be honored if you would give me the pleasure of walking you down the aisle to Harm."

"Oh, AJ, I…" Mac began, but couldn't continue, and instead she put her arms around AJ and hugged him silently. When they parted, she smiled at him. "I'd love that, thank you. I'm not sure where we…" she started to speak again, to tell AJ that neither she nor Harm had settled on an actual date for their wedding, let alone a location!

"If you will allow me one little imposition on your plans?" AJ murmured, looking from Harm to Mac, waiting for their response. Without words they nodded, their decision resolute. They would allow this man anything.

"Good." AJ grinned irrepressibly, turning to face the staff, many of them familiar faces from his tenure as JAG. "Now, as many of you may recall, the Captain and the Colonel met in the Rose Garden at the White House, following the Captain's ceremony for the awarding of his first DFC. When the General told me of their decision to marry, I had absolutely no hesitation in making a telephone call to a certain person at the White House, to ask a little favor. This has been granted and so, dependent on the acquiescence of both parties, I have the greatest pleasure to announce that the wedding of Captain Rabb and Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie will take place in the very garden where they first met."

Harm turned to Mac, unable to voice the words he wanted to say, and Mac simply nodded at him. This was the perfect beginning to their new life. There was no doubt about their willingness to have a ceremony in the very place fate had brought them together. There was one question Mac had to ask.

"AJ, who exactly did you ask this little favor of?"

"Now that would be telling, but I do know that there may be an extra guest or two at the ceremony."

Vukovic had watched the proceedings unfold and was aware that while he was a member of the JAG staff, he was very much a stranger at this gathering. Stepping back, he walked away from the excited chatter surrounding Harm and Mac, as Jennifer, Bud and Sturgis came forward to greet AJ Chegwidden also.

The Rose Garden at the White House - a few weeks later

"It is with the power invested in me by the District of Columbia, that I now pronounce you husband and wife." As the words left the mouth of the minister Harm dropped his head to Mac, whispering words to her that were for her alone. "You may kiss the bride," added the minister, smiling, aware of the history of the two people before him.

Harm didn't need any further prompting, and his lips met Mac's in the softest of kisses, before the usual heat they generated threatened to turn the light touch into something much more blatant! Mac pulled back slightly to look up at Harm, and the smile in her eyes brought out the irrepressible 'flyboy' in him.

"You know, flyboy, I once told you dress whites and gold wings were highly overrated," Mac murmured, and Harm nodded, waiting for her to continue. Mac's soft laughter made him wonder what she was thinking. "I was so wrong that day, but I was also so afraid that if I gave in to what I was feeling, you and I would burn out too quickly, and I valued our friendship too much to spoil it."

"I love you, Sarah…"

"And I love you…" Mac returned, leaning in to kiss Harm again, and roused by the sound of applause as their family and friends celebrated their commitment. As they turned to greet everyone they were aware of a hush falling over the gathered crowd. Two more people were joining the group, and it was with a look of surprise that Harm and Mac also greeted their late-arriving guests.

"Sir, it's an honor." Harm stood to attention, and Mac smiled as he was waved down by their Commander In Chief, and the First Lady.

"The honor is ours, Captain Rabb. When we heard your story from Admiral Chegwidden, we felt it was only right that we offer the use of the Rose Garden for such an auspicious occasion. We asked only one favor of the Admiral."

"Sir?" asked Harm, holding Mac's hand tightly in his.

"That we be allowed to peek at the ceremony," came the answer.

"We are honored that you have allowed the ceremony at all, sir," Mac added, and she was given a warm smile by the First Lady.

"Nonsense, my dear. This will be the talking point of many a conversation for a long while to come! A marriage at any time is a celebration, and in your case, it is an example of enduring commitment, to friendship and to love. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll leave you in peace to enjoy your day. You will always be in our thoughts. This will be one of many memories we take away from this place, but it will always be the fondest."

"Thank you, ma'am." Both Harm and Mac watched as the couple walked away, back to the residence wing of the White House. When they were out of sight, Harm turned back to smile down at Mac.

"I love you, Mrs Rabb."

"I love you, Mr Rabb."

The End of When You're Ready (All 22 chapters!)

A/N:

I know, I know…I took a lot of liberties with this ending, but what the heck…! No offence meant, and while I presume this would never be a possibility in reality, for the purposes of fiction, it's perfect! I hope you all like it, and I hope it has brought the story series to a good end. As I keep saying, although the TV series is over, there are still so many stories to be written about our favorite couple! Please keep reading!