Harm looked up from packing his socks as two rapid knocks sounded on the door of his quarters. Brow furrowed in curiosity, he crossed the room and cracked it open. His partner was standing in the doorway, sporting a green cover-up with sunglasses shoved on top of her head and a large bag tucked under her arm. “Great news!”

Harm couldn’t resist a grin as he opened the door wider to lean against the jamb. “And what’s that?” he asked.

“I just got a call from the General. Andrews is snowbound – no aircraft arriving until tomorrow morning. Our new flight is at 0730.” Mac’s tone was positively gleeful.

“No kidding?”

“Jennifer and I are heading down to the beach. Want to join us?”

“Sure. Give me ten minutes.”

“Meet you there.” And with that, Mac disappeared.

*~*~*~*~*

Twelve Minutes Later

Towel in hand, Harm made his way across the sand, doing his best to avoid tripping over sunbathers or accidentally ruining a child’s sandcastle. It only took him a few minutes to find Mac, who was decidedly hard to miss.

She was spread out on her massive beach towel, lying on her back. Her head was resting against her beach bag, and her nose was buried in the latest DeMille novel. She was clad in a chocolate brown swimsuit, with her dark locks falling around her shoulders. Harm couldn’t remember a time she’d looked more beautiful. He laid his towel down beside hers and dropped to the ground.

“Where’s Coates?” he asked.

“Sipping margaritas at the bar with some guy she met from San Francisco,” Mac informed him, her eyes never leaving her book.

“In other words, we won’t be seeing her for the rest of the afternoon,” he commented, shedding his shirt. The sun felt glorious on his pale skin. Speaking of which… “Hey, remember what the General told us before we left?”

Mac flipped onto her stomach. “You mean about working on the case instead of our tans?”

Harm nodded.

“We did all we were assigned to, Harm. We are officially off-duty until we land back in Washington.” A smile spread over her face. “Seventeen whole hours away. Plus, the way I figure, he’ll never know anyway, will he?”

“True.” Harm gestured to her bag. “Got any sunblock in there?”

“Yep. Help yourself.” Mac’s focus returned to her book.

Harm pulled the tube of suntan lotion out of the bag and opened it. Before he squirted some into his hand, he took a moment to glance at Mac’s back. There was no trace of oil on it, and by the way she was devouring her novel, Harm knew she was too distracted to remember it.

Silently, he spurted a generous amount of lotion into his palm, and kneeling next to Mac, began to apply it to her back. In smooth, strong strokes, he worked the oil into her olive skin, his fingers massaging the muscles next to her spine.

He noticed a few moments later that she’d stopped reading, and she dropped her head to allow him access to the back of her neck. As he began to knead the sunblock into her upper shoulders, she uttered the slightest moan of contentment. He couldn’t hold back a quick, pleased smile. After so many months of difficult situations and rocky issues they’d faced, it felt good to do her a simple courtesy.

He continued until all the lotion had blended into her skin, and after satisfying himself that she was properly protected from the sun’s rays, he quickly rubbed some on himself. He then tossed the bottle back into its bag and returned to his towel to lay on his back. Gazing over at Mac through his shades, he realized that she’d fallen asleep. Her head was rested on her folded arms, face turned toward him. Her breathing was even and peaceful. Harm smiled softly as he reached over to brush a strand of brunette hair away from her face.

Watching her as she slept, Harm knew that this TAD assignment was just what Mac had needed… deserved. I’ll have to thank Cresswell for this, he thought.

He silently extended his hand to grasp her abandoned book. He’d been wanting to read it, but had never actually gotten around to buying it. Now was the perfect time to start it… at least, until she woke up. As he opened to the first page, he noticed a trio of college-age boys walking past. All three were focused intently on Mac’s still form – so much so, in fact, that one of them tripped and fell headfirst into a young girl’s sandcastle. Harm chuckled as his eyes dropped down to the novel. He was one lucky squid.

- Finish -