| Subject: Re: How We Became Us C2/9 |
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fananicfan
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Date Posted: 18:53:58 04/30/07 Mon
In reply to:
fananicfan
's message, "How We Became Us - story after Custody in the series" on 22:53:25 04/29/07 Sun
CHAPTER TWO – Countdown, One Day to Go
Friday, September 16, 2005
North of Union Station
Mac started to stir. She was still in a sleepy haze when she opened her eyes. She had a clear view of the steps and, just as her eyes were able to focus, she saw Harm, fully dressed, approaching the bed and carrying a tray. She sat up, trying to see if she could eye what was on the tray.
“Good morning. I was beginning to think that you were going to sleep all day. I brought you breakfast. If memory serves, you expect a guy to make you breakfast after you spend the night.” He smiled. Telling the story last night had brought the event to the forefront of his mind.
After she was sitting up comfortably, Harm lowered the tray across her lap and bent down to kiss the top of her head.
“I believe your memory is still sound. As for sleeping all day, I think the time change between London and Washington has your clock a bit off. We’ll see if you’re the first one up when we’ve been in the same time zone for awhile.” She was smiling and teasing him, and he liked it. She looked down at the breakfast that he’d brought her: juice, coffee, some sliced fruit, half a bagel, and some cream cheese.
“It may not have anything to do with time zones. I’m feeling very good today. You see, I’m getting married tomorrow.”
Mac put an indigent tone in her voice. “Well, I think you should’ve mentioned that fact last night. I’m not sure that I appreciate being your last fling, and I don’t think your bride would like finding out that you spent last night here with me either.”
She could see that he was going to tease back by the look in his eyes. “You may be right. This might upset her, but I saw that ring on your finger. I don’t suppose that he’d be happy that you spent the night with me either.” He paused and watched her take a slip of juice. “I’ll tell you what, since they’re probably both going to be upset, why don’t you and I just marry instead?”
She moved the tray off the bed and sat it on the floor. She snaked her arms up around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. His arms went around her and he pulled her close to him. Then she abruptly ended the kiss and pulled away with a look of panic on her face.
“Mac what is it?”
“I didn’t sleep the day away, but I slept through getting Mattie's breakfast and her off to school.”
“Relax and eat your breakfast.” He reached for the tray to put it back over her lap. “Jennifer said that she’d take Mattie to school today in case there were any last minute things that we needed to do before our out of town guests arrived. I fixed the three of us breakfast, and got Mattie off to school before I made you breakfast." He paused and then continued, "Over breakfast, Mattie told me the story about you registering her for school and that she wasn't too happy about it."
“No, she wasn’t. I’m surprised that she didn’t tell you before this morning.” Mac began eating her breakfast.
“I don't think she mentioned it before because she knew that you were right. She was just trying to see what you’d let her get away with. From the story this morning, I understand that her argument was that, if we get permanent custody, then she’ll be in school for less than a month before she moves. She said that you countered with the fact that, if she wasn’t in school, the court might not give us custody because we weren’t seeing to her education. Nice job.”
“Thanks,” Mac replied with a smile as she took a sip of her hot coffee. The smile that Mac had displayed was gone when she lowered her coffee cup and shifted her gaze to the tray on her lap. “You think we’ll ever have a baby?” she questioned in a soft voice.
He needed to be sensative to her feelings about this and he was trying to form an answer that would do that and echo what he'd said before. While he was forming his answer in his head, another thought struck him. He'd always been so careful in the past, providing his own protection if he couldn't be sure that the woman in question was using something. With Mac, he'd never asked. If she'd have become pregnant the last time they were together, she should know by now because it had been three months. Asking Mac now if she were trying to prevent pregnancy wouldn’t really be about prevention, but rather about wanting to know if last night held any possibility of pregnancy. Unsure of how she’d view the question, he asked in a tentative voice, “Are you doing anything to prevent…”
Mac eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t surprised by the question, but by what her answer was. Even when she'd been married before and engaged to Mic, she'd always taken precautions. She'd been so careful in the past. If there'd been any doubt that she'd forgotten to take her pill, she'd made certain that a condom was used as a backup. "No, I'm not. I never even thought about it because I was with you. You're the only man that I've ever wanted to have a baby with."
“That’s why I didn’t ask sooner...I was with you. I want a child with you...even if it can't be the old fashioned way. When you’re ready, we’ll find out our options. I think, when the time is right, it'll happen.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
She moved her breakfast tray to the floor again. In her mind, his words were so close to the ones in her dream that she knew that she could really put her concerns about not being able to give him a child to rest once and for all. After placing the tray on the floor, she sat up, slid her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her. “Maybe we can practice. You know what they say...practice makes perfect, and having a baby with you would make my life...perfect.”
He managed to get out “mine too” before her lips covered his.
The clothes that he had on soon ended up in a pile on the floor. After lovemaking, they cuddled together and enjoyed a few minutes of quiet time until Mac's internal clock alerted her that she had an errand to run. As Mac dressed, she explained to Harm about the deal that she'd made with Mattie. Mattie hadn't wanted to go to school today, and Mac could understand. Between Harm being here and out of town guests, the pre-wedding excitment would be building all day to the rehearsal and dinner afterward, and Mattie hadn't wanted to miss any part of it. However, Mattie had a quiz to take in first hour and an oral presentation to make in her speech class for second hour, so Mac had made a deal with Mattie that, if she went for those two hours, she'd spring her early so that she could spend some time with Harm and get some rest before the rest of the day's events began. Matttie agreed and said that she could get the rest of her assignments and class notes from a friend, so Mac had called the school to have her excused for the rest of the day.
Once showered and dressed, Mac headed for the door. She looked back at Harm who'd slipped on only his pants when he'd gotten up. "You'd better shower and get dressed, or your mother might figure out what you've been up to this morning." Mac giggled, but it turned into a laugh when she caught the blush on Harm's cheeks.
Harm moved towards her at the door. "Hey, you forgot something. You try to embass a guy, and then you don't give him a goodbye kiss?"
After a quick smooch, Mac left to pick up Mattie.
About 45 minutes later...
Mac and Mattie entered the apartment. Mattie called out, "Harm," but there was no answer.
A moment later, Harm came down from the bedroom, waving a piece of paper in the air. "You left your list. Did you get anything done on your list while you were out?"
Mac looked towards Mattie. "My list is almost entirely a checklist of things that I need to do tomorrow before the wedding, so this is Harm's way of getting us to ask what he's done on his list while I was gone."
Mattie obliged, "Harm, you asked Mac what she'd gotten done on her list, but did you do anything on your list?"
"I did two things on my list and two that weren't. From the list, I double checked my dress whites to make sure that they were wedding day perfect and I made sure that I knew where Mac's ring was."
"You may have checked off the uniform item today, but it shouldn't really count for something you did today. You had your uniform hung up and inspected before we got home yesterday. So let's hear what else you did, flyboy."
"I also went off the list and cleaned up the breakfast mess and talked to my mom. She called to say that their plane was in and they were waiting for their luggage. Once they got the rental car, they'd be on their way." Harm checked his watch. "Based on the time I talked to them and the time now, I'd say that they'll be here soon."
The exchange between them was fun for Mattie to watch. As words were exchanged between them, the looks that they gave each other and the tone they used made Mattie feel like they were having a completely different conversation on some other plane of the universe where only the two of them existed.
After the brief banter with Harm, Mac found that it was time for her to leave again. However, she didn't try to leave the apartment this time until after she'd given Harm a little 'goodbye' kiss on the cheek.
After Mac left, Harm and Mattie had about ten minutes to talk before there was a knock on the door. Harm answered the door to find that it was his mom and Frank. Trish was so happy that her son was getting married tomorrow that she hugged him before even attempting to enter the apartment. After both Trish and Frank had made it into the apartment, Harm began the introductions.
“Mattie, these are my parents, Trish and Frank Burnett. Mom and Frank, this is Mattie."
"It's good to finally meet you, Mattie," Frank said before giving Mattie a brief hug.
Trish echoed her husband’s sentiment and hugged Mattie as well.
"Darling, where's Mac?" Trish inquired.
"She's on her way to the airport to pick up her uncle. She'll be here in time for lunch," Harm replied.
The grandparents asked Mattie about how she liked school, if she liked the beach, and other generic questions. After Mattie had called Frank Mr. Burnett several times, he asked Mattie to call him Frank, and Trish added that she should call her Trish as well. When they asked her how she was feeling and doing, Harm got to brag about how well she was doing and told them about his surprise. The use of first names seemed to ease tensions some, but there were awkward moments of silence as they tried to fill the next hour with conversation.
An hour almost to the minute after his parents had arrived, Harriet arrived. Harriet had picked up a couple of party platters from a local restaurant for lunch for the incoming guests. Harm thought that it was probably to get a little space from his parents more than to be helpful when Mattie volunteered to help Harriet set up for lunch. When Harriet mentioned the lack of a table, and Mattie suggested that they use her and Jennifer’s apartment, which had counter space and a table, Harm was sure that Mattie had had enough of her new grandparents. Harriet thought that it was a wonderful idea - guests in one apartment and food in the other. So, quickly, the food trays were moved to the other apartment, leaving Harm in the apartment with his parents.
Harm waited a polite minute or two before he excused himself to check on lunch. He returned a minute later. "They said that I could help by staying here until they announced that lunch was ready."
Frank snorted, "Sounds like something your mother would say to me."
Harm smiled as he sat down, prepared to be questioned about either Mattie or Mac now that it was just the three of them, but it didn't happen. He'd just taken a seat when the door opened. Mac was back with Uncle Matt. After introductions of the Burnetts and Uncle Matt were made, Mac asked where Mattie was. Once she'd been told that Mattie was helping Harriet set up lunch in her and Jen's apartment, Mac took her uncle over to meet Mattie. Moments later, Harriet tapped lightly on the door before opening it.
"Lunch is ready."
A leisurely lunch was enjoyed by all. After lunch was over, Mac pulled Mattie aside and reminded her of their agreement...if she picked Mattie up from school early, then Mattie had promised to rest for a little while before the afternoon kicked everyone into high gear.
Harriet and Trish were going to restore Jennifer and Mattie's apartment to its pre-lunch state of order, while Harm and Mac loaded Mac's luggage into the SUV that Frank had rented. Frank knew that there'd be goodbyes between the couple that he didn't want to witness or rush, so he tossed Harm the keys to the rental. He looked over at Mac's uncle and said that they'd stay to 'supervise' the lunch clean up. Frank and Matt sat on the couch and talked while the ladies got the apartment back in shape.
Once Harm and Mac had closed the door to his apartment behind them, Harm pulled her into his arms and administered a tender kiss. The kiss came to a natural close, and he pulled back.
"For the record, I'm not thrilled with this spending the night alone idea tonight."
"I told you the other day that the superstition is for the night before the wedding. You don't want to risk having to ask yourself someday, 'what if we hadn't spent the night together, would it have worked,' do you?"
"I can stay on my side of the bed."
Mac's eyes lit with a michieveous sparkle. "But I can't...not anymore."
Harm smiled, and she kissed him before bringing their focus back to getting her bags from the bedroom to load into the car.
After the clean-up was complete in Jennifer and Mattie's apartment and the SUV was loaded, it was time to put the afternoon plan in motion. Mac, her uncle, Trish and Frank were all going to check into the hotel where they'd be staying the night. Mattie was going to ride with them to the hotel and to the chapel, but she'd be coming back with Harm after the rehearsal and dinner this evening. Harriet was going home to get AJ, her son, and wait for Bud to get home. Bud, Sturgis, and Jennifer were all getting off work a little early to have time to change before attending the rehearsal at the chapel. Harm was to make the next run to the airport to pick up Chloe before joining the rest of the group at the chapel for the rehearsal. Chloe had started her freshman year in college a few weeks ago, so she'd had to wait until after she'd attended class today before she could fly down for the wedding. With Mac having made one trip to the airport and Mac's uncle not knowing anyone other than Mac and Harm, Harriet had assigned Harm to make the airport run to pick up Chloe.
Chapel at Annapolis
Two and a half hours later
Chloe's plane arrived fifteen minutes late, so Harm and Chloe were the last to arrive at the chapel. Harriet conducted the rehearsal with all the control of a professional wedding planner. She went through everything, step by step. Harriet even had the order of the ceremony typed out on sheets to hand to the participants to study tonight and in the morning. Harriet had never seen Mac happier than she'd been that night at McMurphy's, and she expected nothing less than military precision from the wedding party to make sure that Mac's wedding day was perfect.
Hotel Capri
Private Dining Room
One hour later
Harriet's drive to make tomorrow run without a hitch for Mac caused the group to arrive about ten minutes late for their dinner reservation at the hotel. The hotel where they were staying tonight was the location of the reception tomorrow and the dinner for the wedding participants tonight. Mac and Chloe ran Chloe's bag up to her room when they arrived at the hotel, so it was Mac and Chloe who were the last to join everyone at the dinner table. Since they were running a little behind, the first course of dinner was delivered to the table shortly after everyone arrived. The group dined on a previously arranged menu before the fun began.
After dinner, glasses were raised to the couple, who sat side by side, with Mattie sitting next to Harm and Chloe sitting next to Mac. Mac's uncle sat next to Chloe, and he was the first to call for everyone's attention.
"I met Harm not too long after my niece did. From what I saw of the man who I met that day and have heard about from my niece since, he's a man of intergerity and courage. Take care of my niece, or I'll come looking for you." Eveyone thought his comments were sweet and felt a little 'ah' feeling inside.
Harm stood. "I will sir," he uttered while moving behind Mac and Chloe to shake the older man's hand.
Mac smiled at her uncle as he shook Harm's hand.
Frank was the next to speak. "I didn't think that Harm would ever get married. I didn't know that he'd meet a Marine who wasn't only tough enough to tame him for marriage, but one who was smart and in such a pretty package. I'll bet Harm was a goner from the beginning." The guests found his comments to be complimentary to Mac, but they had to laugh at his last remark.
Some comments were more of a "roast" than a toast, but all the guests took a turn saying something about the bride, groom or both. Chloe commented, "I knew the two of you were in love a long time ago, so what took you so long? Sheesh, I thought kids weren't suppose to know stuff."
Mattie didn't know what to say, but once Chloe had spoken, she had to say something. "I just want to say that I'm happy for the two of you and I hope that you're married for a long time."
The comments from around the table had been a mix of humor and sentiment, so it was hard to know exactly what to say in response. Harm and Mac stood together. Harm had an arm around Mac at the waist. Mac stood at Harm's side and began. They spoke in short bursts, allowing the other to have the next line or two. They were in perfect sync tonight, much like they'd been when announcing their engagement.
"We want to thank all of you for your kind words," Mac started.
"And for those words that weren't so kind, be careful, we out rank most of you in the room," Harm finished. A light chuckle was heard.
"We'd like to thank Harriet, Jennifer, and Mattie for all the hard work in putting this wedding together," Mac said, acknowledging them. Each one of the ladies stood to accept their applause.
After the applause, Harm reached for Mattie's hand so that she'd remain standing with them.
"We want to thank all of you for your support," Harm added.
Mac was feeling a little teary eyed and leaned into Harm a little. "I'm giong to miss all of you more than I can say. Transfers are a part of the job, but I've never been closer to a group of people than I am to the people in this room," Mac said sincerely.
"There are people who've told me over the years that I was lucky. I personally never thought luck had much to do with it. Looking around and seeing the faces of good friends and family while standing between the two most important people in my life..." Mattie's grip on Harm's hand tightened at his remark. "...I don't know whether I should say that I'm lucky or blessed," Harm finished.
"Thank you all for coming, and we'll see you tomorrow," Mac choked out through tears that Harm's words had caused to finally flow.
Immediately after completing her sentence, she turned into Harm and put her arms around him and gave him a squeeze. She looked up at him. "I love you," she whispered.
"Good, because I hear that's an important prerequiste for a happy marriage," he whispered back, pausing before also whispering, "I love you, too."
Their guests came by to shake hands or hug one more time before the big day tomorrow. Once it was down to just the people staying at the hotel, and Harm and Mattie, it was time for Harm and Mac to say goodnight.
Everyone stepped out of the private dining room to give them a moment. Mac looked at Harm. "I guess this is good night."
"Yeah, did I mention that I'm not fond of this part?"
"Yeah, you mentioned it. I'm not fond of sleeping alone either, but this gives me time with Chloe and you time with Mattie before the wedding."
"You're right, but I don't have to like it."
"Are you sure that Mattie's not your biological daughter, because she made a similar statement a couple of weeks ago about the school situation."
"They aren't going to wait forever out there, so we need to say goodnight," Harm reminded her.
"Goodnight," she said as her lips met his in a sweet kiss.
"Goodnight," he replied and placed another kiss on her lips.
They walked out of the dining room, holding hands and, with one last peck to her cheek, Harm said, "See you tomorrow."
Mac replied, "I'm looking forward to it."
Mac, her uncle, Chloe and Mac's future in laws turned to go to the elevators to go to their rooms, while Harm placed a hand on Mattie's shoulder and turned to leave the hotel and head back to Washington.
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