| Subject: Re: Family Christmas C1/8 plus an epilogue |
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fananicfan
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Date Posted: 10:18:58 06/11/07 Mon
In reply to:
fananicfan
's message, "Family Christmas - story after How We Became Us in the series" on 09:10:59 06/11/07 Mon
I know, I know...Christmas in June, but if I waited until Christmas then I'd never get the rest of the series posted.
CHAPTER ONE – Life Coming at You Too Fast
After arriving at Harm’s parents home that Thursday afternoon in September, things started to go down hill. Mac was helping Mattie unpack and started talking to her about enrolling her in school. Mac planned to take Mattie by the school on Monday to enroll her. Mattie immediately started arguing with her about needing to start school so soon. Mac explained that she’d really thought it through and that’s why she hadn’t said that they’d go tomorrow. Mac wanted Mattie to be able to acclimate to the new time zone, get a chance to check out the beach, and look at a few housing options that Frank’s realtor friend had lined up with her. Mac thought that the matter had been resolved when Mattie quit offering new arguments.
Monday afternoon, Mac took Mattie by the school and enrolled her, and it marked the start of three days of silence when Mattie refused to speak to Mac. The silent treatment from Mattie, combined with not being able to find a place for them to live in those first few days, had Mac’s vision of her ‘new life’ cracking under the pressure of reality.
Unable to think of anyone she knew and trusted to be her 'blue suit' XO since Bud had turned her down, she'd requested a list of those eligible to be transferred to her command from the JAG office at 32nd Street Naval Station. Since she'd been on leave when the list had arrived at JAG headquarters, she hadn't seen it until she arrived at her office on the 5th of October. After checking the list and reviewing their service records, she met with her top two candidates and chose Lt. Commander Warren Clark.
Petty Officer Jennifer Coates was Mac's yeoman, performing the same tasks for Mac as she had for Admiral Chegwidden and General Cresswell.
During the first two weeks, Lt. Graves, who was familiar with the San Diego area, had been particularly helpful, and Mac requested that she be assigned to her office permanently. Mac’s request was processed, and Lt. Graves would officially be joining her team by the end of the month and would perform the same duties that Lt. Sims had at JAG headquarters.
Mac hadn't been told what had caused the delay in opening the JLS office and, once behind the desk, she hadn't given it much thought. All she needed to know was that it was her responsibility to make this office a success...now, if she only knew what her superiors were expecting her to accomplish in order to consider it a success...
The office was a hectic place as her requested staff arrived, and remained that way until the end of October when everyone had reported for duty and most had had time to settle into the area and their new positions.
The month of October was hectic at the office and frustrating at home. Living with Harm’s parents wasn't unpleasant, but Mac was used to being on her own, and the combination of his parents and the on again off again friction with Mattie over little things had begun to make Mac feel boxed in.
At the end of October, Mac and Mattie finally found a condo to rent. It took ten days after the rental agreement was signed to make arrangements for the furniture to be delivered, but on the night of November 11th, they were finally sleeping in their own place. Mac hoped that the new place would allow her and Mattie to have their own space, easing the tensions between them. The current contention was over Mattie getting a driver's license.
It was during the phone call the weekend after they'd moved that Harm brought up the subject of Christmas. Harm hadn't received any news of a transfer that would relocate him to San Diego, so with Christmas six weeks away, it was time to start making plans. Mac said that she wasn't sure if she could make it. The office seemed so busy and too unsettled for her to leave it. Mac didn’t think that, with all the time that he’d spent away from his office in the few months that he’d been there that it was likely that he could get away again so soon, but she wanted to see him, so she asked him about him coming to them. He said that he’d love to, but with the leave that he’d taken to sit at the hospital with Mattie after her accident and his recent leave for the wedding and honeymoon, he didn’t have enough leave time left to make the trip.
Harm and Mac would continue to talk about a Christmas visit from 'his girls' when he called, but Mac's schedule was still up in the air, though she felt that it would be good for Mattie to spend some time with Harm. Harm had no problem with having Mattie visit during her school Christmas break, but would she be able to fly alone? Mattie's age wasn't a factor, but they weren't sure that Mattie could handle a flight by herself after the trauma of her own plane crash. She'd flown to San Diego, but she'd been with Mac. A flight between San Diego and London was definitely too long a trip for Mattie to take by herself at this time.
After their move to the condo, Trish and Frank asked that Mac and Mattie come over to dinner once a week. A couple of times in the last week, they'd picked up Mattie from the condo to have dinner with them because Mac was working so late. Trish and Frank had noticed the tension building between Mac and Mattie, but had no idea why and didn't think that it was their place to ask...until Thanksgiving.
Trish and Frank had invited Mac, Mattie, and Jennifer to their home for Thanksgiving dinner. The tension between Mac and Mattie weighted the room down in gloom. By the end of the meal, Trish had decided that she could stand by no longer without asking. So as not to make too big a scene, Trish asked Mac to help clear the dishes. It wasn't a usual request, but Mac certainly had no problem with helping. Trish picked up a stack of dishes and so did Mac as she followed Trish into the kitchen. However, it was a ploy to ask about the situation between her and Mattie.
Mac told Trish that Mattie didn't seem to be transitioning well to her new life. Mac reminded Trish of the three days of silence that Mattie had given her over enrolling her in school that had happened while they’d been living with Trish and Frank. Mac explained to Trish that she’d talked to Mattie about starting in a new school and that she understood that it could be difficult since it wasn't much different than changing commands, but Mattie didn't speak to her for three days because of it anyway. Mac said that Mattie was doing okay in school, but not as well as she'd been doing in Virginia. Mattie seemed to have a few friends, but according to Mattie, all of them were driving or about to drive. Trish was familair with the license situation, too, because Mattie had begun to mention her upcoming seventeenth birthday and that a good present would be the driver's training that she needed to get her license. She'd also told Trish that she already knew how to drive and that she'd been driving since she was fourteen back in Virginia. Mac said she thought that, like the other disagreements, Mattie would get past the license issue, for the moment at least, but things hadn't improved after the move. If anything, they'd gotten worse, especially in the last week. Mattie wanted to fight her on anything and everything, from homework to taking out the trash. Mac said that she didn't think it had anything to do with school, the move, or anything else. She just missed Harm. Mac then told Trish about the conversation at the airport while waiting for their flight to board.
***Flashback***
“When are we all going to be together again?” Mattie asked.
“Mac and I talked about it. If I can’t get a transfer to San Diego before December, she hopes to have her office up and running well enough for the two of you to come to London for Christmas.”
***End Flashback***
Mac thought the fact that, because of her schedule, they wouldn't be able to go to London for Christmas was the current issue that Mattie was having with her. Mac voiced her concern to Trish that, with the year-round school program here, Mattie was going to be out of school for the entire month of December and, because of the strain in their relationship, she had no idea how she was going to keep Mattie busy and out of trouble for an entire month.
Trish gave Mac a hug at the end of their conversation before summing it up. "So you're telling me that she's suffering from being a teenager. And, in her case, with all the changes in the past few weeks in her life, she probably thinks that life is coming at her too fast."
"Yeah, I guess that's what I’m saying."
"And what about you, dear? You look tired and run down all the time.”
Mac chuckled. "I'm suffering from having a teenager and life coming at me too fast."
Both ladies laughed and returned to clearing the table of dirty dishes. While they were working, Trish asked about something that Mattie had said last week during dinner when Mac was working late. Mattie had said that she couldn't go to see Harm alone. Mac explained that, because of Mattie's plane crash, they didn't want to send her alone.
It wasn't long after Trish and Mac joined the others to watch the football game that Frank and Trish disappeared, but they returned a short while later, wanting to discuss something with Mac. Trish and Frank had talked it over and they suggested that they fly with Mattie to London.
Even though Mattie's last day of school was the 2nd of December, prior commitments would keep them from leaving until the 8th, but after a call to Harm to verify that it was okay with him, the three of them informed Mattie that she'd be going to London for Christmas. Mattie was thrilled that she'd get to go to London to see Harm.
During another call to Harm, a plan came together nicely. Trish and Frank would fly with Mattie to London and stay for a few days. They'd do a little tour of Europe, come back to London for Christmas, and then fly back with Mattie if Mac couldn't get away for at least a few days during the holidays.
Mac went into the office on the Friday after Thanksgiving, determined to find a few days at Christmas to get away to visit her husband. Mac accomplished her mission and requested leave from December 21st to January 1st. Mac didn't want to think negatively, but she'd also recently had leave and was running a new office, so she'd just have to pray that her request would be granted.
TBC
I have a question. Since a story hasn't been posted in over a month, is anyone still reading this board or should I not posted here any more.
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