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Date Posted: 12:14:28 12/03/14 Wed
Author: Lace
Subject: Looking back part 1

Harm and Mac has a weekend alone and starts to look back on their life together. Part of the nine years after series..

The characters aren't mine, mistakes are...

Part 1

Mac and Harm’s house, Washington D.C 2014
Mac had finished some paperwork, and decided that it was time to put work away and have a wonderful weekend with her husband. It had been months since they’d had a weekend alone as a couple, so Harm had decided to send the kids to Belleville to see his grandmother. Nathan usually drove there every other weekend, he had his best friend living there and they usually took turns to visiting each other. Harm had asked Nathan to bring his siblings along for the weekend, and then Mattie had decided to tag along as well since she had the weekend off.
Mac found her husband in the living room, looking through a photo album. She walked over to him. “What are you doing?”
Harm smiled as he pulled her down to sit beside him. “Looking at pictures. Do you remember this?”
Mac smiled when she saw the picture he was pointing at. Mattie had taken it. Harm was bending down, kissing Mac’s pregnant belly, and Mac had a hand in his hair, looking down on him with love. “I was about six months along there, I think.”
“God, I remember how surprised we were when the Doctor told us about the pregnancy,” Harm took Mac’s hand and kissed it.

London, September 2005
Harm whistled as he prepared an omelet for breakfast. After months of getting into the swing of things in London and learning the ropes of his new command, he finally had a long weekend with his family.
Mattie was still undergoing physiotherapy after her accident, and she was doing very well. There was still some difficulties using her left hand, but she made progress every week. The young girl had adapted to life in London very well. School was going great; she got good grades and had her mind set on becoming a Doctor. She had made great friends, both at school and through her support group at the hospital.
Harm and Mac were still in a newlywed bliss after almost three months of marriage. There was still bickering and small arguments, after all, they were still the same stubborn and independent people as they had ben before they married. But mostly they were just sickeningly in love, as Mattie would describe them.
Mac was teaching at the University two days a week, and she had her one weekend a month at the legal assistance office, also located in the building where Harm worked. Harm thought she looked happy, and felt that he must have done something right as a husband.
“Morning,” Harm said looking a little worried as Mac joined him in the kitchen. “Still feeling under the weather?” He put his hand on her forehead as he kissed her good morning. “No fever.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Mac reassured as she wrinkled her nose as she noticed the smell coming from the breakfast. “I’ll just have some toast before we leave for our appointment.”
“But I made an omelet,” Harm said, still he was worried about Mac. “Are you sure you should go today? We can reschedule for next week.”
“No, I’ll be fine. I really want to get started with whatever it is that we have to do to get me pregnant.” Mac smiled as she put bread into the toaster.
“I’m worried that whatever we have to do will be hell on you,” Harm admitted. “From what I’ve read it could be a long ride with lots of treatments.”
“I can take it,” Mac reassured. “Besides, it’ll all be worth it if we get a baby, right?”
Harm put his arms around her and kissed her. “Right. But it’s not fair that you have to do all the hard work.”
“With you by my side, I can take anything.” Mac kissed him again.

Later, at the Doctor’s office
Harm felt totally out of place surrounded by posters about the female anatomy and equipment that in his mind looked horrifying. The very personal questions about sex and menstrual cycle made him want to jump out the window, and that said a lot since they were on the sixth floor. Mac answered the questions as if it was the most natural thing in the world of course, while Harm stuttered and felt sweat form on his forehead every time he had to open his mouth.
“I do think your previous Doctor was a little too precocious when she said less than four percent chance of conceiving. I’m not saying that it will be easy, but not impossible,” the female Doctor looked up from her computer screen when she spoke. “Most of the scarring was removed, and the damage to your right fallopian tube and ovary is severe, but the left side isn’t so bad. I’ve seen women with only one ovary get pregnant fast and healthy one’s struggling for years to conceive. There’s no rules here people, but we won’t know much until we start.
There was a knock on the door, and a nurse came in with some papers. “Sorry about the delay, the lab was busy today.”
Dr. Turner smiled and looked over the papers while the nurse disappeared out the door. “Sarah, you mentioned that you period has been late this month, and I think I know why. Let’s get you examined first, and then we’ll know for sure if my suspicions are right. Please move over to the table and put your feet up. Captain, do you wish to stay?”
Harm looked between Mac and the Doctor. “I want to jump out that window.”
Both women laughed. “You’re not the first man to feel that way,” the Doctor reassured.
Harm decided to man up and stayed by Mac’s side. He found a spot on the wall to stare at while the Doctor did what she had to do.
“Well, we’re done with this,” the Doctor stood and removed her gloves. “You can go lay down on the bench over there, Sarah.”
Mac smiled when she saw Harm’s wide eyes. “You look like you’re about to faint.”
“I’ve been shot at, crashed in the sea, battled with national terrorists, but this is horrifying,” Harm said as he helped Mac get comfortable on the bench.
Dr. Turner put a towel over Mac’s lower body. “Wait until I show off my discoveries,” she said with a smile. “Move your gown above your belly, Sarah.”
Mac did as she was told, and Dr. Turner put gel on Mac’s belly. “I’m doing an ultrasound.” She moved the stick over Mac’s belly and moved it around for a while.
Harm took Mac’s hand and they shared a curious look. “What are you looking for, Doctor?” Harm asked.
The Doctor smiled. “This.” She pointed to the monitor. “This is your baby.”
“What?” Harm and Mac both said.
“The bloodwork we tested told me that you might already be pregnant, Sarah. During my examination, I found that your cervix and uterus has changed. This is your baby. You’re about three weeks pregnant. Congratulations.”
Mac stared at the spot on the screen. Pregnant! Then the tears ran down her face and she felt Harm pull her close to him and kissed her hair. The Doctor removed the gel and told them that she’d be back in five minutes.
Harm pulled Mac closer. “We did it, Sarah.”
Mac only nodded between sobs. Of all the things, she had imagined happening today, this wasn’t even close. She had imagined months of treatment, maybe years, and maybe even then there would be no baby.
Mac wiped away her tears. “I can’t believe this.”
Harm smiled. “Me neither. It’s a miracle.”
Mac nodded. “I’m going to be a Mom.”
“Yes, you are.” Harm kissed her deeply. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”

Later that day, Mac and Harm’s house
After getting back from the Doctor, Harm suggested that Mac take a nap, which she agreed to do. Meanwhile Harm went to the store to get what they needed for dinner, and while he was out, he bought roses for Mac.
When he got home, he put the groceries away and headed up to their bedroom. Mac was still in deep sleep so he undressed and joined her in bed. He smiled when he studied her. Inside Mac, his baby was growing. Being able to give Mac what she wanted the most had been his biggest worry ever since she told him about her condition. He knew how much it meant to her to have a baby, and being able to carry a child.
Mac must have noticed his presence because she snuggled closer to him. “Was I dreaming when the Doctor said that I was pregnant?”
Harm pulled her closer. “No, there’s a baby inside of you.”
“It’s unbelievable,” she said.
“It’s been my biggest worry that I couldn’t give you what you wanted the most,” Harm admitted.
“I have everything I ever wanted now. A family.” Mac lifted her head to look at him. “You make me Happy.”
Harm leaned in and kissed her softly. “I love you.”
“Should we tell Mattie?” Mac wondered.
“There’s no rush, we’ll do it whenever you want to,” Harm said as he put his hand on her belly. “I can’t believe we did it.”
“It’s a miracle,” Mac said with a sweet smile.
Harm returned the smile and kissed her softly.

Washington D.C 2014
Mac wiped away a tear as she remembered. They had used a long time getting used to the idea of having a baby, and then there was all the worrying that everything would be okay with the pregnancy.
“It’s hard to believe that he’s eight already,” Harm said as he turned the page and found pictures of Nathan and Claire. “And these two coming into our life in the middle of the pregnancy. I was so worried about you and the baby, but you were so calm.”
“You were great, Harm. It was easy to be calm when you helped out with everything, and always made me feel loved,” Mac leaned in and kissed him sweetly. “Claire was so sweet and finding her place with us right away.”
“Nathan had a hard time though,” Harm studied the picture of the kids just as they had arrived. “It was a special Christmas.”

London 2005

Harm and Mac’s house, London U.K
The warm air hit Harm as he opened the door; he hurried inside and closed the door to the cold. The winter had come over them abruptly and with not much warning, early for London. It had been six months since he left Washington D.C to take over his new command. He liked the new responsibility, but at the same time, he missed the way it used to be.
He removed his coat and hung it up, and then he removed his shoes before he walked into the living room. Mattie was on the couch watching TV, and she greeted him with a smile.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“School was boring, physiotherapy was torture,” Mattie said with a shrug.
“So nothing unusual then?” he teased. “Sorry I couldn’t be there for the meeting, something…”
“Came up? Duh, it always does.” Mattie shrugged again. “No big deal.”
“So, what did your Doctor say?” Harm wanted to know, ignoring the sting of bad conscious he felt. It was true; he often missed important things because of his new responsibility.
“Nothing new. I’m doing great,” Mattie confirmed what he already knew. She had recovered faster than anyone could have dreamed of, mostly thanks to Mac and her influence on the young girl. Harm sometimes felt like he had two Marines under his roof.
Mac stepped out of the kitchen. “Hey,” she said with a sweet smile.
Harm walked over and kissed her. “Hey. Sorry about today.”
“No problem, Matte is doing great. Her Doctors and therapists are very happy with her progress.”
“Great.” Harm put his hand on her belly. “What about you? You had an appointment today too.”
Mac nodded. “Everything is perfect.”
“It was really cool, Harm. I got to see the baby.” Mattie beamed with pride.
“I hate that I missed it.” Harm had been disappointed when he realized that he would miss both Mac and Mattie’s appointments.
“We have video.” Mac touched his cheek lovingly. “But first it’s dinner. I’m starving.”
“I’ll just go get cleaned up.” Harm kissed her sweetly.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked into the kitchen.
“I was about to come looking for you.” Mac noticed the look on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Mom called. A friend of mine just died,” Harm explained.
“I’m so sorry. Was it a close friend?” Mac asked.
“Yeah, we’ve known each other since high School. He was in my class at the Academy, and he went on into Special Forces. He retired two years ago, when his mother died. He has two kids, raising them alone. I wonder what’s going to happen to them now.” Harm sat down by the table.
“Doesn’t he have family?” Mac wondered.
“His Dad died when he was a kid. No siblings. His Mother was taking care of the children until she died. That’s why he retired and got a civilian career.” Harm looked thoughtful. “The children’s mother ran off. She hasn’t been in the picture ever since the girl was a baby.”
“So they’ll just end up in the system? That sucks,” Mattie said.
“Yeah, it does. I’m going to make some calls and see what I can find out.” Harm said thoughtfully. “I haven’t seen Ken in over a year. I believe the girl is four or five, and the boy must be six or seven.”
“Poor kids, they must be so sad and so scared. It breaks my heart.” Mac took Harm’s hand.
“Yeah, it does.” Harm agreed.

The next morning Harm went into the office later than usual. He decided to make some calls to find out what had happened to Ken’s children. He managed to reach Ken’s attorney and found out that Claire and Nathan, had been placed in a children’s home, and that he didn’t know much more than that. Originally Ken’s aunt had been the next of kin and was supposed to take the children if something happened to Ken, but she had fallen ill the previous year and had no way of taking care of two children.
Harm called the children’s home and talked to a nice young woman, Miss Walters, who could tell him that the children were fine under the circumstances. The girl wasn’t talking, and the boy tried his best to take care of his sister. They were working on finding them a foster home, but she wasn’t very hopeful since they already had so many children in line.
“So they will have to stay in the group home then?” Harm asked.
“Yes, that’s the only solution,” Miss Walters said.
Harm was devastated when he hung up. He hurried to call his mother and asked her to check up on them, and to make sure they had what they needed.
“I’ll do what I can, Harm,” Trish promised.

Mac was still in bed when Harm finished his calls so he got into bed with her and snuggled close to her, putting a hand on her belly.
“How did it go?”
“They are in a group home. The woman I talked to wasn’t very hopeful about finding them a foster home, and most likely they will be separated because not many want siblings.”
Mac put her hand on top of Harm’s on her belly. “It’s not fair is it?”
“No it isn’t.” Harm agreed.
“Are you going to work at all today?” Mac wondered.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t resist getting back into bed with you.” Harm smiled and kissed her. “How are you feeling?”
“Great actually,” Mac smiled. “I’m over the worst. No morning sickness and I’m not that tired anymore. I have my last lecture this semester today, and then I have time off until January.” Mac was teaching an International law class at the University of London two days a week.
“Good.” He kissed her again. “Well, I better go.” He kissed her belly. “Bye little miracle.”
Mac watched him with a loving smile. “You’ve wrinkled your uniform.”
“It was worth it.” He said with a cute smile. He sobered up and hesitated. “I can’t let it go.”
“Another obsession?” Mac got out of bed and found her robe. “Let me make some calls today, okay? I’ll find out if there’s something that we can do.”
“Like what?” Harm asked.
“Well, we are already foster parents to Mattie, maybe we could get custody of Claire and Nathan too?” Mac suggested.
Harm’s eyes widened. “You want to do that? Mac, don’t you think you have enough on your hands at the moment?” ‘
“Maybe I do, but you’re not going to be able to live with yourself if we don’t do something, right?” Mac questioned.
“I’m not going to be able to live with myself if you overdo it and something happens to you or junior either,” Harm said.
“I know my limitations, Harm,” Mac smiled. “Just let me look into the possibility at least? We have talked about fostering before.”
Harm smiled. “That was before I knocked you up.”
“Pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?” Mac said with a chuckle.
“Harmon Rabb, making the impossible possible,” he said cockily.
Mac shook her head with amusement. “So?”
Harm nodded. “You know what? You are pretty amazing.”
“I love you.” Mac leaned in and kissed him softly.
“I love you too.” Harm kissed her again and turned to leave. “See you later.”

Two days later, Harm and Mac’s house

Harm joined Mac and Mattie on the couch after cleaning up the kitchen after diner. Mac and he had decided to talk to Mattie about the possibility of adding two more family members. Since they already had been through the fostering process with Mattie, adding more family members could go faster than they originally had thought, Mac had been on the phone with different people for two days to see what their options were, and they were now officially in the process of fostering two more children.
“Mac and I wanted to talk to you about something, Mattie,” Harm said and reached for Mac’s hand as he spoke. “You remember us talking about Nathan and Claire?”
“Yeah, how is that going?” Mattie sat up straight.
“Well, I’ve made some calls, and Harm and I were thinking that we should open up our home to them. How would you feel about that?”
“I think that would be cool, I guess. I don’t know where I’d be without the two of you, and I think no one would be better at taking care of those kids than you guys.” Mattie smiled. “And I’ve always wanted a big family.”
Harm and Mac shared a loving look. “That means a lot to us,” Harm said.
“It really does, Mattie,” Mac agreed.
“So, when will all of this happen?” Mattie questioned.
“We have decided to fly back to the states next week. We need to meet with some people, and we want to go see Nathan and Claire. But since we’re already been through the process with you, everything could go pretty fast from there on,” Harm explained.
“Can I go with you?” Mattie asked.
“Yes. We’ve cleared it with your school and your doctor so that you can start your vacation early. I’ll have to go back to London after a few days, and then I’ll join you guys in San Diego for Christmas,” Harm reassured.
“Trish and Frank are looking forward to seeing you,” Mac added.
“I can’t wait,” Mattie said happily. “Maybe I can call Dad and ask if he has the time to come see me. He probably doesn’t, but I feel like I should let him know that I’ll be in the states anyway.”
“I think that sounds like a good idea, Mattie. And I think Tom will do what he can to come meet you in San Diego,” Harm said.

Two weeks later, Trish and Frank’s house
Mac smiled as she watched the interaction by the kitchen table. It had been two long weeks of meetings and planning, then the court hearing two days ago where the judge had ruled that Mac and Harm could become Nathan and Claire’s foster parents. Christmas had started with a wonderful gift for Harm and Mac. Mac still had problems believing that in the period of six months; she and Harm had become parent’s to three children, although Mattie was almost an adult, and had a baby on the way. Things were happening fast, but they knew they could provide the love and care the children needed.
“Merry Christmas,” Harm said as he came down for breakfast. He kissed Mac and rubbed her belly softly.
“How was your run?” Mac asked.
“Great. I don’t miss snow and winter at all,” Harm said with a satisfied look on his face.
“I don’t know Harm; I think Christmas without snow is like summer without sun,” Mattie argued.
“So we should just cancel Christmas then,” Harm teased as he sat down by the table.
“No one is cancelling Christmas,” Trish ordered. “Let’s start some new traditions. Mattie what do you usually do when it’s Christmas?”
“My Mom and I used to bake a lot. My Dad tried to do that last year, but we ended up burning most of the cookies,” Mattie said with a shrug.
“What about you guys?” Mac asked Nathan and Claire. “Any wishes for Christmas?”
Nathan shook his head, while Claire lit up. “Can Santa come?”
“I hope he will so that our stockings won’t be empty in the morning,” Harm said and touched Claire’s cheek in a sweet gesture. “You don’t have any wishes Nathan?” Harm wondered.
Nathan hesitated as he looked around the table at the people studying him. “I wished that me and Claire wouldn’t have to spend Christmas at the home,” Nathan finally said.
“Looks like Santa gave you an early present then,” Frank said.
“Yeah, but I don’t believe in Santa,” Nathan said stubbornly. “It’s stupid. Just like Jesus walking on water is stupid.”
The adults shared an amused look, before they all started laughing.
“What?” Nathan looked worried.
“Nothing, honey,” Mac reassured. “If we’re all finished with breakfast we should get dressed. We need to be at the homeless shelter in an hour.”
“That’s right. I’m glad you all want to help out,” Frank said with a smile as he stood. “My Dad opened that place seventy three years ago, and my Mom cooked there every Christmas until the year she died. This will be my sixty-fifth Christmas there.”
“It’s a wonderful tradition,” Trish said as she started cleaning up the kitchen.

Washington D.C 2014
“Frank is such a great Grandpa to them,” Mac said and ran her hand lovingly through her husband’s hair. “That Christmas was wonderful for them. Trish was so happy finally having someone to spoil. She still does.”
“A little too much at times,” Harm pulled his wife into his arms. “Nathan was a handful in the start. I was so worried that all his energy and his acting out would exhaust you.”
“You were extremely overprotective,” Mac agreed. “But he came around.”

To be continued

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Replies:

[> Glad to see this story continue, family dynamic is so happy, more soon? -- JoyZ, 16:28:57 12/03/14 Wed [1]


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[> Perfect. So glad to see this chapter. -- Beth, 06:27:03 12/04/14 Thu [1]


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[> glad to see this story back Lace -- Bev uk, 14:15:15 12/04/14 Thu [1]


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[> Nice continuation of this story. -- JoyG, 22:38:02 12/05/14 Fri [1]


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