Halloween-Rabb Style
Author's notes: This story takes place around season 9. Halloween fell on a Monday in 2005 but for this story, we will pretend that it fell on a Friday. Harm and Mac are married. Paraguay is over but this is where Mac got pregnant with Mathew. Harm has left the CIA and is back working for JAG. The angst between Harm and AJ Chegwidden has been resolved and both Harm and Mac are working at JAG. For the sake of this story, Harm listened to the messages left by Mac on his answering machine and this is how he found out that she was pregnant and in the end returned her call. Her pregnancy was the catalyst that brought them back together. There is no Mattie in this story. It's Halloween of 2005 and Harm and Mac are spending it with their long-time friends, Harriet and But Roberts. I do not own JAG or its characters. I do not intend to make any money by doing this. I only do it for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. Hope you all enjoy.
15:30
10-31-2005
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, VA
Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. had all but finished for the day and was just stepping out of his office in search of his wife to let her know that he was leaving. It wasn't long before he spotted Mac, talking to their longtime friend and coworker Harriet Sims.
"Are we still on for 1800?" She asked.
She and Harriet had been talking about the upcoming Halloween-trick-or-treating event that they had been planning for the past couple of weeks. Bud, Harriet, and the kids were to come over to the Rabb's. Harm and Bud were to take the three older kids trick-or-treating around the Rabb's neighborhood, while Harriet and Mac stayed back at the Rabb's house, watched the twins, and hand out the Halloween candy to the other kids that stopped by.
"As far as I know…I haven't spoken to Bud since this morning but so far that seems to be the plan." Harriet said and then looked over in Harm's direction, "Oh, Commander Rabb, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine…and please call me Harm." Harm said with a smile.
"Yes sir…I ah mean Harm."
Harm turned towards his wife. "So what's going on? I heard you ladies talking about meeting up at 1800 hours. Is there something going on that I should know about?"
"Don't you remember? Tonight's Halloween and Harriet, Bud, and the kids are meeting up at our place. You and Bud are going to take the older kids out trick-or-treating, while Harriet and I hand out candy and take care of the twins.
Harm grinned, "Oh yeah, tonight is Halloween. With all that's been, going on I almost forgot."
"You'd better not forget." Mac said, as she playfully hit him in the arm. "Speaking of that, you'd better get going because it's your turn to pick up Matt from daycare. I have about fifteen minutes worth of work to do and then I'll be right behind you."
"Oh, this is going to be fun." Harm said as he turned to leave. "Two adults chasing after two hyper kids and one toddler…" He smiled at the picture this created in his mind and decided just as quickly that he wouldn't change one second of it, even if he could.
Mac had heard his statement and playfully hit him in the arm. "What?" Harm said as he turned around once more to face her.
"I heard what you said."
"I didn't say anything?" Harm said feigning innocence.
"I heard that wise remark coming out of your mouth about chasing after two hyper kids and one hyper toddler."
Harm smiled, "Uh huh, and I quickly decided that I wouldn't change a moment of it."
"That's good, because this little guy…" Mac said as she pointed towards her barely showing baby bump. "Has a thing for candy. Especially, if it's chocolate."
"I'm sure that after tonight there will be plenty of that to go around." Harm bent in and gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you in a little while sweet cheeks." He whispered in her ear, just loud enough for her to hear before giving her rump just the slightest of pinches."
"You'd better be careful Mr. Rabb. Someone might catch you…" Mac warned with a batted eye as she picked up on his inference.
"I guess that's a chance that I'm willing to take." Harm said over his shoulder as he turned to leave.
Mac waved as she turned to head back to her office, "Bye Harm." She called out to his retreating form.
"Bye Mac. I'll see you later." Harm said as he pushed the buttons near the elevator door and then as soon as the doors opened he stepped inside and disappeared behind closed doors.
Twenty minutes later…
Mac was getting ready to leave herself and had just about made it to the elevators when she nearly ran into her boss, Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden.
"Oh, I'm sorry Sir." She said, with a look of apology on her face. "I was so focused on getting out of here that I didn't see you."
"That's okay Mac." AJ replied as he attempted to steady her. "Actually, I was looking for you anyway."
"Sir?" Mac questioned. Her face fell as she anticipated him telling her about some new case that had just come up, which would cause her to miss the upcoming nights festivities.
"Oh, this isn't about work."
"Oh, well good." A wave of relief washed over Mac's features. "I thought for a minute you were going to tell me that I was needed to work a case…not that I…" She said starting to back-peddle.
AJ chuckled, "I'm well aware of what tonight means to both you and Harm. Believe me, I wouldn't send you anywhere unless the world fell apart and only then if there was no one else available to put it all back together."
"Thank you sir." Mac sighed. "So, what can I do for you?"
AJ held out several plastic cellophane bags that he had been holding, "In lieu of tonight's festivities I made up these bags one for Mathew and the other four are for the Roberts kids. I tried to find healthier alternatives other than candy. I figured that they would be getting enough of that as it was."
Mac smiled as she took the five bags of treats that she had been offered, and placed them inside her brief case. "Harm is going to love you for this and I'm sure they are going to love the boxes of raisins, oh and the oatmeal-raisin cookies will be a great hit. Thank you, sir."
"Your welcomed, Mac. Have a great night."
"I will Sir and you too."
Neither said a word as the two of them walked towards the elevators. When they arrived, AJ reached out and pushed the down button and then the two of them waited in silence for the elevator to arrive and the doors to open.
"Do you have big plans for tonight?" AJ finally asked, just as they stepped into the elevator.
"Harm and Bud are taking the kids trick-or-treating around our neighborhood, while Harriet and I hand out candy to all the kids."
"Sounds like a lot of fun." AJ replied as he reached out to hit the 'G' button, which would bring them to a stop at the ground floor. As they slowly descended, Mac couldn't help but notice the wistful look on her CO's face.
"Is there something wrong, Sir?" She finally asked.
"Nah," he sighed. "I was just thinking about all of the things I missed while Francesca was growing up. You know the small things, like taking your kids trick or treating. I never got to do that with her. I was too busy being a SEAL and saving the world to think about much of anything else at the time."
Before Mac could respond, the doors opened and the two of them stepped out. "You are more than welcomed to come over to our house and help Harriet and I hand out candy." She said, trying to ease his sudden melancholy.
AJ smiled at the idea, "What would the two-hundred or so trick-or-treater's that come to my house every Halloween think if my house was dark and I wasn't there to hand them their treats?"
"I don't know, Sir. They would probably be disappointed." Mac said, returning his smile with one of her own.
"That they would be." AJ said as he stepped in front of Mac to hold the door for her.
The two of them walked in silence to their prospective cars. "Have a goodnight, Sir." Mac called out as she opened her car door and got in.
"You to Mac." AJ replied, his voice echoing off of the walls of the nearly abandoned parking garage as he stepped into his own vehicle and started the engine.
*Chapter 2*
Rabb Residence
Fairfax Street
Falls Church, VA
When Mac arrived home, she pulled up into the driveway and couldn't help but smile when she saw all of the different lawn ornaments that she and Harm had purchased for the occasion all lit up and on display. From the bale of hay with the not too scary scarecrow sitting on top which was lit from behind, to the two plastic pumpkins which had been placed near the front door. There had not been much of a reason to decorate for Halloween while she had lived in her apartment, which had been occupied at the time by mainly elderly individuals. Harm on the other hand had lived in a part of town where no one if they had a brain would want to live if they had kids much less trick-or treat there.
Mac got out of the car, grabbed her briefcase and lunch bag from the passenger seat, before closing the door behind her and heading into the house. She walked into the kitchen and found Harm already there preparing dinner.
"I figured Matt should have something healthy to eat before Bud and I take him trick-or treating." Harm said, indicating the food on the counter that he was preparing to cook.
"Ohhh…" Mac sighed, "Parmesan crusted chicken, I can't wait." She said as she moved over to Harm and gave him a brief kiss before setting her briefcase down on top of the counter.
"Why don't you and put your briefcase in the office and then get changed while I finish up in here. Matt's in the family room watching 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' on DVD."
Mac nodded as she opened up her briefcase and removed the treats that Chegwidden had given her earlier for the kids. "Uncle AJ, asked me if I'd give each of the kids one of these to put in their trick-or-treat bag." Mac said as she placed the four bags of treats on top of the counter. "He said that he tried to put something heathier inside besides just candy."
"At least someone besides me is thinking about the health of our children." Harm said with a smile.
Mac sighed dramatically as she closed her briefcase. "It's Halloween, Harm. It's supposed to be about candy and treats. What fun would it be if all the kids got was healthy food?" She asked, over her shoulder, as she picked up her briefcase and carried it down the hall.
"It would be a whole heck of a lot healthier." Harm bantered back before returning to the meal at hand.
Once she had reached the office, Mac placed her briefcase down on her desk before heading in the direction of the bedroom that she shared with Harm. Once there, she closed the door before removing her uniform and hanging it up inside her side of the closet. She then went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of comfortable sweats and a sweatshirt. After she was fully dressed, she went back to her closet and pulled out the cow costume that she had recently purchased from a local costume store and placed it on the center of the bed. It could stay there while she ate her supper, she thought. It would wait until Harriet arrived before she put it on.
When Mac arrived back in the kitchen, she saw that Mathew had finished his cartoon and was now sitting on his booster seat at the kitchen table with his 'Buzz Lightyear' costume, minus the mask already on. "I see that you already have your costume on." She said to her son as she took her place at the kitchen table.
"Buzz…" Mathew said, pointing at himself as he spoke. "Me is Buzz."
"He couldn't wait." Harm reiterated as he walked into the room carrying a plate with pieces of chicken on it. "From the time we walked in the door he wouldn't leave me alone until I let him put it on."
Harm brought in the rest of the food and for the next thirty minutes, the three of them chatted and ate without interruption. It was about 17:30 when they had finally finished eating and Harm started to pick up the dinner dishes while Mac scooted back to the bedroom to put on her own costume. When Mac returned, she grabbed some large bowls from the kitchen cabinet to fill with candy. Once Harm had the dishes in the dishwasher, he went back to the bedroom to put on his own costume. When he returned dressed as 'Woody' from Toy Story, both Mac and Matthew giggled out loud.
"What?" Harm said, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "I thought that this was a great costume. I didn't want to be anything to scary and I know how he loves 'Toy Story'."
Harm was wearing a pair of jeans, a button up yellow and red plaid shirt that Harriet had made for him complete with a big gold sheriff's star that had been sewn over the right side of his chest. He also had on an old cowboy hat, and a red mascot tied around his neck. He wore a western style gun belt complete with toy gun and gold belt buckle. His jeans were tucked into cowboy boots minus the spurs and to top it off Harriet had also made him a foe cowhide vest.
"So what's Bud going as, Slinky Dog?" Mac asked still chuckling.
"Very funny, Mac." Harm said as he walked into the kitchen.
"Woody!" Matt screamed as he scooted off his chair and ran over to where his father was currently standing.
"Yes, I'm Woody and you're Buzz." Harm said as he picked up his son and threw him into the air.
Matt squealed out with delight as Mac gave them both an exasperated look. "You are going to have enough on your hands as it is without getting him all worked up before you even leave the house." She warned.
Harm sighed as he put Matthew back down on the ground, "Why don't you go and find your mask and your plastic pumpkin to put your candy in." He suggested just as the doorbell rang.
Mac ran to answer the door and returned with Harriet, Bud, AJ, Jimmy, and the twins.
Harriet sighed as she walked into the room and turned to address Mac, "The twins fell asleep on the way here." She said. "If you don't mind I think I'll put them in your bedroom."
Mac nodded in agreement, "If you'd like I can get out the pack-n-play."
"Not necessary, they should be just fine in their car seats."
Mac nodded again, "Okay, well I'll just go and get the baby monitor out of Matt's room, that way we can hear them if they cry while we are handing out candy."
"Sounds wonderful." Harriet said as she picked up one of the car seats while Bud followed behind at a slower pace, due to his prosthetic leg, with the other.
Once they had the twins settled, they both returned. Harriet was dressed in a simple witches costume while Bud had decided to wear one of his many 'Star Trek' costumes. This time he was dressed as Captain Kirk, from the Star Trek Enterprise. Bud had wanted Jimmy to dress up as a 'Star Trek' character but Jimmy had other ideas and insisted on wearing his 'Whinny the Pooh' costume, that grandma had sent him, while AJ was dressed as a Transformer character.
"I am going to go out to the car and get the wagon." Bud suggested. "It worked pretty good last year for AJ and Jimmy. I figured this year AJ was big enough to walk on him own and Commander…." Bud paused for a moment and smiled, "I mean, Harm and I can take turns pulling Jimmy and Matthew in the wagon."
Harm nodded and then proceeded to follow Bud back out to his vehicle. While the men where outside getting the wagon, Mac finished dumping the candy into the bowls while Harriet helped keep the three kids somewhat entertained.
A few minutes later Harm and Bud returned with the wagon in tow. "Matt, do you have your mask?" Harm asked, and then watched as Matthew held it out for him to see. "Does everyone have their candy pumpkins?" He asked and then smiled again as everyone held out their plastic pumpkins for his inspection. "Good." He said when he saw that everyone was ready. "What do you say, Bud, that we get this show on the road."
"Sounds good to me." Bud said as he held open the door and then waited for everyone to get outside.
Chapter 3
Rabb Residence
Falls Church, VA
20:30
Harm and Bud had covered several of the neighborhood blocks and by this point the kids where clearly getting exhausted so they headed back towards the home where Harm Mac lived. By the time they arrived, Mac and Harriet were just starting to run out of candy and one of the twins had begun to stir.
"That sounds like Nikki." Harriet said, as she placed the monitor near her ear so that she could listen. "I'd better go and check on her."
"I'll go with you. I'm sure that Harm and Bud can keep an eye on the other three while handing out what's left of the candy to any stranglers that might happen by."
Harriet nodded as Mac followed her into the house. Inside, Mac and Harriet made their way to Mac and Harm's bedroom. Mac took a sleepy Tyler out of his car seat while Harriet removed Nikki from hers. "Why don't we change their diapers and then we can warm each of them up a bottle. I'd like to feed them before we head back home."
"If you don't mind, I can put 'It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown' in the DVD player. It should keep the rest of the kids entertained at least for a little while." Mac suggested.
"That will work providing their father's didn't allow them to eat a bunch of their candy beforehand."
Mac sighed, "Harm's kind of a stickler when it comes to junk food. He might have let Matthew have one or two pieces…but I don't think he'd consent to let him eat a whole bunch."
"When it comes to the kids…" Harriet said, as she reached into the diaper bag for a clean diaper. "Bud is a marshmallow. He'll let them get away with just about anything, if I let him."
After Harriet and Mac returned with the twins, Harm and Bud hustled the kids into the house and then into the living room. The adults sat on the furniture while the kids separated from each other on the floor in order to rummage through their candy and pick out there favorites. "Me have canny." Mathew said, as he walked over to his mother obviously covered in a gooey, chocolate, mess.
"I guess you did." Mac said as she looked over at her husband who was currently looking anywhere but at her. "How much candy did you eat?" Mac asked as she looked down at Mathews pumpkin, which looked to be mostly candy wrappers minus the candy.
"I tried to make sure that people gave him stuff that he wouldn't choke on. If it looked like he might choke on I kept it out of the bucket." Harm interjected as he pulled out a couple of jaw breakers and such from his pocket before placing them on the side table nearest him. "That Daddy's canny." Matthew said indicating the few pieces of candy that Harm had been talking about earlier.
"Well…" Mac sighed, "All I can say is that if he wakes up tonight either sick or has night terrors from eating too much candy, he's all yours." Mac said as she took what was left of Mathew's candy and put it up for the night.
"The same goes for you to." Harriet said to Bud, knowing that he probably let them eat as much candy if not more than what Harm had allowed. "As far as you kids go. I don't want you eating anymore candy tonight. Is that clear?"
"Awe Mom." Both boys said in unison.
"You heard me." Harriet said, the tone in her voice clearly meaning business.
"Okay." Both boys answered.
"Why don't you pick up your candy and put it back in your pumpkins. It's getting late so we will be leaving soon." Harriet warned.
Harriet and Bud allowed the boys to finish watching the cartoon before they gathered up their kids and ushered them out into the waiting minivan. "This was fun. We will have to do it again." Harriet said as she locked Nicki's car seat onto its base.
"Yeah, it was." Mac agreed.
Once everyone was buckled in Harm and Mac stood back and watched while Harriet and Bud backed down the driveway. "How do they do it?" Harm asked, as he walked Mac back into the house.
"Do what?" Mac asked.
"How do they take care of four kids and still keep their sanity?"
"I don't know, I guess it comes down to figuring out which battles are worth fighting and which aren't and I think that Harriet rules the nest with an iron fist."
"Maybe." Harm said as he placed his hand on the small of Mac's back as he led her back into the house.
Inside they found Matthew asleep on the floor in front of the television. He was still wearing his costume and the chocolate he'd been eating earlier was still smeared all over his face. "Do you think he had a good time?" Harm asked, indicating their sleeping toddler.
"I think so." Mac said as she moved past Harm into the family room. She crouched down on her hands and knees as she approached Mathew. "Hey Matthew, buddy. Come on, you need to get up."
Mathew stretched and then tiredly sat up and extended his arms towards his mother. "Why don't you let me get him?" Harm said as he approached the two of them. "He's getting a little too heavy for you to be carrying around right now."
Mac nodded, before moving out of the way so that Harm could step in and pick Mathew up. She had more than one reason to avoid any heavy lifting at this point. She followed behind her husband and son as he carried Mathew up into his room and deposited him on top of the changing table. Harm changed his diaper and wiped off his hands and face while Mac found a clean pair of pajamas for him to wear.
"Thank God, tomorrow is Saturday." Mac said in a quiet whisper.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate it when Halloween falls during the workweek. It seems like it messes everything up."
Once Matthew was dressed for bed, Harm lowered him into his crib and the two of them said their goodnights to their son before slowly backing out of the room, closing the door behind them.
"I need to get something out of my briefcase." Mac told Harm as the two of them walked back towards their room.
"Alright, while I'm waiting I am going to get out of this silly costume and into something a little more comfortable." Harm said as he made the left turn into their bedroom.
Mac returned to their bedroom a few minutes later to find Harm dressed only in his t-shirt and underwear. "Let me get out of this and then I have something to show you." She said, indicating her own costume.
Harm waited until Mac had removed, hung up her costume, and had gotten into a comfortable pair of pajamas before he approached. "You know," she said. "There was a time in the not too distant past when I thought that none of this would have been possible. I mean there was my endometriosis and then the Paraguay mess."
"Yeah, I know." Harm said, taking a seat beside her on the bed. "I almost didn't listen to the message that you had left on my machine while I was in the CIA. If it wasn't for that we probably wouldn't have gotten back together and by even if we had later on it might have been too late." He said indicating Mathew and their recent addition waiting to be born.
"Anyway," Mac said changing the subject. "We really haven't had a chance to talk since my doctor's appointment."
"Is there something wrong?" Harm asked, his thoughts suddenly going a mile a minute as horrible images began to cloud his mind.
"No, everything is fine." Mac quickly added, trying her best to calm him down. "It's just, well, I got there and they did the normal measurements and afterwards they concluded that I was a lot bigger than I should be for this point in my pregnancy. So…," She said, as she held their newest ultrasound pictures to her chest. "…they decided to do a last minute ultrasound just in case I was further along than originally thought. I told them that I was a regular as clock work and that I was pretty sure I knew the exact date of conception but they wanted to be sure. Well, here's the ultrasound pictures." She said as she handed him the grainy looking pictures to look at.
Harm looked at them and was surprised at first when he noted that their seemed to be more pictures than normal. "How come there's so many?" He asked.
"Take a good look."
This time Harm did take a closer look at the fine print. He noticed that the first picture said baby 'A' Rabb and the second said baby 'B' Rabb. Suddenly his eyebrows raised in surprise, "Twins?" He finally managed to squeak. "You mean to tell me that we are having twins!"
Mac nodded, "Which explains why I am showing so much quicker this time then I did with Matthew."
"You worked pretty much up until the end, with him. Will it be the same this time as well?"
Mac sighed, "Well there is my age to consider, my fertility issues, and the fact that this is now a multiple pregnancy, which means added risks. I will probably have to go on pregnancy leave a little earlier this time and probably start half-days a earlier as well. For now, we just see how things go and then take it from there."
"Wow!" Harm said as he handed the ultrasound pictures back to Mac. "I guess I need to get started on Matthew's bedroom." He paused for a moment as he considered the idea, "Maybe Mathew should stay where he is and we turn the room we were going to use for him into the new nursery. That way the twin will have a little more room…"
"Harm." Mac let out a tired yawn. "There's plenty of time to discuss this in the morning. What do you say we get naked and have some adult fun of our own?"
"Sounds like a great plan." Harm said as he removed his t-shirt and underwear before diving under the covers.
The two of them spent the next several hours making love and holding each other. After it was over, Mac went into the bathroom and cleaned herself up. "Hope you had a happy Halloween." She said as she crawled back into bed.
Harm pulled her into his arms so her head rested on his shoulder. "You to baby, you to." He said as he drifted off to sleep.