Disclaimer: Don't own'em.
A/N: This is a third little glimpse into the Mackenzie-Rabb household - and the final one for now. It's even sappier than the last one, so be warned. I really only wrote it after a request to see Harm singing 'Rapper's Delight'. And don't worry, if things go according to plan, you'll be getting a long, angsty, sad piece from me in the new year.
C.J., this one's for you. Where's my money?
Chefs' Delight
Mac entered the house and toed off her shoes, relieved to finally be home. It hadn't been an especially terrible day, just exhausting. And while being called in to work at 0700 on a Saturday was never pleasant, it was even less pleasant when Saturday was the day reserved for time with the kids. She sighed. It wouldn't do to mope; after all, she did have a lot of catching up to do now that she was back from maternity leave. She'd just enjoy what was left of the afternoon with Harm and the little ones.
She heard the telltale sounds of activity in the kitchen and made her way there. Harm was probably cooking dinner. She hoped it was something with meat in it.
"Can I put the cheese! Please!" Katie's squeal carried through the house, making Mac smile. Well, if she wasn't having meat for dinner, cheese was the next best thing.
"Sure thing, Kiddo." Harm's voice reached her, and Mac's smile deepened.
She came to the kitchen entrance, unobserved, just as Katie dumped two handfuls of cheese into a casserole.
"How's it going there, Matt?" Harm called over his shoulder, busy trying to even out the two mounds of cheese that was their daughter's handiwork. Katie was standing on a chair next to Harm, watching him distractedly. Most of her attention was focused on eating the strings of grated cheese that had missed their mark and fallen on the counter.
"Good." Matt replied.
Mac looked at their son. He was standing on a chair by the kitchen table, and using a plastic spatula to spread garlic butter onto slices of baguette. He was too intent on his task to look up as he replied. Mac noted that Leila, who was seated in a bouncer on the kitchen table, was just as intently watching Matt's progress. She was already nine months old. Mac sighed softly. They just grew up too fast.
Mac quietly leaned against the doorjamb, and watched her family go about preparing dinner. They were wearing the matching aprons Trish had bought them for Christmas. Harm's apron had "I'm the Daddy" written across the front, and Matt's had "I'm the Brother", and Katie's had "I'm the Sister" written on them. Mac's "I'm the Mommy" apron was safely tucked away in the drawer by the oven.
Katie and Matt had been overjoyed by their grandmother's gift, but neither was anywhere near as excited as Harm. Since then, he'd taken every chance to have the four of them put on the aprons and make dinner together. It was a nice ritual, Mac thought, and one that gave them a lot of family time together.
"Done!" Matt looked up and waived his spatula in satisfaction. The action caused Leila to blubber excitedly, and kick her feet in her bouncer.
"Great! Now we can put this in the oven." Harm looked at Matt and Katie. "Chef Matt, Chef Katie, you two did a great job today. Thanks for your help."
"You're welcome, Chef Daddy." They chorused, grinning at their dad.
Mac shook her head, amused by the wide grin that spread over Harm's face, and idly wondering if his face might actually split in two. She suspected that he'd taught them to call him 'Chef Daddy'. He denied it.
Harm put the lasagna and garlic bread in the over before sitting at the kitchen table. He pulled both kids onto his lap.
"Alright, kiddos. Now, we just need to wait for the lasagna to bake. Hmmm," He put on an expression of exaggerated confusion. "What should we while waiting?"
Both kids giggled. From her bouncer on the kitchen table, Leila babbled happily.
"What do you think, Leila?" Harm looked at their youngest, who grinned and jabbered excitedly, waving her arms and legs.
"Oh, is that so?" Harm cooed in reply to her nonsensical babbling. He then turned to the kids seated on his lap. "Well, Kiddos, what do you think your sister wants us to do?"
"I know, Daddy!" Matt raised his hand and turned to look up at Harm.
"What, Mattster?"
"She wants to hear the song!"
Katie shrieked in delight. "Yes! Can we, please?!"
"May we," Harm corrected. That made Mac grin so widely, she thought her face might split in two. The next time Harm teased her about her grammatical despotism, she'd make sure to remind him of this.
"And of course we may. That is a fantastic idea, guys."
"Yay!" Matt and Katie exchanged grins. Leila drooled happily.
"But first," Harm looked from Matt to Katie. "Places everyone."
The two of them hurriedly jumped off Harm's lap and rushed to stand side by side in front of him, laughing excitedly all the while.
"Ready?" Harm asked. He cracked his fingers for effect.
"Ready!" They chorused, both mimicking his actions.
"Katie: would you like to lead this production?"
Katie stared blankly at Harm, the grin on her face not fading an inch.
Harm chuckled, and re-formulated his request. "You tell me when to start, Kiddo."
Her face lit up with understanding. "Okay!" She cleared her throat dramatically. "A one. A two. A one, two, three, four!" She yelled above Matt's giggles and Leila's squeals.
Harm began:
"I said a hip hop the hippie…" he trailed off and pointed both fingers at their kids.
"The hippie!" The two shrieked loudly. Leila waved her arms up and down, and rocked back and forth in the bouncer.
"To the hip hip hop, a you…"
"Don't stop!" Katie broke into a fit of giggles, and Matt clapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud, his eyes shining with laughter. Leila's squealing increased along with her drooling.
"The rock it to the bang bang boogie say you jumped …"
"The boogie!" They both unselfconsciously jiggled their hips in the way only kids can do.
"To the rhythm of the boogie…"
"The beat!" Katie and Matt jumped and clapped their hands.
Mac could no longer hold it in, and she burst into laughter. Four surprised sets of eyes turned to her, and then four grins broke out in greeting.
"Mommy!" Katie squealed, running over to hug Mac's legs. "We made pasketti with cheese!"
"You did? It smells yummy." She leaned down to return Katie's hug, and put her arms out just as Matt vaulted into her. "Hey there, Mattster."
"Mommy!" Matt threw his arms around Mac's neck. "We also went to the store and got chocolate cake!"
Mac looked up at Harm, surprised. Harm rarely bought what he considered to be junk food, unless it was someone's birthday or a special occasion. "Really?"
He grinned as he took Leila out of her bouncer. "You weren't here for their weekly junk food session. So, I thought we could have cake after dinner."
Mac gave Matt and Katie each a kiss.
"I'm so happy to see you two!" She pulled them both in for another hug. There was nothing quite like coming home. Matt and Katie each placed a smacking kiss on her cheek.
Mac grinned at them, and stood up. She walked over to Harm and took Leila from his arms.
"Did you hear that, baby?" Mac tickled Leila's chin and kissed her forehead. "Daddy bought us chocolate cake."
"Well, Mac." Harm began. The gentleness in his voice caught her attention, and she turned to look up at him.
"We just missed you today." His tone told her that he was referring to himself, more than the kids.
"You did, huh?" She looked up at him, smiling. Their years of marriage and parenthood had aged him in all the right ways, she thought. They had added laugh lines, and deepened the crinkles by his eyes that only appeared when he smiled. She also thought their years together had softened something in his eyes, and made his already kind face even more pleasant. It was downright sexy, she thought, to see him this … at peace with life. She knew it was something that had eluded him since his father's disappearance. She thought he had only found it again when he became a father.
She tilted her chin and reached up for a kiss. Harm placed his hands on her hips and brought his lips to hers. She sighed. Oh, how she loved being kissed by him. She stepped closer to him, and put one hand around his waist, the other still holding Leila.
The sound of their children giggling, and the baby trying to pull her insignia off her uniform made Mac pull away from a kiss that was quickly moving beyond G-rated.
"Later," she whispered to Harm.
He nodded, and placed a quick peck on her forehead. He took Leila from her arms.
"Why don't you go change, Mommy." He winked at Mac. "The kids and I'll clean up in here." He looked over at Matt and Katie. "Right, Kiddos?"
"Right!" They replied.
Mac gave Leila one more kiss before going to change out uniform. As she left the kitchen, she turned around for one last look at Harm and the kids.
Harm was putting Leila back in rocker, while Matt and Katie began cleaning up. Matt was helping by taking dishes to the sink, one at a time. Katie was helping by eating the rest of the cheese that had fallen and licking the garlic butter off the spatula. Mac knew that if she were to look in the mirror, she would see one of those stupid, punch-drunk happy grins on her face. She didn't care, though. It just felt too good to be home.