Disclaimer: not mine
Apologies to those whose reviews I haven't able to respond to personally - I do appreciate you taking the time to review my work.
AN: like the Seven Sins, this is a series of vignettes, written with the theme of each dwarf's name. The story is somewhat sequential but are separate entities. This time around, Harm is the central focus.
If you have any suggestions on other themes for stories, please PM me.
Thanks, Beth!
7 Dwarfs
Sleepy
Just five more minutes was all he wanted. It wasn't much to ask, just five more minutes of sleep. He'd had little opportunity for sleep trying to look after three young children while their mother was in DC at a conference. Not only were there the normal daily tasks, which he usually did being the stay at home parent, there was the baking for the cake sale at Ella's school and the making of a witch costume for a school play.
He didn't mind these things, honestly he didn't, but Ella had only told him about the costume just before dinner and the cookies during dinner which meant he'd been up until three trying to get everything done for her.
During his time in the service, he had gone days without adequate sleep, so this was nothing new, but somehow he felt more tired this time. Perhaps it was age creeping up on him, he conceded. Well, not so much creeping either. He was 51 now and age seemed to have jumped him from behind and pounced more than crept.
Opening one eye, he spied his nearly four year old son, climbing into his mother's vacant space.
"You okay, buddy?" Harm asked, adjusting the covers.
"Bad dream," he said and Harm caressed his head, before running his hand under the cover and finding what he was hoping he wouldn't. His son had wet himself and now Harm had two beds he'd have to change – for the third night in a row.
"Come on, sweetheart," he said, climbing out and turning on the light. "Let's get you all cleaned up."
Slowly, David climbed out of the bed and followed his dad. "Sorry, daddy," he said as Harm took him into the bathroom and stripped him off.
"It's okay, David," Harm said, kissing his head before sitting him on the toilet. "Now, wait here and I'll get some new pjs."
By the time Harm returned, David was asleep on the toilet, his head resting on the cistern. Knowing he couldn't leave him unclean, Harm took a face washer and rinsed it in warm water and cleaned down all the areas he could reach. He then pulled on fresh underwear and his pyjama bottoms up around his feet and carefully stood the child up. Cleaning and drying him quickly as he went.
Realising he wasn't going to get the beds changed now; Harm brought a dry towel with him and placed it on the bed before placing his son on top. Covering him up, Harm kissed his head before settling alongside him, his fingers crossed the boy stayed dry for the two hours left of the night.
Muttering under his breath when he heard noise before his alarm, Harm opened his eyes and blinked hard a few times.
"Am I dreaming?" he questioned propping himself up on one elbow.
"Nope," Mac said, sitting on the bed facing him. "Hello there," she said, kissing him tenderly.
"Hi, gorgeous," he replied, raising his hand to caress her face. "You're home early."
"Yeah," she replied. "Nothing I really had to stay for on the last morning so came straight home," she said, standing and taking off her jacket. "I thought I could find a nice way to wake you up."
"That would be great but David might have other ideas," he said gesturing behind him.
"Is he okay?" she asked, unbuttoning her shirt.
"Wet the bed again – his and ours," Harm said with a sigh.
"Again?" she questioned. "He hasn't done it since the first month he was out of diapers."
"Until you left and then it's been every night," Harm said, lying back down. "I've washed more linen this week than the Intercontinental Hotel."
"No wonder you look so tired," she said, slipping off her skirt.
Rummaging through her drawer, Mac found an oversized tee and took off her bra before slipping on the shirt.
"Well, maybe I just need to curl up here with my favourite boys for a bit," she said, sliding into her side of the bed. "Do you think he's sick?" Mac asked as she wrapped David in her arms and kissed his head.
"No," Harm said with a shake of his head. "He has been pining for you during the days and I think it's just an emotional response. He says he's been having bad dreams but I'd say it's missingmommyitis."
"Aww, my poor baby," she said, kissing him once more before pulling down the covers and taking a good look at him. "Um, Harm," she said, looking up at her husband. "Why is he wearing Ella's bike shorts and Ruby's Dora top?"
Harm laughed, "Oops," he said. "Maybe I was a little tireder than I thought."
"Well, you snuggle closer to us and we'll all get some sleep," she said, leaning over her son to kiss her husband.
As Harm closed his eyes and reached across to hold his wife, he could only smile. Five more minutes had never been so comfortable.
Sneezy
Achhhooooo
Achhhooooo
Cough, splutter, cough, cough, gag.
It was cold and flu season and Mac felt like death warmed up.
"Oooh, you don't sound well, mommy," Ella said coming into the master bedroom to find her mother coughing and sneezing in a darkened room which smelt of Vicks.
"I don't feel it either," she said, before coughing again.
Her head ached, her chest ached, her nose was blocked, that is, when it wasn't running, her throat felt as if she'd swallowed razors, even her teeth hurt.
"You look yucky too," she added coming a bit closer.
"Did you need something, Ella?" Mac asked, her mood deteriorating.
"Just wanted to say hi and let you know I was home from school," she said, hovering by the side of the bed.
"Hi, Ella," Mac croaked, trying to smile at her girl but being overcome by a coughing fit instead.
"I think I'll get daddy for you," she said backing out of the room.
Soon, Harm appeared with a hot honey and lemon drink, a new box of tissues and a bottle of water.
"Hey, gorgeous," he said, quietly as he produced a bottle of Tylenol from his pocket. "Come sit up and have some of these for me."
"Gorgeous, ha!" she scoffed, dragging herself to a seated position.
"You are," he said, picking up a cool, damp face washer and running it over her heated skin. "You are the most gorgeous thing in the world."
"I'm a snotty, fevered mess," she grumbled, taking the water bottle.
"And I still love you," he said, handing her two tablets and watching as she swallowed, the pain registering on her face a testament to just how sore her throat was.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, concerned she'd eaten nothing all day.
"Yeah, a little," she said and Harm's face lit up. "But I can't swallow." He frowned.
"What about some ice cream?" he asked, knowing she could live on the cold confection.
"Too cold," she said, not wanting her throat to close completely.
"Soup?" he offered.
"Too hot," she said with a sigh.
"How about some custard?" he asked and smiled when she smiled.
"Your recipe or your mom's?" she questioned. Trish made the best custard in the state. Harm's was a poor imitation as he simply refused to add sugar.
"Which would you like?" he asked, just wanting her to eat anything.
"Your mom's," she said, slumping down in the bed, the conversation leaving her exhausted.
"Okay, mom's famous custard coming up," he said, standing up and fixing the covers over her. "Anything else you need?"
Mac shook her head, so Harm kissed her forehead and headed off to the kitchen.
In fifteen minutes he had three bowls of custard on a tray, one he'd had in the freezer for the past five minutes, one he'd had on the bench and the other straight from the pot. Given her health, he wasn't sure which bowl his wife would be able to eat. He needn't have fussed as she was sound asleep when he returned to the bedroom.
Quietly, he backed out of the bedroom, put the custard in the fridge and cleaned up before calling his mother to see if she could take the kids for the weekend. Once they had departed, Harm turned his attention to his wife and her needs. After he'd cleaned up while she slept, he grabbed a book and sat in the armchair in their bedroom and read, stopping to look at her every time she stirred.
Eventually, she woke and stared at him, he smiled back.
"Did I eat my custard?" she asked, her stomach rumbling.
"No, honey, you were asleep when I brought it in," he said, getting to his feet. "I can get it for you now."
"Yes, please," she said, before blowing her nose. "Are the kids asleep?" she asked, not registering the time.
"No, they're at mom and Frank's," he said, walking back to the bed. "Thought it was best all around. You need to rest and they don't need your bug."
"What about you?" she asked, sitting up.
"I'll be just fine," he replied adjusting the blankets around her.
"Did the kids really go?" she asked sadly.
"Yes," he answered. "Remember mom and Frank were taking them to the zoo tomorrow anyway, so it made sense to have them sleep there and then leave tomorrow on their own schedule."
"Will they be back tomorrow?" she questioned tearfully.
"We'll see how you are tomorrow and then decide," he said, kissing her head.
It wasn't until Sunday evening the children returned when Mac was feeling much better. After feeding, bathing and putting them to bed, Mac returned to the living room ready to watch a movie with her husband.
One look at him told her he hadn't been as resilient to her bug as he'd thought.
Aaaachhoooo
Aaaachhoooo
Mac cringed; she knew she was a relatively cooperative patient...but Harm was another thing all together. If his turned out to be the 'Man Flu' again, god help them all.
Bashful
When Ella started preschool she had loved it. Every morning she'd be up and dressed, eager to take on the world. Bubbly and outgoing, she made friends quickly and was in her element being in the classroom. David was a different matter.
Never one to be shy or quiet, Harm had expected his son's transition from day care to preschool to be uneventful. After all, David was great at making friends and would pal up with any kid in a playground, especially if they had a ball.
His first inclination orientation day wasn't going to go well was when David refused to get out of the car.
"No, daddy!" he said emphatically as Harm undid his seat belt. "I'm not going."
"Why not?" he questioned. They'd spoken about it for weeks and David hadn't shown any reluctance.
"Don't want to go," he said, pulling his belt back around him.
"But Miss Fleming is waiting," Harm said, pulling the belt back. "She has lots of fun things for you to do today."
When David said nothing else, Harm pulled him from the car with his bag and settled him on his hip before bumping the door closed and zapping it shut. Slowing to put the child down, Harm realised it wasn't going to happen when David gripped on tighter.
"You're going to have so much fun today," he said enthusiastically. "And you'll make lots of friends."
As Harm entered the front door, David buried his head in Harm's neck, refusing to look up when the teacher addressed him.
"I'm sorry, Miss Fleming," Harm apologised. "He's not normally like this."
"That's okay, Mr Rabb," she replied. "Starting preschool can be overwhelming but I'm sure David will settle in just fine."
"He sure will," Harm said, rubbing David's back before trying to put him down once more – unsuccessfully.
"Well," she continued, "There are lots of things to do this morning, David," she said, gesturing to the nearby table. "Would you like to do some drawing?" David's response was to shake his head. "How about some Playdoh?" The response was the same.
"Oh, Miss Fleming," Harm said, pointing to the blocks on the floor. "David loves blocks. Do you think we could play there?"
"Certainly," she replied, taking David's bag from him.
Sitting on the floor, Harm built a tower with his free hand, talking to David as he went. Soon, David turned his head to watch, that was followed by him tentatively reaching out to help his dad. Eventually, he slid onto the floor in front of Harm and quietly built his own tower.
"Wow, David!" Miss Fleming said, bobbing down next to them. "That's great work!"
David turned back to Harm and snuggled close.
"What do you say?" Harm prompted, caressing his face.
"Thank you, Miss Fleming," he whispered, ducking his head.
"Do you think you can show Sam how to build a tower?" she asked, placing her hand on a young blonde boy standing next to her. "Sam loves blocks too but he's too shy to ask. David nodded and reluctantly Sam sat down with the pair. "Sam has a few problems with his learning and he needs a special friend to help him out," Miss Fleming continued. "David, do you think you can help Sam for me?"
David nodded again; he was good at doing jobs. His mom and dad both said so.
Soon the boys were playing nicely and Harm was able to get up and stretch his legs.
"He seems to be doing better," Miss Fleming whispered as she observed the pair.
"He is," Harm agreed. "Do you think I should stay or leave?" he asked, noting all the other parents had gone.
"I think we should see if you can go," she said. "After all, class is only until noon today, so it's a little under two hours to go."
Harm nodded, silently praying David would let him go. He may be a big, tough man on the outside but he was a sucker when it came to his kids and while he knew it was for the best David to stay in the long run, he could just as easily see him taking him home early if David was too distressed.
"Davy," Harm said, crouching down beside him. "I need to go to the bank..." And with that David sprung from the floor, pushing his dad over in the process of grabbing hold of him. "It's okay, it's okay," he soothed before the boy became too distressed. "How about if I just go into the office there and call the bank...would that be better?" he asked and the boy nodded.
Watching his daddy cross the room, David's blue eyes filled with tears; he couldn't explain it but he just couldn't bear his daddy to leave him behind with all these new people.
"It's okay, David." Sam said, standing with him. "Me be your friend."
David nodded as Sam gave him a hug. Soon both boys were seated at a table drawing, David dividing his attention between the paper and watching his dad. So long as he could see Harm he was okay. Meanwhile, Harm answered his ringing cell.
"How'd it go this morning?" Mac asked, her first chance to catch up with the news of David's big day.
"Not well," Harm said, looking out at his boy.
"Didn't he want you to go?" Mac asked, looking at a family photo on her desk.
"Nope," Harm said with a sigh.
"How long did it take for you to get away?" she asked, knowing he had a list of errands he had wanted to do during David's three hours at preschool.
"I'm still here," he reported, smiling when Sam took David's hand and led him to the home corner.
"What? Why?" she asked, glancing at the clock and wondering if she should head down there too.
"David is very reluctant to stay and is quite emotional," he said, his eyes filling with tears.
"Aww," Mac said, feeling for daddy and son. "That's not like him."
"I know," he replied. "He's being so shy and just not himself."
"Do you want me to come down?" she asked, standing up, not sure what it would achieve.
"No," he said. "I don't want David thinking this is more of a drama than it is."
"Okay," she replied. "What's your plan of action?"
"I'll probably just hang out here in the teacher's office and see how it goes," he said, playing with a pen on the desk.
"What will happen tomorrow?" she asked, trying to plan an attack.
"I don't know," he said. "We can talk about that tonight."
All the plans and tactics they came up with that night were redundant when David willingly got out of the car the following day and walked in holding Harm's hand. When it was time for daddy to leave, David's eyes filled with tears and his grip on Harm's hand increased.
"Come on, David," Sam said, taking his other hand. "Blocks."
Although a little reluctant at first, David hugged and kissed his daddy goodbye before following his new friend across the room.
"Maybe Sam will be David's special helper," Miss Fleming said, handing Harm a Kleenex to dry his tears.
"Looks that way," he said, taking a deep breath.
"You'll call if..." he started to say and Miss Fleming nodded.
"I will, but look," she said, pointing to two laughing boys knocking over their towers. "I think David will be just fine," she added, walking him to the door. "And I'm sure you will be too."
Grumpy
It was Trish who first noticed that Ruby wasn't herself. Out of the terrible twos, Ruby was a happy, joyful child just as happy on her own as she was with her siblings. She had stopped napping in the afternoon and had just started spending two days a week with her grandparents' undivided attention while Harm worked part time. Usually content, she was starting to display unsettled behaviour. Her attention span was short, even for a three year old, and she wasn't happy doing her favourite things, like her puzzles and dolls.
Quick to tears, she didn't even find comfort in Flopsy, her stuffed rabbit toy.
"So, what do you think it is, mom?" Harm asked, picking her daughter up Tuesday afternoon after work.
"I'm not sure, honey," she replied, caressing the child's head. "She's just been grumpy today and yesterday."
"Now you mention it, she was like that last week too, wasn't she?" he asked and Trish nodded. "But she seemed alright on the weekend."
"I don't think she's coming down with anything," she said, "And I spoke to Mac today and she said she was sleeping well at night."
"She is, 12 hours solid," he said, kissing her forehead.
"Well, maybe it's nothing," Trish said.
Harm watched her closely over the next few days at home. She was more irritable than usual, quicker to tears, harder to placate and just not the Ruby they knew and loved.
Come the weekend, Ruby was her happy-go-lucky self once more.
"Well, I'm stumped," Harm said, as he sat on the sofa, his arm wrapped snugly around his wife as they watched their three children play on the floor.
"Me too," Mac replied. "Do you think we should take her to the doctor? See if she is really okay?"
While Harm contemplated his answer he watched as David and Ruby built a tall tower, giggling when it fell. It was all fun and games but when David left to go to the bathroom, Ruby wasn't impressed. When Ella soon followed and she was left alone, the blocks became missiles and she started banging the carpet with a tight little fist.
"I think I see Miss Ruby's problem," Harm said, sliding from the sofa onto the floor and opening his arms. "Ruby, come to daddy," he said, and soon a tearful little girl padded over to him and threw herself into his arms. "I think you are missing your brother and sister, aren't you?" Too young to understand the question, Ruby held on tightly as Harm rubbed her back. "You're okay, sweetheart."
"Aww," Mac said, slipping down beside them. "I bet you're right. It's her first time alone, now that David's at preschool everyday and you're working two days a week. She's just lonely."
"Well, I'm sure she'll get used to it," Harm said, leaning over to kiss Mac's head. "Soon, she'll love all the individual attention."
"What's wrong with Ruby?" David asked, dropping onto the floor in front of them. "Is she still being Miss Grumpypants?"
"Miss Grumpypants?" Mac asked and Harm smirked.
"Oops," he said, "I didn't think I had an audience."
"No," Mac answered. "We think Ruby's just a little sad that you're in preschool and daddy's at work."
"Oh, Rubes, don't worry about that," he said, grabbing her hand. "We still love you...come play."
It took a few weeks for Ruby to adjust to the family's new routine but once she did she was back to being the precious child they loved.
Dopey
Ever had one of those days where you did one inane thing after another. Well, for Harm, it was one of those weeks. If he was being politically incorrect, he would say that he was being blonde. As it was, he said very little and hoped nobody else did either.
On Monday, he made three drop-offs with the three kids at his parents, preschool and school. Something he did every Monday and Tuesday. Except he left David with Ruby's bag, Ruby with David's bag and missed Ella's school by a block. That night, he put his keys freezer, the leftovers in the dishwasher and used Mac's hairspray instead of his deodorant after his shower. Climbing into bed that night, he could only hope the day was an anomaly and Tuesday would be better.
Hope wasn't on his side.
Tuesday dawned and Harm was still as 'blonde' as the day before. Putting the car into drive instead of reverse as they were heading out, he hit the gate. Ella's lunch was missing from her lunch box, his cell phone in its place and Tuesday's dinner took twice as long to cook, after he forgot to put the oven on the first time around.
Figuring that Monday and Tuesday's issues were due to the busy schedule he had, he figured Wednesday would be a much better day. After all, he had the school run but, after that, there was all day to get everything else done. And, he was proven correct. Wednesday was a smooth sailing day; sailing so smoothly it lulled him into a false sense of security.
Thursday's highlight, or blonde highlight in this case, was to leave a red sock in the white wash, creating a pretty pink family fashion trend. While he could keep most of his less than stellar moments from Mac, this was one which couldn't be easily hidden.
By Friday morning, Harm wasn't all too sure if he even wanted to get out of bed.
"You're a bit slow getting going this morning," Mac observed as she returned from the shower to find Harm still in bed.
"Yeah," he said with a sigh, swinging his legs out.
"Everything okay?" she asked, coming to stand in front of him, still wrapped in her towel.
"Yeah," he said. "At least I hope it will."
"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting his head up and studying his face.
"I've had a stupid week," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"What do you mean?" she asked, linking her hands behind his neck.
Quietly, Harm confessed his antics of the week and by the end, Mac was laughing heartily.
"Glad you find it amusing," he said, standing up.
"Oh, come on, it's funny," she said. "You have to see the humour in it."
"No, I don't," he replied, brushing past her and heading to the bathroom.
"Um...Harm..." she called, following him into the bathroom.
"What?" he asked, not overly impressed with his wife's apparent delight in the situation.
"You do know your boxers are on backwards, right?" she asked before laughing.
Looking down, Harm shook his head. How on earth had he not noticed that?
Turning around, Mac headed out convulsing in laughter before turning back, "You know which one of the seven dwarfs you are, right?" Mac asked in a giggle before Harm closed the door. "Dopey!" she called, just in case he didn't get it. That morning, Mac laughed all the way to work but it was mid morning before Harm finally saw the funny side of it all.
Doc
Young families are a joy. There are a multitude of firsts to observe, endless hours of fun and games and an amazing sense of pride looking at the young child you have created and are nurturing. Harm and Mac were sure their experience was the same as many other families.
One of the differences with their family though, was that their three kids had MacKenzie –Rabb genes. They were fearless, adventurous, audacious and brave. While these are the qualities they had hoped their children would inherit from them, they had hoped it wouldn't appear so early in life.
In the space of a week, Harm had put his first aid skills to use a number of times; the beautiful fall weather inspiring his children to take to the outdoors with gusto.
First, Ruby tumbled from her tricycle after failing to take a turn in the backyard. Though there was no serious damage, Dr Daddy needed to clean and dress the little abrasions on her knees. Applying a dinosaur bandaid to one knee and a butterfly one to the other, Harm dried his baby's tears and gave her a big hug.
"All better now?" he asked, kissing her head.
"Aha," she said with a nod, tucking her head under his chin.
"You have to go a bit slower on your bike," he reminded her, cleaning up the medical supplies with his free hand.
"Aha," she repeated, watching him in the mirror.
"Are you ready to go ride some more?" he asked and Ruby nodded, happy to take on the world so long as Dr Daddy was around to soothe the hurts.
Ella was the next one to require Dr Daddy's services when she landed awkwardly jumping off the trampoline and hurt her ankle.
"Daddy, daddy!" David yelled running into the house.
"David, no running in the house," Harm reminded him as he came out from the living room.
"Daddy," he called, ignoring the reproach. "Ella's hurt! She's crying and everything," he reported.
Ignoring the advice he'd just given his son, Harm ran through the house and into the yard, David right behind him.
"Honey," he said crouching beside her and rubbing her back. "What did you do?"
"Hurt my ankle," she said with a sob as she tried to pull off her shoe.
"How did you do it?" he asked, although he had a fair idea.
"Jumping off the trampoline," she replied honestly, even though she knew the rules.
"El, we've talked about that," he reminded her as he tenderly removed her shoe and sock, happy to see there was no swelling.
"I know, I know," she said with a grimace as he rotated her foot. "But I thought I could land in the sand pit."
Harm just shook his head; it sounded like something he would have done at her age too.
Scooping her up, Harm carried her into the house and sat her on the kitchen bench, resting her foot on the stool. Moving to the freezer, he got out the ice cubes before grabbing a cloth and fashioning an ice pack around her ankle, biting on his lip when she flinched violently when the cold hit her skin.
"Sorry, sorry," he whispered, as he kissed her head. "But it will make it feel better in a few minutes."
"How many minutes?" she asked, with a sniffle.
"We have to leave it on for twenty minutes," he said, caressing her face.
"But my foot will have frozen off by then," she said hooking her arms around Harm's neck as he moved her from the bench to the sofa.
"Well, maybe we'll check in ten minutes and see how it is," he said, settling her in the living room.
Ten minutes later, Ella was right as rain and ready to take on the world.
"It's all better, daddy," she said proudly as he rotated her foot once more.
"Ice packs have magic powers," he said, kissing her head.
"I think you have magic powers, daddy," she said with a giggle.
"Aww, thank you," he said, kissing her head once more. "Do you think I'm Superdaddy or Batdaddy?" he asked.
"I think you are Superdaddy," she said, hugging him tightly. "Thank you."
Alas, Harm's skills were necessary a third time when his wife required some of his specialised services in bed late on Saturday night. This time, it wasn't his medical skills she was in need of, it was his husbandly skills and he was quick to oblige.
"Well," she said, breathlessly as she lay slumped on top of him. "The kids are calling you Superdaddy this week so I might have to follow their lead and call you Superhubby. You were very impressive."
While it was dark in the bedroom, Mac was sure he was blushing.
"Or maybe Superstud...or Super..."she rambled, his embarrassment increasing with each description.
Harm resorted to the tried and true tactic of getting her to stop; he kissed her passionately and then let nature take its course. By the time they were finished, Mac had a dozen more ways to describe her gorgeous husband's talent.
Happy
It had been an ordinary Sunday.
There was the traditional pancake breakfast.
Sunday service.
A stop at the playground.
A big lunch in La Jolla.
Games with grandpa and grandma.
Dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches.
Bath time.
Bedtime stories.
Bed.
Ordinary, everyday activities.
Things millions of other families across the country would do.
There was no adrenaline rush.
There was no risk of death or injury.
No sense of thrill seeking or risk taking.
In fact, some would see this lifestyle as mundane.
Humdrum.
Predictable.
Routine.
Perhaps even boring.
A dozen years ago, Harm would have said the same thing. Back then, imagining a life without jet fuel or the Navy was unimaginable. He would see families in the street, in the stores and wonder how on earth they could survive in such a monotonous existence.
Now, Harm watched as his wife climbed into bed and nestled in his arms. He thought about the three sleeping children in the house and their angel in heaven watching down and he only had one emotion to describe his life; he was happy.
Yes, he was happy.
He had the life he had never dreamed he would and he was happy.
He had the wife he never thought would be his and he was happy.
He had the children he never believed would be created and he was happy.
He had the house, the mortgage, the utilities bills, the school fees, the everything else and he was happy.
This was his life.
This was his family.
And he was happy.