What's up Doc?
A post finale story
Author's note:
Thanks, as always, to Marsha for beta-ing & making it all fun & games.
Further notes & dedication at the end. Mari
MAC's POV
Sunday. My only day to sleep in - if you can call 06:30 sleeping in. Harm's been away for two days, and he's due back this afternoon. I need to pick up some food I only have leftovers and microwave popcorn in the house. As I'm getting a cup of coffee, my cell rings and I make a grab for it.
"MacKenzie"
"Mac, hi. I'm just leaving Miramar. I'll be home about 1300 by the time I pick up the car. You'll be home, right?"
"Hey, I miss you. I'll be home. How was the last night of the conference?"
"Okay. I actually ran into an old buddy from Annapolis, Joe Frank. He's teaching here now. We had dinner. I haven't seen him in, God, must be twenty five years."
"Did you have fun catching up?"
"Yeah. Until I felt ancient."
"Really?" I can't help but laugh at Harm when he gets a little age 'reality check'. "Why? Did he beat you at a game of hoops?"
"Don't laugh, Mac. And he did not beat me at hoops. We were having dinner and I asked if he was still married to the girl he was engaged to when we were at school. He is, by the way. Then he asks, 'Wanna see my little sweetheart?' and he takes out a photo of this adorable little girl. So, naturally, I ask "How old is your daughter?"
"And?"
"And he answers, 'Daughter? Harm, this is my GRANDdaughter, Tess. She's 18 months. My daughter Karen is 24.'"
That makes me laugh out loud. A lot of our friends have kids in college or grad school. None are grandparents yet. "Harm, you goof. He had a kid at twenty-one so he's a grandpa. That doesn't make you old."
"Yeah, yeah. Well, I still felt like an old guy there for a minute. Anyway, on a lighter note, if you're going out, can you grab some sandwiches from the deli?"
"Sure. I'm just going to run to the store anyway. Egg Salad?"
"Perfect. And Mac…"
"Yes?"
"We may have company."
"Who?"
"Not telling yet." I can hear the smile in his voice. "I'll let you know when I get home. They're boarding, gotta run. Love you."
"Harm, I…" Click. He's gone. A guest, huh? I wonder what he's up to?
I finish my errands and get home about 13:30. Harm's car is in the drive, so he's obviously beaten me home. "Harm?" No answer.
I drop the groceries on the kitchen counter and go upstairs. "Harm, are you in the shower?"
I find him sitting on the foot of our bed, holding something in a big blanket, which he places on top of the comforter.
"Hey."
He holds a finger to his lips. "Shhhh."
"Shhh? Some people just say hello, Harm." He comes over to kiss me and I try to look past his shoulder but he spins me around. "Harmon Rabb, what is in that blanket?"
"Our company."
"What the hell…" I move toward the bed.
"Wait, Mac, you'll wake her up."
"Her?" Now I can't stand it. I go and lift the edge of the blanket and see a furry face peering back at me.
"Who is this, Harm?" I go nose-to-nose with the little brown face and promptly get a kiss.
"It's your dog, Mac. Say hello."
"My what? Harm, you were on a base for two days working, where'd you find a dog? Please don't tell me you bought one."
"I did not buy her." He looks like the cat that ate the canary with a huge grin. "She found me."
I unwrap the blanket to reveal not really a little pup, but one about 5 months old. Some sort of German Shepherd mix with big soft eyes and little floppy ears. "Do you like her? She's cute, isn't she? And Mac, she's got the same color eyes as you." I sit on the floor and she plops into my lap. That's it. I'm in love.
We'd talked about getting a dog since we bought our house last summer. I still miss having one. "Okay Harm. Spill. Where'd you get her? And what's her name, by the way?"
"I told you, she found me, and she doesn't have a name yet. I thought we could name her together. You do like her, right? You don't mind that you didn't get to pick her out?"
"I love her. She's so cute." I run my hand over her fur. "And I love you. You know I wanted another dog and now that I travel less, it's a good time to train one. Speaking of which, think she's got to go out?"
"She went about five minutes before you got in. She's okay for now. Sit, let me tell you where she came from."
I get up to sit on the bed and lift the pup into my lap. Harm settles next to us and tells me the story of our newest family member.
"Joe and I were leaving the restaurant where we ate last night. We crossed an alley and we heard kids yelling, so we went to check it out. It was kind of late so I asked them if anything was wrong and they led us down to take a look. There was a huge box with two puppies in it. Joe asked if they knew where the dogs came from and they said no. They heard crying and came down the alley. The box was too tall for the pups to get out of, and they couldn't tip it over. One of the kids fed them some cheese doodles or something and they looked like they were pretty hungry. Joe called the cops who said the animal shelter was closed but they'd keep them at the station overnight. "
"Someone dumped them? Good thing you guys showed up. Wait, how'd you get her on the plane?"
"I'm getting to that. Look, she's asleep, she trusts you." I look down and she's snuggled half on and half off my lap, with her tail across Harm's leg. She's fast asleep, making little dog snoring sounds. I rub her belly and she doesn't even budge. I look back up at Harm, encouraging him to continue.
"Well, Joe says his wife, Nancy, will kill him if he leaves two puppies in a police station overnight. She's a real animal person. They have two rescue dogs at home. So, he tells the kids to watch the puppies for a minute and goes to get the car, and he yells to me, 'I'll be right back. We're taking them with us.' While he runs for the parking lot."
"Joe gets back in about five minutes. The kids have gone home and we take the puppies back to Joe and Nancy's house. It turns out Nancy's a vet tech -- she reminds me of Harriet, by the way – and she
swoops them up, feeds them and checks them over. They're fine, but we need to go to a vet tomorrow and get her up to date on shots and all."
"So, the whole time we're there, this one just follows me around like a shadow looking at me with those brown eyes and Joe keeps saying, 'Hey she likes you.' Nancy called their daughter who immediately said she and her husband would take one puppy. Then she starts asking me if I like dogs, and does my wife like dogs, and I told her how you saved Jingo and next thing I know, I'm spending the night at Joe's because I can't take the puppy back to the VOQ and I've agreed that if you like her, she's our new dog. Nancy's answer to that is 'Sarah sounds like SUCH a nice person, saving Jingo and all, I'm sure she'd never turn a puppy out and, besides, you said you were going to start looking to adopt a dog anyway.'"
"How could I argue? She was right. I couldn't say no, my wife is a nice person" – he stops and kisses me - "and we were going to get a dog anyway. So, here we are."
"And you got her on the plane, how, exactly?"
Harm smiles "Umm, well, I sort of mentioned that this dog may be helping vets by visiting veterans' hospitals and rehab centers. I want to try it with her. I think she'll be great, she's so nice, and friendly. So it's not a lie or anything. And if she takes to it we can train her towards being a certified therapy dog. Bud said more than once that dogs visited him in the hospital and how a lot of the patients looked forward to it."
I shake my head at him. "Harm, that's a great idea. You have to follow through with it though, you promised her."
He laughs. "I will, we have a plan already." He looks at the pup, "Right, girl? I'm going to bring her to the rehab where Bud was as soon as I'm sure she's housebroken and knows a few basic commands."
"So," I look into the curious brown eyes peering up at me "you're going to be a little therapy dog? Well, you're the best medicine I've ever seen." I place a kiss on her nose and she kisses me back. Then she starts nibbling on Harm's watchband.
"Mac, that's it!"
"What's it?"
"Her name! How about Doc?"
"Doc? I like it. It's different, she's going be a therapy dog, and it's my favorite of the seven dwarfs from Snow White."
"That's it then. Doc!" She looks up at Harm "Mac! She likes it!"
"Seems like she does. Doc it is. Now how about we take her out for a nice walk in the park?"
We walk for about an hour, and stop to pick up some supplies, well, okay a ton of supplies, and toys, including a chew toy shaped like a plane. On the way home, I realize just how much I missed having a dog. This is going to be great. I'm happy Harm found her, or she found him. Harm senses me looking at him and turns around and beams at me.
"C'mon, let's see if Doc's got your appetite, Marine!" And we take off at a jog for home.
End - thanks for reading
Author's note. This FF is dedicated to four special "best friends", two of whom I've never met. For my dog Disney, who passed away in November and was the light of my life for 13+ years. For MacKenzie, (yes, I call her Mac) my new baby (a shepherd mix who I rescued 6 months ago and who brings me joy every day) and for Doc's best friends: Maddie who co-authored her Rabb series and was her family for many years, and for Lizzie, her new baby. Congratulations, Doc, and thanks for all the wonderful fics!