Rabb house, Monday

The next morning was busy as usual. Harm prepared for work, and the kids prepared for school. Mac and Cathy would be on their way to pick up Harriet, then to Baltimore for Cathy's lecture at Johns Hopkins University later that day.

"Dad, my car is making that noise again," Claire complained as she joined them for breakfast.

"I'll call the mechanic, in the meantime you have to ride with me," he said as he glanced up from the newspaper.

"Okay," she agreed. "But we gotta get going then, because I'm meeting Melany to work on our science project before school," she looked at her brother who was giving her that look he always did when he thought she was being a geek. "What?"

"Who goes to school earlier than they have to?" Matthew rose and took his plate. "Wouldn't it be more fun to skateboard?"

"The last time I did that, I fell and hurt my hand and couldn't play the piano for three weeks," Claire pointed out.

"You can skate with a broken hand," Matthew said teasingly. "I did that."

Mac took her plate to the sink. "Don't remind me," Mac said and ruffled his hair. "Go get ready for school, and be good."

"I'm always good," he flashed her a charming smile. "Have a nice trip Mom."

Mac laughed softly. "Thanks. I love you," she hugged him, then Matthew went to get his things for school.

"That kid is getting more like his father every time I see him," Cathy said.

"That's what worries me," Mac said with a sigh.

Harm chuckled.

"Rose, don't forget your English homework, and you have a Math test on Wednesday, so you have to study for it," she directed the last part towards her husband.

"Don't worry, I'll study," Rose promised.

"I have everything under control," Harm promised as he stood and brought his plate to the sink. "Go get ready kids."

Rose took her own plate to the sink. "Bye Mom."

Mac hugged her. "Bye. I love you."

"I love you too," Rose let her go then left the kitchen.

"Drive carefully," Harm said and took her hand. "Stay out of bad neighborhoods, and don't talk to strangers," he teased.

"I'm a marine, I think I can handle a few days away from my big bad protector," she kissed him. "Be good."

"I'm always good," he flashed her a charming smile.

"Yes, you never get into trouble," she teased. "I love you."

"I love you too," he kissed her again. "Ready to go Claire?"

She looked up from her phone. "Yeah, sure," she stood and put her phone away, "Don't worry Mom, I'll make sure everyone behaves."

Mac hugged her. "I know you will. I love you."

"I love you too," Claire smiled. "Come on Dad." She left the kitchen.

"We better get going too," Cathy stood.

Harm leaned in and kissed his wife again. "Bye."

"Bye," she said and watched him go. "Let me get my bag and we'll be on our way."

"This is going to be so much fun," Cathy said.

The Naval Academy

Nathan gathered his books and headed out of the classroom. He walked across campus and found A.J Roberts waiting on him.

"Finally, I'm starving," A.J said.

"Sorry, class ran late," Nathan chuckled. "Did you go home this weekend?"

"Yeah, Mom was on my back because I've been so busy," A.J smiled. "A homecooked meal wasn't bad."

"Aunt Harriet sure can cook," Nathan followed A.J into the cafeteria.

"She was stressing about leaving Dad alone with the responsibility while she went away with Aunt Sarah and Cathy," A.J rolled his eyes. "Smothering."

Nathan chuckled. "Tell me about it," he sat down. "Hey, guess what? I'm telling my folks about Eve next weekend. Any advice?"

"Nah," A.J shrugged. "They'll be happy for you. Eventually anyway," A.J let out a chuckle. "What parent wouldn't freak out when their son who's nineteen tells them he's dating a girl with a kid."

"Yeah, I'm kinda worried about that," Nathan admitted. "I wish they weren't so protective. It's like they won't let me grow up."

"I know the feeling, but hey, we should be glad we have great parent's, right?" A.J reasoned. "Although, I hate that mom still says little A.J."

Nathan laughed. "My mom does that too."

"Yeah, I know," A.J rolled his eyes.

"Well, I won't let anything or anyone get in the way of my relationship with Eve. I love her," Nathan smiled.

"You've got it bad," A.J slapped his shoulder. "I'm happy for you, buddy."

Nathan nodded. "Thanks."

The office, later in the day

Harm caught up with Bud in the break room, the younger man looked tired as he sipped his coffee.

"Long weekend?"

"Yeah, I tried to get the last painting done. Mikey and Angelina stayed over with the kids, and you know how it's like with toddlers and babies," Bud yawned. "But it was a fun weekend. A.J was home. You?"

"Mac and I drove to Williamsburg on Friday night and spent the weekend, so I'm pretty rested," Harm smiled. "Hey, I'm sure Dan wouldn't mind lending it to you and Harriet next weekend."

"I'll have to call and ask," Bud smiled. "I think a weekend away would be perfect."

"We need to talk about the…"

"Sorry to interrupt, but the Secretary of the Navy is on the phone for you Harm," Jennifer said.

Harm looked questioningly at her. "SecNav? Why?"

Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me."

Harm put his coffee down and walked past her, curious about what Secretary Wilson wanted.

On route to Baltimore

They had found a cozy restaurant following a backroad, where they stopped and had an early lunch. Cathy had insisted that they drive off the main road to find it, because a close friend of her who had lived in the area for many years had told her that if she ever had the chance it was worth a trip.

"It was definitely worth a stop," Harriet said as they walked to the car. She had decided to come along on the trip when Mac mentioned it to her before the weekend.

"It was great," Mac agreed just as a man walked past them.

"Ladies, I hope you enjoyed your meal," he said.

"We definitely did," Cathy said politely.

Mac got a chill down her spine as the man was looking intently at her. She noticed him from before, he had come into the diner a little after them, then disappeared again. "Come on, let's get going," she said and headed for the car. As she got in and started up, she noticed that the man was still standing there looking at them.

"What's up?" Harriet wondered as she got in the back seat.

"Nothing," Mac hesitated. "I don't know, just a feeling."

Cathy studied her friend. "Seriously, what happened?"

"I don't know, it's just sometimes I get feelings I can't explain," she shrugged. "Never mind, let's just get back to the main road again." She drove off and in the mirror, she could see the man turning around and walking back to his car.

Sun Hill High School

Claire found the right book and slammed her locker shut. She went over her schedule in her head, deciding that she had everything under control, as long as she could get lazy Melanie Phelps to do her part of their science project.

"Hi, you look busy."

Claire turned and faces her best friend, Kim. "Yeah, crazy schedule. Who did you end up working with on the science project.

"I lucked out and got Tim," Kim hesitated as she opened the locker. "Poor guy has to keep up with me."

"Come on, you're the best partner anyone could ask for," Claire was surprised by her friend's attitude lately.

"I just don't feel like it lately," Kim slammed her locker shut.

"Want to talk about it?" Claire put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "We can get together after school."

"Nah, I need to meet with Tim," Kim shrugged. "See you later."

Claire watched her go, wondering what was up with her friend. Her phone buzzed and she found it in her pocket. A text from her dad saying that she had to be home straight after school, because he needed to talk to her. She texted back that she would be there, then walked to her next class, still thinking about her friend.