Title: Raising Amelia

Author: PreppyPrincess5103

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: One-night stands can have lifelong repercussions.

Part Eight

Harm dialed Mac's number, and watched Amelia curiously while the phone rang. She was seven months old, and he had a feeling she would start crawling any minute.

"Hello?"

Mac's voice startled him, and he shook his head to clear the fog. "Hey, it's me. Any plans today?"

"Oh yes." He heard the teasing note in her voice and smiled as she continued. "The grocery store is having a great sale on Oreos. So, I figured I'd go stock up. And then I either have to do laundry, or go to the mall and buy new clothes. I haven't decided which yet."

He laughed and leaned against the crib. "How about you start a load of laundry and then come spend the day with us." He watched Amelia studying a toy on the other side of the room and grinned. The look of determination on her face was jarring. "I was going to take Amelia to the park for a little while. I'll even stop at the store on our way and buy you some cookies."

She grinned and glanced at the piles of laundry covering her bed. "I think that's an offer I can't refuse. I'll be over soon." She clicked off the phone and dropped it on her bed, before disappearing into the closet to find something that was clean and appropriate.

Twenty minutes later, she was dressed in a sleeveless cotton maxi dress, that was softer than anything other than pajama pants had any right to be, and a pair of flat sandals. She threw one of the laundry piles into the washing machine, and threw one of the other piles in the hamper to take with her. She figured she would commandeer the machine at his apartment and run a load while they were at the park. The drive to Harm's took longer than usual, thanks to summer tourists, but she finally made it, and smoothed out her dress before grabbing her purse and laundry basket.

He opened the door and smiled. He reached for the laundry basket and nearly salivated at the sight of her. Her toned arms were bare, the dress she wore was fitted at the top, and the v-neckline dipped low. "You look really nice for a day at the park."

She gestured at the laundry basket. "That's one of four that need to be washed. It was either a dress or a uniform." He moved out of the way so she could enter the apartment. "Besides, it may be a dress, but it feels like I'm wearing pajamas." She heard babbling coming from the bedrooms and grinned. "Where's Amelia?"

"I put her in her crib while I came to open the door, and I don't think she's too happy about it. I'm obviously not 100% sure about any of this, but I have the feeling she's going to start crawling soon. Based on the book she's at the right age, and the way she looks at things that are out of her grasp is unsettling."

Mac smiled and placed her hand on his arm. "One day she's crawling, and next thing you know she'll be all grown, and you'll be a grandpa." He clutched his hands to his heart in mock horror, and she laughed. "Do you mind if I run a load here?" She gestured to the basket.

"Help yourself." He picked up the basket, and she followed him to the small laundry area. "I'll be in Amelia's room when you're ready." She started the load of laundry, and then popped her head in the bedroom. Harm was sitting on the floor, with Amelia between his legs. He had a book open on the floor in front of her, and was pointing out the different colored shapes. He felt her eyes on him and looked up. "Come on in." He watched as she adjusted her dress, and joined them on the floor. Amelia stretched out her arms, and Mac gladly picked her up. She knew what Renee had told Harm when they broke up was true - Amelia was attached to her. But she was just as attached to Amelia. She lowered her head to breathe in the child's sweet scent, and looked up to see Harm watching them. She could tell he was about to speak, and she swallowed, nervous to hear what he had to say. The phone rang at the exact moment he opened his mouth. He got up to answer it, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief.


Harm up the phone, and muttered under his breath. "Shit." So much for a beautiful Saturday with Mac and Amelia. He stepped back into the bedroom, and she looked up and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"That was Chegwidden. I'm on call this weekend, and I just got called in. I have to go to Norfolk. There was some kind of mishap on the Lincoln. I'm not sure of the specifics, but he told me it should only take a day or two to sort out."

She winced. "That stinks."

He nodded. "I'm sorry I brought you all the way out here for nothing."

Mac shook her head, and gestured at the baby. "It's not a problem. Want me to watch her while you're gone?"

His eyes widened. "Mac, I can't ask you to do that. I'll call Lily. This is the kind of thing she knew could happen when I hired her."

"Well, you didn't ask. I volunteered. And I know Lily is will take her on overnights. But there are going to be a lot more of these situations in the future, and since I don't have to go with you, I'm happy to keep her." A thought popped into her head, and she bit her lip. "Unless…" She took a deep breath. "Harm, if you'd rather Lily keep her, just say so."

He shook his head. "No! It's not that at all. I trust you with my life, and with hers. I just feel like I would be taking advantage of you."

She shrugged, and took another deep breath. "Well, it's up to you. I'm happy to keep her while you're gone."

He smiled and nodded. "Okay then." He knelt beside her and kissed her cheek. "Thank you." He stood back up and walked to the door. "I'm going to get a bag packed. Do you need to go back to your place for anything before I go?"

"I did run a load of laundry before I left that I need to go check on. What if you take my car, and leave me yours? That way I can run home later, and we don't have to move the car seat around." He nodded and crossed the hall to his own bedroom to pack.

He packed quickly, and did a quick check of his bedroom to make sure she wouldn't find anything too embarrassing, and then reluctantly carried his bag into the living room. He went back to Amelia's room, and leaned against the door frame. Mac had moved away from her, and was watching with her head cocked to the side. "She's absolutely going to crawl while I'm gone, isn't she?"

Mac turned to face him and shrugged. "Do you have a video camera?"

He shook his head. "I should though, shouldn't I?" She nodded, and he made a mental note to buy one as soon as he was home. "Well, I guess I should go." He moved to pick up his daughter, and Mac stood. He placed a lingering kiss on Amelia's forehead, and then handed her to Mac. He took one of her tiny hands, and smiled as her tiny hand wrapped around one of his fingers. "Try not to do anything new until I get back, okay?" She looked up at him with his eyes, and he leaned in to kiss her again. "Thank you, Mac. I really, really appreciate you doing this." The three of them walked to the door, and Harm grabbed his bag and forced himself out of the apartment.

Once he was out of sight, Mac shut the door and immediately opened the coat closet and pulled out the stroller. She fastened Amelia in, grabbed her purse and smiled at the baby. "Let's go buy your daddy a video camera."


Amelia was asleep, Mac was folding her laundry, and there was a movie on Harm's new TV that she wasn't paying any attention to. It had been a really good day. They had gone to her apartment first, where she had packed an overnight bag, and moved her clothes to the dryer. Then they stopped by the grocery store, where she picked up some snacks to bring back to Harm's. His fridge was full of celery and hummus. There wasn't a cookie or anything fried in the whole place. And their final stop was at Best Buy, where she picked up a mini video camera. She had a feeling he was right, and Amelia would crawl soon. And she'd be damned if he missed it.

The phone rang, and Mac muted the TV before answering. "Hello?"

"Hey there."

The sound of his voice did something to her insides, and she smiled. "Hey. How's the case?"

He groaned. "A complete waste of my weekend. How's Amelia?"

She nudged the stacks of laundry out of the way and collapsed onto the couch. "She's absolutely perfect. We read every single book, we played, she ate well, she loved her bath, and she fell asleep in about five seconds."

Harm beamed with pride. "I think God gave me such a sweet-tempered child because he knows I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing."

Mac laughed, and pulled her legs up. "Well, I think you're doing something right."

"I hate I didn't get to spend the day with the two of you. I was really looking forward to it."

"Oh yeah?" Her heart was beating faster. She knew where they were headed. She had felt it over the past two months. Was this it, though? Was this the moment she had been hoping for before he left, and that night in Australia?

"Yeah." His voice was low. "Maybe we can try again next weekend?"

"I'd like that."

They were both quiet for a long moment. Finally, he cleared his throat. "So, did she crawl yet?"

"Not yet. I went and bought a video camera though. I'll make sure that you don't miss it if it happens." The other end of the phone was quiet, and she frowned, hoping they hadn't been disconnected. "Harm?"

"You did that for me?"

"I did."

He took a deep breath. "Thank you. Seriously, Mac. Thank you. And not just for buying a camera, and keeping her this weekend. You've been amazing ever since that first day Claire came to the office. I don't think I'd be able to do this without you."

It was her turn to go quiet. Finally, she cleared her throat. "I have no doubt that you could, but you don't have to."


It was after 9:00 the next night when he had finally wrapped up everything in Norfolk, and was able to call it a day. He immediately decided he wanted to be home, and went to the VOQ and checked out. There wasn't much traffic at that hour on a Sunday night, and he made it home in record time. He was quiet as he entered his apartment - it was after midnight. He dropped his bag by the door and went to Amelia's room first. He bent over the crib to give her a kiss, and then left the room. As quietly as possible, he opened the door to his room, and found Mac in his bed. He had known that's where she would be, since his couch wasn't comfortable enough for more than a quick nap, but seeing her dark skin peeking out from underneath the white duvet did something to him. He knelt by her side of the bed and took a deep breath before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He ran his hand over her arm, and softly said her name.

She stirred, and slowly opened her eyes. She didn't jump or react to his appearance at the side of the bed, and just offered him a sleepy smile. "It's after midnight. What are you doing here?"

His eyes widened and he glanced at his watch. "How do you do that?" She smiled again and shifted. She reached for the lamp on the bedside table and turned it on. "I have the day off tomorrow since I worked all weekend, and didn't want to spend part of that driving."

"Makes sense." She looked awkwardly around the bed. "Should I get up? I can spend the rest of the night on the couch."

"No, don't do that. I only woke you up to see if you'd mind if I slept here too. I didn't want to do it without asking and make you uncomfortable in the morning." He paused and studied the king-sized bed. "If it's too weird for you, I'll sleep on the couch."

She shook her head. "I don't mind. That little cove we slept in when you took me flying put us much closer together than this."

"Okay then." He smiled and stood. "Go back to sleep. I'm going to take a shower."

" 'kay." She instantly lowered herself and curled back into the position she was in when he woke her up. He walked to the bathroom door, and turned back to watch her for a moment before stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.


Waking up in Harm's bed had been jarring enough the first morning of this sleepover, when she had woken up alone. Waking up in Harm's bed next to the man himself was something else all-together. For starters, his scent was intoxicating. It was pleasantly familiar and sexy, and she ached to curl up closer to him and bury her face in the crook of his neck. And apparently, he was a stomach sleeper. She liked to sleep with the bedding pulled up to her chest, on his side of the bed the duvet and sheet were gathered at his waist, leaving his perfectly muscled back bare to her.

Babbling coming from the baby monitor pulled her attention away from him, and she reached over to grab it from the nightstand and turn the volume down. She slid out of bed and walked quietly out of the room and across the hall. Amelia was wide awake when Mac lifted her out of the crib and held her close before changing her diaper and then putting her in a fresh outfit for the day. She sat her back in the crib before going to prepare her bottle. "I'll be right back." She whispered. And even though the knew it was impossible, the expression in her enormous eyes made Mac think she understood every word.

A few minutes later she returned to Amelia's room with the bottle and a bib, and they settled into the comfortable arm chair by the window. "I've really enjoyed hanging out with you the past couple of days." Mac knew her voice was soft and wistful.

"Hey."

She looked toward the door and smiled. "Hey. Did we wake you? I silenced the monitor hoping you'd be able to sleep."

He shook his head and continued to stand in the doorway and watch them, not wanting to ruin the scene. They were both bathed in the bright morning light, and he was hit with an overwhelming sense of longing. "You didn't wake me. I guess my body is just used to waking up with her at this time."

"You should try and get a little more sleep. I can wake you up before I leave for work."

He shook his head again. "I'm not that tired."

She tried to put all of her focus on Amelia, but couldn't ignore the feeling of his eyes on her. She looked up and was floored by the intensity in them. "I'm almost afraid to ask what's on your mind."

"I'm…" He paused, searching for the correct words. "Have you ever been completely overwhelmed by how perfect something is?"

She was glad she was in a chair, because her legs suddenly felt like jelly. "Harm, you don't need to do this. To say this." She looked at the baby in her arms, and then back at him. "I'll always be here for Amelia, and I'll always help you with anything I can. We don't need to change our relationship."

"I want to change our relationship." He walked into the room and knelt in front of them. "This has nothing to do with Amelia. She just made me realize what's always been there." He placed his hands on her thighs and looked up at her. "Mac, I look at you, and I don't think 'oh, great. Here's a woman willing to be a mother to my daughter.' I look at you and I'm floored by how amazing you are. I look at you and I'm overwhelmed by how attracted I am to you." He shook his head and moved his fingers over the soft material of her pale blue pajama bottoms. "I look at you and I'm so angry at myself for setting our deal five years into the future." He paused, overcome with emotion. "I should have said two years. Or one year. Or that very moment." He reached up and wiped a tear off of her cheek. "I'm ready, Mac. I'm so ready for this thing that's been building over the past four years."

"Are you sure?" She looked down at Amelia, and then back at him. "We both have to be completely sure. It's not just about the two of us anymore."

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." He pulled himself up and took Amelia from Mac's arms. He placed a kiss on her forehead, and sat her in the crib. He turned back to Mac and placed a hand on her cheek. He stepped closer and brushed his lips against hers.

End Part 8