Disclaimer: not mine
AN: to all in Queensland suffering through the tragic floods, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"YES!"
"Mommy!"
Mac's peaceful day was over when Mattie and Colin returned home with the less than cooperative twins.
"There's no way I am having more than one at a time," Mattie huffed as she dropped her handbag onto the table. "They've done nothing but argue all day."
"Sorry, Mats," Mac apologised, while normally a handful, her twins weren't prone to arguing. "What are they arguing about?"
"You name it," she said, getting herself a glass of water so she could take a headache tablet. "Who sat on which side of the car? Who held my hand? Who held Colin's hand? What they had for lunch."
"Did they at least sleep on the way back for you?" Mac asked as the duo in questioned continued to argue and push each other.
"Nope," Mattie replied. "Believe it or not, this argument is over a damn cow. Harry said he saw one, Rose said he didn't and that was 15 minutes ago."
"Damn cow!" Rosie said, hands on hips.
"That's enough out of you, young lady," Mac said sharply as she turned around. "You have both been very naughty for Mattie."
"No!" Harry said defiantly.
Not wanting to get into a power struggle with three year olds but not one for tolerating rude behaviour, Mac took both children by the hands. Placing each twin in a different spot, she advised them both they were in time out and as they went to protest she reinforced the house rules about behaviour.
Rosie was the first to break the cardinal rule about staying put in this situation and Mac firmly placed her back on the same spot, which allowed Harry to move while she was occupied with his sister. This happened several times before Mac decided the game was well and truly over. Taking Rose's hand, she led her into the living room and out of sight of her brother before timing her out once more. Harry watched his mother return alone and saw the very cross look on her face and said nothing.
"Doesn't it drive you insane when they're like that?" Mattie asked, handing Mac a mug of coffee.
"Yes, it does," she replied, with a shake of her head.
"A swift smack on the butt might get them to listen quicker," Mattie said sitting down on the table.
"Sometimes I think that too," Mac agreed. "But after being on the receiving end of that kind of discipline where anything warranted a slap, punch or the occasional kick, I never want to touch my children in that way."
"Sorry, Mac," Mattie said rubbing Mac's arm. "I wasn't thinking."
"It's alright, Mats," Mac said with a sad smile. "It's just a part of life; but for me and the discipline of my children it's going to have to be time out, withdrawal of privileges and restriction of liberties."
Mattie smiled; "Once a marine, always a marine, hey?"
"Semper Fi," said Mac.
When time out was over, Mac brought both children back to the kitchen table and made them apologise to Mattie. While she wasn't too sure if they understood just how crazy they had made her, Mattie accepted their "Sorrwy, Mattie" and their hugs and kisses. Realising it was probably a little late for an afternoon nap; Mac figured an early night may be the best option, especially given Harry's disrupted sleep the night before.
So it was an early dinner and bath time for the pair of them.
"Am I going to bed early too?" Lily asked as Mac knelt by the bath.
"No, honey," she said, wiping splashed water from her face. "Your bedtime is the same as usual."
"Why are the twins going early?" she questioned, playing with Mac's hair.
"The twins have been grumpy and naughty today and missed their nap," she replied, washing Harry's face.
"They are a handful when they're like that," Lily said with a sigh, belying her tender years.
"Can me and you do something special when they're in bed?" Lily asked eagerly, it had been a while since she had some one on one mommy time.
"Sure, baby, you and I can do something," she said with a smile. "What would you like to do?"
"Can we have chocolate milk and cookies and sit in the armchair and read start the next Nancy Drew book?" she asked, her eyes widening. "It's The Mystery of the Tolling Bell and it looks really interesting and..."
Not able to concentrate on the plot outline and the twins, Mac interrupted. "How about you go and set it all up for us? Maybe get into your pjs so you'll be more comfortable and get daddy or Grams to help you with the milk. I'll get these two to bed and be there soon."
Lily flew down the stairs to get organised only to have to return to her bedroom for the book. On her second descent, she tripped at the bottom and went sprawling across the floor as the book ricocheted off the wall, as to did her cries.
"Lily, honey," Harm said running in and crouching beside her. "Are you okay?"
Lily looked up at him with bloodied and swollen lips and nose from her face plant.
"Oh, baby, baby," he soothed as he picked her up and cuddled her close, grabbing his handkerchief to stop the bleeding.
"What happened?" Mac called from the top of the stairs, holding a naked child in each hand.
"Lily had a bit of a fall," Harm called back, standing up with the child as Grams, Mattie and Colin milled around.
"Is she okay?" she said, as she directed the twins to their bedroom.
"I'll go sort the twins out," Mattie said, "And let Mac come see for herself."
As she headed up the stairs, Colin followed knowing just how much trouble they had been for them today. Time spent with squabbling toddlers was a perfect contraceptive and while he wanted children, and lots of them, he prayed it would only happen one at a time, and when they were ready.
"Oh, my baby girl," Mac said spying her daughter's face as she descended the stairs. Lily just sniffled and held closer to Harm who was holding the cold compress Grams had prepared to her face. "Let me see." Slowly she pulled back the small towel and grimaced. "Looks sore, Lil."
"Hurts, mommy," she whimpered as Mac kissed her forehead.
"What happened?" she asked, caressing her face.
"Was in a hurry and tripped," she said with another sniffle. "And now my face hurts."
"That's because you've hurt your nose and mouth, Lily," Mac said. "Can you open your mouth for me?" Slowly, Lily opened up her mouth, her swollen top lip making it a little painful. As gently as she could, Mac felt all her front teeth to check if she'd loosened them; she hadn't. "Nothing seems loose, honey."
Lily just pouted, wondering why what was going to be a wonderful evening with her mommy had to go so bad so quickly.
"Don't cry, baby," said Harm kissing her head. "We'll make it better."
"It's not it," she said still crying.
"What is it then?" he asked caressing her face.
"Mommy and me were going to have a special evening with chocolate milk and cookies and Nancy Drew and everything and now it's all ruined," she said, fresh tears falling.
"Oh, Lily," Mac said, reaching out and taking hold of her daughter. "Come with me."
Before long, Mac and Lily were settled in the recliner armchair, Lily's head on Mac's shoulder as she held the compress against her mouth.
"You're okay, baby," Mac soothed, kissing her head. "You're okay."
A few minutes later, Harm appeared holding two red popsicles and her book.
"I was thinking a Popsicle might be a little better for your mouth right now," Harm said, peeling off the wrapper. "And if it feels better you can still have the milk and cookies before you go to bed."
Lily took one Popsicle and Mac took the other and slowly they ate them. Mac finished first and started reading the book, noticing her girl was becoming sleepier and sleepier. Concerned it was more than just normal bedtime fatigue, especially given the concussion she'd had from the rock fall nearly a year ago, her senses were on alert.
"Is she okay?" Mattie asked quietly coming and kneeling on the floor in front of them.
"Very tired," Mac replied. "Which is a bit of a concern. The bleeding's stopped, so that's a good thing."
"Can I get you anything, Mac?" she asked as she rubbed Lily's leg.
Mac let out a sigh and shook her head.
It was ten minutes later that Frankie started crying for his last feed of the night and Mac was reluctant to let go of one child in favour of another.
"How about you come and sit with daddy?" Harm said to Lily as Colin brought Frankie into his mother.
Slowly, Lily put her arms out for her daddy to take her and soon settled against him on the sofa. Both watched as Frankie had his supper and, before long, Lily was asleep. When Frankie was finished and ready for bed, Mac carried him up to his bed while Harm carried Lily. Before Mac could ask to have Lily in their bed, Harm was already settling her in the middle of the queen sized bed, making sure she was comfortable and the cold compress was in place.
Mac returned from the nursery and quickly changed into a nightgown before sliding in alongside her daughter.
"I can stay," Harm said, closing the blinds.
"No, it's okay, I will," she said, "And maybe she can stay home tomorrow."
Harm nodded, he'd been thinking the same thing. The memories of finding her writhing in pain on her bedroom floor in the dark of the night after the rock fall still etched in his brain.
The following day was a rather subdued one in the MacKenzie-Rabb household. Harm and Mattie had work to do down in the back fields and took Rose with them. Colin had things to do around the farm and took Harry, Frankie was happy in the company of his great grandmother or sleeping, which just left Lily and her mommy. Most of the morning they spent curled up in the arm chair reading The Mystery of the Tolling Bell. Lily's lips were more swollen than they had been the night and the split seemed to be healing, while her nose was tender but otherwise okay. She had no headache and no other ill effects, which pleased Mac immensely.
Having got more than halfway through the book, Mac put it down after the ninth chapter to consider lunch plans and what Lily could actually eat. Breakfast had been very soggy rice bubbles and it wasn't that appealing to serve them again.
"What would you like for lunch, babe?" Mac asked, brushing her daughter's hair from her face. Lily shrugged. "How about a PBJ on some really soft white bread, no crusts, and a super duper chocolate thickshake?" Lily nodded, that sounded alright.
As it turned out it was the same meal most ate, Grams opted for a ham and cheese sandwich and tea, while Colin had the ham and cheese and milkshake. Harm wasn't all that fond of either option, so made himself a cheese and onion sandwich with a coffee.
"On-on ick," Harry said, sticking his tongue out when Harm announced his choice.
"On-on ick," Rosie echoed, repeating the gesture.
"It's a good thing I'm not making you eat it then," he replied, placing his plate on the table.
"What are we going to do after lunch?" Lily asked looking at her mom.
"Well, it will be nap time," she started and Lily frowned.
"For me too?" she asked, looking to her dad.
"No, honey, just for the babies," Harm replied. "Unless you want to." Lily shook her head.
"In that case," Grams said. "How would you like to help me do some baking for Sunday?"
"What are you making?" Mattie asked, loving the treats which came from the kitchen.
"Crunchie Chocolate Brownie Bars, Peanut Blossom Cookies and a couple of batches of cupcakes," she said, ticking of her mental list of the things she needed to get done.
"We've never had the brownie bars or the blossom cookies before, have we?" Lily asked, the names not sounding familiar.
"No, you haven't," Harm said, "But I have. They're special birthday treats Grams makes."
"Why didn't I have them for my birthday?" she asked, looking towards her great grandmother.
"Because you wanted all the other things," Grams said. "There's only so many treats you can have at one time."
"Oh, I don't think so," Colin said, picking up the empty plates. "I'm sure we could fit them all in."
As the younger kids slept, and everyone else went about their business, Mac disappeared to the Anderson's for a while on the pretext of helping Mrs Anderson set up the guest room for Mary and Kate. The truth was they were working on part of Grams' birthday present and, given Mrs Anderson was a whiz at scrapbooking, Mac felt more comfortable working on this aspect of the present next door than by herself at home.
Friday on the farm was spent cleaning up for the weekend festivities. Lily had gone to school, happy to show off her war wounds while the twins were being highly cooperative; something Mac hoped lasted all weekend. Frankie had been a little cranky but nothing Grams couldn't solve with some extra cradling and kisses.
Happy that her present from Grams would be ready that afternoon and not the following day, Mac headed into Charlesville alone to pick it up and do a few last minute errands. All was going well until she swerved to avoid a horse which was running on the road and ended up in the ditch only ten minutes from home. Taking a quick inventory she realised she was in better shape than the car and slowly climbed out, grabbing her purse so she could get to her cell.
Calling the house, she was relieved it was Colin who answered, Harm would have freaked. Explaining the situation, Mac was relieved when told Harm was down in the fields with a contractor and that Colin would come and get her. Spying his future mother-in-law sitting on a roadside barrier, Colin pulled his car over and climbed out. First, he inspected Mac, making sure the injuries he could see were only as minor as she'd told him earlier. Then he inspected the car. There seemed to be a bit of front end damage but nothing too severe, however, he thought he might need some more help to free it.
Deciding to get Mac home first, Colin drove back down the road and pulled up at the farmhouse. Getting out of the car, he helped Mac out and walked her into the house to make sure she told the others of her accident. Leaving her in Grams' safe hands, he headed next door to get Dave Anderson and his tractor which would be far more suitable to extract Mac's car.
Things were going well until the school bus came by and Lily saw her mother's beaten car being wrenched out of the ditch. The bus came to a sudden halt as Lily screamed for it to stop. Both Lily and the bus driver, Joe, jumped from the bus to investigate the scene and were extremely relived to find it was just the car which was damaged and not Mac.
Colin scooped up the upset little girl to soothe her as Joe helped Dave get the car back onto the road. When the vehicle was righted and assessed as driveable, Colin got Lily's bag from the bus and thanked Joe for his help. Lily was put into the front seat of the car as Colin got in to drive it and Dave followed slowly behind to ensure all was well.
Once they arrived at the farm, Colin thanked Dave while Lily flew into the house desperate to see her mom.
"Are you really alright?" she asked running straight to Mac. "The car was in the ditch and the tractor was there and Joe stopped the bus and Joe and Dave got the car out and then Colin and me drove it home and it's all bashed up at the front and..."
Mac's finger pressed gently against Lily's sore lip, wanting to settle the child before her husband came in. The same husband that still didn't know about the accident.
"I am really alright," Mac reassured her. "My shoulder is a bit sore from the seat belt and I have a little cut on my forehead from hitting the side window, but I'm in much better shape than the car."
Lily hugged her as best she could as Mac kissed her daughter's head.
"Did you get Grams' present?" Lily asked, still holding close.
"Oh, it's in the car...hopefully it's alright. Do you think you and Colin could go and get it and check that it's alright?" Mac whispered as Grams appeared with a new ice pack and a cup of tea.
Dutifully, Lily and Colin disappeared and collected the undamaged gift from the trunk of the car. Not wanting Grams to see it, they walked around the house to put it in the mobile home and, as they rounded the back of the house, Lily spied her dad and Mattie walking back towards the house. Instantly she abandoned Colin and sprinted for them, wanting to share the events of the afternoon with them, not hearing Colin's belated pleas to not say anything.
"Mommy had an accident, a car accident, and me and Joe got out of the bus and Joe helped Dave and Colin get the car from the ditch and ..." she raved as Harm came to a complete standstill.
"She what?" he questioned, placing his hands firmly on his daughter's shoulders and trying to calm her.
"Mommy had a car wreck and the car was in the ditch and when the bus..." she started again but it was all Harm needed to hear before he took off, sprinting to the house.
"What the hell..." were his first words as he burst into the kitchen.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Mac said quickly, getting to her feet. "A little bruised but otherwise in far better shape than the car."
A dozen kisses later and with Mac still in her arms, Harm took his first proper breath.
Wrapping an arm around his waist, Mac led Harm out to the car as she explained what had transpired. Both were relieved to find that despite the scare Mac had received that it was all relatively minor. They could get the car fixed the following week but it was still driveable and, most importantly, Mac's injuries were a little painful but short term and for that they would be forever grateful.
Later that night, Harm lay in bed and watched as his wife changed for bed. Usually, when he did this, it was more for his own pleasure and delight but tonight was about ensuring there were no other marks on her beautiful body. When she turned to face him, he could see the bruising already apparent on her shoulder and chest, legacy of her seat belt, but there was nothing else and he allowed himself to breathe.
"I'm alright," she said, crawling in alongside him. "I've had more bruises after a sparring session."
"I know," he said, "But they weren't caused by you driving a car off the road."
"No, they weren't," she agreed. "But the point I'm trying to make is that I've had worse, much worse, and I'm still here – so don't look so worried."
"I worry because I love you," he said, as she slipped into his arms. "And don't tell me not to because I can't help it."
"Okay," she said gently, rubbing his back. "How about I just tell you that I love you more than life itself and that I'll let you worry about me a little?"
"Deal," he said, kissing her head. "Love you more than anything too, gorgeous."
