29

Elizabeth's cries caused Catherine's eyes to flash open and she was half-way out of bed before she was fully awake, her hand reaching for the light switch. Squinting against the sudden brightness, she ignored Harm's still half asleep grumble as he rolled over in bed, turning his back to the source of the bothersome light. Now reluctantly awake, she picked up her daughter from the crib, and with a silent groan realised that not only was Beth hungry, but she was also wet and dirty.

Sighing she turned towards the bathroom, a still indignantly crying Beth in her arms, but glancing back over her shoulder she scowled at the alarm clock on her bedside table, the display on which told her in uncaring LED figures that it was five forty seven am.

Fifteen minutes later, having gone robot-like through the motions of cleaning and changing her daughter, Catherine stumbled back into the bedroom, her fingers going to the buttons on her nightshirt to allow a now growing agitated Beth access to her breakfast. She stopped momentarily when she saw that the bed was empty, but gave a mental shrug; Harm had been woken and probably needed the bathroom, and would doubtless be back in a few seconds. In the meantime, she propped herself against the pillows, pulled the comforter up over her legs and guided her nipple into Elizabeth's greedy mouth. The sensation of her daughter's nursing relaxed Catherine, and before she knew it, her eyes had closed and she was drifting off to back sleep, with Beth still feeding.

She was gently shaken awake, by Harm, who had returned to bed, and was sitting with an absurdly sappy smile on his face as he looked at mother and daughter. Catherine realised that she can't have been asleep very long, as Beth was still nursing. She smiled blearily at Harm, and whispered "Oops!", and then they let silence reign for the couple of more minutes until Beth relinquished her mother's breast and with a sigh fell limp in Catherine's arms. Harm reached over and picked up his daughter, draping a clean dishcloth over his shoulder as he gently rubbed Beth's back as she gave vent to a number of tiny, almost genteel burps. He then placed her gently back in her crib and turning back to Catherine handed her a steaming mug of hot chocolate that he had slipped down to the kitchen to prepare for her, and placed on his nightstand, where it had been concealed from her view by his body.

Catherine murmured her thanks and gratefully sipped at her chocolate, just managing to finish the treat and hand the mug to Harm before she turned on to her side and eased back into sleep. Harm placed the mug back on his nightstand and reaching over Catherine switched off her lamp and tucked himself into her, one hand beneath his head, the other draped over her waist as they lay, spoon-like under the comforter.

For a few moments Harm thought he heard Beth crying again. But as he regained mastery over his sleep-drugged brain he realised that what he heard was a soft knocking on the bedroom door and Mattie's equally soft, "Harm, Catherine?"

Now aware that the black of night was beginning to fade to the grey of dawn Harm turned on his nightstand lamp to see that it was nearly oh eight thirty hours. Checking that he and Catherine were both decently covered, he called out just loud enough to be heard, "OK Mats, what is it?"

The door edged open and Mattie backed into the room, the reason for her peculiar method of progress becoming plain as she turned to show that her hands were burdened with a tray that seemed to be fully laden. Harm hastily squeezed over toward Catherine leaving space on the side of the bed for a grinning Mattie to deposit the tray.

Harm blinked unbelievingly as he took in what was on the tray, and then he leaned over and gently kissed Catherine's cheek, "Wake up, sweetheart, we have a visitor!"

Catherine struggled awake and rubbed her eyes, blinking owlishly as she sat up and first took in the sight of a hugely grinning and bathrobe-clad Mattie sitting on the side of the bed and then spotted the breakfast tray.

"Merry Christmas, you two!" Mattie said triumphantly, relishing the looks of surprise on Harm and Catherine's faces. "Breakfast is served!" she continued oblivious of the looks of consternation the two adults exchanged, "Scrambled eggs on toast with a side of mushrooms for you both and a side of Canadian bacon for Catherine, coffee, and OJ! Enjoy! I'll see you later when you're all done!" and with a sunny smile, she rose to her feet and swept out of the bedroom.

Catherine looked at Harm and collapsed in helpless laughter against her pillows.

"I know, I know," Harm chuckled, "She meant it as a treat, but how the hell are we both going to eat breakfast in bed, with only one tray between us!"

"God knows!" Catherine acknowledged, "But we'll have to try, and try not to spill anything!"

"Well, that should be easily fixed, we can put the drinks on the nightstands, but for God's sake Catherine, do try not to drop any crumbs in the bed!"

xxix-xxix-xxix-xxix-xxix

By the time Catherine and Harm had, with much laughter, finished breakfast, Beth was once more demanding attention. This time round, while Catherine showered and dressed, Harm cleaned, bathed, dried and powdered her, before handing her off to Catherine for feeding, and once the rituals were completed they made their way downstairs Catherine with her arms occupied by a peaceful Beth, and Harm with his arms occupied with the tray bearing the wreckage from their breakfast in bed.

They found Mattie in the kitchen in jeans and t-shirt, her sweatshirt draped across a kitchen chair, as she stood at the sink peeling potatoes. She turned to face them as they trooped into the kitchen and exchanged hugs as they all wished each other a Merry Christmas, and blushingly tried to slide from under their thanks as they expressed their gratitude for the treat she had bestowed on them

Harm straightened up from where he had just put the prepared turkey into the oven and pressed the igniter, holding it in position until he was satisfied that the gas had caught, and looked into the pan where Mattie was putting the peeled potatoes and then at the couple of potatoes remaining in the sink. "You might want to peel say, another three or four potatoes, Mattie," he suggested in a non-committal sort of voice.

Catherine peered over his shoulder, "Why? It looks like she's done enough, in fact more than enough!"

"Maybe, maybe," Harm conceded reluctantly, "But I want to make sure. I want to make some farls tomorrow, and I'll need plenty of left-over cold mash for them!"

"Farls?" Catherine and Mattie chorused.

"Yeah, Irish recipe potato cakes," Harm smiled as Mattie wrinkled her nose at the idea, "It's not quite like it sounds, Squirt! I'll bet you'll love them!"

"What, like your meatless meat-loaf?" Mattie inquired sarcastically.

"Yep, just like that!" Harm grinned as both Catherine and Mattie groaned.

"Oh, never mind, Kiddo, just do what he wants for once, it is Christmas after all!" Catherine shrugged and surrendered to the inevitable as she set about brewing a fresh pot of coffee and, grimacing, placed a tea-bag in her own cup. "Give me a shout once the coffee's brewed, and then we can all take a break. After all," and her eyes lit up with anticipation, "there are presents under the tree that need to be opened!"

"That's true!" Mattie replied her eyes also lighting up.

So with the brewing accomplished, and Catherine's tea steaming gently alongside the two mugs of coffee on the occasional table, Harm and Catherine took their places on the couch while Mattie knelt, sitting back on her heels, by the stack of presents under the tree. At first they squabbled happily over who should open their presents first until an impatient teenager had had enough.

"Guys, guys! Christmas is for kids right?"

Harm and Catherine exchanged a wary look, "Yeah… so they say…" Harm agreed slowly.

"OK, so as the only kid in the house that's able to voice an opinion, I claim the right to decide who opens their presents first! And to make sure everything is fair, then I say we take turns, in alphabetical order, starting with the biggest presents first!"

Catherine leaned back against the squabs and smiled up at Harm, "Sounds like a plan!"

"Yep, go for it, Mats!"

Mattie grinned and handed to Harm a package about two feet square by six inches deep, to Harm, "This is for Beth, from…" she pretended to look at the label, "me!" and then grinned.

Harm gave her a half-worried glance and then stripped away the wrapping paper to reveal a brightly coloured box containing a plastic mobile to be suspended above Beth's crib. A second's glance was enough to make Harm laugh, prompting Catherine to ask, "What is it?"

Harm laughed again and showed Catherine the box top illustration, the mobile consisted of three different levels, and each level had three little yellow plastic bi-planes suspended on fine wires.

Catherine laughed too, "I suppose we should have expected something like this! Thank you Mattie!"

Mattie blushed and mumbled, "Well, they aren't exactly Stearmans, but…"

"It's perfect Mattie," Catherine assured her, "But if Beth grows up wanting to be a pilot, then we'll know just who to blame!"

"Oh… no way, José! You're not pinning that one on me! If she does, it's 'cos it's in her blood!" Mattie protested with a grin.

Once more Harm and Catherine exchanged meaningful looks, before Harm turned back to his ward and grinned, "Ah… but then we come back to the old argument, Squirt: Nature or nurture?"

Mattie frowned, "I'm not real sure what you mean by that…" she said.

"Ah well, it's something you can ask your science teacher when you go back to school!"

"You're hell bent on me going, aren't you?"

"Hell, yeah!" the two adults chorused.

"Ganging up on me!" Mattie complained with a grin, "I dunno if you two deserve any presents, now. But… since someone has gone to the trouble of buying a wrapping them for you…" She looked for the next package in line, and grunted with surprise when she felt its weight, "Unh! This one is for Catherine, from… Harm!" She used both hands to hold it out to Catherine, "Careful Catherine, it's kinda heavy!"

Catherine took the parcel and raised her eyebrows at the weight. She placed it on the table and carefully stripped the wrapping, and gasped as she saw that the box contained the latest model Wi-Fi ready lap-top computer with an eighteen inch screen and a crush proof carrying case.

"Harm… I… wow… Thank you, sweetheart. How did you know I needed a new… Oh! You've been talking to Mae, haven't you!"

Harm smiled, taking genuine joy in Catherine's reaction to her gift. "I kinda had to talk to Mae," he admitted, "It's difficult finding the right gift, when all the veiled questions I asked went ignored!"

"So that was what all those 'in an ideal world questions' were for?"

Harm just grinned, as Mattie shook her head and turned back to the stack of presents, "For me," she announced in a pleased voice, "From Harm!" She opened the packaging to reveal a crimson box decorated with two diagonal gold-edged blue stripes, which even she recognised as being the distinctive packaging of one of DC's premier women's clothing stores.

Lifting the lid from the box, Mattie peeled back the over-lapping layers of tissue paper to reveal a dark green dress, "Harm…?" she queried, "You bought this? Thank you!"

Harm grinned self-consciously, "Well, I had Catherine help me pick it out for you. She was quite adamant that I wasn't going to buy you something more suitable for a ten-year-old"

"Which is what he would have done – trust me!" Catherine twinkled.

Dresses weren't high on the list of Mattie's most wanted presents, but there was something about the way that this dress shimmered when it caught the light that prompted her to lift it out of the box, marvelling as she did so at the way the material seemed to glide over her fingers. "Oh, wow… I've never felt anything like this before…"

"It's shot silk, Mattie, made with two different shades of green so it changes shade depending on how the light catches it. And either of those two shades – they are very close – are going to look fantastic with your hair and skin tone!"

"Silk? And from Cole's?" an awestruck Mattie breathed, "Harm… it must have cost a fortune!"

"Hey," Harm was moved by Mattie's reaction, "What else for our first Christmas together?"

Mattie nodded and swallowed hard, twice. She wasn't going to start crying on Christmas day, and reached for another package from under the tree, "Oh, this one's for your Mom, Catherine!"

"That's OK, sweetheart, we can give it to her later!" Harm suggested.

And so the ritual continued. Catherine and Harm's presents from Mattie were a pair of matching t-shirts with 'New Mommy' and 'New Daddy' emblazoned on them above a cartoon image of an exhausted looking Mom and Dad respectively. There was the customary shirt and tie for Harm from Tricia and a slim clutch-purse in black leather for Catherine from the same source, and packages and packages of baby clothes for Beth from everybody who had ever heard of her, or so it seemed to Mattie!

At last there was only one small package left to be opened, and that bore the inscription, "To Mattie from Catherine, with love to mark our first Christmas."

Mattie looked at the package suspiciously, and then glared at Catherine, "This isn't going to make me cry again, is it?"

"Oh, I hope not," Catherine smiled softly, "but if it does, then we won't mind at all, will we Harm?"

"Not at all… but we'll never know, if you don't open it!" he encouraged her.

Mattie suddenly felt nervous, and with slightly shaking hands, she tore off the paper to reveal a box similar to the one Harm had handed to her yesterday, and that had contained the cross and chain she now wore around her neck. Opening the box, she stared at the contents, and then gently lifted out the single strand of pearls that lay glistening against the velvet liner.

"Catherine…" she raised wide open eyes to look straight into Catherine's face, "It… it's… they're beautiful… but… it's too much!"

"Nonsense!" Catherine declared firmly, "Every girl needs a simple string of pearls, and those are going to look fantastic on you, especially when they're teamed up with your green dress!"

Mattie took refuge in mock anger, "Dammit, you two! Stop trying to turn me into a girl!"

Neither Harm nor Catherine took offence, easily seeing through the teenager's façade and both burst into laughter, "Mats, I hate to tell you this…" Harm said through his amusement, "but you are a girl!"

"Damn! I am so busted!" Mattie was unable to keep up the pretence any longer, and rising to her feet, she perched on the arm of the couch and leaning over gave Catherine a warm hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you both! For everything!"

Harm and Catherine both smiled at Mattie, both knowing that the teenager still found it difficult to unleash her emotions, and both knowing equally well that the thanks encompassed more than just the presents that had fallen to her lot this Christmas morning.

Harm let them sit for a few minutes before he disengaged his arm from around Catherine's waist, saying, "Well, I've got heaps to do in the kitchen," his eyes gleamed with mischief, "And somebody's got to clear away their plunder, and then get rid of all the mess on the floor!"

Catherine sent him a mock-glare, "I might have known you'd figure a way out of doing the hard work!"

"Well, I'll do the clearing up, if you want to cook the dinner!" Harm offered, knowing full well that Catherine would refuse the offer.

"Oh no!" she retorted, fulfilling Harm's expectations, "that's quite alright, you do the cooking, Mattie and me'll make short work of this!"

"Yeah, thought you might see things my way," Harm murmured, "But before we bury ourselves in hard labour..." he paused seeing the anticipation on both their faces, "We need to issue a bulletin, and bring certain people up to date!"

Catherine gasped and blusded, clapping both hands to her cheeks in chagrin, "Of course! But isn't it too early? Tricia and Frank!" she said to Mattie in an urgent aside.

Harm checked his watch, "No, allowing for the time difference, it's eight twenty in La Jolla. They'll be up! Mom's got nearly as much work to do as I have!"

Ignoring Catherine's skeptical sniff, Harm picked up the 'phone and punched in the familiar number, waiting for a reply. Harm proved right, Frank picked up on the fourth ring, "Burnett"

"Hey Frank, it's Harm. Just calling to wish you a Merry Christmas, and to say thank you for the gifts..."

"And your Mom's and mine to you and yours for their presents to us!" Frank returned, "And of course, Merry Christmas to you too!"

"Oh... and there's one other thing, Frank..."

"Stop trying to play me, son! What is it?"

"Well, we went to Family Court yesterday, and we were granted temporary custody of Mattie!"

"That's great, Harm... but, wait... did you say temporary custody?"

"Yeah, Tom Johnson, Mattie's father returned from wherever he's been hiding out and tried to challenge our petition. But, you recall I told you he had milked the company? Well, there was a fugitive warrant out for his arrest, so the Sheriff arrested him, and we have to wait for his criminal case hearing, and if he's convicted - it looks like a slam-dunk - the Family Court Judge has more less told that she'll strip him of his parental rights. If that happens, then I guess Mattie will stay with us until she decides other wise!"

"That's great son! Any thoughts on making it an official adoption if she does?"

"Uh... well... we hadn't discussed that, Frank."

"You might want to think about that son, If you get shipped out somewhere permanent it'll make it a lot easier to take Mattie with you if you've legally adopted her!"

"Yeah... yeah..." Harm replied thoughtfully. "Is Mom there? I'd best bring her up to speed myself; I'll never hear the end of it if I don't speak to her on Christmas Day!"

"You got that right, son!" Frank' grin could plainly be heard in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll just have a quick word, and then I'll let the girls loose on her!"

xxix-xxix-xxix-xxix-xxix

By early afternoon, Harm was satisfied, the table in the as yet unused formal dining-room was extended and covered with a snow white Irish linen tablecloth on which he had set six settings, using the best flatware, silverware and crystal that he and Catherine had between them. The antique zinc-lined chilled drinks cabinet was packed with cold drinks maintained at fridge temperature by the half a dozen plastic containers of dry-ice that had spent the previous forty-eight hours in the freezer.

He adjusted the crystal bud-vase that stood at the centre of the table and stood back to admire his handiwork, nodded, dusted his hands together with an air of accomplishment, and walked through to the lounge, carefully closing the door behind him. He was met with a matched pair of fulminating glares which had no other effect on him, other than to cause him to smile innocently and in appreciation of the sight that awaited him. Not only had Catherine and Mattie tidied the lounge, they had also yielded to his arguments that as Christmas was a special day, they ought to make an effort and wear something other than jeans and sweatshirts or joggers and old shirts. The discussion had been brief and lively, but he had prevailed in the end and Mattie had relented enough to wear a brand new sea-green blouse that had arrived for her from La Jolla, together with a pair of tan twill pants, while Catherine had opted for a Prussian blue blouse and a pair of grey dress-pants that she had bought in the vain hope they were the same shade as her grey suit jacket.

"Very nice, ladies!" Harm said enthusiastically, "you both look stunning!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Catherine retorted crossly, "Harm, it's nearly half past two, if we don't sit down to dinner soon, we won't have time to visit Mom, and we'd promised we see her today!"

"We did, Catherine, we did. And I never made a promise I didn't intend to keep! And you're right, time is getting on, so shall we get the food from the kitchen and take it through?"

Ignoring Mattie's mutinous mutter of "About time!" Harm led his girls into the kitchen where the refectory table almost groaned under the weight of the dishes on it.

"Harm! You've made way too much!" Catherine protested.

"It's Christmas!" Harm defended himself, "It's supposed to be a feast!"

Catherine and Mattie looked at each other again and once more shook their heads before they followed Harm, now with the carving dish of turkey in his hands through the connecting door and into the dining room, where they stopped dead and just stood and stared at the display.

"Oh, wow!" Catherine breathed, "Now I can see why you wanted us to make an effort! Harm, this is just… amazing."

"Yeah… It's like something out of a Hollywood film!" Mattie endorsed, using the highest form of praise that she could think of.

"It is, Mattie it is!" Catherine agreed with a smile as Harm's face suffused with pleasure, but then her eyes narrowed with suspicion, "Harm… there are six place settings, and at least twice as much food as we can eat! Are we expecting guests?"

"No… but it is Christmas, and sometimes people drop round unexpectedly, and it's good to have a little extra ready, just in case…"

Catherine shook her head, and looked at Mattie, "He's up to something!"

"Yeah," Mattie looked at Harm, "Have you invited Jen and Lynne?"

"No… no, I haven't. In fact, if I remember correctly, Lynne is on leave and has gone to her boyfriend's parent's house up in Ann Arbor for the holiday, and Jen has gone to Harriet Sims' place to keep her company while Bud's away!"

Catherine looked at Mattie, "What do you think, Kiddo?"

"I don't think anything, I know he's lying!" Mattie affirmed with a jerk of her chin towards the window, "There's a car just pulled up outside!"

"Where?" Catherine almost shouldered Harm aside as she crossed to the window, and after a minute or so, she gasped, and turned towards him with tears in her eyes, "Harm, it's Mom!"

"What?" Mattie exclaimed and joined Catherine at the window just in time to see Alison Cameron wheeling Esther up the driveway to the front door.

"Well, should we go and let them in?" Harm asked with a huge grin.

"Damn straight!" Catherine half laughed and half sobbed, "But Harmon Rabb, we will be having a long conversation about this later!"

Harm was the first to, and indeed, out of the door as Alison needed his brute strength to get Esther's chair up the steps on to the porch, where she was swamped by Mattie and then by Catherine's hugs and kisses.

"Hey take it easy!" Esther protested her eyes dancing, "Me and my sidekick here made a break from the jug! How about getting us under cover before the feds see us! We gotta be on their most wanted list!"

"Mom! Stop teasing us! What are you doing here?" And then suspicion became certainty, "Harmon Rabb this is your doing!"

"Let's get Esther inside, and then we'll make a full confession!"

Catherine's eyebrows rose, 'We?' she thought, but stood aside as Harm manoeuvred Esther's wheelchair through into the hallway, where he divested her of her outer layer of wraps, while Mattie shyly offered to take Alison Cameron's coat and hang it on the rack just inside the door.

Harm then wheeled Esther directly into the dining room, where with a flourish he produced a glass of sherry for Catherine and Alison, cocking an inquiring eye at Esther as he did so, "Oh, by all means!" Alison said with a smile, "but remember Esther, one glass of sherry and one small glass of wine. That's your limit!"

"Yes, Doctor," Esther said so meekly that Alison shot her another look.

"Your timing is impeccable, Alison," Harm complimented her, "Please, sit down, all of you, I'm just about ready to start serving!"

There was comparative silence while Harm served up bowls of a clear soup, "Three mushroom soup, made with vegetable stock!" he announced as murmurs of appreciation rose from the others at the table.

Catherine drank half her soup, and then with curiosity eating her alive, she put her soup spoon down, "OK, Harm, give!"

"Give?" he replied with an air of innocence.

"Yeah, give. Just how did you bust Mom out of Kresge?"

"I couldn't have done it without Alison," he hedged, "She's just as much to blame!"

"Don't you dare to try to blame me, Commander Rabb!" Alison Cameron protested with a laugh, as she turned to Catherine. "It's entirely his fault. He asked me about ten days ago whether Esther was fit enough to spend a few hours with her family on Christmas. I said I'd need to monitor her condition quite carefully before I came to a decision. So I kept a close eye on her, and finally agreed that she could come, but that she'd need medical or nursing supervision…"

"So…" Harm took up the story, "I asked Alison whether she'd pulled duty on Christmas Day, and if not, and with her being new in town did she have any plans, and as she didn't, I suggested that she provide Esther's medical supervision and come and share dinner with us!"

"Yep, she busted me out of the joint. Just as slick as you please!" Esther contributed, chuckling all the while.

"Did you know this was going to happen, Mom?" Catherine demanded.

"I didn't have a clue, dear, until Doctor Alison turned up at my bedside with a bag of my clothes and told me to hurry up and get dressed!"

Catherine turned a bemused look on both Harm and Alison in turn, "I'm still not clear how you organised this, much less how you managed to keep it a secret from Mom. I can only come to the conclusion that you Alison, are almost as sly as a certain sneaky squid of my acquaintance!"

Alison smiled, "If you don't mind, I'll take that as a compliment!"

The interrogation over, the conversation became general as the soup was finished, and Harm moved around the table collecting the empty soup dishes, and indicating to Mattie that he could do with her help in bring the remaining hot dishes of the main course to the table.

They were laden with trays holding serving dishes of peas, buttered carrots, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, mustard and honey roast parsnips, a plate of stuffing, the sauce boat, and all the other extras that serve to lift the Christmas meal above the ordinary, when a knock at the front door brought them to a standstill.

Harm put his tray back down on the kitchen table, "Can you come back and make a second trip, Squirt, while I answer the door?"

Without waiting for an answer, he untucked his tie from between the second and third buttons of his shut and opened the door.

"Donnie!" he exclaimed in surprise as he recognised Catherine's brother standing on the porch, "Come in, come in! Merry Christmas, we weren't expecting you and…?" Harm left the question hanging.

Donnie grinned self-consciously as he stepped through the door, holding his hand out to his companion, an attractive red-head with a determined jut to her jaw.

"Catherine!" Harm called over his shoulder without giving Donnie a chance to reply, much less introduce his companion, "It's Donnie! Here, let me take your coats!" Donnie stood back as Harm helped the red-head to shrug out of her coat before hanging it on the rack next to Alison Cameron's.

Catherine came rushing from the dining room and threw her arms around Donnie's neck enveloping him in a fierce hug, which he returned with equal fervour as they exchanged brotherly and sisterly kisses.

Breaking free of Catherine's embrace, Donnie caught the red-head's hand in his and led her forward, "Catherine, Harm, I'd like you to meet Christine – Chrissie, my fiancée!"

Catherine's delighted smile lit up her face, "Oh, Donnie! I'm so happy for you! Mom will be thrilled! Come on in, come on in! Mom!" she called ahead, "Donnie's here; and he's got some news – brilliant news!"

Donnie stood back to let Catherine usher Chrissie into the dining room, and urgently grasped Harm's sleeve, "Mom is here then?"

"Yeah, she's here, safe and sound," Harm assured Catherine's brother.

"Thank God! When we got to the hospital and she wasn't there…" Donnie mustered a weak grin, and shrugged his shoulders.

Harm led him in to the dining room, where Esther had had her chair turned away from the table. Her eyes misted over slightly as Donnie dropped to his knees beside her, slid his arms carefully around her and hugged her tenderly. "Merry Christmas, Mom!" he said as he kissed her gently on the forehead.

"It is truly a Merry Christmas now!" Esther agreed, stretching out a hand as Donnie got to his feet and clasping both her children's hands she smiled up at them, "It's so good to see you both together again! It doesn't happen enough! I know, I know!" she glared at Donnie as he made to speak, "I know your job is important to you, and takes you away for weeks at a time, but you'll let me wish it didn't, won't you?"

Harm was bustling about in the background setting another place at the table and borrowing a chair from the kitchen to make a place for Donnie and Chrissie, but he still managed to listen to scraps of the conversation, and clearly heard Donnie's reply.

"Mom, not only will I let you wish it, but before we start on that, there's someone I'd like you to meet! Mom, this is Christine Janssen, better known as Chrissie, and she has made me the happiest and proudest man alive, by agreeing to marry me!"

Esther's "Oh!" of pleased surprise was all the result that Donnie could have wished for, and his smile only broadened as Esther regained her poise, and adopting her sparrow-like tilt of the head, smiled at Chrissie and said, "Oh, please, come here, dear and let me have a look at you!"

Chrissie approached the chair, and gracefully dropped to her knees, "I'm very pleased to meet you, Mrs Gale," she said in a pleasingly musical voice.

Esther considered her carefully, taking in the red hair, the green eyes and fresh complexion. She liked the way the young woman looked straight back at her, and she noted with a smile the determined jut of Chrissie's chin. "Oh, you mustn't call me Mrs Gale," she smiled, "It makes me think of my husband's mother!" she gave a theatrical shiver. "She was a terrible woman, you know, scared me nigh on to death!"

"Oh Mom, how can you tell such lies about grandma?" Catherine scolded her mom, "Don't you listen to her, Chrissie, Grandma Gale was a wonderful old lady!"

Chrissie smiled, "So… what do I call you?"

"Well, you could call me 'mom'. But if you're not comfortable with that, then do as Harm and Mattie do, call me 'Esther'!"

Chrissie chuckled, "I think I'll have to work on that for a while!"

"As you please, dear," Esther smiled, "But right now you ought to get up, and sit yourself down at the table!"

Once Donnie and Chrissie were seated, Harm and Mattie rushed the vegetables back to the kitchen to nuke them back to edible warmth, and the meal continued, with Catherine, Donnie and Alison commenting on the, to them, unusual accompaniments to the roast turkey.

"Arrr! To be sure!" Harm overacted, "'Tis from me ould mammy's soide of the family, so 'tis! 'Tis a Good ould Oirish menu, that Oi've prepared to tickle yer fancy!"

Mattie collapsed in giggles and Alison, Catherine and Chrissie were hard put not to follow her lead, while Donnie looked bemused, and Esther chuckled silently, her eyes dancing with laughter once more.

"I… I didn't kn… know that yo… your …m… mother was Irish!" Catherine stuttered.

"To be sure, to be sure!" Harm continued in his outrageous stage-brogue, "And where d'ye think she came by a name loike Pádraigín Siobhan, if she wasn't from the Ould Sod! Oi'll have ye know that the mammy came by her name honestly!"

"Harm! Seriously!" Catherine protested, now in dire straits.

"Oh, alright," Harm relented, "Of course Mom's not Irish, but she is descended from an Irish family, and her mother did pass down various recipes from the old country to her. Unfortunately for my taste, Irish cooking is heavily dependent on meat, so I don't use a lot of the handed down stuff!"

Chrissie had cautiously tasted the heavy bread like substance that Harm cheerfully told her was sage, onion and chestnut stuffing, and to her surprise found that although the taste was different, it wasn't unpleasant, and her fears somewhat allayed settled down to enjoy the meal.

"So Donnie, you were going to tell me that my wishes were going to come true?" Esther asked as she regretfully laid down her knife and fork. The food was good, and she had enjoyed what she'd eaten, but these days she found that she didn't have much of an appetite and that a very little satisfied her.

Donnie finished chewing the forkful of food in his mouth, swallowed and took a sip of sparkling cider before he answered, "I was going to tell you that your wish might be about to come to true. I've applied for a promotion to area headquarters in Baltimore and the rumour is that I stand a good chance of getting it. I know it's not right on your doorstep, but it is mostly a static position and it's better than me jetting off to New Mexico or Texas every five minutes…"

"Oh, Donnie, that's excellent news! Is that what you were so excited about, Catherine?"

"No, Mom. I was more excited about meeting my new sister-in-law to be! And Donnie, Chrissie, just in case I forgot to say it before, congratulations to you both!"

Chrissie blushed and managed a mumbled "Thanks," while Donnie sat back looking as happy as a dog with two tails.

"Have you set a date yet?" Esther asked eagerly.

"Not yet, Mom. We're waiting to hear whether I get the promotion, and then we'll be looking for someplace to live." He grinned, "We don't want to wait too long to start a family, not now my little sis has set us an example!"

Esther burst into another trill of delighted laughter, while Catherine glared up the length of the table at him and said in a warning voice, "Donnie!" while Chrissie just blushed, and pretended to be concentrating on the food on her plate.

Alison Cameron smiled at the by-play, and leaning towards Mattie asked quietly, "Are they always like this?"

Mattie shrugged, "I don't know… I've only met Catherine's brother a couple of times. But Catherine and Harm are always teasing each other – and me!" she acknowledged with a grin, "So I guess, yeah, I reckon they must be!"

Alison nodded, the decision she'd made to leave Princetown behind her was, she was beginning to realise, one of the best moves she had made since qualifying. The pressure of work was less, and although the salary wasn't quite as high, she still had more than enough for her immediate needs. All she needed now was for her divorce to become final and then she could start looking for a good man to be the father of the children she wanted. She took a surreptitious look towards the head of the table, where Harm was teasing Esther in an undertone and wondered silently why was it, wherever she went, all the good ones were taken?

Eventually the volume of conversation rose as plates were cleared, but the talk wasn't loud enough to allow Catherine to miss the sound of Beth's grumbles coming from the baby monitor on the window-sill behind her. With an apologetic smile, she said, "I'm sorry, people, but…" and she indicated the monitor, "duty calls!"

"Do you want me to go?" Harm asked half rising from his chair.

"No… she'll need feeding, not just changing," Catherine smiled, "after all, we've had our dinner, so she'll be wanting hers!"

Harm nodded and then turned to Mattie, "Give me a hand to clear away here, and by the time we're ready for dessert, Catherine should be back!"

"Let me give you a hand with that," Donnie offered.

"No… you sit still, Donnie!" Harm grinned, "Your chore is coming up later!"

Donnie grinned back, "Those that cook don't wash up?" he guessed.

"Spot on!" Mattie informed him with a grin, "so it looks like it'll be us two on KP together!"

"KP?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah, kitchen police! Sheesh! Don't you know anything?"

Donnie laughed, as Mattie's words drew a "Hey, Squirt! Play nice!" from Harm.

Catherine made it back to the table before Harm brought in the dessert on a salver, a black mound of something, which burnt with a blue flame.

Those seated at the table just looked at it in open mouthed surprise, until Esther cried out, "Oh! How wonderful! Plum pudding! I haven't seen one of those for years!"

"Yep!" Harm grinned, pleased with the success of his tour de force, "An Irish recipe, made with Guinness and rum and flamed with brandy!"

Harm waited until those flames had died down and then served everyone with what Mattie considered to be a small portion of the pudding, saying "You should try it with the brandy butter, or the double cream."

Mattie helped herself to some cream and as soon as she had tasted her first spoonful, she realised that on top the meal she had already eaten, a dessert this rich and heavy only a needed a small portion.

As the meal drew to its conclusion, Harm stood once more and said to Donnie, "I'm going to break with tradition and make a start on the clearing up, would you like to join me, so that the ladies can have Beth to themselves for half an hour or so?"

Donnie smiled easily, "Sounds like a plan! But I hope you've got a dishwasher plumbed in!"

"Damn straight!" Harm replied with a laugh, "First job I did when we moved in, otherwise it would have been Catherine and Mattie doing the dishes!"

Donnie squinted at him for a second, before he grinned broadly, "Yeah, riiight!" he drawled.

Harm shrugged, "You got me, but what can I say?"

Even with the dishwasher operating at maximum capacity, it still took over the half an hour for Harm and Donnie to wander through to the lounge with Harm carrying a tray loaded with cups, saucers, cream and sugar, while Donnie brought in a large coaster and the coffee machine carafe.

Esther sat in her wheelchair at the far end of the occasional table, while Catherine, Beth and Chrissie occupied the couch. Alison sat in one of the armchairs while Mattie was sitting next to the couch on the huge bean bag that normally lived her room. Harm ushered Donnie into the remaining armchair and then disappeared into the den, returning in a few minutes with the wing chair that stood under the window between the two desks, and was a match to the chair and love seat that were kept in the guest room.

Once everybody was seated and had been provided with coffee, Mattie cleared her throat, and looking at Harm and Catherine for approval, said, "Esther, Harm promised we'd see you today, but Catherine and I figured that we'd visit you at Kresge. We didn't know that our fine, honest sailor could be so darn sneaky! And we were going to take your presents to you there. But seeing as you're here, I figured that maybe you could save us the trip!" She handed Esther a soft, gift-wrapped parcel, "This one's from Catherine," Mattie said.

Esther's hands shook as she opened the package, and then as she saw the contents she said "Oh…" and held up for all to see a navy blue cashmere shawl.

"To go with your bed-jacket, Mom," Catherine told her, "It'll help keep the drafts off you."

"Thank you, dear," Esther said, "It's beautiful."

"This one is from Harm!" Mattie puffed as she carefully placed what seemed to a heavier parcel on Esther's knee. Esther smiled across at Harm, and carefully removed the paper and a layer of protective cushioning wrap, "Thank you!" she said to Harm a smile of delight on her face.

"What is it Mom?" Donnie asked.

"A boxed set of the complete works of Jane Austen!" Esther smiled, "Thank you, Harm. These will do very nicely to keep me occupied when I'm back in the jug!"

"Mom! You mustn't call Kresge that, not when Alison's here and she's been so good to you, to us all!"

"Oh, don't mind me!" Alison grinned, "I've not been there anywhere as long as Esther, and I've already called it far worse than that!"

Mattie had waited patiently until the teasing finished and then handed Esther a last package, "This one's from me… after Catherine's and Harm's gifts it's kinda lame… but…"

"Don't you dare apologise for it, Mattie Grace!" Esther scolded her, stripping the paper to reveal a hefty paperback book, "'The Collected Poems of Christina Rossetti'," Esther read out loud, "Why, Mattie Grace, how did you know…"

"Well, you quoted her a couple of times, and then I saw one of her poems in a magazine in your room at Kresge, and the page was sort folded open right back, and looked pretty well thumbed, so I figured you kinda liked her stuff…"

"I do, I do!" Esther exclaimed, fishing a folded Kleenex from her cardigan cuff and blotting her eyes. "Thank you child, thank you so much. In fact, thank you all!"

Chrissie looked across at Donnie, "We should do it now, too," she prompted him.

Donnie nodded; "If you'll excuse me?" he said to the company at large and left the room. A few seconds later they heard the front door open and close, and then again in a minute or so just before Donnie came back into the room his hands full of another gaily wrapped parcel which he took across to Esther, and kneeling down by her chair said, "These are from Chrissie and me, Mom."

Esther again stripped the wrapping off the contents and then smiled and said, "Between you all, you have certainly made sure that the inner and outer Esther are well looked after. Thank you all again!"

Catherine squinted in Esther's direction trying to make out what her mom had nestled amongst the ruins of the wrapping paper on her lap.

Esther followed the direction of Catherine's eyes, and grinned mischievously, tilting her head to the side again, "Miss Nosy! Remember, curiosity killed the cat… Catherine!" and she held up a pair of bed-jackets, one in lilac and the other in pastel yellow.

Catherine blushed and wailed in protest, "Oh, Mom! That is so not fair!" while Donnie gave a crack of laughter.

"Oh Lord! I haven't heard that since you were in Junior High, Catherine! All those years ago!"

"Hey, it wasn't that long ago!" she protested, "at least not as long ago as when you were in Junior High!"

"Only three years, Catherine!" her elder brother reminded her.

"Three years is still three years!" Catherine retorted with a triumphant grin.

Mattie knelt down by Esther's chair and gathered up the discarded wrapping paper, all the while listening to the banter between brother and sister, hoping of course to pick up some blackmail material for future use. The teenager was rapidly coming to the conclusion that living in such a lively household was going to require more weapons and ammunition than she currently possessed. She was going to have to try and pump Jen for information on Harm though, 'Huh, good luck with that!' she told herself.

She came back to the present with the words, "Trivial Pursuit, are you sure?" ringing in her ears.

"Sure, why not?" Harm said lazily, "You and me against the ladies!"

Donnie grinned, "On your head be it!"

A quick discussion turned the proposed game into a three way contest. Harm and Donnie would play against Mattie and Alison on one team and Catherine and Chrissie on a third team, while Esther refereed the game.

The board was set up and Alison and Mattie took first go. Two questions later, they answered incorrectly and with a "Rats! Curses, foiled again!" from Alison they passed the die to Chrissie.

Just eleven minutes later a disbelieving Harm, who hadn't had a single chance to even roll the die watched as Chrissie, with her full cheese on the centre spot triumphantly exclaimed, "Lake Titicaca!"

"Told you so!" a grinning Donnie said.

"Absolutely incredible!" Harm breathed, "Is it like that…"

"Every time!" Donnie agreed emphatically, as he moved around to give Chrissie a congratulatory hug and a dropped a kiss on her forehead.

Harm shook his head in wonder, "Another game?" he suggested.

Chrissie grinned, "You all go ahead and play this time," she said to Esther, "I'll be the referee!"

The next game took much longer to complete, but it eventually finished, amidst much laughter and joking accusations and counter accusations of cheating, in a fairly honourable three-way tie.

Harm excused himself to the kitchen where he took a platter of sandwiches out of the fridge and stripped them of their foil cover, while Donnie, under Mattie's guidance learned how to brew a pot of tea according to the Rabb method.

Esther took the opportunity afforded by Harm's absence, and Chrissie and Alison falling into a conversation about Esther's condition, to beckon her daughter to come closer to her. "I'm going to leave soon," she said quietly, "Alison's been looking at her watch, for the last twenty minutes; she's supposed to get me back to Kresge by six." Esther's face crinkled in a smile, "I doubt we'll get there by then. But I am beginning to feel tired! I've had a wonderful day, thanks to you, and Harm, and Mattie and Alison, but I'll be glad of a cup of tea before we go!"

Catherine nodded, "It's been wonderful having you here today, Mom. We've been so lucky to have you here with us, when I think back to that night last spring…"

"You mean the night you didn't get married to Harm?" Esther seized on the opportunity for which she had been waiting.

Catherine blushed, "Yes, that's exactly the night I mean!"

Esther nodded, her expression turning grave as she asked gently, "And are you going to be following your brother's example, and really get married any time soon?"

Catherine smiled and her eyes went automatically to Harm as he bore the tray of sandwiches across to the occasional table, "We haven't really discussed it, Mom. But yes, soon, I think."

Esther smiled and leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes, "Good, she whispered, "I'd like to see you all settled before I go."

Catherine gripped Esther's hand, "Don't you dare start talking like that! Don't you dare give up! Not now! I want Beth to get to know her marvellous, wonderful Grandma!" she whispered fiercely.

Esther opened her eyes, "Oh, I'd love that too, dear, and I'm certainly going to do my best to make it happen! Don't you fret about that!"

Catherine smiled and made a brave attempt to hide her fears, "You're bad, Mom!" she declared shakily.

"You'd better believe it, kid!" Esther grinned in satisfaction, "Now, if my granddaughter's awake, I'd like a few minutes with her!"

Catherine got to her feet with a smile and dutifully brought Beth to visit with her grandma. Recently fed, clean and dry Beth was wide awake and happily 'swimming' as Mattie had called the seemingly aimless movement of Beth's tiny arms and legs, and Esther peering down into Beth's blue eyes was convinced that her granddaughter was not only focussing on the lined face hovering above her but was smiling up at her. "Hah! Wind my foot!"

"Mom?" Donnie asked, apparently the only one to have heard her.

"These doctors!" Esther said contemptuously, "They know nothing! Oh, no, not you Doctor Alison!" the old lady assured the stunned Alison Cameron, "I meant those doctors who say that a baby can't smile until it's six months old, and that what looks like a smile is just a silent grimace caused by wind!"

"Whew, I'm glad to hear it!" Alison Cameron smiled, "but you're getting testy again, Esther. And you know that means you're getting tired. She smiled at Harm and Catherine, now seated side by side on the couch. "You've been very, very kind to an almost complete stranger. Thank you for inviting me into your home on this special day! But I really must get Esther back to the hospital. We're late enough as it is, and I don't want them marking her down as AWOL!"

"Never AWOL, Alison," Catherine corrected her, "This is a navy family, so it would have to be UA!"

"UA? Oh… I get it, unauthorised absence!" Alison exclaimed, pleased with unravelling the mystery.

Donnie looked inquiringly at Chrissie who nodded, "We need to get going too," he said apologetically, "We hadn't planned on being away quite so long, and Chrissie's back at work in Baltimore tomorrow – she's a sub at the Baltimore Sun, so we need to get on our way!"

"Oh, I'd hoped you were staying over!" Catherine's disappointment was palpable,

"Sorry, sis," Donnie held his arms out to her, and Catherine willingly shared a hug with him. Donnie dropped a kiss on her forehead, "Hey, if I get this promotion, Baltimore's not that far away, only an hour so on the I-95 and the Beltway. We'll be able to see a lot more of each other!"

"Yeah, I s'pose." Catherine agreed unhappily.

Fifteen minutes later Harm, Catherine and Mattie watched and waved goodbye as first Alison Cameron and then Donnie drove away up Woodford road, their car tyres leaving neat tracks in the light dusting of snow that now coated the ground.

"Come on, let's get back inside, before we freeze!" Harm encouraged his girls, and with an arm around both of them he ushered them back into the warmth.

Almost automatically the three headed for the kitchen, and Catherine and Mattie plumped down into kitchen chairs, while Harm plugged in the kettle, "Teas, everyone?" he queried, and received two nods in affirmation.

"And does anyone want anything to eat?" he asked teasingly. Mattie groaned in disbelief, while Catherine just gave him a level look. "I'll take that as a no, then, shall I?"

"That had better be a rhetorical question!" Catherine told him

Harm turned back to the kettle to hide a smile, at least his nonsense seemed to have roused Catherine from the fit of the dismals into which it seemed she was in danger of falling.

Handing out the mugs of tea he smiled brightly, "I take it everyone's had enough of Trivial Pursuit? So… how about a movie?"

"What have you got in mind?" Mattie asked suspiciously.

"How about 'The Princess Bride'?" Harm asked, making a major sacrifice. It was a film he loathed but one that he knew Catherine loved.

"No… not tonight Harm," Catherine surprised him by her refusal, "but how about Casablanca?"

"Casablanca, what's that all about?" Mattie asked.

"It's a classic!" Harm enthused.

"I s'pose that means it's black and white and hasn't got any action!" Mattie complained.

"C 'mon, Squirt! It's time we exposed you to some culture!" Harm told her with a grin.

xxix-xxix-xxix-xxix-xxix

Once again Harm lay in bed waiting for Catherine to finish seeing to Beth's needs but he was surprised when she reappeared in a very short time and put Beth in her bassinet without feeding her.

Catherine saw the expression on his face, and as she slid under the comforter, "I fed her a little earlier, while you were in the shower. It's part of a plan to start her sleeping a little longer through the night."

"Oh?" Harm turned on to his side so he was facing Catherine.

"Yeah, we want her to start staying awake after feeds, so that she doesn't get the fixed idea that she needs to be fed before she sleeps. That way it's reckoned she'll sleep longer when she does go, and won't automatically demand to be fed when she wakes up before she goes back to sleep!"

"Oh… makes sense, I suppose," Harm agreed, twisting over on to his back and reaching for the light switch. He plunged the room into darkness and was rewarded by the weight of Catherine's head coming to rest in the hollow of his shoulder, together with her contented sigh.

"Harm," she murmured after a couple of minutes' silence, "Have I said thank you for arranging Mom's jail-break? It was a lovely surprise, and kudos to you for keeping it a secret from me and Mattie, but how in hell did you manage to keep it from Mom?"

"Native intelligence, low animal cunning and a huge dollop of luck!" Harm chuckled. "Do you think she really enjoyed herself? I noticed she was getting a bit tired…"

"Yeah she was at the end, but I think she put off going back to the hospital because she wanted a word with me on my own…"

"M'mm," Harm nodded, knowing that Catherine would feel the movement, "First weekend in April then?"

Catherine bolted upright in bed and switched on her bedside light, "Harmon Rabb!" she exclaimed in a fierce whisper, "Was that your idea of a proposal?"

Harm pulled her back down and twisted over to raise himself above her, and then kissed her long, thoroughly and very, very passionately.

"Yes, it was!" he panted when lack of air forced them apart, "Any objections?"

"No… none that I can think of!" Catherine smiled, her eyes glowing and her lips swollen.

"So is that a yes?" Harm persisted.

"I guess, so," Catherine admitted.

They gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment and then Harm rolled over and collapsed onto his back as he and Catherine lay side by side holding hands and trying to stifle their giggles so as not to disturb their sleeping daughter.