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This is a sequel to 36 Hours and is set nearly three years on from the original instalment...liberties [aka guesses] have been taken with ages and such.

Disclaimer: Not mine... well, except for the little ones.

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It was a little past dawn when Mac awoke feeling considerably squashed in Harm's still tight embrace. True to his word, he hadn't let her go and Mac had to wonder just how much sleep he had gotten when she looked at his tired face. As she was contemplating whether she should get up and let him sleep without distraction, the bedroom door creaked open and Lily popped her head in.

"Mommy, are you awake?" she whispered loudly.

"Yes, baby, I am," she replied, slowly turning over to face her daughter who had padded in.

"Good," she said, pulling up the covers and climbing in.

"Happy birthday, my beautiful baby girl," Mac said wrapping the child up in her arms and kissing her head several times.

"You look happy today, mommy. Are you feeling better?" Lily asked, touching Mac's face gently.

"I'm feeling much better today. I'm sorry I've not been nice to be around lately, Lily" she whispered, kissing the child's head.

"That's okay, mommy, I know it's not you, it's your uterus," she said, resting her head on Mac's shoulder.

"And how did you get to be so clever?" Mac asked, raking her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"Well, I am eight now," she said as if it was a known fact that the wisdom of the ages came with turning eight.

"That is very true," Mac replied, kissing her once more. "Are the others awake or is it just you?"

"Just me," she said with a big smile. "And I just had to come and see you as soon as I was awake..." It had become a custom for Lily to creep into her parents' bed on her birthday and spend the first part of her special day with them.

"I'm very glad you did," she said, pulling her closer. "I just thought now that you're eight, you might be too old to come in with mommy and daddy."

"Never!" Lily replied adamantly, shaking her head. What a silly mommy to think she would ever give up the security and warmth their bed provided her!

Stirring from his not nearly long enough slumber, Harm slowly became aware he was being watched. Opening one eye, he smiled to see Lily watching him from over Mac's shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Lily," he said, reaching out to caress her face. "It's hard to believe my baby girl is eight."

"You still have Rosie," Lily said, clambering over her mother to hug her father.

"Yes, I do," he agreed, smothering her in birthday kisses.

Content at having her parents' undivided attention, even if only for a little while, Lily settled down between them and closed her eyes.

"This is the best birthday," she said, talking more to herself.

"How do you know?" asked Harm. "The day has barely started."

"Because I'm in my favourite place...with my favourite people and Grams is going to make that choc fudge cake for me," she said, smiling to herself, eyes still closed.

"We know you love the farm and it must be great to have your friends here," Harm said, kissing her head.

"Yeah, that too..." she said. "But I meant being here in bed with you guys," she said, giggling as she rolled over and pressed into her mom.

As Lily drifted off in her mother's arms, Harm spent his time raking his fingers through Mac's hair, while gazing at her.

"How are you feeling this morning?" he whispered once Lily started snoring softly.

"Much better," she replied in equally hushed tones. "I mean physically I still feel lousy but I think my little meltdown last night and your TLC helped eased the emotional side of things."

"Glad to hear it," he said, leaning over his daughter to kiss Mac's forehead.

"Thank you, for last night, by the way," she said, reaching to caress his face. "I know you would have had every right to leave me sitting in the mud after the way I spoke to you."

"For better or worse, gorgeous," Harm replied. "There's nothing you could do which would make me leave you like that."

"Thank you," she mouthed as her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Breakfast was a huge success with nearly four dozen choc chip pancakes being made and devoured, along with countless glasses of milk and juice. Afterwards, when everyone was dressed, Harm took all seven children to explore the property while Grams and Mac worked in the kitchen to prepare the food for Lily's party which was scheduled to start about 3:00 PM after the birthday girl couldn't decide whether she wanted a special lunch or a special dinner.

Grams had been baking up a storm since she had been asked whether Lily's party could be on the farm but there was still a lot for the ladies to do.

"I've got the decorations!" said Mattie bursting through the door unannounced holding up two paper bags.

"Mattie!!!" Mac and Grams exclaimed in unison.

"We weren't expecting you," Mac said, wiping her hands on her apron before hugging her. "Is Colin with you?"

"No," she replied, kissing Mac's cheek before embracing and kissing Grams. "Unfortunately, Col has to get a couple of reports done. It was the trade off for him not having to give four week's notice."

"Did Harm know you were coming?" Mac asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"No. Lily asked me to come and I said no because I didn't think I'd be able to get here this weekend when we were moving here next weekend. But Lily pleaded and while I said no, I thought about it late r and just really wanted to be here. So, I borrowed a friend's van, filled it with stuff that wouldn't fit in the U-Haul we've hired for next week and decided to bring it down a week early."

"Lily is going to be so excited," Grams said, hugging Mattie again.

By the time Mattie had finished decorating the dining area of the kitchen, there were pink and purple balloons, streamers and banners hung throughout. The table had been set with a bright pink table cloth and an assortment of party hats and favours. There were bowls of goodies and plates for all the children. On the kitchen dresser were a collection of brightly wrapped presents and birthday cards.

"What time are the festivities beginning?" asked Mattie, stealing a piece of candy from a nearby bowl.

"Quite soon," Mac replied. "Harm said he'd call when they were about twenty minutes away."

"It's a long walk for the twins...our twins," Grams corrected, so they knew she wasn't referencing the Roberts' twins. "Won't they need a nap?"

"They probably will," Mac said, drying her hands. "But it was the choice of having them go with Harm or staying here underfoot and I figured we'd get more done with them out."

"Wise move, Mac," said Mattie. "Now, is it alright if I go and wash up and change?"

"Of course, dear," Sarah said. "Go right ahead."

"And I thought I'd sleep in with the twins upstairs," she said, grabbing her bag. "I figured it may be the only spare spot."

"You're right about that, Mattie," replied Mac. "Space is at a premium. But that bed is still free."

"Maybe when we're all living here we should build a couple of extra rooms to the house, to cater for all the visitors," she said heading up the stairs laughing.

"I never thought I'd see the day when this house was overcrowded," said Sarah. "For way too long it's been such a lonely place."

"Are you sure you're alright about the MacKenzie Rabb invasion about to overrun your house?" Mac asked, stopping to take the elderly woman's hand.

"Our house, dear," she correctly gently. "And yes, I'm more than alright."

When Harm and his entourage finally got back, Lily's first squeal of delight was when she saw the decorated dining room. While she had wanted her party here, she hadn't really thought they'd have all the trimmings. Her second squeal, and by far the loudest, was when Mattie snuck up behind her and grabbed her.

"Oh, Mattie, I'm so glad you came," she said hugging her older sister tightly. "I didn't think you could make it."

"I couldn't but I decided I couldn't miss your eighth birthday and so I changed a lot of plans and now I'm here," Mattie said, kissing her head.

"Oh, I'm so happy," Lily replied grinning.

The party was a huge success, plenty of food interspersed with games such as Pass the Parcel and Pin the Tail on the Donkey. There was music and dancing and more food. While the younger ones laughed and giggled and danced around, Grams sat in the armchair in the corner and watched it through a veil of happy tears. The last time a birthday had been celebrated in this house with any gusto had been Harm's ... when he had turned three.

Mattie, who had been busy snapping photos of the happy occasion, realised Grams was sitting away from the others, just taking it all in.

"Are you alright, Grams?" she asked quietly, sitting on the arm of the chair. "Can I get you something?"

"No, thank you, child," Sarah replied, taking Mattie's hand. "I have absolutely everything I need right here." She gestured to the party scene with her free hand.

For a while, Mattie sat with Grams, holding her hand, as they watched Harm and Mac play hosts to the seven children. When finally it came time for the birthday cake, Mattie helped Grams up so she could go and put on the final touches.

Lily's request for her birthday cake was that it was a chocolate fudge cake. Grams had fulfilled that request but the cake was in the form of a giant cupcake, complete with eight candles and colourful sprinkles on top. Grams lit the candles before Harm carried it to the table and Mattie snapped away.

"Wow!" Lily said, her grin matching the size of the cake. Her sentiments were shared by her friends around the table.

As 'Happy Birthday' was sung, Harm took Mac's hand and kissed it, just as he had done for the child's other seven birthdays. There wasn't a day which had passed since his precious daughter had arrived that he hadn't been thankful for the amazing gift his wife had given him.

There was no doubting this was Lily's favourite birthday ever. After enough food had been eaten to sustain them for the week, a patch of table was cleared for the presents. Lily was delighted by each and every gift and even managed, through her excitement, to thank each giver appropriately.

From the Roberts' family, she received a bundle which included a pair of blue jeans with half a dozen different long sleeved tees; ones Lily had pointed out during a shopping trip with Nicki and Harriet. From Amy she received Hawaiian Barbie and a pair of Barbie pyjamas. Mattie had given her a child friendly digital camera, while her younger brother and sister had given her some books and cds.

"Well, I guess it's my turn," said Grams, opening the dresser to retrieve a small velvet pouch. "I know I have given you some money in your card so you can get something that you want," she continued, sitting down next to Lily. "But this is something I wanted you to have..." Opening the pouch she tipped out a gold chain with a small gold cross on it. "Now, this is very special and very old and you have to promise me you'll look after it, or let your parents look after it for you."

"Grams, it's so pretty," she said, gently fingering the chain as her friends looked on.

"It's the necklace I wore on the day I married your great grandpa," she said as she undid the clasp with shaky hands. "My father had bought it specially."

Placing the chain around Lily's neck, Grams tried to do it up once more but struggled with the clasp. Eventually she looked up at her grandson and he came to her rescue.

"Are you sure, Grams?" he whispered as he closed the clasp.

"Absolutely," she replied, beaming. "I've been waiting a long time to pass this on and today seems like the perfect day."

"Oh, thank you, Grams!" Lily said, hugging her great grandmother. "It's so pretty."

"Just like you, child, just like you," she replied through her tears.

After witnessing the beautiful scene, Mac wasn't sure what to do about hers and Harm's present for their daughter. While she thought it was a great present herself, it didn't have the same personal touch as Grams' present and she didn't want to spoil the moment. Before she could make up her mind, Harm pre-empted her by handing Lily the huge box which had been sitting in the living room.

Pulling off the ribbon and then the lid, Lily peered into the box curiously. There were lots of bits of things but nothing which looked like an actual present.

"Um...what is it?" she asked, turning to her dad.

"Well," he replied, pulling out the items and setting them on the table. "These are paint chips and carpet pieces and material swatches for your bedroom here. You get to go through them all, and the catalogues, and pick out what you want for it."

"Wow! Totally cool!" she said, touching everything once more.

By six the party had wound down and the youngest twins had fallen asleep in their highchairs. Mac had decided to leave them there for a bit before waking them for some evening activities. Grams was sitting in the armchair with a cup of tea as Lily, Nikki and Mattie tested out the new digital camera. Harm, Jimmy and Michael had gone out to do a few of the farm chores and it was then Mac realised she couldn't account for Amy.

Not wanting to create a fuss, Mac slipped out of the living room and went in search of the young girl. She soon found her standing on the back steps watching as Harm and the boys moved around the yard.

"Hey, sweetie," she said standing beside her. "Everything okay?" Amy nodded but when Mac looked down she saw the trembling lip and teary eyes. "Hey, Amy," she soothed, taking her arm and leading her to the nearby sofa. Mac sat down and pulled Amy onto her lap. "It's okay, baby," she whispered as Amy's tears tumbled.

Curling herself into Mac, Amy sobbed and for a while nothing Mac said made any difference. Finally, Mac pulled back a little and wiped the child's face.

"Are you missing your mommy?" she asked and Amy nodded and Mac felt bad for taking the child so far away from home, given the circumstances. "We can phone her if you like."

Amy shook her head; she did miss her mom but as she spent time with Harm and watched him going around with the boys, she was missing her dad more than usual.

"Is there anything I can do, baby?" she asked as she watched Amy watching Harm and realised this was more than a touch of homesickness.

Amy shook her head but snuggled closer to Mac, her eyes never faltering in their tracking of Harm. Mac kissed the child's head and held her tight, wishing she could take the young girl's pain away.

Once the chores had been done, Harm and the boys turned to come back into the house and instantly spied Mac and a child on the sofa. Thinking it was Lily, Harm indicated to the boys to go back inside while he padded over to the pair, quickly realising it was Amy and not Lily.

"Everything okay?" he asked Mac as Amy turned away from him.

"Yeah," Mac replied. "Amy's just feeling a little sad at the moment."

"Anything I can do?" he asked, raking his fingers through the child's hair.

Mac thought about it for a moment; she knew it must have been hard for Amy to watch Lily with her daddy. And while nothing they could do would ever replace Mitch Michaels she did wonder if she'd feel better with a hug from Harm. With a quick tilt of her head, Mac indicated for Harm to sit beside them, which he did.

"Sweetie, would you like a cuddle from Harm," she said, stroking the child's face.

Shyly, Amy looked over at Harm and then back to Mac before nodding briefly. Mac smiled at her as she helped the child move across into Harm's welcoming arms. Surprising them both, Amy closed her eyes and tucked her head under Harm's chin before wrapping her arms around his neck and sighing deeply. They couldn't help but feel she was imagining the strong arms around her were her daddy's.

Thanks for reading! Love to hear from you!

AN: I'm currently writing ch 48 and hope to finish on 50. Thanks to all those who are still with me, I do appreciate your commitment.