Chapter 38
"I know how she is, but that was part of the reason that I asked her. I know she'd want nothing to do with the baby once it was born. Jen is young and cute and she won't have any trouble finding a guy and having kids. But Singer? Come on, you have to know that a guy would really have to be hard up to get involved with her!"
"That's my point! What does she want for doing this?!" Mac demanded.
"Well, she wanted to be my partner on high profile cases, but that was before I told her I was leaving the Navy."
"And now?"
"Her only request was to meet my girl friend," Harm reported.
"You do realize that once she knows about Keeter she will exploit it for all she's worth!"
"What can she do to me? I'm leaving the Navy and it's not such a stigma in the rest of the world these days."
"What about Keeter? She could go after his career."
"He's leaving the Navy too. We're going to open a flight school together."
"I see…well then I guess there really isn't much she could do. I hope all this works out for you, Harm, and if you want you can bring Keeter to the wedding with you."
"Thanks Mac! I thought I could count on you to understand and accept."
"I have your back, Flyboy," she grinned and patted his hand.
That evening, Harm explained the encounter with Lauren Singer to Keeter and asked his opinion. Keeter eagerly informed Harm that they wouldn't need Singer's help. He had been talking to his sister, Monica, about Mac not having the baby they'd been hoping for and she had offered to do so for them! He explained to Harm how great this would be as far as the babies genetics. Because Monica was his sister they would use Harm's sperm and that way the baby would have both families' blood lines.
After comparing notes, they were sure they would both be out of Navy in less than two weeks. Keeter wanted to have a house warming party for the weekend following and Harm, with a bit of worry as to how his friends would react, said yes.
Tom had sensed, during their phone call, that there was something Mac didn't want to or couldn't talk about while she was at work. Having learned her routines, he knew she needed some time to unwind from work before she relaxed enough to want to eat no matter what time of the night she finally had gotten home. So he prepared a hot bath for her, with her favorite music on the CD player and the scented candles she liked lit on the counter top. Her favorite meal of meat, meat, and more meat pizza would arrive forty five minutes after she walked through the door. Maybe, as they sat down to eat, she would be ready to tell him what had upset her.
Mac had to once again wonder what she'd ever done to deserve a man as incredibly considerate as Tom Boone. She looked over the special treats he had waiting for her as he and Zorro greeted her return home. He also told her not to linger too long in her bath because he'd ordered a pizza for dinner.
She gave him a kiss of gratitude and headed to the bathroom with Zorro on her heels. The dog had developed a habit of watching her every move for about an hour after she got home every night. It was as if he wanted to make sure she was there and wouldn't leave again until she had to go to work in the morning.
Once they had settled down at the table and Mac was happily starting on the third slice of pizza Tom finally asked about what had upset her that morning.
She knew how the SECNAV's mistake would hurt him, so Mac was glad that she had another incident to offer. "Tom, did you know that Harm is gay?"
To be continued…..