Change
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.
AN: I realise I am posting these chapters quickly but they are written and I want to get to catch up to the other site I'm posting on. I do appreciate those who have stuck around, it's a decreasing number, but I'm glad you're with me.
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After silence had descended and Harm had held her for what felt like an eternity short of forever, Mac pulled away and caressed her husband's face before gently kissing him.
"You okay?" she asked, when she saw his deep soulful gaze directed at her.
"Yeah," he said as he breathed out a sigh. The truthful answer was 'hell no, I've got no fricken idea how I am' but that response was tucked deep inside.
Before the conversation could continue there was a soft knock on the door and they both looked to it.
"Mommy, daddy," Lily called mournfully, not prepared to open the door in case her mommy wasn't well.
Quickly, Harm and Mac clambered off the floor, Mac settling on the side of the bed as Harm opened the door.
"Is mommy okay?" she whispered loudly, the telltale sign of her tears still on her face.
"Yes, pumpkin," Harm said, scooping her up. "Mommy's doing much better, come and see..."
"No, no, it's alright," she said, stiffening in his arms. "Just wanted to make sure...."
"I'm okay, baby," Mac said, padding over to them and rubbing her back. "I'm so sorry I frightened you."
"What was wrong?" Lily asked, still clinging to her father, a little wary of her mother.
"I just got some news and was a little upset," Mac said, caressing her daughter's face. "I thought you were asleep. I really didn't mean to scare you."
"Okay," Lily replied, leaning her head on Harm's shoulder.
"You were a very clever girl to call daddy," Mac said. "Thank you so much for doing that."
Lily nodded.
Sensing the apprehension on his daughter's behalf, Harm decided to change the course of the conversation with something they all could enjoy.
"Did either of my best girls have lunch today?" Harm asked checking the clock and realising it was nearly 3:30.
Both Mac and Lily shook their heads.
"Well, as it's getting late in the day, how about we have a special afternoon tea?" he said, wrapping an arm around Mac's shoulder as he guided her towards the kitchen.
Lily wasn't overly sure about food but Mac played along with her husband. "Oh, that sounds great, daddy," Mac replied. "How does a nice hot chocolate and some banana muffins sound, baby?"
Lily shrugged.
"Or, what about a nice cold glass of lemonade and some of daddy's oatmeal cookies?" Harm offered but Lily shook her head.
"I know," Mac said, looking over at her husband. "How about we have a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some milk?"
For the briefest of moments, Lily nodded and Mac sighed in relief.
Setting Lily onto a chair, Harm pulled out the one beside her for his wife. "Now, my ladies, if you just relax," he began using a very formal maitre'd voice. "I shall prepare afternoon tea to your liking."
With a flourish he spun around and hummed loudly as he made a show of collecting all necessary items. His pretence of focusing on the snack he was preparing still allowed him to watch mother and daughter in his peripheral vision. He saw Mac hold out her hand to her child wordlessly. He saw the child look between the hand and her mother's face. Holding his breath he waited for the next move and slowly breathed once again when Lily quietly stood and moved to her mother, effortlessly straddling Mac's lap and leaning onto her as Mac embraced her warmly.
"One smooth PBJ and one extra crunchy PBJ," he said, placing the two plates in front of Mac. "And...." he continued, as if waiting for a drum roll. "Two glasses of ice cold milk."
"Thank you, daddy," Mac said, smiling up at him. Harm smiled and gave her a wink.
"Thanks, daddy," Lily said quietly but made no move to eat, preferring to hold onto her mommy for a little bit longer.
Mac was halfway through her sandwich before Lily showed any interest in hers. Finally the child looked around and saw what was waiting for her.
"Lil, do you want to sit on daddy's knee while you eat?" Harm asked but Lily shook her head. "Well, how about you turn the other way and stay with mommy?"
Lily nodded and smiled so Harm stood and helped her to change directions. Soon she was eating and drinking along with her mother. Harm sighed, wondering just how they were going to get through the emotional rollercoaster ride he knew this pregnancy would provide.
After their snack, Harm thought it was in everyone's best interest for Mac and Lily to rest while he went and picked up the twins from day care. Lily agreed but opted for her own bed, something she never did when there was the opportunity to sleep with mommy in mommy and daddy's bed. Conceding that the child had had a big fright that afternoon, Mac went and tucked her in before heading to her own bed.
"Mom," Lily called as she reached the door.
"Yes, pumpkin," Mac replied, turning back.
"Are you going to be okay in your bedroom or do you need to stay with me?" she asked, propping herself up in her bed. While she did want to take a nap with her mommy, she was a little scared of the big bedroom where she'd found her mother earlier.
"I am going to be okay, baby girl," Mac said, padding back across and kissing Lily's forehead. "But, if it's okay with you, I wouldn't mind staying here."
"It's okay with me, mom," she said lifting up the blanket and shuffling back so Mac could fit in with her.
Cuddled up together, both found slumber came quickly.
It was in the same position Harm found them an hour later when he arrived home with the twins. Surprised to find the house quiet but the master bedroom empty, Harm couldn't help but laugh when he saw them in the pink princess bed. His initial plan was to allow them to sleep on, however, Rose and Harry had other ideas and ran in past him.
Before he could grab them both, Harry had clambered up onto the bed, waking Mac in the process. Even in her drowsy state, she demonstrated her quick marine reflexes by grabbing the boy before he dropped onto her stomach.
"Whoa, little boy," she said, holding him by the arm suspended in motion. "No dive bombing mommy."
Harry laughed; he wasn't interested in diving bombing just in a great big hug from his mommy. Rose fidgeted and squirmed so much that Harm put her on the bed after Mac had sat up. He couldn't help but smile as she scampered over her waking sister to be closer to her mother. Hearing the phone, he left them all on the bed and went to answer it.
Upon his return, Harm leant on the door jamb and watched as the children were all settled on the bed while Mac was reading them Harry's favourite book, 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. She was up to the 'On Friday' page before she realised Harm was watching them. Looking up at her husband, she saw him smile and so continued through until the end. When it was finished, Mac resisted Harry's pleas for a re-read and climbed out of bed.
"Who was on the phone?" she asked, as Rose and Harry claimed one leg each.
"Cresswell," he said, picking up his son, so Mac would have half a chance of walking without tripping over. "Wanted to see how things were with you and Lily."
"That was very kind of him," Mac said, picking up Rose so she could follow Harm from the room. "Are you coming, Lily?" she asked when she realised the child was still in bed.
"Yeah, mom," she said with a yawn. "In a minute."
"What did you tell Cresswell?" she asked as made their way into the kitchen.
"Nothing specific," he said, filling cups of water for the twins. "But I asked for a meeting with him first thing in the morning, before I have to be in court."
"Drink, drink!" Rose stated, pulling on his trousers when she realised he had stopped his activities.
"Sorry, honey," he said, handing her the pink tippy cup. "Here you go, Harry," he added, handing the child his marine green one.
After the twins had finished with their drinks, Harm led them into the yard and Mac followed. While the twins settled in the sandpit, Harm and Mac sat on the steps and watched them. Linking her fingers through his, Mac brought her other hand over to cover their joined ones.
"We're going to have to tell him, aren't we?" she asked, looking to her children.
"I think we owe him the truth, even if we aren't telling anyone else," Harm said with a nod.
"You don't want to tell people?" she asked. True she was only a little over seven weeks pregnant and they hadn't shared the news of the other pregnancies at this early stage either, but Mac wanted to make sure that was the only reason.
"Well," he began slowly. "What I think is that we have to get used to the idea ourselves first." He leant in and kissed her head. "Then I think we should make an appointment to see Dr Mollison and get all the information we need, and an ultrasound...I think we should have an ultrasound just for peace of mind ..."
"Yeah, I think that's the way to go too," she said, lifting their hands and wrapping his arm around her as she cuddled against him. "Are you okay with all this?" she asked, knowing it had all been about her earlier.
"Right now it's still a bit of a shock," he admitted, kissing her head once more. "And so long as you are alright, I'm more than okay about having another little one."
"What about our ages?" she questioned, mindful of previous discussions on the topic.
"Well, I guess instead of being 63 when my youngest go to college, I'll be 66," he said, taking a huge breath. "And if I'm okay with that then I'll be okay with this one..."he said, using his free hand to caress her still flat stomach.
"We're going to be okay, aren't we?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.
"We're going to be more than okay, gorgeous," he reassured her, hoping desperately he was right.
He could live without another child, he could live without moving to the farm, he could live without retiring from the Navy; what he couldn't live with, now or ever, was being without Mac. He had tried that, for far too long, and he didn't like it. He didn't like who he was without her but more than that he loved who he was with her and because of her. He couldn't lose that, not now, not ever, because if he did he would lose himself.
Their conversation ended when the door behind them opened and Lily padded out.
"How are you feeling now, baby?" Mac asked, wrapping an arm around the child's legs.
"My tummy's still a bit sore," she said as she clambered onto Mac's knee.
"That's no good," she said, kissing Lily's forehead. "Maybe we should take a trip to the doctor," she added looking at Harm. Lily had now been unwell for two days and didn't seem to be improving any.
"No, mommy," she said, nestling in closer. "I don't want the doctor. I'll feel better tomorrow, I promise."
Mac looked at Harm and Harm rubbed Lily's leg. "It doesn't work that way, Lil," he said gently. "You can't promise to feel better."
"But I will, daddy," she pleaded, tears filling her eyes. "I will be better tomorrow."
"Okay, okay," he conceded. "But if you feel any worse we're going, no arguments."
Lily nodded.
While Harm would never play with his children's health, he wasn't completely sure that Lily's sickness was actually something physical. Knowing she knew her mother was at the hospital having tests the day before may have had her feeling a little sad and anxious, and then of course, finding her mother so distressed today would have exacerbated the situation. Given the emotional toll of the events, he was prepared to give her some leeway...but only a small one.
Reaching out and taking his daughter in his arms, Harm positioned her so she was cradled in one arm and her legs were still on her mother's lap.
"Now, if you are going to be better tomorrow, you have eat dinner tonight. So what would you like?" he asked as he caressed her face.
"Don't know," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders before looking at her mom. "What does mommy want?" she asked.
"Um..." Mac started, thinking about it. "I think I'd like some real meat," she began, knowing she needed as much iron as she could get. "And some mashed potato and carrots and peas. How does that sound to you?" she asked, rubbing Lily's leg.
"It sounds okay," Lily agreed with a nod.
"Would you like to help me cook dinner, pumpkin?" Harm asked and Lily nodded slowly. "Okay, let's go and cook for mommy."
"Can't mommy come too?" she asked, looking back at Mac.
"Mommy has to stay and watch the twins," Harm answered quickly, not wanting Mac to do anything she didn't have to.
"Okay," Lily said, now a little reluctant to help out Harm.
"Mommy's okay, you know, Lily," Harm whispered, kissing the child's head. Lily nodded and trailed Harm into the kitchen.
"Is mommy going to work tomorrow?" she asked quietly, silently hoping the answer was no so she could spend another day with her.
"Yes, she is," Harm lied. Given the news of the day, he was sure Mac would stay at home another day, and if she didn't want to do so voluntarily, he would try every tactic to convince her. However, another day at home would cause Lily to think something was truly amiss and they didn't need that.
"So, she's really okay?" she questioned, tying on her apron.
"She's really okay," Harm agreed.
"Okay then," Lily said before stopping a moment. "Dad...can we have sundaes for dessert? Please?" she asked and Harm grinned.
Daddy's intuition 1 – Physical illness 0.
Thanks for reading! Love to hear from you!
AN: I've just finished Ch50 and that will conclude 'Change'. Most likely, there will be future instalments relating to life on the farm for this particular family.