I've been wondering where to take the family next... Any wishes? Send me a message with ideas.

November 2018

Mac looked out her office window and wondered when the rain would stop falling. It had poured down for days now and she was starting to feel moody about it. She turned when there was a knock on her door.

"The Dover files," Jennifer put them on her desk.

"Thanks, Jenn," Mac turned to the window again and let out a sigh. "Are you going home soon? You've been on your feet all day?"

"I'm fine, really," Jenn rubbed her belly. "But yes, I'm heading home. Victor already picked up the kids and is making dinner."

"It's good to have husbands who do that," Mac turned from the window.

"It is," Jenn agreed. "We're finishing the baby room tonight."

"Only a month left," Mac smiled as she took the files and put them in her briefcase, she hesitated slightly and put them back on her desk. "I'm taking the weekend off," she decided.

"Good plan," Jenn agreed. "You should get going too. The forecast says even heavier rain in an hour which will make it impossible to see anything while driving."

Mac grabbed her suitcase and turned off the light on her desk. "I'm leaving. Harm's with Matthew on a basketball tournament and won't be back until Sunday. Kelly is at a sleepover. Rose and I were going to go for a ride in the morning, but with the forecast, I'm thinking that we stay in the indoor arena."

"Sounds like an excellent plan," Jenn smiled and turned to leave. "Have a good weekend."

"You too Jenn," Mac grabbed her coat and shut the ceiling light before closing and locking her door. Her phone rang. "Hi there. Are you guys on your way?"

"We are," Harm confirmed. "Are you still at the office?"

"I'm leaving now. I'm picking up Rose at Bailey's and we're ordering pizza for dinner.

"Send me some thoughts when you enjoy snuggling into our comfy bed tonight, while I sleep at a school on a hard floor in my sleeping bag," he suggested.

"I'd sleep on a floor any time if it was with you," she offered.

"That's so sweet. Does that mean that you'll miss me?" he wondered.

"I always do when we're apart," she pushed the elevator button. "I'm about to head down and out in the rain. Why don't we talk later."

"Drive carefully, it's so much water on the roads," he reminded her.

"You too. Love you."

"Love you more." They hung up.

That night

The boys had played their first game that night, then they had all gone out for dinner. Now the boys were tucked in their sleeping bags, most of them asleep.

"Dad?"

Harm turned from the task of arranging his own sleeping area, a little away from the other adults who were all women.

"What's up buddy?" Harm walked over and crouched down.

"I can't sleep," Matthew whined.

"The floor too hard?" Harm joked.

Matthew smiled. "Nah, just weird being away from home."

"Yeah, I know," Harm agreed. "Have you tried counting sheep?"

"Yeah, then elephants and airplanes," Matthew shrugged. "I think I'm just going to close my eyes and try again."

"Sounds like a good idea," Harm stood and headed over to his area. He got comfortable in his sleeping bag and texted his wife that he was tucked in and that she should expect to rub his back for the next week. When her reply came she suggested that she'd do more than just rub his back. He replied that he couldn't text dirty with her while sleeping in the same room as the team and the parents.

At the same time

Mac replied that they'd talk more on Sunday night and keep their conversation G rated until then.

"Is Dad doing okay?" Rose wondered.

"I think he's homesick," Mac smiled and put her phone down. "You should head to bed, honey. It's way past your bedtime."

"Thanks for letting me stay up late to watch movies with you," Rose hugged her mother. "I like movie nights."

"I like them too," Mac kissed Rose's head. "Sleep tight. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom," Rose smiled and headed upstairs.

Mac started cleaning up and preparing for bed. The house was unusually quiet. It wasn't often that they weren't all home on weekends. She realized that it wouldn't be that many years until the house would feel this quiet all the time. The kids were growing up fast. Strangely she didn't feel any older. Another text message appeared on her phone. Harm shared that he couldn't sleep even if the very expensive air mattress he had bought wasn't bad at all to sleep on.

She texted back that maybe he couldn't sleep because it wasn't that late. And for him to count sheep. The reply was that he was counting airplanes and thinking about her. She typed back that she was thinking about him too. She brought the phone to bed and took a selfie where she was sending him a kiss, and sent it to him. The reply was that he could sleep now.

Saturday

Harm gathered the team after the last game. They had done great and would be playing in the finale the next day. They had a pep talk before the boys went to shower.

"We did good, right Dad?" Matthew asked.

"You guys did really good, Matthew," Harm bumped his fist to his son's. "I'm going to text your mom and tell her.

"I'll shower and we can get something to eat," Matthew walked past his father and followed his team.

Harm read a text from Mac. 'Something is up with Kelly. Other than that, we're good. You?'

He typed; 'Matthew's team is in the finale. They did well. Teenage trouble? Oh-oh!'

'I'm giving her some time. Probably just girl stuff. I'm proud of you and the team. Good work Rabb!'

'Thanks. Let me know if there's something I can do about Kelly. I'm not just a pretty face, you know.'

'Oh but you are pretty! Heart emoji. I'll let you know how it plays out.'

Harm smiled and put his phone away.

"The boys want burgers tonight," Jessica, one of the other chaperons, said.

"I guess they've deserved it," Harm chuckled.

"They did," she agreed. "You are so good with them. I wish my husband was as invested as you are."

"He doesn't like basketball?" Harm wondered.

"He does, just doesn't have time for something like this," she complained.

"I didn't have the time to be a coach while Nathan was this age. I was in the Navy then. Being a civilian makes it easier," Harm reasoned. "I always tried to be at his games though."

"Sadly my husband can't blame the Navy," Jessica shrugged.

"Well, he's got you here," Harm reminded her.

"That's true," Jessica smiled.

Harm had always tried to be there for the kids' activities as much as he could. For him, it was a priority but he knew that some of the boys he coached didn't expect a parent to show up to watch and support them. He had promised to never be the parent who couldn't find time for his kids.

That night

Mac knocked on Kelly's door. The girl had been barricaded in her room ever since she came back from the sleepover.

"Kelly, dinner is ready."

The door opened. I'm coming."

"Is everything alright?" Mac wondered.

"You already asked me that," Kelly brushed past her. "It's nothing."

"Did something happen at the sleepover?" Mac questioned as she followed Mac downstairs.

"Nope, nothing really," Kelly hesitated. "It's just that Tina likes Elliot."

"Oh," Mac responded. So it was boy trouble.

"She texted him and asked if they could hang out and he said yes. I thought we had a thing going on," Kelly let out a huff. "Boys are idiots and I will never go on a date ever again."

Mac bit her lip to hide a smile. "Boys are stupid," she agreed.

"I'm going to focus on my swimming and school," Kelly said as they walked into the kitchen. "Rose, don't ever go on a date with a boy. They are stupid."

Rose looked confused. "Okay."

"Stick to horses," Kelly suggested.

Rose nodded and smiled. "I will."

"When you grow older you'll feel differently. And not all boys are stupid," Mac reasoned. "You'll get over Elliot and suddenly you'll find someone better."

"How many boys did you date in High School?" Kelly wondered.

Mac hesitated. "A few."

"Meaning two or ten?" Kelly questioned.

Mac chuckled.

"You don't want to tell?" Kelly wondered curiously.

Mac hesitated. "Let's talk later."

"When I'm asleep?" Rose suggested.

"That's right," Mac confirmed with a sweet smile.

Later

"You shouldn't follow my example," Mac replied.

"You dated someone bad?" Kelly continued her questioning.

"Ah," Mac hesitated. "I married someone who was bad."

"Married? In High School?" Kelly was shocked.

"It's not recommended," Mac warned. "I made a lot of stupid mistakes when I was your age. I didn't have someone looking out for me."

Kelly nodded thoughtfully. "So when did you first… you know… with a boy?"

"Have sex?" Mac suggested.

"Yeah," Kelly blushed slightly.

"I was too young and too drunk," Mac admitted.

"So this husband?" Kelly wondered.

"He was older, handsome, rode a motorcycle," Mac smiled. "My Dad, he hated seeing me on the back of Chris's bike. I ran away from home. In the end, Uncle Matt straightened me out. And the Marines, of course."

"I spent four years of my life wondering where to run away to," Kelly shrugged. "I've wanted to die. To be honest, this.." she motioned around herself. "..is too unbelievable to be true. I guess I'm still waiting for it to disappear."

"I know it's been hard for you, Kelly," Mac reached for her hand. "But you're one of us now, and we're here for the long haul."

"Promise?" Kelly questioned.

"Promise," Mac smiled. "So what are all these questions about boys?"

"Kelly hesitated. "I just don't feel comfortable with the boy situation. It's the expectations I guess. Like everyone should be boyfriend or girlfriend. I don't want that."

"You don't have to have a boyfriend, Kelly," Mac reminded her. "You've been through more than most and you've had experiences that will stay with you. Maybe you just need to give yourself a little time to heal. To trust yourself and to trust boys. It took me a long time to trust men. I didn't have good role models growing up. Except for Uncle Matt but he wasn't around much, being deployed and stationed all over the world. I guess I didn't learn to trust until Harm."

"He's a good man, isn't he?" Kelly didn't mean it as a question. She was beginning to trust her new parents. "I'm really thankful, I hope you know that, even if I can be a brat."

"Hey," Mac hugged her. "You're not a brat. I love you."

Hugging her mom tight, Kelly was surprised to feel a tear run down her cheek. "I love you too."