A/N: Well, here it is, the final chapter…I'm actually a little teary eyed! I think this is my favorite story of mine so far. Thank you all for reading!

Letters to Harm

Chapter 41: Epilogue

September 9th, 2009

0711 Local

Rabb Residence

Falls Church, VA

"All ready, Mac?" Mac turned away from the full-length mirror in her room and flashed her husband a smile.

"Just about, Harm." She turned back to the mirror to put on her second earring, then gave herself one last appraising look. She straightened and smoothed her jacket, the effects of which were ruined when Harm came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Mac didn't mind, though; being in his arms gave her strength and helped quiet a sudden burst of nerves. She leaned back into him and covered his hands with her own.

"Think I can do this, Harm?" she asked as her chocolate-amber eyes met his blue-grays in the mirror. Harm smiled gently at their reflection and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Of course you can, sweetheart. You can do anything you set your mind to."

Mac appreciated his encouragement, but her nerves didn't entirely calm.

After eight and a half years, she was finally returning to the law, this time with a focus on battered women. Over the years since her return from her ordeal at Mic Brumby's hand, Mac had done some volunteering at a local women's shelter. The social worker there had connected her with the Corey David Law firm, and the time had come for Mac to begin part time work there. She'd be in the office three days a week, and though she was rather excited about it, she still had reservations about this big step in her life.

For one, it scared her that she'd been away from the law so long, hadn't been in court for years, and she was still hesitant around people. Her new coworkers and her employer had assured her that she was ready and that they would help her in any way they could; they knew what she had gone through and their support was rather comforting.

The second challenge was leaving her children. Mac had gotten pregnant on their trip to Vermont, her birth control having been forgotten in the months since Brumby had returned. Lydia Grace Rabb was born the following April, a perfect mix of both her parents, and her three girls kept her quite busy. The kids were quite close to their Roberts "cousins," and Mac and Harriet got them together frequently. Tricia still worshipped little AJ, and it was sweet how he still looked out for her despite being a typical rambunctious ten-year-old. Harriet had gone into the inactive reserves when she'd gotten pregnant with the twins, Nikki and Tommy, and the two moms helped each other out whenever they could.

Mac had considered going back to work a lot sooner, but just as she was about to explore her options, she'd gotten pregnant again. It was a shock to both her and Harm when Dr. Stacy informed them that they were having twins. Harm had gone a bit white at that; Mac still laughed at how he'd spluttered and stammered out his surprise. She had a feeling Harm was still a little shell-shocked about the prospect of having five children, despite the twins being almost two.

Haley Jo and Hunter James were born a bit early and had to spend three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, but they'd flourished and now ran circles around their parents. Haley was a carbon copy of her mother down to her golden-brown eyes and Hunter was a duplicate of his father. The little boy, despite being the "baby" of the family, seemed to share his father's chivalrous tendencies, and it was adorable to watch.

Tricia was now in second grade, smart as a whip and definitely a daddy's girl. She had gone up in Sarah many times and it was pretty much a given that she'd be a pilot someday. She was a lot like Mac, however; they shared the same time sense and the same methodical thinking. She also had a wicked sense of humor and that kept her parents in stitches. Her nightmares about Brumby had long since gone away, but she often talked about the "bad man that hurt mommy" with Harm, and it broke both her parents' hearts that it still bothered her in some way. She was still seeing a counselor once a month, but was otherwise still the happy, loving little girl that Harm had met that extraordinary September day when she and Mac had arrived at JAG.

Emily was their quiet girl who generally stayed close to her mother. It was funny, despite Harm not being her biological father, she still shared his blue eyes and many of his mannerisms. She was gentle and sweet, rather shy, and it was because of her that the family had two dogs, three cats, and even a squirrel. Strays just seemed to find Emily, and her parents found they couldn't say no to her. The squirrel was a tough one; Emily had found it in the yard as a baby, injured and abandoned, and had been heartbroken over it. Harm and Mac had tried to find a rescue for it, but had been unsuccessful. Thankfully, it turned out that Dr. Stacy's new husband was a veterinarian, which Mac had found out at one of her OB appointments, so they'd called him, and Dr. Forrester had helped them nurse Sammy the Squirrel back to health. There was no way that Sammy could return to the wild, however, so she was now a member of the Rabb menagerie.

Emily had just started kindergarten, and while it was going fairly well, her parents knew she much preferred to be surrounded by her puppies, Waldo and Phoebe, her cats Oscar, Baby, and Sheila (that name rather surprised her parents), and of course, Sammy the Squirrel. Emily had inherited her mother's artistic talent and her room was adorned with drawings of her pets. Harm and Mac were still navigating the issue of Mic being her biological father, and they were working with Tricia's counselor on that.

Lydia was now an energetic four-year-old, still a mix of her parents, but definitely favored her father in the mischief department. Grandma Trish would just laugh when Harm and Mac threw up their hands at Lydia's antics, telling Harm it was his payback for everything he'd put her through as a child.

They hadn't quite figured out the twins yet; Haley was definitely closest to her big sister Tricia, and Hunter was close with both his daddy and his mommy. He loved to cuddle with Mac in the evenings, but wanted to follow Harm everywhere. Mac would often get choked up when she'd watch her two men moving about the yard doing various projects, which often involved picking "bootiful" dandelions for their favorite lady. Mac would lovingly put them in a little glass of water, thinking that they were the most wonderful flowers she had ever received.

The family was still visited often by Harm's parents, and they in turn flew out there often. "Gampa Am-al" was a frequent visitor as well, and all the children adored him. Mac still called him 'sir' or 'Admiral', but it was her way of telling him she loved him. Despite the fact that Brumby was dead, AJ would still stay with the family when Harm had to travel because it just made everyone feel better.

Gunny and Jen were married with two little boys and now lived in New Mexico near Gunny's family. They did return occasionally to Washington and would stay with the Rabbs, making for quite a full house, but the kids loved it.

All in all, life was grand.

Back in the present, Mac turned in Harm's arms and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Okay, Captain. I suppose I'd better get going if I'm going to drop Tricia and Emily off at school first. Think you'll be okay with the other three hellions?"

Harm grinned down at his wife. "You know, I may be retired, but I still like it when you call me 'Captain'."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Of course, you do. Don't forget, though, who's still in charge here, Captain."

"Our five little demons?"

Mac smacked her husband's chest. "They're not demons! And they are not in charge."

Harm kissed his wife again. "Whatever you say, dear."

Mac chuckled. "Now, Harm…just because they all have you wrapped around their little fingers, doesn't mean you give in to their every whim, alright?"

Harm agreed, but Mac knew he'd be a pushover. She only hoped the house wouldn't be destroyed when she returned.

Mac gave herself one more glance in the mirror, and together they headed down the stairs.


Harm gazed with pride at his wife as she gathered her things and said goodbye to their three youngest children. Tricia and Emily waited for, their backpacks on and uniforms perfectly donned. Tricia was obviously impatient to get to school even as she kissed a now crying Haley; she never wanted her biggest sister to leave. Emily was looking longingly at her pets that now surrounded her, and Harm knew his second daughter would rush to greet them before she'd even think about saying hello to her daddy and siblings.

As Harm gave Mac a final kiss goodbye, he thought about how far they'd come in the last six years. They had five beautiful children, which still floored him, and Mac was doing so well that sometimes he could almost forget what she'd gone through at the hands of Mic Brumby. Yes, he still had to hold and comfort her after the occasional nightmare, and he could still feel her confidence flounder at times, but all in all he was amazed and proud at the woman she'd become.

Harm didn't realize he was staring at Mac with a stupid grin on his face until her gentle laugh filled his ears. "You gotta let me go, Harm."

"Don't wanna," he chuckled.

"Well, you gotta. The girls need to get to school and I don't want to be late for my first day of work." He still didn't let her go, however, and she threw him a lovingly exasperated look. "Haaarm! You've got things to do too, remember? Rene and Cyrus are coming for dinner tonight so we can see the baby, and you wanted to make that chocolate thing she likes." At the mention of their dinner guests, Tricia and Emily jumped up and down with excitement with calls of "Aunt Rene! Uncle Cyrus!" They loved their honorary aunt and uncle, which was still a source of wonderment to Harm. After Rene's part in saving Mac and the girls, they had all gotten closer. Rene had eventually reconnected with an old boyfriend from her hometown, and it was clear they were a far better match than Harm and Rene ever were. Over the last several years, the two couples had become good friends and, much to everyone's joy, Rene and Cyrus had finally had a baby boy after years of trying. They'd finally get to meet Cyrus Jr tonight.

"And Harm?" Mac continued. "You'd better go find Lydia."

Harm looked at her blankly.

"Your daughter just ran off with that 'look' in her eye again."

"Oh, sh—crap."

"Right." With a laugh and a final good luck, Mac and the girls went out the door, while Harm ran off to stop his middle child from burning the house down…or worse.

"Lydia!" he called, while his twins toddled behind him.

Being a stay-at-home dad was going to be quite the adventure.


September 29th, 2009

My Dearest Harm,

I just realized that today is the six-year anniversary of my return. A lot has happened since then…

That day six years ago, I only knew fear. I was terrified you would hate me, that I'd have no place in your life. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to return to any semblance of a normal existence…but none of that happened. You welcomed me back into your life, accepted Tricia immediately, and even accepted the baby inside me as your own. I can never thank you enough and I'll never be able to find the words adequate enough to tell you how much I love you. You've been strong when I needed it, gentle when I needed it, and made it safe for me to love and be touched again in the way a husband and wife should.

You're an incredible father, Harm. I know five children is a handful, but you've risen to the occasion with amazing love and patience, and our children and I are so blessed to have you in our lives. Don't worry about the fact that Lydia painted the bathroom red or that she turned my wedding dress into a parachute. She's sneaky like that, and in time, you'll get to know the warning signs that hurricane Lydia is about to blow.

I miss you all so much, but I am loving my job. Helping these women who have gone through so much, have experienced such abuse has helped me continue to heal, and I think knowing they have someone in their corner who understands what they've had to live with helps them heal as well. I want to thank you for the help you've given me with my first cases here, and I know my 'girls' appreciate it. I think you give them hope too—they see that there are good men still out there. I can't believe I've only worked there for a little over two weeks! I've really hit the ground running, haven't I?

Well, it's time I got back to work. Thank you for understanding that I'll be a little later tonight since my client couldn't come in any sooner. Thanks for volunteering to bring dinner to me and Sarah and her children because of that! I feel a deeper connection with this one—I suppose it's because we share the same name along with our similar experiences.

Give the kids a kiss from me! And, don't ask me how I know this…but you'd better go check on Lydia...

I miss you.

I love you.

I'll see you at dinner.

Mac


End