Disclaimer:
I don't own Tiner.
-*-*-
Have Faith
Part Three:
Don't Leave Me Alone
-*-*-
Harm emerged from his office with Wendy, as Mac, Davy, and their gang of kids arrived back in the bullpen. They all met back up in the middle of the room, but were quickly called to the Admiral's office by Tiner. They did as told and entered the office as quietly as a band of seven people could. Finally they entered the room and all came to attention.
"At ease." He sighed softly, "I just received word that Ens. Parkington and Lt. Parks are filing a lawsuit against their daughter."
"What?" Davy exclaimed then recomposed herself, "Sorry, sir."
"It's alright. That was my reaction. They've decided to file a suit against you for blackmail and deformation of character. They want to court martial you."
"I knew they'd pull something like this." She murmured.
"I just wanted to alert you to this. I assume Col. MacKenzie's involving herself in some way."
Mac nodded, "I'm planning on assisting Cmdr. Rabb." 'Killing Carli and Jacob.'
"Very good. Dismissed." He turned back to his paperwork.
"Aye Aye, sir." Harm said, and the group walked out.
They maneuvered their way through the pulsing throng of people and out of the building. Harm approached his car, "I guess we can talk out here."
"It's better then being in there. It's really crowded. Lot of people." Beth commented, more babbling then anything else.
Harm nodded and smiled at her long enough that she smiled back.
'Definitely Harm's goddaughter…hell, with that smile she could be his daughter.' Mac thought, but tore herself away from citing the similarities in the two.
"I'd love to stay. But these two are grounded for going on a certain trip without permission, so I guess we'll be going now." Wendy broke the silence.
"Aww, come on, Wens! We only get a real chance to hang out with Beth during the summer and it just started! Please just a teeny bit longer!" Gio begged.
Wendy shook her head, "Then you should have thought about that before you and the brain surgeon took that trip to New York." She took her keys out of her pocket and walked over to the car, leaving the twins and Beth to say goodbye.
"Call me." Gio ordered Beth, "Everyday, okay?" She hugged her friend, "I'll miss you."
"I know." They hugged for a minute longer, before Gio let go, squeezed Beth's hand, and walked to the car.
Gen moved closer to her, "We'll come see you one day."
"Promise?"
"Promise. Wendy can't watch us every minute of the
day."
Beth laughed, "Gen! Don't get in more trouble or I'll be watching her nail your six to the wall."
Gen smiled and pulled her into a hug, "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you and Gio too." After a moment, Gen did the same as his sister.
The car pulled out from the spot, and as they drove away, Gio and Gen waved to Beth from the back seat. Beth, however, only stood stolidly and stared as two more of the people she loved left her.
Davy turned around and looked at her uncle, "Maybe we should go back inside now."
Harm nodded, "Beth." He said, before putting his hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but continued to stare straight ahead. Sighing heavily, he picked up his goddaughter (A/N: Remember Harm's 1'4" taller then Beth!). She struggled momentarily, then relaxed against him and allowed herself to cry. "Shh…It's okay, Beth. It's alright."
"No…it's not!" She cried into his shoulder, as he carried her back inside the building.
"Then I'll make it right." He whispered to her, entering the elevator, "I'll fix everything."
Mac was about to remind him about promises he couldn't keep, when the elevator door opened and Harm made a beeline for his office. She was about to follow, but Davy grabbed her arm.
"There are two people in the world that are guys and my sister trusts. One is Gen and the other is Uncle Harm. She knows he wouldn't hurt her."
"I know." Mac replied, heading toward her own office.
Harriet had watched the scene and got up. She appeared beside Davy, and scared the young woman half-to-death.
"Oh, Lt. Sims. I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you to be right next to me."
Harriet smiled, "I know. And if I'm gonna call you Davy, you can call me Harriet."
"Thank you." Davy smiled back, and noticed a little boy at Harriet's desk, "Hello there. Is he yours?"
"Yes, he is. AJ, Say hello to Davy."
AJ waved at her.
"So this is the little munchkin that my uncle was talking about. Beth and I were wondering when we would get to meet him." She ruffled his hair, and received a mock-glare.
-*-*-
Fifteen minutes later, Harm had migrated from his desk chair to the floor, his back against the front of the desk. He was still rocking her and rubbing her back, trying to think of anything that would make her feel a tiny bit better.
Beth was still crying and showed no signs of stopping, but He didn't care. He knew how Beth handled her emotions – same way he did at her age. She bottled them up and never let them out.
"I'm sorry." She sobbed.
"It's okay, Beth. It's okay. I know you feel bad, like everything is falling apart. It's okay to cry."
She turned her head to look at him through red eyes, and spoke quietly, "No one's ever said that to me."
"Really?"
She nodded, and laughed, "Davy would cry, but she never said it was okay."
Harm hugged her again, "Well, now you know." He sighed, "I wish I could make you feel any bit safe."
"Wanna know a secret?"
"Sure."
"Davy doesn't even know this. I think she has an idea but she doesn't really know, but…umm…I feel safe with you. Just you. Not even Davy or Gen or Gio or Wendy. You."
Harm smiled, and kissed her hair, "Good, because I'm going to keep it that way. I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you again."
"Everyone's making me promises." She laughed, "I hope they all get kept."
"Haven't
made you one that I've broken yet!"
"Touché."
Harm shifted, but Beth tensed up, fearing he would leave her alone. "What's the matter?"
"You're leaving. I don't want you to leave."
Harm patted her hair, "I'm not going anywhere. I just needed to move my legs." He thought for a second, "Beth, Wendy told me something today."
"What?"
"She told me that I shouldn't leave you alone."
Beth cocked her head a side, and looked up at him, "Don't leave me alone. Please."
"I won't. If you don't want me to, I won't. I won't leave you alone if you're afraid to be alone."
'That's
the problem, Uncle Harm. I'm not afraid
to be alone, it's what I'll do that I'm scared of.'
-*-*-
Harm, Davy, and Beth all jumped into his car, as the afternoon downpour began as predicted. It had taken another forty-five minutes for Beth to calm down, then fifteen to compose herself enough to let Harm open his office door. It took a few hours before she would let herself leave the building. But Harm had used the time to his advantage, and talked to Davy about Beth and the abuse. The two came to the conclusion that since Davy was still finishing her graduate schooling and the fact that she trusted him, when the time came for temporary and then permanent guardianship of Beth to be handed over to someone, Harm would take her. Even Mac and Chegwidden agreed, something Harm regarded as an omen.
He looked at Mac, as she got into her own car, "I guess I'll see you in a few minutes."
"Count on it!" Mac told him, smiling, and pulling out of her spot.
He closed the window and began to pull out of the parking lot, "So what do you guys want for dinner?"
Beth looked at him oddly, "If Mac is coming over, why are you going to go out for dinner?"
"I meant take out, Little One."
Beth blushed, "Are you gonna call me that for the rest of my life?"
"Probably."
"Damn." Beth covered her mouth, "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I said worse words than that. How's Italian sound?"
"Italian sounds good. Is it okay with you, Davy?" She twisted around to look at her sister.
"Sounds great to me." She replied.
Harm turned on his blinker, "How was school this year?"
"It was okay. A bit dull, but okay. I can't wait to get to the high school." She grinned.
"I'll bet." He pulled into the parking lot of the diner, "Lemme see – Gnocchi with meat sauce for you." He looked at Beth, and then at Davy, "Cheese Calzone with marinara sauce."
"Right."
Harm grabbed his wallet and jumped out of the car.
"So what did you tell him?" Beth asked.
"Bare facts. When it started. Where it happened. What they did."
Beth stared at her sister, "How can you be so calm? I feel like I'm gonna puke and cry and everything at the same moment."
"I moved out when I was eighteen. That's seven years away from them. I've gotten my life back in some sort of order."
"Except for the days you sleepover." Beth mumbled.
"I know. You do know you're gonna have to talk to him."
"Uh huh. I'm ready for it. Nervous but ready." Beth looked at her shoes then back at Davy, "I…I've been wanting to ask you something. Don't be mad, okay?"
"I won't be mad."
"I want to live with Uncle Harm."
Davy nodded her head, "I figured. Me and Uncle Harm already decided. When guardianship has to be given to someone, it'll go to him. I knew you'd want to stay with him." She smirked at her sister, "I think he was really happy when I explained that you love him like a father. He commented that it'd be great if he could call you his daughter."
"You think he'd like it?"
"Yeah. He loves you, girl."
Beth sat back in her seat, 'I hope so. Because if I call him dad accidentally, I'll probably mean it.'
-*-*-
Cassie Jamie
If you…damn, monotonous…How about – Reviews, Reviews, everywhere, Part four will be your drink…