"Mac?" Harm called as he entered the house the next evening. His quals had
gone well.
"Up here." She replied.
"I've got something to show you."
"I've got something to show you too." Harm made his way up the stairs his surprise under his arm.
"Hey Harm." Sturgis wiped his hands with a cloth as he exited the bedroom.
"Sturgis what are you doing here?"
"Making sure your wife doesn't get stuck on the floor again. What's that?" He asked when he saw what Harm was holding.
"A gift."
"Harm..." Mac stopped when she saw what he was carrying. "What... Where... What...?"
"Skates organised a collection among everyone we knew on the Patrick Henry. So I kind of had my own personal baby shower and this is the gift they got the baby."
"A five foot teddy bear dressed in a flight suit?" Sturgis questioned.
"They have a quirky sense of humour." He shrugged.
"Obviously. My question is how do you get something like that on a carrier in the first place?"
"Turns out Captain Ingalls thought it was a good idea too and gave them approval and for me to bring it back on the COD."
"It's creeping me out slightly. Why don't you put it in the spare bedroom?" Mac suggested.
"In a minute. What exactly have you been up to?" Harm asked. He looked at his wife who was dressed in dungarees rolled up at the ankles, bare feet, a blue t-shirt, her hair clipped up and everything was splattered in paint.
"I told you I need to decorate the baby's room this weekend. I couldn't sleep and needed something to keep my mind off your quals so I decorated. Then I got stuck on the floor and had to call Sturgis to get me up. He stayed to help out and so I didn't stand on a ladder again, not that I was planning on it. Come see it's almost finished."
"One you shouldn't have been painting, let alone standing on a ladder, two last time we talked you hadn't decided on a theme let alone a colour and three... and three."
"I know you wanted to do it yourself, but I needed something to do. Come see." She grabbed his hand and led him into the room so he avoided getting paint on his uniform.
"Wow."
"You like?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, it was what I was expecting though."
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know something either pale yellow or green or something a bright primary colour. I don't know with bunnies or teddy bears."
"I'm unconventional. Besides I'm not a bunnies and teddy bears kind of a girl."
"I'd hug you but I'd get paint on my uniform."
"Go change while Sturgis and I get on with this. Sturgis?" Mac prompted.
"Coming. It's nice to have you back Harm." He slapped him on the back. Mac lowered herself to the floor and picked up her paintbrush and went back to painting the farmhouse.
"So how can I help?" He asked. "Sturgis, I didn't know you were artistic." He said when he saw the completed wall with the tomcat, the carrier, a few other ships, a surfacing sub and the beach.
"Don't look at me. Everything from the horizon up Mac had painted before I got here and when I tried to paint a boat she promptly painted over it and redid it herself."
"I did him a paint by numbers or rather colours. As long as he follows it he should be fine. Follow the number on the wall with the Sarah on it. Its hills, trees and a river. The mixed paint is in the pots with labels to match the ones on the wall. Just follow it and we'll all be happy."
"Do you want to explain the idea behind this to me?" He asked as he sat down.
"Sure. Sturgis is painting the White House at the moment, from the bits he's finished so far you can probably see other recognisable monuments from basically every place we've ever been. The wall you're doing represents the traipsing round the woods after we crashed. But this time the plane stays in the air, and I couldn't fit the Potomac on Sturgis' wall. This wall is Grams's farm with a little embellishment on the animals. And finally that wall represents all the time we spent at sea. We have carriers, COD, Tomcats and a few other choice vessels and a beach with little Marines storming it."
"Can't forget the Marines." Harm smiled finding a colour that matched the one on the wall and picked up a brush.
"Damn right."
"Harm, don't get her on the Marine kick again I had a hard enough time getting her stop last night." Sturgis said.
"How long have you been painting this?"
"Since about 0230 on Saturday morning. I couldn't sleep."
"You know Dr O'Brien said you should get as much rest as possible."
"I went back to bed for a couple of hours after I painted the sky blue so it could dry. You can't paint clouds on wet paint." She informed him.
"And where do you come into this?" He asked Sturgis.
"She called me at 1500 yesterday because she sat down to cut in the beach and couldn't get back up. I made her stop at 2000 and wouldn't let her back in to 0900."
"Thanks. By the way you seemed to be expecting me when I came in the door."
"Skates called just after you left on the COD to let me know everything went by the book and you were on your way home. She didn't mention about the bear, but she did mention Captain Ingalls thought I could have done better."
"He told me that too."
"You'll do." She winked and smiled. "Now paint."
"Yes ma'am."
TBC
"Up here." She replied.
"I've got something to show you."
"I've got something to show you too." Harm made his way up the stairs his surprise under his arm.
"Hey Harm." Sturgis wiped his hands with a cloth as he exited the bedroom.
"Sturgis what are you doing here?"
"Making sure your wife doesn't get stuck on the floor again. What's that?" He asked when he saw what Harm was holding.
"A gift."
"Harm..." Mac stopped when she saw what he was carrying. "What... Where... What...?"
"Skates organised a collection among everyone we knew on the Patrick Henry. So I kind of had my own personal baby shower and this is the gift they got the baby."
"A five foot teddy bear dressed in a flight suit?" Sturgis questioned.
"They have a quirky sense of humour." He shrugged.
"Obviously. My question is how do you get something like that on a carrier in the first place?"
"Turns out Captain Ingalls thought it was a good idea too and gave them approval and for me to bring it back on the COD."
"It's creeping me out slightly. Why don't you put it in the spare bedroom?" Mac suggested.
"In a minute. What exactly have you been up to?" Harm asked. He looked at his wife who was dressed in dungarees rolled up at the ankles, bare feet, a blue t-shirt, her hair clipped up and everything was splattered in paint.
"I told you I need to decorate the baby's room this weekend. I couldn't sleep and needed something to keep my mind off your quals so I decorated. Then I got stuck on the floor and had to call Sturgis to get me up. He stayed to help out and so I didn't stand on a ladder again, not that I was planning on it. Come see it's almost finished."
"One you shouldn't have been painting, let alone standing on a ladder, two last time we talked you hadn't decided on a theme let alone a colour and three... and three."
"I know you wanted to do it yourself, but I needed something to do. Come see." She grabbed his hand and led him into the room so he avoided getting paint on his uniform.
"Wow."
"You like?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, it was what I was expecting though."
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know something either pale yellow or green or something a bright primary colour. I don't know with bunnies or teddy bears."
"I'm unconventional. Besides I'm not a bunnies and teddy bears kind of a girl."
"I'd hug you but I'd get paint on my uniform."
"Go change while Sturgis and I get on with this. Sturgis?" Mac prompted.
"Coming. It's nice to have you back Harm." He slapped him on the back. Mac lowered herself to the floor and picked up her paintbrush and went back to painting the farmhouse.
"So how can I help?" He asked. "Sturgis, I didn't know you were artistic." He said when he saw the completed wall with the tomcat, the carrier, a few other ships, a surfacing sub and the beach.
"Don't look at me. Everything from the horizon up Mac had painted before I got here and when I tried to paint a boat she promptly painted over it and redid it herself."
"I did him a paint by numbers or rather colours. As long as he follows it he should be fine. Follow the number on the wall with the Sarah on it. Its hills, trees and a river. The mixed paint is in the pots with labels to match the ones on the wall. Just follow it and we'll all be happy."
"Do you want to explain the idea behind this to me?" He asked as he sat down.
"Sure. Sturgis is painting the White House at the moment, from the bits he's finished so far you can probably see other recognisable monuments from basically every place we've ever been. The wall you're doing represents the traipsing round the woods after we crashed. But this time the plane stays in the air, and I couldn't fit the Potomac on Sturgis' wall. This wall is Grams's farm with a little embellishment on the animals. And finally that wall represents all the time we spent at sea. We have carriers, COD, Tomcats and a few other choice vessels and a beach with little Marines storming it."
"Can't forget the Marines." Harm smiled finding a colour that matched the one on the wall and picked up a brush.
"Damn right."
"Harm, don't get her on the Marine kick again I had a hard enough time getting her stop last night." Sturgis said.
"How long have you been painting this?"
"Since about 0230 on Saturday morning. I couldn't sleep."
"You know Dr O'Brien said you should get as much rest as possible."
"I went back to bed for a couple of hours after I painted the sky blue so it could dry. You can't paint clouds on wet paint." She informed him.
"And where do you come into this?" He asked Sturgis.
"She called me at 1500 yesterday because she sat down to cut in the beach and couldn't get back up. I made her stop at 2000 and wouldn't let her back in to 0900."
"Thanks. By the way you seemed to be expecting me when I came in the door."
"Skates called just after you left on the COD to let me know everything went by the book and you were on your way home. She didn't mention about the bear, but she did mention Captain Ingalls thought I could have done better."
"He told me that too."
"You'll do." She winked and smiled. "Now paint."
"Yes ma'am."
TBC