A hearty breakfast in the kitchen was followed by a pointed look in Harm's
direction from his grandmother and the remark, "I wouldn't mind being able
to check whether my barn's the same size inside as outside. I was wondering
whether you two boys would care to clean it out for me. You can put the
stuff back when I'm done." Harm smothered a smile, but could not respond
before his dad jumped in.
"Mom! I said I'd help out more, but that barn's huge!"
"Which is why I can't clean it out by myself. Now git, both of you."
Harm Sr seemed to be about to protest again, but Harm gave a deep sigh and put down his fork, swallowing his last mouthful of bacon. "She's not gonna give up, Dad, we may as well do as she says. Mac, you wanna come supervise?"
Something in his voice suggested to Mac that things were not exactly as they seemed, and she smiled at him. "Of course. The Navy can't do anything without the Marines."
"The Marines just slow us down so our movements can be seen by the naked eye."
"You keep telling yourself that." She stood up, and carried her plate over to the sink, where Grandma Sarah took it from her.
"Well, if you're all going, go. I need to clean up in here."
"Yes Ma'am!" The three all said it simultaneously, then burst out laughing.
"Doesn't look like she's been in here recently. The little door's rusted shut."
At that moment, something collided with said door. It rebounded off it and landed in a heap on the ground, into which it seemed to blend, becoming a grassy hillock. Harm Sr looked at it with a raised eyebrow as it started to rumble, as if some sort of earthquake were in progress.
"That guy has way too much energy. And if even he can't open that door, Mom definitely hasn't been in there recently. So why's she need the barn cleared now?"
"That's not the only door, Dad."
Harm walked over to the huge barn doors and undid the latch.
"Why'd she be using these doors?"
Harm grinned and threw the doors open. "She might not use these doors. Doesn't mean no-one does."
"My god," Harm Sr stood transfixed at the sight in front of him, "You did it. You actually did it."
The sun poured through the open doors to reflect off the yellow paint covering the old biplane, giving it a strange, ethereal appearance.
"Sorry we couldn't do it together, but you weren't around and I needed the therapy after my ramp strike."
His father didn't appear to hear him. He stepped forward, reaching out to run his hands over the lower starboard wing. A look of wonder, familiar to Mac from all the times she had seen in on Harm's face as he stood watching Tomcats take off over a pink-lit ocean at sunset. If she had ever doubted, this would have completely convinced her that Harm had inherited his love of flying from his father.
Harm Sr's voice grew hoarse as he spoke, his gaze still focussed firmly on the plane.
"I'd almost forgotten about her. I haven't thought about her in years. How's she fly?"
"Like a dream. Even Mac enjoyed flying in her, and when I took her up in a Tomcat she was sick as a dog."
"Harm, remember I only enjoyed it up until the time you crashed."
Harm Sr's head snapped round at this. "You crashed.?"
"It was an emergency landing. Split fuel line. The landing wasn't too bad, Mac just associates it with the homicidal poachers who tracked us through the woods afterwards."
Harm Sr looked slightly askanse at his son. "Do you ever go a week without something interesting happening to you?"
"From time to time."
"Okay. I take it Mom was hinting we should take this old lady out and let her spread her wings?"
"I can't get up here all that often. Wouldn't be right not to treat her good while we can, would it?"
They shared the grins of pilots who knew they were about to take to the air, and began to go about checking Sarah over. Mac watched them for a few minutes before something occurred to her.
"Which of you two boys is gonna fly her?"
Harm looked up with a start, hitting his head on the fuselage. "What?"
"You used your arm as an excuse not to drive, even though you did fly over. And your Dad doesn't have a civilian pilot's license, or at least not one that's in date."
"I've got a valid license. I can go in the back seat, Dad can take the controls. No problem."
The two men both had wild looks in their eyes, stupid grins on their faces and wind-ruffled hair when they came down from the clouds for a break.
"You two have fun?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
"Grandma Sarah brought down some lunch when she saw you start your landing preparations. You want to eat something before you go back up?"
"Lead the way!"
They settled down together on a blanket, forgetting the chill of the March day in their exuberant conversation, and joyful eating of the home-made lunch.
"It's weird flying for fun again. I haven't done it since I was a teenager. Last time I did aerobatics like that except as part of a dogfight was in flight school."
"I used to take Sarah up all the time when I was at JAG. Most of the time it was the nearest I could come to a Tomcat. It's actually because of her I went to a doctor to get my eyes rechecked, then got them fixed." Mac's smile lessened slightly. Harm, noticing this, mentally kicked himself. "And I don't think flying in space would be all that easy for someone who can't see in the dark."
Mac saw that he was trying not to bring up the first time he left JAG, and she was grateful for it. She was about to move the conversation on, when Harm's head snapped up.
"Harm? What is it?"
"Someone's coming."
"Who?"
"I don't know, but they've got a snake in their head."
"Mom! I said I'd help out more, but that barn's huge!"
"Which is why I can't clean it out by myself. Now git, both of you."
Harm Sr seemed to be about to protest again, but Harm gave a deep sigh and put down his fork, swallowing his last mouthful of bacon. "She's not gonna give up, Dad, we may as well do as she says. Mac, you wanna come supervise?"
Something in his voice suggested to Mac that things were not exactly as they seemed, and she smiled at him. "Of course. The Navy can't do anything without the Marines."
"The Marines just slow us down so our movements can be seen by the naked eye."
"You keep telling yourself that." She stood up, and carried her plate over to the sink, where Grandma Sarah took it from her.
"Well, if you're all going, go. I need to clean up in here."
"Yes Ma'am!" The three all said it simultaneously, then burst out laughing.
"Doesn't look like she's been in here recently. The little door's rusted shut."
At that moment, something collided with said door. It rebounded off it and landed in a heap on the ground, into which it seemed to blend, becoming a grassy hillock. Harm Sr looked at it with a raised eyebrow as it started to rumble, as if some sort of earthquake were in progress.
"That guy has way too much energy. And if even he can't open that door, Mom definitely hasn't been in there recently. So why's she need the barn cleared now?"
"That's not the only door, Dad."
Harm walked over to the huge barn doors and undid the latch.
"Why'd she be using these doors?"
Harm grinned and threw the doors open. "She might not use these doors. Doesn't mean no-one does."
"My god," Harm Sr stood transfixed at the sight in front of him, "You did it. You actually did it."
The sun poured through the open doors to reflect off the yellow paint covering the old biplane, giving it a strange, ethereal appearance.
"Sorry we couldn't do it together, but you weren't around and I needed the therapy after my ramp strike."
His father didn't appear to hear him. He stepped forward, reaching out to run his hands over the lower starboard wing. A look of wonder, familiar to Mac from all the times she had seen in on Harm's face as he stood watching Tomcats take off over a pink-lit ocean at sunset. If she had ever doubted, this would have completely convinced her that Harm had inherited his love of flying from his father.
Harm Sr's voice grew hoarse as he spoke, his gaze still focussed firmly on the plane.
"I'd almost forgotten about her. I haven't thought about her in years. How's she fly?"
"Like a dream. Even Mac enjoyed flying in her, and when I took her up in a Tomcat she was sick as a dog."
"Harm, remember I only enjoyed it up until the time you crashed."
Harm Sr's head snapped round at this. "You crashed.?"
"It was an emergency landing. Split fuel line. The landing wasn't too bad, Mac just associates it with the homicidal poachers who tracked us through the woods afterwards."
Harm Sr looked slightly askanse at his son. "Do you ever go a week without something interesting happening to you?"
"From time to time."
"Okay. I take it Mom was hinting we should take this old lady out and let her spread her wings?"
"I can't get up here all that often. Wouldn't be right not to treat her good while we can, would it?"
They shared the grins of pilots who knew they were about to take to the air, and began to go about checking Sarah over. Mac watched them for a few minutes before something occurred to her.
"Which of you two boys is gonna fly her?"
Harm looked up with a start, hitting his head on the fuselage. "What?"
"You used your arm as an excuse not to drive, even though you did fly over. And your Dad doesn't have a civilian pilot's license, or at least not one that's in date."
"I've got a valid license. I can go in the back seat, Dad can take the controls. No problem."
The two men both had wild looks in their eyes, stupid grins on their faces and wind-ruffled hair when they came down from the clouds for a break.
"You two have fun?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
"Grandma Sarah brought down some lunch when she saw you start your landing preparations. You want to eat something before you go back up?"
"Lead the way!"
They settled down together on a blanket, forgetting the chill of the March day in their exuberant conversation, and joyful eating of the home-made lunch.
"It's weird flying for fun again. I haven't done it since I was a teenager. Last time I did aerobatics like that except as part of a dogfight was in flight school."
"I used to take Sarah up all the time when I was at JAG. Most of the time it was the nearest I could come to a Tomcat. It's actually because of her I went to a doctor to get my eyes rechecked, then got them fixed." Mac's smile lessened slightly. Harm, noticing this, mentally kicked himself. "And I don't think flying in space would be all that easy for someone who can't see in the dark."
Mac saw that he was trying not to bring up the first time he left JAG, and she was grateful for it. She was about to move the conversation on, when Harm's head snapped up.
"Harm? What is it?"
"Someone's coming."
"Who?"
"I don't know, but they've got a snake in their head."