Part 15: Everything's Back To Normal?
October 5th 2003
As he was driving Harm wondered if he was doing the right thing. He looked over at the girl sitting next to him. She hadn't been too happy about coming with him, but he had convinced her to go and she had eventually agreed to come along. He just hoped Mac wouldn't be angry with him for this.
Tomorrow he was going to go back to work. The admiral had come out to the airfield and personally asked him back. Apparently the ones in charge had realized after the whole Imes-mess that they couldn't just throw an already experienced JAG-lawyer away like they had done with Harm and the admiral had gotten permission to ask him to come back. Harm hadn't accepted right away, but it really hadn't taken that long either to make up his mind. Just like for Mac, JAG was where he belonged.
"We'll be there soon," Harm said to Mattie, the girl sitting next to him.
Despite helping Mac with the Imes-case he had had a lot of free time at his hands and a couple of days earlier he had gone out to fly his Sarah. There he had discovered that the hangar had been sold and a 14-year-old girl was running it together with her father. She had offered him a job and Harm had accepted. He didn't want to be a lawyer at some private law firm and he'd take the first job he was offered if he got to fly. He also thought he had lost all of his chances to ever serve his country again.
Today he had realized that the father of Mattie really wasn't around and he had known since the first day that her mother was dead. Even if she had made it alone for some time already he didn't feel comfortable leaving her there alone. He was glad that she had decided to come with him.
He pulled up in front of Mac's apartment and they both got out of the car.
"Does this person even know that I'm with you?" Mattie asked. She now regretted agreeing to do this.
"Not yet. But I'm sure it will be OK," Harm tried to reassure her, but he was getting more insecure about that himself. What he did know however was that Mac wouldn't take it out on Mattie if she became angry with him.
Mac opened the door holding a crying Elena in her arms. She motioned for them to get in without asking who Mattie was.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," she said almost a little irritated. "I need to change her diaper. The dinner is cooking on the stove. Can you see to it?" she asked and disappeared with Elena into the nursery.
"That was Mac," Harm said to Mattie. "She seems a little stressed at the moment."
"You think," Mattie said and wondered if this man always stated the obvious. She looked around the living room. On the coffee table a lot of files and papers were spread out. There was really just place for one person to sit down on the couch since it for the biggest part was filled with washed but unfolded laundry. All around on the floor toys, blankets and other baby stuff lay. The baby was still screaming. She had no idea babies could make that much noise and this was where Harm wanted her to stay for the night. She wasn't going to get one ounce of sleep.
Harm told her to follow him into the kitchen and finish the dinner. The dish washer was half loaded and still a lot of things stood in the sink. Harm started to stir in the pots, which contained pasta and some tomato sauce. The can, which had contained the sauce, still stood beside the stove. The spaghettis where more than done, so Harm took them off and he and Mattie put everything on the kitchen table. Mac now emerged with a no longer quite as hysterical Elena.
"Hi, I'm Mac. I'm sorry about that before. It's kind of chaotic here at the moment." She offered her free hand to Mattie who accepted it.
"I'm Mattie."
"From the airfield. Harm told me about you."
"Oh, I thought he hadn't told you..." Mattie started, but was cut off by Harm.
"Mac, can I talk to you in private?" He didn't leave her any possibility to protest and just started dragging her off.
"Wait a minute," Mac said and put Elena down in her chair by the kitchen table. "Can you keep an eye on her for a minute?" she asked Mattie. Mattie looked quite scared at that, but if Mac noticed that she didn't do anything about it.
"Mattie's father is gone too. I just couldn't leave her there alone," Harm started to explain once they were alone in Mac's bedroom.
"So you want her to stay here?" Mac asked. She knew exactly what he wanted.
"Well only if it's OK with you."
"She's here now. I can hardly kick her out, can I?" Mac said a bit angry with him for not letting her have a choice in the whole thing. "You could at least have called before."
"I know. I'm sorry, Mac," he said and hoped she would forgive him. Elena had once again started screaming.
"We'll talk more about this later. I have to feed my daughter now," Mac said and returned to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry. I didn't do anything, she just started crying," Mattie said.
"I know, she's just hungry. She gets cranky like this sometimes in the evenings. You haven't been around babies a whole lot, have you?" Mac asked Mattie.
"No I haven't," Mattie admitted.
Mac got out Elena's food and started feeding her. She told Harm and Mattie to start eating and then tried to eat some herself while feeding Elena. It wasn't easy, but once Elena was finished she was content just sitting there for a while and Mac had a chance to finish eating.
"There are fresh sheets in the bed in Elena's room. I have rolled her bed over to my room so you don't have to worry about her. You've got a toothbrush and everything?" Mac asked and when Mattie said she didn't she advised her where she could find those things she needed.
"You do realize that we have to call children's protection services about her?" Mac asked Harm as Mattie was in the bathroom. Elena was already asleep in her own bed.
"I know. What do you think will happen?"
"I don't know. Will you take her back to the airfield tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I planned to... I kind of feel like apologizing for not helping you out here. I went away to fly and I could have helped you with all of this instead," Harm motioned towards the mess lying around in her living room.
"Harm, this isn't your responsibility. I love it when you do help me, but it's nothing I'm going to demand or expect from you. Besides you worked there, didn't you?" she couldn't believe that Harm actually felt guilty about this. She had realized that she didn't care where or with what he worked as long as he could come home at nights and wasn't out of contact for weeks.
"About that job..."
"You're going to help Mattie run her business?"
"No, the admiral came by today. He offered me to be reinstated. I can go back to JAG."
"Did you accept?" Mac asked a bit anxiously. He hadn't said that he wanted to come back to JAG, but the opportunity hadn't been there either.
"I did. I'm reporting for duty tomorrow at noon." He didn't get a chance to say anything more before Mac embraced him and kissed him.
"Everything is going to get better now," she said into his shoulder.
"I hope so"
"Then we can call about Mattie together from the office tomorrow. Maybe we can work something out for her too."
TBC
October 5th 2003
As he was driving Harm wondered if he was doing the right thing. He looked over at the girl sitting next to him. She hadn't been too happy about coming with him, but he had convinced her to go and she had eventually agreed to come along. He just hoped Mac wouldn't be angry with him for this.
Tomorrow he was going to go back to work. The admiral had come out to the airfield and personally asked him back. Apparently the ones in charge had realized after the whole Imes-mess that they couldn't just throw an already experienced JAG-lawyer away like they had done with Harm and the admiral had gotten permission to ask him to come back. Harm hadn't accepted right away, but it really hadn't taken that long either to make up his mind. Just like for Mac, JAG was where he belonged.
"We'll be there soon," Harm said to Mattie, the girl sitting next to him.
Despite helping Mac with the Imes-case he had had a lot of free time at his hands and a couple of days earlier he had gone out to fly his Sarah. There he had discovered that the hangar had been sold and a 14-year-old girl was running it together with her father. She had offered him a job and Harm had accepted. He didn't want to be a lawyer at some private law firm and he'd take the first job he was offered if he got to fly. He also thought he had lost all of his chances to ever serve his country again.
Today he had realized that the father of Mattie really wasn't around and he had known since the first day that her mother was dead. Even if she had made it alone for some time already he didn't feel comfortable leaving her there alone. He was glad that she had decided to come with him.
He pulled up in front of Mac's apartment and they both got out of the car.
"Does this person even know that I'm with you?" Mattie asked. She now regretted agreeing to do this.
"Not yet. But I'm sure it will be OK," Harm tried to reassure her, but he was getting more insecure about that himself. What he did know however was that Mac wouldn't take it out on Mattie if she became angry with him.
Mac opened the door holding a crying Elena in her arms. She motioned for them to get in without asking who Mattie was.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," she said almost a little irritated. "I need to change her diaper. The dinner is cooking on the stove. Can you see to it?" she asked and disappeared with Elena into the nursery.
"That was Mac," Harm said to Mattie. "She seems a little stressed at the moment."
"You think," Mattie said and wondered if this man always stated the obvious. She looked around the living room. On the coffee table a lot of files and papers were spread out. There was really just place for one person to sit down on the couch since it for the biggest part was filled with washed but unfolded laundry. All around on the floor toys, blankets and other baby stuff lay. The baby was still screaming. She had no idea babies could make that much noise and this was where Harm wanted her to stay for the night. She wasn't going to get one ounce of sleep.
Harm told her to follow him into the kitchen and finish the dinner. The dish washer was half loaded and still a lot of things stood in the sink. Harm started to stir in the pots, which contained pasta and some tomato sauce. The can, which had contained the sauce, still stood beside the stove. The spaghettis where more than done, so Harm took them off and he and Mattie put everything on the kitchen table. Mac now emerged with a no longer quite as hysterical Elena.
"Hi, I'm Mac. I'm sorry about that before. It's kind of chaotic here at the moment." She offered her free hand to Mattie who accepted it.
"I'm Mattie."
"From the airfield. Harm told me about you."
"Oh, I thought he hadn't told you..." Mattie started, but was cut off by Harm.
"Mac, can I talk to you in private?" He didn't leave her any possibility to protest and just started dragging her off.
"Wait a minute," Mac said and put Elena down in her chair by the kitchen table. "Can you keep an eye on her for a minute?" she asked Mattie. Mattie looked quite scared at that, but if Mac noticed that she didn't do anything about it.
"Mattie's father is gone too. I just couldn't leave her there alone," Harm started to explain once they were alone in Mac's bedroom.
"So you want her to stay here?" Mac asked. She knew exactly what he wanted.
"Well only if it's OK with you."
"She's here now. I can hardly kick her out, can I?" Mac said a bit angry with him for not letting her have a choice in the whole thing. "You could at least have called before."
"I know. I'm sorry, Mac," he said and hoped she would forgive him. Elena had once again started screaming.
"We'll talk more about this later. I have to feed my daughter now," Mac said and returned to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry. I didn't do anything, she just started crying," Mattie said.
"I know, she's just hungry. She gets cranky like this sometimes in the evenings. You haven't been around babies a whole lot, have you?" Mac asked Mattie.
"No I haven't," Mattie admitted.
Mac got out Elena's food and started feeding her. She told Harm and Mattie to start eating and then tried to eat some herself while feeding Elena. It wasn't easy, but once Elena was finished she was content just sitting there for a while and Mac had a chance to finish eating.
"There are fresh sheets in the bed in Elena's room. I have rolled her bed over to my room so you don't have to worry about her. You've got a toothbrush and everything?" Mac asked and when Mattie said she didn't she advised her where she could find those things she needed.
"You do realize that we have to call children's protection services about her?" Mac asked Harm as Mattie was in the bathroom. Elena was already asleep in her own bed.
"I know. What do you think will happen?"
"I don't know. Will you take her back to the airfield tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I planned to... I kind of feel like apologizing for not helping you out here. I went away to fly and I could have helped you with all of this instead," Harm motioned towards the mess lying around in her living room.
"Harm, this isn't your responsibility. I love it when you do help me, but it's nothing I'm going to demand or expect from you. Besides you worked there, didn't you?" she couldn't believe that Harm actually felt guilty about this. She had realized that she didn't care where or with what he worked as long as he could come home at nights and wasn't out of contact for weeks.
"About that job..."
"You're going to help Mattie run her business?"
"No, the admiral came by today. He offered me to be reinstated. I can go back to JAG."
"Did you accept?" Mac asked a bit anxiously. He hadn't said that he wanted to come back to JAG, but the opportunity hadn't been there either.
"I did. I'm reporting for duty tomorrow at noon." He didn't get a chance to say anything more before Mac embraced him and kissed him.
"Everything is going to get better now," she said into his shoulder.
"I hope so"
"Then we can call about Mattie together from the office tomorrow. Maybe we can work something out for her too."
TBC