0300 Zulu;
Mac's Apartment;
Georgetown, Washington D.C.
"Haley... Hallie... Hannah..."
Mac flipped the page as she burrowed deeper down into the sofa. Reading the next name on the list, she snorted in amusement. "Harmony? Ugh, there's no way would I ever call you 'Harmony'. Besides, your daddy's ego is big enough already. Wouldn't want to encourage him, now would we?" she mused, rubbing a hand across her tummy.
On her way home from work that afternoon she'd impulsively picked up the book of baby names while waiting in the grocery store checkout line. So far she'd found a number of the suggestions to be highly entertaining. Grinning to herself, she read several more names out loud before the sound of a knock on the door echoed through the apartment. With a sigh, she set the book on the coffee table and flipped off the blanket she'd wrapped around her legs. Rising from her warm cocoon, she made her way across to the front door and gave a perfunctory glance through the peephole.
"Sorry I'm so late," Harm apologized as she opened the door. "Sturgis and I stopped at McMurphy's for a beer after the game."
"No big deal. Truth be told, it throws me off when you're actually on time." Flashing him a teasing smile, Mac returned to her seat on the couch. Harm closed the door behind him and shrugged out of his jacket as he followed her into the living room.
"Easy on the insults, Jarhead. Are those new slippers? I don't think I've ever seen them before." He motioned towards the large fuzzy panda bears she wore on her feet.
"Thanks," she said dryly, drawing the blanket back around her. "They were Chloe's, but I stole them because they're warm. So, how did the game go? Did Sturgis kick your six again?"
"Maaacc..."
"I'll take that as a 'yes'."
He fell back into a chair. "I lost by one lousy point," he complained. "Sturgis tackled me just as I was going for the shot."
"Tackled you?"
"Yeah, he thought he was playing NFL football instead of a friendly game of hoops."
"Got his sports mixed up, huh?"
"You know Sturgis, always competitive." Harm glanced away for a moment. Then blinking, his eyes once again met hers. "Actually, Mac, he brought something to my attention that I think we may want to talk about."
"What's that?"
"Well, he pointed out that a lot of people might not understand why we're having this baby," Harm began. "I mean, we discussed how to tell the Admiral, Bud and Harriet, Mattie and Jennifer..."
"... but we've never really talked about how we're going to explain it to everyone else," Mac finished for him.
"Sturgis mentioned it to you too?"
"At lunch yesterday," she nodded. "He said he knows that we're both committed to each other, but that it's not necessarily apparent to everyone. His suggestion was for us to make that commitment 'public'."
"'Public?' What exactly did he mean by that?"
Sighing, Mac pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them close. "He didn't spell it out, but the point was that people might have difficulty accepting this situation since you and I have never been romantically involved."
"He really said that?" Harm's expression turned pensive as he rubbed a finger across his lips. "When I spoke with him tonight, he was arguing about how we'd have to walk a fine line to avoid unpleasant rumors. He's right, Mac. People will speculate unless we give them an explanation right from the get-go."
"I know. As he so eloquently phrased it, we have to make it clear that we have good and honorable intentions towards this baby. Explain that this is a planned pregnancy and not the result of impropriety on either of our parts. You and I both garner a certain level of respect from the Navy and Marines, and what we tell the general public will certainly have a direct bearing on our reputations and appearance of integrity. Plus, it has to be something everyone will believe." She smiled. "Somehow I doubt they'd buy the story of two successful military attorneys having a baby together as a result of a deal made on a handshake five years earlier."
Harm chuckled. "Yeah, well, we don't have to reveal *all* the sordid details." He paused for a moment. "Harriet and Bud already know the truth. What did you tell Sturgis?"
"The whole story," she admitted. "A summarized version, certainly, but he knows the truth as well."
"Okay. I think the deal itself shouldn't be part of the general explanation. Need-to-know and close friends only. Agreed?"
"Cool beans," Mac nodded. "I agree. Go on."
"Cool beans?" Bemused, Harm raised an eyebrow at her. "Where did you pick *that* up?"
Mac chuckled. "It's from college. I must be regressing. Don't worry, I'm still with you."
"Okay, then," Harm muttered, shaking his head. "We should reinforce how close our friendship has been over the years..."
"...that we're both getting older..." Mac added.
"... and how we would trust the other with our lives."
"We already have. On a number of occasions," she said in a quiet voice.
"Yes, we have." Memories of Russia, Afghanistan, and Paraguay flashed through each of their minds. An awkward silence filled the room, and Harm shook his head in frustration. "This is going to be tough, isn't it." His eyes dropped to his hands, the stillness suddenly overwhelming. Mulling the situation over in his mind, after a few minutes he sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes came up to meet hers.
"All right," he began slowly. "I've got an idea of how we could handle this, but hear me out before you shoot it down. Okay?"
"I'm listening."
"When we first agreed to go through with the deal back in May, do you remember the discussion we had about alternative living arrangements for after the baby was born?"
"As I recall, the plan was for you to sleep on my sofa until the baby was old enough for us to share joint custody." Mac frowned as she wondered where Harm was going with this.
"Well, my idea involves speeding up the timetable." His voice was deceptively casual, belying the significance of what he was proposing. "I think we should move in together before we make the announcement. What do you say?"
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
To be continued...
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"Haley... Hallie... Hannah..."
Mac flipped the page as she burrowed deeper down into the sofa. Reading the next name on the list, she snorted in amusement. "Harmony? Ugh, there's no way would I ever call you 'Harmony'. Besides, your daddy's ego is big enough already. Wouldn't want to encourage him, now would we?" she mused, rubbing a hand across her tummy.
On her way home from work that afternoon she'd impulsively picked up the book of baby names while waiting in the grocery store checkout line. So far she'd found a number of the suggestions to be highly entertaining. Grinning to herself, she read several more names out loud before the sound of a knock on the door echoed through the apartment. With a sigh, she set the book on the coffee table and flipped off the blanket she'd wrapped around her legs. Rising from her warm cocoon, she made her way across to the front door and gave a perfunctory glance through the peephole.
"Sorry I'm so late," Harm apologized as she opened the door. "Sturgis and I stopped at McMurphy's for a beer after the game."
"No big deal. Truth be told, it throws me off when you're actually on time." Flashing him a teasing smile, Mac returned to her seat on the couch. Harm closed the door behind him and shrugged out of his jacket as he followed her into the living room.
"Easy on the insults, Jarhead. Are those new slippers? I don't think I've ever seen them before." He motioned towards the large fuzzy panda bears she wore on her feet.
"Thanks," she said dryly, drawing the blanket back around her. "They were Chloe's, but I stole them because they're warm. So, how did the game go? Did Sturgis kick your six again?"
"Maaacc..."
"I'll take that as a 'yes'."
He fell back into a chair. "I lost by one lousy point," he complained. "Sturgis tackled me just as I was going for the shot."
"Tackled you?"
"Yeah, he thought he was playing NFL football instead of a friendly game of hoops."
"Got his sports mixed up, huh?"
"You know Sturgis, always competitive." Harm glanced away for a moment. Then blinking, his eyes once again met hers. "Actually, Mac, he brought something to my attention that I think we may want to talk about."
"What's that?"
"Well, he pointed out that a lot of people might not understand why we're having this baby," Harm began. "I mean, we discussed how to tell the Admiral, Bud and Harriet, Mattie and Jennifer..."
"... but we've never really talked about how we're going to explain it to everyone else," Mac finished for him.
"Sturgis mentioned it to you too?"
"At lunch yesterday," she nodded. "He said he knows that we're both committed to each other, but that it's not necessarily apparent to everyone. His suggestion was for us to make that commitment 'public'."
"'Public?' What exactly did he mean by that?"
Sighing, Mac pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them close. "He didn't spell it out, but the point was that people might have difficulty accepting this situation since you and I have never been romantically involved."
"He really said that?" Harm's expression turned pensive as he rubbed a finger across his lips. "When I spoke with him tonight, he was arguing about how we'd have to walk a fine line to avoid unpleasant rumors. He's right, Mac. People will speculate unless we give them an explanation right from the get-go."
"I know. As he so eloquently phrased it, we have to make it clear that we have good and honorable intentions towards this baby. Explain that this is a planned pregnancy and not the result of impropriety on either of our parts. You and I both garner a certain level of respect from the Navy and Marines, and what we tell the general public will certainly have a direct bearing on our reputations and appearance of integrity. Plus, it has to be something everyone will believe." She smiled. "Somehow I doubt they'd buy the story of two successful military attorneys having a baby together as a result of a deal made on a handshake five years earlier."
Harm chuckled. "Yeah, well, we don't have to reveal *all* the sordid details." He paused for a moment. "Harriet and Bud already know the truth. What did you tell Sturgis?"
"The whole story," she admitted. "A summarized version, certainly, but he knows the truth as well."
"Okay. I think the deal itself shouldn't be part of the general explanation. Need-to-know and close friends only. Agreed?"
"Cool beans," Mac nodded. "I agree. Go on."
"Cool beans?" Bemused, Harm raised an eyebrow at her. "Where did you pick *that* up?"
Mac chuckled. "It's from college. I must be regressing. Don't worry, I'm still with you."
"Okay, then," Harm muttered, shaking his head. "We should reinforce how close our friendship has been over the years..."
"...that we're both getting older..." Mac added.
"... and how we would trust the other with our lives."
"We already have. On a number of occasions," she said in a quiet voice.
"Yes, we have." Memories of Russia, Afghanistan, and Paraguay flashed through each of their minds. An awkward silence filled the room, and Harm shook his head in frustration. "This is going to be tough, isn't it." His eyes dropped to his hands, the stillness suddenly overwhelming. Mulling the situation over in his mind, after a few minutes he sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes came up to meet hers.
"All right," he began slowly. "I've got an idea of how we could handle this, but hear me out before you shoot it down. Okay?"
"I'm listening."
"When we first agreed to go through with the deal back in May, do you remember the discussion we had about alternative living arrangements for after the baby was born?"
"As I recall, the plan was for you to sleep on my sofa until the baby was old enough for us to share joint custody." Mac frowned as she wondered where Harm was going with this.
"Well, my idea involves speeding up the timetable." His voice was deceptively casual, belying the significance of what he was proposing. "I think we should move in together before we make the announcement. What do you say?"
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
To be continued...
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