…Till Death Does Us Part Chapter III – Part 3/24
Disclaimer - See part one for all important information
Saturday July 24
Harm's Apartment
5:34 PM
"What a wasted day," Mac complained as she sat down on Ham's couch.
"Water?" Harm asked from the kitchen.
"Please."
Harm walked into the living room with two glasses of water. "I don't know. We saw a lot of homes."
"A lot of homes that were horrible," Mac groaned after she finished drinking some water.
Harm glanced at her. "They weren't that bad."
"No, they were just too small, too much, too big, water damage, needs a new roof. Do I need to go on?"
"Okay, you have a point. Some of them left something to be desired."
"Some?" Mac rolled her eyes.
"Okay, all of them."
"Harm, August 22nd is just around the corner. The baby is going to come if we have a house or not."
Harm looked at Mac's belly and knew she had a point. "Well, we'll look some more tomorrow and if worst comes to worst, then next weekend Sturgis and I will redecorate Chloe's bedroom."
Mac closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cushions. "Do you think we'll find something tomorrow?"
"I hope we will."
Mac slowly lifted her head from the couch and stood up. Harm gave her an odd look. "Your child is kicking my bladder."
"Again?" Harm laughed. He had found out very quickly whenever the baby did something that bothered Mac, it was his child.
Mac ignored him, but as she walked past him she lightly slapped his arm. Harm just chuckled.
A few minutes later Mac joined him in the kitchen. "Dinner?"
"Yeah, I thought about a nice salad with fresh fruit, topped with chicken," Harm explained to her.
"Mmmmmm…that sounds good. Need any help?"
Harm shook his head. "No, you've been on your feet all day. Relax."
"Okay." Mac sat on the barstool so she could keep him company as he worked in the kitchen. She looked at the papers on the counter top and saw a return address label with Frank and Trish Burnett printed on it. "How are Trish and Frank?"
"I guess they're okay; I haven't talked to them in a few weeks," Harm told her as he checked the chicken in the pan.
"A few weeks?"
"Yeah."
Mac thought for a second. "Harm, do they know about the baby?" Harm didn't respond. "Harm?"
"I haven't told them," he replied from the stove.
"Are you going to tell them?"
Harm turned around to face her. "I haven't found the words yet."
Mac picked her hand up and pretended it was a phone. "Hi, Mom and Frank. Guess what? Mac's pregnant with my child. You're going to be grandparents in a month."
"I don't think the direct approach would work with them," Harm told her. "Besides, have you told Matt and Chloe?"
"Yes."
"Really and what did they say?"
"They think it's great. Chloe can't wait to be an aunt."
Harm flipped the chicken and started to make the plates of salad. "What did they say when you told them I'm the father?"
"They asked me if you're the daddy."
Harm raised one eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah, Chloe said she's fine with you being the father, but Uncle Matt wants to have a talk with you."
"Should I be worried?" Harm asked with a small grin.
Mac thought for a second. "No, I think you should be thankful that he's in Leavenworth."
Harm gave a dry chuckle. "Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better."
Mac chucked with him, knowing Uncle Matt was a little upset. He didn't like the idea of his baby niece being pregnant and not married. He also told her he always liked Harm, but he wanted to talk to the 'dear boy.'
After dinner they talked more about the type of home they were looking for then decided to call it an early night. They would start at eight the next morning to look for a house. However, before Mac left, she made Harm promise to call and tell Trish and Frank.
10:35 PM
Harm held the phone in his hands and wondered what he was going to say. He finally gave up rehearsing the conversation and dialed the number.
"Hello."
"Hi, Frank, it's Harm." Harm smiled.
"How are you, Son?" Frank asked in a surprised voice.
"I'm good. How are you and Mom?"
"We're fine. Trish is out of town. She's in Boston visiting some friends."
Harm sighed. "Oh."
Frank caught the sigh and knew something was wrong. "What's wrong, Son?"
Harm ran his fingers through his hair. "I've got something to tell both of you and I don't know how to say it."
"One word at a time usually works."
"That's just it. I'm not sure how to say it. It's a complicated mess."
"Just tell me what's wrong, Harm," Frank said in a fatherly tone.
Harm took a deep breath. "Mac's pregnant and I'm the father." There was complete silence from Frank's end and Harm was worried the connection was cut. "Frank?"
"I'm still here," Frank slowly said. "How far along is she?"
"She's due next month."
"How long have you known?"
"I've known she was pregnant since mid-June, but I didn't know I was father till the 19th of July."
Frank looked at a calendar. "Today is the 24."
"Yeah."
"You just found out you're the father five days ago?"
"Yeah."
Frank thought about the situation and stared at the wall as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation. "Son, this might seem like a stupid question. But how did this happen?"
Harm bit his lip. "Once I got home from Grandma's after Thanksgiving I stopped by Mac's and tried to convince her that we should stay married. We argued and somehow ended up in bed together."
"Are you two still married?" Frank asked.
"That's the complicated part, Frank," Harm stated.
"Either you are or you aren't."
"We're still married, but Mac doesn't know it."
Frank nearly dropped the phone at that statement. "Son, I think you need to explain this to me and don't leave anything out."
"Yes, Sir," Harm said before he told Frank the whole story. He started with the call from Blaisdell, leaving Mac's after signing the papers and Mac going off to Italy. The seven months they didn't talk to each other and her return. He told Frank how he treated her and how Mac ended up in the hospital and when he realized he was the father.
Frank never questioned Harm, until Harm got to the end about finding the annulment papers. "So you didn't tell Mac about finding the papers?"
"I don't know how to tell her. I mean we're trying to find a house. How can we do that when I still need to tell her about the papers?"
"House?"
"Yeah, we decided we're going to get a house and raise the baby together."
Frank finally gave up and walked over to the bar area of the den and poured himself a drink. He took a large gulp of whiskey. "One dilemma at a time, Son. Let's work on the papers first."
"Legally, Mac and I are married. We have been since Las Vegas. The annulment is null and void for three reasons. The first being that we have consummated the relationship. Second reason is that there is now a baby in the picture, actually a soon to be baby. The third reason is that we missed the hundred day time limit."
"So, the only way out of the marriage is divorce," Frank stated.
"Frank, I don't want a divorce."
"You also didn't want an annulment, but you signed the papers."
"Because I didn't want to bring Mac into the life of being with a CIA agent, one who might not come home one day." Harm ran his hand through his hair. "I want to stay married with her more then before."
"Because of the baby?"
"I want to be with her and the baby."
"Okay, Harm, answer this question honestly. If Mac came back from Italy and she wasn't pregnant, would you still want to be married to her?"
"Yes," Harm answered without hesitation.
"Good, let's put that off to the side. Now, tell me about the house and let me see if I can help."
"We don't need any help on the house, Frank. We can afford it; we just can't find one that we like."
"What are you looking for? I know some people in DC that could help the two of you, since you are working with a deadline."
Harm had to agree there was a deadline, and with every hour it came closer. "A basic house. Three to four bedrooms, living room, kitchen, office space, and room for a baby to grow."
Frank thought for a few seconds. "Where?"
"Near Falls Church. We looked there today and didn't find anything we liked. We also checked out Rossyln and Arlington."
"How about McLean?"
"We're probably going to check there tomorrow."
Frank opened his rolodex. "Here, give Tom Byers a call. He's a friend of mine and will be able to give you a good deal on a house. His number is 561-867-5309."
Harm wrote the number down. "Does he work on Sundays?"
"Oh, he's not a realtor. He owns and manages a few houses in the DC area. I'll give him a call tonight and tell him to be expecting a call from you tomorrow morning."
"Will he mind?"
"Tom owes me a few favors. He won't mind at all."
"Thanks, Frank."
Frank smiled. "No problem, Son. I think you and Mac will find the perfect home."
"I hope so; she was upset that we didn't find anything we liked today."
"I can just imagine."
"I'm sure," Harm paused. "Frank, I need a favor."
Frank knew what was coming. "I won't tell your mother anything. This is one thing you need to tell her about yourself."
"I know, but hey think about the positive side."
"I can think of a lot of positives. Which one are you thinking about?"
"You're going to be a grandfather."
Frank chuckled as he felt pride rush through him. "Yes, I am. Trish is going to be thrilled once she gets over the initial shock."
"Once I know how to tell her I will."
"Will you tell her everything or just what she can handle?"
"The last part. I think Mac should know the whole truth before Mom."
"She should've probably known before I knew."
"Yeah."
Frank's other line beeped, he looked over at it and saw that it was Trish's cell phone. "Harm, Trish is on the other line so I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, and thanks for your advice, Frank."
"No problem, Son. Good night."
"Night, Frank," Harm said before he hung up the phone.
End Part 3
AN –
"Pssst… If you caught the 1980's reference you get the gold star."- Shoe.
"You're weird." – Gum.
"No, I just love the 80's." – Shoe.