…Till Death Does Us Part Chapter III – Part 8/24
Disclaimer - See part one for all important information
October 19
Harm and Mac's House
McLean, Virginia
6:45 AM
Mac reluctantly rolled over and looked at the clock on her nightstand, then at the baby monitor which was crying at her. She looked at the strand of blinking lights watching them glow green to red. She kept hoping that it would stop, but it didn't. "Okay, I'm coming," she groaned.
She stood out of her bed and grabbed her robe on her way out the door to Ty's room. She passed by the bathroom in the hall and could hear the shower running. Part of her was glad Harm was awake, while another part wished he was getting Ty and not her. She pushed open the door to the nursery and turned on the light. Moving quickly over to the crib, she leaned over and looked down at her son.
"Okay, you. What's all the ruckus about?" Mac asked as she pushed the blanket off of him and picked him up. He continued to cry, but not as loudly. A quick pat on his bottom determined it was not time for a new diaper.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, knowing that was the problem. "Okay, what do you say to some nice warm formula, then since we're up Daddy can cook us breakfast."
Ty continued to cry, but was slowly calming down being in his mother's arms. Mac smoothed her hand across his back and gently held him to her. She turned off the light and started to walk out of the room in time to see the bathroom door open and towel clad Harm step out.
"Morning, Harm." Mac yawned.
"Morning, Mac. Are you and Ty joining me for breakfast?" He asked stepping towards her and giving Ty a kiss on his forehead.
"Sure," Mac smiled as she noticed Harm was only wearing a blue towel wrapped around his waist. "Will you make pancakes?"
Harm thought playfully for a second. "I guess I can, as long as you start the coffee."
"Marine grade or weak?" Mac asked as Ty finally stopped crying.
"I guess I can handle Marine grade."
"Good, because I could really use a cup," Mac said as she started down the stairs.
Harm watched her walk down the stairs and started to his room. "I don't know. If I saw you every morning just in that pink untied robe and cotton nightgown I have a feeling I wouldn't need a cup of coffee."
Once Mac made it downstairs she prepared Ty's formula. As it was getting ready she placed the water into the coffee pot, added the normal amount of coffee and an extra spoonful for fun, and turned the pot on. Once Ty's formula was done she sat down and enjoyed a few quiet moments with her son as he ate his breakfast.
She started to think about the past month and a half. It was hard to believe how much her life had changed when Ty entered the world. While she was in the hospital it seemed like everyone from JAG had stopped by to see her and Ty. Even Admiral Morris stopped by with his congratulations and mentioned that he hoped that Ty picked up Mac's habits and not Harm's. Both Harm and Mac got a chuckle out of that.
The week after the birth wasn't that hard since Trish and Frank had come to stay with Harm and Mac. Trish wanted to make sure that Mac knew how to do everything, plus she wanted a chance to spoil her first grandchild. She did a very good job at that. Harm took the first few days off from work or only worked half-days, he didn't want Mac to be pressured or stressed with the baby. But she wasn't. Ty was an angel, only crying when he needed something. He loved being passed from person to person.
Harm spoke with Chaplin Tuner about Ty's christening and they set a date at the end of September. Trish and Frank had to go back to California, but when the time came for the christening they came back down. This time they brought Grandma Sarah, she and Mac promptly hit it off, much to Harm's enjoyment. It was a beautiful day for the christening, Ty wore the same gown that Little AJ and his brother had worn. Both Sturgis and AJ were more than happy to announce their place in Ty's life as his Godfathers. Only Harm teased Sturgis about being the Godmother, which Sturgis promptly ended by asking him if he remembered the 'sled incident' during their second year at the Academy. Harm quickly became quiet and had not called Sturgis Godmother since.
Mac always knew Harm would be a great father, but he really had surprised her during the past month. He was home every night on time, and would call if he was going to be late. He hated to miss Ty's bath time and would sing him to sleep whenever he woke up in the middle of the night. Mac had lost count how many times she had gone into the nursery just to see Harm staring at Ty. He was a doting father and Mac couldn't have been happier.
Not only was Harm doting over Ty but he also doted over Mac. Once she came home from the hospital he did everything in his power to help her. During the weekends he would take Ty on his morning runs, using the jogging stroller the people from JAG bought them. Sometimes the three of them would go for long walks in the early evening, with Harm wearing the baby chest carrier. They were a family, a little unconventional, but a family nonetheless.
"What are you thinking about?" Harm asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Nothing," Mac smiled up at him.
Harm walked over to the cupboard and pulled out two mugs. He poured himself and Mac a cup full of coffee. "No, you were thinking about something. What was it?"
Mac smiled. "I was just thinking about the past month and a half."
"What about it?" Harm asked as he put the cream and sugar into Mac's coffee.
"Just about how well everything has been going."
Harm handed Mac her coffee cup and gave her a sincere smile. "It has been nice."
"You're really good with Ty."
"Thanks." Harm responded, slightly embarrassed. He knew his son had him wrapped around his little finger and he wasn't afraid to admit it. "You really like being a mom."
Mac chuckled. "Yeah, I do." She looked down at Ty and noticed his bottle was empty. "Well, you were hungry this morning."
"He's got his mother's appetite."
"Speaking of which." Mac started.
Harm stood up. "Omelet or pancakes?"
"Omelet." Mac grinned as she placed the bottle on the table. "Can you hand me a burp cloth?"
"I can do that," Harm offered, reaching for the baby.
Mac looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "No, I've got it. Besides you did it yesterday and ended up having to change, since your son has such good aim."
Harm handed Mac a burp cloth and chuckled as he remembered the spit-up down the back of his shirt. "Yeah, AJ said I could only use Ty as an excuse for being late three times a month and yesterday was number four."
"Sounds fair to me," Mac said settling the cloth and Ty on her shoulder to burp him.
For the rest of the time they enjoyed breakfast and spoke about the events of the world and Harm's current cases. Harm didn't have time to take care of the dishes, but Mac didn't mind doing them. "If you leave them I can do them tonight."
"I'm pretty sure I can put them in the dishwasher," Mac jested.
"I know." Harm grinned. "So when is your doctor's appointment again?"
"11:30," Mac told him as Harm carried Ty into the foyer where his jacket, cover, and briefcase were.
Harm lifted Ty to his ear. "Ty just told me he wants to have lunch with his daddy."
Mac chuckled. "You just want to show him off."
"And you have a problem with this?" Harm laughed.
"I'm not putting him in that damn sailor suit, Harm," Mac informed Harm when she took him out of his arms.
"He's not going in that damn marine outfit either," Harm informed her putting his jacket on and grabbing his cover and briefcase.
Mac shrugged. "Okay, I'll just put him in that pink dress you bought before he was born."
"Nah, that's for when we have a girl." Harm smiled and before Mac could say anything he gave Ty a kiss on the forehead. "Be good for Mommy and I'll see you at lunch." Harm surprised Mac when he kissed her on the lips. "Bye." Then he grabbed his keys and cell phone off the table and walked out the door.
Mac stood there in the foyer as the door shut; still in shock from the kiss. He had been doing that more and more often, just usually it was a kiss on the forehead or cheek. Today was the first time since Ty's birth that they shared a lip-to-lip kiss. Ty looked up at his Mom and decided to remind her where they were and he wiggled in her arms.
She looked down at the tiny boy. "Okay, I know. Mommy needs a shower and you need a bath before the doctor." She and Ty went upstairs to start their day.
JAG
1:55 PM
Harm was feeding Ty as Mac finished her sandwich. "You know, while I'm here I'm going to see if AJ has a few minutes to see me."
"About what?" Harm asked before taking a sip of his drink.
Mac tried not to roll her eyes. "I come back next week."
"I keep forgetting that," Harm admitted.
Mac gave him a hard but questioning look. "Do you want me stay home?"
Harm knew this was something Mac was trying to come to terms with. She wanted to go back to work, but she didn't want to leave Ty. "I want you to do what you want to do."
"Harm."
Harm took a breath. "I want you to be happy and I know you want to be back here losing cases against me."
Mac raised her eyebrow at him. "Excuse me, Commander Ego, losing cases. Who beat your six on our last case?"
Harm shrugged. "Sturgis, you were out that day."
"Ah!" Mac stated before wadding up a napkin and throwing it at Harm, hitting him squarely but gently in the forehead. "Jerk."
Harm took the napkin and placed it on the table. "That's Daddy Jerk to you."
Mac laughed at Harm and was about to respond when a voice approached the table. "See not even with Ty do they play nice with each other."
Mac turned to see Sturgis and Bud walking over to them in the cafeteria. "Sir, I don't think they have ever played nice," Bud stated.
"Just wait till she comes back," Harm joked.
"Can we join you two?" Sturgis asked.
"Sure." Mac smiled as she moved the baby bag out of the chair next to her. "And what do you mean by that?"
"Nothing, well maybe that it's been a little too quiet around here lately," Harm told her.
"And the coffee hasn't been up to the usual….quality, Ma'am," Bud added.
"Well, I'll be back next week, Bud. I'm sure I can get the coffee back up to par," Mac told her younger friend.
"That's what we're scared of," the three men said in unison before they started laughing.
"It will be nice to have you back, Ma'am. Harriet's excited that you will be using the same daycare that we use for Jimmy."
"You and Harriet talked about it all the time, so we decided to go with it," Mac told Bud. She glanced over at Ty just as he finished his bottle. She reached into the baby bag and pulled out a cloth. "You want me to take him?"
"No, I've got him," Harm said and Mac handed him the cloth. "Finish your lunch. You're cooking dinner."
Sturgis grinned at the scene in front of him. Never in a million years would he bet that he would have seen a domestic Harmon Rabb. To top that off he never thought he would see Harm domesticated with Mac the Marine Colonel. Of course he knew part of their recent history and it still surprised him how much they repaired their relationship in such a short amount of time.
The four of them enjoyed small conversation while Harm took care of Ty. It only took a few minutes and Harm didn't mind a single one of them. After Ty was done he started to get a little fussy. "Here let me see him," Mac instructed.
Harm gave Ty to Sturgis who handed him to Mac. Mac took Ty into her arms and in an instant he calmed down. "I hate it when she does that," Harm announced.
"I know, Sir. Harriet does it all the time with the boys." Bud grumbled.
Mac chuckled. "It's because he knows my heartbeat. He was with me for nine months."
"Yeah, well I would just like to be able to do that," Harm told her.
Mac smiled impishly at him. "Sure, you can handle his temper tantrums when he's twelve to seventeen." Before Harm could respond she announced, "We're going to go see if Uncle AJ has a few minutes."
"You can leave Ty with me," Harm told Mac as he held out his arms to take Ty.
Mac laughed. "I have no desire to get my six reamed when he figures out you have his Godson and he doesn't."
Bud handed Mac the diaper bag. "Here you go, Ma'am."
"Thanks Bud." Mac smiled at him before turning to Harm. "We'll stop by before we leave." Harm shook his head. Mac then picked up Ty's hand and waved it at Bud and Sturgis. "Bye, bye, Uncle Bud. Bye, Uncle Sturgis."
"Bye, Ty," Sturgis and Bud said as Mac walked away.
Sturgis then looked at Harm. "You two seem to be getting along well."
"We are," Harm stated hoping Sturgis wasn't going to bring anything up.
"I think it's nice, Sir." Bud started, but paused when Harm turned to face him. But he continued. "I'll admit it, Harriet and I were a little concerned when you two told us about Ty and living together. It's nice to see that you and the Colonel can figure this thing out. Of course Harriet is still…" Bud stopped when he realized he was about to cross a line.
"Harriet is still what, Bud?" Sturgis asked.
"Nothing, Sir." Bud blushed, and quickly changed the topic. "You think the Skins are going to go all the way this year?"
Sturgis grinned and went with Bud's new topic. "I'm still rooting for the Browns; they are the official underdogs and have a chance this year."
Harm noticed the change and had a good idea what Harriet wanted. If only she knew what she wanted, they already were. If only he knew how to tell Mac without losing her and Ty for good.
Harm and Mac's House
McLean, Virginia
5:25 PM
Mac stood in the kitchen chopping up some vegetables for the salad for dinner as Ty slept in the living room. She put down the knife and placed two pieces of chicken in a pan, covered them with olive oil and rosemary and put them into the oven. She took a second and consulted her internal clock. Harm said he would be home around 5:30, the chicken took 25 to 30 minutes to cook, and Ty needed to be feed. The salad would take just a few more minutes. "Can't forget the carrots."
Mac opened the fridge and pulled out a bag of carrots. She was just about to set them on the counter top when the doorbell rang, effectively waking Ty, who gave a sharp cry at his slumber being interrupted. "Damn."
She set the carrots down, stopped by the living room to get Ty, and tried to soothe him on her way to the door. "Oh, I know. You were having that good dream of yours with the bunny rabbits and rainbows. It's okay."
She reached the door and opened it. She stood in shock at the person standing on her front porch.
"Hello, Sarah."
End Part 8