From part 8…
"Call Mommy," Calum issued his demand with confidence, "Tell her come get me."
Gina just seemed to ignore him and Calum began to think of what he could do to get her attention…it would have to be big, if he really wanted to get to her, she was just as determined as Mommy was. A little smile played across his face as an idea came to him. Oh, this was going to be good! He hated these funny underpants that Gina had put on him, after his bath. They felt weird and they didn't have any fun designs on them like the ones Mommy put on him. He took a deep breath and launched his 'master plan!'
"Calum!" Gina's mouth fell open and she dropped the phone as she watched Calum deliberately wet himself.
Part 9…
"Harm?" Mac padded through to the kitchen. She found Harm sitting at the kitchen island with a soda.
"Hey," he greeted her, "You alright?"
"Not really," Mac replied, honestly, "But I figure that it's going to take some time."
Harm nodded in sympathy.
"Uh, Harm?" Mac suddenly realised where they were and asked, "What are you doing through here?"
The empty cartons of Chinese food were on the counter-top, as were the dirty plates. He must have eaten his dinner through here.
"Oh, um…" Harm lowered his gaze, obviously embarrassed, "I, uh…I just didn't want to disturb you…"
Despite how bad she was feeling, a smile came to Mac's face, which brightened with amusement.
"Aw, Harm," she broke into a full grin, "You didn't have to do that."
"Well," he dismissed, "It wasn't just that…I needed to keep an eye on your dinner, in the oven…"
Mac nodded as he rattled off excuses, obviously not believing him.
"…and I was going to put those in the dishwasher…"
He pointed to the stack of insignificant plates and cutlery.
"and I figured the very least I could do was put everything away, seeing as I used it…"
"Harmon Rabb," Mac smiled, "are you rambling?"
"No!" he protested, too quickly, then conceded, breaking into a grin himself, "Well, maybe…"
Mac just got lost in his eyes when he had that look in them.
"Is there anything else I can do?" he asked, the flush finally fading from his cheeks.
He got no answer from Mac.
"Mac!" he said, louder, snapping Mac out of her dream-world, "I said, 'is there anything else I can do?' Really, anything, just name it."
He wasn't expecting the answer that he got.
"Kiss me…"
His eyes widened, as did hers, when she realised what she had said.
"Oh, my God," her mouth fell open, "Did I just say that out-loud?"
Harm chuckled, which eased the embarrassment she was feeling, just a little.
"Yeah," he nodded, "Did you mean it?"
Mac looked at him and decided to go with honesty.
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Well," Harm pretended to ponder the request, "I guess I could do that…"
Before Mac had time to think about it, Harm put his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, lowering his head towards hers. He stopped when they were nose-to-nose and looked into her eyes. He saw no objection there. In fact, it was actually Mac who first closed her eyes and brought her lips against his.
"Where's Mommy?" Calum wondered to himself.
Why wasn't she here, yet? She'd never left him this long before…At least it didn't seem like it. This had been forever! He wanted to go home, now!
"You really must go to bed, now, Calum," Gina spoke up, "It's very late…"
"No!" Calum growled, pushing her out-stretched hands away from him.
"Calum sweetheart…" Gina searched for the words to explain to him, "Nobody's going to come…"
"Want my Mommy!"
"Calum, I'm your Mommy…"
"I WANT MY MOMMY!" Calum literally screamed at her.
Gina just gave a frazzled sigh, sat herself down on the sofa and dropped her head into her hands.
Harm watched Mac pace about the living room for the umpteenth time. He was actually starting to feel a little motion sick, just through watching her.
"Mac?" he asked her.
She didn't even pause, only continued to wring her hands in anxiety.
"Mac…You okay?"
"No," she replied.
"What can I do?"
"Nothing," she told him, "There isn't anything you can do."
"Sure there is…" Harm encouraged.
""No!" Mac insisted, irritated, "There's not. Can you somehow make me a fit parent? Teach me everything there is to know about raising a child? Raising them to be all that they can be?"
"Mac," Harm sighed, "Nobody knows that they're going to be a fit parent…"
"But they've got the basics in order, don't they? Food, money, medical care and insurance. How on earth would I support a child on a military wage?"
"People do it," Harm argued, "They make it work, somehow."
"Is that what is best for the child?" Mac demanded, "Why have a child if you know you won't be able to give them everything they need?"
"People think that they will," Harm pointed out, "but they still fall short. Do you really think that my parents anticipated that I might grow up without my father? There are some things you can't plan for."
"No," Mac objected, "but your father was there when he and your mother decided to have children, wasn't he? He was there on the day you were born. I'm a 36-year-old woman, on her own. I don't earn enough to comfortably support a child. I live in a one-room apartment, which is hardly child friendly…The list goes on."
"All of those are reasons why you think you can't raise a child," Harm told her, "What about the reasons why you can? You could bring so much into his life."
"I couldn't be a mother and a father to him, Harm," Mac tearfully brought up the fact she knew Harm could not deny, "He needs a father. He deserves that much."
She wasn't expecting his reply to this fact.
"Then I'll be his father…"
Mac just stared at him. Had he really just said that?
"Don't…" her eyes began to brim with tears, "Don't do this if you don't mean it…"
"I do mean it," Harm told her with sincerity, "I mean every word."
"Are you doing it for me or for him?" Mac asked.
"I'm doing this for me," Harm took her hand and brought it to rest on his chest, above his heart, "I want to be with you…"
Mac continued to stare at him, as if assessing whether he really did mean what he had said.
"I just want to be with you," he continued, "Calum doesn't have anything to do with it. He's a wonderful child and you're great with him. If you wanted him to join us, so that we could be a family, that would be icing on the cake. But it is your decision and I'll go with whatever you think is best. I just want to be with you."
As a tear trailed down her cheek, Harm reached out and tenderly wiped it away.
"It hurts me," he whispered, "to see you hurting like this…my heart belongs to you. It always has. I just want to see you happy."
His words explained so much about his action over the duration of their partnership. All he had ever wanted was her happiness, even if it wasn't with him. But Mac needed to hear the actual words, coming from his own lips, before she would truly believe.
"Please tell me again," she whispered, "Do you really mean it?"
"With all my heart," Harm replied, without hesitation, "I just want to be with you…Sarah, I love you."
More tears followed the last ones, tracking down Mac's cheeks.
"Please don't cry, Mac," Harm grimaced as if she were physically torturing him.
Mac just burst into a teary smile.
"These are happy tears!" she beamed, sniffling.
"I'm glad," he smiled back, "So what do you want to do?"
Mac paused for a second, leaned her head back slightly and really thought about what it
was that she wanted. The answer came to her easily and afterwards, she wondered why she had even needed to think about it. The answer had been there all along, she had just been denying it.
"Oh God, Harm," a look of horror suddenly spread across her face, "I said I'd never make him spend a day without me, letting him know how much I love him…"
"So…you do…want to…?" Harm asked, gently.
"Yeah," the tears flowed again, "Please, we have to go get him…We need to go get our baby."
"I'll give Harriet a call," Harm moved into action.
"Hi Harriet, it's Harm."
"Commander, how is the Colonel?"
"She's okay Harriet. I'm sorry about the late hour…"
"Oh, that's okay, Sir, really it is. Bud and I have only just managed to get the boys to sleep. I think they're a little worried about Calum."
"So are we, Harriet, so are we. Did the social worker give you any information about where they were taking him? Did you get a contact number or anything?"
"Um, no, Sir," Harriet told him, trying to think, "Pete, Calum's new social worker, said that he was going to a home just outside of DC…He gave me his contact number though, Sir. The Colonel rushed off before I even thought to give it to her."
"Oh, that's great Harriet! Could you give that to me? Mac and I have to find out where Calum is."
"Are you wanting to check on him, Sir?"
"No, Harriet, we're going to go get him and bring him home…"
"Oh, Sir! That's wonderful! The best of luck, Sir!"
Gina Becker was surprised to hear her doorbell go at 11pm.
"Who could that be?" she asked her husband, Alan, who had recently arrived home from work.
He just gave her a quizzical look and they both headed for the front door.
"Pete?" Gina asked, "What are you doing here? Is there a problem?"
"Hi Gina, Alan, may I come in for a minute? I know it's late, but I'm afraid it's important."
Gina and Alan stepped aside to let Pete and the couple who were with him in.
"Gina, Alan," Pete introduced, "This is Colonel MacKenzie and Commander Rabb…"
"Sarah and Harm," the tall man moved to correct him, "Just call us Sarah and Harm."
She and Alan shook hands with them both. As Gina and Sarah did so, Gina looked into the attractive young woman's eyes and thought she might be able to guess why they were here tonight. The pain and suffering were very apparent in her eyes.
"You're here for Calum, Pete?" she asked the social worker, calmly.
"I'm sorry, Gina," Pete nodded, with real sincerity, "I really am, but Harm and Sarah have changed their minds…"
"Hang on a minute," Alan spoke up, not understanding, "I thought you said that Calum's mother was deceased."
"She is," Pete nodded, "But she placed Calum into the Colonel's care before she passed away. Sarah and Harm have been caring for Calum over the past few months."
"But they don't have any legal rights over Calum…" Alan argued.
"Alan, stop," Gina halted him, then turned to Mac, "I can see how much you miss him. He misses you too. He never would have settled here. He wants to be with you."
Before she got up, Mac reached out and took her hand.
"Thank you so much," she told her, gratefully, "You'll never know how much this means to us…"
"I'm a mother," Gina told her, "I understand."
With that, Gina disappeared upstairs to get Calum.