Part 16

Nearly an hour later, Harm and Mac collapsed in a tangled mass under the bed sheets.

"Wow, sailor," Mac breathed, "You weren't kidding."

"There's still life in this old sea-dog, yet," Harm grinned.

He waited until they both had their breath back, before pulling out of Mac's arms, slightly.

"Sarah? I've been thinking about what we talked about…about where we go from here."

"You mean about having kids?" Mac asked.

Harm nodded.

"I've been thinking about what you said, about how you love Mattie like she's your own, that genetics isn't the only thing that makes a family…and I think that I…no, I know that I agree with you…"

"Really?" Mac asked, her expression serious.

"It doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to try for our own baby, at some point, but I think that if we were to adopt more kids, like we did with Mattie, we could put together a pretty great little family. And perhaps Mattie might feel a bit more like she belongs. I know how great you are with her, but she spends so much time away from home and so much time recovering from her PT that I feel that sometimes she may think that she's not a full member of this family."

Mac nodded, she'd had the feeling a couple of times herself. It wasn't happening so much now as it had before they legally adopted her, Mattie seemed to be a much more resilient person now that she had learned some of the skills to help her in her daily life, but Mac noticed that she sometimes seemed to cling to them both, more so than most sixteen-year-olds did. Mac even remembered one occasion when, after a nightmare, Mattie had joined them on the couch, falling asleep between them as they watch a movie.

"I do everything I can to help her with that," Mac told Harm, "But I know that all I can do is reassure her. But that doesn't always silence the voices in your head, does it?"

Harm shook his head. He of all people knew about what it was to be haunted by the unreasonable and illogical.

"Are you sure that this is what you want?" Mac asked, making sure, "You realize that we may not ever be able to have any the natural way, don't you?"

"Yes, but let's not worry about it until we come to that. And I'm sure about this decision, now," Harm nodded, taking her hand in his, "Do you still want this?"

Mac nodded, bringing their hands up to her mouth and kissing the back of his.

"Good," Harm repeated the action, kissing hers, "But don't give up hope, Mac…We've still got a four percent chance and I'm not going to give up on it."

"Me neither," Mac agreed, "But I'll still be 100 happy, no matter what the outcome with that. Whatever we get after this is an added bonus."

OOOO

Neither Harm nor Mac knew how to take the next step. First, they talked through the idea with Mattie, who had every right to have a say in the matter. The teen seemed touched that they had thought to include her in the decision. She knew deep down that she was considered a part of the family and this only served to bring that message home.

"I think it's a great idea!" she bubbled with enthusiasm.

Next, they decided to go to see Bud and Harriet, who could advise them and put them in touch with social services, here in London. The two of them had, by now, had much more experience in dealing with the organization.

However, since they were presently the only ones whom Bud and Harriet relied on to baby-sit the children, Harm and Mac went over to their house, as going out was therefore out of the question.

They were surprised when Harriet answered the door, but led them through to the kitchen, obviously wanting to speak to them in private. Bud was also there, with AJ, Jimmy and the twins, who had just woken up from their afternoon nap. Harriet was afraid that they would get hungry for their mid-afternoon feed and cry the house down.

"We're just staying out of the way while Wendy Moon is here," Harriet explained to them.

"I wondered whose car that was in the drive," Harm spoke up.

"Has she got everything sorted out about the new home?" Mac asked.

Harriet nodded, but gravely so and continued, "But the house she's getting has two less bedrooms than before…That means that she won't be able to take some of the kids."

Harm and Mac's faces fell, as they managed to figure out what this probably meant.

"Mommy?" AJ took a little longer, "Are Tiegan and Tyler going to go home with Mrs. Moon today?"

He didn't look very pleased at the prospect.

"No, sweetie…" Harriet closed her eyes as she tried to explain.

When she failed to find the words, Bud jumped in.

"No, son. Mrs. Moon won't be able to take them with her. She only has three bedrooms in her new house, so that will mean there'll be one for the boys, one for the girls and one for her and her husband. She says she can only fit four kids in each, so she will only be taking eight kids home with her this week. She's picked six of the youngest, then two others who have special needs…"

"Will they stay with us, then?"

"For a while, yes…But they can't stay with us forever, son…There just isn't room."