Part 21

Harm took hold of his wife and daughter's hands, underneath the table as they waited for the Moons to arrive. Mattie had been twitchy since they had arrived, but Harm and Mac didn't know whether her nerves were giving her trouble or whether she was just anticipating what was to come. They both felt terrible when they considered that Mattie might be worrying about giving a 'bad' impression and ruining their chances. She had briefly mentioned it in the car on the way over.

"Mattie," Harm had explained and then joked, "you're only going to strengthen our chances. If anything, they might see what a great kid you are and attribute some of that to us…Wrongly, but they don't have to know that, huh?"

Mattie and Mac had both chuckled, softly, but then went back to their internal musings.

The rest of the journey had passed in silence.

Harm didn't have any chance to say anything, for Wendy and Alfred both arrived, at that moment.

Harm and Mac both rose from their seats to greet them, but Mattie thought it would probably be okay for her to remain seated.

The couple both greeted them all very warmly, Mattie included.

"You're just the same age as Robby," Wendy kindly told the girl, "You're in year twelve?"

"I'm in the tenth grade, that's year eleven, I think," Mattie replied, "But I should be moving up to eleventh grade any time, now."

This was something they haven't thought of, but Wendy didn't seem to think anything of it, for she didn't ask anything about it. Mattie was still a little behind on her education, what with the accident, but only by a few months or so, now. She had been steadily catching up once she had progressed more with her PT and the rehabilitation centre was pretty helpful in aiding her to do so.

"And what's your favorite subject?" Wendy enquired, with interest, "Robby's is geography. He's just back from a school trip to Spain, cave diving."

"Probably history," Mattie told her, "It's not my top class, but I enjoy it the most. My top subject is English, especially creative writing."

"Mattie's adjusting well to her classes here," Mac told Wendy and Alfie, "It helps that her school is an American one, but the curriculum does include a lot of international content, too."

"I like British history," Mattie agreed, "especially ancient history. The UK's comparatively a lot older than the States."

Once they had managed to get a comfortable dialogue going, Harm and Mac told them more about themselves (keeping their personal history brief), the circumstances in which they had adopted Mattie (saying that Mattie's Father had been unable to care for her on his own), and their relationship with the Robert's family.

"Tiegan and Tyler have told us a lot about you," Wendy revealed, "You seem a very kind couple. You've given Bud and Harriet so much help."

"We love our Godchildren," Harm smiled and explained, "We were so happy when they decided to relocate here to London, with us."

"Do you anticipate being moved on?" Alfred asked, which was an important consideration, "I mean, I've heard that people employed by the US military are often moved about a bit."

"We're hoping that won't be the case," Mac answered truthfully, "However, we can never know for sure. But with this new command position that Harm has, we're hopeful that we will remain here until Harm retires. There's also Mattie's education to think about; we think she's been through enough upheaval, moving from DC with us. Our plans are to stay here, even after Harm retires, though."

"And you, Colonel?" Wendy asked, "Harriet told me that your duty is with the American Embassy here in London."

Mac nodded, "Yes, and that should be a permanent, stable posting. For the foreseeable future, I'm going to be serving on a part-time basis."

"Mac and I both felt that it would be best if Mac helped in getting Mattie settled in here," Harm told them, "She's been very supportive of my career and Mattie's care. They're both so close, I never have to worry about either of them."

"I've enjoyed spending more time with Mattie," Mac shared a smile with their daughter.

"She's become really house-proud, too!" Mattie joked.

They all laughed and Wendy Moon could tell that the family was an incredibly close one. She had no idea of the circumstances that had led to this, but she could tell that they were probably unique ones.

"So, how long have you been living with your Mother and Father?" Alfred asked Mattie.

"It's been nearly a year since they adopted me," Mattie told him, "But I knew them both for over a year before that. Custody kept on getting switched around, because my biological father found it difficult to care for me, but could never decide about allowing somebody else to take over full custody of me. But Harm and Mac were always there to support me, since a few years after my biological mother passed away."

Alfred and Wendy seemed impressed, but Mattie had to excuse herself to them, because she had a more pressing matter to attend to.

"Uh, Mom?" she asked Mac, "I need to visit the lady's room. Would you like to go to come with?"

Mac nodded in understanding. With a little bit of subtle help, Mac helped Mattie to her feet and they disappeared in the direction of the lady's toilets. Harm didn't think they had drawn any attention, but was proved wrong when Wendy kindly enquired.

"I hope you don't think me nosy, but if I may, was your daughter injured before you first came to know her?"

"No, it's fine for you to ask," Harm assured her, deciding to hide nothing, "And no, we knew Mattie before her accident. Mattie came to live with me while her biological father went through a bout of illness, then she moved back with him for a couple of months. After that, about seventeen months ago in total, she was injured in a plane collision and afterwards, her father decided that he was just unable to provide her with the care she needed. He was still reeling from the death of his wife, something that Mattie had also taken hard, so he signed over guardianship to me and just over a year ago, Mac and I made it official. But Mattie's injuries are much improved and comparatively slight, compared to what they could have been. Mac and I are incredibly proud of the way she's recovered. I have no doubt that she'll achieve everything she sets her mind to. She has so far."

Wendy and Alfred had listened with interest and understanding and smiled as Harm concluded.

"Yes," Wendy nodded, "You seem like a close family. I can see that you and your wife are very supportive of her. And I'm sure that Bud and Harriet must provide you with a lot of support, too."

"Yes," Harm nodded, "They do; a lot of help. We also have another friend, with whom I work, who came with us from our last post in DC. She's closer in age to Mattie than Mac and I and they spend a lot of time together. If there were ever anything Mattie feels she can't discuss with us, she'd talk to Jennifer, I'm sure. Mac and I are both glad that it's never come to that, though!"

Wendy and Alfred both chuckled, after which Mac and Mattie both returned to the table.

"Your Dad was just telling us how proud of you he is," Alfie told the teenager with a smile.

Mattie took it in her stride, for she knew just how much she was loved by both of her parents, they had told her as much many times.

"Yeah," she nodded, "He's great…so is my Mom. They're both great. I don't know what I'd do without either of them."

After that, Wendy and Alfred felt they knew everything they needed to, so they told Harm, Mac and Mattie more about themselves, about the children who they were foster parents to and how much it had hurt them when they realized that they would not be able to bring them all home with them, when they got the keys to the new house.

"Wendy and I are in our fifties, now," Alfred explained, "We've been foster parents since soon after we got married in 1973. They don't always allow couples to foster when they're as…mature as we are, but they know how we much we love the kids we take into our home. After thirty-three years, we know a lot about taking care of children, but almost nothing about finance and insurance. We thought we'd be covered, but apparently, when we took the insurance out fifteen years ago, this package was standard. Nowadays, it no longer covers you completely. Nobody ever told us this. We wish we'd only had you and the Roberts to advise us, before this happened."

Harm and Mac smiled in sympathy, this was the case with many other couples of the Moons age. Many simply knew little about such matters. It was hardly fair that they had spent their life giving to society, only to have this happen to them.

The rest of the night, they spent chatting comfortably, letting the conversation take its own direction. Mattie thought how much she liked the couple and ached for them, because they had to make such a painful decision. But their loss would hopefully be her family's gain and she dearly hoped that the couple had decided that they were a good enough family to raise the kids whom they had loved as their own for almost seven years.

OOOO

"Well?" Albert Moon asked his wife, as they made their way out to where their car was parked, "What do you think?"

"I think they're wonderful people," Wendy nodded, "And I think they'll take very good care of the children…But…"

"But unfortunately," Alfred finished her thought, "it isn't our decision to make. I know, they are a great couple and they really seem to love their daughter just as if she were their own biological child. It's just what we were wanting for Tiegan and Tyler."

"But getting Child Protective Services to agree might take some work," Wendy predicted.

"With their military status, it might be," Alfie agreed, "Well, for their sake, I hope that Child Protective Services agrees with us."

"We," Wendy decided, "Alfie, are going to do our best to bring them around to our way of thinking, okay?"

"Yes, dear," Alfred smiled at his wife of thirty-three years, "Of course we will…"