Disclaimer: Not mine…just borrowing…
A/N: Well, things are back to normal, which means I'll be posting more frequently…happy reading!
Chapter 5:
"Calm down," Chloe told Mac as they road the elevator up to Harm's floor, "It is just Harm."
"My point exactly," she shifted Talia from one hip to the other, "It's Harm."
"Perfect, you'll be fine."
"Ha."
"Just tell him everything you told me."
"It's different."
"Why?"
"Because."
"I'm not Harm, right?"
"Yes," Mac felt the elevator stop on Harm's floor, "You're my little sister, and he's—"
"Harm," she took Nat's hand and walked out of the elevator, "I know. We've established that."
"Chloe, please."
"Okay," she rolled her eyes.
"And no rambling on about anything to Mattie."
"I'll use my discretion," she turned to Nat, "Okay, you can knock on the door."
"Use my discretion," Mac warned.
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes again, "Door's opening."
"I can see that," she rolled her eyes back and broke into a cheery smile, "Hey Harm."
"Hello Ladies," he bent down to Nat's level, "And gentleman."
"Hi," he grinned shyly as Chloe ushered him in.
"So, Harm," Chloe began when she noticed Mac remain silent, "What are you making us for dinner?"
"Veggie lasagna and garlic bread," he walked over to the table behind the couch and pulled two objects from a bag. He hid them behind his back and handed the first to Nat, "This if for you, buddy."
"Wow," he took the plastic airplane with big eyes, "Thanks."
"That's an F-14," Harm explained, "I fly those."
"Cool!" Nat immediately began racing around the room imitating an airplane.
"Slow down," Chloe chased after him, making sure he didn't break anything or himself.
"And this is for you," he whipped out a stuffed clownfish and handed it to Talia who grasped it happily.
"You trying to turn my kids into squids?" Mac gave him a wry smile.
"It's Finding Nemo," Harm tapped the fish's fin.
"Right," she smirked, "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"What about me?" Chloe rejoined them holding Nat and his plane in a flying position, "Kidding, you don't have to buy my affection."
"I'm not buying their affection," he defended.
"You're just trying to turn them into sailors?" Chloe teased, having picked up on theme of the gifts as well.
"I am not," he looked shocked and pointed a finger at Mac, "You've been with this one for too long."
"Don't blame me," Mac grinned, "Chloe's smart."
"Knock, knock," Mattie announced as she entered the apartment.
"Hey Mattie," Harm smiled, "This is Chloe Madison."
"Hi, I'm Mac's 'little sister,'" she plopped Nat to the ground and made the air quotes.
"Hi, I'm Mattie Grace, 'Harm's kid,'" she smirked offering her hand, "Nice to meet you."
"Same here," she shook her hand.
"Hi Mattie," Nat grinned, "Look what I got!"
"Way cool," Mattie ruffled his hair.
"So Mattie," Harm began, "Where's Jen?"
"Shower," Mattie walked over to the kitchen to check on the lasagna, "She sent me over to get the food."
"It should be ready," he walked over to help her load half of the food onto a tray, "We figured kids in one apartment and adults in the other."
"You better not let Jen hear that idea," Mattie laughed, "I don't think she'd like to be lumped in with the kids."
"That's what she gets for showering," he turned to Chloe and Mac, "Does that work for you?"
"Sounds great," Chloe grabbed the diaper bag and reached for Talia, "Give me Talia."
"Okay, make sure she gets her bottle," Mac handed her over and looked down at Nat, "You be good for Mattie and Auntie Chloe."
"I will," he dutifully grabbed Chloe's free hand.
"Let's go," Chloe led Nat to the door where Harm held it open for Mattie with the tray of food. Before walking out, she winked at Mac, "Have a nice dinner."
"That was subtle," Mac watched him close the door.
"What?" he asked innocently returning to the kitchen to serve their portion of the lasagna.
"The kid's apartment?"
"I figured we could do without the audience."
"You don't want to talk in front of my two kids, your ward, and my little sister?" she teased following him to the table with the garlic bread.
"Don't forget the admiral's yeoman," he set down the plates of lasagna and sat down.
"Smells good," Mac smiled and looked down at her food suddenly not sure what to talk about. There was so much to say; yet she had no idea where to start, "Tastes good too."
"Thanks," he smiled, clearly facing the same difficulty in conversation that she was, "So what's Talia's full name?"
"That's random," she took a sip of her water.
"Sorry, Mattie was wondering," he shrugged, "I told her that Nat was 'Jonathan Matthew' and she wanted to know about Talia."
"Talia Micheline," she answered purposely leaving off the last name.
"How did you pick Talia?"
"It's a variation of the Persian name Talayeh, which means golden rays of sun. I wanted to keep it as it was, but Mic insisted on Anglicizing it," her face twitched slightly when she said his name. Most people would not have caught it, but she knew that Harm did.
"What happened with him?" he proved her right.
"Do I have to?"
"You don't want to?" he asked although he already knew the answer.
"Not particularly," Mac looked away quickly, always the queen of avoidance.
"I won't force you," he returned to his lasagna, clearly the king of avoidance.
"So Chloe," Jen began as they sat around the table at the girl's place, "How long have you known the commander and the colonel?"
"About five years," she thought back, "Mac took me on as her little sister when I was eleven-ish and that's when I met Harm. Although I really haven't seen him since Mac moved to Australia three years ago."
"But you knew them before," Mattie began.
"Yes," Chloe answered cautiously, "Why?"
"Well, what were they like?" Mattie pressed, "Harm and Mac?"
"They were best friends," she answered noncommittally.
"B.S." Jen said then added quickly, "Sorry, but we both got a vibe."
"Okay," Chloe sighed, she promised Mac but these girls clearly needed to be clued in on the history. She seriously doubted that anything would come of this little dinner the two were having, and the more people she could put in their corner, the better. Deep down, Chloe knew that her crusade may be hopeless, but after that many years she couldn't give up, "But you have to swear to secrecy or Mac will kill me."
"Done," both Jen and Mattie held up their hands in a vow.
"Good," she wasn't going to tell them everything, just the key details, "We need to start at the beginning. Harm and Mac met while working this case…"
"Your place still looks the same," Mac said a few minutes later, "Except for the plants."
"I figured that some change is good."
"You know the last time I was in here I was pregnant with Nat," she thought back to that night.
"I figured as much," he remembered doing the math when he got the birth announcement, "Is they why you were okay with the idea of leaving the Corps?"
"I was never really okay with it," she sighed, "I just couldn't stay with the baby."
"Harriet did."
"Harriet has Bud. I don't."
"You had Mic."
"He's no Bud," she answered with a faraway look in her eyes.
"Talk to me."
"Things weren't that bad," she began, knowing his mind was jumping to conclusions, "It just didn't work out."
"When did it change?" his voice tinged with concern.
"After Nat was born. I wanted to work, but Mic wanted me to stay at home. I hired a nanny; he fired her. I gave in because I didn't really know where I would work. I couldn't practice law, so I didn't think it was worth fighting," she explained, avoiding his gaze, "We tried to make it work, but it didn't. I was going to file for divorce when I found out I was pregnant with Talia. We were better for a while, but after she was born things started going down hill. Mic had become controlling and irrational."
"How so?"
"He came home one day to find me teaching Nat Farsi and telling him about the Koran like my grandmother taught me. He told me never to do it again stressing the fact that his children were Catholic and don't need any other religion," she shook her head to rid herself of the memory and to forget the details she left out, "It wasn't that big of deal, but those kind of things built up. Finally, two weeks ago he left for a conference or something so I packed up the kids and left."
"Wait, you just took them and left?" he began warily, "You sure that was smart?"
"I'm not going to be charged with international abduction Harm," she assured him, "I left the divorce papers on the kitchen table."
"I just wanted be sure there wasn't going to be a repeat of what happened when you ran from Ragle."
"This isn't the same," she snapped, confirming his suspicions that there was more to the story, "Sorry."
"It's okay."
"It's not okay," she countered, "I left and returned with no explanation. That's not fair to you."
"I wasn't very fair to you either," he replied, "I was never honest with you."
"Neither was I," she sighed and looked away.
"Then let's start at the beginning," he suggested, "We both will be honest from here on out."
"Deal," she gave a cautious smile. This was good, she hoped.
Radiorox – I think the frying plan suggestion would really help…I'm sure Chloe would be glad to help…and a number of readers…
JamieAKAaclassyone – Thanks…my week improved thanks to my excellent friends and a clean bill of health for the 'puter.
Dansingwolf – they're moving…slowly but surely
s.Imple p.Ain – Ahh…anything but that!
' - Hopefully I'll be able to better justify her dropping contact, but as for maturity both of them seem to lack it…otherwise I feel I need to warn you…this will be HM shipper so brace yourself…
Harmless128 – I don't know what you're thinking but this story may just lead to a deep-fried dingo…
Verochan – Thanks…have a great day too!
Abigaile – They're finally conversing…yay!
XLovexNxPainx – welcome to the anti-Barney cult!
Bite Beccy – But those two just love the scenic route!
Jaggurl – I hope you found the dinner delicious!
Shailmar2 – Now I have you right where I want you…muhahaha!
Mxfan214, Starryeyes10, Tate.ArI.Obsessed.Writers, macandharmlover, Anita, lawandordersvu1, Sammy, Kittyx, Manda, and anyone else – Thanks for reading!