Disclaimer: Not mine…just borrowing…
A/N: Okay, this will definitely be the last one for the next week or so. It's a little shorter than the last couple, but I did not want to leave you all hanging while the chaos of packing and moving into school set in. Happy reading!
Chapter 9:
"Yeah," Harm ushered them in grabbing the duffel and diaper bags from her, "What's going on?"
"Can we stay here tonight?"
"Of course," he carried the bags into the bedroom and she followed, grateful that he didn't ask any questions. He saw her split lip and his stomach fell. He had been hoping that Mac left him for cheating on her, but apparently that was not the case. He watched Mac tryto untangle another bag from her shoulder without upsetting Talia any more and stepped in, "Let me."
"Thanks."
"What is this?" Harm looked down at what he had taken off her shoulder.
"Portable crib," she began doing the bounce and walk with Talia, while whispering soothing words.
"Do you want me to set it up?"
"Nah, I got it," she looked around to see that Nat did not follow them into the bedroom, "Would you go find Nat and sit with him?"
"Sure thing," he gave her a reassuring smile before leaving to get Nat. He found the little boy standing like he was waiting for someone to return for him, "Hey Buddy."
"Hi," Nat said softly and held up something for Harm to take.
"What is this?" Harm took what he saw to be the broken F-14 he had given Nat the week before.
"It broke."
"How?"
"It just did," he answered with the same look in his eyes that Mac would always get when she talked about her childhood, "You fix?"
"I'll fix it tomorrow," Harm led him over to the couch, "Let's go sit down."
"Okay," he sat down and pulled his Thomas the Tank Engine backpack onto his lap.
"What do you have in there?"
"Books," he pulled out a Winnie the Pooh book, "You wanna read?"
"First, let's put on your pj's," Harm spotted a set of them in the bag and figured Mac would want him changed before a bedtime story.
"Okaay," he said with a slight smile.
"That's my girl," Mac whispered as Talia finally settled down in her arms. Peeking around the edge of the room, Mac saw Harm helping Nat into his pajamas and smiled. Thank God for Harm and his willingness to accept houseguests after 11 pm. This night had been disastrous enough without her having to check into a hotel room with two toddlers. Breaking away from watching Harm, she turned back to Talia, "Let's get your bed set up so you can get to bed, huh?"
Quietly setting the book aside, Harm stood up taking the sleeping Nat with him.
"Mummy?" Nat mumbled his eyes blinking open.
"It's Uncle Harm," he smiled down at him.
"Where's Mummy?" he asked sleepily.
"Right here," Mac walked in and took Nat from Harm when he reached for her, "Hey, Mr. Nat, was Uncle Harm reading you a story?"
"Yeah," he nodded sleepily into her shoulder.
"Are you ready for bed now?" she asked and he nodded again.
"You can put him in my bed," Harm offered.
"That's very nice of you, but we'll be fine on the couch."
"I insist," he argued, "I will not have your toddler sleeping on the couch."
"He's a toddler," she argued, "He'd be happy sleeping on a pile of blankets."
"Take the bed," he led them towards his room.
"Fine," she relented walking with Nat to the side of the bed, "You're going to sleep in Uncle Harm's bed tonight. Won't that be fun?"
"Uh-huh," he mumbled as she tucked him in, "Will you sleep with me?"
"Yes, in a little bit," she brushed a stray hair from his forehead, "I'm going to have grown up talk with Uncle Harm first, okay?"
"M'kay," he began to drift off, "Love you."
"Love you too, baby boy," she kissed his forehead, "Sweet dreams."
She sat with him until his breathing evened out and he was fast asleep. After checking on Talia, who was also sleeping soundly, Mac left the bedroom in search of Harm. She did not have to look long because she found him waiting for her in the kitchen, "Hey."
"Hey yourself," he gave a half-smile, "You want anything? Water, tea, icepack?"
"Is it that bad?" she checked her reflection in his microwave.
"Nah," he held up a wet rag, "Do you mind?"
"No," her breath hitched slightly when he touched the warm material to her lip to wipe away some dried blood.
"Much better," he rinsed it in the sink and grabbed an icepack from the freezer, "But you should still put some ice on it. You know, to reduce swelling."
"Thanks," she took the icepack then walked over to his couch and sat down.
"It was Mic, wasn't it?" he sat down opposite of her.
"How did you know?"
"Nat."
"Did he tell you?" she looked concerned.
"No, I could just tell."
"Oh God," she whispered, the last thing Mac wanted was one of her son's earliest memories to be of his dad hitting his mom. There was almost a minute of silence before she spoke again, "He's never hit me in front of Nat before."
"So he's hit you before?" he asked and she nodded without looking at him, "When did it start?"
"When Nat was one."
"And you stayed with him that long?" he could not keep the shock from his voice.
"It's not like you think, Harm," she said defensively, "He didn't do it that much."
"That much?" he questioned, "Do you hear yourself?"
"It only happened six time including tonight."
"It doesn't matter how many times that he did it, Mac," he said gently, realizing that he was putting her on the defensive, "He never should have touched you."
"I know," she sighed looking up at the ceiling, "There's just so much more you don't understand."
"Try me."
"We'll be up all night."
"I'll make coffee."
Mxfan214 – Thanks…my mother may kill me for all the computer time I'm hogging, but I'll be at school in a week with my very own computer! grin
Nix707 – I'm a bum aren't I? And I'm kind of doing it again…sorry. Anyway, the whole time I was writing the previous chapter I kept debating having her pick up the phone, but I didn't want to bring on the Harm/Mic confrontation too soon…I have to draw it out. Besides, it'll take Harm a while to get that fleet organized, so Mac has to tell him everything first so he process it all and get a good plan…hehehe!
Jaggurl – Muahahaha! That's me! evil grin
Shalimar – Thanks a bunch!
Abigaile – I'm a stinker, ain't I?
Manda – I'm glad you like "my" Harm and Mac…it's hard trying to think about what they'd be like if they were separated for 3 years.
Radiorox – I'm sneaky…hehehe! Anyway, I got the same vibe from Mic. On the show he was never an intrinsically bad person or anything, but he had a major potential for sketchiness.
Toplesslemon – Hehehe…thanks any anti-barney effort is always appreciated. P.S. I love your name!
KittyX – I hope this will tide you over.
XLovexNxPainx – LOL…you're so crazy…but I like crazy so it's all good!
Cool cat – Thanks a bunch!