Chapter 13:
Epilogue
Bogota Colombia
21 years later
2025
"I'm glad it's finally safe enough to bring you kids to Colombia. It was a great idea of Aunt Vilma's to have a joint anniversary party." Mac commented walking toward the rail.
"So this is the famous porch that Dad proposed on?"
"It's not a porch, it's a deck," Harm declared, as he sat down next to his son.
"Porch, deck same thing. Basically, all Dad needs for romance is wood planks underneath his feet."
"Matt, don't pick on your Dad," Mac admonished her nineteen-year-old son.
"According to the stories you two tell, first it was Uncle AJ's porch, and then it was here on Uncle Jack's porch that everything really took off."
"It's a deck," Harm repeated.
"Matt's right mom." Their middle child, seventeen year old Patricia, who went by Pat, agreed.
"Besides, you and Dad have spent every night for as long as I can remember sitting on the front porch, holding hands, and making out like a couple of teenagers," Matt insisted.
"MATT." Francie, the fifteen-year-old baby girl of the family huffed at her big brother. "They aren't THAT bad. Well, not really, anyway."
Several of Vilma and Francisco's grandchildren were on the porch with the Rabbs, but it was Abel's fifteen-year-old son, Ernesto, who spoke up. "Well, obviously this all means something to you, but does anyone care to bring the rest of us up to speed?"
"Sure." Matt started. "I'll try."
"Better make it the Readers Digest version," Pat scoffed.
Matt glared at his sister. "As I was about to say, Mom and Dad worked together for about 4 or 5 years when Mom got engaged to some Australian."
"Mic Brumby," Pat mumbled.
"You said you wanted the extra abridged version. Do YOU want to tell this?"
"No, go on."
"Anyhow, Mom was going to marry this Australian when Dad got brave at her engagement party and made a pass at her on uncle AJ's porch."
"It wasn't a pass," Harm interjected.
"Whatever. Mom was still going to marry the Aussie until Dad's plane crashed. She saved him with her sort of psychic powers, the wedding was postponed, the Aussie left, Dad's girlfriend married a mortician, and then a couple of years later they got stranded together in…, was it Afghanistan? Yeah Afghanistan, then Dad rescued Mom in Paraguay. Did I mention Mom kept chasing Dad to Russia?"
By now Ernesto's face was so contorted in confusion that Pat decided she needed to take over.
"What Matt is so eloquently trying to explain is: Dad and Mom worked together for years. They were really close and trusted each other in everything. Unfortunately for a lot of different reasons- mostly ludicrous ones- they never got together romantically, until they came here to Uncle Jack's and Aunt Claudia's. That was the first time Dad had REALLY kissed Mom since the night on the Admiral's porch. They had been here to help rescue the Vice President's daughter from terrorists. By the time the whole ordeal was over, the two of them couldn't live without each other, and their last night in Bogota, Dad proposed here on Uncle Jacks porch."
"With half the city watching," Harm added. "And it's a deck."
The fogged look on Ernesto's face was starting to clear.
"Married life must have been a pretty boring change?" Ernesto almost mumbled.
The three Rabb children snickered. Mac and Harm appropriately glared at their indiscreet offspring.
"I wouldn't quite say that," Francie started. "First, they had to tell the Admiral, Uncle AJ, that while under his command they had 'advanced' their relationship AND wanted to get married. From what I understand you could hear Uncle AJ barking all the way to the Pentagon."
"You'd better skip a few parts, or we'll be here all night," Pat interrupted, even though she loved all the stories about her Mom and Dad.
Nodding at her sister, Francie went back to the story. "They wanted to get married in a hurry, and Gramma really wanted to see Dad married at Annapolis, so she talked Uncle AJ into pulling a few strings to get them the chapel at Annapolis in only two months. In return, Uncle AJ had to be the substitute lecturer for some seminar or other, leaving Mom in charge of JAG, even though she was a little distracted with the wedding. He claims Mom and Dad still owe him for that one, something about a female Commander at Annapolis that wouldn't stop ogling him." Pat couldn't help but giggle at that thought. She really loved these stories.
"That's right!" Matt said. "That's when that nut case Palmer managed to blow up Mom's car and took out half the JAG parking lot."
"Right, and the thing that ticked everyone off the most was with only 5 days until the wedding, Mom's wedding dress was in the car," Pat reminded everyone.
"Isn't that when Dad broke Webb's nose again?" Francie asked.
"No, that was the time that Webb wanted Mom to do some interpreting in Baghdad while she was pregnant with Pat. It was Uncle AJ who broke Webb's jaw over the wedding dress," Matt answered.
The look of total confusion had completely returned to most of the faces of the Franco grandchildren.
Returning to the story, Francie continued. "Anyhow, they finally got that nut put away again the day before the wedding. The wedding went off without a hitch. The honeymoon worked out great too…until the flight home."
"It wasn't my fault," Harm reminded them.
"We know," his children replied in unison. "THESE THINGS HAPPEN." They all responded a little too smugly.
Francie returned to her synopsis. "After the coast guard rescued everyone, Mom became a Judge, that Mic Brumby guy came back and tried to create a fuss, Dad decided to buy a fixer upper house, Mom got pregnant with Matt, Uncle Bud almost burned the house down trying to help Dad rewire the nursery…"
"Wait a minute," Ernesto interrupted. "Wasn't Brumby the Australian fiancé?" Apparently, he was actually following all this.
"Yeah, but he seemed to lose interest when mom threw up on his shoes," Matt volunteered. "Go on Sis, you're on a roll."
"Thanks. Things were pretty quiet until Pat was born. Uncle AJ was threatening to retire. Some battle-ax named Krennick was up for the spot, so, Uncle AJ kept putting it off. Mom had a long labor with Matt so she wasn't rushing when she went into labor with Pat. After only two hours, Mom's contractions suddenly went from 30 minutes apart, to not being able to tell when one stopped and the next one started. Uncle AJ swears Mom and Dad owe him for that one, too. I guess Pat was the third baby born in his office, and Krennick or no Krennick, Uncle AJ retired that summer."
"Uncle Bud still blames me for Krennick," Pat sighed.
"Let's see, at six years old Matt got lost at Kennedy airport, at three Pat got lost at Scarborough Fair, at two I had to go to the emergency room for sticking Dad's screw driver in the electric socket. Mom almost sent Dad to the emergency room for letting me play with electricity." The Rabb children all chuckled at that thought.
Taking a deep breath, Francie squinted one eye and looked upward recalling more of the family history.
Taking advantage of the pause in Francie's ramblings, "I think I get the point." Ernesto declared, raising his hands in defeat.
"We'll tell you later about Matt's learning to drive and Dad's 4th DFC. That's when Mom made him give up his wings." Pat offered.
"PAT," Harm warned.
"Well that's how it looked to us," she huffed.
"Never mind," was all Harm said to his older daughter. Mac just looked at her husband and smiled.
Abel popped his head out the door, "Okay guys, food's on the table, everyone inside."
The crowd scrambled from their seats and moved inside with the precision of a Marine Corps marching band.
Harm got up from his chair and walked up behind his wife pulling her close so her back was leaning on his chest. Mac had been mostly watching the city below while her children gave the 'abridged' version of their life.
Wrapping his arms around her, and softly caressing her as he had done that first night so many years ago, Harm kissed the top of her head.
"It's still such a beautiful view," She whispered into the night air.
"Yes, it is," Harm grinned looking down the front of his wife's shirt.
Glancing up at Harm a moment, Mac lightly smacked his hand when she noticed where he was staring.
"It's been a good life hasn't it?" She said looking back over the city again.
"The best. I love you more now than I did that night 21 years ago. I didn't think it possible." Harm leaned over slightly to nibble on Mac's neck.
"You'd better quit that before the kids accuse us of making out on the porch again," she said, turning slightly intending to nudge him towards the doorway.
"It's a deck," he grinned.
Pulling her close, his lips covered hers ever so tenderly. She tilted her head up slightly deepening the kiss. As his lips danced with hers, she parted them giving him the invitation he needed. His tongue slipped past her lips and began it's own dance with hers. Her arms were now tightly around his neck. His hands had gone from lightly caressing to desperately kneading her flesh. He couldn't get close enough. There, under the stars and the glowing city lights, it all seemed so perfect. They seemed so alone.
Vilma came to the door to see what was taking Harm and Mac so long. She smiled to herself. Some things just never change.