Disclaimer: Sigh...if only they were mine...they'd be together on that show!
A/N: The votes are pouring in for the sex of the baby - thanks a ton! It's still far from decided, so come on everyone, get in there and vote (that is, please be so kind as to EMAIL me with your vote, my addy is in my profile, hehe).
Chapter 32:
"Hey, babe" said Mac as she looked up from her desk and saw Harm standing there.
"Hi" he replied. "What would you say to a nice dinner out tonight, just you and me?"
"I'd say that sounds great" replied Mac. "What's the occasion?"
"Nothing in particular" answered Harm. "I just thought you might like a night out after the week you've had."
"Definitely" said Mac. "Trying to get all my cases either wrapped up or at least to a point where I can reasonably hand them off to someone else is not an easy job, not to mention your child has taken up marching on my bladder as a 24-hour-a-day hobby."
"Oh, my child, huh?" laughed Harm. "As I recall my DNA's not the only DNA involved!"
"You may as well accept this now" said Mac, "when it's behaving well, it's mine or ours, but when it's not, it's all yours, my love!" Harm just laughed, he knew when he'd lost.
"Any preferences on where we go tonight?" he asked her.
"No, you can choose" replied Mac. "Just no place too far. I'm always exhausted after dinner and I don't want a long drive home."
"Got it" said Harm. He leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips, then kissed his hand and laid it on Mac's tummy. "You behave in there, little one, you're getting me in trouble!"
"Wow, this looks really nice" said Mac as they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant Harm had chosen.
"It's supposed to be really good" he said. "Bud said he and Harriet really like it."
"What's the menu like?" Mac asked.
"Your basic American fare" replied Harm, "steaks, burgers, chicken, etc…"
"And salads I hope?" said Mac, knowing that Harm wouldn't touch any of the things he'd just listed for her.
"Yes, and salads" he said with a smile.
"You and your rabbit food" said Mac, shaking her head and smiling.
"But you love me anyway" retorted Harm.
"You know I do" said Mac. "Now let's go eat, I'm so hungry even rabbit food sounds good!"
They made their way inside, and being a Friday evening at a popular eatery, there was quite a crowd.
"I bet we'll have to wait forever to get a table" said Mac.
"Maybe" replied Harm, "but for all we know a lot of these folks are with larger groups and we'll get in ahead of them since there are only two of us. Lemme go see how long the wait is."
"OK" said Mac as she leaned against the wall by the door. She was hungry and her feet hurt, the last thing she wanted to do was wait very long for a chair or her food.
"Good news, babe" said Harm upon his return. "Most of these folks are in parties of 4, 5 or more, so we're only 2 names down on the list. The girl said they should call us within 10 minutes."
"Good" said Mac, "I'm gonna run to the restroom while we wait. Be right back."
Mac had to wait in a short line for the restroom. While she stood there, two "twenty-something" girls joined the line and began to talk between themselves.
"Of course I saw him" said one of the girls. "I'd have to be blind to not see him!"
"I know" said the second girl, "there oughta be a law against being that fine!"
"Did you get a look at -" said the first.
"Those eyes? Oh, yeah!" said the second girl. "I swear no one else on this planet has eyes that blue! Did you happen to get a look at -"
"his hands? Oh yeah!" exclaimed girl number one. "No band of gold to be seen, and -"
"and he's not with anyone" continued the second girl, "so I say you go for it!"
Mac just stood there and smiled. It didn't take a genius to figure out who these girls were yammering on about.
"Hey" said the first girl when she caught sight of Mac's smile. "Did you see that incredibly gorgeous guy out there in the lobby?"
"Tall, dark hair, ice blue eyes?" asked Mac, deciding to have a little fun with these naïve young ladies. "Yeah, I saw him on my way back here. He's pretty hot, isn't he?"
"'Pretty hot?' said the girl, "I'd say more like a drop-dead heartthrob!"
"Which is why I'm telling my friend here to go talk to him and see what happens!" said the second girl, "but she doesn't want to, can you believe that?"
"No, I can't!" said Mac. "In fact, I was thinking of finding him myself once I finish up in here. He's just too gorgeous to forget about."
The girls looked at each other, then at Mac's tummy, then at each other again. The looks on their faces were priceless.
"What?" asked Mac, "you don't think I have a shot at him?" She was having way too much fun with this.
"Umm…" was all either girl could utter. They didn't want to say anything mean, but Mac knew they were thinking that this pregnant woman was nuts to even think about trying to pick up the hottest guy to set foot in that restaurant in forever. Finally a stall became available, and Mac took her turn. She silently cracked up at herself once she was out of their sight.
"All yours" she said as she exited the stall and walked towards the sinks.
"Thanks" said one girl as she went in. The other stood against the wall and waited quietly, not having a clue what to say to Mac. Mac dried her hands and left the restroom, and returned to the lobby where Harm was waiting.
"Put your arm around me" she said as she stood as close to him as she could.
"Gladly" said Harm, "but why?"
"You'll see in a minute and then I'll explain" said Mac. "Just follow my lead."
"OK" said Harm.
Moments later, both of the girls emerged from the bathroom. One girl caught sight of Harm and Mac together, and smacked the other one to get her attention. She looked up and her eyes grew wide in disbelief. Mac smiled as she snuggled closer to Harm, and the girls looked like they were going to cry.
"Rabb, party of two, your table is ready" called the hostess over the intercom. When Harm and Mac began walking towards the hostess' podium, the girls faces turned 15 shades of red. They couldn't believe they'd stood right next to that guy's woman and rambled on about how hot he was.
"You wanna tell me what that was all about?" asked Harm once they were seated.
"Oh, those two girls were in line behind me in the restroom" said Mac, "going on and on about this amazingly gorgeous guy they'd seen in the lobby, with the bluest eyes on earth and no ring on his finger. I knew they were talking about you, and I decided to have a little fun with them."
"Lemme guess" said Harm, "you didn't tell them you were with me, so when they came out and saw us together, they wanted to crawl into a hole?"
"Pretty much!" laughed Mac. "It was really nice to be able to hear other women talking about you like that and not get upset or jealous about it."
"I didn't know you ever got upset or jealous about things like that, Mac" said Harm.
"Oh, Harm, please!" exclaimed Mac. "You had no idea that at any point in our past I'd ever been jealous when another woman paid attention to you or vice versa?"
"Well, if I really stop and think about it" said Harm, "then yeah, I can see it now but I swear I didn't see it then or I would've put a stop to it."
"I know you would have, babe" said Mac. "Anyway, my whole point in this is that it felt great to hear those girls fawning over you and saying what great eyes you have and all that, and knowing that they can talk all they want to, but you're mine forever."
"Forever and a day" said Harm, giving her the smile she knew she'd never get enough of.
"That was so good" said Mac. "I haven't had a burger like that in ages."
"Glad you liked it" said Harm as he finished the final bites of his salad. "This was really good, too."
"Wanna share a dessert?" asked Mac. "I don't think I can eat an entire one, but I want a few bites of something sweet." Harm looked at her with an obnoxious twinkle in those deep blue eyes.
"Harm, behave yourself!" she said. "I want something covered in chocolate."
The obnoxious twinkle continued, and to it was added an obnoxious smile.
"You're terrible, you know that?" said Mac as she playfully kicked him underneath the table.
"But you love me anyway" said Harm. "Now seriously, what would you like for dessert, my dear?"
"Oreo cheesecake with hot fudge sauce" replied Mac.
"Ooh, sounds sinful" said Harm.
"Which means it's really yummy and I want some!" said Mac.
"Then you'll get some" said Harm as he lifted his hand to get their waiters attention.
"Oreo cheesecake with hot fudge sauce" said Harm, "and two forks, please."
"Yes, sir" said the waiter, "I'll get that right out to you." He returned a couple minutes later with the decadent dessert and two forks, and placed it in the middle of the table. Mac wasted no time grabbing a fork and taking a big bite.
"Omigosh, Harm" she said, "this is awesome!"
"Looks like I better get some if I'm gonna get any, huh?" he kidded as he grabbed a bite with his fork and put it in his mouth.
"Oh, that is good" he agreed, reaching for another bite.
"Make sure you get the hot fudge with it, too" said Mac, already several bites ahead of him.
"Whoever thought Oreo cheesecake needed anything poured on top of it was a sick genius" said Harm, enjoying his third bite.
"Mm-hmm" agreed Mac. They shared the rest of the dessert in silence, and when they were finished, Harm asked for the check.
"I'm gonna take another bathroom break before we go" said Mac as Harm was waiting for the waiter to return with his credit card.
"OK" said Harm. He finished with the bill, and waited for Mac in the lobby.
"You OK, babe" he asked her as they walked to the car. "You look really tired."
"I'm fine" she replied. "I look really tired because I am, but I'm fine."
"If you'd like" offered Harm, "when we get home I'll draw you a warm bubble bath."
"I don't like warm baths" said Mac, "I like really hot ones, but since those are a no-no right now, I suppose a warm one will have to suffice."
"I'll put extra bubbles in it" said Harm, "and light those little votive candles you love so much."
"That sounds really nice, babe" said Mac. "You always take such good care of me."
"It's ready when you are" said Harm as he finished lighting the last of the candles around the bathroom.
"OK, thanks" said Mac. She finished undressing in the bedroom and wrapped up in her terry cloth robe before heading for the bathroom. The smell of the candles and bubble bath instantly relaxed her. "This guy really knows what a woman likes" she thought to herself as she disrobed and carefully stepped into the tub.
"How is it?" asked Harm, peeking his head in to check on her.
"Heavenly" she answered.
"I'm glad" he said, and he started to walk away.
"Hey" said Mac.
"What?" he replied.
"Join me?" she asked.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, come on in" she said with a smile, "the water's fine."
"OK, just a second" said Harm. He stepped into the bedroom, undressed and wrapped up in a towel before returning to the bathroom.
"Where should I get in?" he asked her as he let his towel fall to the floor alongside her robe.
"Behind me" she said.
"OK" he replied, and gently put one foot into the tub behind her, then the other, then he carefully slid down with his legs beside hers. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"This is nice, huh?" she asked him, leaning her head back towards him.
"Yeah, it is" he answered, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "I love our quiet moments like this."
"Me, too" said Mac. "Better enjoy them now because we're getting close to not having many for a really long time."
"I know" said Harm. "Can you believe you're already almost 39 weeks along?"
"Not really" answered Mac. "In some ways, it seems like it's been forever since we found out we were having a baby, and in others it seems like only yesterday."
Harm reached around Mac and placed both of his hands on her wet, soapy tummy.
She placed hers on top of his.
"You OK?" she asked when she heard him sniff.
"Yeah" he whispered, "just having my arms around the two most important people in my life makes me a little emotional."
"I love, you, Harm."
"You know I love you, too."