See part 1 for disclaimer…
Part 7
After a long flight into Dulles International Airport, Harm and Mac made their way to the baggage claim with a sleepy, cranky Catriona in tow, where they were met by Clayton Webb. While Harm and Mac loaded Catriona's trunk onto a trolley, Clay introduced himself to her.
"If you'll just follow me, Miss Carter, I'll show you to the car that will bring us to your parent's house."
"Mr. Webb, my name is Catriona Kinney," she corrected him.
Webb just looked questioningly at Harm and Mac.
"You heard her, Mr. Webb!" Harm ribbed him. Mac took Clay aside.
"So Catriona's parents didn't come to the airport to meet her?" She asked him, quietly, surprised to say the least.
"Oh, they would have loved to come, but the family liaison officer thought it was best if they didn't. He thought that it might stress her out, all of the sudden change and all. I mean more than she already is, of course," he chuckled, as he looked down at Catriona, who had grabbed Harm's hand in anxiety. However, as her grip tightened and dug into his hand further, Harm looked up ahead of them to see what had alarmed her so. Just beyond the checkpoint, they all saw a crowd of press reporters, all causing quite a commotion as they clambered to get the first photos of the long-lost child of the Carter dynasty.
"Webb!" Harm exclaimed, exasperated, "did you let anyone know we'd be arriving on this flight? This was supposed to be kept strictly secret!"
"Honestly Rabb, I didn't tell anyone. These reporters weren't here when I arrived," Clay replied, truthfully. He went to continue towards the checkpoint, but Harm found that Catriona was frozen in place. No amount of persuasion could convince her to move, which in turn sent the press wild and caused Catriona to dissolve into hysterical tears. Violent flashbacks ripped through her mind, reminding her of the terrible, long-forgotten day that she had been taken from the supermarket shopping cart and the abuse and threats that she had received from her abductor, over the past fourteen years.
Eventually, Harm had to lift the young girl into his arms and wade through the sea of reporters outside the arrivals gate. He didn't stop until he reached the official car outside the terminal, letting Mac climb in first then lowering Catriona in beside her, before he and Clay got in themselves. The car pulled away, heading toward the Carter household. During the trip, Harm and Mac managed to calm Catriona down, while Clay contacted the Carters.
"Yes, Sir, I've got Catherine here, safe and sound. I'm afraid we had a bit of trouble from the press, but everything's fine, now. We shouldn't be too long," he told the person on the other side of the line. He paused as he listened to something being said, then replied, "Yes, Sir, of course. I'd almost forgotten about that."
After hanging up, he proceeded to remove a bunch of photographs from his briefcase. Clay continued to show the photographs, a bunch of family snapshots, to Catriona, Harm and Mac.
"Your Mom and Dad asked me to give you a bit of background information on your new family and home, so you'll know what to expect, once we get there," he explained.
He finished showing them the photos of the Carters, their house, family and the bedroom that they had prepared for her, once they had learned that their only child was finally coming home. Catriona sat silently, in between Harm and Mac, not uttering a single word as Mac held her hand, comfortingly. As they pulled up to a large, white house, they saw a couple in their late forties to early fifties standing at the doorstep. As Harm got out of the car and helped Catriona and Mac out after him, Mac could see the young girl starting to get panicky again, so she took her aside and offered some words of reassurance, in Russian, while Harm and Clay went over to greet the Carters.
"The Carters are great people," she told Catriona, "they've been waiting so long for this day."
Catriona replied, "I know, but I just don't see what it is that I'm supposed to feel!"
"They're your parents, they won't push you to feel anything. They'll love you unconditionally."
"That still doesn't change the fact that I don't even know them. They may be my parents, but they're still strangers to me."
Mac smiled understandingly and took a card out of her bag.
"Anytime that you feel like you need to talk, you can reach me at that number. It's a cell phone number, so you can get hold of me at any time. Just remember to check with your parents first!"
Catriona nodded, trying to get used to the term 'your parents.' Mac then walked Catriona over to where Harm and Clay stood with Admiral and Mrs. Carter. The couple introduced themselves to Catriona and the woman began to tell her about her new room.
"We're so glad you've come to live with us. We never thought we'd see this day. It all seems like a dream. We just never thought we'd see it happening."
Turning to Harm and Mac, she continued, "Thank you so much for bringing her home to us."
"It was our pleasure, Ma'am," Harm told them, "she's a great young lady."
After a couple of minutes, Webb approached them.
"Come on, you two. We'd better get going. I think that Catriona's going to settle in perfectly, here!"
With a reassuring smile and a squeeze of the girl's hand, Harm and Mac bid her and the Carters goodbye and turned to return to the car. Glancing back, Mac could see that Catriona looked slightly bewildered, so she mouthed to her, "Phone me!"
Catriona nodded silently, with a slight smile to let the two officers know that she'd be okay.
After they got back into the car, Harm and Mac turned to see the Carters ushering Catriona into the house. The girl paused to look back over her shoulder at the retreating car, locking eyes with Harm and Mac, until their link was obstructed as the car turned a corner and entered back into the rush hour traffic.
OOOO
Part 1 of SP 2: Things Fall Apart will follow shortly…