August 29th
The week back home had gone by so fast and the week after returning to London was busy for Harm. He had doubts about taking another week of leave because of the workload, but he did as planned, and spent an amazing week in Italy with his family. He was back at work again and it was busier than ever. His day had started with back to back meetings, until after lunch when he could finally check up on ongoing cases. This was his favorite part of the job because he got to advise his staff on what he did best. It was a struggle for him not to get too involved and he had to remind himself about Mac's advice to trust his people. He had a great staff and the office was organized, even when he wasn't around for a week.
"Sorry I'm late," he smiled sheepishly as he walked into the kitchen.
Mac and Mattie were already seated to eat. "No problem, we knew you had a lot to catch up on."
He kissed Mac softly and sat down. "How was your day Mattie?
"It was good. My physio session was torture as usual, but I guess a week off here and there makes it harder to start up again. I had a group session. We talked about going back to school, which we all agreed on is going to be terrible," she joked.
"Mattie even did some shopping. Clothes. School supplies," Mac smiled. "I bought a new dress."
"Ah, no shoes this time?" Harm teased.
"Nope, I'll save that for next time," Mac chuckled. "I do have the perfect shoes for this dress though."
"I better take you out soon then," Harm promised.
"Sounds good," Mac smiled. "Mattie is being modest because Molly was really pleased with her recovery. She's making excellent progress."
"That's great Mattie. I'll be there for your Wednesday session," he promised.
"It's okay, I know how busy you are after being away for a week," Mattie reassured.
"By Wednesday I should be all caught up again," he hesitated. "I'll be there for sure."
Mattie nodded.
"I forgot, how did it go at the University?" Harm asked Mac.
"It was just a quick trip to get some papers. Mattie and I got the ground tour. Tomorrow the real work starts, preparing for the first lecture," Mac smiled hesitantly. "I'm kinda nervous about it actually."
"You'll do great," Harm was sure of it. "You know this stuff by heart. I always come running to you for advice whenever I have to do anything regarding international law. If there's a treaty, you know about it."
"Well, it's one thing to advice people, it's another to make it interesting to a bunch of law students," she reasoned. "But I have a lot of time to prepare, and I'll sit in on a few lectures just to get a sense of it."
"I have a date with Jenn. What would we do without Skype?" Mattie started to stand. "Thanks for dinner," she took her plate to the sink and opened the dishwasher.
"Send Jenn our love," Mac stood too. "Just put your plate in the sink, I need to empty the washer."
"This is good fish, Mac. Cod?" Harm assumed.
"Yeah, we picked some up at the fish market," she smiled as she started unloading the dishwasher.
Harm finished his dinner and took his plate to the sink. He wrapped his arms around Mac from behind. "I miss Italy."
She chuckled. "Me too."
"Lazy mornings in the hotel bed," he kissed her neck. "Let's just say that this morning was hard."
"Not for me," she turned her head and kissed him.
"It was torture to leave your warm body," he kissed her again, waiting for her to fully turn in his arms before he wrapped his arms around her. They were still in a newlywed bliss and he didn't think it was even possible to get out of that state.
"It's always lonely when you leave me," she smiled sweetly. "I love you."
"I love you," he kissed her again. "I'll just go change. You could help?"
"Aren't you a big boy and can do that yourself?" she teased. "I have to do this, and then there's a load of clothes ready to be hung up. I picked up your uniforms at the dry cleaner by the way."
"Aren't you a good wife," he reluctantly let her go.
"Hey, one more thing," she waited for him to turn back to her. "Your Mom called about stopping by after their Ireland trip."
"Yeah, when will they be here?" Harm wondered.
"September 12th and they would like to stay until the 18th. Your Mom suggested that we use the opportunity to go away for the weekend, just us, while they spend time with Mattie," Mac smiled. "What do you think?"
Harm looked thoughtful. "I'm trying to picture my week so far ahead, but you know what, let's plan a weekend away. How about Oxford, like we talked about?" he suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed. "I might be a little busy too that week, preparing for the lectures to start the week after, but a weekend away sounds perfect."
"Then that's settled," he kissed her softly.
Wednesday, August 31st
Harm's phone vibrated as he was sitting in on Mattie's physio session that morning. He noticed that Mattie was preoccupied with her work-out and Mac with her book, so he assumed that it was okay if he did a little work-related stuff while he waited. He noticed that Mac had taken out her book the minute Mattie had started her session, used to the wait as she was.
"Work?" Mac assumed.
"Yeah, just an update," he checked a few more emails and returned one. "Sorry," he put his phone away.
Mac smiled. "It's okay. I always bring something to do while I wait," she patted his hand reassuringly. "Mattie feels a little self-conscious and asked me to bring something to do. You should just go back to work while I wait for her to finish her group session afterward. I just sit outside the room, reading."
"I have no idea how I would have done this without you, Mac," Harm took her hand. "If we hadn't gotten smart and ended up leaving in different directions, I would have had to juggle work and Mattie in a very different way. It seems impossible."
"Well, we did get smart," Mac teased and squeezed his hand.
"We sure did," he leaned in and kissed her softly. "I'm grateful to have you both here. And I don't know that I would have been able to do half as good a job with Mattie as you do. She really has let her guards down with you around."
"Really?" Mac was surprised.
He nodded. "How you got her to join that group session, I'll never know."
"It took a little convincing," Mac admitted. "But it has helped."
"Thank you," he kissed her again. "I can really get used to us. I can't imagine life without us anymore."
"Me neither," she agreed. "I know it's only been a little over two months, but it feels right. Like it's finally the way it was supposed to be."
He cupped her face. "I love you."
"I love you more," she kissed him softly.
A clearing of a throat made them break apart and face Mattie and Molly. "All done?" Harm wondered.
"I can go another round if the two of you want to keep up the kissing?" Mattie suggested teasingly.
Harm chuckled. "It's fine, we can continue later."
Molly smiled. "Mattie did excellently. Making progress all the time. We're still meeting on Monday with Doctor Snowden for a progress report?"
"Absolutely," Mac smiled as she stood. "Thank you, Molly."
"I love my job," Molly touched Mattie's shoulder. "See you on Friday."
Mattie nodded. "So, I guess I'll go get cleaned up. You guys have the time for some more PDA," she smirked as she headed for the locker room.
Harm turned to Mac. "PDA?"
"Public displays of affection," she smiled sweetly.
Harm nodded. "I see."
"Come on, Rabb," she put her arm around his. "Let's get some coffee."
"I'll have a quick coffee, then I better get back," he hesitated. "I can stay if.."
"Hey, it's fine. I have my book, remember," she smiled reassuringly. "Mattie won't mind either. You have a busy schedule today."
He nodded. "I sure do."
Friday, September 2nd
Mac smiled as she walked past Ensign Delgado's desk. She noticed Lieutenant Vukovic standing by the fax machine and offered a sweet smile. The Lieutenant was TAD to help with some of the workload. Harm had his doubts about how much help he would be though, wondering if he'd just stir up trouble.
"Colonel," he smiled. "Or should I say Mrs. Rabb?" he added with a charming smile.
"Just call me Mac," she suggested. "How's it going, Lieutenant?"
"Great. I'm not really sure if the Captain is glad to have me here though," he added with a smirk.
"I think the jury is still out on that one, Lieutenant," she smiled teasingly. "Stay out of trouble and you'll be fine," she suggested as she headed for Harm's office. "Hi, Petty Officer. Is he busy?"
"Aren't we all," she smiled. "Sorry, that just slipped out. He's in and he's busy, but not too busy for you."
"Good to hear," she hesitated. "Anything bothering you?"
"It's just the usual, men," Larsen shrugged. "I'm considering a cat, ma'am."
Mac smiled. "They aren't all bad. I'm afraid you'll have to kiss a lot of frogs to get your prince though."
"I'm blowing off guys for a while," Larsen smiled. "Maybe forever."
"Good luck," Mac turned and knocked on Harm's door and was rewarded with a grumpy enter.
"Maybe you need the luck, ma'am," she suggested. "He's not happy today."
"I'll see what I can do about that," Mac promised as she opened the door.
Harm looked up. "Hey," he stood and rounded his desk. "I'm running a little behind," he kissed her softly. "Sorry."
"No problem," she put her hands on his sides. "Can I help with something?"
"I'm sure there are a hundred things you could do," he smiled slightly. "But we've got it handled. Or starting to get it handled. I'm more than ready for a break though."
"Lunch?" she kissed him and smiled. "I'd offer you dessert to make you feel better, but that will have to wait until tonight."
"I can't wait," he pulled her closer and kissed her deeply. "How was Mattie's session?"
"Great," Mac reassured. "She's starting to feel better about starting school too."
"I'm glad," Harm let out a breath and smiled. "Okay, I'm ready to focus on you for an hour. How about Chinese?"
"Sounds great," she released her hold on him.
Harm followed her out of his office and offered a smile to Larsen who immediately stood when they walked through the door. "I'm going out for an hour. You should take a break too, Petty Officer."
"Yes, sir," Larsen smiled.
"I told you I'd fix him," Mac winked at the young Petty Officer.
Harm offered a curious look as he took her hand. "You fixed me?"
"Something like that," Mac smiled cleverly.
