OOOO

Part 8

"I'm going to be out late, tonight," Harm let his daughter know, the day after Mac had agreed to have dinner with him (well, Harm couldn't quite work out who had asked who out, but he supposed that he had suggested it!)

"How late?" Kim asked, "Is this for work?"

"Mrs. Patterson has agreed to let you stay over at theirs, again, for the night, since Melissa has plans," Harm deliberately avoided answering his daughter's question, so she'd know it was none of her business, "so I want you to be on your best behaviour, even if Yan tries to rope you into any little adventures or pranks…"

"He hasn't done that for years now," Kim protested, adding, "and I'm far too smart to fall for it, anyway."

"Yeah, well don't forget that Mrs. Patterson is on good terms with several of your dance instructors…The next few years are going to be crucial, if you want to continue at the temple school, so you've got to keep your nose as clean as possible and keep up your grades…Plus you'll be starting junior-high, next semester."

"My grades are great!" Kim looked offended, so Harm pointed out, "And they have to stay that way, even as the subjects get harder. Your grades will also factor into your instructor's decision, if they consider you for a place in the advanced classes."

In a way, Kim was glad that she'd been seeing more of her Father in the last few months. Since the new officers came to JAG, he hadn't been sent out of town nearly as much and he spent less time at the office. But he'd also been talking to her teachers and the parents of her friends a lot, too and she couldn't help but feel like he was checking up on her, trying to sniff out some sort of short-coming on her part. It had been so long since he'd been able to even attend one of her parent-teacher conferences; this all felt like it was coming on a little too suddenly…and try as she might, she couldn't help but feel that he was holding back, somehow…hiding something from her.

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Three weeks later…

Kim had once again been 'banished' to their neighbour's house, because her Dad was having 'work colleagues' over for dinner. It didn't actually happen all that often, so Kim didn't mind.

"Kim's staying at her friend Yan's house, tonight, so we've got peace and quiet!"

James and Pamela had arrived early, so they were just waiting for Mac to arrive.

"But I figure, Kim being Kim, she will figure out a reason or two to drop by a few times, so Mac'll still get to meet her again. But this way maybe Kim will feel more in control of the situation."

Once Mac arrived, they started on dinner and afterwards, retired to the back patio for coffee and chat.

As Harm had predicted, Kim made an appearance a couple of times to retrieve an item or two that she'd forgotten. But after meeting Mac again, her initial curiosity seemed to wear off and they were left to their own devices during the second half of the evening.

OOOO

Kim had figured that if she stopped back home to grab some things she'd 'accidentally' forgotten, her Dad would probably not realize that she was simply coming by to get another look at the Major. But only a time or two, or he'd realize something was up. First, Kim came home to retrieve her toothbrush. But the Major had been in the kitchen with Lt. Commander Greene's wife, helping to prepare the salad to go with their meal, so she hadn't gotten more than a mere glimpse of the woman. The second time, she'd been more daring so while she went upstairs to grab the video she'd come home for, she'd spent some time on the upstairs landing, watching the adults finishing up their dinner.

The Major looked quite different with her hair down. Kim had only ever seen photographs of her mother, so did not know just how different the two women were in terms of personality. But they certainly did look alike and as a result, Mac also bore a strong resemblance to Kim herself. Kim had inherited her Father's eyes, but her Mother's skin tone and hair colour. In all of the photographs she had seen of Dianne Schonke, the woman who was her Mother appeared to have straight hair, although it was always kept very short, so it was impossible to know for sure. Kim herself had not even a wave to her hair, but she could have gotten that from Harm and she always kept it long enough to reach her shoulder blades. Anything longer was too much with the climate here, but Kim took pride in her long tresses. The Major's, either by design or naturally, had much more of a wave to it, although it wasn't what you could call curly.

"Kim? Did you manage to find what you were looking for?" Harm shouted up the stairs.

Kim quickly opened and shut her door audibly and made her way downstairs.

"Yep," she held up the video tape, "Yan wants to watch 'Predator,' but I wasn't sure where I put it, the last time I watched it. I had to search for it."

"Okay, well have a good time at Yan's. Tell Mrs. Patterson I said 'hi' and 'thank you.' And be sure to mind your p's and q's…"

"Okay, Dad, I will. See you tomorrow…Goodnight, Lt. Commander and Mrs. Greene, Major MacKenzie…"

All three of the guests bid her goodbye and Kim was back out the front door.

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