AN: Sorry! It's been a while. A long while. Figured maybe I would try writing again. ;) Not sure where this is going, though.

Mattie's body ached during school, and she was exhausted from very little sleep. As much as she wanted to doze off in class, she also knew that school was her one chance to still be herself. Despite still hating English, in order to be a fighter pilot like her Dad… Harm… she needed to pull decent grades.

Study hall, however, gave her a chance to think about her current situation. Her friend, Susan, was also in her class, so she included her in on her thoughts.

Hey Suze, what's news?

Not much, you?

Lots of stuff going on. You know how I told you that I wasn't sure I could trust Mac and Harm? Well, I decided to talk with them about it. I told them that I wanted to be spanked, but Harm doesn't think that's the right way. They gave me permission to test them for two weeks. If, at the end of two weeks, I still want them to spank me, they will. Until then, they are using alternative punishments.

Sounds crazy, but I guess I can understand having to test. After my brother died, I needed to know that my mom wouldn't give up on me, so I tested her in some ways.

Did it turn out okay? I mean, she still loves you?

Of course. She's my mom. She will always love me—just like Harm and Mac will always love you.

Yeah, sometimes I think they look at me like, "What am I doing with this brat in the house? I am afraid they are going to send me back to social services". Harm called me "Mattie Grace" the other day during one of my 'testing periods'.

He was probably just trying to freak you out or something.

I suppose.

So are you going to do something today to test them?

I don't know—I am pretty sore and tired from everything so far.

You know, you don't have to be bad in order to test them. You could test them with your love.

I hadn't thought of that, but I guess it's true. The main point of this was to see what happened if I did something really bad, though.

Yeah, well, you could just live the two weeks like you normally would, only love on them even more. At the end of the two weeks, tell them it is still something you want to try. That way, you won't have to keep making them angry, and you won't have to freak yourself out about everything.

Thanks Suze. I might try that.

Just then, the bell rang. As it was the last period of the day, Mattie slowly walked back to her locker to get her things. She wasn't sure whether Harm would pick her up or not, so she tried to hurry make it on time for the bus. Walking outside, however, she found Harm's red Mustang parked where it usually was.

Harm leaned over to open the door for her, not saying anything.

The car ride back to their house was quiet. Harm not pushing Mattie, and Mattie still thinking over what Susan had said. Once inside, Mattie went to her room to sleep. Harm, again, didn't push her. She would come to him and Mac when she was ready, even though he desperately wanted to reach out to her. It was obvious that Mac felt the same way, and the evening between the two was quiet, also.

As Mattie hadn't slept the night before, she slept into the night. Waking up at about 2, she went into the kitchen, hungry. Mac had left her a plate in the fridge.

Mattie,

I love you.

Mac.

Eating a piece of chicken and drinking a glass of Milk, Mattie suddenly felt lonely. She hadn't really seen Harm or Mac all day, and the stress of the past two days had caused her to really miss her mom. Mattie wiped a few tears away with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

Making a quick decision, Mattie tiptoed down the hall to Harm and Mac's room. She should have realized, that as soon as she opened the door, Mac's military training kicked in. Her eyes caught her daughter's eyes. Not moving, she waited for Mattie to say or do something.

She didn't have to wait long before Mattie tiptoed to her side of the bed. Unsure of her Mattie's next decision, she inched closer to Harm and moved the blanket's aside.

Without allowing herself to think twice, Mattie ducked under the covers, still in her jeans and sweatshirt that she had worn. Soon, she felt Mac's arm hug her tight.

And then, she felt Harm's hand reach over to rub her shoulder.

She fell asleep crying on Mac's pillow while her adoptive mom hugged her, and her adopted continued to soothe her—never losing contact.

AN: Reviews, of course, appreciated.