To Hell and Back
Chapter 3
Christmas morning dawned with bright, clear blue skies and the welcome sight of the sun over the capital city, not that Mattie saw even the slightest vestige of daybreak, although Harm, despite his late night was up and doing, and by the time Mattie had finally dragged herself out of bed, showered and dressed Harm had not only wrought a transformation to the living room and made a start on breakfast, but had also made inroads into the preparation of Christmas Dinner.
However he put the turkey crown and the large pan of peeled potatoes to one side and rinsed his hands off under the faucet when Mattie tapped on the apartment door and called pout "Harm… it's me… are you up yet?"
"I've been up for hours, Mattie, come on in, it's open!" Harm called back cheerfully and turned around so that he could see the expression on the teenager's face. He was not disappointed.
Mattie threw he door open and breezed into the apartment, her face wreathed in a grin "Hiya Harm! Happy Christma…" and then her voice tailed off as she caught sight of the miniature tree complete with decorations that Harm had erected on the far corner of the room, standing the tree on one of the end tables that normally stood next to his old leather couch.
"Good morning and Merry Christmas to you too, Squirt," Harm replied pretending that he hadn't noticed Mattie's reaction.
"Oh… wow…" Mattie breathed as she took in the sight, "Oh… Harm… that's beautiful, but when…"
"Last night, after you went to bed," Harm said easily, "I had some thinking to do, and I think better when my hands are occupied."
"Yeah…" Mattie breathed and then as she registered the sight of the wrapped parcels at the foot of the tree her face became even more animated. "Presents?" she inquired hopefully.
"Yep, presents, and no, we're not opening them until after Beth gets here and we've eaten!"
"Aw… Nor even one, one teensy weensy one?" Mattie begged turning soulful eyes on Harm.
"Nope, not even the teensiest, weensiest one in the whole world," Ham declared firmly, although as he met the full power of those beseeching blue eyes he could feel his resolution wavering and more to bolster that resolution than for any other reason he added, "And it's no good making puppy dog eyes at me either!"
"Oh, well… it was worth a try," Mattie sighed disconsolately as she clambered up on to one of the bar stools at the breakfast counter.
"Ya think?" Harm asked with a grin.
Mattie shrugged and looked down gloomily at her plate before she gave a further sigh and shrugged her shoulders, and then in an almost bewildering apparent reversal of mood she lifted her face and smiled sunnily, "No, I guess not… not really. Are those pancakes I smell?" she asked hopefully, eying the jug of maple syrup on the counter.
"Yes, it is. Fancy some?"
"Damn… uh…darn straight - sorry!" Mattie corrected herself hastily and shot a guilty look at Harm. The subject of Mattie's use of mild profanity had already become something of an issue between Harm and the teenager. Mattie honestly did try to curb her language, but a childhood spent around mechanics and pilots had accustomed her to being rather freer in her speech patterns than Harm thought was necessary or desirable.
"Okay… this time." Harm let her slide, "But only because I know you're making an effort. Now, how many pancakes do you want? Remember it's going to be a long wait before Christmas lunch!"
"Uh… would six be too much?" Mattie asked, "And would there be any bacon to go with them?"
"Bacon? Good God! What have I let into my home?" Harm asked theatrically casting his eyes upwards, "But yes, just for you, and just because it's Christmas, there is bacon!"
"Cool!"! Mattie enthused as she grinned winningly at Harm, "And a mug of that coffee, please," she added nodding towards the half-full carafe.
"Coffee?" Harm queried somewhere between amusement and surprise.
"Yep!" Mattie grinned, "Can't start the day without a mug of Joe!"
"H'mm… Harm poured a ladle of batter into the skillet, "I'm not so sure that you should be drinking coffee at your age. You're wired enough as it is!"
"Aw, c'mon Harm… I've been drinking coffee since I was twelve! I really enjoy my first mug of the day! You can't cut me off now, it would… it would be… a… a… a cruel and unusual punishment! And totally unjustified!" she finished triumphantly.
"I don't know about that, young lady! I didn't start drinking coffee until I went to the academy and needed it to get me through all night study sessions! What's your excuse?"
"Do I need one?" Mattie replied. "Well in that case… how about I grew up around the hangar and airplanes and pilots and mechanics and all they drank was coffee. Hey! It could have been worse… I could have followed my old man's example!"
Harm nodded in acknowledgement of the truth of that claim. All too often children of alcoholics turned out the same way – he had the example of Mac as one proof of that, and was suddenly extremely grateful that the worst of Mattie's vices – as far as he knew she any at all – was an inclination to what he privately thought of as 'Zone Five Coffee' and of course the lapses into mild cussing; and he had to admit it was only mild cussing.
Nevertheless he shook his head, "I'm still not certain about this, but… if you drink your OJ, you can have a cup of coffee – one cup mind you, and I'll be getting a second opinion from Beth when she gets here!"
"Aye, aye, skipper!" Mattie grinned giving Harm a horrible parody of a salute.
Harm shook his head resignedly, "We aren't army in this house!" he admonished the teenager.
"Huh?" Mattie asked inelegantly, her mouth dropping open in surprise at Harm's seeming non-sequitur.
"Only the army salute indoors and without wearing a cover!" Harm grinned, so unless you want to end up at West Point, I suggest you get out of that habit, ASAP!"
"West Point?" an appalled teenager gasped, "Harm! How could you say such a thing!?"
"Easily!" Harm grinned, passing a piled plate to Mattie and then pouring two mugs of coffee he took a seat opposite and watched in disbelief as she smothered both the pancakes and the bacon in a Niagara of maple syrup.
"Gods, the things you eat!" he groaned.
"Hey! Don't knock until you've tried it!" Mattie mumbled around a mouthful of syrup-drenched pancake and bacon.
Harm just shuddered.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Breakfast eaten it didn't take Harm any time at all to clean down the kitchen area and wash the pots and dishes - especially as he co-opted a not very seriously grumbling Mattie to help out.
Once the wreckage was cleared away and while Harm finished preparing the turkey crown and the tomato and orange soup, he set Mattie to work peeling yams and preparing the green beans for the casserole side-dish.
With two pairs of more or less willing hands the task didn't take up too much of the morning, and once that the kitchen area was cleaned down again to Harm's satisfaction (unnecessarily demanding, in Mattie's opinion) the two were able to arm themselves with fresh mugs of coffee and sit down again at the breakfast counter while Harm spread out the architects' plans for the remodelling he intended, and explained to Mattie what he was going to do.
Mattie had one or two ideas of her own which she put to Harm and after a brief, but lively discussion they decided that two of her ideas – both concerning the bathroom – would be implemented. Firstly, Mattie insisted that for the female moiety of the household (hoping that would soon include Beth) a bath tub was an essential and not the optional extra Harm seemed to think it should be, and secondly that the instead of a normal shower cubicle, the bathroom floor should gently slope to a central drain and the whole room should be classified as a wet room.
Naturally the discussion turned unto a walk-round, with Ham pointing out exactly where what was to be done would happen, and although some of the technical terms he used puzzled Mattie she soon got the idea of what he proposed and nodded in judicious approval.
"Just one thing, though, Harm," she entered a caveat.
"And that is?" he eyed her doubtfully.
"Well… I've seen what you've done about decorating your place, and the furniture you've chosen, so I think that Beth and I need to get our heads together and come up with something more…" she floundered for the words for a moment, "… something more… homelike."
"You mean you think the new place will need a woman's touch?" Harm grinned, not in the least offended. He was well aware that his strength lay in the remodelling, not decorating and furnishing.
"Exactly!" Mattie beamed in relief.
"Good point," Harm agreed.
"Yeah, I know!" Mattie grinned back and before Harm could come up with an answer a rapid triple knock on the door alerted them to Beth's arrival.
"Hu guys," she grinned, "Merry Christmas!"
Merry Christmas to you too!" Harm smiled, as he waited for her to put down a loaded sea-bag before he helped her off with her coat while Mattie smiled and nodded enthusiastically in the background.
Relieved of her coat Beth looked in vain for a mirror to check her hair, "Brr… it's a beautiful day out there, but cold, man. Really cold!"
"Well come on in and grab a coffee," Harm said waving towards the seating area, "but first, what's all this?" he nodded at the sea-bag.
"Oh… that's just a few things I brought," Beth declared as she turned on her heel and stooped to open the bag. "Here…" she handed Harm a white cardboard box bearing the logo of local bakery firm. "It's just a cherry pie. I… uh… did a little more shopping on my way home last evening…."
"Thanks," Harm said, but you didn't need to…"
"Oh, I did! I couldn't come empty-handed, and anyway, if there's one sweet thing for which I have an unconquerable appetite it's cherry pie!" Beth sighed and looked mournful for a second, "Have you ever noticed that we never get cherry pie served in the wardroom when we're afloat?"
Harm wrinkled his brow in thought as he carried the pie to the fridge, "Nope, can't say I ever have… but then again I can't say that I've noticed its presence either, so I guess I'll just have to take your word for it!"
"Correct answer!" Beth beamed as she folded herself into one of the armchairs and with a grateful smile accepted the mug of coffee that Mattie handed her.
"So…" Harm nodded at Beth's sea-bag again, "The cherry pie isn't all that was in there, was it? Are you planning to move in?"
"Well… not exactly," Beth admitted looking rather shame-faced, "But I was hoping that I could crash on the couch overnight. That way I can have a couple of glasses of wine with dinner and not have to worry about driving all the way back out to Andrews. So, I brought a few bits and pieces along with me…"
"Of course you can stay over, but you take the bed, and I'll sleep on the couch."
"Harm, that couch is too short for you by about six or eight inches! No, you keep the bed, I can fit on the couch!"
"Beth…" Harm started to argue.
"Hey, she's right, you know," Mattie grinned from her corner of the couch where she sat with her feet curled up under her butt.
"So… you might as well just run up the white flag and surrender! You're outnumbered by at least two to one!
"At least?" Harm queried, grinning as he looked deliberately at Skates and Mattie in turn.
"Oh yeah, numbers don't really mean anything is this sort of situation, when it's the two of us against the one of you!" Skates grinned.
"Oh… if that's the case I foresee some interesting moments ahead of us O co-guardian of mine!"
"From what the judge said, I have absolutely no doubt of that!" Beth laughed, with a sly, sidelong glance at Mattie.
"Hey, when did it suddenly become pick on me day?" Mattie demanded in aggrieved tones.
"Oh, just about since when Harm reminded me that I am your guardian, and also reminded me of what the judge said about teenagers!"
"Well, you volunteered for the job!" Mattie refuted Beth's argument.
"I did not! That… that… that judge completely wrong-footed me!" Beth laughed.
Mattie grinned, "Yeah, great, wasn't it!"
Harm sat back at his end of the couch and watched, a smile on his face as it seemed that Mattie and Skates were indeed going to be friends.
Beth shook her head at one more of Mattie's sallies and putting her now empty cup down on the end table beside her chair she turned an inquiring face to Harm. "Is there anything that still needs to be done that I can help with?"
"Well, as you can see there's a distinct lack of place settings on the table…" Harm left the end of the sentence hanging as a hint.
"Ah, good ol' drudge work!" Beth exclaimed rolling her eyes, "C'mon, kiddo, let's be up and doing
Harm led the way back to the kitchen area, pointing out the various cabinets and drawers that held the table cloths, crockery and silverware. "You'll need each place setting set up for three courses," he cautioned the two women, "Soup, entrée and then Beth's cherry pie. No cream to go with that, sorry, Beth, but I do have some natural yoghurt."
"That's different! Should be interesting, though," Beth smiled. "Now, do you want the soup and entrée plates near the cooker so they can warm up slightly?"
"Good thinking!" Harm agreed as he turned to wash the coffee jug and the three mugs they had just used, taking also the opportunity for glances back over his shoulder as Beth and Mattie set the table, admiring the picture Beth made in her black slacks and scarlet sweater, the vibrancy of which was set of by the a flash of white of her shirt collar under the sweater.
Ten minutes later the table was covered in a white Irish Linen tablecloth and three place settings were neatly laid out, and with a line of insulated servicing mats running down the centre, each mat flanked by a serving spoon and fork.
Harm nodded approvingly, "Just one more thing is needed." He turned back to the cabinet over the fridge and carefully brought out what looked to Mattie's admittedly unschooled eye to be a silver three branch candelabra which he set in the middle of the table, placing a slim, red candle in each socket.
"Perfect! Even if I do so say so myself!" he paused slightly for a mock self-deprecating grin before he continued, "Well we've got an hour or so before everything's ready. So… what would anyone like to do?"
"Open presents?" Mattie said hopefully.
"After dinner, Squirt!" Harm said firmly.
Mattie was about to protest when she saw the expression on Harm's face. She knew that most of the time and with a little cajoling she could wrap him around her little finger, which is why she didn't resort to those methods – well not much, anyway. But the firm look on his face told her that was not going to be one of those times.
"Okay, okay, I surrender!" she grinned, holding her hands up.
"Well… that rather spoils my idea, too!" Beth said as she sat down in the armchair again. "But I guess anticipation makes the enjoyment all that much greater…"
"I'd say so," Harm agreed, and both he and Beth turned expectant eyes on Mattie.
Mattie grinned disarmingly and conceded, "I could make this a unanimous decision, I suppose?"
"Correct answer!" Beth beamed, and once again all three broke into a chuckle.
As she sat back to enjoy the atmosphere and the interplay between Harm and Mattie, Beth's eyes fell on the architects' drawings that had become unrolled as in the interruption caused by Beth's arrival, Harm had shoved them carelessly onto the bottom shelf of the coffee table.
"Those the plans for the remodelling?" she asked casually.
"Uh… yeah… but you don't want to see them, do you?" Harm asked.
"Of course I do! I want to make sure that my ward is being properly housed!" Beth declared, and then gave herself away as her face split into her somewhat lop-sided grin, "Besides, I'm being nosy!"
"Never knew you when you weren't!" Harm agreed leaning forward to snag the roll of drawings from the coffee table.
"Not just being nosy, Skates needs to know what you'll be doing to the place, or she won't be able to help out," Mattie interjected.
"Oh? How's that?" Skates asked looking from one to the other.
"Well, now that Mattie's going to be living here, she feels the place needs a woman's touch as far as decoration and furnishings go, and I'm not sure that I disagree with her. That okay by you?"
"Um… does that mean that we…" Skates indicated Mattie and herself, "…get to choose paper, paints, drapes, soft fixings and all the rest?" Skates asked innocently.
"It does!" Harm eyed the irrepressible brunette grimly, "just promise me that you won't turn the place into some pink and fuzzy bordello!"
"Ewww!" Mattie commented scrunching up her nose in distaste at the idea as Skates gave a shout of laughter.
"Pink and fuzzy, Hammer? Me?"
"No… well… I guess not. But you gotta admit, sometimes your girlish side peeks out from under the flight suit." Harm defended his objection.
"Uh… I hate to break this you so suddenly, Hammer, but I am a girl!" Skates claimed with an indulgent head shake.
Harm thought back to the picture she had presented to his highly appreciative eyes last night at the Roberts, a slow smile dawned on his face, "Yeah, I guess you are at that!"
"Good! Now that's out of the way, let's see those plans – please?" Skates grinned winningly.
"Okay… Now this here is what we've got at the moment, and this is what we'll end up with," Harm replied spreading the two sheets of drawings out as far as was possible on the limited table space available to him. Mattie leant forward to see better, although she had already been talked through Harm's plans, while Skates slid forward off her chair onto her knees in order to see what Harm was talking about.
Harm spoke, with occasional interruptions for questions from Skates and to a lesser extent from Mattie for about forty minutes before the pinging of the oven clock told all three that it was time to get back to the kitchen.
"About time too," Mattie grumbled, almost jokingly, "Hungry teenager here!"
"Right then ladies, please be seated," Harm invited them and busied himself at the breakfast counter for a few moments before turning back to the table and offering a schooner of sherry to Skates and a glass of soda to Mattie before turning back to the cooker and ladling out three small portions of his home made tomato and orange soup, with a few toasted bread croutons floating in each dish.
Mattie had seen Harm squeezing the orange juice into the soup and regarded the offering in her dish with a fair degree of suspicion before taking a cautious sup at which point her face relaxed into a smile, "Hey! This is pretty good!" she exclaimed before eagerly attacking the rest of the soup.
Harm exchanged a grin with Skates who had, on a previous occasion when she'd begged the use of the couch for a night, already experienced this particular variation on an old theme and was already digging into her soup with real relish.
There was short but necessary delay as Harm cleared away the soup dishes and then placed the array of side dishes on the table before passing the turkey crown and carving knife and fork to Skates, "As the more experienced carnivore amongst us!"
"Not carnivore," Skates objected as she skilfully sliced the turkey crown. "If you're going to get technical the correct term, I believe, is 'omnivore'!"
"I'll grant you that." Harm smiled, "But not only as the only almost vegetarian amongst u, but also the host, allow me to explain what we have here… First of course we have mashed potatoes, and biscuits and gravy, then roast potatoes, roast yams, green bean casserole, butter glazed julienne carrots, fresh peas and finally chestnut and mushroom stuffing. There's plenty for all so don't be backwards in coming forward!"
"Plenty for all?" Mattie shook her head in amazement. Sure, she had helped prepare two of the dishes, but she hadn't realised there were so many, or rather more accurately she hadn't realised just how early Harm had gotten out of bed to prepare most the food before she had even awoken.
Beth looked along the table and shook her head in admiration. Plenty for all, Harm had said, and there was. Not so much in the quantity of each dish he had named, but in the sheer number of dishes. Skates had grown up in a large family and was used to seeing banquet sized meals on the table, but this… considering that it was less than twenty-four since she had just about coerced Harm into making a Christmas dinner, this was amazing!
"Well, considering that until yesterday, you were just going to sit down to a veggie lasagne, I reckon you've not done too bad." She told Harm with a teasing smile.
"Aw, gee, shuckens, ma'am, why, 'tweren't nuthin' much… 'cepting the turkey, the rest of the stiff was whut I had a-hidden away in the ol' root cellar."
Skates gurgled with laughter, "And the turkey?" she prompted.
"Waal, ma'am, I jest had to grab my ol' Pa's shotgun an' go out an' get her my ownself!"
Mattie had sat bemused at the turn the conversation had taken, but quickly caught onto the tone, and exaggerated her own slight Virginian accent, "But, Pa, I don' reck'n it was a difficult shot… that there bird ain't got no wings nor legs, so it couldn't hev gotten away very easy!"
Harm had stood to pour Mattie a second glass of soda and a glass of white wine for Skates and himself, the activity giving him a chance to come up with a riposte.
"Uh-huh, but I still had to go an' get her!" Harm objected as he sat down again and placed the wine bottle near to hand, "And that being so," he dropped back into his normal voice, let's eat!"
"Amen to that!" Skates replied as she helped herself to a couple of biscuits. Comparative silence, broken only by comments and requests to 'please pass the salt' then fell on the table until at last Mattie blew an exaggerated sigh.
"That's it, flup," she said pushing her plate a couple of inches away from her and sitting back in her chair.
"Congratulations, Harm!" Beth grinned. "You now have one of those rarest of creatures on your hands. A teenager who isn't hungry!"
"Yeah, but just for a few minutes… give me twenty, thirty minutes or so and I reckon that cherry pie would just about be my big enough!" Mattie protested.
"That's not a bad idea," Harm conceded as he too laid down his knife and fork. "Let's just clear the table and take our drinks over to the lounge area and give our stomachs a rest before we tackle dessert!"
With nods of agreement Mattie and Skates – both with groans of effort hauled themselves to their feet and piled the dirty plates on the kitchen work top next to the sink. Mattie looked at the leftover turkey and vegetables, "What are you going to do with all this Harm?"
"Huh? Oh… make some Bombay potatoes out of the potato and yams, turn the bean casserole into a bean salad, and curry the chicken. Served up with saffron rice, that should do us for tomorrow."
"I like the way you think!" Skates grinned, "It's a shame that I won't…"
"Yes you will!" Mattie interrupted and turned to Harm, "Make her stay for tomorrow too, Harm!"
Harm turned off the sink faucet and looking at Mattie, grinned, "You've obviously never tried to 'make' Beth do anything she didn't want to, I have in the past and always failed miserably, so this time I'm not even going to try!"
Harm's grin grew broader as he registered Mattie's disappointment before he directed his gaze towards Skates, "But I could also try asking nicely?"
Although a statement, the rising note of his voice turned it into a question, as did the inquiring look with which he pinned his former RIO.
"I,… yeah… look that's very nice of you to want me to stay Mattie, but you're still not settled in properly, and I'm pretty sure that you and Harm need some time to figure out a domestic routine…"!
"And if you don't stay what will that mean for you? What was that Harm said, oh yeah, curling up on your bed with some ridiculous novel!"
Harm coughed apologetically and when both pairs of female eyes turned to him he said gently, "Rack, Mattie. Rack, not bed. If you're going to quote someone, get it right."
"Well… there is that," Skates agreed although somewhat reluctantly.
"And besides," Mattie persisted her eyes dancing with mischievous laughter, "Christmas is a family holiday, and also as Harm said, you are now a part of our family… Mother…"
Skates, who, if truth be known, hadn't been looking forward to spending the next couple of days before she reported for duty on her own, surrendered gracefully. "All right, I'll stay tomorrow, but only because you asked nicely, but then I really must get back to Andrews, so thank you for the invitation."
Harm nodded, smiled and then shoo'ed the two womenfolk out of the kitchen area while he turned his attention to the used plates, dishes and flatware, "Go, go on and sit down, I'll be down here soon enough, and then I'll make some fresh coffee… Skates, there's a shelf of DVDs out there, why don't you pick out something that's not too chick-flick and then I'll join you."
"Chick flicks? You have chick flicks? I didn't know you'd been ill," Skates laughed as she led Mattie away to check the DVD titles on the shelf.
Harm grinned and shook his head in amused exasperation as he turned his attention back to the sink full of hot soapy water.
A tray with the jug of coffee, mugs and fixings in his hands. Harm joined Mattie and Skates about fifteen minutes later just as they were trying to decide between 'The Santa Clause' and 'Night at the Museum', having decided unanimously that Harm's collection of classic movies "Black and white and no action!" Mattie had snorted, was not for them, at least not today.
When his judgement was appealed to decide the question Harm said simply, "Why not watch both? Start with 'The Santa Clause' and then later on 'Night at the Museum'." In response to Mattie moue of distaste he just said, "Hey, it's Christmas, what's Christmas without a Christmas movie?"
The teenager sighed and rolled her eyes but muttered a grudging, "Yeah I guess…" although she had secretly been hoping to nix both choices and despite Harm's caveat about chick flicks, talk Skates into watching "When Harry Met Sally'. Nevertheless less once the opening credits had rolled she settled back into the couch hugging a pillow to her chest and soon became absorbed in the story chuckling just as much as Harm and Skates at the absurd situations in which the cast found themselves.
Although Harm chuckled at the improbable storyline and at the words and action on screen part of his mind mulled over what had been said – especially by Mattie – in the kitchen. Skates was part of the family – by judicial order, if nothing else and Skates was right too…It was going to prove logistically challenging for Skates to be doing a three-way commute between Andrews (or wherever she managed to find somewhere to live off-base) the loft and the Pentagon. Furthermore of course, he had his own reasons for wanting her near at hand. But he was going to have to be very careful about trying to take their friendship to a further, higher level. As he had discovered to hi cost, it wasn't always the easy, or even right thing to do. And of course, as he'd discovered in the past, it wasn't always easy to persuade Skates to do something which she was reluctant to do – and that might very well include moving into the apartment with Mattie and he! 'This,' he decided, 'needs some careful thought'.
Giving himself a mental shake as the end credits rolled, he looked at Skates and Mattie, "Okaaay… which comes first, the cherry pie, or the opening of the presents?"
Mattie and Beth didn't even have to look at each other, "Presents!" they chorused.
"Are you sure?" Harm lightly teased them.
"Of course!" Mattie retorted.
"Think about it a second Harm, if we have the cherry pie first, then we risk getting the presents sticky when we open them!" Skates added.
Harm gave her a mournful look, "I would supply forks…" he pointed out, only to meet steel-blue and pebble dark pairs of eyes.
"Presents. Now," Skates said firmly.
"Aye, aye, ma'am!" Harm grinned and crossed over to the table where the tree stood and picked up the first brightly wrapped packet, "Miss Mattie Grace," he intoned solemnly, holding the parcel out to her.
Mattie took the parcel and read the label, "Thanks, Harm!"
"Wait 'til you open it," he advised her with a straight face.
"Why?" she demanded suspiciously, hefting the packet in her hands.
"Well, if you open it, you'll find out, won't you?" he grinned.
Shaking her head at what she considered to be his provokingly mysterious manner, Mattie ripped off the paper to reveal a brand new, still in its box cell 'phone.
"Oh… wow… Thanks Harm… but I already got a cell-phone…" Mattie said and then blushed, "Not that I'm not thankful but…"
"Yeah, I've seen that house brick you lug around. This one is more up to date, and it's one of the newest ones round, with a built-in digital camera. There's an instruction manual in there with it that tells you how to activate the phone and go from phone to camera modes… I think that's what it says!"
"Technophobe!" Skates commented.
"Not really, just struggling to keep up with the latest gizmos. It's okay for you RIOs…"
"Yeah, that's 'cos we're the smart half of the team," Skates smiled.
"Yeah, well maybe, but without us drivers you guys…"
"Hah! Drivers! You said it buster!" Skates smirked.
Mattie sat between the two her head going back and forth like a spectator at a championship tennis match, as Harm and Skates indulged in what was obviously an old, but mock, disagreement, eventually snatching a chance to intervene as both protagonists paused to draw breath before starting another ally.
"Hey guys! Christmas! Break it up will ya? Peace to men of goodwill, remember? And besides, there are still more presents to open!"
"True enough," Skates smiled at Harm, "You're forgiven – again!"
"Heck, what's Christmas without a family argument?" Harm grinned.
Mattie looked at them each in turn. "You guys! And I'm supposed to be the juvenile!"
"True… very true…" Harm agreed and reached for another of the packages… "Lieutenant Elizabeth Hawkes," he intoned, his grin threatening to split his face in half at Skates' dumbfounded expression.
"How…? I mean, did… did you know I was being assigned to DC?" she asked, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Nope! Remember when you were poking around the turkeys yesterday? And I took five minutes to go to the head? Well, you may recall I was gone a little longer than that," Harm said smugly.
Mattie nodded, "Yeah… Skates was too stuck into the grocery shopping, but I did kinda wonder where you'd gotten to."
"Skates? I didn't realise that grocery shopping could be so very absorbing!" Harm let a smug grin pass fleetingly over his face, before a very different expression took up residence there. "It's not much, and I was bit rushed, but… Merry Christmas, my very dear friend."
Mattie thought that Skates blushed slightly, but with the older woman's darker colouring it was hard to tell, but in any case, she stood to receive the unexpectedly heavy package from |Harm and standing on tip toe, placed a hand on his shoulder for balance and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Harm. And thank you."
Smiling up at the stunned expression on Harm's face, Skates sat back down and with the parcel safely on her knees, carefully unwrapped it, her mouth opening in a silent 'Oh' of surprise.
"What is it?" Mattie demanded, craning her neck to try to see over the edges of the wrapping paper.
Skates said noting, she just lifted the box out of the wrapping so that all three could see it clearly. A twelve inch long model of an F-14D that even through the cellophane window of the box glinted silver in the light of the rooms lamps, and was mounted on a wooden plinth.
Hardly daring to ask, and not really sure if she wanted to know, Skates asked hesitatingly, "Harm… it… it's… it's not… please tell me, it's not silver…"
Harm shook his head sorrowfully, "Sorry Skates, it's pewter… I'm not even sure you could buy a silver Tomcat that size, you'd have to have one made to order… and that…"
"And that would be way over the top!" Skates exclaimed, fishing in her purse for a Kleenex to blot her eyes. "Oh, Harm, it's beautiful, thank you, thank you so very much!"
"Well, I figured it would look good on a corner of your desk at the fumble factory," Harm replied slightly embarrassed by the emotion his last minute present had wrought.
He was about to sit down when Mattie stopped him, "If you look carefully, I think I can see another package under the tree…" she commented in a slightly too innocent voice.
Harm turned and looked, "Yes, there is…" he picked it up, "'To Harm, with love from Mattie'," he read aloud. "Thank you, Mattie, he said gravely, hefting the small parcel in one hand.
Mattie looked down and curled her toes inside her slippers, "T'aint much," she confessed, but I hope you like it.
"I'm sure I will," Harm smiled, pulling the paper of what was instantly recognisable as a jeweller's box, "Mattie…" he began.
"It's all right, Harm, open it."
Harm did as he was bid and then smiled mistily as he saw the box contained a tie pin in the shape of silver US Navy's fouled anchor badge. "Like it? I love it! C'mere, Squirt!" and reaching out he grabbed Mattie's hand and hauled the mystified teenager to her feet.
"Harm… what…Oh! she squeaked as he enveloped in a fierce hug and dropped a kiss on to hair, "Thank you, Squirt, I love it I really do!"
"Yeah, okay… but… you can put me down now, Harm!" Mattie protested giggling and blushing at the unexpected display of emotion from Harm.
Skates meanwhile sat back with a gentle smile on her face as she watched the goings on, seeing a side to Harm that she had never suspected. 'Sure, he was great with kids visiting the Patrick Henry here in the USA and in Australia where a three day layover had been interrupted by a school field trip,' But this, this was a glimpse of a new Harm and as she watched she found herself thinking, 'Harm is going is make a great dad and husband for some lucky woman and her kids.'
A slightly discomposed Mattie retreated to the corner of the couch and pulled her legs up under her, grinning and blushing all at the same time while Skates seeing the girl's heightened colour diverted Harm's attention away from Mattie.
"So… what's the cause of all this excitement?" Skates asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"This!" Harm replied enthusiastically and tilted the box so that Skates could see its contents.
Skates peered into the box and raised a smiling face to Harm's, "Very nice!" she commented, levering herself to her feet and turning towards her sea-bag which was still by the apartment door, "I hope you won't be too disappointed with what I have…"
Squatting by the bag she quickly unzipped it and called out, "Mattie I'm going to have to ask you to close your eyes a minute. I didn't have time to wrap your present…"
"It's nothing horrible is it?" Mattie joked.
"Well… I don't think so. Eyes closed!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Mattie giggled but obediently closed her eyes.
Satisfied Skates stood up, holding a slim package in one hand, but in the other what was obviously a book bag, but by the look of it and the way Skates hefted it, it wasn't empty. "Hold out your hand," Skates commanded and once Mattie had done so Skates transferred the bag's carrying strap to Mattie with a "Careful, it's pretty heavy. But you can open your eyes now!"
Mattie gave a little grunt of surprise as she took the weight of the bag and opened her eyes, "A book bag?" she asked, with a grin.
"Um… yeah, but there's more…" Skates nodded at the bag, go on open it!"
Mattie sat with the bag on her knee and unfastened the strap, "Oh… wow… thanks Skates!" she exclaimed as she saw the half a dozen differently coloured three-ring binders, as well as a pack of eight by eleven paper and another pack of page pockets, as well as a box of pencils, a pack of ball-point pens and another pack of multi-coloured fine tip roller pens, but what caught her eye was the flat leather box which she opened curiously and as she did so her eyes opened to their widest, "Gosh… Skates this is… this is…" she opened the box fully to show Harm that nestling in its velvet-lined interior was a set of steel drawing instruments.
"Wow indeed," Harm agreed, "But you'd best take care of that particular item!" Harm admonished her, knowing full well just how costly such a drawing set could be.
"Don't worry, Harm, this isn't going to leave the house, except for when I really need it!" Mattie flashed a smile at Skates, the sort of smile that seemed to light up the whole room.
"Skates, I love this! I mean all of it…" she encompassed the book bag and all of its contents, "But this, is so beautiful as well as practical! I know it sounds tired, but…thank you, thank you so very much!"
"Thanks never sounds tired, Mattie, and you are very welcome. I figured that heading for a new school in the New Year that sort of thing would be useful and welcome!"
"It is! It is!" Mattie insisted as she looked up from where she was gently stroking the shining instruments in their velvet bed.
Skates smiled in appreciation of Mattie gratitude and the obvious pleasure she was receiving from her unexpected present and then held out the slim package to harm. "And Merry Christmas to you too, Harm."
Even through the wrapping paper Harm immediately recognised that the packet was a book, and so with a quizzical glance at Skates he removed the wrapping and as he did so a smile pleasure lit up his face, "Skates… how did you know?"
"Well… I remember that you have a portrait of him on your office wall, and I seem to recall you having a broken spine copy of that book when you were on board the Henry, so I figured that it might have fallen to pieces by now and I figured… well… and I hoped you hadn't already replaced it."
"No… I haven't replaced it. It was something I had on my to do list, but somehow I never got round to doing it!" Harm said somewhat shame-facedly, "So, a huge thanks for this Skates!" Harm finished as he stroked the spine of a brand new copy of Lundstrom's 'Black Shoe Carrier Admiral – Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal'.
"You're more than welcome, Harm," Skates smiled, "Now, is that all the presents? If so, I believe someone mentioned cherry pie, and perhaps some fresh coffee?"
"Someone did! So, Mattie if you'd like to clear up all the torn wrapping paper and dump it in the re-cycling, and Beth if you'd get the DVD set up for 'A Night at the Museum', I'll get the pie and the coffee!" Harm replied.
When Harm returned to the lounge some six or seven minutes later he immediately felt that he had interrupted something. Mattie had a mulish expression on her face that was almost matched by the stubborn set of Skates' jaw.
"Something going on that I should know about?" he queried mildly as he set the tray down on the coffee table.
"Yeah… Mattie's been trying to convince me that life would be easier all round if I was to move in here with the two of you," Skates commented, and although she tried for a light tone, she failed by a good country mile.
Harm sat down and gave Mattie a stern look, trying to convey his disapproval without being too obvious and busied himself with handing out the plates of pie and pouring the coffee, giving himself time to think, before he replied. "Well, it's not a bad idea…" he said thoughtfully, "…No… wait!" he held up a hand to prevent Skates from uttering the objection he could almost see on the tip of her tongue. "Apart from the fact that I'd love to have you move in with us…"
"You would?" Skates asked in surprise.
"If course I would! But don't interrupt!" Harm shot back at her, and gave a smile to show that he wasn't too discomposed by her interjection. "Now… where was I? Oh, yes. Yeah, not only would I love to have you move in, but there are certain practical advantages to take into consideration. Not to mention it would make life much easier when it comes to your legal obligations. But let's take this one step at a time ladies, okay?"
Sates and Mattie exchanged a glance, which if not exactly a smile at least wasn't hostile. "Go on," Skates said with a resigned shrug.
"Well… let's look at the practicalities. As Mattie mentioned to me, how are you going to be a mother figure to her when she spends all day at school while you're at work, and then you head on back to Andrews or wherever you find somewhere to rent? Yeah, I know there's the weekends, but I don't really want Mattie to have a weekend parent…" he paused as Skates' expression changed to one of thought, meaning, he hoped, that she was considering the situation from a fresh angle.
"Secondly, there's the matter of cost. I know you'd get enhanced BHA for renting in DC, but on a Lieutenant's pay you'd probably still have to share… and you know as well as I do that finding a compatible roomie isn't always quick or easy…"
"Well… that's true…" Skates grudgingly admitted.
"Well, from that point of view, we're pretty compatible, wouldn't you say? After all, we were as close as most couples when we flew together. You even said that in open court, so unless you want Mattie to think that you were just… uh… being economical with the truth, you can't deny that now!" Harm finished triumphantly.
Skates gave another resigned shrug, but this time accompanied by a similar quality grin, "Okay… I'll let you have that point, too."
"And then, as far as I can tell, one of the points the judge made was that if I do get sent out of town on a TAD somewhere, you'll be have to be here for Mattie, so that would mean you'd have to lug enough of your stuff for your stay here back and forwards across town, either that, or you'd have to leave enough clothes and toiletries here to cover that same period. And if you're going to keep doing that, then you might as well live here full time."
Once again Harm paused for breath before he continued, "But much more important to me than the judge's implication is that I promised Mattie she'd never be alone again. You wouldn't want me to break that promise, would you?"
"Oh! That's blackmail!" Skates protested half-seriously, "But if we're going to talk practicalities, where would I sleep? And no, your bed is not an acceptable alternative if it means you sleeping on the couch!"
"Hah! Already thought of that! Or rather Mattie did. No… I was always going to rip out the kitchen in the other apartment and knock down the wall to give us an 'L' shaped lounge. But now, if I leave the wall and door in place and just tear out all the kitchen gear and convert the space into a bedroom for you… and the rectangular space that's left would still be plenty big enough for a lounge, and the area where we are now, could be transformed into a proper dining area. Here, let me show you…"
Once again Harm grabbed the rolled up plans, moving his coffee mug and pie out of the way, he unrolled a portion of the drawings and with a blunt fingertip traced the amendments he had just described.
Skates nodded thoughtfully, there was a lot of common sense in Harm's proposition, but she still had her doubts. True she and Harm had been very close aboard the Patrick Henry, but this physical closeness would add a whole new layer onto what she already thought was a pretty complex situation. It wasn't that the idea of sharing an apartment with Harm was unattractive – in fact her major problem was that the idea was probably too attractive! But looking around she could see the hope in Harm's eyes; for some reason he really did want her to say 'yes', and then there was the almost desperate pleading she saw in Mattie's expression. Skates almost felt her backbone stiffening, but she wasn't prepared to give a flat-out 'no' as her answer, but on the other hand she wasn't ready to say 'yes' just yet either. Besides there was just one more thing she needed to get out into the open and be reassured of. "Um… Harm, what about conduct unbecoming charges, improper sharing of accommodation?"
Harm shook his head, "Yeah, I did think of that, but I don't really see a problem. Firstly we are not in the same chain of command, and secondly I have never known anyone to be charged with wrongful co-habitation, unless it was a rider charge to a fraternisation or adultery case. And again, as Mattie pointed out, you can't expect anyone to believe that people even in a close physical relationship aren't 'wrongfully cohabiting' more or less openly. Bud and Harriet for example, practically lived together while they were engaged, and there were at least two couples at their party last night who either are, or were, cohabiting."
"Oh… okay… and if I agree to move in, how long before my room would be ready?"
"Wow! You do think of some tough questions!" Harm grinned.
"But not unexpected, surely?" Skates answered with a twinkle in her eye.
"No… not unexpected…" Harm replied needing a couple of seconds to get his thoughts in order, "Well the first thing I was going to do is to knock through that wall there…" he nodded to the wall separating his apartment from the hallway, but… if I made your room a priority… say… two weeks?"
"Is that all?" Skates asked in surprise.
"Sure… If I'm leaving the wall and door in place, all I have to do is get rid of the kitchen equipment and make sure that it's safe, that the gas is disconnected and any electrical outlets are properly safe and grounded, and then just make good, add a lick of paint, and you can move right in.
Instead she took a deep breath, "Okay… what you've said makes a lot of sense, one way or another, but I need some time to think this over. Can I sleep on it and let you know my decision tomorrow?"
"Of course!" Harm and Mattie said in chorus and then in some surprise they turned to each other and grinned.
Skates, shook her head. "Are you two quite sure you didn't plan this?"
"No, it wasn't planned… well… not as a double act. But I always did intend to ask you to move in, but I was going to be a little choosier about time and opportunity. Which reminds me young lady, you and I are going to have a long conversation about appropriate behaviour and topics of conversation, capisce?" he added sternly to Mattie.
The teenager just rolled her eyes, riding Harm's patent disapproval of her actions. She was convinced that if she hadn't said anything, then the issue wouldn't have been brought up at all, so as far as she was concerned she was already one up in the game."
Skates looked Harm straight in the eye "H'mm… okay… I will sleep on the idea, and l'll let you know my decision tomorrow, okay?"
"Fine by me!" Harm agreed. "So…let's eat our pie, drink our coffee and watch the movie!"
By halfway through the movie the slight amount of tension in the atmosphere had completely dissipated as all three occupants of the apartment alternative dissolved into laughter or commented – not always favourably – on the special effects.
Harm paused the movie at just over halfway through in order to fetch a bottle of wine for he and Skates, and a bottle fruit flavoured of mineral water for Mattie, and then all three sat back to watch the second half.
Towards the end of the movie however, Skates spent more time surreptitiously watch Harm and Mattie, as the teenager leaned her head against his shoulder, and Harms long arm snaked around her back to hold her protectively close while she drowsed.
'Yep, someday Harm is going to make a marvellous dad!' Skates repeated her earlier thought and allowed herself a brief day dream where she wasn't just a mother figure to a headstrong teenager by the mother of two or three children – Harm's children….
Harm gently disengaged his arm from around Mattie and leaned forward to shut off the movie as the end credits started to roll, and then nudged the heavy-eyed teenager, "That's it for you, young lady. Come on, let's gather up your plunder, and then it's bed time for you!"
"I'm not tired!" Mattie protested sleepily and then immediately betrayed herself with a huge yawn, "But maybe I could do with an early night," she conceded.
Harm looked at the wall clock, whose hands showed it only needed a few minutes before midnight. "Yeah, right, come on, I'll walk you through… stay where you are Skates, we won't be long.
Skates sank back in her chair. She had been about to go and look at the now kitchen and future bedroom, but she figured she could just as well leave that exploration until the morning.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Skates awoke the next morning the delicious smell of fresh brewed coffee and freshly baked croissants – a combination she hadn't tasted for years, ever since the ship she was embarked on, Coral Sea and its associated battle group paid a 'showing the flag' visit to the French Naval Port of Bordeaux – her smile was not only of the memory but one of anticipation for breakfast.
"Morning," she heard as she stirred at sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Morning, you," she returned as she threw off the comforter that had kept her warm throughout the night. "Do you always keep this place so cold?" she demanded as she sat shivering in t-shirt and boxers, hastily grabbing a sweat shirt and jogging pants from her sea-bag.
"You should have said!" Harm objected and crossing to the end wall he turned up the dial setting on the furnace. "There give that about ten minutes to kick in and you should start to feel the difference.
"Good! In that case, I'll have breakfast before I shower, please!"
"Coming right up!" Harm grinned as he poured her a cup of coffee and placed two warm croissants on a plate for her, before he repeated the same actions for himself.
They both studiously avoided the eight hundred pound gorilla while they consumed their breakfast, until at last Harm glanced at his watch.
"It's time I woke Mattie. Do you want to come through with me… you could take a look at the other apartment, it might give you a better sense of what I've got planned for your room… uh… what I've got planned for the remodelling."
Skates considered, it was now crunch time. She had tossed and turned for an hour or so after Harm had gone to his own bed while she lay on the couch, and was still no nearer making up her mind, but she had promised him a decision today, and if there was one thing she had learned from Harmon Rabb it was that a promise is a promise and is to be kept if at all humanly possible.
"Okay… it was pretty late when you packed her off to bed last night, so you can afford to give her another fifteen minutes while I shower and fix my face?"
"Sure," that will give me tome to bake another tray of croissants. I know I could indulge myself again, and I'm pretty sure that Mattie will make giant inroads into them!"
"I might just join her in that!" Skates agreed with laugh
Fifteen minutes later Harm opened the door to the second apartment, "Man on deck!" he yelled to let Mattie know, if she was awake that she needed to be decently covered. He gave the usual thirty second pause before he, with Skates in tow, entered the apartment,
"Do you want to go and drag her out of bed?" he asked with a grin.
"No… I think I'll leave that to you, while I have a quick look around," Skates grinned. Apart from everything else, she was curious to see just how Harm was going to wake Mattie. From her experience with assorted nieces and nephews, waking a teenager was not one of the all-time easiest jobs in the world.
She popped her hip against the small table in the corner of the living room and watched as |Harm crossed to what she supposed was the bedroom door, here he drew a breath and pounded loudly on the door, "Wakey wakey! Breakfast time! Fresh coffee and hot croissants! Come an' get it, afore I throw it to the hogs!"
Skates shook her head and grinned. If Mattie could sleep through that, then she deserved her lie in! But even a teenager wasn't impervious to the racket Harm was making, although any Ensign serving aboard a carrier would have been immune to the decibel level produced.
Satisfied that Harm would succeed in his mission, Skates pushed herself off the table and opened the door which she assumed led to the kitchen. Once inside she stood and looked around, nodding thoughtfully. The room was bigger by far than she had imagined, and she could see that once the kitchen equipment had been gotten rid of, there would be ample space for even a king-sized bed as well as a couple of free standing closets, a dresser and a vanity. Crossing to the window she saw that it looked out onto the back yards of the houses lining Fourth Street NE, and nodded in approval. She had feared that he might be overlooking a delivery area or the street itself. But this, if not perfect, was okay. She half closed her eyes, picturing the room as she wanted to see it and nodded her head.
Despite her misgivings over the possible dangers of living with Harmon Rabb, his suggestion did offer the answer to a number of problems regarding Mattie and her own housing needs. It was still early days, but she was pretty sure that on the one hand she and Harm could keep Mattie under control, and on the other hand, she and Mattie could keep Harm under control. With a brisk nod she finally made up her mind and turning on her heel left the kitchen for the living room.
She was just in time to see what appeared to be a red mop with a blue flannel handle about to enter the bathroom at the opposite side of the living room, so quickly called, "Hold it right there, Mattie! "
The youngster turned, and still blinking the sleep out of her eyes managed a mumbled, "'Morning, Skates…"
Hi, Mattie. Harm… I've made my decision. Yes, I'll move in with you – and Mattie, if the offer still stands!"