Harm and Mac walked slowly, hand in hand the short distance from the Tube station back to their flat, the corners of their mouths tugged into permanent smiles as they strolled. Harm pulled Mac close to him and put his strong arm around her shoulder. He could never seem to have her close enough to him, a fact that Mac found endlessly amusing. Ever since their engagement, he'd found that he'd become extremely affectionate, a trait that he'd never possessed with any other woman in his life. Public displays of affection had never been his thing, until he'd proposed to Mac. He'd always been somewhat affectionate with her as a friend, but now he simply couldn't keep his hands off her. He was crazy about her; absolutely love struck and he didn't care if the whole world knew it. He wanted her near him whenever he had the chance. Perhaps it was the result of nine torturous years of forcing himself to keep his distance. Whatever the reason, now that he didn't have to hold back, he was taking full advantage of it.
Ahead in the distance, a tall, elegant looking couple appeared on the path walking toward them. The young man and woman were smartly dressed, looking as though they'd just stepped off the pages of a Ralph Lauren catalogue. Between them walked a small girl, holding tightly to each of their hands. She was just as well dressed as her parents, wearing a black beret, a black and white plaid pea coat, and red Mary Jane shoes on her tiny feet. Her beautiful brown hair was pulled into braids that fell down her shoulders. She couldn't have been more than five years old. She smiled at Harm and Mac as they neared and began to skip playfully. Her father swept her up into his arms as they passed and he and his wife offered Harm and Mac a cheerful greeting. The small girl waved a chubby hand at them over her father's shoulder as they moved away.
Harm looked down at Mac with a grin and found that her eyes were glistening with tears. He brushed his thumb along the corner of her eye and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
"That's going to be us soon," he said, knowing what she was thinking.
"I can't even begin to believe it," Mac half whispered. "It feels like a dream."
"It's the same dream I've been having for years," Harm admitted, "only now it's real."
"This is absolutely one of the best days of my life," he said looking enormously grateful. "It's right up there with the day I met you and the day you agreed to marry me," he grinned. "I'm looking forward to adding our wedding day to that list as well."
"If I have anything to do with it, that list will be a mile long before we even make it to the altar," said Mac grabbing Harm by the collar of his shirt and looking quite cheeky, as the English like to put it.
"I hope so," said Harm, loving that the spunky side of her was returning.
"Mac," he continued in a more serious tone, "Do you mind if we call my parents when we get home?"
She was taken aback by the abrupt change in subject.
"What?" She asked.
"My Mom and Frank, we have to call them and tell them the news. They'll be ecstatic." Harm was beaming like a kid on Christmas.
"Oh," Mac wasn't quite sure what to say.
She paused for a moment. "Don't you think it's a little premature?"
He looked at her questioningly.
"I mean, don't people usually wait a little while longer before they tell anyone, just to be sure?"
"I suppose," he considered.
"Not that I'm assuming anything bad is going to happen," Mac quickly clarified. "It's just that I've never done this before. I'm not sure how these things work."
"Mac, if you'd rather wait, then of course we can wait," Harm offered. "I just thought it would be nice to call my Mom and surprise her."
"It would be wonderful," Mac admitted.
"Do you think she'd mind us announcing another big event over the phone?" Mac asked. "We already surprised her with the 'hey, guess what, we're engaged' phone call a couple months ago. What's she going to think when we announce that we're pregnant? I just don't want her to think we're purposely excluding her from our lives."
"Mac, Mom understands how hectic our schedules are," Harm explained. "We didn't exactly have time to fly out to California to announce our engagement before we left for England."
"I know," Mac continued, "but let's not forget. Your poor mother has never even met me. She's probably starting to wonder if I even exist, or worse, why I'm trying to keep her son away from her."
"Mac," Harm said squeezing her hand, "now you're just being paranoid. My mother is going to love you. I've talked about you so much over the past nine years; I'm sure she feels like she already knows you."
"I really can't wait to meet her, Harm," Mac said sincerely. "I know how important she is to you and I want her to be part of our lives and the baby's life."
"Grandma Trish," Harm laughed. "She'll love it."
"Honestly, I think she gave up years ago on the idea that I'd ever give her a grandchild," Harm confessed. "She'll be ecstatic."
Mac smiled at the thought of being able to give her soon to be mother in law this gift.
Tugging Harm's hand in the general direction of home she said, "Come on, Captain Rabb. Let's go make your Mom's day."
Harm swatted playfully at her backside and bounded forward to pull her into a huge bear hug. Making his best growling bear noises, he stomped forward with Mac in his arms, pushing her backwards as he went. He rocked her quickly and excitedly from side to side before releasing her, panting and giggling, from his grasp. They then joined hands once again and began walking quickly toward home.