See chapter one for disclaimers
Late August 2006
Analise's Apartment
A few weeks later, Harm had all but moved in with Maggie and Analise. As Mac's pregnancy grew and her health declined the children spent more and more time with them. In fact, after one particularly bad appointment at the doctor's in which Mac was told to avoid stress and remain in bed for one week Harm and Analise took Lucy and DJ to her apartment.
Both children blossomed being with their father full time again, if just for awhile. Lucy was showing signs of being the sweet adorable child she had been before a pattern of ill health had squelched her spirit. Over pizza one evening she made an announcement, "Daddy, you know my friend Carrie?" she asked.
"Yes," Harm replied. "I think I remember her, Button."
"She's going to be a ladybug," Lucy informed him.
"A ladybug? Isn't it a bit early to be thinking of Halloween costume ideas?" Analise asked.
Lucy giggled and Harm smiled at the sound, "No, Ladybugs is a soccer team," Lucy told her.
"A soccer league, actually," Harm corrected. "They are made up of girls 6-9. Do you want to be a ladybug Lucy?"
Lucy beamed, "Yes. I want to play with Carrie and all of my other friends. I can run fast."
"You sure can," Harm replied. "Did you talk to Mommy about this yet?"
Lucy shook her head, "No. I didn't want to bother her."
Harm felt his hard strings tug, "Lucy Bear, you or DJ will never be a bother to me or to Mommy no matter what, okay?" He asked and held her gaze for confirmation.
Lucy looked into his eyes and nodded, "I know that. But Mommy gets tired and she has the baby in her belly."
"Still, Mommy and Daddy will never be too tired for you or for you," he looked over at DJ. "Okay, Buddy?"
"Okay," DJ replied. "Can I have juice?"
Analise had to laugh at that one. There was such a startling difference between the Rabb children even though their numerical ages were close. DJ was still at an age where as long as his needs were met and he was kept engaged and entertained he was okay. Lucy was reaching and age where she was developing emotions, conscience, not like she had not had an over equipped one like her father since birth but she was becoming more and more of a full person, rather than a child. She was even more than usual becoming aware of the needs of others and those needs along with her own.
Harm reached out and ruffled Lucy's hair. She had such thick curly hair. He knew where the thickness came from, her mother but the curls were a mystery to him. "Tell you what, next week when you go home to Mommy we'll ask her if its all right for you to be a Lady Bug. How does that sound?"
Lucy beamed, "Okay," she replied and offered him a wide smile.
After all that had happened to her in her young life, everything from his near drowning incident to DJ's birth to Mac's illness and their divorce it was sometimes still a miracle to Harm that she could smile like that, a true Rabb smile. He marveled also at how time flew. Two years had nearly passed since the disastrous events in Mexico, his one night affair with Annie. This time last he and Mac had been gutting each other in a custody fight, and now Mac was carrying a baby with Mic and he was happily playing house with a widowed physical therapist he'd grown to love deeply. How the times changed.
The five of them Harm, Analise, Lucy, DJ, and baby Maggie finished their supper. Harm cleaned up the table and wrapped and froze the remainder of their pizza while Analise took care of the baths and bedtime routines. Harm went into the children's rooms to tuck them in and kiss them goodnight.
It was past 10:30 when Harm and Analise prepared for bed. Harm had changed and was sitting up in bed reading novel when Analise came out of the bathroom. She showered every night. She told him it helped her unwind and wash her day down the drain so she could get a restful night sleep. It worked too because Analise slept like a rock every single night. He knew because he was losing sleep and spent most of that time awake watching her. Tonight like every other night she walked out of the bathroom in her short pink bathrobe covering one of his undershirts with a towel in her hand. She used the ends of the towel to dry the drops from the ends of her hair, and then threw the towel on the laundry pile. Once that was done, she'd remove the robe, leave it on the bottom of the bed for easy access then reach for the bottle of body lotion. One leg at a time, with her foot on the end of the mattress she massaged the cream into her legs. It was as she did this she asked him, "Harm, is Lucy particularly clumsy?"
The query struck him as odd. He lowered his book and met her face, "Not really. Why?"
"She has a lot of bruises on her legs and some on her arms," Analise answered.
"Hmm," Harm sighed. He thought it a bit odd, and then recalled their supper conversation. "She's into this soccer stuff now. Maybe that's why," he reasoned.
"Maybe," Analise replied slipping into bed beside him. She seemed unsure and ill at ease. She continued their conversation by asking, "Did you talk with Mac at all today?"
"I called but I couldn't get past Brumby," he replied. "He said she's feeling better today and that she should be ready to take the children back next week like we planned."
She leaned her head against his shoulder, "I know you love having them here. And they can stay as long as necessary, you know that."
"I know that," he affirmed. "What I don't know is what is bothering my girl tonight. Did you have a bad day at work?" He asked this as he cuddled her in closer.
"No more than usual," she replied. "It's more work than I could imagine with the children here. It's tiring keeping up with three."
Harm looked at her skeptically. It was a cover and he knew it. "If I didn't know you as well as I do I'd believe you, but I know you better than that. Come on now, what is it?"
She shook her head, "Sometimes I still feel scared I guess. I mean you and Mac had so much invested in each other. Now that the anger and the pain is passing…and you seem so concerned…"
Harm cut her off at the pass by pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "I love you, Ana. I am connected with Mac. The two most precious people in my world are in my world because of what I shared with her. But as powerful a bond as that is, that's all it is a bond shared between people who shared a life and share children. That is all it is."
Analise nodded, "Yes, but…"
"No buts, no ifs," he replied. "I love Mac as a friend, as the mother of my children, as someone I shared a lot of intimate moments with and that is all. She's moved on with Mic. And I…" he smiled and leaned in to kiss her on the tip of her nose. "Was lucky enough to move on with you."
Analise settled with that explanation and snuggled in close. She hated feeling insecure and feeling the need to question Harm's motives or feelings but as she spent more time with Harm's friends and learned about his life, his love with Mac she feared no even divorce, no amount of infidelity or anger could sever that tie completely. But moments like this one they were sharing now as a couple choosing to share their lives she didn't doubt the sincerity in his voice when he told her of his love.
The pair clung closer to each other and enjoyed a few more moments of lighter chit chat before turning in for the night.
The rest of the week passed very quickly and all too soon it was time for DJ and Lucy to go back to stay with Mac and Mic. The week of bed rest had done her a lot of good. Harm could tell that just by her color and her renewed energy when he brought the children home Sunday evening.
"You look much better," Harm said as he carried in Lucy and DJ's bags. The children had all ready greeted their mother and were off to play with toys they'd been separated from while with their father. "Feel better?"
"I do," Mac replied. "The rest was just what I needed. The kids keep you on your toes?"
"They wouldn't be our kids if they didn't," Harm replied. "Speaking of which, I wanted to talk to you about Lucy."
"What?" Mac asked with mild apprehension. "Another nosebleed?"
"No, not the entire time," Harm answered. "She asked me about joining that soccer league, The Ladybugs. I told her I'd talk with you about it."
Mac sat down, "Well, I don't see why it would be a bad idea if she really wants to do it. She hasn't really been interested in anything like that since she stopped wanting to dance."
Harm smiled. He was finally beginning to see glimpses of the little girl he knew before he and her mother had turned her life into a tug of war. She was finally beginning to heal from that damage. "I know and it is wonderful to see believe me. Listen, Mac, if you don't mind this is something I'd like to do with her, you know take charge of so to speak."
"Like volunteer to be a coach?" Mac inquired.
"I don't know about that, but you know get her signed up and run her to practice and pick her up, things like that," he explained.
"I don't see why not," Mac replied. "You and Lucy could use some extra bonding time. DJ too if he'd want to go watch her with you sometimes. I think it would be good for them."
Harm smiled from ear to ear at that. He still marveled at the difference in circumstances from just one year ago, "Okay then its settled. When should I tell her?"
"No time like the present," Mac replied and Harm smiled broadly.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. Real life has been very hectic lately. Also, Snugglebug and myself have decided to give the end of the story a bit of a face lift. We are still keeping true to what we have originally decided to utilize as the ending of the story but we both feel we need to give it a bit of a polish. That being said I hope that the next update will be out very soon. Thanks to all who have continued to follow this saga.