Hi, everyone! Sorry, I had hoped to post this chapter a little earlier, but it's been a really busy week. I'm still planning to finish the story before Christmas. I think we'll definitely end at 25 ficlets, but I'm so glad that you're enjoying reading because I'm really enjoying writing. I hope you find that 25 ficlets ends the story in a good place. Thanks for reading!
Ice
"Harm?" Trish stopped in the doorway of her son's bedroom, her long dress twirling around her ankles as she fastened a pretty pearl necklace around her neck. "Can you please help your grandmother with dinner?"
"Why? Are you going out with Frank?" The disdain was obvious in his voice.
"Yes, I am."
"Why?"
"Because he's a nice man," Trish answered defensively.
"He's not my father."
"No, he's not."
Harm stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest and sank down on his bed. With a heavy sigh, Trish stepped into the room and eased herself onto the bed next to him.
"Little Harm," she whispered soothingly, running a hand through her son's hair.
He squirmed away and swung his legs over the other side of the bed. "Don't call me that."
"Little Harm," Trish repeated insistently. "I will never forget your father. No one, not Frank or anybody else, will ever replace him. Nothing can erase his memory or the legacy he leaves behind. You will always be Harmon Rabb, Junior...do you understand that, darling?"
But it would take a lifetime before he did.
~*~o~*~
"Wow, it's really coming down out there!" Frank exclaimed, lugging his and Trish's suitcases in the front door.
"Here, Frank, let me help you with that," Harm said, closing the door behind him and reaching for one of the suitcases.
"Oh, thanks, Harm." Frank shivered. "We must have at least three inches of snow out there already."
Harm grinned. "You're not in La Jolla anymore, Frank."
"Oh, right, I must have temporarily forgotten," Frank joked.
The two men rolled the suitcases into the living room next to the fireplace, and Frank sighed in relief at the welcome warmth.
"So you and Mac decided to spend Christmas together this year," Frank said. "Your mother goes on and on about how she's quite the girl."
Harm rolled his eyes.
"You ever think about taking the next step?"
"Maybe."
"So what's holding you back?"
Harm shrugged.
Frank bravely looked his stepson in the eye. "Harm, I know I'm not the one you want to hear this from, but let me tell you anyway. You've been looking for something in your life for a long time. You deserve to be happy. You deserve her."
"Frank, why are you doing this?" Harm asked, truly puzzled.
"Well, like I said before," Frank continued in an oddly compassionate tone, "Harm, you're the only son I ever had."
The two men simply stared at each other for a long moment until they heard footsteps entering the room behind them.
"Hey, what are my two boys doing in here?" Trish asked.
"Warming up," Frank replied with a chuckle. "My southern California bones weren't made for this kind of weather."
He dropped a light kiss on Trish's cheek as Harm looked on.
It didn't hurt as much anymore, Harm decided.
The iciness between him and Frank had finally melted.
His mother had found a way to mend her broken heart.
And maybe that's what he had been trying to do all along, too.
