October 2010

Harm heard the alarm and hit the snooze button. Wasn't it the weekend, he thought as he snuggled into bed again. He felt his wife move closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her. Ten minutes later the alarm went off again, this time he turned it off. It was an hour later when he felt Mac move away from him and slip out of bed.

"Where are you going?" he stretched and sat up rubbing his eyes.

"I need to use the bathroom," she said as she slipped in the door to their bathroom.

He saw that the clock was only a little past 0700 and he lay back down. Soon Mac slipped into bed beside him. "We don't need to get up," she said.

"I just forgot and set the alarm last night. It's been crazy busy lately, but this weekend I'm not even going to think about work," he got out of bed. "Now I need to use the bathroom." '

When he got back she looked like she was asleep again, so he got into bed and moved close to her, his hands found their way down her body as he kissed down her neck. She responded by letting her hands find their way to his body, and their lips met in a heated kiss.

The phone interrupted them. "Damn it!" Harm reluctantly let her go and reached for his phone. "Yeah? Commander? When did that happen? I see. Who's on duty this weekend? Take Lieutenant Ivy, she needs more experience on investigations. And do a thorough job on this one Graves, be sure that the Captain understands that he can't get involved. Keep me posted. Bye." He put the phone away and turned to his wife. "Now, where were we?"

She giggled when he pulled her down on the bed.

Then the door flew open. "Mom! Dad! I'm hungry!"

They broke the kiss as their four-year-old jumped on their bed. "Morning," Harm said with a sigh.

"Can we have pancakes?" Matthew asked.

"I guess we can," Mac ruffled his head and smiled when Harm slumped down on the bed and let out a frustrated breath

"You guys go ahead, I need a minute," Harm said.

"Come on buddy, let's go," Mac got out of bed and put her robe on.

Matthew jumped off the bed and ran out the door, Mac offered an apologetic look in her husband's direction. "Sorry."

"Just give me a minute and I'll be downstairs," he suddenly got a wicked look on his face. "Why don't you set Matthew in front of the TV and come shower with me?"

"He's hungry," she said and turned to leave.

"Mac," he propped himself up on an elbow. "It's been weeks since we… You know."

"I know, we've been busy," she hesitated. "But we can turn in early tonight," she promised.

He slumped down on the bed. "Yeah."

Harm's office

Harm walked into his office and found Graves and Ivy waiting on him. They stood when he entered and Harm told them to sit down again. He rounded his desk and slumped down in his chair.

"So, why am I here on a Saturday night instead of at home with my family?" he wondered.

"Well, sir," Graves hesitated. "Captain Wood is interfering with the investigation. We've been interviewing anyone who saw what happened between Master Chief Darius and Petty Officer Moon, but they express fear of being removed off ship if they say anything negatively about Petty Officer Moon. Who's idea was it to let Petty Officer Moon serve on her father's ship anyway?"

Harm shrugged. "I have no idea. What did you find out so far?"

"Master Chief Darius was reprimanding Petty Officer Moon on her behavior. The Petty Officer was openly flirting with the men around her, and she offered herself to the Master chief when she was reprimanded for being late the third time in a week. When the Master Chief asked her to back off they were surprised by Petty Officer Hose, who in turn says that it could have been either of them touching the other. Basically, it's word against word, sir."

"What do you think?" Harm wondered.

"Petty Officer Moon is quite the girl, sir. She's good looking and she knows it. She's spoiled, and what she said was that her Dad would make sure she wouldn't get into trouble," Graves said.

"Charge the Captain. If he's been interfering, he has to answer for it," Harm let out a sigh. "I better make some phone calls. It's been more complaints from the crew about how the ship is run, so I think the Captain is done. The Sixth Fleet Commander was not happy."

"Yes, sir," Graves and Ivy stood.

"Dismissed," Harm said and picked up the phone.

The next day

The next morning Harm was woken up by Matthew jumping on their bed. Harm let out a groan and pulled the boy down on the bed.

"Let's sleep a little while longer," he mumbled.

"But Daddy, you promised to take Nathan and me fishing," Matthew complained.

Mac smiled and moved closer to her son. "Let Daddy sleep a little longer. He got home late last night."

"Okay," Matthew snuggled into his mother's arms. "Maybe we'll see alligators."

"Let's hope not," Mac said.

"The alligators aren't dangerous when Daddy's with us," Matthew turned to his Mom. "Mommy, Daddy will scare them away."

Mac kissed her son's head. "You think so?"

The bedroom door opened and Nathan walked in. "When are we going?"

"Morning," Mac said and sat up. "Why don't you take Matthew with you and have some breakfast, okay? Dad will be down in a little while."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, sure. Come on Matthew."

"Is Claire up?" Mac wondered.

"Watching TV downstairs," Nathan said and took Matthew's hand.

Mac smiled as she watched them leave. Nathan was growing up, and he was so good with Matthew. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom, then closed and locked the door on her way back to bed. She slipped off her t-shirt and slipped into bed, moving close to her husband. She started kissing his neck, letting her hands roam his muscular body. He had gotten in late last night and she'd been asleep, so their plans to make love had been forgotten.

"This is a good way to wake up," he mumbled against her mouth.

She smiled. "I want you."

He had no problem responding to that, so he kissed her deeply and turned them around so that he was on top.

A while later Mac kissed him softly and untangled herself from him. "I better fix breakfast for the kids, and you need to get ready too."

Harm smiled as he watched her walk away from the bed. He was a lucky man.

To Harm's disappointment he had to go into the office instead of going fishing with the kids. He didn't know who was more disappointed, him or they. By the time he got home Mac had taken the car and the kids, and the house was empty. He reached for his phone and found a text from Mac, explaining that they had taken the boat out to do some fishing. Harm let out a sigh, disappointed that he once again had missed out on a great family day. He drove to visit with his Mom and frank at their apartment, but found only his Mom, since Frank had joined Mac and the kids out at sea.

"You look tired, honey," Trish pointed out as she handed her son his ice tea.

"I am. It's been crazy lately," Harm admitted.

Trish sat down as well. "Is everything okay at home?"

Harm shrugged. "I guess, it's just that I miss out on a lot."

"Are you thinking of retiring?" Trish wondered.

"On and off," Harm admitted.

"What does Sarah say?" Trish asked.

"That she'll support me either way, but that she hopes that I'll continue because I'm doing a good job," he hesitated. "I love what I do, but I love my family too."

Trish smiled. "I know you do, and Sarah and the kids also know that you love them."

"I know they do," he smiled. "Anyway, I'm just thinking about it, nothing has been decided."

Trish's phone rang and she answered. "Frank? How's it going? That sounds wonderful. Harm is here too. Okay then. Bye," she turned to Harm. "They are on their way back. We're making fish tonight. That sounds good, right?"

"Sounds good to me," Harm agreed.

It was an hour later when Frank, Mac and the kids came back with their catch.

"Isn't this great, Dad?" Matthew asked.

"It sure is," Harm ruffled his hair, then greeted his wife with a kiss.

"Mom got the bigger one," Nathan said. "That's mine, and Claire and Matthew got tiny fish that we released."

"What about you Frank?" Harm asked.

"He's the Captain, and the captain doesn't work," Matthew said.

The adults laughed. "That's right, buddy," Frank said.

Dinner was great they agreed. While the kids helped Trish and Frank clean up after dinner, Harm took Mac's hand and dragged her towards the beach.

"It's perfect for a stroll," he pointed out. "What a day, what a week, what a month, right?"

"It's been crazy for you," she tugged on his hand to make him stop. "Hey, you're not thinking about retirement, are you?"

"I have been," he admitted. "I don't know Mac; the kids are growing up and I feel like I'm missing it."

"You come home every night. You go to most of their shows, and games, and you help them with homework, you listen when they need you to," she smiled. "You are a great father."

"What about husband?" he asked.

"I know that it feels like we're spending less time together, especially after I went back to work again, but we're doing okay. Don't you think?" she wondered.

"We are," he cupped her face and kissed her softly. "I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy," she assured him. "Every day with you is amazing. I have everything I ever wanted, and yes, we're busy, but we do what we love."

He smiled and kissed her again. "I love you."

She rubbed her nose to his. "I love you more."

"Not possible," he pulled her into his arms.