A/N: Well, huh. This story gets longer and longer but please, please don't let it go over ten chapters (she begged herself). I'm trying to get this done quickly and then I'll hopefully be inspired regarding my other active stories. This is just a lot of domestic-type filler.

Heart

Chapter 3: Secret Part II

One Week Later…

"How did it go last night?" Mac asked when she and Harm were alone in the break room. Harm had told Annie about Eden the night before.

Harm leaned back against the counter and looked up at the ceiling then the door, obviously wanting to look at anything or anyone but her.

"Harm?"

Harm sighed deeply and looked down at his coffee. "She didn't take it all that well."

"Oh?"

"I think she was hurt."

Mac wondered at that. She and Harm had been together years before he had started dating Annie, though he'd known her many years. Annie was the widow of Harm's friend and fellow pilot, Luke. Luke had died during a test flight a few years ago. "I don't understand," she finally said.

Harm shrugged. "I don't exactly either."

"Well, maybe—"

"She thinks I should get a DNA test," Harm blurted out, and Mac stared at him, utterly stunned.

"What? Why, and how is that any of her business?" she questioned, the volume of her voice rising.

"Shh, Mac. She, and I get it, thinks you may be lying."

"You get it?!" Mac was livid. How could he possibly think she would ever lie about this? "Let me guess, now you're worried I'm lying too."

"Mac, keep your voice down. She has a point. My parents…they're worth a lot of money. Annie just thought—"

"Oh, Annie just thought. How in hell, Harm, would I know about your parents when I didn't even know your name a two weeks ago? I suppose she thinks I joined the marines and got myself assigned here just to trap you, but you can tell her I don't give a damn what she thinks. I would never lie about something like this! And why the hell would I want anything from your parents when I don't even want anything from you? Fine. Tell Annie to—"

"She's just looking out for me! Besides—"

"Oh my god, you think you should get a test, don't you?"

"Yes! I think we—if—"

Mac took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She wanted to slap Harm, but more than that, she wanted to tell Annie what she could go do to herself…and then slap her too. Hard. "Look, if you're worried about me being a scam artist, I'll sign something saying I will never ask you for money or anything else."

"Mac, come on. I never said I wanted anything like that."

"No, but you implied it."

"I did not! You're imagining things. Come on, I don't want to fight with you about this. Why don't we—"

"We'll do nothing!" Mac hissed, then turned on her heel.

"Where are you going? We need to discuss this!"

Mac flipped back around, the fury in her expression causing Harm to step back. "No, we don't." Mac took another deep breath, fighting the urge to cry. "I don't think we have anything more to discuss today," she said, more calmly this time. "I need to get going. Eden needs—"

"What about Eden? What does she need?"

"Nothing from you!" Mac knew she was being somewhat unreasonable, but she was hurt and angry—angry that Harm's girlfriend had basically inserted herself into her and Eden's life.

"Hey, she's my daughter too!"

That was rich, coming from the man who had just asked for a DNA test. "Are you sure?" she asked snarkily. Harm's face crumbled a bit, and she almost felt bad. Almost.

"Goodnight, Harm. My daughter hasn't been feeling well today, and I'd like to get home to her."

"She's sick? With wh—"

"Goodnight, Harm," she repeated, and with that, she left the lounge, doing her best to wipe away the tears she couldn't fight anymore. She heard Harm call after her, but her steps never faltered, even when she almost ran into Lt. Singer.

Three days later…

Someone was knocking on her office door, and Mac knew it was Harm even before she saw him.

"What can I do for you, Harm?" she asked with impersonal politeness. She set down her pen and folded her hands on her desk, looking up at him expectantly. She was still upset with him, and his appearance here made her wary after he had avoided her for the last three days.

"Ah, nothing, but, um, can I come in?"

Mac wanted to tell him no, but instead she nodded and motioned him to her visitor chairs. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him before he sat down, annoying her when he didn't say anything for long seconds.

"Harm, I have work to do so could you just say what you have to say?"

"Right, I just wanted to apol—I mean, I'm sorry about the other day."

"Okay."

"And I want to see Eden."

Mac glared at him. "Why? So you can swab her cheek?"

"Maaac! No. I just want to see her, and I know I royally screwed up with you. I don't doubt that Eden's my daughter, and my reasons for wanting a DNA test are far different than Annie's."

"And what would those reasons be?"

"For the navy. They'll need proof I'm her father so she can get survivor's benefits if I get myself killed. That's why we need to do it, okay?"

"Oh."

"Just oh?"

"No, I mean…I hadn't thought of that." He was right, of course. "I'm sorry I jumped all over you."

"That's okay." He smiled for the first time since he had entered her office. "I didn't exactly articulate things very well."

"No, you didn't." She agreed, smiling to lighten the blow. "And yes, you can come over and see Eden. Are you free tonight?"

"I am."

"I'm getting out of here a little early today—can you come right after work? Eden goes to bed around 1930 so there isn't a lot of time to see her in the evenings. It's scrambled egg night, nothing fancy, so if you're good with that, I'll feed you too."

"I'd like that. Is she, um, feeling better?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, she's back to her old self," she reassured. "Not much gets her down."

"Good. She must take after you."

Mac smiled briefly then gazed contemplatively at the man across from her. "You know, Harm. I used to wonder how she got to be so talkative and open when I'm…not. I haven't known you long, but from what I've seen, it's obvious she gets that from you. Along with your ear and your eyes, and most of your smile."

"Poor thing. I've always been self-conscious about that ear."

"You shouldn't be. I like it." Her admission caused her to blush. "It saves you from the burden of perfection." Her blush deepened.

"And that's a good thing?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, it is." She looked away from him, but she was smiling.

"Well, okay. I'll stop worrying about the ear, then, and I'm really looking forward to seeing Eden again. I'll leave here right at five."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, and Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"Where do you live?"

"Harm!" Eden ran to her father, clearly remembering him from the picnic nearly two weeks ago. Harm stooped down and gathered her in his arms, following Mac into the kitchen as he carried the little girl.

The kitchen was rather a mess, and there were certainly no eggs nor anything else cooking on the stove. Mac felt utterly harried. She had come home to find Katie sick with whatever Eden had had only worse, so she'd sent the young woman off to bed and started cleaning up the kitchen. It had been all Katie could do to watch Eden today, thus remnants of breakfast and lunch remained. Katie had apologized profusely for the mess and was nearly crying about it before Mac hugged her and led her to her bedroom to sleep.

Then Mac realized they were out of eggs. She had forgotten Katie and Eden had made cookies earlier in the week and a few of the eggs had been casualties of Eden's clumsy fingers. Now, not only was she trying to tidy up, she was also frantically trying to figure out something to cook that would work for a three-year-old and her recently discovered father.

"Harm, I'm sorry. Katie got sick, we're out of eggs, everything's a mess, maybe we should do this another night?"

"Is there something I can I do to help?" he asked as Eden wrapped her little arms around his neck. It was clear she liked this new person in her mother's life.

"I don't think there's anything you can do, and frankly I haven't bought groceries in a few days, so I'm thinking everyone's having cereal tonight." Mac opened a cupboard and peered inside. "I hope you like Cap'N Crunch."

"Of course. He's a navy man."

Mac couldn't help but laugh. "Cap'N Crunch it is." She pulled out the half-empty box. "Oooh, it has berries!"

"Even better!" Harm grinned. He gave Eden a kiss on the cheek, then set her in the chair obviously meant for her. "I can pour the milk."

"Oh…milk."

"You're out?"

"Maybe." She opened the refrigerator. "Make that a yes. Oh, lord, Harm, I'm not usually so under prepared." Of course, things would be like this the first time Harm saw his daughter's home.

Harm walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, don't worry about it. Say, why don't I look around the kitchen and see if I can find anything to throw together. Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I am a pretty decent cook. What's in your freezer?"

"A few frozen dinners. Lean Cuisine ® or something like that."

"Any frozen vegetables?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Then go sit down and I'll let you know when dinner is served."

"Harm, you don't have to do this."

"I know, but I'm happy to. Now, get out of here. Do something with Eden, and I bet I can have something ready in thirty minutes or less."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Now scoot so I can work here."

"Okay, then. I'll trust you. Come on, Eden, let's give the man some space."

Little Eden shook her head and crossed her arms over chest. She looked adorable, and a glance toward Harm told her he thought so too. "Now, Eden—"

"NO!"

"I don't mind if she stays. Go put your feet up. Relax. I bet you don't get to do that very often."

He was right. She didn't have a lot of downtime, and to have a few minutes just to sit sounded wonderful. It was also a wonderful feeling to have someone take care of her for once. "Okay, Harm, I will."

"You're welcome, Mac."

Twenty-nine minutes later, Harm called Mac to the dinner table. She recognized parts of her freezer meals mixed in with two types of previously frozen vegetables, and Harm had obviously added new seasonings to the mix. It all looked and smelled rather fabulous.

"Oh my gosh, Harm. It actually looks good!"

"It's yummy!" Eden declared, and then her parents sat down and enjoyed their dinner with her.

"Seriously, Harm, that was great," Mac said as she returned to the kitchen after putting Eden to bed. The little girl had insisted Harm read her a bedtime story, and as Mac watched them, she saw the fulfillment of one of her fantasies. She'd dreamt often about such a sweet, simple, yet utterly unlikely domestic scene starring the father of her little duckling, but now part of that dream was finally realized.

"Nah, it wasn't much," he replied as he dried one of the pans he had used for dinner.

"Hey, don't worry about the dishes. You cooked. I'll take care of them later."

Harm shook his head. "I'm almost done. Here," he said, handing her the pan and towel. "You can dry."

"Sounds fine to me. Did you want any coffee after?"

"That'd be great."

The two made fast work of the rest of the dishes, and soon they were sitting beside each other on her couch, sipping their coffees.

"Thanks for letting me come by tonight."

"You're welcome. I think Eden likes you." Mac smiled to herself. Of course, Eden liked Harm. He was nothing if not likable.

Harm appeared inordinately pleased at Mac's comment. "I'm glad. I know I more than like her, and you're a fantastic mother."

It was Mac's turn to be pleased. "Thank you. She really is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you two."

Mac rested a delicate hand on Harm's shoulder. "Harm, we talked about this. It's not your fault. Let's face it, we were both a little irresponsible—"

"I prefer to think of it as 'impassioned,'" he interrupted with another heart stopping smile.

"Well, it was that." Her cheeks pinkened at the thought of their night together.

"I meant what I said the day of the picnic, Mac. I do think of you and that night all the time."

"You do?" she asked breathily.

"Yeah, I do." Harm's fingers reached out to stroke the side of her face.

"Me too, Harm," she whispered.

Harm cupped her cheek. "You were so beautiful that day at Duke. I wanted to say screw the tour and just stay with you."

"I would have liked that. That smile of yours…damn near killed me."

They both chuckled lightly at her comment as he drew his hand away.

"Harm, one thing I've always wanted to ask…why did I find you walking down the street in the rain?" She watched him expectantly while his own face reddened.

"I, um, turned down an invitation to spend the night with my tour guide."

"And she kicked you out of the car?" Mac tried to remember who had been leading him around that day. Jordan somebody…

"No…"

"Then what happened?"

"Well…and I can't believe I'm telling you this…she, ah, started to look, I don't know, predatory? Or like if I didn't take her up on her offer, she'd accuse me of something, so, while we were stopped at an intersection, I got out. Of course, that's when the rain really picked up. I was lucky you came around."

"I'll say," she agreed, then took a few sips from her coffee. "Just so you know, though, I don't generally pick up hitchhikers." She didn't want him to think the mother of his daughter engaged in such reckless behavior.

"Of course not," he replied. "Besides, I wasn't hitchhiking."

"True enough."

"Anyway, I'm glad you picked me up. Knowing what I know now, more than glad."

"You're very good with Eden. You've been around children before, haven't you?"

Harm sat back into her couch. "Not much, really. Annie and Luke had a son, Josh. He's nine years old now, and I've spent quite a bit of time with him. My cousin has young kids, but I don't see her very often."

"Then you're just a natural."

Harm's eyes twinkled. "If you say so." Harm laid his hand over hers and squeezed. "We talked a bit about Eden's early days, her birth, but tell me the rest. When did she take her first steps? What was her first word? What is her favorite color right now? Any foods she doesn't like?"

"Whoa, Harm. Slow down!" She turned her hand over and gripped his. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but I don't think we can cover it all tonight. We have work tomorrow, remember?"

Harm squeezed her hand. "Yeah, I do. Okay, tell me about her first…tooth."

"Her first tooth? That's not a very exciting story, Harm."

"I know, but I missed it, so tell me."

"Okay, then. She was seven months old, and her bottom front teeth came in at the same time. I've never seen anyone drool that much, and boy, did she chew on things, including my—well, you know." She blushed again, which was something she had rarely done before. Harm seemed to bring that out in her.

"Oh," Harm winced as he realized what she meant. "Ouch."

"Yes, quite. Then all her other teeth gradually made their appearance, so there you have it. I told you it wasn't very interesting."

"On the contrary, Mac, I found it fascinating."

Mac pulled the hand he still had in his grip away from him and smacked him on the shoulder with the back of it. "Yeah, right. What else did you want to know?"

"Was she fussy? My mom said I was always fussing when I was cutting teeth."

Mac thought back to that time. "No, not really."

"Good. I'm glad you didn't have to deal with that on your own too."

Mac turned her body so she could face Harm more directly. "Hey, I was okay, Harm. I had my uncle. He stayed with us for the first month. He couldn't do much with Eden other than watch her when I showered and such, but he made sure I was fed and the laundry was done. He let me cry to him when I was tired or scared, and he's still helping us. I've never been truly on my own."

"Still…alright, I know there was nothing either of us could do about the situation, but seriously, if I had known, I would never have let you be alone either."

"I know that, Harm. Thanks." Mac could feel herself becoming emotional as tears well up in her eyes. Of course, Harm could see it, and he wrapped his arms around her. He was obviously a man who showed affection easily and even though she still didn't know him all that well, he clearly knew how to give her comfort.

"Tell me more, Mac," Harm gently commanded after a minute of holding her. "Tell me why you call her 'Duckling.'"

Mac smiled against his chest. "She has a little blanket from Uncle Matt that's covered in little ducklings, so I started calling her that. She also loves the water, just like a little duck."

"Ah, a future squid!"

Mac pulled away. "Bite your tongue. Our daughter is a marine through and through!" She tried to look stern but failed miserably. Harm didn't laugh with her though. He actually looked rather wistful.

"Our daughter," he murmured. "She's absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to tell my parents about her…but don't worry, I know we're keeping this secret for now."

Mac nodded absently as she felt a warmth sluicing through her. Harm was the kind of father she'd always hoped her daughter would have. Unfortunately, as soon as she had that thought, the warmth inside her turned into a burning in the pit of her stomach.

In all her fantasies, Harm wasn't just her baby's father. He wasn't just a friend.

He was also her lover. Her husband. Her memories of their one night together had caused her to romanticize their encounter, and now, when she was faced with the truth of it all, it was something entirely different. He was her baby's father. He was rapidly becoming a friend.

But he wasn't hers. He had somebody, and so did she.

Mac abruptly stood up. "My goodness, it's later than I thought. Harm, thanks for making dinner tonight. It was delicious."

"Mac, did I say something?"

"No. No you didn't. It's just late, and you and I do have that hearing tomorrow."

Harm checked his watch then looked back at her. "Yeah, we do, don't we." He stood up from her couch and took some time to stretch. It was the wrong thing for him to do, or to be accurate, it was the right thing for him to do. He had changed into a black t-shirt and jeans before he came over, and the way his muscles rippled under his shirt made her weak in the knees. She needed to stop looking at him like that. She tried to avoid looking too closely at him as she walked him to the door, but that didn't matter. His arm brushed against hers, and he radiated the warmth she remembered from four years ago, even when he was soaked by rain. She was almost shaky with relief when she made it to her door and pulled it open for him.

"Goodnight, Harm. Thanks for coming over."

"No, thank you. I had a wonderful time."

"Thanks for saving dinner for us."

"You're welcome. Someday you'll have to let me cook you all a real meal."

"I'd like that."

"Well, goodnight, Mac." He held his arms out to her, clearly wanting to embrace her. Throwing caution to the wind, she stepped into those arms and wrapped her own around him. He kissed her hair and she rather hoped he'd kiss her on the lips like the last time he had held her like this. His t-shirt was soft against her cheek, and was his heartbeat quickening beneath her ear? She sighed contentedly when his hand began rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"Harm," she whispered. God, was she going to do this? Was she going to offer herself to him again?

"Am I interrupting anything?"

Mac jumped back, startled by the voice of the man who now stood in her open doorway.

It was Dalton Lowne. Her boyfriend.

End Chapter 3