Sunday January 8th
Harm led Mac through the airport, they were both thoughtful after the phone call they had gotten late last night. There was a rental car waiting on them and soon they were on their way towards La Jolla.
"Oh Harm, I'm so grateful that you are here," Trish hugged her son. "You too Sarah, " she hugged her daughter in law too. "What a day."
"How's it going Mom?" Harm asked.
"Come in," Trish led them through the house. "Rose is upstairs in the room I prepared for her."
"How is she?" Mac asked.
"She doesn't say much," Trish looked worried.
"She's been through a lot," Mac said and put a reassuring hand on her mother in law's arm. "Why don't you sit down. "
"Where's Frank?" Harm wondered.
"Out for a walk, " Trish said and sat down.
Harm sat too. "When's the funeral?" he wondered.
"They haven't released the body yet," Trish said.
"It could take some time, depending on the investigation," Harm explained. "I'll look into it."
"I'm sure your Aunt Rose would be grateful. She's very upset as you can imagine. Anna was her only grandchild, her only connection left to her daughter. Except from Rose of course. Poor girl," Trish wiped away a tear. "What person would beat someone to death?"
Mac sat down beside Trish. "We need to focus on Rose. Her mother just died, her stepfather is in prison, she'll need a lot from us."
"Of course," Trish agreed.
"When will the lady from CPS be here?" Harm asked.
"Tomorrow morning," Trish said and hesitated. "I hope everything is okay with the process of you becoming Rose's guardian?"
"I talked to her before we left and we're the closest family members who is in a position to take care of her, so the meeting is just a technicality. She just needs to know that we have a plan," Harm said.
"Do you have a plan?" Trish wondered.
"Mac already talked to Matthew's school, Rose can start next week. We haven't had time to prepare a room for her, but she can help decide how she wants it. We probably need to shop for clothes and other things she needs for school. From what you've told us, she doesn't have much," Harm looked questioningly at his Mom.
"I took her shopping for clothes and shoes this morning. What she had was too small. The apartment they lived in was a dump, I cringed when I entered it, and it wasn't because of the blood on the floor. Thankfully Rose didn't come home to find her mother dead," Trish said.
"It was a neighbor who reported the noise, wasn't it?" Mac asked.
"Yes, and by the time the police arrived Anna was dead. They found her boyfriend drinking in a bar a few blocks away, wearing bloody clothes. My sister said that he wasn't a nice man, but she'd never guess that he would hurt Anna. I'm glad Rose wasn't home when he went crazy," Trish took a calming breath. "Anna hasn't been a big part of our lives, mostly because of the way she decided to live her life. But I really thought she had cleaned up and gotten her act together, for Rose. That's the impression my sister gave me anyway."
"Sometimes the family is the last to know," Mac said and started to stand. "I'll go check on Rose. I doubt she remembers me. I haven't seen her in about two years."
"Not since my sister's husband passed away. Anna and Rose came to his funeral," Trish remembered.
"I'll come with you," Harm said and stood too.
Mac peaked inside the room. The nine-year-old was busy coloring, her bright blue eyes looked troubled and her dark brown hair kept falling in her face and she'd move it behind her ear. Mac knocked softly on the doorframe and Rose's head whipped up and looked at her.
"Hi, Rose," Mac said and stepped into the room, Harm following behind. "I don't know if you remember us?"
Rose nodded. "I do."
Mac smiled. "How are you, sweetheart?"
The girl shrugged and turned back to her drawing.
Mac walked over. "That's a nice drawing."
"I guess," Rose said and put her pencil down. "Am I going to live with you now?"
Mac crotched down to her lever. "Harm and I would like that very much."
"I like it here," Rose said.
"I know you do. I like it here too," Mac smiled. "Trish and Frank are the best. We feel very lucky to have them in our lives. And they come to visit us a lot, or we travel here to see them."
"Okay," Rose looked hesitant. "When can I see my Mom?"
"Do you know what happened to your Mom?" Mac asked.
"My stepdad killed her," Rose said.
"He did. And when someone is killed there's a special doctor who must look at the person to figure out how they died. Your Mom is with that Doctor now. Harm," Mac motioned to her husband who was still by the door. "..will make some phone calls and figure out when your Mom can be buried, and then we can find out if you can see her. We don't know how she looks now, sometimes people who have died doesn't look so nice and then it's better to remember them as they were when they were alive."
Rose nodded. "My stepdad wasn't a nice man."
"I know honey. I'm sorry about that," Mac took Rose's hand. "He's in prison now and he won't get out in a long time, maybe never. He can't hurt anyone where he is now."
"Do you promise?" Rose asked.
"I promise," Mac reassured. "I'm getting hungry and it's dinnertime. Do you want to help me make dinner?"
Rose nodded. "Okay."
Mac stood and waited for the girl to stand. "Maybe Harm can help too."
"I can do that," Harm said.
They left the room, and Harm took Mac's hand and whispered in her ear; "You're amazing."
Wednesday January 11th
It was three days later when they traveled back to D.C with Rose. It had been a roller-coaster ride of emotions since they arrived in San Diego. They realized quickly that they had a long road ahead of them. Rose had nightmares, waking up screaming every night. She was skeptical towards Harm, and clung to Mac or Trish all the time, scared to be alone, scared that they would leave her.
"This is our house," Mac said as Harm drove the car up their driveway and parked. She got out and opened the door for Rose. The girl didn't say anything, she just got out and stared at the ground. Mac took her hand and led her to the front door. Harm followed behind with their things.
"Welcome home!" Nathan, Matthew, Claire and Mattie were gathered in the living room. They had made a banner that said; "Welcome home, Rose."
Mac hurried to hug them. "It's so good to see you all here," she said as she hugged her youngest. She released him and moved over to Rose.
Harm greeted his kids too, and when he had they all turned to Rose.
"Everyone, this is Rose. Rose, this is Nathan, Claire, Mattie and Matthew," Mac said.
They all came over to say hello to Rose, and Rose hurried to hide behind Mac.
"She's a little shy yet," Mac crouched down and smiled to Rose. "And that's okay sweetheart. You'll get to know everyone soon."
"We have a surprise," Nathan said.
"Come on," Mattie said and motioned to move upstairs.
They all followed her upstairs, and she led them to Nathan's room. "We made some changes," she said.
They all moved into the room. "I painted," Nathan said and smiled. "I hope you like the color?"
Rose's eyes were huge as she looked around the room.
"We bought you a new bed, and some furniture," Mattie smiled. "Well, you actually did that, Dad."
Harm laughed softly. "I bet I did."
"We weren't sure what books and toys you liked, but we went to the attic and brought down some of my old things," Claire said.
"And we all chipped in on a brand-new iPad for you, as a welcome home gift. Because everyone should have an iPad," Matthew said and smiled cleverly.
Rose looked at Mac. "This is my room?"
Mac nodded. "It is."
Rose looked like she couldn't believe it. "It's so big."
"And if you hate the color, I'll repaint it for you," Nathan said.
Rose finally smiled. "I like it," she said shyly.
"You guys are the best," Mac told her kids. "Thank you so much."
"We just want Rose to feel like home," Claire said.
"I better check on dinner," Mattie said and hurried past them.
"Why don't we let Rose look around," Mac suggested.
Matthew, Nathan, Claire and Harm left the room. Mac put her hand on Rose's shoulder. "I hope you'll like it here, Rose. Look around, and then come downstairs, okay? I'll show you around the house after we've had dinner. Your bathroom is right across the hall. You share it with Matthew and Claire."
Rose nodded. "Sarah, is this room really mine?"
"It really is yours," Mac confirmed.
"My last room was tiny with no windows. I think it was supposed to be for storage," Rose said.
"Well, now you have a window," Mac smiled and turned to leave. "I hope you'll feel like home here, Rose. Come join us downstairs soon."
Nathan had to drive back to the Academy after dinner. He promised to come by during the weekend. Mattie had to leave too, because she was on duty.
"Mom, may I show Rose some cool stuff with the iPad before we go to bed?" Matthew asked.
"Sure, honey," Mac said.
"I never used an iPad before," Rose said.
"You'll love it," Matthew promised. "Come on."
"Do you mind keeping an eye on them?" Mac asked Claire.
"No problem," Claire smiled.
Mac finished cleaning the kitchen after dinner. Harm joined her when he finished talking on the phone with his Mom.
"Mom says hi," he said as he walked over to her. "Where's the kids?"
"Matthew wanted to show Rose how to use the iPad," Mac leaned on the counter and crossed her arms. "It's been an interesting week so far."
Harm nodded. "I need to get back to the office tomorrow. How about you?"
"I was thinking about taking Rose to shop for what she'll need for school, and maybe some more clothes. The weather is colder here, and she'll need warmer clothes than what your Mom bought her. We can drop by work with lunch?" she suggested.
"I'd like that," he reached for her hand and pulled her into his arms. "This wasn't part of our plan."
"No, it wasn't," she relaxed against him. "I think we're doing the right thing though."
"We are," he assured her. "Thank you for backing me up in the decision to take her on. I know it was a lot to ask."
"We're a team," she leaned back and looked into his eyes. "And we have a lot to give. I think this family is exactly what Rose needs."
"I agree," he leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you, Sarah."
"I love you too, Harm. For ever and always," she added and hugged him close.