Tuesday January 24th

Mac picked up the kids from school and drove to the dog shelter where Gina, their neighbor and a veterinarian, would meet them. Mac hadn't had a dog since Jingo, and she had in the end let him stay with Chloe so that he could live the last years of his life at her grandmother's farm. He had a great time until one morning he didn't get up as usual and he'd died during the night. She had thought about having a dog several times after, but her busy life made her rethink the whole idea.

"Sarah," Gina smiled as she met them. "It's nice to see you Rose, and Matthew."

"It is so great that you have time to meet with us," Mac said.

"We're always happy to meet with potential adoptive families," Gina motioned for them to follow her. "All the dogs here have either been caught on the streets, or their owners have brought them here. Some of them are too sick, so we put them down. The dogs that are healthy and that we find trainable, and who doesn't have potentially dangerous behavior, we keep and try to find them good homes."

"There are so many," Rose said as they walked into a large room with cages everywhere.

"I'm afraid there's a lot of people buying dogs then get tired of them and leave them," Gina explained. "Now, this is Max. I thought of him when you mentioned having a Golden Retriever before."

"He's so cute," Rose said.

Gina opened the cage and Max came to meet them. "He came in last month because his owner passed away. He's three and he's very calm. I brought Tina here a few times and she's been walking him on her own." Tina was Gina's eight-year-old daughter. "He's so sweet and loving."

Mac sat down and Max started licking her face. "Hey buddy. You're a real charmer aren't you."

"We can take him out back and you guys can spend some time with him," Gina said.

They were all madly in love with Max by the time they brought him back to the cage. "Mom, can we please adopt him?" Matthew pleaded.

Mac nodded. "If it's okay with Gina, we sure can."

"That's wonderful," Gina said and patted Max's head. "We usually come for a home visit before we let someone adopt, but in your case, that's unnecessary. You can come by tomorrow and pick him up. I'll have all his papers ready by then."

Harm finished in the shower and brushed his teeth. He had been at the gym and had just gotten home. He looked in the mirror and decided that his diet and the work he had laid down at the gym had done what he intended. He felt that he had been slacking off with his work out over the last year and he had gained a few pounds. He had started to panic a little and gone back to a strict workout routine and diet.

Mac was already in bed when he walked out of the bathroom, and was busy reading a book. He walked over and got into bed. "So, we're getting a dog then?"

She nodded, but kept reading. He sat closer to her and put his arm around her, peaking at the book she was reading. Apparently, a crime novel, he thought as he read a few lines. She finished the chapter and put the bookmark in place before closing it.

"Yes, we're getting a dog," she confirmed and put the book away.

"Okay then," he kissed her cheek and let her go before snuggling into bed, yawning widely.

She removed her reading glasses and lay down as well, putting her hand on his chest, caressing him softly. "You've been going at it with your work-out lately."

"I guess," he said.

"Don't overdo it, you're not as young as you used to be, remember? I'd like to keep you around," she added the last part as she moved into his embrace.

"I just want to get rid of a few pounds," he mumbled tiredly.

"You look great," she reassured. "Besides, I don't care about a few extra pounds. You are so handsome."

"Yeah?" he smiled and pulled her closer.

She nodded. "Oh yeah."

"Good to know," he kissed her head.

After work and school the next day, Mac, Matthew and Rose went to get their new family member. They had bought what they needed for him the day before, and also a cage for the SUV for him to be in when they had him in the car. Max seemed to enjoy his new home, he took a round around the house with Rose and Matthew before he found a spot by the fireplace and lay down. Mac smiled as Rose sat down by his side and rubbed his head, and Max crawled closer and put his head in Rose's lap. Maybe this was exactly what Rose needed.

"Honey, I'm home."

Mac smiled as Harm walked into the kitchen. "Hey there," she finished sprinkling cheese on top of the lasagna and put it in the oven.

"I was thinking that maybe we could drive out to Beallsville this weekend," he said as he started setting the table.

Mac nodded. "Yeah, that's a great idea. Rose haven't been there yet."

"I was originally thinking that we'd leave the kids behind, but then I figured that it was a little early to leave Rose," he said as he walked up behind her and kissed her cheek. "It's been a long time since we had a weekend just us."

"It has been," she agreed as she watched him reach for the plates and walk over to the table. "But I agree that at the moment we should focus on the kids."

He smiled. "I figured you'd say that."

"Yeah?" she smiled teasingly.

He offered an amused look. "Yeah."

"Did Jim come to see you today?" she wondered.

"He did," he walked over to her and sat down on a bar stool by the kitchen isle. "He's a mess."

Mac sat down as well. "Claire mentioned that Louisa has been quiet at school lately. She dropped Glee club too." Louisa was Shelley and Jim's youngest daughter, the same age as Claire.

"It can't be easy," Harm said thoughtfully. "Jim wants to keep the house and have custody of the kids. Or at least Louisa, since Timothy is over eighteen. I advised him to sit down and talk to Louisa, give her a chance to say what she wanted. And I suggested that he didn't put her in the middle, and that he not say anything bad about Shelley to the kids."

Mac smiled. "You're a vice man Harmon Rabb Junior."

"You think so?" he smiled teasingly.

"I do," she took his hand. "Is there something on your mind Harm?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It feels like there's something on your mind," she squeezed his hand softly. "Maybe because people around us are splitting up."

"I don't know," he hesitated. "It's just something Jim said about thinking that they were happy until Shelley suddenly dropped a bomb on him."

"But we're not them," Mac reasoned.

"I know that," he smiled. "It's just been on my mind I guess."

"You know I love you, right?" she ran her fingers through his hair softly.

"I know, and I think I would know if you weren't happy," he leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too, and I am happy."

"Good," he smiled. "I'm happy too," he kissed her again.

"Do you guys ever stop?"

They broke apart and turned to Claire. "Nope," Harm said.

"Max is super cute," Claire said as she headed for the fridge, opened it and reached for a water bottle. "When's dinner? I have some things I need to finish before school tomorrow, and I'm totally behind on rehearsing on the piano. Mrs. Minkovski will get that scary look on her face when she hears me play tomorrow." Claire walked past them. "I'll be up half the night studying for the history test. Let me know when there's food."

Mac and Harm shared an amused look. "Someone could really use a weekend away to relax," Mac said.

"Yup," Harm agreed as he put his arms around her and pulled her close.

The next morning Harm was enjoying his coffee when Claire strode past him in a hurry, a book in one hand, grabbing some dry toast with the other.

"Did this belong to anyone?" she said as she strode past him again on her way out of the kitchen.

"Claire!" Harm stood and walked after her. "What's the rush?"

"Meeting Tim before school to quiz each other in history," she said as she chewed on the toast.

"Hold on a second," Harm said and disappeared into the kitchen. He found a yoghurt from the fridge and an apple, grabbed a bottle of water and walked back to her. "You have to take the time to take care of yourself."

Claire smiled thankfully. "It's just one of those weeks, Dad."

"Well, this weekend you're joining us in Beallsville, and you're relaxing and having fun, not studying," Harm hugged her. "Drive carefully."

Mac walked down the stairs from the second floor. "That goes from me too, sweetie."

"I promise," Claire said and hugged her Mom too. "Love you guys," she said as she turned to leave.

"Love you," Harm and Mac both said.

Harm leaned in and kissed her. "Good morning. You were up early."

"Yeah, I felt energic, so I went for a run," she smiled and headed for the kitchen. "Matthew and Rose will be down soon. Max is following Rose around wherever she goes."

Harm smiled as he sat down to finish breakfast. "She seems happy, doesn't she?"

Mac joined him by the table. "Yeah, more so every day."

Harm took her hand. "And I have to say that getting a dog was a good idea. Rose seems to truly enjoy having Max around."

"I agree," she leaned in and kissed him softly. "I'm looking forward to Beallsville this weekend."

"Me too. I was thinking that it's time we clean out Grams room," he said and sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "We should repaint and use it as an extra guest bedroom. Hopefully someday, we need room for grandkids too."

Mac smiled. "You're thinking about that?"

"Yeah, I do think about it sometimes, although it will probably be years before that happens. Mattie isn't dating at the moment," he smiled. "But it's a nice thought."

"It sure is," Mac agreed.