November 25, 2003

JAG Headquarters – Falls Church, Virginia

0953 Eastern

Harm had come into work with a noticeable spring to his step and smile on his face. Both Mac and AJ had their own private thoughts about the matter. AJ's were focused on the hope that Harm had finally come to terms with his recall and that the new attitude was reflective of that. Things would be much better if that was the case. Mac, on the other hand, suspected that it had to do with a new girlfriend in Harm's life.

Admitting things to herself was not one of Sarah MacKenzie's stronger suits, so realizing that she was jealous of the possible relationship took some effort. Still, she did realize it. Her own relationship with Clay wasn't everything she'd hoped it would be. But, she was also the one that had told Harm there could be no 'us', so if he had decided to move on was she really in any position to blame him.

Harm, for his part, had quickly adjourned to his office following staff call. With the events of last night, he hadn't been able to get any more cases done, not that he had minded at all. Still, he was determined to work his way through these cases as quickly as he could.

"Hi, Commander, do you have a minute?" came Harriet's soft voice from the doorway.

"Sure, Harriet, come on in and take a seat," Harm replied.

"Well, I won't be but a moment. I just stopped by to say that Bud and I are doing Thanksgiving dinner and wanted to know if you'd like to stop by."

Harriet almost laughed at the blank look on Harm's face. The times she wished she had a camera, knowing good blackmail material when she saw it.

"You did remember that it's this Thursday, right?" Harriet asked with an amused smile.

"Actually, no. It completely slipped my mind. So, is this a family thing or were you having a little party?" Harm asked, wondering at the answer.

"A party, of course. Everyone else has already said they'll be there, you were the only holdout. Bud put an invitation up in the break room last week, Commander."

"I'll try to come. If I do, though, I may have a couple of guests with me. Will that be all right?"

"Certainly, Sir. Dress code is civilian wear and the party will start around 1. We'll eat around 3 to 3:30, to give you guys a little time watching football," Harriet told him, curiosity practically eating her alive as she wondered who the guests would be. 'Maybe his mother and step-father,' she thought.

Harm carefully hid his smile. He could practically see the wheels turning as Harriet thought about his answer. He thought Thanksgiving would be a great time to introduce Mattie to the others and he also found himself hoping that Beth would be able to attend as well. The smile did almost break through when he thought about the reactions he felt would be certain to come if he walked in with Beth and Mattie on his arms.

Harriet could see that she no longer had Harm's attention, so she quietly slipped out of his office. Going into the bullpen, she settled in at her desk and removed her personal planner from her purse. Making a hasty note of Harm's name, she wrote plus 2 after it followed by a question mark. With that done, she turned her attention to the work before her. She definitely didn't want to upset the Admiral by not having things done.

Sycamore Street – Falls Church, Virginia

1852 Eastern

The closing on the house had taken a very short amount of time, most of it spent by Harm reading through the title documents before signing them. Once that was done, he'd pulled out the cashier's check that he'd collected at the bank during his lunch break. It had made him slightly nervous to be carrying about almost a million dollars all afternoon, but it was the only way to have handled it. The bank, unfortunately, closed before he secured for the day.

The realtor checked the check and saw that it was for the correct amount and made out to the agency, so she took a set of keys from her pocket and handed them to him.

"Congratulations on your new home," she said with a smile.

"Thank you very much," was Harm's reply.

Collecting their papers, the realtor and the title agent walked outside. Alone, he slowly walked through the house. In his mind, Harm was planning out the furniture that would be needed for the home. A dining room set, probably a new living room set and a couple of bedroom sets. His bedroom would be fine, he'd just move his bed and dresser over from the loft. The table he had there would work for the breakfast nook and he'd turn one of the bedrooms into an office.

The finished basement would be perfect for a recreation area. Maybe a pool table and a bar, a game table off to one side. Just somewhere to hang out as a family or entertain friends. Walking outside, he was surprised to see two visitors walking up to the house.

"Are we too late?" Mr. Peabody asked.

"Not at all, but you did miss the closing," Harm told them.

"Does that mean we own the house now?" Mattie asked excitedly.

"Well, I own the house now."

Mattie gave an excited squeal before launching herself into Harm's arms. Mr. Peabody and Harm exchanged an amused grin, enjoying how excited the teen was. Once she was done hugging Harm, Mattie excitedly lead Mr. Peabody on a quick tour of the vacant house. While she was doing that, Harm sat down on the front porch steps and thought about what kind of furniture he wanted for out there. After about twenty minutes, the pair came out to find Harm.

"That's a big house for just the two of you," Mr. Peabody said cautiously.

"Well, one of my requirements was a big garage, so I can take my Corvette out of storage. There were very few houses that had the garage space I was looking for and this was one of the smaller ones," Harm explained.

"Does that mean I'll get a car when I turn 16?" Mattie asked with a grin.

"I don't know, Mattie. There's a lot of things that need to happen before we get to that point. Let's just say that I'll consider it and leave it at that. Now, why are you two up here?" Harm asked.

"Well, Mattie's off for Thanksgiving break…." Mr. Peabody began.

"And I wanted to spend the holiday with you and since Mr. Peabody is flying to Boston tomorrow, I thought this would kill two birds with one stone," Mattie finished. "Besides, if you're going to pick out furniture for the house, I want to go with you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Mattie," Harm told her with a grin.

"I've got a suitcase in the car for her and I've got two rooms at the local Best Western," Mr. Peabody said. "My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 10:15 from Dulles."

"Actually, Mattie can come home with me tonight," Harm told them. "That is, if she doesn't mind sleeping on the couch for a couple of days until we can move in here. That way we don't have to worry about me picking her up tomorrow before your flight."

Mattie just smiled at that, while Mr. Peabody contented himself with a nod. Harm waited a moment before going up and locking the front door. When he turned around, he could see them down by a four door sedan parked behind his Lexus. Harm walked down to join them, taking the suitcase that was sitting on the pavement behind the trunk. As he made to carry it to the SUV, Mr. Peabody stopped him and handed over a briefcase as well. The two men shared a look, before Mr. Peabody spoke.

"That contains copies of all the paperwork for Mattie's guardianship, so you can start getting her enrolled in a high school up here. Also, I started putting together lawsuits with respect to the loans Mattie's father took out. The only problem is, to make a case would necessitate filing charges against her father. I'm not sure if you want to do that, especially in light of the guardianship issue. It could look like…."

"Yes, I understand," Harm said sadly, not really wanting to say more with Mattie right there. If charges were filed against Mr. Johnson federally and he were to be found guilty, the penalty for loan fraud was up to 30 years in prison. Pressing charges, though, could look like Harm was trying to get Mr. Johnson out of the way, in order to guarantee he would win guardianship of Mattie. Yet, Harm also believe that Mattie's father didn't deserve to simply walk away after what he'd done to his daughter.

"Are you guys about done talking?" Mattie asked from over by Harm's SUV. "Remember, hungry teen, and we also need to go look at some furniture, too."

"I think we're done for now. Right, Mr. Peabody?"

"I quite agree. Also, I know you both have a lot to do, so I'll see you on Sunday when I return from my trip. I'll call when I arrive, so we can arrange for me to pick Mattie up if necessary."

"Thank you, Mr. Peabody," Mattie said as she came over to give him a gentle hug, before returning to the Lexus and climbing into the front seat.

"Have a safe trip, Sir," Harm said as the two men shook hands.

"Thank you, Harm. You both have a good Thanksgiving," the old man said as he got into his car and drove away. Harm couldn't help but smile as he got into the driver's seat of the SUV and pulled away from the curb. Mattie, for her part, caught the smile and readily returned it. This was probably the happiest she'd felt since she lost her mother.

Harmon Rabb's Apartment – North of Union Station

2312 Eastern

An almost asleep on her feet Mattie followed Harm into the loft, tiredly looking around as she surveyed her surroundings. Seeing the couch, she made her way towards it while Harm set her suitcase on the chair next to it. He went up into the bedroom area and returned a couple of moments later with sheets and a blanket for her.

"I'll get this made up while you get into your sleep wear, Mattie," he told her.

Mattie opened her suitcase and removed a couple of items, before Harm pointed her towards the bathroom. Once she was gone, he quickly made up the couch into a bed before stretching. All told, it had been a wonderful evening. After stopping for an early dinner, they had gone to a couple of stores to select furniture for the house. It was only while they were doing that that Harm realized how much other stuff they would need. So towels and linens were also added to their purchases, along with Mattie persuading him that they needed a television and DVD player too.

In all, they had purchased three complete bedroom sets, a new living room set, dining room table and chairs. Fortunately, all the items were in stock and the stores had both promised delivery on Friday. Harm had also arranged for all the other items to be delivered then as well, rather that overloading his SUV with stuff that would either be left there until the more or brought into the apartment only to be taken back out in a couple of days.

A blinking light on his desk caught his attention then, with Harm seeing that he had a message. Going over to the phone, he pressed the play button and smiled once he heard the voice.

"Hey Harm, it's me. I was just calling to let you know I'll be off for the next few days. I'd really like to get together again, if you're not too busy. Give me a call," Skates voice said, followed by a telephone number.

Harm reached for the phone only to stop himself. It's much too late in the evening to be calling, so he quickly wrote the number down and promised himself he'd call her in the morning.

"Who was that?" Mattie asked.

"That was Beth," Harm said.

"Ah, girlfriend."

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Come on, Harm. Either she is or she isn't, which is it?" Mattie asked teasingly.

"Mattie, it's complicated," Harm protested.

"Harm, my uncle flying through a hanger upside down is complicated. This is only complicated if you make it complicated."

"Mattie, when you get older you'll realize that relationships can be complicated too. Especially as you get older, because you're carrying the baggage of the past along with you. So, while I hope for something more with Beth, I also want to take it slowly because I don't want to lose her as a friend if this goes wrong."

Mattie looked at Harm for a moment, again sensing something she'd felt before with him. This was a man who had been badly hurt in the past, on a deeply personal level. While he'd been working for her, they'd often chatted but almost never beyond the surface of things. She recognized the signs because she had seen them in herself, after the death of her mother and her father's abandonment.

A yawn from Mattie quickly ended the conversation and evening, though. While Mattie got comfortable on the couch, Harm went into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of sweat pants. He then went into the bathroom to change, before heading to bed himself. As he tried to go to sleep, Mattie's words kept replaying through his mind.