November 26, 2003

JAG Headquarters – Falls Church, Virginia

0943 Eastern

With the end of staff call, Harm had walked back to his office. His improved mood was still evident to everyone, yet the reasons behind it remained a mystery. Still, no one had elected to comment on the matter for fear of reversing the effects. Harm, for his part, was oblivious to the building speculation that surrounded him. He was simply focused on accomplishing as much as he could before leaving for the day.

Settling behind his computer, he quickly filled out a request to take a personal day for Friday. Between that and tomorrow being Thanksgiving, he wouldn't need to be back in the office until Monday. That would give him plenty of time to spend with Mattie, as well as getting the new house in order over the weekend. Once that was done, he told the document to print and headed out to the bullpen to collect the paper. From there, it was a simple matter to hand it over to Coates for the Admiral's signature.

Going back to his office, his next step was a telephone call.

"Lieutenant Commander Hawkes, Sir," Beth answered on the third ring.

"Good morning, Beth."

"Oh, Harm. I'm so glad you called."

"So, you've got a long weekend?" Harm asked.

"Indeed I do. Nothing planned from now until Monday, when classes start again."

"Well, how would you like to spend that time with me?"

"I'll have to check my calendar and think about it," Beth said with a teasing tone to her voice.

"Beth!"

"I'm thinking, alright. Let's see, spend a lot of time with a tall, dark and handsome man whose smile drives me crazy versus sitting around my apartment seeing what's on television," Beth continued with the teasing, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Yeah, I can see where that would be a tough choice," Harm replied sarcastically.

"Well, there is a lot of good stuff on the television."

"I wouldn't know. I didn't own a television until Mattie talked me into one for the new house."

"No television?! My God, Harm, this is the 2000s, not the 1900s. Get with the times," Beth said in a shocked tone.

"Can we get back on topic, here?" Harm asked. "Us spending time together, remember."

"Oh, Harm, of course I want to spend time with you. What are your plans?"

"Tomorrow we're invited to a party at a friend of mine's house. It'll be most of the staff here at JAG, but nothing too formal. Civilian dress, so probably a nice dress for you to wear. Friday will just be a lazy day, depending on the weather. On Saturday, I need to be at the new house for when the furniture arrives and get that all situated. Also, I'll need to move some stuff from the loft over to the house then too."

"Ah, I see. You're planning to butter me up on Thursday and Friday so that I'll help you move on Saturday. Is that it, Harm?" Beth asked, that teasing tone back in her voice.

"You know me too well, Beth," was Harm's response, along with a laugh.

"Well, that being the case, how about you start the buttering up with dinner tonight? Say 1830 again?"

"I think that could be worked out."

"Great, I'll see you then, Harm," Beth said before hanging up the phone.

Harm managed to laugh before hanging up his phone, then reaching for the next case file. With Beth coming over for dinner, he wanted to get as much done as he could. That way, he could secure on time, stop to pick up a few things for the meal tonight and still be home before she got there.

Harmon Rabb's Apartment – North of Union Station

1827 Eastern

Mattie was relaxing on the couch, reading a book she'd found on one of the shelves. The absence of a television had been a source of disappointment when she'd finally gotten up that morning. Harm had been long gone by that time, but he had left her a note saying that there was food in the refrigerator for her and she could get on the internet if she wanted to.

That had managed to keep her occupied until just after noon, then boredom had begun to settle in. So, she had gone snooping through the apartment, just to see what Harm might have. She also freely admitted that she was curious about him and hoped to learn more, plus it gave her something to do. Once she'd seen everything that was somewhat accessible, she'd started looking through the books on the shelf before picking the one she was currently reading.

A knock at the door brought her attention from the book. She knew it wasn't Harm, considering he had a key and would just let himself in. Getting up from the couch, she walked over to the door and opened it to find a brunette standing there dressed in jeans and a sweater.

"Hi, you must be Mattie," Beth said with a smile, taking an educated guess.

"Do I know you?" Mattie asked, surprised that this woman knew her name, but stepping aside to let her into the apartment.

"Not yet, but I hope to change that. My name's Beth, I'm a friend of Harm's."

"Ah, you're the maybe 'girlfriend'," Mattie said, placing the name and enjoying the look that came when she air-quoted the word girlfriend.

"For right now, I'll take that," Beth said. "And maybe with some time and work, it will be actual girlfriend."

"Well, good luck with that. He doesn't strike me as the romantic type."

"That's something he and I can work on. I do know that he's loyal, caring, and dependable. If Harmon Rabb says he's got you, just close your eyes and fall back. You'll never hit the ground. Of course, I am a little biased, because he saved my life."

Mattie's eyes lit up at that, instantly sensing a great story. However, before she could ask someone else spoke up.

"I'd say we're even in that regard, Beth," Harm said from the doorway, causing both women to jump slightly. "And I still believe the corpsman who said you had to jump my bones to do it."

"I've told you that was pure scuttlebutt, but you go right on believing that, Harm, if it makes you feel any better."

The two of them just smiled at each other, before a cough from Mattie broke the connection.

"You guys have got to tell me the stories about that," Mattie said, looking at the two of them. She could easily see there was more between them than Harm wanted to admit, leading Mattie to wonder what lay behind Harm's difficulty with relationships and admitting his feelings.

So, while Harm began making dinner, Beth and Mattie sat on the couch. Beth told Mattie about her ramp strike and how Harm had saved her life when her parachute drifted over the side of the ship and she almost ended up in the water. Mattie's eyes were practically bugging out of her head by the time the story was finished.

"Wow!" Mattie exclaimed. "That sounds a little too close for comfort."

"Yeah, it was. I had some nightmares about it for a while, like if the parachute hadn't caught there or had ripped away before Harm got there. A few years later, when I was court-martialed and he was my attorney, there was a bad stretch in the trial and I got scared. He just looked at me and reminded me of that night. He said, 'I didn't drop you then and I'm not going to drop you now'. As soon as he said those words, it was like a weight had been lifted. That's why I say, if you've got him in your corner, you've got nothing to worry about."

Harm had been listening to Beth tell her story while he cooked, but he hadn't been prepared for how much her words affected him. When he'd seen the parachute drifting over the side, he hadn't known whose it was. He had simply reacted to the situation without a thought, never guessing how that action would affect his life. Without sounding cliché, he did feel a certain responsibility for Beth because of that night. Much of their friendship was tied to the mutual trust they shared.

The soft ding of the kitchen timer snapped Harm out of his thoughts, while bringing the ladies over from the couch. Harm had decided on grilled salmon with au gratin potatoes and sweet corn, followed by chocolate cake for dessert. Harm handed over plates, glasses and silverware for them to set the table with while he carried the serving dishes over. Based on Mattie being at the table, he settled on a can of soda for her and juice for him and Beth.

Throughout the dinner, conversation flowed smoothly around the table and Harm was delighted to see how well Mattie was connecting with both himself and Beth. In his mind, that was important especially if he was to get full guardianship of her. Mattie needed to feel completely free to say anything. Harm had no experience as a parent or parental figure and he knew that he would make mistakes, so she would have to be comfortable enough to tell him if he did.

Beth and Mattie, for their parts, were enjoying teasing Harm. They were also finding common ground through their mutual affection for him. While Mattie wasn't looking for another mother, she did know that there were things both now and in the future that she simply wouldn't be comfortable talking with Harm about. She thought that Beth could be the person she went to in those times.

It was when dinner was done that Mattie turned back to the original topic of the evening.

"Now that Beth has told me how you saved her life, it's only fair that you tell the story of how she saved yours," Mattie told him.

"It's a fairly long story," Harm said, still not entirely comfortable remembering that night.

Beth could see the emotions in his eyes, so she reached over and gently took his hand in hers. When he looked over at her, she gave his hand a squeeze and smiled before nodding her head. Neither of them said a word, but the message was still loud and clear.

So, after moving from the table to the living area with Harm and Beth taking the couch while Mattie sat in the chair, Harm closed his eyes, took a deep breath and began the story. He started talking about his carrier qualifications before carrying on with the storm and the reason it was so urgent for him to get back that he had to fly through such terrible weather. By the time he and Beth had to eject, silent tears could be seen trailing down Harm's cheeks while Mattie sat in shocked silence.

"Because I didn't want to disappoint Mac, I took a bad risk that almost resulted in Beth's and my deaths," Harm said quietly. "I am so sorry I put you through that, Beth."

"None of what happened that night was your fault. The weather wasn't forecast to be as bad as it actually was or to have moved as fast as it did, the plane began to malfunction. All things you couldn't control. I have never blamed you for what happened, so you shouldn't blame yourself," Beth said as she wrapped an arm around him.

After giving Harm a few moments to compose himself, they waited for him to continue. When he did, it was to talk about the long, cold time in the water. But after a few moments, he stopped again once the helicopter had picked him up.

"Harm?" Mattie asked when she sensed that Harm wasn't going to continue.

"When they brought him into sick bay, he was severely hypothermic and unresponsive," Beth told her. "We came very close to losing him, until he finally started to respond."

"I remember hearing your voice, calling to me from far away. You were saying 'Save me'," Harm said, looking into Beth's eyes. "Your voice is what brought me back, you saved me."

Mattie saw that a moment was occurring between the two adults, so she settled back in the chair to wait silently.

"When I was calling for you to save me, that was when I jumped your bones," Beth finally confessed to him. "I had been standing next to you, telling you I needed you and that you'd promised to be there for me. But you kept slipping away, so I climbed into bed with you and pressed my body against yours, getting as close as I could. That's when you finally started to respond and I told you not to let go. I only climbed off when you said you couldn't breathe," she concluded with an impish smile.

"And you kept saying you didn't jump my bones," Harm replied with a grin.

"I lied, because the truth scared the hell out of me. You asked me a question right after you said you couldn't breathe, do you remember?" Seeing a blank look on his face, she answered for him. "You asked if we had dated and it was like a jolt to my very soul, because until that moment I had never dared to hope that you could see me that way. You always called me Skates, until the other night when we had dinner."

"Skates is my friend, my RIO, my shipmate. The attractive, desirable woman who asked me on a date is Beth and she is someone I could definitely see myself dating and falling in love with."

"And you didn't think he was the romantic type, Mattie," Beth teased the teen. "That sounded pretty good to me."

"Well, what do you know? You can tell people you love them," Mattie teased Harm.

"Hey, I told you I love you," Harm came back defensively. "And when did this become pick on Harm night, anyway?"

Beth and Mattie both laughed at Harm's aggrieved face, which eventually got him to laughing as well. This helped to lighting up the somewhat somber and serious mood. Mattie also remembered something from the previous conversation and decided to ask about it.

"Why did Harm call you Skates?"

"Skates is my call sign. I got it because I grew up on wheels."

"So, what was Harm's call sign?"

"Well, when he first join the squadron…."

"Don't you dare say it!" Harm shouted, catching the laughing look in Beth's eyes.

"It was Pappy, Mattie," Beth told the teen, both of the laughing.

"That never gets repeated, Mattie, understood? That goes for you too, Beth."

The pair of women shared a look before launching into calls of "Pappy! Pappy! Pappy!" Harm tried to look hurt and offended but couldn't stop the huge grin that overtook him, as he saw another example of how well Mattie and Beth were bonding. That would be important if he was to have a relationship with Beth while also being Mattie's guardian.

The evening ended when Mattie began to yawn, followed by Beth. The teen grabbed her night clothes and headed for the bathroom, which gave Harm enough time to chastely kiss Beth goodnight. Beth, on the other hand, was having none of that and pulled Harm back in for a deeper, more thorough kiss. As they broke apart, she softly said "I love you, Harmon Rabb."

Harm opened his mouth to speak, only to have Beth lay a finger across his lips.

"Don't say anything. Just think about what I said and when you're really ready to say it, I'll be there to hear it."

Harm could only watch her leave in stunned silence before closing the door and turning to find Mattie standing at the top of the steps leading down from the landing. She didn't say anything as she made her way to the couch and began to lay out the sheets and blanket, before settling in for the night. Harm just watched her for a moment, then turned out the lights and walked towards the bedroom. In the dark, he quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and lay down on the bed. Yet, try as he might, sleep took a long time in coming, while his thoughts whirled.