December 29, 2003

Washington Dulles International Airport – Dulles, Virginia

1550 Eastern

Harm and his family arrived two hours before their scheduled departure time, feeling fairly confident that they would have plenty of time to make it to the gate. The closer it had gotten to the day, the more excited Mattie had become about what she was calling "the grand adventure". Their first weekends in England were already tentatively scheduled by the teen, who had taken Harm's words to heart and wanted to tour the country. Oxford and Stratford on Avon were the first places on her list, followed by Canterbury and Greenwich. Harm and Beth had both been amused by the enthusiasm evidenced by the list and had agreed to try and make the trips, while also explaining that the process of getting settled in their new posts and the new house might mean those trips would be postponed slightly.

Mattie had taken that information in stride, by simply saying they could make the trips as soon as time permitted. She had also been encouraged by the new camera that Frank and Trish had gotten her for Christmas, a digital one that she could use to send them pictures through the internet. Grandma Sarah, for her part, had insisted on physical photos, saying that she didn't really understand the internet and computers. Her Christmas present for the teen had been a watch and some diaries, saying that every young lady needed somewhere to write down her hopes and dreams. Mattie had smiled when she'd opened the first one and saw that Sarah had left her a little note: "For my very special great-granddaughter. Nothing is impossible as long as you believe in yourself as much as I believe in you. Love, Grandma Sarah."

The first delay came at the baggage check-in, where they had been forced to pay extra due to the number of suitcases they were taking with them. The rest of their clothes would be sent over through the Air Force, but not knowing when they would arrive had forced them to pack enough to survive a week. Harm and Beth also needed both civilian clothes as well as uniforms, which meant they were really carrying enough for two weeks. They had been careful in their planning, however, spreading the various clothes throughout the suitcases. This way, if one case got lost in transit, they would still have enough to make it.

After paying that, the trio had carried their carryon bags towards the security checkpoint. There, they joined the long line to get past the scanners. Beth made certain that they all had their passports and tickets before joining the line, knowing that they would not be passed without both. Their military ID cards were hidden at the bottom of the carryon bags, along with their credit cards and most of the traveler's checks they were taking with them. They each had about three hundred dollars cash in their pockets, so that they could get something to snack on while they waited to board the plane as well as pay for the taxi into London when they arrived.

Their flight was due to land around six in the morning, local time. So, Beth had made sure to get some British Pounds for their first couple of days in London. They were scheduled to meet the realtor tomorrow at ten in the morning and Harm had already wire-transferred the necessary funds for the first six months lease on the house. So, they would need enough money to get from the airport to the house and then to pick up some groceries for their first couple of days.

Their official passports had helped with the screeners, who seemed to figure that anyone with one of those and in uniform was unlikely to be a terrorist. Even though Beth was going to work at the Embassy, neither she nor Harm had diplomatic status and so didn't have a diplomatic passports. So, no parking wherever they might feel like or ignoring the laws while in England, not that either of them had intended on doing any such thing. With their carryon bags containing nothing more offensive than the latest romance novel for Beth and a historical novel for Harm, the family was quickly passed through and made their way down towards the gate for their flight.

Mattie stopped at one of the concourse gift shops to browse, with it being a few gates away from where their flight was leaving from. Harm and Beth took seats where they could keep an eye on the teen, not that they were particularly concerned. Mattie was a good kid, all told, and deserved to have a certain space to be herself. What was a little unnerving was all the stares they were getting, until Harm realized it was the uniforms that were drawing the looks rather than them.

Finally, their flight was called and it was time to board. Harm smiled as he gathered Mattie and joined Beth for boarding, making their way to the first class seats that Frank had arranged for them as his and Trish's Christmas presents for Harm and Beth. Settling into the plush seats of the British Airways 747, Harm and Beth were next to each other with Mattie just across the aisle.

Once they were airborne, Harm and Beth pulled out their books while Mattie plugged into the aircraft's entertainment system. They both knew that the timing of the flight was going to wreak havoc with their body clocks, since they would arrive first thing in the morning while their bodies thought it was one in the morning and time to sleep. The best way to get through it was to sleep some while on the plane, so that they could be somewhat in sync with the local time when they landed. Then they would just stay up until their normal bed time tomorrow. Luckily, they had a couple of days for their bodies to get adjusted.

So, once they had finished dinner a couple of hours into the flight, Harm and Beth closed their eyes and went to sleep. Mattie watched them for a couple of minutes before deciding that they might have the right idea, even if she wasn't especially tired. Shutting off the movie, she removed the earphones and closed her eyes, too.

December 30, 2003

Grove End Road – London, England

0954 Greenwich/ 0454 Eastern

Pulling up outside the house, the taxi driver parked and got out to open the trunk. As he was removing the luggage, Harm and his family climbed out of the back and stretched. The drive in from Heathrow had been highly enjoyable, especially listening to the driver who had provided a wonderful running commentary after discovering it was their first time in England. He had offered to drive through the city on the way to their destination, showing them some sights. Harm had glanced at his watch and seeing as they were about well ahead of schedule, he had readily agreed to the suggestion.

Beth and Mattie had also enjoyed the trip into town, seeing much about London that they both knew they would come to love. Beth also silently planned to talk with Harm about possibly hiring the driver for other trips. He was better than most guided tours and it would be nice to have a private tour as opposed to a group one.

The front door to the house opened and a middle-aged woman stepped out with a smile on her face.

"Captain Rabb?" she asked politely.

"Ah, Mrs. Flence. A pleasure to finally meet you," Harm said as he turned from the taxi and extended his hand.

"Thank you, Captain. Shall we get your family inside and we can do the walk through and acceptance."

"Of course. Beth, if you would pay Bob, please. I'll move the luggage inside and then we can take a look around."

Beth turned to the driver and asked about the fare. Hearing his answer, she pulled the pounds from her pocket and counted out the necessary amount, then added another twenty percent to that figure as a tip. She also asked for a card, saying that the family was definitely interested in hiring him at other times during their stay. Bob thanked her and said that he was looking forward to hearing from her.

When the taxi pulled away, she turned to find Mattie waiting at the door for her. Walking inside, she found herself in a small entryway. To one side was the living room and the other was the kitchen. She saw that Harm and the realtor were in the living room and moved to join them.

"The house was cleaned just after Christmas and inspected by the owner's agent. All deficiencies are listed on this sheet," the realtor said as she handed over a copy of the form. "If you see anything not on the form, point it out to me. Any damage not on the form once we've signed it is your responsibility. I've also had the telephone service, satellite television and internet turned on for you, as of yesterday."

"Understood, Ma'am," Harm replied, looking at the form. With that, he and Beth started going through the house, room by room. Only a couple of additional items were found and noted, including that one of the burners on the range didn't work. After a quick call to the owner's agent, a service call was placed for that afternoon to make the necessary repairs. With that done, Harm read through the forms and signed, accepting the house's condition and finalizing the rental arrangement. The realtor smiled as she handed over the requested three sets of keys for the house and then left.

Once they were alone, the luggage was swiftly moved upstairs and unpacked. Uniforms were hung in the closets while the rest of the clothes went onto shelves. Mattie had squealed with joy when she discovered that she still had her own private bath. Beth had smiled at Harm when they heard the sound, wordlessly congratulating him on finding that for the teen. Harm took Beth's hand and pulled her to him for a kiss.

"Welcome to London, Mrs. Rabb," Harm said when they separated.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Rabb," Beth replied before leaning in for another kiss, which became increasingly passionate as their arms wrapped around one another. Their kissing might have continued indefinitely if not for a laughing voice from the doorway.

"If you guys are going to make out, could you at least close the door," Mattie called out, before quickly closing the aforementioned door. She kept laughing as she made her way down to the living room and settled in on the couch. Turning on the television, she started flipping through the channels looking for something to watch. She figured she had some time before her parents joined her. Finally finding a movie that was just starting, she leaned back into the cushions and watched.

When Harm and Beth finally came down, the movie was most of the way over. Mattie saw that they had changed from their uniforms into civilian clothing, which seemed to indicate that they would be going out somewhere. However, they just joined her on the couch and watched the rest of the movie. It was only when it was finished that Harm took the remote and turned the television off.

"After the repairman comes, why don't we all go for a walk around the area?" Harm asked. "Get out and see what's in the neighborhood?"

"Isn't it a little cold to be going for a walk?" Mattie asked with a grin.

"So we bundle up. Beside, we need to see if there is a grocery store nearby, so we can get some food in here for the next few days. Unless you're not hungry, Mattie?"

The look on the teen's face showed how unlikely that was. However, whatever reply the teen might have made was lost to the knock on the door that announced the repairman. The man was well briefed on what needed to be done and after being shown to the kitchen, quickly went to work on the range. Turning off the gas, he removed the defective burner and replaced it with a new one before putting the gas back on and reigniting the pilot light. After testing the burner and making certain it worked properly, he moved on to the other defects that had been listed. In all, it only took him two hours to get everything taken care of and then he left.

The Rabbs soon followed, with Mattie holding a street map of London and trying to act as guide. Harm and Beth decided to allow it for the moment, while also keeping track of the route back to the house. Eventually, they ended up on a street edged with shops and began looking for a grocers or market. When they came to one, the family walked in with relief and began collecting a few things to get them by. It was as they were waiting for checkout that Beth spotted something interesting. There was a small flier that advertised home delivery of the groceries, as long as the order was over a certain amount. So, she asked the cashier about it.

"Yes, Ma'am. Depending on the plan you choose it can be every day of the week or just during the middle of the week," the cashier said.

"Until how late?"

"It all depends on what slots are available on that particular day but we do deliveries until around 8 in the evenings."

So, Beth quickly signed the family up for the home delivery program. This way, they could order their groceries and not have to worry about trying to carry several heavy bags home. For today, since they only had a couple of bags each, they could easily walk them back home. When they got there, she and Harm would make a larger order for everything that they would need, which was literally everything.

By the time they got back to the house, it was getting dark outside. This meant an end to the day's looking around the neighborhood, since none of them wanted to take the chance of getting lost. Now, it was time to relax before dinner and an early evening. Given the events of the last couple of days, Harm was fairly certain that everyone would sleep well tonight and hopefully when they all woke up in the morning, their body clocks would be on something close to the right time. They would need to be by January second when he and Beth reported for duty.

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

-Sir Winston Churchill

A/N: A Thousand Thank Yous go out to all who've stuck with this story since the beginning. To the wonderful reviewers, whose words have meant so much to me. Fear not, however, for I am slowly working on a sequel ( or sequels) to this story which I hope will be enjoyed as much as this story was.