Mistletoe

"Uncle Harm!"

Harm had just barely lifted Mattie out of the car and settled her into her wheelchair when little Jimmy Roberts came flying out of the house and barreling towards him.

"Oof!" Harm let out a groan as Jimmy latched onto one of his legs, and he reached down to pick up the little boy and swing him into his arms, much to Jimmy's delight.

"Jimmy!" Harriet rushed out of the house in a panic, banging the front door behind her on her way to catch up to her son. "I'm so sorry, sir," she apologized. "I didn't know he could run that fast."

Harm handed Jimmy over to his mother and leaned down to give Harriet a friendly kiss on the cheek. "It's okay, Harriet. It's good to see you."

"Captain!" When he had heard Harriet cry out in alarm, Bud had immediately run after her, and now he broke into a wide smile at the sight of his old friend. He shook Harm's hand heartily. "Nice to see you, sir. Glad you're finally stateside again. Hi, Mattie."

Mattie smiled at everyone a little shyly. She hadn't seen much of them since her flying accident had put her in a coma in the hospital. Soon after she had woken up, she and Harm had moved to London, and it had been a while since they had been back in the States.

"Hi, Mattie," Jimmy echoed innocently, wriggling out of his mother's arms. "Why are you sitting in a chair?"

"I had an accident, and it's going to be a while before I can walk again," Mattie admitted.

"Can you still go fast in the chair?" Jimmy asked.

Mattie was more than happy to accept the challenge. "Oh, I can still fly in this thing. You wanna race?"

As Mattie rapidly spun the wheels and took off with Jimmy toddling after her in pursuit, Harm shook his head and let out a chuckle.

"She's a menace in that chair," he said.

Trish and Frank had made their way out of the house, and Harm nodded at his stepfather cordially. "Hi, Frank. Hi, Mom."

"Hello, darling," Trish greeted her son warmly, kissing his cheek and hugging him tightly. "Welcome home."

She instantly realized that Harm's attention wasn't on her, and she watched his gaze scan the front of the house, knowing exactly who he was looking for.

"We might have left a Marine under the mistletoe for you, darling," she said with a sly smile.

Harm grinned back at her and made his way to the front door.

"Hello, sailor."

Mac leaned against the doorframe, her chocolate brown eyes shining with excitement and anticipation at seeing her handsome sailor arrive home.

Harm raised an eyebrow at the little green sprig hanging above the door. "This is my mother's doing?" he asked.

Mac nodded, feeling heat rush to her cheeks as Harm took another step closer to her.

"Well, we'd hate to break a Christmas tradition," he murmured, cupping her cheek with his hand.

"Yeah…tradition," Mac repeated breathlessly as Harm's lips captured hers in a soft, sweet kiss.