Where We Belong
Part Twelve
�Why do I have two bread machines?� he complained, throwing his hands up in frustration. �Hell, why do I have one bread machine?�
�Because you�re weird like that?� Mattie�s voice echoed unexpectedly from the doorway and Harm whirled around, startled at the intrusion.
�Jeez, Mattie,� he complained, trying to calm his racing heart, �Don�t sneak up on me like that.�
�Sorry,� she said insincerely, an unrepentant grin on her face. She took a few steps in and surveyed the sea of boxes littering the floor. �And I wasn�t sneaking up on you. You were just too busy dealing with your bread machine crisis.�
He glared at her. �Aren�t you supposed to be packing up your stuff, Miss Grace?�
�Actually, Mr. Rabb, I�ve already packed up my stuff,� she retorted with a smirk. �So I thought I�d come watch you suffer.�
�You think you�re pretty cute, don�t you?� Harm said, pointing a finger at her. �Just you wait until you need me to move some heavy piece of furniture for you. Then what are you going to do?�
She shrugged. �I�ll ask Mac.�
�Ask me what?� Mac asked curiously, following Mattie into the apartment. Harm stifled a groan. He should have known she�d show up before he was done packing. She looked around the apartment, her hands on her hips and a dismayed expression on her face. �Harm. I thought you said you�d be finished by the time I got here.�
�I thought you said you weren�t coming until 8:30,� Harm countered defensively.
�It�s 0831,� she informed him. She gestured at the boxes, �So why aren�t you finished?�
�I�m almost done,� he reassured her, trying not to roll his eyes. �I just have to pack up these last few pots and pans.�
�And the two bread machines,� Mattie added helpfully. Harm gave her a dirty look as Mac looked at him, perplexed.
�Why do you have two bread machines?� She asked in confusion. �For that matter, why do you have one bread machine? You don�t make bread.�
Harm thought about answering, but quickly realized that it was hopeless. He just shook his head with an aggrieved sigh and went back to contemplating his kitchen, taking note of Mattie and Mac as they moved to sit down. As he placed the first pot into the box, he kept one ear on the conversation going on between the two women.
�So how come you�re over here already?� Mac asked curiously. �You finished packing?�
�Yeah,� Mattie shrugged. �It wasn�t that hard. A lot of my stuff had to go over to the other house last weekend, so there wasn�t a whole lot left to do this week. And Jen�s new roommate moves in on Friday, so it was easier just to get it all done.�
Mac sighed. �It�s still pretty hard on you, isn�t it?�
It was more of a statement than a question. Both Mac and Harm knew that despite her best efforts and the progress she was making, she was still having a difficult time adjusting to all the changes the past couple of months had brought.
As they had predicted, the courts had refused their petition to keep Mattie with them permanently. After Mr. Johnson completed his treatment and proved that he could hold down a job, the judge had felt that it was in Mattie�s best interest to be back with her father. The only question had been how best to implement that decision. Once again, it had been Mac to the rescue. Knowing that they would almost certainly be denied continued guardianship; she had come up with a plan to gradually ease Mattie into the changes ahead.
Mattie had started out the first couple of weeks meeting her father a few times a week. Mac proposed that after they had both started to get acclimated to each other, Mattie could start alternating weekends between Harm and her father. That would increase to every weekend. Then, once school was out for the summer, they would start increasing the amount of time Mattie stayed with her dad. One week in June, two weeks in July, and all but the last week in August, when she would join Harm and Mac on vacation. And when she returned, she would move in with her father full-time. It was a good plan, and both the judge and Mr. Johnson had agreed to it pretty quickly
Actually, Mr. Johnson had not only agreed to Mac�s plan, he had gone one better. After the first few meetings with his daughter, it was clear to him how much she had bonded with Harm and Mac. With that in mind, he had proposed that Mattie be allowed to spend the weekends with them whenever she wanted, provided that she kept up with her schoolwork and stayed out of trouble. He�d even agreed to let her spend Thanksgiving with them. When they�d gone before the judge, she�d likened the arrangement to a joint custody agreement. Mattie�s father had simply said that she considered Harm and Mac her family now, and he wasn�t going to deny his daughter her family. It had been a remarkably unselfish act for him, and it hadn�t gone unnoticed by Mattie. Although she was still wary around him, his obvious desire to do right by her had done a lot to heal what was broken between them.
Having let his thoughts drift as he thought about their new arrangement, Harm had missed Mattie�s response to Mac�s question. Whatever it was seemed to have satisfied Mac, because the two women were now looking at paint samples for Mattie�s room. Again. Harm stifled a groan. Ever since they�d closed on the house two weeks ago, Mac had become a decorating whirlwind. She had spent all of last weekend painting the main rooms in the house. She�d even managed to con Bud and Sturgis into helping her, so that they�d finished the master bedroom and the guest bedroom as well. Now the only rooms left were Mattie�s room and the spare bedroom. Since the spare bedroom was what he jokingly called the �Monty Hall� room, only to be decorated once their deal had been fulfilled, all of Mac�s energy was now focused on finishing up Mattie�s room.
�Beige?� Mac�s incredulous voice came from the couch. �Why beige? Mattie, I thought you wanted red. At least on one wall.�
Harm could hear the confusion in her voice, and it was an echo of his own. From the moment they�d picked out the house, Mattie had been insisting on painting her room in a bold color, like red. She said she wanted something that made a statement. Harm wondered what statement she was trying to make with beige. He peered around the corner of the counter and waited with Mac for her answer.
�I just thought that it might be better to go with something more...neutral,� Mattie responded quietly, twisting her hands in her lap.
�Better how?� Mac asked. Harm couldn�t see her from this angle, but he could tell by the set of her shoulders that she was a little suspicious of Mattie�s sudden change of heart.
�Just better,� Mattie answered with a shrug. The look on Mac�s face must have told her that her answer wasn�t good enough because she gave a little frustrated sigh before saying, �Better like...better. Like, I don�t know, if, maybe somewhere down the line, you want to change the color of the room.�
And with that one sentence, Harm understood what Mattie was getting at. She believed that once she went to live with her father full-time in the fall, she would fade from their lives and they would forget about her.
�The only person who has the right to change the color of that room is you,� Mac said firmly, having come to the same conclusion as Harm about Mattie�s motivation. �It�s your room, Mattie. And even if you only stay in it a couple of weeks a year, it�ll still be your room. For as long as you want it to be.� She tucked a stray curl off of Mattie�s face. �It�s your home, too, sweetie. It always will be. We�re family. Understand?�
�Yeah,� Mattie�s eyes filled with tears and she looked down, embarrassed. No amount of counseling had convinced her that it was okay to let people see her cry.
If anyone understood that, it was Mac. Deciding to lighten things up, she said briskly, �So, what�s it going to be? Boring beige or exciting red?�
Mattie laughed. �Exciting red,� she answered firmly, �definitely.�
�That�s what I thought,� Mac responded smugly, and Harm could hear the smile in her voice. Raising her voice a little, she called out to him. �Hey, Harm?�
�Yeah?�
�Quit peeking and keep packing,� she ordered him, never taking her eyes off Mattie and the paint samples.
�Yes ma�am,� he muttered, not even wondering how she knew he was watching them. He thought about tossing off an irreverent salute, but he was pretty sure she�d see that, too. He almost pitied their kids; they weren�t going to get away with anything.
Their kids, he thought with a happy sigh. Only eighteen days until little A.J.�s birthday, and then they could start working on those kids. Not that they needed the deal anymore; they had been talking about having kids for months now. But they had decided that it would be fitting for Mac to stop taking her birth control pills on that day.
Harm shook his head, knowing that if he didn�t finish packing soon, Mac would remove certain body parts vital to the baby-making process. He started to duck back behind the counter when he decided to risk one more look at her.
She was so amazingly beautiful. Sitting on his sofa in jeans and a Marine Corps t-shirt, a worn out pair of sneakers on her feet and her hair pulled back in cute little barrettes, he thought she�d never looked lovelier. And the miracle of it all was that she was his. Just like he was hers.
A thought crossed his mind as he knelt on the floor, staring at her as she listened to Mattie describe her ideal room and jotting down notes. They needed to get married. He didn�t want to wait a moment longer to announce to the world that they belonged together, that they were a family. So, without pausing to come up with a plan or think things through, he stood up and called out to her.
�Mac?� Harm stepped around the corner.
�What?� she answered absently, never looking up from her notepad.
�Marry me.�
That made her look up. Shifting on the couch so that she could see his face, she looked at him wide-eyed. She took a moment to study him thoughtfully, and then she nodded.
�Okay.� And she looked down at her pad again, ignoring Mattie�s gaping stare.
Harm looked at her in confusion, not sure what to make of her reaction. He took a step forward and said meaningfully, �Mac, I�m serious.�
She looked up again, and a soft smile spread across her face. �So am I.�
Harm didn�t understand. It wasn�t supposed to be this easy, was it?
�So you�ll marry me?� he asked again, needing clarification.
She nodded again, her smile growing a little brighter. �Yes.�
�Really?� Harm knew he was pushing it, but he couldn�t quite believe his luck.
She arched an eyebrow at him. �Do you want me to change my mind?� she questioned him, her voice dripping with amusement.
�No!� he cried out quickly, shaking his head. He grinned. Mac was going to marry him. Which brought up another important question.
�When?�
�When you get me an engagement ring?� It was more of a question than an answer, and he could see the hopeful look in her eye. His grin widened.
�I�ve already got one.� Her eyes grew wide.
�Really?� she asked, her voice delightfully girlish. �Here?�
�Yep. In there,� he said, nodding his head toward the bedroom.
Her face lit up like the proverbial kid in the candy shop. �Go get it,� she instructed eagerly.
�Now?� he asked, uncertain if now was the best time.
�Why not now?� she retorted. �You proposed, didn�t you?�
�Well, yeah,� he conceded. �But I thought you�d want something a little more...romantic, when I gave you the ring.�
She paused, biting down on her lower lip as she considered his words. Then she shook her head decisively. �No. I�d rather have the ring.�
�You�re sure?�
�Yes,� she answered, rolling her eyes at his hesitance. She flashed him a knowing smile. �You know, the sooner you put that ring on my finger, the sooner we can get married.�
And that answered that. �I�ll go get the ring.�
He quickly navigated his way through the sea of boxes, trying to contain his excitement. He stepped into the bedroom and started to look around for the box that held the contents of his top dresser drawer. He vaguely registered the sound of the door opening and closing. He figured that Mattie had gone back to her place to give them some privacy. And to tell Jen everything, of course.
Kneeling down, he pulled open the flaps of one of the boxes, only to push it shut again almost immediately. He sighed and stood up, wondering how he was going to figure out which box was the one he needed.
Harm sensed her presence right before she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his back. �You don�t have to find it now, Harm,� she said softly. She began running her hands up and down his chest. �I�d marry you with or without the ring, you know.�
�I know,� he told her. He grabbed hold of her left hand and brought it to his lips. Kissing her finger, he murmured, �but I want to see my ring on your finger.�
She pressed an answering kiss against his back. �Me, too.� She slid around until she was standing next to him, her arm still around his waist. Scanning the boxes on the floor, she pointed to one in the corner. �Try in that one.�
He didn�t hesitate as he stepped over to the box she�d indicated. He bent down and lifted the flap of the box, not at all surprised to see that it was the one he needed. He looked over his shoulder with a grin. �I suppose this is going to be like the internal clock and I�m never going to know how you did that.�
She shrugged. �Not really. If I ever figure out how I did that, I�d be willing to share the information with you.�
He laughed and turned his attention back to the box. Displaying a little psychic talent of his own, he blindly shoved his hand through the pile of socks and boxers and wrapped his hand around the small ring box. Standing up, he moved back to her. He pulled the ring from the box before discarding it on the bed.
�It�s amazing how easy this was to find,� he said softly. �I think it�s anxious to be on your finger.�
�I bet I�m more anxious than the ring,� she answered, her voice little more than a whisper.
He picked up her hand. �Is that why you�re trembling? Because you�re anxious?�
She shook her head. �I�m trembling because I�m afraid I�m going that any second now I�m going to wake up.�
�Don�t worry,� he smiled at her, �Neither one of is going to be waking up soon. Not for the next fifty years or so, I�d imagine.�
�That�s good,� she answered quietly, and the trembling eased. She looked up at him. �Does that mean I can have my ring?�
His answer was to slowly slide the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly. She smiled joyfully, tears in her eyes.
�It�s beautiful.�
He nodded. �It was my grandmother�s,� he told her, releasing her hand and pulling her into his arms. �From one Sarah Rabb to another.�
�Yes,� she answered, tears of joy sliding down her cheeks. And that one word was a promise; a promise to marry him, to bear his name and his children, to spend her life loving and be loved by him.
�Yes.� He made the same promise to her. Cupping her face in his hands, he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a passionate kiss, breaking away only when the need for air became unbearable. She took a moment to catch her breath, and then looked up at him and gave him her most breathtaking smile.
�Let�s go get married.�
May 1, 2004
North of Union Station
0825 EST
As Harm stood in the middle of his kitchen, trying to figure out how to fit four boxes worth of pots and pans into the two boxes he had left, he remembered why he hated moving. Moving meant packing.