A
Day in the Life
Originally written for Pixie’s
January Challenge 2006
Author: Gibson
Disclaimer: No
copyright infringement intended. Much to my chagrin, JAG and
all characters belong to The 500lb Gorilla. Don’t even
think about suing. I own nothing but my beloved Gibson J-45, and that
you would have to pry from my cold, dead hands…
Category:
AU (I Surrender series), Vignette, Romance H/M
Rating:
PG-13 (for a little bit of language and sexual innuendo)
Summary:
This story sort of grew out of the comment Harm made to Bud at the
end of Chains of Command. He said something about in a
relationship, you’re lucky if you get 5 good days a month. I
thought, with him and Mac, they probably get a hell a lot more than 5
good days a month, however – ‘good’ is a relative
term, isn’t it? I mean, the ‘good days’ Harm was
probably thinking of back then, would have changed a lot by the time
he and Mac came to be.
HARM AND MAC’S HOUSE
9 MELROSE
AVE NW2
NORTH OF WILLESDEN GREEN STATION
12 MAY 2012
0730
ZULU
“No Mummy – I want a tranasawrus!”
“May
I please have a Tyrannosaurus…” Mac twisted her
head around to look at her youngest daughter’s plate, “…
and that is a Tyrannosaurus, Molly.”
“No
mummy,” she sighed “…that’s a
gwanadon.”
“You must be slipping in your old age,
Flyboy. Your Tyrannosauruses are starting to become indiscernible
from your Iguanodons.”
Harm looked over his shoulder and
raised his eyebrow. “Gimme a break, Mac - I’m dealing
with an inexact science here. Pancake batter isn’t the most
delicate of mediums.” He slipped another golden cake onto a
plate and handed it to his wife. “And by the way, who’s
fault would it be that she even knows the difference?”
Mac
slipped a finger into his belt loop and pulled him flush against her.
“Hey, can I help it if she’s a genius and takes after
me?”
1030 ZULU
“Sam – get in the
car – right now, please!” Harm stood by the open vehicle
with one daughter in the crook of his arm and the other by the hand.
His two sons ran around the van in excited circles.
“Need
any help there, Sailor?” Mac came out of the front of the house
and locked it behind her.
“No way, Marine,” he
answered her sarcastically. “Everything’s under control
here. You just go ahead and enjoy yourself and don’t give even
a moments thought to us.” Suddenly Harm placed his foot on the
rail of the vehicle, heading off his sons as they came around for
another pass. “Evan, if you don’t stop chasing your
brother we’re going to be late for your game.”
“I
wasn’t chasing him, Daddy – I was trying to catch him for
you!”
“Hmmm…” Harm grunted. “Could
have fooled me.” He released Katie’s hand and caught the
two year old under the arm. “Up Sam – let’s
go.”
Katie ran around the vehicle and Mac lifted her up
to her car seat. She looked across the van and caught Harm’s
eye as he struggled to strap his son down. Harm gave her a wink and a
helpless smile. “I have a feeling this one might grow up to be
a professional wrestler.”
1630 ZULU
Mac
entered the house feeling relaxed and refreshed from her ‘Mommy
Day’ at the spa when her stomach suddenly rumbled - apparently
Harm had been busy in the kitchen – the heavenly smell of his
spinach and feta lasagne hung heavily in the air.
Finding the
house oddly quiet, she smiled when she noticed the faded jean-clad
legs poking out from under the kitchen sink.
“Hey, Mac
– feeling all pampered up?”
“Oh yeah…”
she smiled. “I’m a new woman.”
“Right
on!” he quipped teasingly. “I could use a new woman
around here, the old one was getting a little demanding.”
Mac
came to a stop by his dusty, paint splattered work boots and crossed
her arms. From this vantage point she could just make out the
challenging twinkle in his eye from within the darkened
cabinet.
“Watch it Flyboy,” she cautioned, “I
believe I have you in a precarious position here. You don’t
want to tempt me.” As she spoke she walked farther up his legs
before dropping to her knees and straddling his thighs.
Harm
tensed and eyed her warily from his position under the sink, unsure
whether he should be excited or afraid – strangely, one of the
many reasons he was sure their relationship would never get
boring.
Letting her eyes trail up his jeans to the space of
skin that was baring itself to her between the frayed waistband of
his jeans and the edge of his white t-shirt, she lightly traced the
little trail of dark hair that led from his navel down towards his
zipper, watching his abdominal muscles tighten as she went along. As
she traveled over the button on his pants and began to play with it,
Harm chuckled nervously, “Careful there, Mac… I have…uh,
dangerous tools in my hands here. You don’t want me to take an
eye out now do you?”
Mac suddenly dropped her hands to
her sides and cocked her head. “Harm, you’re holding a
cordless screwdriver, not an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action
Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle.”
Suddenly this
caught the two of them as extremely funny and they began to giggle
uncontrollably. The back screen door crashed open just as Harm
twisted his legs suddenly in an attempt to unseat his wife. He was
aided in his quest when his 3yr old daughter picked that exact time
to hurl herself at her mother in one explosive
leap.
“Mummy!”
“Oof!” It took
all of Mac’s Marine training to avoid having both of their
heads smack into the refrigerator. Sitting with her back against the
fridge door, two finger paintings and a home-made magnet rained down
on top of them as she set her daughter back on her feet.
Meanwhile,
Harm had been forced to do some fancy legwork of his own during the
assault in order to stop his daughter’s knee from landing on
his most sensitive of appendages. “Jeezes!” he exclaimed.
“Are all the women in my life ganging up on me
today?”
“Well, there’s always Molly?”
“Ah…
you missed the amazing ‘Tomato Soup incident’ at
lunch-time.”
Mac chuckled in comprehension and turned
her attention back to Katie. “Hello yourself, little girl.
You’re soaked – what have you been up to?”
“Playing
football in the park with Mattie.”
“With all of
you? Wow, Mattie’s a brave girl!”
“No,
Evan’s at Uncle Bud’s”
“Oh, I see. So
why are you back here?”
“I’m thirsty!”
“You
didn’t come back here by yourself, did you?”
“No
– Jimmy brought me. He’s still in the backyard.”
Mac
got herself up off of the floor. “Well, would you like some
lemonade?”
“Yes!”
“Yes, what?”
Harm interjected from underneath the sink.
“Yes,
pease.”
“Good girl.”
Mac got an old
plastic thermos down from the cupboard and filled it with lemonade
after handing Katie her own glass.
“Here sweetie, take
this thermos and give it to Mattie so that Molly and Sam can have
some too.”
“OK, Mummy.”
“And
Katie, tell Mattie to bring you guys home soon – supper’s
in an hour.”
“OK, Daddy.”
“Repeat
what I said, please.” Harm was well aware of Katie’s
reluctance to learn the importance of passing on messages.
The
little girl sighed dramatically. “Tell Mattie we have to be
home soon.”
“Because…?”
“…Supper’s
in an hour.” She called over her shoulder as she was heading
out of the kitchen.”
“And don’t forget to
bring the thermos home with you!” Mac called after the little
girl just as the back door crashed shut again. Mac hoisted herself up
onto the counter and looked down at her husband.
“So…
have a little plumbing problem today?”
“Umm…
more like some minor garbage disposal issues.”
“Aha.
Dare I ask?”
“Well… let’s just say that
Evan got his first lesson in physics this morning.”
Mac
nodded her head. “Am I going to be missing anything
important?”
“Not unless you’ve become overly
attached to any one of our dish towels in particular.”
“Yikes.
Which one?”
“Gimme a second and I’ll tell
you…” Harm gently extracted a blackened, chewed up mess
of material from the disposal unit. “…uh… blue
one with pink grapefruit… I think…”
“Oh
good, I hated that one.”
Harm tossed the destroyed towel
onto the kitchen floor. “Well apparently Evan wasn’t too
keen on it either.” Harm fidgeted a few moments longer, trying
to reassemble the garbage disposal. “Hey, that reminds me –
make sure to congratulate him – he scored a touchdown in his
rugby game this afternoon.”
“Well, good for
him.”
“Yeah, he was pretty stoked about it. It was
funny.” He chuckled lightly to himself. “Actually, I’m
glad you’re home. I was just about to head out to Bud’s
and retrieve our first born. Care to accompany me?”
“Are
we taking the car?”
Harm carefully extracted himself
from under the sink a moment later. “Actually, I was planning
on walking over – it’s such a nice day.”
“I
was hoping you were going to say that.” She smiled. “You’ve
got yourself a date… well… that is… once you
make yourself a little presentable. I’ve got a reputation to
uphold. I am a Captain’s wife you know. I can’t be
seen with just any old grimy sailor.”
Harm backed her up
against the counter seductively. “Well, I may be a grimy old
sailor, but I still know how to show a lady a good time…”
Harm’s fingers wickedly sought their way up under the front of
Mac’s shirt.
“Ack! Don’t you dare
touch me with hands that have been inside the garbage disposal! I’ve
just been beautified! That’s got to last another month!”
she laughingly held Harm’s arms away from her by the inside of
his elbows.
Harm allowed her to hold his arms back, but leaned
heavily against her with the rest of his body and whispered
seductively against her lips. “Baby… ain’t no one
or no thing that can make you any more beautiful than you already
are…” He then tenderly pressed his lips against
hers.
Mac laughed and kissed him back, while at the same time
playfully pushing him away from her body. As the kiss ended she
turned him and smacked him on his ass. “Now get cleaned up so
we can go.”
“Yes dear!” he drawled
sarcastically over his shoulder.
1850 ZULU
“Samuel
Joseph MacKenzie Rabb! Get your butt back in this bathtub NOW!”
Mac blew her bangs off her forehead as she leaned against the side of
the tub. Molly squealed in delight and splashed happily amongst the
bubbles, happily entertained by her brother’s escapades. Mac
looked up helplessly and appealed to her older daughter who was
standing in the doorway. “Katie sweetie, get your brother
please.”
“I got him, Mummy.” Evan waddled in
through the door, leaning back heavily with his arms tightly wrapped
around his younger brother’s middle.
“Thanks
sweetie.” Depositing her youngest boy back into the bathtub,
she spoke sternly. “No ‘TonyTony Chopper’ for you
tonight, Sam.”
His little mouth hung open in stunned
shock. A look that came straight from Harm, despite the normal
dissimilarity to his father. “But…” he
fumbled.
“No ‘butts’ except yours back in
this bathtub, Mr. Man.”
The bottom lip slipped out only
seconds before the waterworks started. “Daddeeeeeee!!!”
“Save
it, Sam. Your father can’t help you now.”
“Your-in-tru-bble…”
Evan sang teasingly from the doorway.
“You!” Mac
pointed a soapy finger at her eldest and he immediately clammed up.
“Stow it… and go change your PJ’s they’re
soaking wet.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He
answered sheepishly, and skulked away.
Molly giggled happily
again and Mac threw her a conspiratorial wink.
1945
ZULU
Mac came down the stairs after finally getting all the
kids into bed, to find Harm cleaning up the last of the supper
dishes.
He looked up at her and smiled brightly. “I made
some tea?”
Mac sighed dramatically and plopped herself
onto one of the stool at the kitchen island. “Oh… I love
you.” She stated desperately.
Harm grinned even harder.
“I know.” He slid his free hand into hers and tugged her
towards the back porch. Passing by the stereo, he jabbed the play
button with his elbow and caused the cabinet to wobble
precariously.
“Remind me to put brackets in that thing.”
He threw over his shoulder.
“Right – that would be
item number 310 on the list of things that you’ll never get to
in our lifetime.”
As the music started to filter through
the little speakers Harm had wired out onto their sun porch, it was
Mac’s turn to break into a silly grin. “Dean Martin?
Someone must be feeling frisky.”
Harm smiled as he took
her tea from her and set their cups on the end table by the swing.
“Just happy, Mac” he said as he straightened up. “It
was a good day today.” He leaned forward and pulled her towards
him by the hand. “Dance with me.”
Mac giggled as
Harm twirled her once before bringing her back to his arms. Softly,
he began to sing along with the music.
Take one fresh and
tender kiss
Add one stolen night of bliss…
Harm
dipped her suddenly and she squealed in a very un-Marine like manner,
much to his delight. He kissed her quickly on the nose before
up-righting her and spinning her away from him again.
One
girl, one boy
Some grief, some joy
Memories are made of this.
Mac threw her head back and laughed at Harm’s
antics. Sometimes he could just be downright silly and she loved it.
Then add the wedding bells
One house where lovers
dwell
Three little kids for flavor…
Harm sang
“four” over Dean’s “three”, and spun
his wife around one more time.
…Stir carefully through
the days
See how the flavor stays
These are the dreams you will
savor.
Mac snuggled happily against his neck and held on
tightly as he swooped her around the porch and continued to croon
quietly in her ear.
With His blessings from above
Serve
it generously with love
One man, one wife
One love, for
life,
Memories are made of this.
2230 ZULU
Picking
up Katie’s teddy bear and tucking it in to her bed with her,
Harm silently walked over to the open toy box and deposited the rest
of the armload of toys he had accumulated as he walked through the
house. Chuckling slightly, he walked over and hoisted a third of his
youngest son back into bed, silently noting that Sam seemed to be the
only one of his children who shared his affinity for stomach
sleeping, and subsequently, falling on the floor. Noticing Mac
leaning against the doorframe, he straightened himself and joined her
at the door.
“Who’d have thought we wouldn’t
need half the rooms in this house after all.”
Shortly
after the twins had been old enough to move into real beds, the
children had unilaterally decided to congregate every night. After
several weeks of replacing them into their allotted rooms in the
middle of the night, only to wake up and find them exactly where they
had been before, Harm had finally given in and built two sets of
bunk-beds. Now all the Rabb kids happily occupied the same
room.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure we will one
day.” Harm raised his eyebrow at Mac questioningly before she
broke into a grin. “I mean, I’m sure eventually
they will all want their own room.”
“Oh, I see.”
Harm threw an arm lazily around his wife and hugged her as he planted
a kiss on her hair. As he took a look around the darkened room at all
the tiny little forms, he shook his head and sighed tiredly. “Wow,
Mac… what the hell were we thinking?”
Mac
couldn’t contain her spontaneous laughter as she elbowed her
husband in the side and he recoiled defensively. “Well I
think we did pretty good, sailor.”
Harm continued to
laugh quietly as he took Mac in his arms. “You’re right,
Mac…” he whispered as he looked over the top of her head
into the quiet room, “… we did do good, didn’t
we?”
1159 ZULU
Mac turned in her sleep and
nuzzled into the chest of her husband. Harm’s hand trailed
sleepily up her bare back several times and settled on the nape of
her neck. Mac slid one silky thigh between his long legs, and
caressed her free hand briefly over his strong six. Mutually
satisfied with their new positions, they comfortably returned to the
quiet depths of slumber.
It had been a good day.