(Disclaimers: I take no credit for Harm's wedding vow - I pieced it together from a number of websites that offered suggestions - I just changed it enough to make it sound like something Harm might want to say.)

PART 8

CHEGWIDDEN RESIDENCE
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA
1535 ZULU

Harm and the Admiral sat in his living room in a sea of cigar fog, sipping scotch at 11:30 in the morning and grinning at each other from ear to ear.

“Well son, I’d say this situation eventually turned out for the better.”

“That would be the understatement of the century, sir” Harm just grinned. “I tell ya though – this all still seems pretty surreal.” He wiggled his feet back and forth on the coffee table and shook his head slowly. “Even six months ago I never dreamed I’d be at this point.”

“Yeah, you had a pretty rough year, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, we both did sir.”

“Hmmm… that’s right, I heard that Mr. Webb faked his death once again.” He paused briefly and looked at Harm with concern. “She took that pretty hard, did she?”

Harm looked at the Admiral warily. “Well sir, there was that… and…” Harm wasn’t sure Mac would want him broaching this subject with the Admiral, but he really felt the need to share it for some reason. Besides, Mac had said she could tell him about the baby and she certainly didn’t stipulate any parameters. “…well, let’s just say that this baby is a blessing in more than one way…”

The Admiral’s eyebrows shot up with interest. “Really?”

Harm smiled. “Yeah, well… we found out just around the time of your retirement party that Mac was diagnosed with endometriosis. They gave her less than a 5% chance at being able to conceive a child. It shook her up pretty badly.”

“Really? I mean, that’s awful, but I had no idea she was even considering having children. Don’t tell me she was considering children with Webb?”

Harm was suddenly so jealous by that statement he uttered a very convincing “No!” before he knew it was out of his mouth.

Once again, the Admiral raised his eyebrows as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Harm suddenly got very uncomfortable and shifted positions on the couch. “No sir, it was just that… well, we had talked before about her desire to have children… and… well, I knew it was coming up to… well, her biological alarm clock was about to go off?”

He stated the last part as a question – withering under the Admiral’s glare.

The Admiral talked slowly, as if he was questioning a witness in court and wanted to make sure the jury understood the whole situation. “I see, so you’re saying that you two could never communicate your emotions to each other enough to even go on a *date*, but you did manage to discuss her intensely personal desire to have children?”

Harm looked up at the Admiral through his eyebrows and fingered the rim of his glass absent-mindedly. “Yes?” he paused before he added “…aw what the hell… sir, we had a sort of… well – ‘pact’.”

“A pact.” The admiral said this as a statement more than a question, like he almost always did when he couldn’t believe what Rabb was about to say.

“Yes sir. The day that AJ Roberts was born, Mac was feeling a little low. She said she felt like her biological clock was going off and she kept hitting the snooze button.”

AJ grunted a laugh in response.

“So I… well, sir… I kinda suggested that if in five years neither of us were in a relationship, we’d … sort of… have a baby together.”

“Rabb of all the hair-brained… why the hell would you suggest something like that?”

Harm looked down at his drink in his lap and smiled. “I don’t know sir, I guess it was just a way of tying myself to her. I knew even then that I didn’t want her out of my life – I was afraid of letting her go, but also equally afraid of having her and then screwing it up. I guess I felt that if we had a child together – it didn’t matter how badly I messed things up afterwards, because I would always be tied to her somehow… forever.”

The Admiral shook his head in amusement. “I just can’t believe she agreed to it.”

Harm smiled shyly. “Well, I guess the Colonel knows a good deal when she hears it.”

“Or she was thinking the same thing as you were…”

Harm paused thoughtfully and shook his head slowly. “I just can’t believe it. I mean, just being with her finally has barely even sunk in. Now we’re going to be married and before you know it we’re going to have a baby… it’s all a little overwhelming.”

AJ leaned forward and tapped Harm’s shoe. “Well don’t let it sink in just yet, we’ve got to get you to a wedding in a little over an hour.”

Harm looked at his watch and stood up in a panic “Holy crap!”

Harm and the Admiral immediately abandoned their former posts and dashed hurriedly around the house, dressing and gathering in acute desperation. They were out of the house and getting into the Admiral’s car in less than 7 minutes. ‘Mac would be impressed’ thought Harm with a smile. ‘Well, unless of course, she knew *why* he had had to rush…’

The Admiral and Harm looked at each other in smug satisfaction as they seated themselves in the car and closed the doors. “No problem.” Harm uttered confidently and smiled as the Admiral turned the key in the ignition. Their smiles turned to sickening dread when the next sound they heard was nothing but a tell tale ‘click, click, click, click, click’.

Harm and AJ stared at each other in sudden disbelief. “Oh, she’s gonna kill me…” Harm groaned.

They both pulled out their cell phones simultaneously. The Admiral took charge. “You call a cab, I’ll call Bud and get him to stall.”

Harm just nodded at the Admiral, looking suspiciously like a deer caught in the headlights.


U. S. NAVAL ACADEMY CHAPEL
ANNAPOLIS, MD
1712 ZULU

“No ma’am, it’s just that I don’t think everyone has arrived yet…”

“Well, who do you think isn’t here yet, Bud? …And for God’s sake stop calling me Ma’am – it’s my wedding day!”

“Well, I don’t know specifically, m… - it’s just that there are some… uh… empty seats still and…”

“Tough luck, Bud! If they can’t be on time for somebody’s wedding, they shouldn’t expect it to be delayed until they bloody well feel like showing up, can they?”

“Uh… *technically* no, ma’am, but I guess it really depends on who you are…”

“Bud – nobody is important enough to…” suddenly it occurred to Sarah MacKenzie exactly who it was that was late for her wedding. She walked towards Bud in a threatening manner. “Bud, are you trying to tell me that…”

Her sentence was cut short by the sound of a car door slamming outside. Both Bud and Mac turn to look out of the window and saw two rather tall Naval Officers in Dress White uniforms stepping out of a cab and looking rather guilty. Harm straightened his uniform nervously and warily looked around as he handed some money in through the cab window.

“Oh, you are *so* busted, Flyboy.” Mac muttered threateningly as Bud let out a sigh of relief. ‘It’s a good thing you look so damn fine,’ she had wanted to add, but kept it to herself.

“They had car trouble, ma’am.” Bud offered in defence.

“Save it councillor.” Mac snapped – “You’re busted too.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Bud came to attention in mock fear, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Mac just shook her head and turned away to hide a smile of her own.


THE MELROSE HOTEL
2430 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON DC
0420 ZULU

Mac lay wide awake, wrapped in the arms of her husband and relishing every last bit of the moment. She wasn’t even sure if Harm was still awake – he hadn’t moved or said anything in a very long time, but she hadn’t noticed the tell tale sign of his even breath in her ear that always signalled to her that he had fallen asleep.

The events of the day were playing over in Mac’s mind and she smiled sweetly as she lived them over again – the way he had looked – and the way he had looked at her as she had walked up the aisle to him. Even though she had given him a teasing reprimand about his being late when the Admiral had finally delivered her to him at the alter, there was no way she could stay mad at him with the look he had on his face. She hadn’t been able to help a slight feeling of recrimination towards herself at the effect the Navy Whites and Gold Wings had eventually had on her. She had remembered once telling Harm they were over-rated - ‘Ha’ she thought – ‘not with this man they’re not.’ Even the smell of him had her mesmerized today – that aftershave, that spicy scent of Harm, and today – the mildly sweet smell of a cigar that she could detect ever so slightly. Instead of angering her, it had made her smile even more – cementing in her mind just how well she knew this man she was about to marry.

But of the whole day, she thought she would probably remember most the vows they had made to each other. Mac had to admit, Harm had more than pleasantly surprised her by what he’d written. She had figured when he had insisted so much on keeping them a secret until the end, that he had something good up his sleeve – but the degree of ‘good’ had almost knocked her off her feet. Even now she thought she could remember every word in her head;

‘Sarah, though our life may not always be as perfect as it is at this moment, I promise to give you all that I know how to give. We have already been through so much together, and I’d like to think that these past nine years have been preparing us for this moment and for our future together. I promise to be there for you in laughter and tears, in sickness and health. I vow not to ever let the sun go down on our anger, and to treat each morning as a new day to love you. If our lives should become difficult, I promise to stand by you because I know that together we will be stronger than we could be alone. I will never forget this vow, and I will strive to show you my love for the rest of our days. You are everything I need. I love you and will for all eternity. This is the promise I make to you’.


She thought ‘for all eternity’ had been the line that got her the most. Not ‘til death do us part’, but ‘for all eternity’. The impact of that statement had almost rendered her speechless. She had seemed to be caught in his eyes and unable to break the spell no matter how hard she tried. It had almost reminded her of their early days together – the times when he had mesmerized her so much she had become tongue tied and unable to speak. She forced herself to get over that because she had hated the power he had over her – the same power she figured he had over most any woman he wanted. Now she loved that feeling – loved being captivated by him and losing herself in his eyes. She loved that now because she knew that she was the only one that he looked at that way.

She had learned so many new things about Harm these last couple of months. As she lay there in his arms she marvelled at how she could know someone so well for so many years, and then suddenly have the ability to discover so many new things about him that she suddenly felt as if she hadn’t ever really known him at all. They were little things for the most part - for example, they way Harm liked to ‘cocoon’ them after they’d finished making love – like they were right now. It had almost made her laugh the first time he had done it, but it had also been so… indescribably sweet, that she had almost been in awe. Now she was used to it because he did it every time – brought the sheets around them both, rolled her on top of him slightly and then roller her back – in effect, locking the sheet underneath them so they almost couldn’t move. At first she couldn’t figure his motive, but then she realized that it was his way of keeping her in his arms even after they fell asleep. There was no need to hang on to one another as they were pretty much stuck that way. ‘Always have to be in control, don’t you Rabb? Even in your sleep?’ she thought with a smile. At first Mac didn’t think that she would be able to sleep like that for very long, but she had been pleasantly surprised. For some reason it gave her some of the deepest and most wonderful rests she had ever had.

Another new thing she had learned about Harm had been the way his eyes always glazed over when they made love. Not a ‘glazed-over’ that indicated he was tuning out or somewhere else, but a mesmerizing glaze that seemed to indicate he was so focused that nothing could deviate him. There was never a particular time that it happened, they could start out by being playful - laughing and joking one minute, and then invariably at some point she would look up and it would have happened. That glazed-over intense glare that would immediately ensnare her own.

They had been like that tonight – usually once Harm’s eyes glazed over, there was very little if anything ever said until it was over – there were no need for words because everything could be read between them through their eyes. Tonight had been different however and he had spoken to her with a painfully serious look;

“I’m afraid I’m going to hurt the baby.” He whispered.

It was only then that she realized his right hand was on her middle – his thumb tracing small circles just above her belly button. A smile and tears had come to her eyes at the same time. “Oh Harm, you’re not going to hurt the baby… I promise.”

His gaze nor facial expression changed. “All the same… I’ll be gentle… just in case.”

Mac couldn’t resist the tease, “Don’t be gentle… be good.”

For a moment Mac thought that Harm wasn’t going to get the reference, but just inches above her lips he released that short sound Mac was never quite sure whether it was a laugh or a sob. Then she noticed the smile, just before his lips touched hers with excruciating tenderness.

Mac smiled remembering the achingly slow and passionate love they had made. It was then that a thought had occurred to her. She remembered telling Harm once on the Coral Sea that he had the habit of replacing one obsession for another – first his father, then Roscoe, then Dar-lin, then returning to a carrier… at one point she hoped it may have even been her, but she didn’t ever want to admit that… now it was the baby. Yes there was no doubt she thought with a smile, ‘I don’t know if this is healthy, but Harmon Rabb is definitely once again obsessed.’

“Mac? Are you awake?” Harm said quietly.

“Yup”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Me neither.”

There was a slight pause while Harm considered his next thought.

“You feel like taking a walk?”

“A walk? Through D.C.? In the middle of the night? Are you insane?”

Harm smiled. “OK, maybe not so much a walk as… I’d like to go visit someone.”

“Harm, it’s 12:30 in the morning.”

“I know. He won’t mind.”

VIETNAM VETERAN’S MEMORIAL WALL
WASHINGTON, D.C
0512 ZULU

Harm and Mac stood at the Wall in front of a name that they both knew well. Harm stood behind Mac with his hands clasped in front of her belly and his head bowed and resting on her left shoulder. He was quiet for so long that Mac dared not break the silence – wondering if he wasn’t saying a prayer of some sort. Finally he lifted his head and his hand and gently caressed the letters of the name in front of them.

“Hey Dad.” He smiled. “It’s been a while, eh? Well, things have been pretty crazy in my life lately… you’re probably not going to believe it.” He stopped and gave Mac a squeeze, lowering his cheek against hers. “You remember Mac don’t ya?” He laughed. “Yeah, I know I talked about her often enough… well, as I guess you can tell, we’re finally together. No thanks to my doing by any means though – I guess fate finally got sick of our little dance and took things into it’s own hands. They were going to do the unthinkable, Dad – they were finally going to post us apart!” He laughed quietly again. “Yeah, it’s true, I’ve been posted to a new billet outside of Washington – London, England actually – and they actually saw fit to promote me as well, which I’ll never figure out seeing as in the last year I managed to resign my commission *and* shoot an unarmed civilian aircraft out of the sky... I guess someone pulled some strings for me, I don’t know.

I guess this means I’m not going to be able to come and visit you quite as often anymore - although we will be here this Christmas – so our regular Christmas Eve date still stands for this year.
Anyway, Dad… I just wanted to tell you our good news… Mac and I got married today. It was really nice and… well…” his voice got quietly emotional, “… I sure wish you could have been there.” He brushed a quick kiss along Mac’s cheek and brightened his voice. “Mac was so beautiful you should have seen her. I almost couldn’t keep my eyes off of her… like usual…” He placed his chin on the top of her head. “And *finally* Dad, we have one last bit of news and this is the best of all…” He hugged Mac to him even more tightly. “… we found out today we’re going to have a baby.” He kissed her hair and then wiped a stray tear into it as he laughed slightly. “I bet you’d given up hope that you’d ever become a Grandpa, eh Dad?”

There was a silence so Mac tried to look up at Harm but he was hiding his face in her hair. She reached up herself and began to trace the letters in front of her reverently. “Hi sir…” she started awkwardly, “… I’ve heard so much about you I feel like I already know you…”

“Mac,” Harm whispered in her ear. “Call him ‘Dad’… please. I know he’d want you to… *I* want you to…”

Mac reached her hand up to gently find the side of her husband’s face and he nuzzled a kiss into her palm. She took a deep breath and started again. “OK… ‘Dad’… I want you to know what an honour it is for me to be able to call you that… and what an honour it is to have been brought into this family.” She smiled, “I never had a very good family life growing up… we couldn’t even manage to be there for each other when we were all still alive. Somehow your family has managed to be there for each other even when separated by death… and… well, I want you to know… through all the years I’ve known Harm… that has always been an inspiration to me. I always wanted to be part of a strong family and now… well, that dream seems to have come true.” She cleared her throat and brushed a tear out of her eye with a laugh. “You’ll have to excuse me, Dad… It’s just that I’m not used to my dreams coming true.”

Harm nuzzled another kiss into her neck for support.

Mac raised her hand back to the letters again. “I guess I just want you to know that this baby will always know love, always know his Grandpa and his family roots… I promise to try and be as good a Mom as I can possibly be and… I promise not to let you down…”

Harm brought his hand up to cover his wife’s and held it there against the lettering. “I promise too, Dad… I won’t let you down either. We’re going to be the strongest family anyone has ever seen – unshakeable… ‘cause I’ve learned that’s the most important thing in life… the love of your friends and family can get you through anything.” He looked at Mac as he brought her hand back down to her belly. “… and sometimes your friends can *be* your family without you ever even realizing it.”

Mac turned in his arms, reached her hands around the back of his neck and kissed him. “I love you, Harm.”

“I love you too, Sarah.” He whispered as he brushed a tear out of her eye. Then he turned and upraised eyebrow at the Wall.” See Dad, I told you she was crazy.”


END PART 8