“Bound By Love”

A JAG Fan-Fic

By Sheri Mitchell

sheri@mountainport.ca

http://mountainport.ca/JAG/

Rated: R

It was a toss-up who was more excited as Harm escorted Aaron up the school’s wide front steps. If someone had told him two months ago that he would be here today, registering his son for school, he would have recommended them for a psych eval., but here he was.

It had been a month of firsts for Harm: his first time taking a kid to the dentist, his first time looking for monsters under the bed, his first time buying an engagement ring.

That ring was now firmly in place on Mac’s finger, a visible symbol of the commitment they had made to each other, but formalizing that commitment was going to take a little more time. They’d chosen a date nearly six months away. It was going to take that long to work out the logistics and decide how to handle the problem of them both being in the same command.

The admiral had indicated he had a few ideas in that department, but so far, he hadn’t said too much about what those ideas might be. Harm was confident they would work something out. In the meantime, he was having the time of his life doing all the parental things he had been starting to think he would never get to do. He could have done without the violent rebellion of a seven-year-old stomach to too much pizza, but that was probably his own fault for not watching to see that Aaron didn’t sneak a fifth piece.

Inside the school gymnasium, several tables had been set up to accept new registrants. Harm found the right lineup and guided Aaron to the end of it. As usual, the little bundle of energy was bouncing from foot to foot. Harm grinned at him. “Excited?”

“Kinda, but it’s going to be really weird, not knowing anybody.”

“Just be friendly and the other kids will be too,” Harm told him, hoping he was right.

When their turn came, the woman seated at the table smiled at both of them, but her focus was on Aaron. “Are you here to register?”

“Yes ma’am,” he replied politely.

“Well then, I think I can help you with that. What’s your name?”

“Aaron.” He glanced up at Harm and his chest puffed out slightly. “Aaron Rabb.”

Harm’s heart gave that same little kick it had when Aaron first asked about changing his name. It was something Harm had hoped for someday, but he wasn’t going to push it. He was totally flabbergasted when Aaron himself brought it up not two weeks after coming to live with him.

The woman looked up at him. “And you’re a parent or guardian?”

“I’m his father.” He wondered how long it would be until he quit getting such a charge out of saying that. At least he’d managed to knock off the silly grin that had accompanied the words the first few times he’d said them.

The woman started filling out the paperwork. She got Aaron’s birth date and the name of his previous school. Harm saw her blank look when she heard the name. “It’s in Baltimore,” he explained.

She nodded. “I see. We’ll have his records transferred.”

After filling in a bit more information, she turned the form around for Harm’s signature. Aaron beamed her a smile. “I can print my name.”

“Good for you,” she replied, returning the smile.

“No, I mean my new name. It’s easy ‘cuz it’s way shorter than my old one.”

Harm cringed but the woman never missed a beat. “Sounds like you’re pretty lucky.” Her smile stayed genuine as she turned to Harm. “School starts with half a day next Monday.”

He clapped a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “He’ll be there.”

As they made their way back out to the parking lot, Aaron skipped ahead, then turned around, walking backwards. “When you and Mac get married, her name’s gonna be Rabb too, huh.”

“Well sort of.” He took one large step to come abreast of Aaron so he would turn around before he tripped and fell. “She’s going to add my name to hers, so her last name will be MacKenzie-Rabb.”

“Wow, that’s really long!”

Harm shrugged. “She’s the one who has to write it.” He’d already told her several times that he didn’t expect her to change her name, but she insisted.

“So, after you’re married, will she be my mom?”

As with most of Aaron’s most important questions, this one came straight out of the blue. Harm hesitated a moment, then dropped a hand on Aaron’s shoulder as they crossed the parking lot. “She’ll be like a mom, but she’s not trying to replace your real mom. No one could do that.”

“I know. I was just wondering” Aaron skipped ahead again, obviously not considering the subject nearly as profound as Harm did. “Hey, Dad, can we stop for a burger?”

“Not a chance,” he replied, unlocking the car. “Mac will be hungry when she gets home from the gym and it’s my night to cook.”

Aaron groaned. “That’s why I want to stop for a burger.”

Harm laughed, helping Aaron get settled in the back seat. The kid’s tastes definitely leaned more toward Mac’s preferred dietary choices than his own. Twice, he’d caught them sneaking out for munchies after he’d made dinner.

~~~~~

Mac was already home when they got there and despite what he’d told Aaron, she had already started started dinner. “I thought I was supposed to cook,” he commented, slipping up behind her to steal a kiss.

“I know, but I thought I’d get it started. You were planning on lasagna, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, I was.”

Aaron let out a whoop. “Now that I like.”

Mac gave them both a strange look, making Harm laugh all over again. He explained about their conversation as he went to work on dinner. Mac was grinning from ear to ear as she listened to the story while she helped Aaron tear lettuce for the salad.

When Harm finished, she gave the boy a nudge with her elbow. “Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one who wants to stop for a burger when he’s cooking, but the food is good for you.”

“Yeah, but just because it’s good for you doesn’t mean it can’t taste good,” Aaron replied, sounding as though he was quoting someone.

“Hey, my meals always taste good!” Harm replied in mock defense.

“If you’re a rabbit,” Aaron shot back with a grin.

Harm rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. He hadn’t figured on these two ganging up on him quite as often as they did. Aaron might be his son, but in many ways, he was far more like Mac, making them a formidable team when they got going. After living alone for so long, suddenly having two wisecrackers around all the time made him feel like he was back on a carrier.

That thought sparked another and he turned to Aaron. “Hey, I almost forgot. The Patrick Henry is going to be docking in Norfolk next week. I talked to the skipper and arranged for that tour I promised you.”

“Cool! Will we get to see planes launching?”

Harm chuckled, ruffling Aaron’s hair. “Not when they’re in port, champ, but I’ll make sure you get to see lots of exciting stuff.”

“And just think,” Mac added, “you’ll have all kinds of cool stories to tell your new friends at school.”

Harm gave her a look that was a silent thank-you. They were both worried about all the changes piled on Aaron over the past few months. Although he seemed to be adjusting very well, he was starting to suffer from not having friends his own age to play with. He often asked to go to the Allans’ to play with Marty, the foster child he had shared a room with.

“That reminds me,” Aaron said suddenly, looking up at Mac with those big eyes of his. “My mom always took me shopping for school clothes at the end of summer break. Are you going to take me this year?”

Harm could see Mac trying to hide her shock, but she wasn’t quite succeeding. He wasn’t sure he was doing much better. Eyes wide, she slowly turned to him, but spoke to Aaron. “I don’t know. Maybe your dad would like to do that.”

“No,” Harm said quickly, “I mean yes, but—” Aaron’s gaze bounced back and forth between them, confusion written all over his face. Harm took a deep breath, buying a second to sort out his thoughts. “If you want Mac to take you, it’s all right with me.”

Mac’s expression smoothed suddenly, a smile settling in. “Why don’t we all go? We don’t have anything to do tomorrow.”

Aaron smiled up at both of them. “Okay, and when we’re done, can we go for ice cream?”

It was Mac’s turn to ruffle his hair. “That depends on how worn out us old folks get, now go wash up. Dinner’s ready to go in the oven so it won’t be long before we eat.”

Aaron dutifully headed for the bathroom. The minute he was gone, Harm turned to her. “Nice save there, Mac. He caught us both off guard that time.”

“He sure did. I never would have expected him to ask me something like that.”

“He was probably hoping you’d let him eat a ton of junk food,” he replied with a grin.

Mac watched Harm turn to put the lasagna in the oven. He was obviously teasing, but the explanation came out a little too quickly, as though he was trying to convince her it didn’t bother him that Aaron had asked her to take the lead role in this particular family ritual. When he straightened, she slid her arms around his neck.

“Don’t read too much into this, Harm. His whole life, it’s been just him and his mom. He’s used to having a woman in the parental role, that’s all.”

“I know,” he said softly. “Why do you think I’m so glad he’s got you around?” His eyes lit with that special glow reserved just for her. “I’m glad I’ve got you around too.”

She started to chuckle, but he stifled it with a kiss that quickly took on a life of its own. His arms tightened around her as he pulled her close.

“Aw, you guys! Do ya havta be so mushy all the time?”

Reluctantly ending the kiss, Mac turned to Aaron. He was standing in the doorway, his hands still dripping wet. Getting him to wash his hands was a little easier these days. Convincing him to dry them was still in the works.

Harm drew back slightly, smiling down at his son, but Mac felt his hands discretely tighten on her backside. “You just wait a few years, kid. You’ll figure out just how much fun the mushy stuff can be.”

“No way!” Aaron replied in all seriousness. “I’m never gonna kiss a girl!”

Harm turned his grin to Mac. “I wish I had that on tape so I could play it back to him when he’s about sixteen.”

She laughed and eased out of his arms. “He’s right, Aaron. You’ll change your mind in a few years, but for now, how about helping this girl set the table?”

~~~~~

The next day, after a lazy Sunday breakfast, they headed out to one of the department stores in a nearby mall. After two hours, Harm and Mac were discussing how to rig a line on Aaron without tripping the other shoppers. Mac had already concluded it was either that or attach a homing beacon. She had never met a kid who could disappear faster or reappear more suddenly. Every time he pulled a disappearing act, Mac was grateful for Harm’s extra height. He somehow managed to keep an eye on Aaron even when the crowds of back-to-school shoppers got so thick she couldn’t see a thing.

As they threaded their way through the kids’ clothing section for one last recon mission, Harm put a hand on her arm. “I’m going to find the head. Don’t break the bank while I’m gone.”

She glanced into the nearly full shopping cart. “I think it’s too late.”

Chuckling, Harm ducked down the next aisle. Mac turned to Aaron. “Okay, we’ve got shirts, pants, a jacket, mitts and hats. If we can find you some shoes, we’ll have you outfitted from head to toe.”

“I saw shoes over there,” he offered, pointing to his left.

“Then lead on. I’ll follow you.”

Marching proudly in front of the cart, Aaron led the way to the shoe department. The moment they got there, he ran straight to a display of garish red and blue sneakers. “These are cool! Can I have these?”

“Well, it will be hard to lose them,” she teased. “Let’s see if we can find your size.”

She started searching the rack. Aaron helped for a minute, then darted off when something else caught his attention. He was back a moment later with a pair of oxfords. “Can I get these too? I can wear them at the wedding. You said I get to wear a tuxedo, so I can’t wear sneakers.”

“It’s quite a while till the wedding. We’ll make sure you have shoes but we don’t have to do it today.” She patted for him to have a seat on the bench beside the running shoe display and held out a pair of the brightly colored shoes. “Here, try these on.”

He sat down and watched as she knelt and slipped the shoes on his feet. “I think it’s good you’re marrying my dad.”

“Do you now?” she said with a smile, tugging on the laces of his left shoe.

“Yeah, that way if he dies, there will be someone to look after me.”

Mac froze, feeling like she’d been punched in the gut. “Oh honey,” she brushed at the hair on his forehead. “He’s not going to die.”

“My mom did,” he said quietly.

“I know, but that was an accident, Aaron. Things like that don’t happen often.” She moved over and sat down beside him. “Do you worry a lot about something happening to your dad?”

“Not a lot,” he replied, “but I do think about it sometimes.”

“Well, you know what…so do I.”

His eyes went wide. “You do?”

“Sure I do. It’s natural to worry sometimes about the people we care about, but we have to try really hard not to worry so much we get unhappy,” she explained gently. “Do you understand?”

“I think so,” he said hesitantly.

“I’ll make you a deal,” she suggested. “If you start to get too worried, you tell me, and I’ll do the same, okay?”

“Okay, it’s a deal.” He slipped off the bench, admiring his new shoes.

“What’s a deal?”

Mac looked up as Harm approached. She rose to her feet and slipped her hand into his. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

She waited until they got home and had taken the tags off Aaron’s new clothes and folded them. While he was putting them away, she and Harm went out to the living room. She told him briefly about Aaron’s comment in the shoe department.

The moment he heard it, a dark sadness claimed his features. He instantly started to push off the couch, but she put a restraining hand on his arm. “Don’t bring it up right now. You know what kids are like. If you make a big deal out of something, they’ll figure it’s something worth making a big deal out of.”

He frowned. “That’s pretty twisted logic.”

“We’re dealing with the logic of a seven-year-old,” she reminded him. “I know you want to protect him, but you can’t be inside his head, censoring his thoughts. You’ll have to trust me on this. He might not even want to admit to you how much he thinks about his mom’s death, or about what might happen to you, but he and I have a deal now. I’m a third party, an outsider, so I might be a little easier to talk to in this case.”

He flopped back against the couch, but grabbed her hand in the process. “You’re not an outsider, Mac. He thinks of the three of us as a family…and so do I.”

She smiled, touched by the tenderness in his voice and in his eyes. “I do, too, but the fact is, I’m not a part of the special bond between the two of you.”

His expression clouded even further. “Mac, I—”

She silenced him with a finger to his lips. “Don’t take that the wrong way. I don’t expect to ever be a part of that, any more than he will ever be a part of the special relationship between us. We can use the distance between Aaron and me.”

“I don’t think there’s as much distance as you think,” he said softly. “Remember, you’re the one he asked to take him shopping.”

“He does feel a bond with me,” she admitted, “but it’s different than what he felt for his mom, or what he feels for you. I’m more like a friend and sometimes it’s easier to talk to friends. Besides…” She brushed her fingertips over his hair, just as she had with Aaron. “He and I share one very special thing. We both love you.”

~~~~~

Aaron started school the following week. Harm wasn’t sure who was more nervous, Aaron, Mac, or him. Their new sitter was a godsend, offering to pick Aaron up after school and even take him in the morning if Harm and Mac had to go in early. Mrs. Bailey was a retired teacher who lived in Mac’s building. Having a sitter right in the same building was just one more advantage to living there.

Harm was worried at first that Aaron might miss playing with Marty every day, but he was too caught up in the excitement of a new school year to miss his playmate. Still, Harm promised him he would be allowed to visit occasionally on weekends.

Friday afternoon, Harm made arrangements to pick Aaron up from school himself for the long awaited ship tour. They drove out to Norfolk and made their way across the base to where the mammoth carrier was docked.

The moment they stepped on board, Harm was assaulted by a thousand memories. Suddenly, he was five years old again and following his own father around a carrier, tripping over knee-knockers in his frantic attempt to see everything at once. The sounds, the smells, it was remarkable how little they had changed over the years, despite the drastic change in aircraft carriers and the planes that flew from them.

By the time they moved inside the metal beast, Aaron was at serious risk for whiplash. Harm chuckled, vividly remembering the feeling.

“Don’t trip,” he said automatically, pointing to a knee-knocker, but Aaron stepped over the high threshold without a problem. He was bigger and didn’t have to lift his knee damn near to his ear to get over the blasted things the way Harm had during his childhood tour of the Hornet.

He wished they weren’t in port so Aaron could experience the thrill of watching a fighter jet being catapulted off the deck, but today he would have to make due with showing the kid the planes as they sat on the hanger deck, patiently waiting for their next call to service. The planes waited patiently, the pilots did not. Harm felt his blood stir just looking at the row of Tomcats.

Aaron gazed up at him, wide-eyed. “You fly one of these?”

“Every chance I get,” Harm replied with a grin.

“Wow! That must be way better than the little plane you took me in!”

“Most of the time, but I get to fly the little plane just for fun. When I get in one of these, it’s for serious work,” Harm explained.

“I bet it’s still fun,” Aaron muttered. “Can I see inside?”

“I think we can arrange that.”

A quick word with the plane captain was all it took and a few minutes later, Harm was swamped by another wave of déjà vu as he lifted his son into the cockpit. His own father’s voice ringing in his ears, Harm watched Aaron excitedly scan the controls then turn to him, eyes filled with wonder. “Flying one of these must be the greatest job in the world!”

“I used to think so,” Harm admitted, “but I finally figured out that it wasn’t the only job in the world.”

Aaron’s expression melted into confusion, making Harm chuckle. “Never mind, I’m just thinking out loud. I know you’d like to stay in there all day, but there’s lot of other stuff to see. Come on out now.”

Aaron reluctantly allowed Harm to help him out of the cockpit. As they left the hanger deck, Aaron longingly glanced back over his shoulder toward the silent row of planes and Harm had to resist the urge to do the same thing himself.

They spent another two hours exploring the ship. The one advantage to having the ship in port was that Harm was able to arrange for a quick visit to the bridge. Following protocol, the first thing he did was pay his respects to the captain. After acknowledging him, the skipper turned his attention to Aaron. “He looks a lot like you did at that age.”

“Yes sir,” Harm replied, trying hide his discomfort as several junior officers gave very soft chuckles. There were plenty of places where Harm didn’t object to being reminded he’d once been a skinny kid full of dreams, but the bridge of a carrier wasn’t one of them.

The skipper chatted with Aaron for a few minutes, then Harm showed him around quickly and got out before they overstayed their welcome. By then, he was starting to get hungry, so Aaron was probably famished. The kid used a lot of fuel in a day.

“Time to head home, champ.”

“Okay, but can we come back again? This was really cool.”

Harm chuckled as he led the way off the ship. “We’ll see. It probably won’t be for awhile, though. The ship has to get back to work pretty soon.”

“Okay, but I sure wish Mac could have come with us,” Aaron commented.

“Me too,” Harm said honestly. He would have loved for her to see Aaron’s wide-eyed wonder. “Maybe next time. She had a doctor’s appointment today. Everyone in the military has to have a checkup every year.”

Aaron made a face. “Yuck! I have to see the doctor every year too and sometimes he sticks me with a needle. Do you think Mac had to get a needle?”

“I don’t know, maybe. Why don’t you ask her when we get home.”

“Okay, but I bet if she did get one, she cried. Girls always cry about stuff like that.”

Harm laughed out loud. “Not if they’re Marines, champ. Not if they’re Marines.”

~~~~~

Nervous tension had Mac’s stomach churning painfully by the time she got home. The minute she opened the door, Aaron came flying at her. “Mac, Mac! You should have seen that ship! It was incredible. There were all these planes right down inside it. Dad explained how they get them up on top so they can fly, but it looks hard to me. I even got to sit in one of the planes like Daddy used to fly.”

She smiled at his excitement, trading a look with Harm as he stood watching, a grin on his face that mirrored Aaron’s. “I’ve been on a carrier,” she told the boy, “and you’re right, it is pretty cool. I guess this means you had fun, huh?”

“We sure did! Dad said we can go back again someday and maybe you can come too.”

Harm stepped forward, dropping a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Slow down a little. Give the lady time to get in the door.”

“Sorry,” Aaron mumbled quickly.

“That’s okay,” she told him, “but I do need to talk to your dad. Would you mind playing in your room for a few minutes?”

“Okay,” he replied brightly, bounding off to his bedroom.

A frown settled on Harm’s face. “What’s up?”

She went to the couch and sat down, patting the seat beside her. His frown darkening another notch, Harm joined her. “Is something wrong?”

“Not really, at least, I don’t think so. You know I had my annual physical today.”

“Yes,” he said slowly.

“Well…” She took a deep breath. “They found something on one of the tests.”

~~~~~

Harm quit breathing. He frantically searched her face but he couldn’t read her expression. Swallowing hard, he forced air into his lungs. “Are you okay?”

“I will be,” she replied softly.

“Do you…need some kind of treatment?”

“Well, yes, it does require treatment, but the condition will eventually clear up on its own…in a little less than nine months.”

The world simply quit turning. For a long, long moment he simply stared at her. A tiny, tentative smile tugged at her mouth, but her eyes were filled with anxious concern. He knew she was waiting for him to say something, but his brain and his mouth suddenly seemed no longer connected. He swallowed again. “A...baby?”

She gave a very tiny nod.

No matter how hard he tried, Harm couldn’t get his brain functioning properly. He continued to stare at her, frantically trying to pull it all together.

“Harm, say something,” she pleaded softly.

He coughed slightly. “Oh babe, I’m trying.”

“Are you…okay with this? Tell me how you’re feeling.”

“Stunned,” he admitted. “I…I thought you were…protected.”

“I was, I mean I am. I must have missed a day or something. I’m not sure how it happened, but I don’t think that’s what’s important now.”

The raging turmoil in her dark eyes wasn’t helping him regain his balance, so he finally dragged his gaze away, letting it drop to the coffee table. “No, I guess you’re right about that.”

She snagged his hand in a fierce grip. “Talk to me,” she hissed. “I need to know how you feel about this.”

“I…uh…as soon as I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know.” Her expression hardened and he realized she had misunderstood. “Mac, I’m sorry. I honestly don’t know what I’m feeling right now. What about you? How do you feel?”

“I…I don’t know either,” she admitted. “We talked about having more kids, but…”

“But I think we’d both figured on at least having the wedding first,” he finished for her.

She nodded, her gaze locked on their clasped hands. Some small corner of Harm’s brain was finally starting to function again and he saw the fear in her expression. He caught her other hand and folded them both between his. “Are you…do you want to…end the—”

Her head sprang up. “No!”

He wasn’t even sure when he asked the question what he wanted her answer to be but he couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped from his chest. “Me neither,” he admitted softly, feeling the truth of his words settling over him.

“Then we…what? What are we going to do?” she asked quietly.

“Honey,” he pulled her into his arms, “what we’re going to do is have a baby.”

~~~~~

Throughout dinner and all through the routine of getting Aaron ready for bed, Harm found himself stealing glances at Mac and more often than not, he caught her looking back. Aaron was still too excited about his carrier visit to notice, but Harm couldn’t help feeling as though he was acting like a little kid himself, a kid with a secret he was bursting to tell.

His head was still reeling with the implications of Mac’s announcement, but he couldn’t suppress the growing wave of elation spreading through him. He’d barely begun adjusting to being a father and now, he was going to be one again, and this time, he would have the chance to be there from day one – and even before that – to see his child grow. As an added, incredibly special bonus, he would be sharing all those special moments with the woman he loved. It was one hell of a cliché, but it fit: it didn’t get any better than this.

There was no denying it was going to change things all over again and create some hassles and challenges they weren’t expecting to face just yet, but there was something else he couldn’t deny. He was anticipating every moment of it.

When Aaron was finally tucked into bed, Harm claimed his favorite seat in the corner of the sofa, resting his arm cross the back cushions in a gesture that had become a silent invitation for Mac to join him. As always, she did, burrowing down beside him and resting her head on his chest. Every time she did that, he had to suppress a chuckle. Who would have thought – his tough-as-nails Marine was a cuddler!

Tonight, however, he could feel the tension in her usually lithe frame. Wrapping his arm around her, he gave her a squeeze. “Want to talk about it?”

“I guess we’d better,” she replied softly.

He shifted slightly, craning his neck to look her in the eye. “Not if you don’t want to. If you need some time to think….”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way.” She sat up, turning to face him. “Lord knows I do need time to think, but I need to talk this out, too.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, not quite sure what she meant by that.

“I…I need to know if you want this.” The hesitancy was so unlike her, it had his mental alarms going off all over the place.

“Do you?”

There was a long pause as her dark, glowing eyes searched his face. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. “Yes, I do.”

“So do I,” he replied just as softly. “Mac, if you had asked me if I wanted to have a baby right away, I probably would have said no. Hell, I think we did have that conversation, didn’t we? But the fact is, we are going to have a baby and now that I’m getting over the initial shock, I’m starting to realize just how much I do want it.”

“It will mean even more changes,” she said in a warning tone.

“Yes, it will,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“Sleepless nights, dirty diapers,” a small smile crept onto her lips, “puked-on uniforms.”

“Bring it on,” he whispered.

She threw her arms around him, kissing his neck. As the shared joy flowed through him, his humor got the better of him. Nuzzling her neck, he chuckled. “You haven’t seen a puked-on uniform till you’ve done shore leave with a bunch of aviators.”

She laughed. “Or a group of Marines winding down. I guess our military training is about to come in handy again.”

“You bet it is,” he teased. “When we get two kids’ worth of toys spread around this place, we’re going to have an obstacle course to challenge even the best SEAL.”

Sitting back slightly, she surveyed the apartment. “Oh God, Harm, now even this place will be too small!”

He pulled her back into his arms. “So we’ll buy a house.”

She drew back abruptly, spearing him with a suspicious gaze. “That was a pretty quick answer.”

He shrugged. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I hadn’t planned on doing it quite this soon, but it’s a natural next step.”

“I suppose, but are you sure about all this?” she asked again.

“About the baby? Yes, I’m sure? About the house? We can talk about it, but I think it might be a good idea.” He paused a moment. “I hate to tell you this, but there’s another part of our timetable that will have to be adjusted.”

“What?” she asked with a frown.

“The wedding. Are you really going to want to put on a wedding dress six months from now?”

Her eyes went wide. “Good Lord, no!”

He couldn’t help laughing at her vehement response. “I didn’t think so.”

“But do we move it up or put it off till after the baby is born?” she asked.

“Well, I know which I’d choose, but what do you want to do?”

“Uh-uh.” She waggled a finger at him. “I asked you first.”

“I’d rather move it up,” he admitted, half hoping she wouldn’t ask him why. It suddenly seemed hopelessly old fashioned, but if he had the choice, he wanted to be married to his baby’s mother before the child was born.

As if she could read his mind, a tender smile appeared on her face. “I can understand that.”

“Think we can pull it off?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but we can try.”

He smiled and, rising to his feet, he pulled her up and into his arms. “That’s all anyone can ask for.” He kissed her, long and slow, then tipped his head toward the bedroom. “Come on.”

“But it’s only nine o’clock. I’m not ready to go to sleep.”

He fixed her with a pointed look. “Who said anything about going to sleep?”

A provocative smile slipped onto her face and she silently held out her hand. He took it and led her into the bedroom.

Slowly and lovingly, he removed her clothing, treasuring every sigh and gasp that escaped from her lips. Pulling back the bedcovers, he gently guided her down on the cool sheets then, after taking a moment to strip down, stretched out beside her. He couldn’t help the feeling of reverence washing over him as he skimmed his hands over her body, knowing that in just a few months, that familiar form would change as their baby grew within her.

They spent long moments exploring each other, silently sharing in a new closeness neither of them could put in to words – and neither of them needed to. When he finally entered her, it was with the same gentle care and reverence, but he was totally unprepared for the wave of emotion that crashed over him. Completely overwhelmed, he froze, the breath locked in his throat.

Fighting for control over something utterly beyond anything he had ever experienced, he felt her raise her hips, silently urging him to move. Wrapping his arms around her, he rolled, settling her above him. Instantly, she set the pace, carrying them both away to a world of pure, exquisite sensation.

~~~~~

Harm awoke early the next morning. A dream he couldn’t remember left him filled with a heady warmth that had him reaching for Mac before his eyes were even open. She wasn’t there.

Suddenly fully awake, he rose and slipped into his robe, cinching it tight around his waist as he padded out into the living room. It too was empty but a moment later, he heard the tell-tales sounds coming from the bathroom. “Uh-oh.”

Hurrying in through the open door, he knelt beside Mac just as she raised her head and wiped her mouth. Her face was a pasty gray, her lips pursed tight and nearly colorless. As she dropped the lid and flushed, he quickly dampened a cloth and handed it to her. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, using the cloth to cleanse her face and throat. “It must be the power of suggestion. I felt fine before I found out yesterday.”

“Well, here’s hoping your stomach quits listening to those suggestions. Can I get you something? I don’t imagine you feel like eating?”

“Believe it or not, I do. I think something fairly bland would probably help.”

“Toast?” he suggested quickly.

“Sounds perfect.”

He extended a hand and pulled her to her feet. He tried to kiss her but she ducked sideways and grabbed her toothbrush from the counter. Chuckling, he settled for kissing her cheek. He turned to go start the toast and found Aaron standing in the doorway, blinking sleepily. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Harm said quickly. “Mac’s not feeling good this morning, but she’ll be okay.”

They hadn’t even talked about what or when to tell Aaron about the changes that were about to take over their lives. He glanced at Mac, using a look to silently ask for her input. She hesitated a moment, then gave a slight nod. He returned it, then dropped a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Come on, help me get breakfast started. I want to tell you something.”

Aaron dutifully followed him to the kitchen, his Spiderman pajamas adding a splash of color to the room. Harm got the bread out and poured three glasses of orange juice. As soon as he saw the bread, Aaron got his small footstool from the corner and positioned it in front of the toaster then stepped up. Sipping his juice, Harm handed him four slices of bread and watched him pop them into the toaster. They had a well-rehearsed morning routine by now.

“Aaron, do you remember when we talked about babies growing in their mother’s tummies?”

“Yeah, when we talked about why you didn’t know about me.”

Harm nodded. “Well, Mac is going to be a mother. She has a baby inside her now.”

He watched Aaron’s expression as he thought this over. “Are you the daddy?”

Harm nearly choked on his juice. He recovered as quickly as he could, knowing Aaron couldn’t understand the significance of that question. “Yes, I’m the daddy.”

Aaron ruminated on this a moment. “If you’re that baby’s dad and my dad, then…”

“Then the baby will be your brother or sister,” Harm finished for him, waiting anxiously to see Aaron’s reaction to that.

A small frown crept onto the boy’s face but a moment later, his expression smoothed. “I guess that’s okay, ‘cuz I’ll still be the oldest. I want a brother, though, not a sister.”

Harm laughed. “We don’t get to choose, son.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t get to choose what?” Mac asked from the doorway.

“Whether he gets a brother or a sister,” Harm told her, handing her a glass of juice.

She took a small sip and immediately put the glass aside. Harm nodded and got the kettle out. Maybe tea would be more appealing to a temperamental stomach.

“Let me guess,” she said, ruffling Aaron’s hair, “you want a brother, right?”

“Yeah. A brother would be way more fun than a sister.”

“You can do anything with a baby sister that you would do with a baby brother,” she explained.

“Naw, girls don’t like to play baseball or ride skateboards,” he replied quickly.

“Some do,” she countered. “I like baseball. In fact, I’m better at it than your dad is.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” he said in mock defense, “but she’s right. Girls can do anything they want.”

“Well, maybe,” Aaron admitted grudgingly. “Do you think she’ll want to be a Marine like you?”

Mac laughed. “Who knows. If it is a girl, she might even decide to be a squid.” She shot a teasing look at Harm. “But if she does, I’ll try and talk her out of it.”

He laughed and abandoned buttering the toast to grab her around the waist and nibble on her neck. “Don’t you dare!”

Grinning, Aaron piped up. “Maybe she’ll want to be in the Air Force instead.”

Simultaneously, Harm and Mac turned to him, speaking in stereo. “Bite your tongue!”

All three of them dissolved into a fit of laughter.

JAG HQ – 08:03 EDT

Wondering if he was as nervous as she was, Mac exchanged a quick glance with Harm as they stepped into the admiral’s office. Only someone who knew Harm as well as she did would see the slight signs of tension in taut set of his mouth. Apparently, the admiral knew him just as well. He glanced up from his work and immediately set it aside. “What can I do for the two of you?”

“Well, sir…” she started. He waved them to a chair and she sat down before continuing. “Admiral, something’s come up that you need to be aware of.”

“You’re pregnant.”

Mac stared at him in complete shock. “How did you…”

“I guessed,” the admiral replied, “but it was a pretty safe bet, looking at the two of you this morning. Just found out, did you?”

“Yes sir,” she said softly. “On Friday.”

“Well, Colonel, Commander, I guess more congratulations are in order, but I sincerely hope you aren’t going to ask for maternity leave. We’re swamped here already.”

“No, sir. I intend to work through the pregnancy.” To be honest, she hadn’t even given that any thought yet, but she recognized the truth in her words as she spoke them.

Harm finally spoke up. “Sir, the reason we came to see you today is to tell you that, in light of…current developments, we’ve decided to move up the wedding.”

“And since we’re already stretching the regulations to the breaking point, you’re wondering how to get around the fraternization issue,” the admiral added.

“Yes sir,” Harm replied quietly.

The admiral nodded and turned to Mac. “Colonel, you seemed to enjoy your time behind the bench. How would you like to do more of it?”

She frowned. “I wouldn’t mind, sir, but…”

“Transferring you to the Judiciary Branch would even out the personnel quite effectively, don’t you think?” The thinly veiled hint in the admiral’s tone was clear.

She exchanged a look with Harm. “I guess it would.”

“Good, then I’ll start the paperwork for your transfer. Is there anything else?”

She shot Harm another look. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

“No, sir,” she replied.

“Then dismissed.”

Leaving the office, they silently threaded their way through the bullpen to Harm’s office. The moment they got inside, he turned to her. “Is it my imagination, or was that a whole lot easier than it should have been?”

“Easier than I was expecting, yes, but I think in his own way, the admiral is trying to help us out as much as he can.”

“No kidding, but are you okay with transferring?” he asked.

She had to think about that, but not for very long. “Yes, I am. It’s another one of those things that is a natural progression.”

“I guess, but…”

“But what?” she prompted.

“Well, we aren’t going to be working together anymore,” he pointed out. “Not the way we do now.”

“I know, but we’ll get used to it.”

He shook his head with a rueful grin. “I’m not sure how much more I can get used to.”

“I know what you mean. Anyway, I need to get on with my day. Let’s meet for lunch, okay?”

“Sure. I want to talk to you about something, but we can do it then.”

~~~~~

That cryptic comment left Mac wondering all morning, but when lunchtime rolled around, he didn’t keep her waiting any longer. As soon as they sat down in the little café they’d chosen, he brought up what was on his mind. “I’ve been thinking more about it and I really do think we should buy a house.”

Mac sipped her water, buying a moment to collect her thoughts. “I do too, but can we afford it?”

He chuckled. “We’ll manage. The mortgage won’t be a problem, so all we have to do is pull together enough for a down payment.”

“We might have to pool our resources to do it,” she pointed out.

A slight frown settled on his brow. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” she said quickly, “but I don’t want to run dry either.”

“Tell you what, we’ll sit down tonight and figure out what we can manage comfortably, okay? If it looks like we can pull it off, we can start looking.”

Mac gazed at him for a moment, suddenly struck by how it felt to be sitting her talking with him about mortgages and down payments. It was so mundane, so…domestic – and so completely right. With very little conscious effort, she and Harm had become a team in ways they had never been before. Their blossoming love for each other had bound them at a level she’d only dreamed of and now the impending addition to their family was deepening that bond even further.

~~~~~

The following Saturday, Harm and Mac set out on an adventure neither of them had expected to live for at least a few more years. Harm also hadn’t expected the whole idea to be quite so much fun. Aaron was excited enough for all three of them put together, rattling off a long list of things he wanted their new home to have. Harm drew the line at a pool.

“They’re a total pain,” he told his son. “You have to clean them all the time and monitor the water, and they’re only good for part of the year, then you have to drain them for the winter.”

“We could let the water freeze,” Aaron suggested. “Then we could skate on it.”

Harm groaned. The kid had an answer for everything.

After checking a few sources, they had decided to shop around on their own for a while before getting a realtor working on their behalf. Mac had found a few listings she wanted to check out further and since one of them was an exclusive with an independent realty firm not far from the apartment, they decided to make it their first stop.

They pulled into the parking lot of the Watson Realty Corp. a few minutes later. There were only two people in the office, a receptionist and a slightly scruffy looking man who shot to his feet the moment they came in. “Hi there, Larry Steadman.” He stuck out his hand to Harm. “How can I help you today?”

Harm took an immediate dislike to the man. He was too slick, too phony. A quick glance at Mac confirmed that she felt the same way, but apparently, she was willing to give the guy a chance. She stepped forward. “We’d like some information on one of your listings.”

“By all means.” He gestured to a desk near the back of the room. “Come on back and have a seat.”

Leading the way, Steadman gathered three chairs in front of the desk. Harm put Aaron in the middle chair so both he and Mac could keep an eye on him. Steadman smiled at Aaron. “What’s your name, little man?”

“Aaron, and I’m not little. I’m almost eight.”

“Oh, sorry, my mistake,” Steadman replied with a smile. He turned to Mac. “So, what type of home are you looking for?”

She identified the listing she was interested in.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sounding sincere. “That one sold yesterday, but if you give me some idea of what you’re after, I’m sure I have others that would work for you.”

They spent nearly twenty minutes talking about what Harm and Mac wanted in a house and discussing price range, neighborhoods, etc. Steadman made some notes as they talked. “So, I’m guessing both of you work, probably for the government.”

Harm exchanged a glance with Mac. “You could say that.”

He could almost hear the adding machine rattling in Steadman’s head, totaling up the salaries of two middle management civil servants, and Harm wasn’t about to set him straight. Steadman made a few more notes, then put his pen down. “I think I have just the place for you. It’s vacant, so if you’d like, we can go have a look right now.”

Harm and Mac exchanged another look. She hesitated a moment, then shrugged. “Why not? It can’t hurt to look.”

They followed Steadman out to a quiet neighborhood of older, well kept homes. He’d told them the house had four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and, as Harm stood staring at the place, damn near as much square footage as a carrier deck! At least, it looked that way to him.

Once they were inside, however, he started to change his mind. Even devoid of furniture, the place had a cozy feel. They let Steadman lead them on a tour of the house, then wandered through it again on their own. Stopping in the den, Harm turned to Mac. “What do you think?”

“I like it,” she replied, “but it’s a bit more than we can comfortably afford. I don’t know if we could even come up with the down payment.”

“Yeah, we could,” he countered, “but it would take more than half of our combined savings.”

She slowly looked around the room, her expression distant, as if she was surveying the entire house. “No. Let’s keep looking.”

“Fine by me. After all, this is the first one we’ve seen.” He turned to find the realtor and discovered him standing in the doorway.

“Worried about the down payment?” he asked.

“We could pull it off,” Harm replied, “but it would take too big a bite out of our savings. It’s just too much house.”

Steadman shrugged. “There are lots of others available. I’m sure we’ll find the right one for you.”

Harm made a show of checking his watch. “We’re out of time today, but we’ll be in touch.”

Knowing when he was getting the brush-off, Steadman nodded. “Call me any time.”

Mac collected Aaron from the other room and Harm helped herd him out the door. On the front stoop, they nearly collided with a short, beefy man in a slightly rumpled suit. He muttered an apology and brushed past them, shouting through the open door. “Steadman? Your secretary said you were here. You can’t keep dodging me, now get your butt out here!”

Steadman appeared at the door and frantically waved the man inside. Harm and Mac watched the exchange, then hustled Aaron down to the car. If Harm had doubts about dealing with the man before, he had even more of them now. “We definitely need to keep looking,” he told her, not just talking about houses.

“Agreed,” she replied emphatically.

~~~~~

Sweat suddenly pooling in all kinds of uncomfortable places, Larry Steadman nearly dragged Barnes in off the stoop. “Keep your voice down! Those folks out there are potential customers!”

“Yeah, well you’d better get off your ass and sell ‘em something big. I’m tired of waiting for my money,” Barnes growled.

“I’m doing the best I can,” Steadman insisted. “You’ll just have to be patient.”

“Patient! What do I look like, a saint? I’ve already given you two extensions and that’s all you get. If I don’t have my money by next Friday, you’re going to have a bunch more expenses to worry about – hospital expenses!”

Fear trickled down Steadman’s spine. Barnes would make good on his threat. He’d known that when he’d gone to the loan shark, but what else was he supposed to do. The boss ordered an audit on the books and would have found out about the money he’d “borrowed”. Thanks to Barnes, Steadman had been able to put the money back in time, so he still had a job, but sales had been slow lately and he hadn’t been all that lucky with the ponies. He couldn’t come up with the forty thousand dollars Barnes was demanding, not in a week, not even in a month!

Frantically searching for some way out, he stared out the big picture window of the home’s living room. “Ken and Barbie” were standing beside their car, talking. The kid tugged on his old man’s sleeve and said something. The tall, clean-cut bureaucrat smiled down at the kid and tweaked his nose. Steadman started to turn away, disgusted by the scene, but then froze, a plan taking root in his mind.

Very slowly, he turned to Barnes. “You want your money, I can get it for you, but you’ll have to help me.”

~~~~~

MACKENZIE/RABB APARTMENT – Monday 07:03 EDT

Harm helped Aaron load his backpack with the things he needed for school. It was one of those silly packs that looked like a furry animal clinging to the kid’s back, but Aaron loved it. “Now don’t forget, look for either me or Mrs. Bailey after school today. If I can get away early enough, I’ll pick you up so we can go look at some more houses.”

“Okay, but Mac’s coming too, right?”

“Of course she is but she has meetings today so she’s taking her own car to work. We’re going to meet somewhere after work instead of coming all the way back here.”

“Gotcha.” Aaron made a grab for his handheld video game but Harm intercepted.

“You’re not taking that to school.”

“Aw, why not? I only play it at recess and lunchtime.”

“Because if you lose it, you’ll be mad. Besides you should be out playing in the fresh air at lunchtime.” He put the game back on the dresser. “It will be here when you get home, now let’s get rolling. Mrs. Bailey will be here any minute.”

Reluctantly, Aaron left the game and followed Harm out to the living room. Harm watched him locate first one then the other shoe and take them to the couch. Automatically, he knelt to tie them up, but Aaron squirmed away. “I can do it!”

Stepping back, Harm watched as Aaron carefully, if a bit clumsily, tied his shoes. When he beamed up at him, Harm smiled, hoping to hide the slight twinge of melancholy. Aaron had only been in his life a few months and already he was acutely aware of how quickly his son was growing up. Part of him reveled in seeing Aaron master new skills on his way to becoming an independent person, but another part of him wanted to keep his son this age forever, still filled with wonder at everyday things.

Mrs. Bailey arrived a few minutes later, ready to take Aaron down to her apartment for a short time before taking him to school. As always, Harm gave him a huge bear hug, eliciting a screeching giggle. That was Mac’s cue and she came out of the bedroom to give Aaron a kiss and a hug of her own.

“Have a good day,” she told him.

“I will. You too. Bye, Dad, see you this afternoon.”

“See you later, champ.” Harm waved as Mrs. Bailey took Aaron’s hand and led him out of the apartment.

As the door closed, Harm turned and took Mac in his arms. “As much as I love that kid, I don’t mind getting some time alone with you either.”

She snickered, returning his kiss, but was soon squirming. “Maybe so, but we don’t have much time this morning. I’ve got to go or I’ll be late for my interview with McAllister.”

Reluctantly, he let her go. “I know, but I can always dream. I’ll be out of the office most of the morning, too, but let’s try to touch base this afternoon and figure out where to meet after I pick up Aaron.”

“Okay. If all goes well, I should be back in the office by around two. I’ll catch up with you then.”

He nodded. “It’s a deal.”

~~~~~

As so often happened, all of Harm’s best laid plans came unraveled at the last minute. At thirteen-thirty, he got a call that one of his clients had attempted to escape from the secure barracks. He hadn’t succeeded, but now he was demanding to see his attorney. Heaving a sigh, he disconnected that call and immediately dialed Mac’s cell phone. She answered on the second ring.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“Just pulling into the parking lot, why?”

“I’ve got to go deal with a situation. Can you call Mrs. Bailey and tell her to pick up Aaron after all. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“Sure. So we’ll meet at home instead?”

“Yeah. Hopefully, this won’t take too long, so we might still have time to go look at a couple of places. I’ll stay in touch.”

“Sounds good. Talk to you later.”

Harm hung up and grabbed his cover. He wasn’t going to be pleased if a petulant seaman disrupted all of his plans for the afternoon, and he was damn well going to be sure the seaman knew it.

~~~~~

Mac half expected to meet Harm in the elevator, but he must have taken the stairs because he was already gone when she got into the office. Secretly, she was almost glad their plans had changed. She had a mountain of work on her desk and now she could use the afternoon to clear some of it up. She put in the call to Mrs. Bailey, then got down to work.

She came up for air almost an hour and a half later. Snagging her now-cold cup of coffee, she carried it to the kitchen and dumped it then refilled the cup with fresh coffee. Taking a sip, she let the strong hot liquid slide down her throat. Nothing could fortify a person like a good strong cup of coffee.

Turning, she headed back to her office and almost collided with Lt. Simms as she hurried into the room. “Oh there you are, ma’am. Your sitter is on the phone. She sounds…upset.”

Mac’s nerves instantly snapped to. Mrs. Bailey wasn’t the type to get upset easily. Hurrying into her office, she grabbed the phone and punched up the line. “Mrs. Bailey, it’s Mac. What’s wrong?”

As she listened to the distraught woman, every nerve Mac owned went on high alert. She struggled against an unfamiliar rise of panic, forcefully pushing it down so she could think straight.

“No, you did the right thing,” she told Mrs. Bailey. “I’ll get in touch with Harm and we’ll be right there.”

Harriett was still standing in the doorway, a worried expression on her face. “Is everything all right, ma’am?”

“No, it’s not.” Mac grabbed the phone and dialed Harm’s cell. He answered immediately. “Where are you?”

“Just on my way back. I should be there in about two minutes. What’s up?”

She suffered a moment of indecision, then went with her heart. She wanted to be face to face when she told him. “I’ll meet you in the parking lot. Hurry.”

Harm heard the call disconnect before he could respond, but his heart was already racing. There was something in Mac’s voice that set off all his alarm bells. He hit the gas and arrived in the parking lot in record time, but Mac was already there, waiting beside his parking spot.

He jumped out of the car, his alert status kicking up a notch. She looked like hell. “What’s wrong?”

She came forward, taking both of his hands in hers. She swallowed hard and real fear settled in the pit of his stomach.

“Harm, Mrs. Bailey called. She can’t find Aaron anywhere and none of the teachers have seen him either. They think someone’s taken him.”

~~~~~

Mind-numbing terror slammed through Harm and for an instant, Mac’s strong grip was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Then years of training kicked in, training that demanded action when faced with a threat. Yanking his cell phone from his pocket, he started punching in a number.

“Who are you calling?” she asked quickly.

“The Lorings,” he growled. “They’ve been really cooperative lately. Maybe too cooperative.”

She covered his hand with hers. Stopping him. “Don’t. You can’t go accusing them of something like this.”

“But if they’re involved—”

“If they’re involved, which I doubt, you don’t want to tip our hand. Let the police handle this. They’re already at the school and waiting for us. Let them do their job.”

“While I do what, stand around with my engines idling?” His voice, his whole body, was strung tight with tension.

She slid her hand off his and onto his wrist. “Let’s go over to the school and see what we can do there.”

Spinning around, he was back in the car and had the motor running before Mac could get around to the other side. The moment she was seated and had the door closed, he floored it and sent the car screeching backward out of the parking spot.

Wishing for the speed and nimbleness of an F-14, Harm still managed to make it to the school in record time. Two police cars were parked at the curb, sandwiching Mrs. Bailey’s little red sedan. She stood at the curb talking to Aaron’s teacher, a uniformed officer, and a woman Harm didn’t recognize.

Mrs. Bailey spotted him as he and Mac strode in her direction and broke away from the others, reaching for Mac’s hands. “Oh Mac, I’m so sorry! I was here right on time but Aaron never came out. I waited about ten minutes and then went in looking for him. Ms. Norbert said he’d already left!”

The older woman was nearly hysterical. Mac clamped down on her hands. “It’s all right, you did everything right. It’s not your fault.”

Harm shouldered past them, leaving Mac to console the sitter, and strode up to the uniformed officer. “How the hell does a kid disappear in ten minutes?”

It was the woman who answered him. “It can take a lot less than that. I’m Det. Amy Moyer and I assume you’re Aaron’s father.”

He gave a single curt nod. “Cdr. Harmon Rabb.”

“Well, Commander, we’re treating this as a serious disappearance. We’ve got—”

“Serious disappearance?” he repeated, incredulous. “As opposed to a non-serious one?”

“As opposed to a situation where a child has wandered off to play or gone home with friends and neglected to tell anyone,” Moyer replied calmly.

“I can guarantee he didn’t wander off and you know that. Mac said you’re assuming someone took him.”

She nodded solemnly. “We’ve got police units canvassing the neighborhood. Our best first lead will come from someone who saw him leave the school.”

Harm was swamped by a feeling of déjà vu. He’d felt the same helpless desperation when Aaron ran away from the foster home, but this time a deeper, darker fear twisted and writhed in his gut. This was far more dangerous. Aaron wasn’t just walking the streets, looking for a building he’d seen only once. He was in the hands of some lunatic, held against his will and probably terrified.

Just as surely as he felt his own heartbeat, Harm felt his control slip a notch. He’d never been this close to panic in his entire life. His son was in danger. He had to do something! “I want to help with the search.”

“I know you do,” Moyer said gently, “but the best thing you can do right now is go home.”

“Go home? Are you crazy? There’s no way I’m going to—”

“Someone needs to be there to answer the phone and we need to set up a trace on your line.”

“You think there’s going to be a ransom call?” he asked, stunned. “Why would anyone kidnap Aaron for ransom? I’m not rich.”

“We have to cover all the bases,” Moyer explained in a tone that said he should know that.

“Mac can do it.” The moment he said it, he realized how unfair that was. Mac wouldn’t want to sit by the phone any more than he did.

~~~~~

Reluctantly, Harm drove home, Det. Moyer following behind. She had radioed ahead with his address and they were met at the front door by a team of officers loaded down with tracing equipment. Mac changed out of uniform and headed into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Harm stripped off his cover throwing it on the couch, then went to help her.

She was at the sink when he entered the kitchen, filling the coffee pot with water. “You need any—”

She jumped, sloshing water everywhere and nearly shattering the pot against the side of the sink. He went to her instantly and took the pot from her, setting it aside. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” she said softly. “I didn’t realize just how on edge I am.”

“We all are,” he replied just as softly. “Let me finish making the coffee. I’d offer to bring you a cup, but I doubt either of us needs any more caffeine.”

She nodded. “I’ve already had what seems like a gallon of the stuff today, and I’m really not supposed to have any.”

He started to reply but heard the doorbell sound. Before either of them could react, he heard someone open the door and a strong, familiar voice resonated through to the kitchen. “Admiral AJ Chegwidden. Who’s in charge?”

Leaving the unmade coffee, Harm and Mac returned to the living room. The admiral stood among the chaos, looking like a solid rock in the middle of a storm-tossed bay. Harm stepped forward. “Admiral, you didn’t have to come over here.”

“Yes I did, Commander. There’s not much to do around my office at the moment because all of my staff is out joining the search for your son.”

“They’re what? Admiral, I’m sorry. I—”

“I ordered them out there, or at least, I was going to. The moment we heard, people were lining up at my door asking for leave.”

Harm swallowed, hardly able to believe the entire operation at JAG had been suspended for his personal crisis. “I…I don’t know what to say, sir.”

“Then don’t say anything,” the admiral replied simply. “The day was almost over anyway. I just let them secure a little early. Where they went was up to them but everyone I saw was headed for Aaron’s school.”

Mac stepped forward, showing the good grace that seemed to have abandoned Harm. “Thank you, sir. We truly appreciate it.”

The admiral nodded. “If there’s anything else you—”

The shrill jangle of the phone ripped through the mayhem, silencing the admiral and cut through the low babble of voices in the room. Harm shot a look at Mac and saw her eyes widen with the same chilling apprehension that stabbed through him. The second ring jarred him into action. Striding to the table he clamped his gaze on Moyer, waiting for her nod before picking it up. At the same instant, she punched a button to engage a speaker.

“Hello?”

“Cdr Rabb, it’s Bud. Sir, I—”

“Bud, we’re trying to keep this line open,” Harm said in a rush. “Call me back on my cell.”

“Yes sir.” The line went dead.

From across the room, AJ watched Rabb set the phone down and cross to the couch. Picking up his briefcase, he took his cell phone from inside. It rang before he even had a chance to set the briefcase down again. All around them, life slowly returned to the officers and personnel. The din of conversation returned and Rabb turned his back, going to the corner by the bedroom door to answer the cell phone.

Even from that distance, AJ could see the tension coiled in the commander’s big body. It radiated off him in all directions, seeping into every corner of the room, settling over everything and everyone like a thick blanket.

“I’m worried about him,” Mac said softly, as if reading his mind.

He glanced at her and saw her gazing at Rabb as well. “Me too.”

“We haven’t had much of a chance to talk, but it probably wouldn’t do any good. He’s burying everything deep inside, as usual.”

AJ nodded again. “He has to, it’s the only way he can function.”

“I know, sir. We’ve all been trained to get past the emotion, but this is different. His training says bury it and get on with the job, but there’s nothing he can do. It’s the helplessness that’s eating him alive.”

AJ turned slightly, scrutinizing her carefully. “If you haven’t talked to him, how do you know so much about how he’s feeling?”

“Because,” she said with a sigh. “I feel the same way.”

~~~~~

Long into the night they waited. Mac watched Harm prowl the apartment like a caged tiger, ready to rip into any unsuspecting stranger dumb enough to come close. But to a man, the strangers filling their home sensed his volatile mood and gave him all the space he needed. The admiral stayed until well after midnight, then came and found Mac. “I’m going to go for now. There’s no sense having another body taking up space around here.”

“Sir, you’re not just taking up space,” she said quickly.

He gave her a “you know what I meant” look. “Keep me informed.”

She nodded. “Yes sir.”

“And, Colonel…as hard as it will be, try to get some sleep. You both could use it.” He shot a look over his shoulder to where Harm was staring out the window. He looked so alone, so lost, but when she tried to break through those barriers of his, he clamped down even harder, shutting her and everyone else out.

It was a trick Mac was guilty of herself, but she’d never met anyone who could do it quite as effectively as Harm. She almost envied his ability to shove things down that deep, but she knew only too well just how much it cost him to do it. God help anyone in the path of the storm that was brewing inside him.

Abruptly, he spun from the window. Despite the crowd of people in the tiny apartment, his gaze honed in on her instantly. He strode over to her, but never even slowed down as he went by. “I’ve got to get out of here for a few minutes.”

Mac stared after him, everything inside her screaming at her to go after him, but one of them needed to stay near the phone.

Her expression must have revealed her thoughts, for the admiral put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Go on. No one’s likely to call at this hour, but I’ll hang around a few more minutes. I’ll find you if you’re needed.”

Pouring every ounce of her gratitude into one quick look, she hurried out after Harm.

She found him in the quiet, dimly lit courtyard of the building, a place Aaron loved to play. In the middle of the wide lawn, Harm stood, his head tipped back, eyes shut tight. He stood in a pool of light cast by one of small decorative fixtures lining a narrow path that wound through the yard.

Even from a distance, she could see the uneven rise and fall of his shoulders as he dragged in huge gulps of cool night air. Silently, she went to him, putting a hand on his back. It was a moment before his head came down and his eyes opened.

“My God, Mac, I don’t think I’ve ever been this…scared.” His voice was little more than a scratchy whisper.

Her hand slid to his shoulder and tightened. “I know, me too.”

To her complete surprise, he reacted as if he’d been struck. He spun toward her, his eyes wide. “I’ve been so wrapped up in…myself…I haven’t even….” His hands settled on her shoulders. “How are you doing?”

She smiled as best she could. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t need all this stress, especially now.” His gaze dropped momentarily to her still-flat midsection. “You should be asleep. You need to rest.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “Marines are trained to go without sleep for—”

“I doubt that training was meant for pregnant marines,” he countered. He turned, slipping an arm across her shoulders. “Come on. Go in and lie down, at least for a few minutes. I promise I’ll come and get you if anything happens.”

“Only if you lie down with me,” she replied. “You’re as tired as I am.”

He took a breath as if to argue, then let it out with a sigh instead and pulled her tighter against his side. “All right. I doubt either of us will sleep, but maybe we can get some rest.”

As they headed back upstairs, Harm kept his arm protectively around her, but he was acutely aware that he was getting as much comfort as he was giving, maybe more. When they got inside and he saw the admiral was still there, he deliberately ignored the instinct to let Mac go and assume a more professional attitude.

As the admiral made his way toward them Mac tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he tightened his hold. She met his gaze for a long moment then a small smile touched her lips and she relaxed, slipping her arm around his waist as she turned to the admiral. “Thank you for staying, sir.”

“No problem, Colonel, but I’m on my way now.” He briefly rested a hand on Harm’s arm, meeting his gaze in a silent gesture of support before moving past him to the door.

Turning, they escorted each other into the bedroom. Stretching out on top of the bedcovers, Harm reached for Mac, folding his arms around her as she settled against him, resting her head on his chest. He lay for a long time, listening to the intrusive sounds of strangers all over his home like some kind of invading army. He knew they were trying to help, but surely if they hadn’t received a call by now, ransom wasn’t the motive. That thought frightened him even more because if the person who took Aaron didn’t want money….

He jettisoned that thought before it could form. Contemplating other possible motives for abducting a seven-year-old boy was too horrifying.

Despite his comment outside, he must have dozed off at some point because the next thing he recalled was someone gently shaking his shoulder. “Harm? Commander, wake up.”

He came off the bed in a rush, nearly knocking Mac off in the process. He was dimly aware of her scrambling to her feet on the far side of the bed. Det. Moyer caught his arm, steadying him. “Easy. I’m sorry I disturbed you.”

“What time is it?” he asked, trying to pull it all together.

“Nearly eight o’clock. I’m going off shift and I wanted to introduce you to the detective taking over.”

Mac appeared at his side and he dropped an arm over her shoulders as they followed Moyer out to the living room. “Sorry about the rude awakening,” he said softly.

“It’s okay,” she replied just as softly.

Moyer led the way over to a tall, gray-haired African-American man. This is Det. Piper. He’ll be—”

A sharp blast from the telephone cut through her words and, as before, all activity in the apartment ceased. Harm’s gut instantly seized in a painful knot. He pushed past the crowd to the table and grabbed the phone. Moyer flicked on the speaker as he lifted the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“We have your son,” came a scratchy male voice.

“Who is this?” Harm snarled. “If you hurt him—”

“He’s fine, but if you want him to stay that way, you’ll have forty thousand dollars ready when I contact you at noon today.”

Moyer tapped his arm and mouthed the word “Stall!”

“I need more time to get my hands on that much cash,” Harm said quickly.

“You’re lying!” the man screamed. “Don’t toy with me, Rabb! I know damn well you have that much in the bank!”

“All right,” Harm shot back, “but I want to talk to Aaron.”

“Later. Have the money ready and be by the phone at noon.”

The line went dead. Very slowly, Harm turned to the stunned faces of the people around him. His gaze slid to Mac and stuck. He was flooded with a strange sense of relief, knowing that whoever had Aaron wasn’t motivated by some sick, twisted desire. His motivation was something far easier to deal with, simple greed.

Mac took a step forward and eased the phone from his hand. Until then, he hadn’t realized he was still holding it, let alone gripping it so hard he threatened to crush it.

“If they’re willing to let you talk to him, we know he’s still alive,” she said softly.

He nodded slowly, his mind scrambling to get a grip on the wisp of an idea that wasn’t quite fully formed. “Something isn’t right here.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

He paused, still trying to sort it all out. “His reaction when I said I needed more time. He knew we have that much cash readily accessible. How would he—”

The answer slammed into him and Mac at the same instant. “Steadman!”

“Who’s Steadman?” came Moyer’s quick response.

Harm ignored her as the deep well of rage inside him slowly began to boil. Mac glanced quickly at the cop. “Larry Steadman. He’s a real estate agent at Watson Realty. We were house hunting the other day and talked to him about a down payment. He knows how much we’ve got in the bank.”

“And he knows where Aaron is!”

Harm launched himself toward the door so fast Mac didn’t have a chance to react. Before she could even open her mouth, he wrenched it open and disappeared.

Oh Lord! She bolted after him. “Harm, wait!”

She raced behind him, but his long legs and adrenaline fueled rage put him far out in front of her. She got outside just in time to see him leap into his car and roar away. With a groan of frustration, she bolted to her own car and took off after him.

He drove the car like it was an F-14, weaving in and out of the morning traffic at speeds that had Mac’s heart in her mouth. She lost sight of him several times, but it didn’t matter. She knew where he was going.

Harm was as close to a meltdown as she had ever seen him and, although she was frighteningly close to joining him, worrying about him kept her from going completely over the edge. All those nature programs she had seen as a kid described how aggressive a mother could be when her young were threatened, but none of them seemed aware of how just dangerous a father could be, especially this father.

Pulling into the Watson Realty parking lot not five seconds behind him, she was still too late to stop him. His car skidded to a halt in front of the building and he sprang from the seat, dodging around the open door. She called his name through the open window but he ignored her, yanking the door open so hard it slammed against the wall. The thickness of the glass was the only thing that kept it from shattering.

A red haze clouding his vision, Harm charged through the real estate office, utterly oblivious to the confused and frightened looks from the staff. His entire focus was on the desk second from the end and the man seated there with his back to the door.

He was working on a computer, roaming the mouse over the desktop, but dropped it with a yelp when Harm grabbed the chair and spun it around. Not giving the man even a second to recover, Harm snagged his shirt and hauled him out of the chair, throwing him backwards over the desk.

Holding him there with one hand, he wrapped his fingers around the bastard’s windpipe. “Where is he, you slimy sonofabitch? If you don’t tell me where he is right now, so help me, I’ll rip your throat out!”

A sloppy gurgle was all he got in response. Harm eased his grip ever so slightly. “Tell me!”

A small but strong pair of hands wrapped themselves around his arm, tugging hard. As though from a great distance, he heard someone call his name, but he ignored it. This whimpering piece of flotsam in his hands was his only link to Aaron. The slime-ball knew where his son was and that was all that mattered.

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” came the scraping reply.

“Like hell you don’t! You kidnapped my son, you bastard, and if you don’t tell me where he is in two seconds, you’re going to go to hell in three!”

The man’s shit-brown eyes grew even wider. “I…I didn’t! I swear…I don’t know…”

The hands tugging on Harm’s arm became more insistent, harder to ignore. So was the voice. It was Mac’s. “Harm! Harm, let him go!”

Mac thought she was getting through to him, but when his head snapped around, the look in his eyes chilled her to the bone. There was only the slightest hint of recognition buried within the raging fury. He stabbed her with a cold, hard gaze, his eyes the color of a polished steel gun barrel – and just as deadly. “Stay out of this, Mac!”

“I will not! You aren’t going to accomplish anything here, and if even a single one of your brain cells was firing properly, you’d know that!” She yanked again on his arm and felt the smallest amount of give to it. “Let him go!”

Turning back to the realtor, Harm hauled him off the desk. The man’s knees refused to hold him but Harm kept him upright with both fists curled into his shirtfront. “I swear to you, Steadman, if Aaron isn’t home, safe and sound, within the hour, you are going to regret the day you ever decided to fuck with me! Is that clear?”

Without waiting for an answer, Harm gave the man a shove, sending him careening backwards into his chair. He hit it with such force, it toppled over backwards, taking Steadman with it. Spinning on his heel, Harm pushed past her and strode for the door.

Whirling, Mac headed out right behind him. Slamming both hands against the door, he sent it crashing open again. This time, the glass wasn’t heavy enough to survive the impact with the wall. It shattered into a spiderweb and sloughed to the ground.

Without so much as a glance at it, Harm kept on going. Taking two large steps, Mac caught up to him and grabbed his arm again, yanking hard enough to spin him around. “Damn it, Harm, stop! You’re out of control!”

He glared at her, eyes snapping. “You damn right I’m outta control, and I’m going to stay that way till Aaron is back home in his bed! That sonofabitch in there knows where he is, Mac! He knows!”

“Maybe so, but it’s obvious you can’t beat it out of him and tipping our hand like this is going to make it a lot harder to use any other method to find out what he knows. Christ, Harm, you need to get a grip before your raging paternal instincts get Aaron killed!”

Her words had the desired effect, but she instantly regretted the cost. Harm looked as though she’d stuck a knife in his heart. Eyes wide, jaw slack, he stared at her. Very slowly, he began to shake but within an instant, he was trembling violently. “My God, Mac, what have I done?”

“Nothing that can’t be undone,” she said gently. She took his big hand in both of hers, squeezing hard, but the gesture had no effect. The meltdown was underway. His knees nearly buckled and she gave him a none-too-gentle shove backward so he would sit down on the car hood instead of hitting the ground.

Pulling out her cell phone, she punched in a number with one hand while bracing his shoulder with the other. The minute Moyer answered, she rattled off a brief explanation of what had just transpired. “Steadman isn’t getting out of here without us seeing, but he could be on the phone by now. Can you—”

“Already on it,” Moyer replied. “After you two peeled out of here, we got the addresses of his business and home. There wasn’t time to set up a tap, so we cut phone service to both locations. I had a feeling Rabb was going to do something stupid.”

“Can you blame him?” she snapped. “His son’s life is in danger!”

“No,” Moyer replied gently, “I can’t blame him, but that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do.”

“He knows that now,” Mac said just as gently. “Get someone over here to take Steadman into custody. We can’t risk him getting in touch with his accomplice.”

“Someone’s already on the way. Can you sit on him – and Rabb – till we get there?”

“I’ll keep Steadman from going anywhere, but if you’re considering any action against Harm….”

“I’m not, I just don’t want him going off half cocked again.”

“He won’t,” she assured him.

“All right. Sit tight for a few more minutes.”

Mac clicked off the phone and stuffed it back in her pocket. Positioning herself so she could see the door, she kept half an eye on it, but most of her attention was focused on Harm. A moment ago, he’d been white as a sheet, but his color was slowly starting to return. She gripped his shoulder hard and he reached across to fold his hand over hers.

“We’ll find him,” she whispered. “Now that we know what this is all about, we’ll find him.”

He nodded slowly, still slightly shell-shocked. “There’s someone else involved in this, Mac. That wasn’t his voice on the phone. What if he calls them? If they know he’s in custody, they might…”

His voice cracked and he swallowed hard.

“It’s okay,” she said urgently. “Moyer cut telephone service to the building.”

He looked up at her, so lost, so devastated. “But…realtors have cell phones.”

“Damn!” Spinning on her heel, Mac flew across the lot and into the office. Steadman stood at the back of the room, a cell phone to his ear. Impatiently tapping his foot, he turned in time to see her barreling toward him. He dropped the phone and backed up a few steps.

Going straight for his right arm, Mac grabbed it and yanked, snapping him forward and allowing her to wrench the arm up behind his back. Steadman started to struggle but quit when, just as she crammed his arm higher, Harm appeared and grabbed him from the other side.

For an instant, Mac worried about what Harm might do, but with a quick reassuring glance, he helped her escort Steadman outside. Together, they shoved him up against the hood of Harm’s car. Mac got in his face before Harm could. “Who did you call?”

“No one!”

“Bull! I saw you on the phone!”

“I…I was trying to make a call but there was no answer,” Steadman whined.

In a blur, Harm disappeared. He returned a few seconds later with Steadman’s phone in his hand. “He’s right. The number is still displayed, so the call never went through.”

Mac heaved a sigh of relief, struggling to keep at least some of the adrenaline from draining away. She needed it to keep her edge. She watched Harm grab a notepad and pen from inside the car and scribble down the number displayed on the phone. Striding up to Steadman, he shoved the phone in the man’s face. “Who’s number is this? Is it the person holding my son?”

Steadman simply stared.

Harm whacked the realtor’s jaw with the phone. “Answer me, you sonofabitch!”

Still holding Steadman’s shirt, Mac put the other hand on Harm’s wrist. “Easy.”

For a long moment, he continued to stare at Steadman, then very slowly backed off. In the background, the wail of a siren grew progressively louder. A minute later, a police car swung into the parking lot. The lights and siren died and two officers leapt out. They hustled over and took custody of Steadman.

The moment she was able to let go of the realtor, Mac turned to Harm. He was pacing a four-foot path, back and forth, nearly vibrating with pent up tension. She very deliberately stepped in front of him, stopping him with a hand to his chest.

“Please,” she whispered, “try to calm down. We’ve got a phone number now and we know Steadman didn’t get through to anyone. We’ll find him, Harm. We’ll find him!”

He snagged her shoulders and dragged her against him, folding her into a fierce embrace that threatened to crush her ribs. “We have to, Mac. Oh God, we have to.”

~~~~~

Aaron was terrified – but there was no way he was going to let that big brute of a man know it. He had lied to Aaron and as soon as he’d realized it, he’d been determined to make the man’s life as hard as possible. Aaron had been scared silly when the man stopped him in the school hallway and told him his dad was in an accident, so when he found out it wasn’t true, relief was the first thing he felt. The fear for himself came later, when the man refused to take him home.

He wasn’t dumb. His mom had warned him lots of times that there were people who would try to steal little kids, but he forgot about that when the man said his dad was hurt. Now he was really scared, but he also felt bad for falling for a lie like that.

Aaron had quit asking to go home. That made the man really mad, but the lady who came to stay with him this morning said that if his dad cooperated, he would be going home soon. He wasn’t sure what that meant but when the man came back this morning, he was in a better mood. He brought the lady a cup of coffee from the same place he got all his coffee. He must really like that coffee ‘cuz he got one every time he went out.

He also brought Aaron a donut, and he tried to eat it so the man wouldn’t get mad, but he wasn’t hungry. It made his tummy hurt, so he stuffed it back in its wrapper and put it in his backpack.

The man came tramping up the stairs to the room they made Aaron stay in. “Come on, kid, we gotta get outta here. There’s no telling what that father of yours might do now.”

Anger flooded through Aaron and he forgot about not making the man mad. “My dad is a commander in the United States Navy and my mom is a Marine!” He knew she wasn’t really his mom, but it sounded good to say it anyway. “When they find you, they’re both gonna kick your butt!”

“Not if they want you back in one piece!” the man snarled. He threw a paper bag toward Aaron. “Get this place cleaned up. I want it to look like we were never here, got it?”

If he wanted that, it would have been easier if he didn’t throw his empty coffee cups all over the place, but Aaron knew better than to say anything out loud. He quietly took the bag and started picking up the garbage.

That’s when he got a bright idea. He waited until the man left to go back downstairs, then stuffed a couple of the brightly printed paper cups into his backpack and shoved the pack into the corner of a closet. He wasn’t sure how that would help, but he wanted to do something.

“Hey, kid, you done yet?” The man grumbled, coming into the room.

Aaron spun around quickly, the paper bag in his hand. “Yeah, all done.”

The man looked around the room and nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

Aaron held his breath, half expecting the man to tell him to get his backpack, but he didn’t. He must have forgotten about it. He clamped a hard hand on Aaron’s shoulder and guided him down the stairs.

~~~~~

Harm prowled the observation area adjacent to the interview room, barely containing the urge to put his fist through the one-way glass in front of him then climb through and beat Steadman into a tiny little grease spot. The police had been questioning the weasely real estate agent for over an hour, but so far Steadman was proclaiming his innocence.

In the corner of the room, Mac stood silently, her arms folded across her chest. He admired her calm strength, until he saw the tight lines around her mouth. She was as frustrated as he was, she just hid it better. Abruptly, he swung toward Moyer, who had just come in after turning the fruitless interrogation over to Det. Piper. “Damn it, let me in there!”

She gave him a hard look. “Let a family member question a suspect? The defense attorney would have a field day with that one and you know it.”

Mac stirred suddenly, like a statue coming to life. “Then let me do it. I’m not family.”

Moyer’s skeptical look doubled, then her expression softened. “Yes you are.”

Clamping down on his own frustration, Harm went to Mac and pulled her into a brief but tight embrace. “She’s right,” he said softly. “In every way that matters, we’re a family. We both try to claim you aren’t family when it suits our purpose but we can’t have it both ways.”

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears, but a smile touched her lips. Giving in, he kissed those lips, wishing he could show her the true depth of his feelings, but this wasn’t the time or the place. Slowly ending the kiss, he kept her tight to his side as he turned to Moyer. “Let us both go in. I promise you, we’ll both keep a lid on it, but he’s intimidated by us. We can use that.”

The cop looked back and forth between them for a moment, then heaved a sigh. “All right. We aren’t getting anywhere and before long, he’s going to clue in and ask to speak to a lawyer. As soon as he does, we’re toast.”

Harm watched Steadman’s eyes grow to the size of saucers when he saw him and Mac enter the room. “Keep those two away from me!”

“Why?” Piper asked mildly. “If you didn’t do anything wrong, you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“Tell them that! First, he tries to strangle me, then she tries to break my arm!”

Harm took a very calculated step forward. “Give me five minutes with him and if he doesn’t tell me what I want to know, I’ll do both.”

Getting into the game, Moyer stepped forward and dropped a hand on Piper’s shoulder. “Feel like a coffee, Bob? I’m sure the commander here would be willing to watch our prisoner for us.”

“You can’t do that!” Steadman insisted.

Piper pushed his chair back.

“All right! All right!” Steadman turned a pleading gaze to Harm. “The kid is safe, honest! Nobody wants him to get hurt.”

“I’m glad there’s something we can agree on,” Harm growled. He planted both hands flat on the table, his face only inches from Steadman’s. “Now where is my son!”

“I…I don’t know.”

Harm sucked in a breath, a fresh wave of anger rolling through him. Steadman reared back.

“I mean it! Barnes said he was going to move the kid after he called you, but he didn’t tell me where they were going. When he found out who you were, he wanted to kill the kid and be done with it, but I talked him into going ahead with the original plan. Believe me, I don’t know where they are, but the kid is safe!”

Harm was still stuck on the words “kill the kid” but Det. Piper was on the ball. “Who is Barnes?”

“Jimmy Barnes, a loan shark I owe money to.” His gaze swung back to Harm. “He threatened to put me in the hospital if I didn’t pay up. I didn’t have the money but the I saw you with the kid. I knew you had the cash for a down payment on a house, so I talked Barnes into kidnapping your son.”

Harm shot a look at Mac. “That explains the low ransom amount.”

She nodded, then turned to Steadman. “Where was Barnes holding Aaron before he made the call?”

Steadman suddenly looked almost sheepish. “At the house I showed you. It has some structural defects and really isn’t supposed to be on the market, so no one is showing it.”

“Except you,” she shot back.

“Except me,” he confirmed quietly. “I was desperate to make some money.”

“And when you couldn’t sell us the house, you decided to kidnap our son,” Harm growled.

“I…I’m sorry. I really am. I thought you were a couple of yuppies who would just freak out and pay the ransom. If I’d known you were both military, I wouldn’t have done it. You said you were civil servants!”

Harm fixed him with a hard gaze. “You said that, not me.”

~~~~~

Ten minutes later, Harm and Mac were on their way to the house. Mac’s internal clock told her they had less than two hours before they had to be home to receive the call from Barnes. It didn’t leave much time but they both wanted – needed – to check out the house on the off chance Barnes decided not to move Aaron after all.

Det. Moyer and Det. Piper were following behind in their own car. They’d both balked at having family view a crime scene, until Mac had reminded them that both she and Harm were trained investigators.

As worried as she was about what they might – or might not – find at the house, Mac’s mind kept skipping back to something Harm had said to Steadman. It was probably a slip of the tongue, but that very fact is what made it significant.

“Harm?” She hated that she sounded so tentative, but with his attention on his driving and his mind on Aaron, he didn’t appear to notice.

He barely glanced at her. “Yeah, Mac?”

“When you were talking to Steadman, you…you called Aaron our son.”

He turned to gaze at her for as long as the traffic would allow. “I guess I did.”

She didn’t quite know how to reply to his almost casual response.

He glanced at her a couple more times, then reached out to take her hand. “I didn’t do it on purpose, Mac. It just came out that way because that’s how I think of him – of us. I told you, we’re a family.”

Mac still didn’t reply but this time it was because she couldn’t. Her throat was clogged with tears.

This is part 1 of a 2 part story

Part 2