Title: Harm's Angel

Author: Katelaine

Rating: G

Spoilers: Nothing really, just some stuff about Harm
and Mac's childhood

Disclaimer:  I wrote this for entertainment purposes
only, no infringement upon DPB or any PTB is intended.

Summary: Helping a child helps Mac cope with her
difficult childhood

A.N. : This story is a stand alone piece..it is not
part of the set of stories (Flaming Threats or
Chilling Evidence) I have previously written.

 

16 December 2002

1217 EST

Shopping Mall

Mac had just enough time to go to the jewelers to pick
up Harms gift during her lunch break. 

Harm had asked her if she had wanted to go to the mall
with him to pick up a present for little A.J. and
knowing that she still needed to pick up her gift to
Harm, she agreed. What she didn’t realize was how hard
it would be to ditch him for a few minutes so that she
could pick it up. 

"Harm, it’s getting really crowded in here; why don’t
you go to the food court and save us a table and I’ll
be right there."

"Where are you going?"

"Oh, just to another store. You wouldn’t be
interested."

"Try me" he laughed

"Do you really want to watch me pick through the sale
bins of panties and bras at Victoria’s Secret?"

"I… think I could help with that." He gave her a
playful grin

Okay, this wasn’t working, but now that she had said
it aloud, she had to follow through. "Okay, but don’t
say I didn’t warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"Have you ever seen a Victoria’s Secret sale during
the holiday season?"

"Can’t say that I have, Renee wouldn’t wear anything
that wasn’t full price."

Mac gave him a smile that basically read that she had
the ‘Video Princess’ pegged as such. They entered the
‘Intimates’ store and Harm immediately squinted at the
brightness of the pink color it was painted.

"You know, if the flight deck had been painted this
color when I had my crash, I don’t think I would have
had a problem landing that night."

"If the carrier deck was painted this color, Harm, I
think the Navy would have more to worry about than the
landing problems of one of its pilots." She patted his
shoulder and smiled a Cheshire cat smile at him.

She rummaged through the sales and actually found some
nice stuff that she liked. Just to torment Harm,
because he said he ‘could help’, she would hold up
what she liked, maybe hold it in display where it
would properly adorn her body. Every time she did
that, there would be several women around her and she
would loudly call his name "Wow, Harm…look at this
one!" He found himself getting uncomfortably hot and
his necktie began to feel like a boa constrictor
around his throat. 

He tugged at his collar, as if trying to stretch it to
make more room "Mac, I…uh…think I’m going to go to the
food court and get us a table."

"Okay" Mac grinned knowing she had won "I won’t be
long."

"I’ll meet you there." Harm turned on his heels,
taking in the sight of brightly colored satin panties,
thongs, bras, corsets, camisoles, lingerie and
anything else the store offered. He took a deep
breath, looked straight ahead and walked briskly out
of the store. He made his way to the crowded food
court and silently stalked people while they ate,
going in for the kill of grabbing their table the
moment they left. He never would have imagined he
would have to use his military training in the middle
of a shopping mall.

Mac paid for the few items she bought at Victoria’s,
but when the sales clerk went to bag them, she asked
for a larger bag; she would have to hide the gift box
from Harm. She then made her way across the mall to
the jewelers. She opened the box the salesman handed
her and she looked at the beautiful clock she held in
her hand. It was a solid gold miniature Steersman with
a clock situated in the engine area where the
propellers would have sat. She looked at the
inscription to make sure it was correct, then slid the
plane back in its box.

It had been nearly twenty minutes since Harm had left
her and with each passing moment she didn’t return he
was beginning to get a bit more anxious. Granted, he
knew she had to be in the mall somewhere – she
couldn’t leave, he drove. It was getting to be time
for them to go back to the office and she was no where
in site. He tried calling her cell phone, but her
voicemail picked up every time.

"Damn it, Mac. Where are you?" he said softly to
himself. He got up from the table he’d been protecting
since he first sat down, much to the enthusiasm of
other shoppers. He looked in the general area of the
food court to see if she was waiting somewhere. He
didn’t want to leave the vicinity, just in case she
came and he wasn’t there, but he wanted to find her as
well. He finally decided to make his way back to the
Pepto Bismol pink store to see if maybe she had stayed
longer than she thought she had. It was on the trek
that he spotted her, standing before a huge Christmas
tree decorated with paper angels.

"Mac are you all right?" He asked her, touching her
arm

Mac jumped at the touch, then realizing it was Harm
she gestured at the tree "There are so many of them."

"So many of what Mac?"

"Angels."

"Yeah, aren’t there supposed to be?"

"No, oh God no! There shouldn’t ever have to be any on
that tree…never." She sniffed

"What’s wrong Mac, they’re just decorations?"

Mac looked at him with pain, hurt and tears in her
eyes "They aren’t decorations Harm. This is an Angel
Tree; parents who can’t afford to give their children
a Christmas put their children on an Angel Tree like
this. Each Angel represents an individual child and
tells the child’s age, clothing sizes and what that
child wants most for Christmas. Then shoppers take an
Angel and buy gifts for the child, returning them
before Christmas so that the parents can pick them up.
Just look at how many are on that tree Harm, there has
to be over 300 kids and we are this close to Christmas
and look at how many still haven’t been taken." A tear
slid down Mac’s face.

Harm wrapped an arm around her and brought her in to
his chest where she rested her head near his shoulder.

"I’m sorry Harm, it just really hurts to see this."

"I know" he sighed "knowing that so many kids in our
own area have nothing, when we have so much."

Mac wiped a tear off her cheek and looked at the tree
"Well, that" she said flatly "But it’s a strong
reminder of my own childhood. We never had a lot of
money, even when Mom was there. I’d have a few things
under a small, ugly tree with a few strands of tinsel
thrown on. Usually I got new underwear, socks,
hand-me-down clothes from the clothing closet at the
church and maybe a toy, if Mom could find one cheap
enough. I remember one Christmas, Mom had found a
used, but nice pair of tennis shoes that would fit me;
I had grown out of my other ones. Dad had already
started drinking for the day and when I open the shoes
he raged into a fit. He yelled that I had just gotten
shoes and that I didn’t need these. Mom tried to calm
him down and tell him that I had grown out of the
other ones, but he would have none of that. He picked
up my ‘new’ shoes, took them out back, pour some of
his beer on them and set them on fire." Mac looked
straight ahead, but didn’t really see anything.

Harm looked at her; he didn’t know what to say. He
didn’t want to sound like he felt sorry for her, she’d
kill him if he did. He had it really good growing up,
never wanting or needing anything other than his
father. Though Christmas was never his favorite time
of the year, it was always good for him. Sometimes,
then Lieutenant Commander Boone would stop by and give
Harm a present, usually something to do with flying
and would sit and talk with Trish for a while. He
returned his gaze to Mac, who again had tears in her
eyes and again wrapped his arm around her. "So, what
are you going to do about this?"

"About what?"

"The tree?"

"I…uh…don’t know."

"You want to lighten its burden a little bit? Give a
little girl the Christmas that you never had?"

Mac’s eyes sparkled through her tears and she smiled
"I’d like that."

"How about this" he looked at her again "I haven’t
picked out a present for you yet. Why don’t you pick
out a little girl that you like, then I’ll take you
shopping, and buy whatever it is you want for her…no
matter how much?"

"No, that won’t work." She shook her head

"What’s wrong with it?"

"Well, then I wouldn’t be buying for her, it wouldn’t
be my Angel."

"Oh, I see" Harm said dejectedly

"But" she brought his attention back to her "how about
we each get an Angel and buy for him/her in each
other’s name. The money we save on each other, will be
extra money we can spend on our Angels. If you want,
we can go shopping together, the fun we’ll have is all
the present I’ll ever need."

Harm’s characteristic Flyboy grin spread across his
face and shook his head. "I like that idea." 

They walked to the adoption table and a man named
Patrick helped them fill out their paperwork. 

"So Mr. Rabb, what type of child would you like to
adopt?"

"Do you have any five year old boys?" 

The reason behind the inquiry was obvious to Mac. The
age of five was the last year that Harm had a happy
Christmas, the last time he bounded down the steps in
anticipation of the presents that awaited him. Every
year after that all he wanted, hoped, wished and
prayed for was for his father to be sitting on the
couch across from the Christmas tree when he woke up.

"Here we go sir." Patrick picked up a boy Angel and
handed it to Harm. "He’s a good kid, all boy-drives
his mother crazy trying to keep up with him."

"Thank you" Harm said with a weak smile, taking the
angel, while thinking about how much of a handful he
was for his own mother at that age.

"What about you ma’am, what type of child do you
want?"

"What is the maximum age on tree?" she asked.

"We put kids on through the age of 12. They are the
last to go though, people say they are hard to buy for
and more expensive." Patrick saw a familiar look flash
upon the military woman’s face, a look of pain, abuse,
hurt and neglect.

"May I have one of the 12 year old girls please?"

"Of course, that would be my greatest pleasure." He
smiled and reached down for a certain angel that he
had been holding back for himself. He felt that this
woman knew what it felt like to have nothing and knew
that she would do right by this girl. "Here, I think I
have the perfect one for you." He handed her the Angel
"I know her pretty well, since last year. She’s a
great kid, but she’s had it hard for most of her life.
Her mom died last year in an alcohol-related accident
and her father is an alcoholic. She still lives with
him, but he doesn’t pay much attention to her. She’s
been coming to one of the DC Youth Centers for the
past year; that’s where I met her. She has pretty good
grades, but she also has a bit of a temper when you
tick her off. She can also be a bit loud mouth,
obnoxious and stubborn when she wants to be. But, if
she can get past this, I can see her doing great
things."

"I’ll take her." Mac said quickly, almost as if
Patrick would take the Angel away if she didn’t say so
quickly.

"She’s all yours ma’am." He handed her the Angel.

Harm and Mac turned to leave and Patrick yelled after
them "Thank you. Merry Christmas!"

Mac stopped, opened her purse and pulled out one of
her business cards. "Patrick" she walked back to him
"I work with the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s
Office. If there is anything I can ever do, please
give me a call. I’m also a part of the Big
Sisters/Little Sisters program, if you happen to know
a young woman that needs some guidance, give me a call
about that as well."

Patrick smiled at her "Thank you so much. I’ll keep
your number close at hand."

"Merry Christmas" Mac said with a warm smile.

"I don’t think it could get any merrier than it is
right now." He said back to her, with just the hint of
tears glinting in his eyes.

Mac turned back to Harm, wrapped her arm around his
waist and gave him a tight hug and a smile that lit up
his world.

 

December 20, 2002

1045 EST

Mac’s Apartment

It had been dead at the JAG HQ for the last week;
apparently people were taking ‘The Reason for the
Season’ to heart and acting on their best behavior.
When Harm and Mac both asked for Friday off, the
Admiral reluctantly gave in but told Harm he would be
on call in case of any emergencies. 

Harm knocked on Mac’s door and when she opened it,
Harm was treated with the sight of Mac in a pair of
comfortable well-worn jeans, a thin Bordeaux red color
knit sweater and a pair of sneakers. Mac took in the
view as well as she gazed at Harm clad in a pair of
tight jeans, an un-tucked arctic ice blue dress shirt
with a few buttons undone at the top showing a white
undershirt below. His shoe selection for the day was a
nice pair of matte finished brown zip up boots. He
could make anyone woman’s heart pound, but none moreso
than Mac’s.

"You ready Marine?"

"Almost, give me one second please." Mac walked back
into her room, then returned with a golden angel
pinned to her sweater.

"Keeping in the spirit?"

"Sort of. My grandmother gave me this before she died,
I’ve always thought it was so pretty. She brought it
with her from Russia; she was also the only one that
truly believed has had greatness in me, even when I
was at my worst. It just seemed fitting that I should
wear it today."

"It’s very beautiful," Harm said touching the wing of
the angel with his finger.

 

Shopping Mall

1315 EST

"Jeez, who knew there was so much of a selection of
toys these days? Wow, look at some of this stuff, I
don’t know if I could work it all and I’m a fighter
pilot."

"Well, if you had a TV you would know about all this
stuff. I can’t believe you didn’t know that Scooby Doo
was back in fashion."

"Well, sorry. I don’t really have time to keep up with
cartoons these days; I’m too busy try to defend and
prosecute people."

"I bet if the new fad was toy fighter jets you would
know about it."

Harm just glared at her "Oh Mac, hey look at this! He
held up a G.I. Joe F-14 plane. That’s so cool, look
how authentic it looks; there are the afterburners and
the tailhook; there’s even little sticks and gauges.
He’s soo getting this!" Harm began to scan the stacks
of other G.I. Joe action figures and found the F-14
pilot to go with the jet. "Wow, look at the pilot,
he’s 12 inches again. I haven’t seen a full sized G.I.
Joe since I was a kid. That just rocks." He picked up
the fighter pilot and added it to the stack of toys
that was piling up in his cart.

"Harm, don’t forget we still have to get some clothes
for the kids."

"I know, it’s just, well…you know." Mac smiled and
nodded her head in knowing that splurging on these
kids wasn’t a bad thing. "I’m also having a blast"
Harm’s eyes went big with enthusiasm "Sort of makes me
want to be a kid again when I see things like this."

Mac laughed and put a hand on his arm just below his
shoulder. "Well Harm," she said in a sweet motherly
tone "if you’re a good boy today I might buy you a
prize before we go home."

"Really, gee…can I have the kinetic wrist watch we saw
at the jewelers?"

Mac’s tilted her head, as if thinking about the prize.
"I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see how your
behavior keeps up."

Harm pooched out his lip as if he was pouting, to
appease him Mac crossed her arms and looked at him
"But I don’t see the problem with going Starbucks for
a coffee after we leave."

"You buying?" he asked eyeing her suspiciously

"Yeah, I’m buying."

"What else do we need?" 

"Well, this girl says that she would like a bike, so
that is where I’m headed."

"Mac, you’re really going to get this girl a bike?"

"That’s what she wants Harm and I’m going to give her
a good Christmas."

"But isn’t that kind of expensive?"

"No, I don’t think so, not for someone who needs one.
Why shouldn’t I get her what she wants? The cost isn’t
the concern for me Harm, it’s telling this girl that
someone cares and wants her to be happy and have a
good holiday."

Harm saw the determination in Mac’s eyes before she
turned to the bicycle section. He was never more proud
of this wonderful, beautiful woman.

With the toys purchased, they headed to Sears to buy
the clothes. Harm bought several outfits for his
little guy and a cool miniature Bomber jacket; Harm
loved it and knew the boy would too. Mac had a grand
ol’ time picking out outfits for her girl. Several
pairs of jeans were purchased along with sweaters,
sweatshirts, long sleeved t-shirts, a pair of Khaki
pants and a few other things including underwear and
socks.

"All right, I think we have everything. Are you done?"

Mac shook her head no

"What else is there?"

"A new pair of sneakers" Mac said with a determined
smile on her face.

They went to the shoe store and Mac picked out a great
pair of Nike Cross Trainers. It was Harm that pointed
out the sign to her ‘Get one pair of Nikes, get the
other half off’. Mac was thrilled, but instead of
picking up a second pair of shoes for her girl, she
went to the boy’s section and found a nice pair of
boy’s sneakers that velcroed across the top. She
smiled at Harm "It’s a gift, from my angel to yours."

"I’ll pay you back for them."

"Don’t even think about it mister." She squinted her
eyes at him.

The shopping was complete so they lugged their goods
out to Harm’s SUV, thanking God that it all fit
inside. They picked up some Chinese food then drove to
Harm’s apartment.

"I’m so hungry I think I could eat an entire head of
lettuce."

Mac looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "First time
I’ve ever heard anything so…corny."

Harm just looked at her and shook his head. After
eating they spread the presents out and wrapped them
all, luckily the store had provided them with boxes
for the clothes. Mac sat and watched Harm try to wrap
the oddly shaped action figures. She’d never seen so
much tape used in all her life. The two piles of
presents were quite distinct: Mac’s were stacked
nicely and perfectly wrapped, Harm’s were…less than
perfectly wrapped, more like he reused, wadded up
wrapping paper from last Christmas.

Mac opened the box to the bike and started to take out
the individual pieces. "You think you can help me put
this together?"

"I put together my ‘vette right?"

"Yeah"

"Then I think I can put together a bike." He grabbed
the little wrench and stated to fit pieces together.

It was forty-five minutes later that the bike was
assembled, but missing a few parts which lay on the
floor next to Harm. 

Mac looked at him "I think you forgot something". 

"Nah, they aren’t all that important"

"Oh really? The manufacturer just put it in case for
the fun of it."

"Yeah, pretty much. Why don’t you take her for a
spin?"

"Where?"

"Just around the living room here."

"Okay, but this was your idea."

Mac got on and took off. She made a few circles and
thought that maybe Harm was right, those parts weren’t
needed. Then, as she made the final turn, the seat
came off the bike and Mac fell to the floor with a
loud thud.

"Mac!" Harm ran over to her "Are you okay?"

Mac looked up at him with a dazed look on her face
"I…uh…think I know where the missing parts go."

Harm put the missing parts in their place and he took
it for the final test spin, where it was a smooth,
uneventful ride. Mac placed a big red bow on the bike
then stood back to look at her work.

"Don’t you wish you could see her face when she opens
her gifts?"

"Yeah, I’d love to be a fly on her wall Christmas
morning. But, I think I already know what it will be
like. I can imagine myself as a child waking up
Christmas morning to find a new bike, new clothes and
all those toys. I’d have been beside myself." Mac saw
Harm’s features change when she talked about her
childhood, she knew he was feeling sorry for her.
"Harm, don’t, don’t feel sorry for me. If I hadn’t had
it so bad then, I wouldn’t appreciate so much what I
have now. I have a great career, which I love; I have
a warm apartment, I have Jingo, I have wonderful
friends…" she stopped looked at Harm, wondering if she
should say what her final thought was. "And…I have
you."

"Me?" he said in a whisper like that of a little boy.

"Yes Harm. You are my best friend in the entire world.
You know everything about me and don’t fault me for
any of it. You keep me safe, you make me laugh, you
make me furious, you make me dinner (she double winked
at this)…hint hint. You are major contributing factor
to everything in my life Harm. Without you nearby to
share my life with, it all means nothing."

Harm was stunned at the soliloquy that Mac gave. It
was so beautiful, music to his ears. He didn’t know
how to respond, he wanted to say the right words that
would convey just as much meaning as hers did. His
response was short, but from the heart "My life didn’t
start until the day I met you, Sarah."

The simple phrase left Mac speechless, he hadn’t said
he loved her, but the words told her he did.

They piled the presents back into the SUV and drove
them to the DC Youth Center to give to Patrick. They
went in first to see what the center was like.
Basically it consisted of a large room with a pool
table, air hockey table and several other nooks and
crannies to do different activities. They showed their
ID’s at the front desk and were directed to Patrick’s
office.

"Hey guys, good to see you both again." Patrick smiled
and extended his hand.

"Hi Patrick" Mac said with a smile. "We have the gifts
to deliver if you can take them."

"Sure, I’ll be happy to, just bring your car around
the back, we hide them back there so that none of the
kids see them."

Just then a girl ran in with a huge smile on her face
"Patrick, Patrick!!!" She stopped when she saw the two
strangers in the room. "Oh excuse me, I’m sorry." She
began to back out slowly without turning around.

"Wait Clarissa, what is it?"

"Oh, nothing it can wait until later."

"Go ahead, it’s okay. This is…" he looked at Harm and
Mac to fill in the blanks 

"I’m Harm" he extended his hand and gave her a
brilliant smile, which made her blush.

"I’m Mac" the smile she gave the child warmed the
girl’s heart and an instant bond formed between them.

"So, what is it Hon?" Patrick looked at the girl.

"I got an A on that paper you helped me with. I just
wanted to come in her to tell you and thank you again.
I didn’t mean to interrupt."

"I’m so proud of you ‘Rissa. You are so smart and I
didn’t really help all that much, you did most of it
on your own."

‘Rissa smiled and looked at Harm and Mac then ran out
of the small office.

"*That* was Clarissa." He looked directly at Mac,
conveying an unspoken message with his eyes.

Mac grinned "She seems to be a great person."

December 25, 2002

2230 EST

Harm and Mac sat on her couch watching an old movie
that was on TV. As Mac’s head lay in Harm’s lap and
his hand resting on her shoulder she fell into a
trance like sleep. She could hear laughter and paper
being ripped, she saw paper flutter before her field
of vision, then a soft voice rang out. "Wow Mom
cool…look what Santa brought me! Mac could see a boy
hold up a toy G.I. Joe F-14. The box was held high so
Mac could not see his face, but she knew the happiness
in his voice was genuine. The mother’s voice was
tearful but happy "That’s wonderful honey. It’s just
what you wanted. I told you that letter to Santa would
do the trick." The scene faded and Mac found herself
in a new home. It was dark and felt cold; Mac could
see a man sitting in a recliner and hear him snoring.
He reeked of beer, which seemed to make her stomach
church. She saw a fake tree in the corner, with a few
ornaments decorating it as best they could. Then Mac
heard the stride of bare feet make their way to the
living room. The young girl gasped as her gaze fell
upon the bike "Oh my God." She said quietly with large
eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks. "Who would
have known I needed a new bike? I didn’t tell anyone."
She continued to cry softly as she unwrapped the boxes
and discovered the treasures that were meant just for
her. "Thank you Santa." The girl looked heavenward as
another line of tears flowed down her cheeks.

Mac awoke from her visions and had the most joyful
feeling inside of her that she had ever felt. Harm
felt her stir and looked down at the beautiful woman
who gazed back at him through warm brown eyes.

"Thank you, Harm."

"For what?"

"For giving me the best Christmas I’ve ever had."

"No, thank you for helping me to remember the love
that Christmas is based upon."

That silently sat curled up in each other’s arms in
the dim candlelight for another hour before he said
that he had to leave; they both had to work in the
morning. Mac went into the kitchen to bag the
leftovers she was sending home with him and when she
returned, she found him standing at the door putting
on his brown leather jacket. They said their good-byes
and she gave him a hug and as they pulled apart their
cheeks caressed and their eyes locked, it only took
moments for their lips to touch and a gentle kiss to
follow.

Mac cleaned up a few dishes and trash that resulted
from her party for two, then she turned out the lights
and made herself ready for bed. It was when she was
ready to turn down the covers that she saw the small
box on her satin cranberry red pillow sham a folded
note resting next to it. She opened the box to reveal
a pin that looked like an angel, upon closer
inspection it was a heart shaped pearl with a diamond
as a head and sprouting from the back were two hand
carved gold wings. She picked up the note with the
unmistakably familiar script, which read "What is an
angel without her wings? Love you for all Eternity My
Angel, Harm" Mac held the small pendent in her hand as
soft tears rolled down her face.

At the same time Harm busied himself in his kitchen
putting away the food Mac had packed him, but in the
bottom was a box he didn’t recognize. It looked like a
present, wrapped in shiny blue paper with a silver
bow. He unwrapped the gift, opened the box and slid
out the gold Steersman. "Mac" he said, knowing that
they weren’t supposed to buy each other gifts,
especially something this expensive. Unknowingly he
turned the plane over and discovered the inscription
on the back. "Back at the Beginning and only Forward
from Here. From Here to Eternity, Love Forever, Your
Marine". Harm held the plane to his chest right above
his heart, he them walked into his room and placed it
next to an Eagle, Globe and Anchor figurine that sat
in front of a picture of the two of them. He looked at
the picture, then the two gilded ornaments and smiled
"I love you, My Angel."

The End

Merry Christmas everyone, especially my friends and
the many others who serve and protect our freedom
every day. And to those who don’t celebrate this
holiday, may your day be filled his happiness and good
cheer.