For Challenge #4
Using the Lines:
Line 1: There would be no greater gift
Line 2: But it's a green Christmas for me
Line 3: At least it's only once a year
Bonus Line: All this mistletoe, no kiss
There Would Be No Greater Gift (Part 1)
by Mandy
Rabb Residence
Rosslyn, VA
25 December 2010
2207 EST
With all the holiday buzz finally beginning to settle down and the three year old twins asleep, Harm and Mac began to clean up the wrapping paper, bows, and various assortments of tissue paper and boxes that were scattered across the family room.
“Ugh,” Harm grunted as he bent down to pick up red ribbon from under the coffee table. “I think I’m getting too old for this.”
Mac bit back a smile. Harm admitting that his age is catching up to him was certainly something she didn’t hear often.
“Well, at least it’s only once a year,” she responded as she started to fold the clothes Emma and Colin received via UPS from Grams for Christmas.
“I don’t know about that, Mac. I think Colin’s and Emma’s birthday party is like this, too.”
A panicked expression played across Mac’s face. “Do you think we’re spoiling our kids, Harm?”
Harm stood up and stretched. “No, I don’t think we spoil the twins. We have to remember that most of this ‘stuff,’” he gestured to the boxes and whatnot that were still strewn throughout the room, “comes via UPS or FedEx from my mom and Frank, Grams, Mattie, Chloe and the admiral.”
She saw his point. “That is true.”
“Besides, they may be our little miracles, but you and I don’t give in and buy them everything they want. If we did, I think we would need a bigger house!”
“I will admit, though,” his wife began, “there were a few times when I almost gave in. Colin and Emma can be pretty convincing, you know.”
“I know,” he sighed. “I know. I think we have two little lawyers on our hands.”
“We probably do.” Mac chuckled. “Just think about what life will be like when they’re teenagers!”
Harm sat down on the couch and started to help Mac fold the clothes. “I’d rather not. They are already growing up way too fast.”
“Yes, they are,” Mac agreed softly. “Time sure is flying by.”
The room fell silent for a few moments before the shrill sound of Harm’s cell phone ringing broke through the quietness of the house. “I’ll get it,” he said as he reached across Mac and picked his phone up from its spot on the end table.
“I could have handed it to you,” she said.
“I know, but then I wouldn’t have got to do this,” he placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“Well, then, I guess I don’t mind.” She kissed him back.
“I think I should probably answer that,” he whispered against her lips before he pulled away.
Mac innocently batted her eyelashes. “I’m not the one who started it, Captain.”
He grinned. “That’s right. I will take full responsibility for my actions.”
Mac shifted on the couch and placed her feet across her husband’s lap. “I hope you plan on finishing it, too.”
“Oh, believe me, I will.” Then, he looked at the caller-id on his phone. “It’s my mom. Merry Christmas, Mom,” Harm said after flipping his phone open and pressing it against his ear.
"Merry Christmas, darling," said his mother. "I hope you, Sarah, and the kids had a wonderful time."
“We sure did, Mom. Colin loved the blocks, and Emma absolutely adored the tea set.”
"Good, good. I'm glad."
“And Mac and I would like to thank you and Frank for the check. That really wasn’t necessary.”
"Nonsense!" Trish protested. "Since we hardly see you guys anymore, Frank and I decided to send money so you and Sarah could buy whatever you want."
“But, Mom, that is a lot of money.”
Trish clapped her hands together. "I know!" she exclaimed, “You and Sarah can take a second honeymoon, and Frank and I will fly in and watch Emma and Colin! Isn't that a lovely idea?"
Harm smiled at his wife. “Yes, Mom. That is a lovely idea. Mac and I will certainly discuss it.”
"Great!"
“Discuss what?” Mac asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Harm mouthed.
"Hello? Harmon, are you still there?"
Harm returned his attention back to the phone conversation he was having with his mother. “Yeah, I’m still here.”
"So, how was the weather?"
“It was cold and snowy. A typical Christmas, I guess. You know, the kind of white Christmas that thousands of people had.”
“But it's a green Christmas for me, dear,"his mother pointed out. "Just like it always is."
Harm quickly picked up on the sadness in his mother’s voice. “I just had the greatest idea ever!”
Trish chuckled softly. "You always say that."
“Next year, Mac and I are going to send you and Frank airline tickets so you guys can come here for Christmas. I know that we tried this before, but Frank was always busy with work and you’re usually busy with the gallery. However, since Frank is retiring this coming year his schedule shouldn’t pose a problem, and since you know about this almost a year in advance, you can close the gallery up a few weeks earlier than usual. So?” Harm asked excitedly, “What do you think?”
"I think," Trish began, "there would be no greater gift than to spend the holidays with my son and his beautiful family."
“That’s great! However, I do have one more thing to add.”
“What is it, darling?"
“You and Frank better not try to buy your own airline tickets,” he warned in his best ‘lawyer voice.’ “This is a Christmas gift,” he reminded her.
"Okay, okay. We won't buy our own airline tickets." There was pause. "Thank you, Harm. Inviting us over for Christmas is the best gift you can give us. It really is."
“It’ll be nice to have the entire family here. I’ll see if Grams will be able to come, too.”
"Oh," Trish gushed, "I think your grandmother would love that."
“I think so, too.”
"Is Sarah anywhere around you?"
“Yes. She’s sitting right next to me. Would you like to speak with her?”
"Yes, yes. I would love to."
“Just a second.” Harm handed the phone to Mac. “My mother wants to talk to you.”
Mac smiled as she stood up from the couch and pressed the phone to her ear. “Merry Christmas, Trish,” she said as she started to walk into the kitchen.
Harm, knowing that his wife and his mother would be talking for a long time, decided to go check on Emma and Colin before he continued to clean up the house.
When Harm quietly entered the children’s bedroom, he noticed that Colin and Emma were awake. “Aren’t you two supposed to be sleeping?” he asked as he sat on the edge of Colin’s blue racecar bed.
Colin nodded his head bashfully. “Mmhm.”
“How come you aren’t?” Harm asked gently.
“Noises.”
“Monsters!” Emma spoke up. “Monsters in here, Daddy.”
“Monsters? What kind of monsters?” Harm asked.
Colin crawled out from underneath the covers and then continued to climb onto his father’s lap. “We don’t know,” he whispered in Harm’s ear.
“What if it’s a – a- mean, bad monster?” Emma asked.
“I promise you that there are no monsters in here or in this house,” Harm said to his children as he shifted Colin to his hip and then proceeded to pick Emma up. “Okay,” he began as he sat down on the rocking chair with Emma and Colin on his lap. “We talked about this before. There are no monsters here.”
“How do you know?” Colin asked.
“Well, Mommy and Daddy monster-proofed the house before you and Emma were born.”
“Really?” Emma asked with wide eyes.
“Yes, we did,” Harm nodded.
“But, Daddy,” Emma said softly. “What if they sneaks in?”
“Mommy and I will make them leave. Mommy and I will always protect you and Colin, but I don’t think you have to worry about any monsters coming.”
“I think the monsters will leave because Daddy is a Na-by and Mommy is a Ma-rine. They’re heroes! They will make sure no monsters get us! The monsters would be scared of Mommy and Daddy!” Colin said to his sister.
“You’re right, brother!”
Harm couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. He was amazed by how much more he loved his children everyday. “I think you are exactly right. Now that we straightened out this whole monster business, are you two ready to go back to sleep?”
“Yes!” The twins replied in unison.
“Alright, then.” Harm put Emma in her bed, and then he put Colin in his bed. “Daddy is going to go get something, and then he’ll be right back. Okay?”
The children nodded slowly.
When Harm left the room, he made sure he left the light on and the door open. Then, he went into the office and rummaged around the desk drawers looking for the flashlights. He figured Emma and Colin would feel more comfortable about this whole monster situation if he could ‘show’ them there were no monsters. After finding two small flashlights, Harm returned to Colin and Emma’s room. While entering the room, Harm turned on the flashlights and began waving them around.
“What you doing, Dada?” Colin asked.
“I’m making sure that no monsters snuck in,” Harm said as he opened the closet door and flashed the light inside. “Nope. No monsters in here.” Next, he got down on the floor and looked under the beds. “No monsters here.” He continued the tactic while looking in the dresser drawers and the toy chest. After that, Harm spun around in a circle and said, “All monsters are warned!”
Emma and Colin laughed at their daddy’s antics.
“See? There aren’t any monsters here.”
“No…monsters,” Colin said drowsily.
“Monsters all … gone,” Emma said sleepily.
“I’ll put these flashlights right here,” Harm told Colin and Emma as he put the flashlights on the nightstand, “just in case you hear more noises.”
“Mm-hm.”
“ ‘kay.”
“I love you all the way to the moon and back,” Harm said as he tucked the twins in.
“Love …”
“… you.”
After making sure the kids were asleep, Harm adjusted the nightlight and then went back downstairs.
*** ***
Kitchen
2229
*** ***
Harm entered the kitchen just as Mac finished putting the cookie sheets away. “Is everything okay?” she asked. “You were gone for quite a long time.”
“Actually, I went to check on Colin and Emma.”
“And?” Mac prompted. “What happened?”
“Well,” Harm pulled out the stool to the breakfast bar and sat down. “They were awake when I went up there.”
Mac leaned forward against the countertop. “Why?”
“Colin said they heard noises, and Emma said they thought it was a monster.”
“Do you know what noise they heard?”
Harm shrugged. “It probably was the wind hitting against the wreath on their window.”
“They’re okay, right? Are they asleep?”
“Yes and yes. We had a little talk, and I promised them that there are no monsters here. Then, I showed them that there were no monsters.”
“How did you do that?”
“I got two flashlights and started waving them around the room. I opened all the drawers, the closet, the toy chest, and I practically crawled under the beds. Then, I spun around in a circle and said, ‘All monsters are warned!’”
Mac brought a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter.
“Come to think of it, our children laughed at me, too.” He pretended to act hurt, crossed his arms, and made a sad puppy dog face.
Mac took a calming breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.” She cleared her throat. “Actually, I think what you did was very – what word should I use?” For a few seconds, she thought about what word to use. “Creative!” she exclaimed. “What you did was very creative.”
Harm grinned. “You think so?”
“Yes, I do.” Mac began to exit the kitchen. “I’ll go check on them again.” She winked at him.
“What was that supposed to mean?”
“Hm?”
“This.” Harm winked.
“Oh,” Mac grinned. “That. You’ll see.” She left the kitchen and began walking up the stairs.
“Aw, come on, Mac. That isn’t fair.”
“Patience, Harm. Patience,” she called over her shoulder.
*** ***
Master Bedroom
*** ***
After checking on the twins, Mac stepped inside her walk-in closet and pulled out two hangers. The first hanger had the cowboy pajamas that Harm ‘caught’ her in many Christmases ago. Actually, Mac remembered, it was in 2001 – the last Christmas Chloe spent with her, and the year Harm asked her to look after Petty Officer Coates. Mac smiled as she remembered parts of that particular evening. Jen and Chloe were in the living room getting to know each other while she and Harm sat in the dining room drinking hot cocoa. Every now and then she would catch Harm stealing a glance at her pajamas with a silly grin on his face. He never said anything, but she knew that he liked them.
Mac hung that hanger on the hook on the back of the closet door and proceeded to study the following hanger. The second hanger contained a dark green nightgown that rested against her thigh and left very little to the imagination. It was the nightgown that she took on their honeymoon. As she hung that hanger on the same hook with the cowboy pajamas, another nightgown caught her attention - the creamy lace one she wore when she and Harm went to Russia to look for his father.
Mac sighed while she debated on which on to wear. The creamy lace one was out – considering that during that trip, they discovered the fate of Harm Sr., and, knowing that Harm never really was big on Christmas, she didn’t want to bring those memories back. That left the cowboy PJ’s and the green nightgown.
After a fairly short debate, she decided to wear the cowboy pajamas and save the nightgown for New Year’s Eve.
*** ***
When Mac, in her cowboy pajamas, returned to the kitchen, she lingered in the entry way of the kitchen and watched her husband’s movements. Harm was taking the dishes out of the dishwasher, and Mac enjoyed the view of his six.
“See something you like?” he asked.
Even though she couldn’t see his face, she was certain that her husband had that cocky little smirk on his face. “You knew I was here?”
“I always know where you are,” was the answer he offered before turning around. He took a step forward, but he stopped when he saw what his wife was wearing. “Those,” he said as he pointed to her. “I haven’t seen those on you in years.”
Mac smiled. “You like?”
“Yes, I can say that I do.” He walked over to Mac, placed his hands around her waist and then pressed his forehead against hers.
“All this mistletoe,” Mac raked her fingers through his hair and looked up at the mistletoe hanging above them, “and no kiss? Something is very wrong with this picture, Captain Rabb.”
“I can easily fix that.” Harm pressed his lips against Mac’s.
“Much better,” Mac said when they parted. “Much, much better. You know? I think we should go upstairs, and you can unwrap your last gift for this evening.”
Harm flipped the light switch off and said, “There would be no greater gift …”
He paused and thought about all the gifts he received throughout the years, his wife, his children, his family, his career, his friends, and so much more.
“… to unwrap,” he corrected while scooping his wife into his arms and carrying her up the stairs.
The End
