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Little Child, Be Not Afraid By: slick1969
Summary: Harm gets a delivery on his doorstep. Rating: GS Disclaimer: Despite all of my efforts, I still don't own the characters from JAG. The song (Lullabye for a Stormy Night, belongs to Vienna Teng). Spoilers: Through Season 9.
New Year's Morning Harm's Apartment Harm rolled over and looked at his clock. The LED read 0115. He lay on his back and rubbed his eyes. He could hear the rain dripping down the windows, but that wasn't what woke him. At least, he didn't think it did. Then he heard it again. A muffled cry. It sounded like it came from the hallway outside his apartment. Fully awake, Harm slipped on a T-shirt and sweatpants and jogged to his door. The noises grew louder and he realized it was an infant. Who would have a baby out at this hour? Harm thought to himself. He pulled the door open and didn't see anyone in the hallway. Then he looked down and saw her. A squalling pink bundle in a baby carrier with a diaper bag next to it. He stepped out in the hallway and checked the elevator. Nothing. Picking up the carrier and bag, Harm told the baby, "You like making noise, don't you? Let's get you in here and see if we can find out who you are." Once back inside his apartment, Harm undid the buckles and took the baby out. He held her against his shoulder, trying to stop her crying. "Shush, everything's going to be okay." He looked in the carrier to see if there was any clue to her identity. He didn't find anything. "Well, little one," he said softly, "It looks like you're spending New Year's with me." He sat down on the couch with her. The baby continued crying and Harm rummaged in the diaper bag. Finding a bottle, he took it to the kitchen area and began heating it. "Hungry, aren't you?" he asked. He held the now-warm bottle to her mouth and she immediately began slurping down the formula. Holding both baby and bottle with one hand, he picked up the telephone and hit a speed-dial number. "Hi, sorry to wake you. Uh, could you come over right away? Something's come up and I need help." He listened as the person on the other end replied. "See you in a few. Thanks." He put the phone back on its cradle and walked back to the sofa. He took the bottle out of the baby's mouth. "I should probably burp you, huh?" He lifted her to his shoulder and began patting her back gently. He felt her stomach rumble and then she burped. Along with the gas, she spit up some formula. "Great. Guess I should have put a cloth over my shoulder," Harm commented wryly. "And you're ready to eat more, so I'll have to wait to change, right?" She polished off the rest of the bottle and Harm burped her again, this time careful to use a burp cloth. He laid her back in the carrier and took off his shirt. Before he could put a new one on, there was a knock at the door. He opened the door and let Mac in. "Sorry for the outfit, but little miss over there gave me a present." He pulled a clean T-shirt over his head. Mac gave him a puzzled look. Harm pointed at the carrier, rocking gently as the infant kicked. "About a half hour ago, I heard a noise outside. I opened my door and there she was, crying. No sign of the mom. Just the car seat and a diaper bag." "Shouldn't you call the police or Child Protective Services, Harm?" Mac asked him. "You don't know anything about babies." "Let her have peace for the rest of tonight," Harm commented. "I'll call the police in the morning. They're plenty busy tonight with all the drunks for New Year's. And who knows? Maybe her mother will have a change of heart and come back for her." "As if a mother who abandons an infant in DC deserves to have it back," Mac muttered. Harm rolled his eyes at her. "Don't jump to any conclusions. You don't know the circumstances." Mac walked over to the baby. "So does she have a name?" "I'd guess so, but I don't know it. Couldn't find anything in the carrier or bag." The baby started fussing and Harm picked her up. "I bet you need a diaper change, little miss." Harm pulled out a changing pad and put a fresh diaper on her. "So what do you need me here for?" Mac asked him, feeling useless. "You seem to have everything under control." "Yeah, right now, while the adrenaline's going. But I'm afraid I'll fall asleep and won't wake up when she's hungry and crying in a few hours." He grinned at her. "I was hoping we could take shifts." Mac found herself smiling back at Harm. "All right. Just as long as I don't get stuck with all the shifts." Harm held his hands up. "I promise you won't. And I've never made a promise I didn't keep." Mac's face fell at that reminder of their ill-timed conversation at the Admiral's retirement party. Harm decided not to back away. "Don't forget, the offer still stands on that promise. Whenever you're ready." Mac smiled sadly at him. "I know, and I appreciate that." Turning back to practicalities, she asked him, "So I get the sofa, right?" He nodded at her. "I got the pillows and blankets out for you. I'll finish out my shift and get little miss back to sleep before I hit the rack." He waited for Mac to settle into the sofa and then sat in his easy chair. He started rocking the infant gently and in a soft voice began singing.
Mac's eyes teared up at the simple beauty of the song, so perfect for this child. And so perfect for her.
She buried her head in the pillow, not wanting Harm to see her tears. She wished she'd had someone to make her childhood fears and tears go away. Hell, she wished she had someone to do that today. She'd spent another New Year's Eve alone, asking herself why she kept pushing everyone in her life away.
At the brink of sleep, she realized the one person who'd never left her, no matter how hard she pushed, was Harm. She smiled as she thought about telling him in the morning that she was ready.
Harm placed the baby, now asleep, back in the car seat and put it next to the sofa. He looked at Mac, smiling in her sleep. Tenderly, he pulled the blankets up to keep her warm. Kissing her forehead, he decided tomorrow he'd tell her how he felt. The End. |