“Oh my word.” Mac stared at the officers as the news sank in. She asked the first question that came to mind: “How?”

“Mrs. Madison was starting through an intersection when a young man ran a red light and hit them. She and her son both died upon impact.”

Mac took a deep breath. “Where did this happen?”

“About two miles from here, ma’am.”

They almost made it, Mac thought.

The shorter officer spoke up. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we’re going to need you to come to the morgue and confirm the identities.”

“When?” Mac asked shakily.

“Tomorrow morning is fine.” The taller officer peered around Mac’s shoulder at the group of people inside the apartment. “Are you having a party, ma’am?”

Mac nodded. “Petty Officer Anderson’s daughter is turning thirteen tomorrow.”

“Oh, no. He has - er, had a daughter?”

“Yes.” A lump started to form in Mac’s throat, and she fought to create a logical question amidst the hundreds of thoughts swirling through her mind. “How did you know they were coming here?”

“Well, when we pulled Mrs. Madison’s body from the car, she had a piece of paper in her hand with this address and your name on it,” the shorter officer told her. “We put two and two together and figured that she and her son were on their way to visit you.”

“Is there anything we can do for you, ma’am?” asked the taller officer, his brow creased with worry.

Mac shook her head. “No, not really. Thank you though.”

“Yes, ma’am.” They both tipped their hats and prepared to leave.

“I’ll stop by the morgue in the morning,” Mac told them.

“All right, ma’am.” The two police officers nodded their heads and left.

Swallowing hard, Mac closed the door and turned around. The living room was empty - everyone was in the kitchen. She listened to the happy chatter floating through the apartment, and it wasn’t long before she heard Chloe’s excited voice. Mac leaned against the door and closed her eyes to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

~*~*~*~*

Harm glanced around the kitchen, but didn’t see his partner. He hadn’t noticed her absence before, so he headed to the living room to look for her.

As soon as he stepped out of the kitchen, he saw her resting against the doorjamb. “Mac?” he asked, immediately noticing her anguished expression.

She opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. “Harm,” she said softly.

“Are you OK?” He quickly crossed the room to stand beside her.

Instead of responding, Mac silently took him by the arm and led him to the guestroom. Harm’s face was a mixture of concern and confusion as she closed the door behind them.

“Mac, what’s going on?”

“Kyle and Mrs. Madison were in an accident.” Mac turned around and took a deep breath, raising her eyes to his. “They didn’t make it.”

Harm’s face paled. “Oh, no…”

Tears began to fall down Mac’s cheeks despite her efforts to keep them at bay. “They were hit going through an intersection…” The rest of her sentence was cut off as she started to weep.

Without saying a word, Harm reached out and took her into his arms. He held her closely and stroked her hair as she cried. His own eyes started to get misty as he realized that Chloe didn’t have any family left. First her mother had died, and now her father and grandmother were gone. She’s only thirteen, he thought. And…

He was brought back to the present by the feeling of Mac shuddering as an especially large sob racked her body. He leaned down to kiss her hair. “Shh, Mac,” he whispered, trying to keep his voice steady. Pull yourself together, Rabb, he reminded himself. Mac and Chloe don’t need you crying with them right now. Take care of your own grief later.

Mac lifted her head off his chest to look into his eyes. “She’s all alone,” she managed to choke out, “…she doesn’t have anyone left.” The very thought set off another round of tears.

“Mac.” Harm’s voice was soft and warm, and he gently wiped her tears away with his thumb. “She’s got you and me. She’ll never be alone.”

“But it’s not the same!”

“No, it isn’t. But we’re going to get through this together - all three of us.” His eyes contained a genuinely honest conviction that held her gaze to his. “I promise.”

Mac sniffled.

“Would you like me to go ask the others to leave?”

Mac nodded. “Will you please stay?”

“Sure. I’ll ask Sturgis and Bobbi to take Sergei home.” Harm opened the guestroom door and headed out to the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*

Ten Minutes Later

“Thanks, Sturgis,” Harm told his friend as the party guests prepared to leave.

“No problem.” Sturgis followed Bobbi and Sergei out the door. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“All right.” Harm nodded, then turned to pick up little A.J. “Bye, buddy,” he told his godson.

“Bye, Unca Hahm.” The little boy wrapped his arms around Harm’s neck and squeezed. Harm grinned and rumpled the young boy’s hair before handing him to his mother. “Goodbye, Harriet.”

“Bye, sir.” Harriet smiled at Harm before leaving.

As soon as the door shut behind the Roberts’, Chloe walked up to Harm. “Harm, what’s going on?”

Mac appeared out of the guestroom and sat down on the couch. “Come here, Chloe.”

Chloe obeyed, and Harm followed her over to the couch. He settled down on the opposite end from Mac, and Chloe sat between the two adults. Mac moved over to put an arm around the young girl.

“Chloe, honey, your grandmother and your father were coming tonight to surprise you for your birthday. But on the way here, they were… in an accident.”

Chloe’s confused expression turned to one of alarm. “Are they OK?”

“No, sweetie… they didn’t make it.”

Chloe screamed.

~*~*~*~*

0605 (6:05 a.m.)

Mac’s internal clock woke her a little after six the next morning. She immediately realized that she wasn’t in her bed, and it didn’t take her long to figure out that she was on the loveseat in her living room. Why am I out here? she wondered, opening her eyes. Then she saw Harm and Chloe asleep on the couch, and the events of last night came flooding back in a rush.

Chloe had sobbed late into the night, despite Harm and Mac’s best efforts to comfort her. Mac remembered moving to the loveseat a few minutes before midnight so that Chloe could stretch out on the couch with her head on Harm’s lap. She’d cried herself to sleep shortly after that, and Mac concluded that she and Harm must have dozed off a few minutes afterwards.

Mac’s heart warmed as she watched Harm and Chloe sleeping. Chloe’s head was still on Harm’s lap, and Harm’s right hand was resting on the young girl’s back. His head was turned in Mac’s direction, as was Chloe’s. Mac gazed at them tenderly for a few moments, then rose off the loveseat to change for her run.

It only took her five minutes to get ready. Dressed in sweatpants and a USMC shirt, she shoved her keys into her pocket and headed outside, locking the door behind her.

It was quiet and peaceful outdoors. The only other people around were fellow pedestrians out for their morning jogs. Mac breathed in the crisp morning air as she broke into a slow trot and started towards the park. Her thoughts drifted back to Chloe.

It didn’t seem fair that so many tragic things had to happen to such a young girl. Chloe had worked hard to recover from her mother’s death and move on, and now she had two more losses to deal with. She didn’t have any family left. Mac shuddered at that thought. She remembered when Kyle had asked her to become Chloe’s legal guardian in case of his or his mother’s death, and how she’d laughed as she signed the paperwork, assuring him that it would never happen. She’d said there was no way that fate would deal the same hand twice. Well, it had.

Mac arrived at the park and turned onto her usual path. Moving from a jog to a run, her thoughts quickly returned to their previous subject.

~*~*~*~*

Twenty Minutes Later

The sound of a car horn in the street below woke Harm. He opened one eye, expecting to see the familiar sight of his bedroom, but instead he was met with the view of an empty loveseat and a coffee table. Mac’s apartment, he realized. Then he looked down at the sleeping girl beside him. He groaned inwardly, remembering the night before. Poor Chloe.

He carefully moved her head off his lap and stood. He then reached down, gently picked her up, and carried her to the guestroom. He placed her on the bed and covered her with a blanket, dropping a kiss on her forehead. She moaned, but didn’t wake up.

Harm walked out of the guestroom, closed the door behind him, and went in search of Mac. She wasn’t in her bedroom or the kitchen, but he found a note on the table:

Harm,

Went out for my run - back in half an hour.

Mac

He sighed and headed back into the living room. He collapsed onto the couch and leaned back, closing his eyes. It seemed unfathomable that in the course of one night, young Chloe Madison’s life had changed forever. It was nearly impossible to believe that she wasn’t going to be able to call her father on the ship anymore, or ride her horse around her grandmother’s ranch… He shook his head.

The phone rang, and he got up off the couch to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hello, brother.” Sergei’s accented voice came from the other end of the line.

“Hey, Sergei. Sorry I didn’t make it home last night. Mac and I were up late with Chloe.”

“It’s no problem. How is she?”

“She took it pretty hard. She’s sleeping right now.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

Harm smiled at his brother’s generosity. “No, Sergei, but thank you.”

Sergei then switched subjects, to Harm’s relief. “Commander Turner is picking me up in an hour. We’re going to the park to play basketball.”

“OK, that’s fine. Watch out, he’s pretty good.”

“I know. He told me last night that he’s beaten you quite a lot lately.”

Harm chuckled. “Sounds like Sturgis.”

“Well, I better go. I have a few things to do before he comes.”

“All right. I’ll probably be here all day.”

“That’s fine. Just call me tonight and tell me if you’re going to spend the night again.”

“Will do. Have fun.”

“I will. Goodbye, brother.”

“Bye.” Harm hung up the phone, then turned to see Mac walk through the door.

“Morning,” she said with a small smile.

“Hey. How was your run?”

“Pretty good.” Mac glanced over at the couch. “Where’s Chloe?”

“She’s still asleep. I put her in the guestroom.”

Mac nodded. “That’s fine. I have to go to the morgue - would you mind staying here with her?”

“Sure.” Harm’s face turned grim. “Confirming the ID’s?”

“Yeah.” Mac headed toward her bedroom. “I’m going to take a shower first, though.”

“OK, I’ll put some coffee on.”

~*~*~*~*

0730 (7:30 a.m.)
City Morgue
Falls Church, Virginia

“Yes, that’s him,” Mac told the young mortician.

He nodded and then turned to the next body, lifting the sheet to show the face. Mac swallowed hard and nodded.

With a sympathetic look toward Mac, the man re-covered the head and led her out of the morgue. “I’m sorry, Ms. MacKenzie.”

“Thank you,” Mac replied, managing a small smile.

“Yes, ma’am.” He pulled the door open for her, and she gave him one last nod before exiting the building.

Once she got to her car, she leaned against it for a moment to collect her bearings. Then, with a heavy sigh, she opened the driver’s side door.

~*~*~*~*

Twenty Minutes Later

“Is she still asleep?” Mac asked as she entered the apartment.

Harm nodded. “I just don’t have the heart to wake her.”

“I know. It’s best if we just let her sleep.” Mac set her purse down on the table and collapsed into a chair.

“You OK?” Harm moved over to sit beside her.

“I’m all right.” Mac turned to look at him. “Harm, I need to talk to you about something.”

Harm looked slightly surprised, but gave a willing nod. “What is it?”

Mac took a deep breath. “About six months ago, Kyle asked me to become Chloe’s legal guardian in case of his or his mother’s death. I agreed. He also wrote in his will that he wanted her to move in with me if something ever happened to them.” Mac studied Harm’s face as he absorbed this information. “So, according to his will and the written agreement between us, Chloe will be living with me from now on.” She paused for a moment, then continued. “Harm, I’ve always wanted a child, and now I’m going to have one. But the truth is, I don’t know if I can do it by myself. Chloe is a teenager, and sometimes they have special needs that can’t be met by only one parent.” Mac gazed into Harm’s hazel-blue eyes, summoning the courage for what she was about to ask. “So, my question is: Will you help me raise Chloe?”