Title: Mother Knows Best
Author: TanteKiki
Wordcount: 2199
Rating: PG
Classification: H/M - Romance
Disclaimer: Just for fun
Prompt: Many a false step is made by standing still
Summary: An earthquake and his mother (or his mother and an earthquake) make things clearer for Harm.

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A grain of regret
Can weigh like a stone down inside of you
And doubt is an anchor
Fear is the rope that you’re tied to
Let it go / Let it go. – Christian Taylor and Debi Cochran

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He felt the earth move under his feet. It was just a small tremor, hardly noticeable by California standards, but a seismic event nonetheless. Harm had been sitting on his mother’s patio. The mug full of coffee in his hand grounded him as his eyes, focused out on the ocean, transported his mind to the deck of a carrier. Even when seen from land, the water was still a beautiful sight to him. The view from this vantage point was not quite as beautiful as the view from a cockpit, but it wasn’t bad. The movement of the waves and the sounds as they met the beach soothed his restless spirit. The smell of salt air was refreshing, if not as intoxicating as jet fuel. A shift in wind direction blew a spray of salt water into his face and suddenly Harm’s thoughts drifted back to the time he had spent battling these same elements of salt, wind and water in the Atlantic last spring. But it had been dark then. Not like now. Sunrises on the west coast weren’t quite as striking as the sunsets, but the early morning light reflecting on the water helped draw him back from his memories before he had time to focus deeply on the details of that night.

The investigation that had brought him to San Diego had been anything but straightforward. Eventually he had untangled the relevant threads of information from the irrelevant and freed himself for a long overdue weekend visiting his mother. Harm had kept himself on East Coast time during this trip, so his mother was still in bed, while he enjoyed the perks of California weather, along with the less welcome but familiar earthquake.

As the tremor subsided and the earth stood still once more, Harm remembered the fortune he had received at dinner the night before, ‘many a false step is made by standing still.’ The food wasn’t as good as his usual Chinese takeout with Mac, but … now where had that image come from? Harm shook his head to force his thoughts physically back to the present. His mother had chuckled and needled him about getting the wrong fortune ‘How can someone who flies F14s ever stand still?’ If she only knew how very still he had been standing. His thoughts quickly returned to Mac and now they had nothing to do with Chinese food. His brain, obviously more addled by the time change than he imagined, made another one of those odd spontaneous connections, and in his mind Harm heard Sturgis “and then Mac tells me that her life is an earthquake”. Certainly Mac was never far from his thoughts, but Harm suddenly felt as if his subconscious mind had gotten a bit frustrated with his reactions to subtlety and had decided the ‘two by four’ approach was needed instead. With her sense of timing and her experience with his metaphysical side, Mac would be the one person to truly appreciate this theory. The earth certainly hadn’t been standing still; perhaps it was a sign that he should start moving as well.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Years of military and flight training paid off. He had heard her soft footsteps in a small and unused corner of his brain and so he wasn’t badly startled. “Good morning, Mom.” He rose to give her a hug and kiss and then sat back down. “I’m not sure they’re worth that much.”

“That’s not how it looked to me, dear. Thinking about Mac?”

“How did you … what makes you …,” he sputtered with little conviction, “I was just watching the waves.”

Trish smiled indulgently, “and I have a nice bridge for sale.”

Harm half choked half spit out the mouthful of coffee he had just gulped in an effort to regain the equilibrium his mother had disturbed.

“Are you all right, darling? You seem to be a little tense this morning.”

“Just a little out of practice with your unorthodox cross examination tactics.” He wiped up coffee with a napkin.

“I thought that unorthodox methods were your specialty.”

“I’m usually asking the questions, Mom.”

“Isn’t it good to get experience on the other side?” she teased.

“Not this early in the day.”

“All right. We’ll table this discussion.” Harm breathed deeply in relief. “At least until after breakfast,” Trish added. Harm chuckled softly at his mother’s persistence.

Trish poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from Harm. “So, how is Mac?”

He turned a frustrated look at his mother. “I thought we were tabling discussion of Mac?”

“Your thoughts about her, not all mentions entirely,” she smiled.

“Just trying to clarify the rules of engagement, Mom.”

Trish shook her head. “This isn’t a battle, Harm.”

“You could have fooled me.”

“So, how is she?”

“You’re not going to let up on this, are you?”

“Not until I get an answer.”

“She’s fine.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” He rolled his eyes in response. “Now, didn’t I teach you better than that?”

“Sorry, Mom.” His reply was as automatic as it had been thirty years before.

“Want to make it up to me?” Trish asked with her eyes twinkling.

“I feel a nightmare coming on.”

“Sometimes it helps to talk about it.” Harm started to speak, but Trish continued, “Kidding aside, you know I’m a good listener and I won’t push …” He snorted an interruption. “Well, not much,” she amended.

“I was thinking about my fortune from last night.”

Trish paused as she cast her mind back to last night’s dinner. “What does standing still have to do with Mac?” Harm didn’t meet her eyes but instead stared at his coffee mug. Trish studied his face for a moment and then continued, “oh, I think I see. You’ve finally decided that it’s been a mistake not to pursue a relationship with Mac.”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” His eyes turned to gaze back out at the ocean. “There was a tremor earlier this morning.”

“Harm, if you’re this oblique with Mac, it’s no wonder that your relationship hasn’t progressed very far.”

“Yeah, add that to the long list of obstacles we’ve put in the way,” he muttered to himself.

His mother chose to ignore that remark and pursue the mystery of the connection between plate tectonics and her son’s love life, or lack thereof. “What does a minor earthquake have to do with anything?”

With uncharacteristic candor Harm supplied an answer. “Somehow the fortune and the tremor just knocked loose all the regrets that I’ve been storing up. Mom, how did you know?”

“Know what?” Trish assumed he would be asking how she knew she was in love, either with his father or with Frank, but her son had played left field in little league and it seemed some of his thought patterns were still there.

“About Mac.”

“You told me, darling.”

“No. That’s not possible. I’ve never talked to anyone about Mac. I would remember doing something like that.”

“Of course you did.” Trish recounted patiently, as if to a small boy. “You called shortly after you met her to tell me about your new partner. You had been a little down after Meg was reassigned. I remember when you said the name ‘Mac’ I thought you would finally have a buddy again, someone like Sturgis or Jack. But then you said, ‘she’s a marine’. I’ll never forget the way your voice sounded.”

“No, Mom, how did you know?” The tone of his voice was plaintive, almost desperate.

Trish quickly caught up with Harm’s train of thought. “That you’re in love with her?”

He nodded numbly. “You’ve never even met her.”

“That’s true, but you’re my son, and I think I know you.”

“But how?” Somehow he thought if he could understand how his mother knew about something he had only barely admitted to himself that his path would be clearer.

“The sound of your voice.”

“Now who’s being oblique?” he snapped.

“I’m sorry, Harm. I didn’t mean to be.” She reached across and clasped his hand. Trish paused as she searched her memory for words to describe what she had known for so long. “I could hear something in your voice that very first time you said her name. At first it was admiration and pride and perhaps a little awe, even if you were trying to cover most of it with your own arrogance.” He started to protest but she stilled him with a mother’s glare. “And yes, there was also confusion. I know now that was because of her resemblance to Diane. Then as time went on, I could eventually hear the love. Even when the words you were speaking were angry or frustrated or disappointed, beneath was tenderness and concern and love. You didn’t sound the same way when you were involved with Diane. It was clear that you cared about her deeply, but Mac was another category entirely. It was the same with Renee. She didn’t touch your heart the same way that Mac did. When Mac went to Russia with you, I began to suspect that she loved you too. I tried not to meddle.” Harm responded with a son’s questioning glare. “Well, not much anyway. Her engagement did throw me off though.”

“You and me both.”

She chuckled. “So if you’re not going to stand still any longer, what are you going to do?”

“That’s the $64,000 question. Any suggestions?”

“You’re asking my advice?” her eyes twinkled again.

“Please, Mom, don’t gloat. It’s not attractive.”

“No, darling, of course not. But it’s really very simple.”

At that remark, Harm’s eyes widened in astonishment. “That’s what Mac said.”

“You already talked to her?” Now it was Trish’s turn to be surprised.

“Not exactly.” Harm mumbled a bit to cover his discomfort.

“What exactly did you say and when?” The interrogator returned.

“It was at her engagement party.” Trish gasped softly. “Yeah, I know. Not my finest hour as a gentleman. But she started it.” Trish glared at him once more. “No excuse. We were talking about our relationship, and among other things, she said that I make simple things complicated and I said she makes complicated things too simple.”

“Maybe there’s a compromise to be had, a plea bargain?”

“It IS complicated, Mom. We work together.”

“That didn’t seem to stop Mr. Brumby.” He snorted in disgust. “Harm, how are you going to feel when the next Mic Brumby comes along? Do you want to keep living with these regrets you just knocked loose or do you want to do something to change them?”

“Point taken. So what do you suggest?”

“You’ve already known her for nearly six years, there’s probably no need for anything elaborate. I think I’d opt for very direct and very simple.”

- The next day –

“I’m sorry to cut the visit short, Mom. I really did intend to stay.”

“I know you did, darling, but if you follow through, this is for a very good cause. Now get going, you don’t want to miss your flight.”

“Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry.”

“Don’t be smart with me, Harmon Rabb.”

“You wouldn’t have it any other way.” He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “Thanks for everything, Mom. Keep your fingers crossed.”

“And my toes, darling.”

- Later that day, back in D.C. -

It had been a very long day for Harm, but he thought he should go straight to Mac’s rather than giving himself a chance to overthink his mother’s plan.

He saw Mac’s car out front and hoped that she didn’t have company. He’d have to take his chances. He got to her door, took a deep breath, and knocked.

Mac was surprised to hear the knock at her door and even more surprised to see Harm through the peephole before she opened the door. “You’re home early. I didn’t expect you until tomorrow. Come on in.” She stepped to the side to let Harm in, but he didn’t move. “Is something wrong?”

“No, something’s finally right, I think.”

“What …” Mac’s words were muffled by Harm’s lips. He had grabbed her waist and begun the kiss before she realized what was happening. The small part of his brain that wasn’t concentrating on his physical connection with Mac was pleased at how quickly she relaxed into the kiss. He kept it simple, as simple as kissing Mac could be, but still tried to convey his serious intentions. Slowly he pulled back and she smiled up at him with twinkling and glistening eyes, “You should visit your mother more often.”

“Yes, I think we should.” He smiled. And then he followed her inside.

The End.