Harm walked behind the wheelchair, taking control of moving Sturgis along as Mac and Varese walked a few paces ahead of them, and a nurse kept pace with Harm. "So Sturgis, do you feel up to the game? I think it's already started, but we could catch most of the second quarter."
Sturgis grinned behind the oxygen tube he was forced to wear. "I think I'll pass, buddy. A nice, leisurely stroll is about the extent of my energy these days."
"How about the nickel tour then?" Harm offered. "We can bore our ladies with stories of when we were here."
"I like that idea," Sturgis agreed.
Harm sent a questioning look over to the nurse, Teresa. At her nod of approval, he increased his pace to catch up with Mac and Varese.
The group toured the Academy grounds for over an hour, with Harm keeping a running commentary of escapes he and Sturgis had been involved in during their younger days. It hadn't been easy getting the doctors to release Sturgis from the hospital, but having a two-star Admiral pleading his case had helped. So had the fact that Varese already had a full time nurse ready to move in to help care for him. However, it was Sturgis himself who had finally convinced the doctors he was well enough to leave by being able to maintain his breathing when they took him off of the ventilator.
As they neared the Academy chapel, Sturgis held up his hand for Harm to stop. "I always thought you'd get married here."
"Under the circumstances, I didn't think waiting for the chapel to be available was very feasible," Harm replied.
"It's been almost twenty-five years, hasn't it?"
"September 3, 2005," Harm replied as he met Mac's gaze over Sturgis's head. "The best day of my life."
Sturgis grew silent and Harm once again moved the wheelchair, leading the small group down the road towards the reception hall.
"I'm sorry, " Sturgis finally said.
"For what?" Harm asked as they neared their destination.
"For ruining your anniversary party," Sturgis replied.
Harm pulled to a stop and walked around the chair to face his friend. "You didn't ruin anything," he stated as he bent down to be on eye level with Sturgis. "And if anybody should apologize today, it should be me."
"Why?" Sturgis asked as he met Harm's gaze.
"For not being able to talk them out of this," Harm replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"What have you done?"
"Don't look at me," Harm said as he stood back up and walked around the chair.
"Varese? Mac?" Sturgis asked as Harm pushed the chair up the ramp to the main entrance of the reception hall.
"Relax, honey," Varese replied. "Since Harm and Mac already had the hall for their anniversary party, we decided not to let it go to waste."
"Please tell me you didn't," Sturgis begged. Turning to Mac, he added, "Please, Mac. Tell me you didn't."
"We didn't," Mac replied. "But Zade and Ben have been very busy this week."
"Harm?"
"Put on your brave face, old friend," Harm replied. "Because you're about to enter the party of the year."
Sturgis merely groaned as Mac and Varese opened the doors and Harm rolled him inside. Before his eyes could adjust to the dimness of the room, someone turned on all the lights and a loud chorus of "Surprise!" was heard.
Zade and Ben stepped forward and Sturgis immediately held out his hands to them. They each took a hand and gave him a brief hug before Ben stepped back to give Zade a moment alone with her father.
Turning to Harm, Ben held out the microphone in his hand. "Do you want the honors?"
"You're the one responsible for this," Harm replied. "The floor is all yours."
Ben nodded once before turning on the microphone and facing the guests. "Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the Academy. As many of you know, this was originally planned as a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary for my parents. However, in light of recent events, we decided that it would be a great day to expand beyond just a party and have a reunion of sorts. While only some of you have had the pleasure of serving with all three of our honored guests today, I'm positive that all of you have heard the stories. Today we're here to celebrate Admiral Rabb, Colonel Rabb and Captain Turner. On that note, break out the food and let the party begin."
Harm led the small group to the table that had been reserved for them, making sure that Sturgis and Varese were settled before he took Mac's hand in his. "Who should we start with?" he asked as they quickly scanned the crowded room.
"Why not with your brother?" Mac suggested as she pointed out Sergei.
"I didn't know he was going to be here," Harm replied with a smile as they headed across the room.
"He was supposed to be part of your anniversary surprise from Ben and I," Mac replied. "Then when the news about Sturgis broke, I guess I just forgot to mention it."
Sergei greeted them with outstretched arms, hugging Mac first and then Harm. "Hello, brother."
"It's good to see you, Sergei. How are you?"
"We are all good," he replied. "Maria and the boys send their love. They would have loved to have been here in person, but with school starting, it just didn't work out."
"You did at least bring pictures, right?" Mac asked.
Sergei patted his jacket pocket. "Special delivery for their favorite aunt and uncle."
"So how are things in California?" Harm asked.
"Business is good," Sergei replied. "We are looking to hire an additional instructor by the end of the year."
"Very impressive," Harm replied. "What about the partnership with the skydiving school?"
"Still under negotiations," Sergei replied. "I'm not worrying too much about it right now, though. It will either work out or not."
"Always the optimist," Harm stated. "Just one of the reasons I love you."
"And I you, brother," Sergei replied. "Both of you. Congratulations on twenty-five years together."
Thank you," (this needs a quotation mark at the beginning) Harm and Mac replied in unison.
"And now if you will excuse me, I will get some food and let you two mingle with the others."
"Thanks again, Sergei," Harm replied as he once again pulled his brother in for a hug. "It means a lot to us that you're here."
"Anytime, brother."
As Sergei stepped away, Harm once again reached for Mac's hand. "Thank you, Mac."
"You're welcome," she replied. Looking past his shoulder, Mac smiled. "If it isn't Doom and Gloom."
Harm turned to see Colonel Gomez and Commander Davis holding hands as they approached, and couldn't suppress his own smile. The pair automatically came to attention, but Harm waved them off. "This is a family gathering, people. Knock that stuff off."
"Aye, Sir," they replied in unison.
"Would you care to explain yourselves?" Mac asked as she nodded to where their hands had once again become intertwined.
"We're celebrating ourselves, Colonel," Davis replied. "Matt and I have been married for fourteen years now."
"Congratulations," Harm and Mac both said as they reached out to shake their hands.
"So when did this come about?" Harm asked.
"Not long after you retired, Sir," Gomez replied. "In fact, it was the last assignment that you sent us on that finally pushed us together."
"Really?" Harm asked, doing his best to play dumb.
"Yes, Sir," Davis agreed. "It was a rather stressful assignment, and once we finally got back to headquarters, we sat down and had a nice, long heart to heart about our relationship."
"Or lack thereof," Gomez added.
"Anyway," Davis continued, "We agreed that we'd like to make things work between us, so Matt requested a transfer to the Pentagon."
"And the rest is pretty much history," Gomez added. "Anna and I got married the following summer and we now have three kids."
"That's great, you two," Mac commented.
"Thank you, Ma'am," Davis replied. "And thank you for inviting us today. We had no idea that Captain Turner was ill until your son contacted us earlier this week."
"Sturgis is a very private man," Harm replied. "I think if he'd known what we had planned for today, he would have opted to stay in the hospital."
"Regardless, Sir," Gomez added. "It's an honor to be here today to celebrate three such distinguished officers. And to offer our congratulations on twenty-five years of marriage."
"Thank you, Colonel," Harm replied. "Now if you will excuse us?"
The couples took their leave of each other, but before Harm and Mac could move very far, someone grabbed Mac from behind in a bear hug. "You know, Mac," Keeter said as he swung her around in his arms for a proper hug. "I thought you were smarter than to stick with this guy for twenty-five years."
Mac laughed as she returned Keeter's embrace. "You're kidding, right? Have you forgotten how long it took me to actually catch this sailor?"
"I told you from the beginning you should've ditched him and stayed with me," Keeter responded as he released Mac and held out his hand to Harm. "Harm, old buddy."
Harm reached out and shook his hand and then pulled him into a hug. "How have you been, Keeter?"
"I won't complain," he replied. "I can't say that I enjoyed finding out about Sturgis from Zade, but it doesn't really surprise me. He always was good at keeping things to himself."
"Some things never change," Harm agreed.
"Speaking of never changing," Keeter continued, turning his attention back to Mac. "When are you going to wise up and leave this sucker?"
"I thought we'd give it at least another twenty-five years, Keeter," Mac replied with a smile for Harm. "He's kind of grown on me, you know?"
"Always were the lucky one, Hammer," Keeter said as he slapped Harm on the back. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to go catch up with Sturgis before I have to take off."
"Take it easy, man," Harm said.
"You, too," Keeter replied before leaning down and kissing Mac on the cheek. "If you change your mind..."
"I won't," Mac replied with a laugh. "But thanks for the offer."
Keeter merely shrugged and walked away in the direction of Sturgis's table.
Harm turned to face Mac with a smile. "How about a dance?"
"That sounds nice," Mac agreed as she took Harm's outstretched hand and followed him to the dance floor. She waited until she was settled comfortably in his embrace before she asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm just trying to ignore reality," her replied as he met her gaze.
"This was a good day for him, Harm."
"But how many good days does he have left?" he asked as he looked across the room to where Sturgis and Varese had been joined by Keeter as well as Bud and Harriet. "Is he still going to be around to see Zade finish medical school? Will he be here for her wedding? Who's going to look out for her once he's gone?"
Mac waited until he met her gaze again before she replied, "I don't think you have to worry about someone keeping an eye on Zade, Harm. Your son seems to have already assumed that role."
Harm raised an eyebrow at that, then maneuvered them around so he could see what Mac was talking about. He saw Ben and Zade sitting at a table with Jimmy and Nikki Roberts, and Jimmy's partner in his computer software development company, Seth. "They're just sitting at a table together," he said as he looked back at Mac.
"Watch them for a few minutes," Mac replied. "You'll see your son acting towards Zade the way Seth is with Nikki."
"But Seth and Nikki are practically engaged," Harm replied.
"And Ben and Zade have been friends for a long time," Mac countered.
Harm turned his attention back to the table and saw the three young men all stand up as Jimmy's girlfriend, Hanna, joined them. He couldn't help but smile as he said, "Well, at least they have manners." He watched them for several seconds before he turned his attention back to Mac. "I just don't see it."
Mac couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'm not surprised, Harm. Just trust me on this one, and whatever you do, don't say anything to Ben or Zade about it."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because I seriously doubt that either one of them are ready to admit that their childhood friendship is transforming into something else. They need time to discover that for themselves."
"Like us?"
"I'm hoping for a little quicker timetable," Mac teased. "But yeah, like us. It has to be on their own terms."
Harm nodded his agreement at that, and then looked down to meet her gaze again. "I love you, Mac."
"I love you, too."
"I can't even begin to tell you how great these last twenty-five years with you have been."
"As great as catching the three-wire the first time?" she teased.
"Even better," he replied.
"Good enough to try for another twenty-five?" she asked.
"Definitely," he agreed. "And then twenty-five more after that."