Family Ties
A series of oneshots

Chapter One
Best of the Best

MARCH 16TH, 2020

1750 EST
MACKENZIE-RABB RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The three Mackenzie-Rabb children were older now, so their parents didn't have to intervene during arguments unless there were threats or attempts of physical violence, or something uncalled for was said. Plus, they were the children of two lawyers; oftentimes what sounded like an argument was really just a heated discussion. So when Harm and Mac arrived home from work, coincidentally at the same time, and they walked up the porch steps to the sound of three distinct voices yelling from inside their home, they weren't too alarmed.

"Wonder what this one's about," Mac mused.

"Probably which High School Musical movie is the best," Harm answered as he opened the front door, the voices of their children instantly becoming louder.

"Obviously, I am the best child in this household."

"Adam, you're literally wrong."

"It's my opinion. There are no wrong opinions."

"Yours is the exception."

"Both of you are wrong. I'm the best child."

"What?"

"Why?"

"The youngest child is always the best. Amy March was the youngest March sister and Kylie Jenner is the youngest Kardashian. It's science."

Harm and Mac both shared a confused glance as they walked into the kitchen. Their oldest, Clara, was sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen island, her feet propped up on the island. Their second child and only son, Adam, was sitting on another stool, and their youngest, Lily, was sitting on the kitchen counter, leaning against a cupboard. They were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't even notice their parents at first.

"That is so inaccurate!" Clara exclaimed. "Amy is not the best March sister, and Kylie is not the best Kardashian. Are you forgetting Kourtney's existence?"

"Kylie has the most money, though," Adam pointed out.

"Thank you!"

Clara rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you guys," she said. "School closes down for two weeks because of a virus and you two suddenly forget how to act."

"What are you guys talking about?" Harm finally asked. All three of the kids jumped, Lily instinctively sliding off the counter. Clara kept her feet propped up on the island, because turning eighteen had given her the notion that house rules no longer applied to her.

"We're deciding which one of us is the best child," Adam explained.

"How long has this discussion been going on?" Mac walked into the kitchen, sitting her briefcase down on the island, nudging Clara's feet down.

"The whole day," Clara answered, placing her feet back on the island. "Mom, tell them I'm the best."

"Umm, no," Mac pushed Clara's feet off the island again, giving her a pointed look. One of "Mom who also happens to be a Marine" looks. "I'm not going to do that. I don't have favorites."

"Dad, do you have favorites?" Clara asked.

Harm shrugged. "Well you were my favorite...for the first four years of your life, but then your brother was born and I had to stop picking favorites."

"We aren't trying to figure out who the favorite is," Lily corrected. "We're trying to figure out which one of us is the best."

"There's a difference?" Harm asked.

"Yes," all three of his children replied.

Harm and Mac exchanged another glance with raised eyebrows. This was going to be interesting.

"You three are all the best," Mac said. "You guys shouldn't compare each other."

"It's fun, though," Adam said. "Do you guys want to give input?"

"No," Mac answered as soon as Harm answered. "Yes."

She turned to glare at him. "What?" Harm asked innocently. "As long as it's just for fun and games, I don't see the problem."

"Okay, then," Clara said just as Mac was about to retort. "I'll plead my case," she cleared her throat and sat up. "I'm the best sibling because I was an accident."

The bluntness of Clara's statement made both Harm and Mac laugh. "I'm being serious!" she said. "The fact that no planning went into my existence and I turned out this perfect naturally makes me superior."

Mac looked at Harm. "She definitely has your ego," she murmured, and Clara grinned.

"I would like to counter," Adam said. "Unlike Clara, I believe I'm best because I was planned. Being a child of IVF, I was customized."

"Customized?" Clara wrinkled her nose. "You're making it sound like Mom and Dad practice Eugenics. All the doctors at the clinic did was hit shuffle on Dad's sperm and Mom's eggs and randomly mixed them together in a petri dish."

"It was actually a lot more involved than that," Mac said.

"See!" Adam stood up. "Mom agrees with me! I'm the best!"

Mac put her hands up. "I never said that."

Lily walked over the pantry, opening the door and peeking inside. "Both you are wrong," she said, pulling out a container of Oreos. "I'm the best child."

"What is your reasoning?" Harm asked, unable to resist getting in on the action.

"I'm adopted," Lily replied with a shrug. "I was picked. Mom and Dad just got stuck with you two."

"Hey, she can't pull the adoption card, can she?" Adam demanded, looking to Harm and Mac for answers.

"Mom and Dad made it a rule that you and Clara can't play the adoption card against me," Lily replied. "They never said I couldn't play it in favor of myself. It's a loophole."

Harm shrugged. "I don't know the rules, you guys made up this game, I didn't."

"This is ridiculous," Mac said. "You guys are all the best."


ONE WEEK LATER

Mac entered her and Harm's bedroom, hastily shutting the door behind herself. Pressing her back to the door, she looked at Harm, who was laying on the bed trying to read a book. Reaching behind herself to lock the door, she walked over to the bed and flopped down on it, burying her face into her pillow.

"Are they driving you crazy, too?" Harm asked dryly without looking up from his book.

"Yes!" Mac looked up at him. "I thought it was worse when they were little, but now...this is a whole new level."

"Tell me about it," Harm sat his book down. "I'm just thankful that school's only going to be closed for another week."

"I don't know," Mac said, "This Covid thing seems pretty serious."

"You think?" Harm raised an eyebrow.

"Honey, they wouldn't have told us to work from home if it wasn't."

Harm groaned. "Great," he said. "So, which one of them is the best for today?"

"I don't know," Mac replied. "They've all tried me in one way or another."

Even though they all lived together, the entire Mackenzie-Rabb family coexisting for multiple consecutive days in the house was a rarity. They were usually all very busy-Harm and Mac with work and the kids with school and extracurriculars-but everything had come to a stand-still that week. They'd gone the entire week without anyone leaving the house, except for Clara who thought she could be sneaky and take a trip to Starbucks at 5am under the guise that she was going for a run. Needless to say, everyone was going completely stir crazy.

"It's definitely not Clara," Mac said. "She used my straightener this morning and then forgot to unplug it. If I hadn't gone into the bathroom right after she left the house would probably be on fire right now."

"Come on Mac, I feel like we should cut her some slack. Her senior year might get ruined."

"What about Adam?"

"Nope," Harm shook his head. "He keeps bugging me to teach him how to drive."

"Drive?" Mac frowned. "He's thirteen. He can't even get his permit for another two years."

"I know, but try telling him that," Harm said. "He says he wants to 'be extra prepared'. He gets that from his mother."

Mac smiled, resting her head on Harm's shoulder. "He is his mother's son, what can I say? What about Lily?"

"She ate all the Oreos."

"Well, you're gonna have to live with it. I'm not getting groceries again until I absolutely have to. Not in this pandemic."

Harm sighed. "They have to be going back to school eventually, right? They're not gonna extend the break past two weeks, are they?"

Suddenly, there was clamoring from downstairs, the sound of three pairs of feet scrambling up the stairs.

"Are you serious? Are you sure it's from the school?"

"Yes. A bunch of people from school posted it on Instagram. I saw like three different posts about it."

"I told you guys this was going to be bad. But no, no one listens to me."

"We don't listen to people who eat all the Oreos."

"I was stress eating, okay?"

"You're eleven. What do you have to stress about?"

"Oh I don't know, the state of the universe?"

Harm and Mac both sighed. "Let's see what this is about," Mac climbed out of bed, walking to the door. She unlocked it just in time to have it burst open, all three Mackenzie-Rabb children rushing in. Harm couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach.

"What's going on?" Harm asked.

Clara sat down on the bed, shoving her phone in Harm's face. "School's closed for the next month," she said. "I saw it on Instagram."

"Did you see anything from the school though?" Harm asked, squinting to read the phone screen. Mac had been on him to get his eyes tested to see if he needed glasses, but he had to be stubborn about it and put it off.

"Mom, check your email."

"Alright, hold on," Mac pulled her phone out, scrolling through her emails. "Okay, here it is," she cleared her throat. "As a precaution due to Covid-19, all Fairfax county public schools will remain closed through April 20th, 2020-"

"Oh dear God," Harm said before he could stop himself.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Lily asked. "Don't you like us being home?"

"Of course he does," Mac asked instantly, raising her eyebrows at Harm. "Don't you, honey?"

"Yeah, of course I do," Harm said, and he actually meant it. "You guys are the best."


I love writing domestic fluff with Harm and Mac so much, I couldn't resist publishing this story. This is going to a be a series of family-related one shots that exist in the same universe as Nobody Puts Harm in a Corner. They're mostly going to be fluff, but some of them will be angst. You know, just the usual ups and downs of family life :)

I'm not gonna have an update schedule for this one, I'll just update whenever my muse strikes. I have a whole list of ideas on the notes app of my phone, so you guys won't have to wait forever. Also pay attention to the dates, because these won't be published in chronological order

Thank you guys for reading! Review if you wish!

-Harper