FicWad

Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. It's leading up to the big moment we've all been waiting for. Hope you enjoy.

Lanie was rushing down the school hallways towards her classroom She didn't want to be late getting back to class from recess. She was almost there when a bigger girl rounded the corner with her friends. "Well, if it isn't the killer's girl."
"Leave me alone, Bella," Lanie sighed.
"Why are you even here. You probably helped your daddy hurt those people. That makes you a criminal,too," Bella shot back snidely.
One of Bella's friends came up and shoved Lanie into the wall. "Bet that's not all you helped your daddy with."
Lanie's eyes filled with tears but she tried to choke them back. She wouldn't let these mean girls see her cry.
Bella shoved the young girl. "So how 'bout it, Freak? Did Daddy have some fun with you?"

"Leave her alone!!" screamed another voice.

The scream brought some of the teachers out of their rooms to see what was going on. Bella and her friends took off running back to their class.
"Are you ok?" Lacey asked. Lanie just shook her head and pushed past her best friend into the classroom.
The girls made it to class just in the nick of time. Lanie was releived. She didn't want to have to explain to her teacher why she was late.
She forced herself to make it to the rest of the day, but was silent the entire bus ride home. When the bus stopped on her corner, she and Lacey got out and walked towards Lanie's house.
"You wanna work on homework together?" Lacey asked softly.
"I guess," Lanie replied lamely.
The two went into the house and grabbed some cookies and lemonade. Then they sat down at the kitchen table with their work. Their sisters were in the living room doing their own homework.
After several moments of silence, Lacey insisted, "Lanie, you gotta tell someone about Bella and Jen. Tiffany and Jaden won't do anything to stop her. They're scared of her,too so they just do what Bella wants. Jen is almost as bad as Bella. They have to be stopped."
"No, Lacey. I'm just going to ignore them. They'll stop. It'll just get worse if I tell," Lanie protested firmly.
"It'll just get worse if you keep quiet!" Lacey shot back.
"Lacey, I said no! I'm not talking to you about it anymore. Leave me alone!" yelled Lanie before jumping up and dashing back to her room.
"Lanie?" Chloe called out as her sister ran past her through the living room.
Chloe looked at her friend and shrugged before heading to the kitchen.
"What happened? Lanie just ran back to her room. She looked pretty upset," she asked Lacey.
Lacey looked up at the older girl with tear-filled eyes. "I can't tell. I promised. But ask her,Chloe. Make her tell you, please. It's important."
"Ok," agreed Chloe, adding, "Thanks, Lacey."
"We better go. See ya later, Chlo," Bethany stated.
"Tell Lanie to call me," Lacey added timidly as she grabbed her backpack.
"I will. See ya guys later," Chloe promised. As soon as the visitors had left, She ran back to Lanie's bedroom.
As she approached the door, she heard sobbing coming from within.
she knocked and called out,"Lanie? It's Chloe. Can I come in?"
There was no response, so Chloe just opened the door and walked right in.
"Hey, Sis. What's wrong?" she asked, sitting down on the bed and stroking the younger girl's hair.
Lanie didn't answer her big sister verbaly. Instead, she sat up and threw herself into Chloe's arms. Chloe held her little sister until she quieted.
When the sobs had subsided, she asked, "Lanie? What happened? Did something happen at school?"
Lanie looked at her hands for a few moments before finally nodding slowly.
"What happened? You know you can tell me anything," Chloe inquired gently as she ran her fingers through Lanie's hair once more.
"These girls at school picked on me. Again," Lanie admitted.
Chloe looked into her sister's eyes. "Again? You mean it's happened before?"
"Yeah. Since the second day of school. Someone found out who my birth dad was."
Chloe gasped. "Lanie. That's not right. You've got to tell someone like a teacher or the principal. They'll make sure those creeps don't bully you again."
Lanie's eyes widened in terror. "Chloe, no! These are sixth graders. They're bigger than me. They'll beat me up if they find out I told!"
"Lanie, calm down. The principal wouldn't let that happen. These are cowardly bullies who get off on picking on smaller kids. They can't keep getting away with it. You've got to tell Mac and Harm tonight. They'll know what to do so the bullies don't find out you told until they get in trouble. Then it will be too late for them to retaliate," Chloe persisted.
Lanie hesitated but then replied, "Ok. I'll tell them tonight."
Chloe smiled at her. "Good. And you also need to call Lacey and let her know everything's ok. She was pretty worried about you."
"Ok. And maybe they could come back over and we can finish our homework together," was Lanie's response.
"Sounds great. Go call her and I'll put the snack stuff away." Chloe ordered.
Lanie started to get up but then turned and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "Thanks, Chloe. Love you."
"Love you, too," Chloe replied before giving the young girl a kiss on the forehead and pulling away. Lanie grinned and skipped off to call her friend.
Later that evening, Mac was getting dinner ready when Lanie came came in and timidly admitted, "Mac, I....I need to.. tell you something."
Mac looked at her daughter in concern. "What's on your mind, Sweetheart?"
"Well, it's kind of important and really hard to talk about so I was wondering if maybe we could talk after dinner. Or right before? I need Harm to hear this too, and I don't want to have to talk about it three times. Chloe already knows."
Mac imediately took the vegatables of the stove and turned off the heat. She took Lanie's hand and led her to the living room where Chloe and Harm were playing checkers. "Harm, we need a family meeting."
Harm looked up in surprise. "Sounds urgent."
"I called it. I'm having problems at school," Lanie told him in a little above a whisper.
"Ok. Come sit down. We'll work this out. Tell us what happened," Harm encouraged.
Lanie sat down on the sofa next to Chloe who took her hand. Lanie took a deep breath and began her story. By the time she had finished, she was sobbing and Mac and harm were both enraged, though they kept it in for Lanie's sake. Mac scooped up her foster daughter and held her tightly in her arm, rocking her back and forth.
"Don't worry honey. We'll take care of this. We'll talk to the principal with you," she soothed.
Lanie began to panic. "No, Mac! We can't! They said they'd hurt me worse if I told."
"Sweetie, that's how bullies work. They use threats to keep from getting caught. They won't stop until they ARE caught. I promise that Mac and I will be with you the entire time." Harm explained.
Finally, they were able to convince Lanie to report the girls. Mac called the principal first thing the next morning and set up an appointment.
Two afternoons later, Mac, Harm, Lanie, Lacey, Lanie's teacher, and the mean girls' teacher, along with the mean girls and their parents all met in the Principal's office.
"What's that little liar been telling you?!" snapped Bella.
"From what witnesses have told me, Lanie isn't lying. You are." the principal replied.
"How dare you talk to my daughter like that! She told me about Lanie's father. How could you allow the child of a killer who also had an uncle who was a murderer to attend school with other children?!" Bella's mom demanded.
The other parents shouted protests of their own,as well as the other girls. The principal had to take charge and calm down the situation. Once she finally had control back, She heard the different testimonies and finally decided to expel Bella and Jen. The other girls in Bella's group were given a week's suspension. Of course the parents of Bella and her friends threatened to sue the school, but for now, Lanie was finally free. Suddenly she was wrapped in a tight embrace from her best friend before being hugged by her parents.
A few days later, Harm, Mac and the girls went out to eat. While Mac went back to the ladie's room, Harm took the opertunitie to talk with the girls. "Can you girls keep a secret?"
"Sure," Chloe assured him as Lanie nodded.
"I'm going to propose to Mac," Harm informed them.
The girls both let out excited squeals.
"When?!" inquired Lanie.
Harm grinned. "Well, Mac and I first met in the White House Rose Garden nearly eight years ago. I want to propose to her after the Military banquet at the White House. In the Rose Garden."
"Perfect!" Chloe breathed out.
"Do you have the ring yet?" Lanie wanted to know.
Harm shook his head. "I was thinking you girls might like to help me pick one out."
"Awesome!" both girls said at the same time. Before Harm could respond, Mac returned, so the other three did their best to act normal.
Over the next few days, the proposal was planned. Harm not only had the help of the girls, but also Bud and Harriet, Chegwidden,Turner, and Coates. Mac seemed to be getting a bit suspicious as it got closer to the event, but so far she wasn't asking questions.
On the night of the banquet, Lanie and Chloe both put on new dresses that they had purchased especially for the occasion. Lanie's was lavender with blue flowers on it. Chloe's was mint green was a peach colored sash. Mac had on a beautiful crimson full-length and Harm was, of course, in dress whites. They arrived at the banquet on time and greeted their friends. Harriet gave the girls a grin when Mac wasn't watching and squeezed their hands.
During the break, Harm led Mac out to the gardens and straight to the Rose Garden.
"Harm?" Mac questioned when they stopped in the middle.
Harm gave her a smile before getting on one knee. Mac watched him in shock.
"Mac, I've loved you since the day we met right here seven years ago. You're my best friend and I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. I want to adopt the girls so we can all be a family. Sarah McKenzie. Will you marry me?"
Well there's the proposal. Will Mac accept? Will she and Harm be able to adopt Lanie and Chloe? tune in next week to find out. Thanks for reading.