Thanks again to all of those who read/review. I'm glad you're still interested in this series of mine.

Rabb Residence
2011

Harmon Rabb sighed, mentally willing himself not to become frustrated, but it was becoming harder and harder with each passing second.

"Please sit still so I can get the splinter out, huh?" He reached for her hand again, moving it more under the light as he squinted to see the tiny splinter in her thumb.

His patient wiggled around from her perch on the marble counter in the bathroom. "But it hurts."

"It's just a little baby splinter. It's not that bad."

"Yes, it is," she whined.

"I have a very good nurse on duty who is prepared to give you a princess band-aid and maybe even some ice cream if you just let me dig this splinter out, okay?"

Ice cream sounded nice –if it was chocolate- but it suddenly became the last thing on her mind after she processed his words. "Dig it out?!"

Harm sighed. "I didn't mean it that way!"

She pulled her hand from his grasp. "It doesn't need to come out. It can just stay."

"Nope. It's coming out," he said as he reached for her hand again. "If it doesn't it will get infected."

"Maybe it will come out by itself?"

"Honey, you already let it soak for ten minutes. It's being stubborn," - like you- he thought to himself. "It just needs a little bit of help. Let me get it out, please?" He was practically begging.

"Is the patient all fixed?"

They turned their attention to the door.

"No, Itsy-Bitsy," Harm shook his head. "Mommy didn't let me get her splinter out yet."

"Oh, Mommy, why not? Are you afraid?" Caroline wondered. "Can I sit by the patient, Doctor?"

Harm nodded and lifted Caroline up so she was sitting on the counter next to Mac. Caroline placed her head on her mother's shoulder. "It's okay if you're scared, but Daddy will make you all better."

"She speaks the truth, Mac."

Harm was thoroughly confused by his wife's demeanor. He'd seen her handle being shot better than she was handling this splinter, and it wasn't making any sense to him. He knew that she was pretty good about handling first aid, and she even saw the aftermath of some pretty severe war injuries when she was in the corps. He was so incredibly befuddled about how a tiny little splinter that she got while they were preparing Caroline's backyard playhouse for summer could cause her to have this type of reaction.

"You can hold my hand, Momma. Just like I holded your hand when I was scared when that mean bee stung me that time."

Mac smiled at her incredibly sweet daughter. "Okay, baby, let's do this." She held Caroline's hand with her non-splinter infected hand and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. There were very few things she was squeamish about in life, but splinters were one of those things. She could not watch as her husband removed the piece of wood from her thumb.

"Three...two...one..." Harm counted slowly as he pricked her skin with the tweezers and grasped the splinter. "...and there we go. It's out."

Mac opened one eye and then another. "That's it?"

"That's it!" Harm confirmed.

"You were so brave, Mommy!" Caroline praised. "Time for your band-aid." She reached for the box of princess band-aids next to them on the counter and opened one.

Mac knew she didn't actually need a band-aid, but Nurse Caroline took her job very seriously. "Thank you, baby."

"You also get chocolate ice cream. I'll go get the toppings!" She announced proudly. She reached her arms out towards her father signaling she wanted help getting down from the counter. "Wait!" She clung to her father's neck as he set her feet on the ground and whispered something in his ear.

Harm grinned. "I think that's just what the patient needs," Mac could hear him whisper back. "Go get everything out for the ice cream and Mommy and I will be there soon."

"Okay!" Caroline giggled as she made her way out of the bathroom.

"Just the toppings, Itsy-Bitsy!" Harm called out as a reminder. "Wait for us to get the ice cream and the dishes."

"Okay, Daddy!" She called back.

"And just what exactly was that little sidebar about?" Mac asked, arms crossed and eyebrow raised when they were alone.

"Well, Caroline thinks that I should give you a kiss to make it better."

"Oh, she does, does she?"

Harm nodded. "Nurse's orders, Mac."

"And you aren't one to disobey a direct order..."

"No, ma'am, and I do rather like this particular order, Marine."

"Me, too," she agreed as he reached for her hand so he could place a kiss on her thumb.

"Better?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yes, but I could use another one. Right here," she tapped her lips with her pointer finger.

"Is that an order?" He wondered, his eyes sparkling.

"Maybe more of a suggestion." She winked.

"Suggestion accepted, Counselor." He said before leaning in to kiss her lips gently.

When they pulled away, Harm had to ask. "Do you have a phobia of splinters or something? I mean, Mac, you handled it like a champ when you were shot by the poacher and there was a lot of blood that day. I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing that a splinter can be worse than that."

Mac sighed heavily. "I'm triggered by splinters," she admitted, softly, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"Now, there has to be a story there."

She sighed and then looked up at him again. "When I was about Caroline's age, Uncle Matt and my mother took me to visit my grandmother. She lived in this really old farmhouse with a wooden porch. She was getting up there in age, and the property wasn't in the best shape, but I was so young that I didn't know or understand any of that. I was so excited about our trip that the minute Uncle Matt put the car in park I jumped out and ran up the steps to see my grandma. The steps weren't very secure and I started to fall. So, I grabbed onto the railing to balance myself and ended up with a huge splinter. Right here," she held out her right palm and ran her fingers over it. "It was nearly the whole width of my palm, and it really got under the skin."

Harm winced.

"I was hysterical," she recalled. "I can't remember if it hurt or if I was just afraid, but I didn't want anyone to look at it let alone take it out. Uncle Matt ended up having to hold me down while my mother and the neighbor worked together to get it out. They used a needle and five-year-old Sarah MacKenzie was not happy about that. I'm surprised no one called the police because that's how loud I was screaming and crying. I kicked my mom a few times before Uncle Matt was able to get a hold of my legs and arms at the same time. And you know what else?"

"What?"

"They all told me not to look. They said if I would just close my eyes the splinter would be out when I opened them and I wouldn't even feel it, but no. I couldn't do that. I was stubborn and I watched the whole damn thing."

Harm made a face.

"So, yeah, ever since, I can't handle splinters... especially my own. I can never watch one being removed ever again, either."

He took her hand in his again and pressed a kiss to her palm. "Does that help ease the memory?"

"I think so, but do you know what else would help?" She smiled mischievously.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say – chocolate ice cream?"

"Yes," she replied with a giggle.

"Come on," he helped her hop down from the counter. "I'm sure Caroline has a smorgasbord of ice cream toppings waiting for you."