TITLE: Baby! Baby!

AUTHOR: Clairisant

CLASSIFICATION/RATING: AJ/other NC 17

SPOILERS: For the purposes of this story AJ has never met Meredith.

FEEDBACK: Would love to hear both good and bad.

SPECIAL NOTE: It also deals with the topic of 9/11 hopefully in a tasteful and respectful way so no one will be offended…. just wanted you to know up front.

Chapter 1

Tuesday, 9 May 2002

1145 EST

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

It was a warm spring day; the lilacs had just started blooming. The bouquet Bud surprised her with that morning sat on Harriett's desk and scented the whole bullpen with it's fragrance. The scent carried Harriett's thoughts off to her plans of grilling dinner out on their patio that night by the lilac bushes. The sound of footsteps startled her from her daydreaming and caused Lieutenant Harriett Sims-Roberts to look up from the paperwork on her desk. Harriett saw a quite beautiful and very pregnant Lieutenant Commander walking towards her. She looked to be about 5' 8" and had chocolate brown hair. Having been pregnant herself, Harriett could tell three things right away. This woman's feet were hurting something awful; she was very close to her due date, or possibly past it; and, she had recently been crying. Not that you had to have been pregnant to tell that last bit. The Commander's green eyes were red from what looked like a good long cry. Harriett smiled, and asked her whom she was here to see.

"I was told to ask for Admiral Chegwidden," was the reply Harriett received.

"Do you have an appointment?" Harriett asked kindly. She knew how busy the Admiral was and that without an appointment this officer would not be able to get in to see him today.

"No, I am afraid I don't. But I was hoping that I could just have a few minutes of his time. It is very important that I see him soon; if not I could lose my babies."

With that, Harriett asked her name and rushed over to Petty Officer Tiner's desk. She told him there was someone that needed to see the Admiral. Tiner looked down at the schedule and was about to inform Lt. Sims that there was no way he could fit anyone into that days appointments when the Admiral himself walked out of his office.

Tiner jumped to his feet and called, "Attention on deck" as he came to attention.

Admiral AJ Chegwidden, a tall, handsome, imposing figure of a man gave his usual response to that call, "As you were", he then said directly to Tiner, "I'm going to lunch. You can reach me on my cell phone if there is an emergency, otherwise I will be back in an hour." He seemed to notice Lt. Sims standing there for the first time and asked, "Lieutenant, was there something you needed to see me about?"

With a worried look Harriett replied, "Yes, Sir. There is a Lieutenant Commander Wyatt here to see you, she says it is very important. She does not have an appointment, but says that…"

Having heard the conversation going on just a short distance from her, Lieutenant Commander Kara Wyatt walked over to the three people gathered around the Petty Officer's desk and interrupted Lieutenant Sims' comment, "Admiral, I know that you are very busy, but I need to talk with you about something extremely important. My doctor, George Wood, recommended you to me. He said you were in the SEALS together."

"Woodie! How is he?" the Admiral exclaimed, with a surprised and pleased look on his face.

"He's fine, Sir, and sends his regards. Sir, I heard you say you were going to lunch. Might I buy you lunch and explain the reason I am here to see you while we eat? That is, if you have no other plans, I… I mean…not meeting anyone or anything." Kara stumbled over her words. She was amazed that she had the guts to invite a two-star Admiral to have a meal with her.

'It must have been something in those emerald green eyes,' AJ thought to himself. He could see the desperation there, a look he would not wish on anyone, let alone a pregnant woman. She came at the recommendation of an old friend of his, and AJ felt he had to know what was causing that look on her face. "Lunch would be fine, Commander, would the cafeteria be alright with you? I was planning on eating there anyway, since I have such a full schedule today."

Tiner gave Harriett a puzzled look knowing that the Admiral had just said he was going out to lunch. Harriett just smiled back, knowing the Admiral had changed his plans to the inexpensive cafeteria due to her offer to pay.

"That would be just fine, Sir." Kara replied. She waited for the Admiral to lead the way, and as she started to follow him, grimaced in pain at a sharp kick from the baby. At the sight of this, the Admiral's thoughts raced back to having to deliver Harriett's baby on his office floor, he did NOT want to do that again. Quickly guiding her to a chair, he asked, "You are NOT going into labor, are you Commander?"

"No, sir," was her reply. "I am still three weeks from my due date. It was just one of the babies trying out for the football team a bit early. I'm fine now," she said, as she slowly and painfully got to her oh-so-sore feet.

The Admiral sighed in relief, as he slipped a hand under her elbow to assist her. "Then let's go and get some lunch."

AJ paused when they reached the hallway where they could walk side by side instead of single file and said, "So, what is it that brought you here to see me today, Commander?"

"Jeremy's parents want to take the babies from me," she stated baldly, there was just no other way to say it.

"Jeremy?" AJ questioned, guessing that he was the father of the babies that she was carrying.

Running her hands over her swollen belly, Kara confirmed that Jeremy was the father. By this time they had reached the cafeteria. They turned their attention to food selection, by mutual consent it seemed, putting the major conversation on hold till they had taken their seats at an out of the way table.

AJ chose a table as far from the other diners as he could so their conversation would have the least chance of being overheard. Once they had settled at the table, he asked her, "Why do Jeremy's parents want to take the babies, and what does he have to say about it?"

Kara's hormones had been raging of late and it took very little for her to start crying. The Admiral's asking her what Jeremy had to say about what his parents were trying to do, really opened the floodgates.

AJ was startled when the attractive young woman across from him burst into tears. She was searching her purse for a tissue, while trying to get herself under control. When she seemed to have composed herself AJ asked what was wrong. Kara lifted her tear-filled eyes and told him, "Jeremy is dead. He was killed in the Pentagon on Sept. 11"…there was a bit of a pause and through a new flood of tears she added, "And so was the babies' mother."

To be continued…