Chapter Seven
"I don't know, Harm," Mac said wearily. At full term, it didn't take much to tire her out or make her angry. She'd had a backache all morning and she didn't really want to deal with Harm and his proposal again.
He paused before speaking again. "Do I have to wait forever?" he finally asked.
"Well, now you know how I felt."
His brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that—" Mac went silent and her eyes got really large. She pressed her hands against the underside of her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Harm demanded, quickly guiding her to the couch.
Mac let out a breath. "I think that was a contraction... I must be in labor." That would explain the backache.
"Oh... What should I do?"
"I need to time the contractions and then we need to call the doctor," she said matter-of-factly.
"Where's your bag? Aren't Marines always supposed to have their sea bags packed?"
Mac smiled despite the pain that gripped her midsection, but couldn't answer.
Harm looked over to see her concentrating and panting shallowly.
"Mac, are you all right?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
She finally let out a long breath and nodded. "My bag is right inside the bedroom door. Would you bring me the phone, too?"
Harm hurried after the bag and then the phone. He sat quietly next to her. He knew the exact moment the next contraction began.
"Well?" he asked.
"They're six minutes apart and forty-five seconds in duration." She dialed the doctor's office and explained the situation. "The nurse said I should come on in considering the drive time. Will you help me, Harm?" She held out her hand.
He gently pulled her up and grabbed her bag. "Slowly, Marine."
They had to stop once for a contraction on the way to the car and three more en route to the hospital.
"I think they're lasting longer," she gasped after a particularly strong one.
"I can tell," Harm said. His right hand was being squeezed empty of blood each time she had a contraction.
"Oh, no...."
"What is it?" Harm asked, his eyes barely leaving the road to look at her.
"I think my water broke."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I'm now sitting in a puddle of water in your leather seat," she explained. "I'm sorry, Harm."
Harm finally pulled the Lexus up to the emergency entrance of the hospital and came around to her door. "I'm going to go get a nurse and a wheelchair."
"No! Wait till—" She grabbed his arm as the next contraction gripped her.
"Mac, honey, I can't wait. If I do you'll have the baby in the car."
She groaned. "Just... wait... till..."
He nodded his understanding and held her hand as she tried to breathe through the rest of the contraction. Once the pain had eased sufficiently, Harm took off and was back in moments with a nurse and the wheelchair.
"I'm Suzanne," the nurse said to Mac, helping her from the car.
"Mac," she gasped tersely as the pain began to build again.
"When was the last contraction?" Suzanne asked.
"It had just ended when I came in to get you," Harm answered.
"Let's get you inside and examined quickly." Suzanne was already halfway to the sliding doors.
Harm looked at the wet passenger seat and frowned slightly before closing the door. He hurried inside and looked around. Another nurse gestured for him to follow her.
She had him dressed in clean scrubs within minutes and was leading him to Mac's room.
"All right, Mac," said Suzanne, from between Mac's legs.
Harm came to an abrupt halt just inside the doorway.
The nurse continued, unfazed by Harm's reluctance. "They're coming very quickly now. You're dilated to nine and completely effaced."
Harm had no idea what she was talking about. "Is it all right if I come in?"
Suzanne nodded. "You should reach ten centimeters pretty quickly and then it'll be time to push. I'll go notify the doctor." She looked over at Harm. "Is this your first?"
"Um, well, not really," he stammered.
"Come on over here and hold her hand. I'll be right back, okay?"
Harm nodded and stepped to Mac's bedside. Thankfully, the nurse had pulled the drape back over Mac's legs before going in search of the doctor.
"You okay, Marine?" He brushed aside the sweaty hair from her forehead.
"It hurts like hell," she said simply.
Suzanne and another nurse bustled back in with the bassinette and a sterile tray. They began to rearrange the room in preparation for the actual birth. "This is Kelly," Suzanne said. Noticing Mac's grim face, she added, "I know it hurts, honey, but you are so far along that we don't have a lot of options at this point. Can you hang on a little bit longer?"
Mac nodded.
Suzanne picked up the strip of paper recording the baby's heartbeat. "Everything looks great, but it will get a little worse before it gets better, okay?"
"I'm a Mar—" Mac inhaled sharply, the pain escalating to a whole new level.
"Let me take a look." The nurse moved to the end of the bed and lifted up the drape again. "Oh, my... Kelly get the doctor. Now, please. My goodness, Mac, you are an over-achiever, aren't you? I can see the head. Do you want to see?"
Mac nodded while Harm shook his head and looked anyway.
Suzanne pulled a large hand-held mirror from one of the trays and angled so that Mac could see the baby crowning.
Mac began to cry.
"Everyone ready to have a baby?" questioned the doctor from the door.
"She's at ten," reported Suzanne, "and crowning. All right, Mac, at the start of the next contraction, take a deep breath and hold it while you bear down for a ten count." She looked at Harm. "You, count to ten, okay?"
Harm nodded and looked down at Mac. Her hair was completely soaked now and her cheeks deeply flushed. The other nurse was on the other side of Mac's bed watching a monitor.
"Deep breath, Mac," she said.
Mac complied and began to bear down.
Harm began to count. "One... Two... Three..."
At ten, Kelly instructed Mac to release her breath.
"You're doing great, Mac," said Suzanne from over the doctor's shoulder. "Probably another two, three pushes and the head will be out."
"Quite the head of hair, too," the doctor remarked.
"Deep breath, Mac," Kelly said again.
"One... Two... Three..." Harm counted again.
"Great, just great," exclaimed the doctor. "The head's about a third of the way out. Do you want to feel it?"
"Cleansing breath," said Kelly.
Mac nodded in answer to the doctor's question.
"Let me have your hand," said Kelly. She stretched out Mac's arm and placed Mac's hand on the baby's head.
Mac smiled up at Harm.
"Deep breath," said Kelly once more.
"One... Two... Three..." Harm began.
"Mac, push as hard as you can," encouraged the doctor. "I think we can get the head out this time."
"Six... Seven... Eight..."
"When he reaches ten, exhale, then inhale immediately and start again," instructed Suzanne.
"Ten."
Mac exhaled then inhaled and the whole thing started all over. She groaned as she pushed. Harm kept his eyes glued to her face.
"That's it, Mac," the doctor said. "Take a breath, the head's out." With the quick use of an aspirator, the doctor cleaned out the baby's nose and throat.
Mac looked down the length of her body in wonder when she heard a wobbly cry. Suzanne held up the mirror again.
"The hardest part is done," the doctor said.
"Deep breath," said Kelly.
"One... Two... Three..." said Harm.
"We just have to ease the shoulders out..." said the doctor, using his index finger to help wedge the baby's shoulder out, "...like so... and the rest of your baby will just slide right out. It's a boy!"
Mac sobbed in relief at the immediate cessation of pain. She looked down at her son lying quietly on her belly. The nurse rubbed him gently with a towel to remove some of the blood.
"Just a few more minutes for the afterbirth," remarked Suzanne. "Does he have a name?"
Mac nodded. "Sam."
"All right, we've got to take Sam to test him and get him cleaned up. We'll bring him back in a little bit," Kelly told her.
Mac nodded and looked up at Harm. "Harm," she said softly. "Thank you."
"You did the hard part, Mac." He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss. "That was incredible," he whispered. "Thank you for letting me be a part of it."
The doctor and nurses finished up and Mac closed her eyes and fell asleep immediately.
~*~
"Ms. MacKenzie, you have visitors: the Vawters," a perky nurse said, peeking her head inside Mac's door. "They asked me to see if you were up for company."
"That's fine," Mac said. A moment later, Abigail and Aaron entered, their arms full of flowers and gifts.
"Hello Sarah!" Abigail spoke first, dropping her armload on the end of Mac's bed and giving her a gentle hug. "He's beautiful."
Mac beamed at her friend. "What's all this?" she asked, pointing at the pile of gifts.
"Those are from everyone in the fellowship group. They elected us as the delivery team," Abigail explained. "Penny went out of town, Emma is sick so she didn't want to share her germs, and Ben and George aren't really the visit-the-hospital-nursery types."
Aaron stood quietly against the wall while the women talked. Despite looking worn out from Sam's birth and wearing a hospital gown, he thought she had never looked more beautiful. He was still waiting for a sign from the Lord that he could begin to court her.
"Huh?" Aaron blinked and looked at Mac.
"How did you guys find out about Sam?" she repeated.
"Oh. Your co-worker, a Lieutenant Sims, called the church office," said Abigail.
"Of course. I should have guessed. No one else would have thought of it."
"So when are they going to spring you from this joint?" Aaron asked.
"I'm not sure. They're watching my temperature. It's a bit higher than they'd like, I guess. Could be an indication of an infection," Mac said. She held up a gift box with body wash, body lotion, and a silky bath sponge. "Did you pick this out?"
Aaron flushed slightly and nodded. "My grandmother always remarked that the mother does all the work, yet the baby gets all the gifts. She always bought a gift for the new mom, as well as the new baby. And she taught us to do the same."
"Well, thank you. This is the same scent as my perfume."
Aaron flushed again. "I remembered from the NATO Ball."
Mac felt her own cheeks warm in pleasure, but decided to change the subject. Aaron and Abigail chatted with Mac for a few more minutes before taking their leave.
"Aaron, what are you doing?" Abigail asked in concern as they rode the hospital elevator.
"Abby, you worry too much," he replied.
"I'm serious. You're going to make a fool of yourself over this woman. She believes she's in love with another man." Abby hated to break the news to him, but somebody had to.
"Oh, you mean Harm?" he asked.
"Well, yes. You know about him?" Abby asked in surprise.
"Of course, I do." Aaron unlocked the car and opened Abigail's door, then came around and slid into the driver's seat. "She told me he asked her to marry him."
"You're kidding?" she exclaimed, very much surprised.
"Nope. That's when I told her I was in love with her and couldn't give her any advice about Harm, other than to pray about it, of course."
"You didn't."
"I did."
Abigail groaned. "I can't believe you—"
"Look, Abby, I'm in love with her, and I'm going to marry her."
"Not if she marries Harm."
"She's not going to marry Harm," Aaron replied confidently.
"And just how do you know that?"
"God told me."
"God told you?" she asked dubiously.
"Well, not in so many words, but yeah."
"Well, big brother, I'll be there for you when she breaks your heart."
Aaron looked at Abby and grinned and then zoomed onto the beltway.
~*~
Later that evening, Harm stopped by. From the doorway, he stood quietly watching Mac as she gazed upon the child in her arms. "Hey..." he whispered finally.
She looked up and smiled at him. "Come on in."
He held up a Beltway Burger bag as he approached the bed. "I brought you a Beltway Deluxe."
"Thanks. I haven't had one in months she said enthusiastically, although the thought of it still made her cringe. "Set it over there, will you?" She indicated the bedside table.
"How's the little guy?" Harm asked warmly, reaching out to stroke Sam's head.
"He's wonderful so far," Mac replied, smiling down at her son again. "Thanks again, Harm."
"My pleasure."
The nurse bustled in carrying more flowers. "Here's another bouquet, Ms. MacKenzie," she said with a grin. She set them on the bedside table and checked her watch. "Visiting hours are almost over, Sir."
"Okay," he acknowledged. To Mac he said, "Call me tomorrow when you find out when you're going to be released." Harm regarded the large bouquet of yellow roses and the crystal vase for a moment before turning his attention back to the baby. He ran a gentle forefinger across Sam's cheek and dropped a gentle kiss on Mac's. "Bye."
"Bye," she replied and watched him go. He'd been pretty attentive and affectionate since witnessing Sam's birth. "Could you take him?" she asked the nurse who had been reading her chart.
"Sure thing."
"And can you get rid of that?" she asked pointing to the Beltway Burger bag. "It's a Beltway Deluxe if anyone wants it."
"Are you sure?"
"Definitely!"
"Do you want me to take Sam or leave him here?" the nurse asked.
"He's fine," said Mac. "Thanks."
"No problem. Call me if you want me to come and get him." The nurse grabbed the burger bag and left.
Mac turned her attention to the yellow roses. She leaned over and inhaled the delicious scent. She plucked the card from the pick and opened it.
For a job well done.
May God bless you both.
Aaron
Mac smiled to herself and thought of Aaron. Eventually, she dozed, still clutching the small card.
~*~
"Honey, I'm home!" Harm called out as he entered Mac's apartment a few days later.
An immediate wail came from the bedroom.
"Thanks, Harm," came Mac's terse voice, also from the bedroom.
Harm tiptoed to the door and peeked in. Mac sat in the oak glider nursing Sam. She looked up at him and held a finger to her lips. Harm nodded and showed her the large pizza box he carried. She gave him a thumbs-up sign and then opened up her hand in a five minutes gesture.
Ten minutes later she emerged from her room ready to give Harm a dressing down, but she was too surprised to speak. Harm had closed the drapes and lit a half dozen candles. The table was set and the steaming pizza sat in the center of it.
Harm walked over to her. "I'm really sorry," he whispered. "It'll never happen again. I promise." He gave her a kiss, and then led her to the table. "It's not much, but I wondered if you've been eating more than soup or sandwiches for the last three days."
"It smells wonderful," she said gratefully and forgiving him immediately. She hadn't been eating well since she'd come home. All she'd done was sleep when Sam slept and feed him when he was awake. She'd only had a couple of bowls of cold cereal and a TV dinner all day and ended up devouring half the pizza by herself.
After they cleaned up the dinner dishes, Harm led Mac back to the couch. "We need to talk," he said. "I can't wait anymore."
She nodded. She didn't really want to have this conversation, but sensed that Harm wouldn't let it go right now.
"I asked you to marry me almost three months ago and you've put me off. I've even developed a little sympathy for Brumby."
Mac frowned.
"I'm sorry," he replied, not wanting to upset her. "Mac... I love you. I want to marry you. I want to be a part of Sam's life. Will you please marry me?" He pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it out to her.
Mac looked at it and studied it. It really was a beautiful ring, but it couldn't belong to her. She knew it wasn't right. Between two-hour feedings, poopy diapers, and cat naps, Mac had been praying. She'd known that Harm would be asking the question again and soon. And the only answer that kept coming back to her was no.
Eyes brimming with tears she said, "I'm sorry, Harm. I can't."
His eyes widened and his jaw clenched. "It's that pastor, isn't it?" he asked sharply.
"Aaron?" she asked, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
Harm nodded.
"What would he have to do with all this?"
"I saw the way he looked at you at the NATO Ball."
"That was months ago. We're just friends, Harm," Mac told him.
"Right. And I'm Tom Cruise."
"Look, Harm... this has nothing to do with Aaron. I swear." She placed gentle hand on his forearm. "I've been praying and praying about this, but the Bible is perfectly clear that believers marry believers. And you're not a believer."
"What? I believe in God. I believe in the Bible. For Christ's sake, I put my hand on a Bible when I swore my oath of allegiance."
Mac frowned again. "I realize that Harm, but I'm talking about the fact that you're not saved. You haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you haven't been baptized."
Harm didn't have an answer for that.
"I'm sorry," she said again.
"I guess I'd better go," he said quietly, rising from the couch.
The floodgates opened at the click of her front door. She wanted to call him back, but what would she say? She sobbed until she had no tears left to cry and she fell into a fitful sleep on the couch.
To be continued…
