A/N: As always, thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you are enjoying the twists I've come up with!

JAG doesn't belong to me, and I'm not making any money off of this; no infringement intended. Enjoy…

18:00 EST

Mac's Apartment

Georgetown

Thursday

Harm carried their bags in, taking them right to the bedroom. "I just have to go and bring the cradle up," he said, as Mac came in with the shopping bags.

Mac nodded. "Do you need help?" Mac asked.

"I'll probably need you to open and close doors for me," he replied. "It's not really heavy, just awkward because of the length of the box."

"Okay, just let me know when you're ready; I'm going to go toss some laundry in the washing machine," she told him.

Harm smiled. "Okay; I'm just going to use the restroom real quick."

It only took a few minutes, and they had the cradle upstairs, sitting in a corner of the bedroom. Mac had opted to leave it in the box, wanting to keep it protected until after they moved into the house.

Harm wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Are you hungry?"

Mac shook her head. "No; we ate a late lunch. If I get hungry later, I'll grab a sandwich or something. You?"

"No, I'm not hungry, either," he said. "I think I'll wait to call my mom to let her know we're home until tomorrow morning," he told her. "They're not expecting us back until tomorrow night, anyway."

Mac smiled, turning in his embrace. "Hmm… whatever are we going to do with ourselves tonight?" she asked, a mischievous grin on her face.

Harm nuzzled her neck. "Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something," he said, laughing when she started to unbutton his shirt. "Woman, you are insatiable!"

Mac looked into his eyes, suddenly serious. "Only with you," she breathed.

Harm rubbed his nose against hers. "Yeah… me, too," he said softly. Taking her hand, he led her towards the bed.

19:37 EST

Mac's Apartment

Georgetown

Mac was resting her chin on Harm's chest, tracing lazy patterns on his skin. She smiled as he opened his eyes and looked down at her. She had pulled the sheet so that it covered her backside, and just barely covered him. "Cold?" she asked him.

Harm shook his head. "Not at all," he replied.

Mac smiled and planted a kiss on his chest. "Good."

Harm ran his hand through her hair, moving down to caress her face. "I love you," he told her.

Mac beamed at him. "I love you, too."

Suddenly, a female voice said, "I'll just put this~" but broke off when she spotted the occupants lying in the bed.

Harm blinked up at his mother. "Mom?" he asked, surprised.

"Darling! You're home early," she stated. "Hello, Mac, dear."

Mac was blushing furiously, as she gave Trish a small smile.

"Mother!" Harm said. "Do you mind?"

Trish waved her hand in their direction. "Oh, don't mind me, I was just bringing some of the wedding gifts over. We figured you'd want to open them when you got home," she said, walking over and setting the wrapped boxes she held in the corner by the box that contained the cradle. Looking curiously at the box, she turned to look at Harm. "Did you buy this while you were gone? I don't remember it being here the other day," she said, indicating the box.

Harm's eyes were about to pop out of his head, while Mac was as red as a tomato.

"Trish? Who are you talking to?" Frank asked, walking into the bedroom. Seeing Harm and Mac's predicament, he focused his gaze on his wife, taking her arm and leading her towards the door. "Come on, dear," he said, "I think they'd like to be alone. At the very least, let them get some clothes on," he murmured, shaking his head at his wife, as he closed the door behind them.

Mac turned her gaze back to Harm, and they stared at one another for a moment, before they both broke out laughing.

"I can't believe she did that," Harm said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I think she gets some kind of perverse pleasure out of embarrassing me."

Mac was laughing so hard, she had tears coming out of her eyes. "Poor Frank," she gasped. "I think he was as embarrassed as we were!"

When they finally got their giggles under control, Harm pulled Mac up closer to him and kissed her. "We'd better get dressed and go see if they're still here."

Mac nodded. "Okay. I need to go put our clothes into the dryer, anyway," she said.

Harm climbed out of bed after Mac rolled off of him, moving quickly to the door and locking it. "Just in case," he grinned at her.

Mac laughed again. "Good idea," she told him, picking her clothes up off of the floor and carrying them into the bathroom.

20:01 EST

Mac's Apartment

Georgetown

Harm opened the bedroom door and looked out, finding his mother and Frank sitting on the sofa, sipping at their tea. Coming out, he smiled at them. "Hello," he said.

Trish returned his smile. "Hello, dear," she said. "I hope I didn't embarrass you."

"Mother!" Harm said, exasperated. "Wouldn't you be embarrassed?"

Trish just grinned at him, winking.

Harm shook his head at her. "Honestly, Mother…"

They laughed, just as Mac came out of the bedroom. She touched Harm on the back, smiling at Frank and Trish. "I need to go put the clothes in the dryer," she said. "I'll be right back."

Harm kissed her nose. "Okay," he said, before taking a seat in the nearby chair.

"So, how was the honeymoon?" his mother asked, as Mac went out the front door.

"Terrific," he said. "We took some tours, including one in a horse-drawn carriage, and had a great time just relaxing and taking time to talk. We learned a lot of things about each other that we didn't know before."

"That's good," Frank replied.

Harm nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"What's in the box in the bedroom?" Trish asked.

"A cradle for Miranda," Harm told her. "We found it our first night, while we were out taking a walk and doing some shopping. I saw it through the shop window, and when we went inside to look at it, Mac fell in love with it. It turns out that her father actually made it. The day after we bought it, I called and made some inquiries, and confirmed it. We found out that her father managed to sober himself up for a couple of years, and started making the cradles. He found a guy that bought them, and sent them to specialty baby shops all over the country. It was a pretty amazing coincidence that we found it," Harm told them.

Trish smiled. "Maybe it was fate."

Harm smiled quizzically at his mother. "I didn't know you believed in fate," he said, just as Mac walked back into the apartment.

His mother looked at him. "Oh, I do, Harmon," she told him. "I really do."

Harm looked at his mom, lost in thought, when Mac came and sat in his lap and smiling at her new in-laws.

"Thank you both for bringing the wedding gifts over," she told them.

"It was our pleasure, dear," Trish told her. "Everyone helped us load them into the SUV after the reception, and they've been locked in there since. We figured we could bring them up here, so you two can start opening them this weekend."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Mac said, looking at Harm. "You can help me write thank you notes, as we open the gifts."

Harm gave her an odd look. "Why don't we just open all of the gifts, and then send the thank you notes?"

Mac shook her head. "Trust me, that never works… something always comes up, and then you forget. It's just better to write the notes as you open the gifts, and then you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Harm shrugged and smiled. "Whatever you think is best, dear," he said, kissing her cheek.

Harm's mother raised an eyebrow at him, smiling. Standing, she picked up her teacup, and then Frank's, before taking them to the kitchen and rinsing them out. When she came back out of the kitchen, she looked at Frank. "We should get back to the hotel," she told him. She looked at Harm and Mac. "We were going to take Harmony to her doctor's appointment tomorrow, but since you're home early, I think you should do it. You can give her a call in the morning, but the appointment is at 1:00," she told them.

"Don't you mean 13:00?" Harm asked, grinning.

His mother gave him a stern look. "Don't be facetious, dear," she said.

Harm smiled, giving his mother a small salute. "Yes, ma'am."

Mac thwacked him lightly on the chest. "Stop it," she whispered, smiling. She stood, and they followed Trish and Frank to the door. "We'll see you tomorrow," she told them.

"Good night," Harm said, hugging his mom, and shaking Frank's hand.

"Good night, son," Frank said. He kissed Mac's cheek. "See you tomorrow, Mac."

Harm closed the door behind them, before turning to pull Mac into his arms. Kissing her, he smiled, touching his forehead to hers. "Alone at last."

13:05 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

Mac sat holding Harmony's hand, as Dr. Martindale came into the room.

"How are we doing today, Harmony?" Dr. Martindale asked.

Harmony smiled tiredly. "I've been better," she said, giving Mac a grateful smile when she felt her squeeze her hand.

"I'm sure," Dr. Martindale said. "Let's get the exam done, and then we'll do the ultrasound," she said. "Where's Harm today?"

Mac smiled. "He opted to wait in the waiting room until it's actually time for the ultrasound," she said. "I think he gets embarrassed by the exam part."

Dr. Martindale chuckled. "All right; I'll be sure to have the nurse bring him back for the ultrasound, then." She patted the stirrups, helping Harmony get her feet into them, and then doing the vaginal exam. Then she measured her abdomen, before pulling the top of her gown down to do the breast exam. Once she'd finished with the exam, she got her ready to do the ultrasound, sticking her head out the door to ask the nurse if she could go and get Harm.

Harm came in and smiled at Mac, and Harmony, taking the empty seat beside Mac. "Doing okay?" he asked.

Harmony smiled at him, shrugging. "We'll find out in just a minute," she said.

Dr. Martindale put the gel on Harmony's abdomen, and then placed the transducer on her tummy and started moving it around. "Hello there," she said, after a moment. Nodding towards the monitor, she showed them the image on the screen. "There's our girl," she said, smiling. "She looks good; developing just like she should be."

Focusing on the lungs, she zoomed in, the look on her face plainly stating that she didn't like what she saw. Sighing, she finished the measurements she needed, and then shut the machine down, wiping the gel from Harmony's abdomen.

"Well, like I said, she's growing just the way she should be. Unfortunately, her lungs still aren't ready for her to deliver. I'm hesitant to increase the dosage of the steroid, because of the risk of it making the cancer spread faster; I'm afraid it's a race right now," she told them. "We've got to keep Harmony healthy enough, long enough, to get Miranda to a point where her lungs can support her life outside the womb."

Mac squeezed Harmony's hand, while Harm sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. "What can we do?" he asked Dr. Martindale.

"Not much, I'm afraid. At this point, the best thing you can do is to take care of Harmony," she told them. "Why don't you get dressed, Harmony? I'll take Harm and Mac next door to do the quick exam I need to do on her."

Harmony nodded, as Mac helped her to sit up. "I'll be there in a minute," she told them.

13:32 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

Dr. Martindale led them out of the room, closing the door, and then took them to the room right next door. Smiling at Mac, she looked at Harm. "Do you want to stay here while I do this?"

Harm looked uncertain. "What do you have to do?" he asked.

"I just have to do a breast exam, to see how the shots are working," Dr. Martindale told him.

Harm raised his eyebrows and looked at Mac. "It's up to you; do you want me to leave?"

Mac smiled, shaking her head. "No, that won't be necessary," she said, removing her shirt, and unhooking and removing her bra before sitting on the exam table.

Dr. Martindale had turned her back to wash her hands, while Mac removed her top and bra. Once she'd washed, she walked over to where Mac was sitting. "Sorry, my hands are probably cold," she told her, smiling. She quickly felt her breasts, and then told her to put her shirt back on. "There are some minor changes, which is good; it means the hormone is working," she told her, and then looked at Harm. "You may notice the changes sooner than she does," she said, smiling, "but you might not." She looked at Mac. "Your breasts will get fuller, and softer, and they'll start to feel warm to the touch. Nursing mothers have built in milk warmers," she said, chuckling. "If you experience any pain or redness, call me immediately," she told her. "Any questions?"

Mac had finished dressing, and shook her head. "None that I can think of," she replied.

Harm looked at Dr. Martindale. "My question is actually about Harmony," he said. "I know she acts like she's okay, but how is she doing, really?"

Dr. Martindale sighed. "She's in therapy, and I really think she's come to terms with what's happening~ what's going to happen~ but it's hard on her. Right now, her whole goal is to get to a point where Miranda is healthy enough to be born. That's all she's concentrating on, and to be honest, I think it is all that is keeping her going; she is in very bad shape," she told them. "It is literally a miracle that the cancer hasn't spread to her uterus yet. She has her affairs in order, now that you've all signed the adoption papers. You need to be prepared for the possibility of losing her any day."

Mac took Harm's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "And Miranda?"

Dr. Martindale shrugged slightly, shaking her head. "Just like Harmony, she's in God's hands. All we can do is pray."