A/N: As I always say, THANK YOU for the wonderful, sweet feedback! It is really appreciated. Warning: Tissue alert ahead! Enjoy…

11:00 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

Next Day

Harm and Mac looked up from their place on the bench outside, when they saw the person they were waiting for approach. Standing, they took one another's hand and smiled.

"Harm, Mac," Admiral AJ Chegwidden said, nodding to them. "How are Harmony and Miranda?" he asked, concern evident in his features.

"They're both doing fine, sir," Harm said. "Thank you for coming."

"I have to admit, I'm a bit curious as to why you asked me here," he admitted.

"Sir," Mac began, "as you know, Harm's stepfather will be Miranda's grandfather on his side of the family, but my father, and my Uncle Matt are dead, so she doesn't have one on my side of the family. We've discussed it, and since you've been like a father to both of us, and since neither of us are in your chain of command anymore, we'd like you to act as Miranda's 'adoptive' grandfather. That is, if that's okay with you?"

AJ had been listening intently, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, he broke into a broad grin. "Why, I… I'd be honored to be Miranda's grandfather," he said, truly shocked by their request. "Thank you, both."

Harm and Mac looked at one another, smiling. "Well then, 'Grampa'," Mac said. "Why don't you come with us and meet your new granddaughter?"

AJ looked surprised, but then smiled again. "I'd be delighted," he said, following them towards the NICU.

They led him to the small room where they put the special covering over their clothes, and then washed their hands. Then Harm pushed the button on the intercom, informing the nurse on the other side who they were. When the door opened, Harm and Mac showed the nurse their ID bracelets, and then told them who AJ was, before leading him over to the incubator in the far corner.

"Admiral, this is Miranda," Harm said quietly, indicating the tiny infant. He reached into the incubator and gently stroked Miranda's tummy. "Miranda, sweetheart, this is your Grampa AJ," he said to the little girl.

Mac was smiling broadly at the look of awe on the older man's face, as he moved closer to the incubator and knelt so he could get a better look at Miranda.

"Hello little one," he said, his voice as soft as Harm's had been.

Mac placed a hand on Harm's back. "I have to go… well, you know," she said quietly, glancing at AJ.

Harm smiled and nodded, and then moved away, so that Mac could reach in and touch Miranda.

"Hey sweetie," she said softly. "I have to go and get you some food, but I'll be back soon. Daddy and Grampa AJ will stay here to keep you company while I'm gone… I love you."

She pulled away and then gave Harm a brief kiss. "I'll be back in a little while," she told him. Smiling at AJ, she walked back out of the NICU.

13:36 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

Mac sat in the rocking chair beside Miranda's incubator, watching as Toni used the syringe to push the yellowish colored breast milk through the tube that went to her stomach, while Harm walked AJ out. "How much are you giving her?" she asked Toni.

"Right now, she gets about thirty cc's every two hours," Toni told her. "We don't want to overdo it, and upset her tummy."

Mac nodded. "How long after she comes off of the ventilator before I'll be able to nurse her myself?"

Toni gave a tiny shake of her head. "It depends; Dr. Neal will let you know. I don't know if anyone has told you, but sometimes with preemies you have to work with them a bit. The key, once you actually start, is not to get frustrated. If the baby senses you're stressed and frustrated, she'll get frustrated, too… and then she won't be able to latch on. Sometimes it takes awhile for preemies to fully develop the sucking reflex."

Mac nodded in understanding. "How much weight does she need to gain before she can go home?"

"Well, she weighed in just under three pounds, so we'll expect her to gain at least a pound and a half to two pounds; possibly more. There are a few things we're looking for, before she can go home," Toni told her. "The most important is that she'll be able to breathe without the ventilator, but weight gain will also play a role. We'll also run some tests on her, to make sure there are no lasting side effects."

"Dr. Neal said that she could end up having respiratory problems, or developmental problems, as she gets older, as a result of being premature," Mac said. "How often does that happen?"

Toni smiled reassuringly at her. "I can't tell you that it never happens, but don't let it worry you. Each case is unique; you can't compare Miranda's progress with any other preemie, because they are all different. Just take it one day at a time."

Mac gave her a small smile, nodding. It seems a lot of people were telling her that these days. She looked over when the door opened, and smiled in surprise as she saw Harm pushing Harmony into the room in a wheelchair. She stood and went over to give her a hug. "I'm so glad you got to come down!" she said to her.

Harmony smiled at her. "Me, too," she replied. "Dr. Cavilon came in to see me early, so he gave clearance for me to come down."

Harm pushed her over to the incubator, getting her as close to Miranda as he could. "Here she is," he told her.

Harmony looked at Miranda, and smiled. "She's so tiny," she breathed. "How is she doing?" she asked, looking at Toni.

"Very well," Toni replied. "She's already begun to show improvement, and she's not even forty-eight hours old, yet. Dr. Neal is very impressed with her progress." She'd finished giving Miranda the breast milk, so she threw the syringe into the trash can and smiled at Harmony. "I'm Toni, by the way; I take care of Miranda during the day. Neila takes care of her at night, and when we're off, Maggie has dayshift and Tessa has nights," she told her.

"Thank you for taking care of her," Harmony said.

"My pleasure," Toni replied. "Would you like to touch her?"

"Can I?" Harmony asked.

"Of course," Toni said. "Harm and Mac often take turns touching, and talking to, her." She opened the little door on the side, and showed Harmony what to do, and then moved away to do her paperwork, wanting the family to have some privacy right now.

Harmony gingerly reached in and touched Miranda. "Hey baby girl," she said softly. "Remember me? I came to see you while I still can," she told her. "I don't know how much longer I'm going to be around, but I want you to know a couple of things before I'm gone. First off, your dad and I never wanted to leave you, but sometimes things don't go the way you want them to. God knows what He's doing, though, because He gave you a new mommy and daddy that are going to love you just as much as we do, and they're going to take very good care of you. I want you to be really good for them, okay?" she carefully touched her tiny head. "I made some DVD's for you, so you'll always have something to remember me and your dad by. There are some other things I left for you, too, that I want you to have. I just want you to know, I love you… more than anything in this whole world." She took Miranda's miniscule hand in hers, and rubbed it softly. "Just in case I don't get to see you again… I wanted to tell you goodbye," she said, and then looked at Harm with tears in her eyes. "Will you take me back upstairs now?" she asked. "I'm really tired."

01:47 EST

Rabb Home

Clifton, VA

The ringing of the telephone startled Mac awake, and she quickly grabbed it from the night table. "Yes, hello?" she said, suddenly wide awake.

"Mrs. Rabb?" a woman's voice came over the phone. "This is Lindsay Aguirre from Bethesda… I think you and your husband should get here as soon as you possibly can."

"Is it Miranda?" Mac asked in fear.

"No, ma'am, it's Harmony," she told her. "She's taken a turn for the worse."

"We'll be there shortly," Mac told her. She hung up the phone and turned over, to see Harm looking at her with the same fear she felt. "Harmony," she said softly, rising. "We need to go."

Harm nodded, hurrying out of bed. Dressing as quickly as he could, he pulled on his shoes and rushed downstairs, where Mac was just grabbing her purse.

They hopped into the SUV, and made it to Bethesda in record time. Rushing up to the floor Harmony's room was on, they quietly entered.

A nurse was standing beside the bed, and she looked up at them when they came in, giving them a sad smile. "She may not make it through the night," she told them.

Harm and Mac nodded, each taking a seat beside her bed, and taking her hands.

"Harmony?" Mac called softly. "We're here," she told her. "Don't give up, sweetie… not yet. You still haven't gotten to hold your baby girl."

Harmony looked at Mac. It was obvious that she was very weak. "I… already… said… goodbye," she told her, in a voice barely above a whisper. Her breathing was shallow and labored.

Mac shook her head. "Please, hang on."

"Hurts…" Harmony said softly.

The nurse frowned, looking at Harm. "With all of the morphine she's on, she shouldn't be experiencing any pain."

Harmony shook her head. "Heart…" she clarified. "I… shouldn't have… gone to… see her…"

Mac looked shocked. "Harmony, how can you say that?"

A tear slipped from her eyes, as she looked at Harm, and then Mac. "Now I… don't want… to leave… her," she said. "I was… okay… before."

Tears began to fall from Mac's eyes, and she gave Harmony's hand a gentle squeeze. "Oh, sweetie," she said softly, at a loss for words.

Harmony closed her eyes, and after a few minutes, her breathing slowed. Harm looked at the nurse in alarm, but the nurse reassured him that she was still with them.

Mac moved to Harm's side, pulling him into her arms. "I feel so helpless," she said quietly. "How are you holding up?"

Harm shrugged. "As best I can," he replied, hugging her closer. After awhile, Mac went back to her chair on the other side of Harmony's bed, again taking her hand.

They sat keeping silent vigil for hours, eventually falling asleep with their heads on the bed beside her. Mac awoke, unsure of what had roused her, her internal clock telling her that it was 06:41. She froze at what she saw when she looked up, vaguely aware of Harm stirring as well.

"Mac… do you see?" Harm whispered, not sure that he was fully awake.

Mac glanced at him, nodding. "Yeah…" she said, just as softly.

At the end of Harmony's bed, three men stood, smiling at them, Harmony standing beside the youngest. She looked at them, and they could see that she looked healthy and strong, and happy. Joe Mackenzie looked at them one at a time, nodding to Harm and then giving Mac a small smile, Harmon Rabb, Sr. winked at Mac, before saluting his son, and Donald McMillan nodded to them both, as he took his wife's hand. Then they all turned away, and disappeared.

Harm looked at Mac, eyes wide, before they looked at Harmony's now still, pale form. Mac moved to Harm, and they held each other, tears streaming silently down their faces, as the nurse came in to turn off the machines.