A/N: As I always try to remember: Thank you so much for the great feedback! I don't always get to reply one on one, but it truly is a great motivator, and greatly appreciated! One more chapter, and then you'll get to find out what Mac wants to do with at least some of the money… I had some other things to cover in this chapter, first. Enjoy…

13:00 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital NICU

Bethesda, MD

Harm and Mac entered the NICU nursery, curious when they found Miranda's incubator curtained off. They moved over to where Toni was, and looked at her questioningly.

"Is everything okay?" Mac asked.

Toni smiled at them. "Everything's great," she said.

"Why the curtains then?" Harm asked curiously.

"Because we want you two to have some privacy for what we have planned for Miranda's treatment today," she said cryptically, motioning them behind the curtained-off area. Once they were there, she smiled at them. "Take your paper gowns, and your shirts, off," she instructed them both.

Harm and Mac both blanched at this.

"What?" Mac asked in surprise.

Toni chuckled softly. She always loved the shocked looks on the parents' faces when she said that for the first time. "You're going to get to hold your precious baby girl today, but only if you cooperate," she told them. "Now come on, shirts off!"

Harm and Mac removed the disposable gowns, handing them to Toni, and then each of them removed their shirts.

"Can I leave my bra on?" Mac asked uncertainly.

"Better not," Toni told her. "We're going to have the lactation nurse come and work with you to start Miranda nursing today, but for the moment, you're just gonna hold her. I doubt you've got anything either of us haven't seen before," she said, winking at Harm. "Who wants to go first?" she asked.

Harm smiled at Mac. "You first, Hon," he said.

Mac smiled gratefully at him. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he told her.

"All right then, Mommy," Toni said. "Have a seat in the rocker, and we'll get this ball rolling." As soon as Mac was seated, Toni opened the top of the incubator and removed several wires. She left the oxygen on, and the feeding tube in, but she made sure they had plenty of slack, before she gently lifted the tiny bundle out.

"Okay, Mama, you're going to hold her like this," Toni told her, demonstrating. "One hand under her bottom, and the other over her back, supporting her head. Make sure her little body is flush with yours." Carefully, she handed Miranda to Mac, helping her to get her into the right position. Once she was sure Mac had it under control, she stepped back.

"There are a couple of different names for this hold," she told them. "But the most common is the 'Kangaroo Hold'… skin to skin contact. It does wonders for preemies," she said, looking at Harm. "Well, get your camera, Daddy," she said smiling, snapping him out of the trance he seemed to be in.

Harm grabbed the camera from under Miranda's incubator where they'd been leaving it, and waited for Mac to make sure her arms were sufficiently covering her breasts, before he snapped a picture.

Mac had followed Toni's direction, and was holding Miranda flush against her chest, in the valley between her breasts. When Toni stepped away, Mac sat perfectly still for a moment, just absorbing the feel of the soft, tiny body held securely to hers in awe. She gave Harm a panicked look when he grabbed the camera, adjusting her arms so that she could still hold Miranda, while covering her breasts as much as possible with her arms. Once the photo was taken Mac relaxed slightly, holding Miranda close, but still making sure her arms were adequately covering her.

Harm kneeled beside them, his larger hand partially covering hers as they covered Miranda protectively, and looked into Mac's eyes; the love that passed between them was nearly tangible.

Toni picked up their camera, smiling at the beautiful scene before her, and snapped another photo. She looked at the picture on the small LED screen, her eyes misting. 'This one is worth framing,' she thought.

14:30 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital NICU

Bethesda, MD

Harm was sitting in the rocker, taking his turn at holding Miranda against him. Mac had pulled her blouse back on, having left her bra off, and buttoned only the two center buttons. She was sitting in the recliner that had been brought in, watching them with a soft, dreamy smile on her face.

Toni walked over and tenderly checked Miranda over, before smiling and leaving them alone again.

They had been sitting this way for about twenty minutes, when Miranda began to squirm.

Mac sat up and moved closer. "Is she okay?"

Harm looked down at her, her nose scrunched up and her mouth open. She let out her tiny cry once, and then began moving her head side to side quickly, as though shaking her head 'no'. "Toni?" he called softly, as Miranda let out another soft cry.

Toni came over to see what was going on, and smiled.

"What's wrong?" Mac asked her.

"Nothing's wrong," she told them. "She's 'rooting'… looking for food. I'll ring the lactation nurse; this is what we've been waiting for."

Harm suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable. "Maybe you should hold her?" he said to Mac, as Miranda again made the tiny 'bleating' sound that they had come to recognize as her cry. "I don't want her to try to start nursing from me," he said.

Mac let out a soft chuckle, as she unbuttoned her shirt and carefully took Miranda from him. "Chicken," she said quietly, taking his place in the rocker after he'd moved.

Harm gave her a pointed look, and then smiled, before sitting down in the recliner. "Hey, it's not my fault men can't produce milk; you have to take that up with a Higher Authority."

Miranda's cries were becoming a bit stronger, as she began squirming more. It was all Mac could do to hold onto the tiny girl.

"Okay, sweetheart," Mac soothed. "It's okay… I'll feed you pretty soon."

Toni moved over to her, kneeling beside her. "She can smell your milk," she told her.

Mac looked surprised. "Really?"

As Toni nodded, the lactation nurse peeked around the curtains and stepped in. "Hello again, Mac," he said.

Harm's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

Mac gave him a tentative smile. "Hi, Jeff," she said.

Toni stood. "I'll leave you alone," she said, glancing at the look on Harm's face, and trying not to laugh.

Jeff looked at Harm. "You must be Captain Rabb," he said, holding his hand out. "I'm Jeff Shields, the lactation nurse."

Harm cautiously took the man's hand, shaking it firmly. "Harm," he answered.

Jeff gave him an apologetic smile. "I guess Mac didn't mention that I'm a 'he'?"

Harm looked at Mac, one eyebrow raised. "She may have failed to bring it up."

Mac gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry," she murmured.

Jeff looked at Mac, and then at Miranda, who was becoming more distressed. He moved to kneel beside the rocker. "We need to get her nursing, before she gets too upset to be able to," he told her. "I want you to cradle her in your arms, so that her head is near your breast; it doesn't matter which side you start with first."

Mac did as instructed. "Okay…"

"Now carefully turn her so that her body is facing yours… be sure to support her head and back," he said. As soon as Mac had done that, he nodded. "Okay, now try to stay relaxed; if Miranda senses that you're uncomfortable or stressed, she will be too. Grasp your breast with your nipple between your forefinger and middle finger… yeah, like that, and gently guide it towards Miranda's mouth."

Mac did as she was told, as Miranda was still 'rooting'. It took a few tries, but they finally got it right, and Miranda latched on. Mac smiled up at Harm.

Harm returned her smile, still unsure about a male lactation nurse helping his wife.

"Because she's so tiny, you need to use your forefinger to keep her nose clear," Jeff told her. "She needs to be able to breathe."

Mac did what he instructed.

"Now, you're going to feed her for about five minutes, to start, on this side, and then switch her over to the other side. Stick your finger into the corner of her mouth, to break the suction, before you try to move her," Jeff told her. "Let her nurse on that side as long as she likes; she'll let you know when she's finished, or she'll fall asleep. Next time you pump or nurse, whichever comes first, you'll start on the side you finished on. Each time, you'll start with the side you finished with the last time; just like I explained when you're using the breast pump. Any questions?"

"I can't think of any," Mac replied.

"Good," Jeff nodded. "Have Toni call me if you need anything, but I'm going to leave you to it." He smiled at Harm, and then said goodbye to Toni, before he left.

Once he was gone, Harm slipped over to kneel beside the rocking chair. At first, he was just quietly watching in reverent silence, as Mac nursed Miranda. The feelings of love and tenderness stirred within him felt as if they were going to explode out of him.

After Mac switched Miranda to the other breast, he looked at her. "Forget to mention something about your lactation nurse Marine?" he asked, a teasing smile on his face.

Mac returned the smile. "It does seem odd, doesn't it?" she acknowledged. "I'm sorry Harm, it wasn't my intention to deceive you. Jeff was nothing but professional, so I just didn't think about it. Besides, don't you trust me?"

"You I trust, him… I'm not so sure," he told her, grinning.

Toni had come to check on Miranda again, and she smiled at them. "Oh, you don't have anything to worry about Harm," she told him. "He was more interested in you, especially without your shirt, than in Mac."

Harm looked at her in shock, and then blushed to the roots of his hair. Looking at Mac and Toni, he shook his head. "Next time, warn me before he comes, so I can make sure that I'm fully dressed," he said, winking at Mac, and giving her his best grin. "I wouldn't want to make you jealous."

18:41 EST

Rabb Home

Clifton, VA

Mac reclined happily in the tub, while Harm was downstairs speaking to Mr. Arturo on the telephone. She looked up when he entered the bathroom, taking a seat on the floor beside the tub.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Harm nodded. "Yeah. Mr. Arturo is flying out here tonight, so we can meet with him to sign some final paperwork in the morning. He also wants to show us how to access our accounts, and transfer money. Mr. Walton wasn't kidding when he said Harmony had it all set up," he told her.

Mac shook her head. "I still can't believe it," she said.

Harm laughed at that. "Neither can I." He looked at her. "We only have three more days, before we need to be back at work… have you thought about what you want to do?"

Mac sighed. "I think, for now, I'm going to start my family leave next week. Miranda's doing such a good job nursing, I feel it's in her best interest for me to be there to nurse her as much as possible."

Harm nodded in agreement. "I think that's a good idea," he told her.

"As far as after my leave is up… I really don't know," she shrugged. "I love my career, but I'm starting to love being a mom more."

Harm reached up and gently stroked her hair. "Mac, you have at least twelve weeks to consider it; don't rush. Whatever you choose, I'm behind you all the way."

Mac smiled at him lovingly. "That really means a lot to me," she said.

Harm lifted himself up off of the floor. "Do you need anything?" he asked.

"Nope, I'm fine," she replied. "I'll be out in a bit."

Harm leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "I love you, Mac," he said simply. "I'm going to go and call my grandma, and then my mom."

Mac smiled. "I want to hear all about their reactions when they got the checks!" she called after him.