A/N: Hi all! I'm doing a happy dance, as I've found time to write the last few days! I like my job, but I don't like that I'm too tired to do much after work! Between that, and taking care of my chronically ill hubby, I have a full schedule. Anyhow, here's the next chapter… I will get the next one out as my free time allows. As always, THANK YOU for the great feedback, it really, truly, keeps me motivated to write! Enjoy…

12:16 EST

Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, MD

Next Day

Mac looked up from playing with Miranda, to see Dr. McCool standing in the door.

"May I come in?" Dr. McCool asked.

"Yes, of course," Mac said. "Please, have a seat."

Dr. McCool sat in one of the chairs near the bed, and smiled at the sight of Mac playing pat-a-cake with Miranda.

"She's really grown since you brought her by my office a few months ago," Dr. McCool commented.

Mac smiled at her and nodded. "She's still a bit small, but the pediatrician says that's normal, since she was premature."

Miranda looked up at her mother and smiled, cooing at her. When she felt the baby inside of Mac kick, she jumped, and turned to look for the source, frowning in obvious puzzlement.

Mac chuckled. "Did you feel your brother or sister kick you?" she asked her.

Miranda looked at Mac and grinned, until she felt the baby kick again, and she once again jumped, and looked for the source, making a noise of obvious displeasure.

Mac and Dr. McCool laughed, and Mac took Miranda's hand and placed it against her abdomen so that she could feel the baby kicking.

"That's your brother or sister… you'd better get used to that feeling, you're going to be feeling it for several more months," Mac told her.

Miranda patted Mac's tummy as the baby inside kept kicking, and soon it became a happy game.

"Oh, great," Mac laughed. "Now I'm getting it from both sides."

Dr. McCool laughed as well, watching for a few more minutes, before she turned serious. "Your family left you alone with Miranda?" she asked Mac.

"Only for a short time," Mac replied. "The nurse said to call if I needed any help with her, until the family gets back from lunch."

"How are you, Mac?" Dr. McCool asked her.

"Okay," Mac said softly. "It's been difficult, but having Miranda with me has helped. I can't change what's happened, but I have a living, healthy baby right here that needs me right now, and another one coming in a few months; it's best I focus on that."

"It's important to let yourself grieve, too. Just because you never got a chance to hold your babies, doesn't mean the loss you feel is any less significant," Dr. McCool told her.

"Harm and I spent most of last night talking, and crying, together," Mac said softly. "It helped us both. And, as I said, having Miranda to care for and play with has helped a lot, too."

Dr. McCool nodded. "It sounds as if you and Harm have come a long way, and are dealing with the issue in a healthy manner. The fact that the two of you are talking with one another is very encouraging."

"It feels like we're doing the right thing," Mac replied.

"Well, just call if you, or Harm, need someone else to talk to. My door is always open," McCool told her.

"I really appreciate the offer," Mac told her. "I'll be sure to pass the message on to Harm, as well."

Dr. McCool stood, moving over to shake Mac's hand, and then she brushed the tip of Miranda's nose, distracting her from the baby moving inside of her mother, and eliciting a delighted giggle from the baby girl.

"I'll see you later on," Dr. McCool said to Mac.

"Good bye," Mac said.

18:57 EST

Rabb Home

Clifton, VA

3 Days Later

Harm followed Mac in through the kitchen door, carefully watching for any signs that she was having trouble, as she made her way to the sofa and settled down in a reclining position.

"I'm going to take these upstairs," Harm said, holding up the bags that Trish had packed for them days earlier.

Mac nodded, as AJ covered her with a blanket and handed her a cup of peppermint tea.

"Do you need anything else?" AJ asked her.

"For everyone to stop hovering, maybe?" she said, raising an eyebrow in his direction. When he gave her a stern look, she sighed. "I didn't think so."

AJ gave a tiny smile, and sat down in one of the chairs.

Trish came downstairs carrying Miranda, who squealed excitedly when she saw her mother, holding her arms out and reaching for her.

Mac smiled, accepting the baby girl from her mother-in-law. "How's Mommy's girl today?" she cooed at Miranda.

Miranda laughed, kicking her feet excitedly.

Mac gave Miranda a kiss, and began playing with her.

Miranda giggled and screeched happily as her mother played with her, while the other adults in the house had gathered in the family room and were watching with smiles on their faces.

Harm grabbed a chair from the dining room, placing it near the couch, so he could be close to Mac and Miranda. He smiled as Miranda reached up and grabbed at Mac's nose, and then shrieked excitedly when Mac grabbed her hand and blew a raspberry on the open palm.

"She loves it when you do that," Harm told the rest of the family, who was watching with open amusement.

Miranda looked over at the sound of his voice and grinned at Harm, reaching out towards him, as Mac tightened her hold to keep the squirming baby girl from falling face first onto the floor.

Harm took hold of her, and pulled her into his arms, kissing her on the cheek. Miranda bounced and made a humming sound, and Harm laughed.

"Oh, I know what you want," he said, grasping her around the middle and holding her over his head, while he moved her gently around and made 'airplane' noises.

Miranda kicked her legs and laughed excitedly, and the other adults couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Corrupting that child already, Harmon?" Trish asked, still grinning.

Harm shrugged. "Hey, the need to fly is in the Rabb blood."

"Oh, good heavens," Grammy said, rolling her eyes. "Not you, too. Your father and grandfather both used to say exactly the same thing."

Harm just grinned at his grandmother, as he again pulled Miranda close to him and kissed her cheek.

"I think she'll know how to fly, before she knows how to ride a bicycle," Mac said, grinning. "He'd probably try to teach her before she learns to walk, but I won't let him take her up in his Stearman that soon."

"I have the Lear, now," Harm smirked. "I can teach her to fly that."

"In your dreams, Flyboy," Mac said with a mock glare.

Harm only grinned and shrugged.

"Dinner is almost ready," Grammy announced. "We'll bring you a plate, Mac."

"I can get up to sit at the dinner table with everyone else," Mac protested.

Harm shook his head. "Mac, Dr. Martindale was adamant that you rest in a reclining position, as much as possible… and only two trips up and down the stairs a day."

Mac sighed in frustration, but nodded. She knew that the survival of her remaining unborn baby was dependent on her following the doctor's orders.

Harm handed Miranda back to her, and kissed her forehead. "Hang in there, Marine; it's for a good cause."

Mac smiled softly, and nodded at him. "Yeah, it certainly is."

06:46 EST

Rabb Home

Clifton, VA

2 Weeks Later

Mac scowled as she watched Harm get dressed for work. She'd been on bed rest for over seventeen days, and she was bored out of her skull. She'd watched every DVD they owned at least twice, read every novel in the house (and even some law books), and had discovered there was absolutely nothing worth watching on television during the day, even though they had 369 channels through their satellite provider.

Harm paused as he was putting his jacket on, and winced at the look on his wife's face.

"I hate this!" Mac said, crossing her arms and pouting. "I can't believe I have four more months of this!"

Harm took a deep breath, and sat beside her on the bed. "I wish I could do something for you, but aside from hiring the nurse, I don't know what I can do." He brushed her hair out of her eyes, and kissed her forehead.

"I know," Mac replied. "I'm just so frustrated, I don't know what to do. I understand the reasons why, and I realize that it's important for me to follow the doctor's orders, but I'm bored out of my mind."

"Hang in there, Mac," he said, kissing her tenderly.

Mac smiled tiredly at him. "You'd better get to work; I wouldn't want you to be late on my account."

"I can take a day, if you need me here," he said.

"No," Mac replied. "You need to be at work; you've missed enough recently. Has Lily come in yet?" she asked, referring to the live-in nurse-slash-housekeeper they'd hired just before his parents and grandmother had left a week ago.

"She came in about twenty minutes ago," Harm told her, as he stood and finished getting ready for work. "She was making breakfast for you, so that you can eat before Miranda wakes up and needs to be fed."

Mac nodded. "I really appreciate you making sure she understands that I want to care for Miranda as much as possible on my own."

"Hey, just because you can't get up and move around, doesn't mean that you can't still be her mother," he told her. "You ready to go downstairs?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Okay, my love," he said, helping her up. "Let's get you downstairs."

Mac allowed him to help her out of the room, and down the stairs. As soon as she was seated on the sofa, he placed her pillow behind her back, and put her feet up onto the sofa, covering her with the afghan from the back of the sofa.

"You have to go, or you're going to be late," she said.

Harm leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she told him. "Call me when you have a chance?"

"I promise," he said as he walked into the kitchen, picking up the travel mug of coffee Lily had left on the counter for him. He toasted her with the mug, winking at her, and then walked out of the kitchen to the garage.

Lily came out of the living room, and smiled at Mac.

"Good morning, Mac," she said. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Other than the fact that I'm bored out of my skull, I feel fine," Mac replied.

"I have your breakfast for you," Lily said. "Are you ready to eat?"

Mac nodded. "Yes, please. Miranda should be waking up soon."

"Would you like me to change and dress her before I bring her down to you, or would you like to do it?" Lily asked.

"If you could change and dress her, that would be great," Mac said, accepting the plate Lily handed her, and thanking her for it. "Then I can feed her cereal to her, before I nurse her."

"Works for me," Lily said. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you," Mac answered.

Lily quickly cleaned up the kitchen, and then came to take Mac's plate from her, before rinsing that and putting it into the dishwasher. She had just brought Mac a glass of milk and her morning medications, when they heard Miranda making noise on the baby monitor.

"I'd better go and get her, before she gets going," Lily said to Mac.

Mac smiled and nodded. "Good idea. I'll see you both in a couple of minutes."

She heard Miranda starting to fuss, just a moment before she heard Lily talking to her.

"Good morning, Miss Miranda," Lily's voice came over the baby monitor. "Your Mommy is up and ready to feed you. Shall we change you and get you dressed, so you can go and see her?"

Miranda cooed and laughed, and then she heard Lily talking to Miranda as she changed and dressed her for the day.

"Okay, let's go downstairs, shall we?" she asked Miranda.

A few moments later, they came down the stairs, and Miranda saw Mac and squealed in delight, holding her arms out for her mother.

Lily handed her to Mac, and then headed into the kitchen to make Miranda's cereal.

"What'll it be today?" Lily asked Mac from the kitchen. "Rice or wheat cereal? Bananas or applesauce?"

Mac chuckled, as Miranda placed her hand on her abdomen, and patted at the spot where the baby was kicking. "Rice with applesauce," she replied to Lily. "Do you feel your baby brother or sister kicking again?" she asked Miranda.

Miranda looked at Mac and laughed, and then went back to patting her tummy. She stopped what she was doing when Lily brought the high chair out of the dining room, and set the bowl of baby cereal on the coffee table. She looked at Mac, and then tried to lunge for the bowl, but Mac's quick reflexes kept her from taking a nose dive.

"One of these days I'm not going to be quick enough to catch you," she told the baby girl. "You are not going to be a happy camper when that happens."

Lily smiled, holding her hands out for Miranda. She took her from Mac, and set her in the high chair, strapping her in, before pushing the tray back into place and moving it close to the sofa.

"Can you manage okay?" she asked Mac.

Mac nodded, sitting up straighter so that she could reach, and accepted the bowl from Lily. "I think we're good."

"I'll be upstairs cleaning up Miranda's room, and then I'll be back down to check on you two. Holler if you need anything before then," she told Mac.

"Thank you, Lily," Mac said, as she spooned a glob of cereal into Miranda's open mouth.

Miranda laughed, smacking her hands on the tray of the high chair and bouncing. When Mac didn't immediately offer another spoonful of cereal, she let out a loud squeal of protest.

"Hey! What is that?" Mac asked sternly.

Miranda's eyes widened, and then she grinned at Mac.

Mac shook her head, smiling ruefully, and gave Miranda another spoonful of cereal. "You've got that Rabb smile… I'm in so much trouble," she muttered.