Chapter Fifteen
Life's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

WEEK 11
AUGUST 16TH, 2001

1100 EST
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"You really need to cut down on coffee."

Mac glared at Harm from over the rim of her mug. "Dr. Gardner said I could have a 12 ounce cup a day. This is my 12 ounces," she held up her mug as evidence.

Harm peered into the mug. "That looks like more than twelve ounces to me, Marine."

"Are you doubting my measuring skills, Sailor?" Mac raised an eyebrow.

"No," Harm replied innocently, "I just know your weakness for poorly-brewed coffee."

Mac sat her mug and folded her arms over her chest. "Look," she said. "First of all, I'm gonna be pushing your baby out of my body in about seven-or-so months while you sit and watch."

Harm chuckled. "Come on, Mac-"

"Is your cervix going to be dilated ten centimeters?" she asked. Harm shook his head.

"Didn't think so," Mac picked up her mug and took a sip, just to prove a point. "And Tiner didn't brew this coffee, I did. So it's not 'poorly-brewed.'"

Harm watched her for a moment, then grinned. "These pregnancy hormones are something, aren't they?"

"Oh don't talk to me about my hormones-"

"Am I..interrupting something?" Sturgis asked. He'd walked into the break room without Harm or Mac noticing

"No!" Harm and Mac answered together. The two exchanged a look and Mac cleared her throat.

"Commander Rabb and I were just uh, discussing a case, Sturgis," she explained.

"I...see," Sturgis replied slowly. He walked towards Mac, who was standing directly in front of the coffee pot without noticing. "Can I, uh, get some coffee?"

Mac blinked at him a few times before realizing where she was standing. "Oh, of course," she stepped out of the way.

An awkward silence fell over the three of them as Sturgis poured his coffee.

Do you think he heard? Harm mouthed.

Mac shook her head. No, she mouthed back, and don't say anything.

Before Harm could silently reply, Sturgis turned around, casually stirring his cup of coffee. "Is it just me, or is there some tension in here?"

Mac gave Harm a look that clearly said, You can field this one."Yeah, uh, it's just pre-race jitters." he answered, giving Sturgis his most convincing smile.

The first ever 'Jagathon' was happening the next day, and there was a general excitement buzzing around the office about it. Everyone was looking forward to it except Mac, who couldn't compete for a reason that was only obvious to her and Harm. Running a marathon wasn't a good way to maintain a pregnancy. It would've been great if it was though, because Mac hated passing up an opportunity to show her competitive side.

Sturgis took a sip of his coffee. "About that. Colonel, I was rather disappointed to hear you weren't competing, especially considering your history of athleticism."

"My history of athleticism?" Mac's glance cut to Harm.

Harm smiled sheepishly. "I uh, may have told Sturgis that you did track in high school."

Mac's eyes narrowed and she turned back to Sturgis. "I did track for one season," she explained. "And I'm not competing because of...seasonal allergies."

"Seasonal allergies?" Sturgis raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you had seasonal allergies."

"Yeah well, they're seasonal so they only happen once every...season," Mac said with a smile that looked a little strained.

Sturgis frowned. "That's too bad."

"I know," Mac replied. "But I'll be helping Harriet out, so I'll still be there."

After Sturgis left the breakroom, Mac turned to glare at Harm. "You told him I did track?"

"You told him you had seasonal allergies?" Harm countered. "August isn't a season, Mac."

"I know," Mac huffed. "But what did you want me to say? 'Sturgis, sorry I can't run tomorrow. I'm pregnant.'?" she sighed. "I just wish I could run tomorrow."

"I wish you could too, but Dr. Gardner said light exercise, remember?" Harm said. "I don't think running a marathon is light."

Mac nodded begrudgingly. "The only reason I wish I could do it is so I could beat you," she said, giving Harm a wry look.

"What makes you think you could beat me?"

"Harm, I know I could beat you."

0900 EST
ROCK CREEK PARK
WASHINGTON DC

Mac watched her JAG colleagues start the race with envy. Her calves were practically screaming at her to run, but the fetus currently growing in her uterus would beg to differ. She wanted nothing more than to get one good sprint in, something she hadn't done in six weeks since she found out she was pregnant. Mac figured one light jog wouldn't hurt (Melinda did say light exercise was okay), but she didn't want to take any chances, especially with the scare she had two weeks ago.

So, she was on golf cart/water duty with Harriet, and Mac was trying her best to be a good sport about it. Harriet was doppler radar when it came to gauging people's emotions, so if Mac was showing anything less than her baseline level of contentment, Harriet would know immediately. Which would lead to Harriet snooping.

"I know a lot of people have already talked to you about this ma'am, but I was surprised to hear you weren't running today," Harriet said as she poured some ice into a cooler.

"Yeah, well, I just didn't feel like it," Mac shrugged. As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew how unconvincing she sounded..

"Didn't feel like it?" Harriet's brow furrowed. "No offense, ma'am, but that doesn't sound like you."

"Harriet, I've told you, you can call me 'Mac' when we're not in uniform," she said with a light laugh, completely dodging Harriet's assertion.

"Alright, Mac, what's up?" Harriet handed Mac a bottle of water.

Maybe it was the humidity of that August morning, or the fact that Mac was so disappointed she couldn't race, or the fact that she was so antsy to tell someone about her pregnancy and Harriet was the perfect person to open up to. Or maybe Mac was just feeling extra impulsive. She took a deep breath and looked down at her stomach, which still looked flat to everyone except her.

"You know, Harriet, I never thanked you for keeping my relationship with Harm a secret," she said.

"Oh, Mac! Don't worry about it," Harriet said, concentrating on arranging plastic cups on a foldout table.

"I know how hard it must've been," Mac said, "Especially with Imes breathing down your neck about it."

"Well, you know she's always been like that. I'm used to by now."

"But still, thank you. You've been a really good friend."

Harriet paused. She'd always assumed she and Mac were friends, or at least close co-workers, but hearing it out-loud, especially from Mac herself, left Harriet touched. "It's nothing," she said, thrown off by the kind words. She didn't quite know what to say. "It's the least I could do."

"That's just it," Mac took another deep breath. Harriet was busy setting up the table and wasn't paying much attention to her, which made what she was about to say a little bit easier. "It's a little bit more than nothing, Harriet."

Harriet looked up. "What do you mean? Is something wrong? Are you and Harm fighting?"

Mac laughed. The thought of her and Harm fighting was laughable now. It was so ironic that their lives had gotten turned upside down by this pregnancy and they were getting along better than they ever had. "No, no it's not that," Mac placed a hand on her stomach to bolster her confidence. There's no going back now, Marine, she told herself. "Harriet, can you keep another secret?"

"Of course Mac. What is it?"

Mac laughed again, and Harriet gave her an odd look. "I'm sorry for laughing," she said. "It's just, if you had told me a year ago that all of this would happen, I would've called you crazy. But here we are-"

Harriet reached out and placed a hand on Mac's shoulder. "Mac, honey, what's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter Harriet," Mac said. "I'm just pregnant."

THREE HOURS LATER

The race was done, with Sturgis finishing first and Harm finishing a close second. Harm had to resist the urge to give Mac a sweaty, 2nd-place-victory kiss in front of everyone. In lieu of a kiss, Mac gave him a cup of water. While he was catching his breath after running ten miles nonstop, he was approached by Bud.

"Congratulations on getting second place, sir," he said.

"Thanks Bud," Harm straightened up. He was still trying to catch his breath. Maybe he was getting too old for this. "Second place's no first place but, it'll do."

Bud smirked. "Well, it's better than what I could do, sir."

"Hey, at least you finished," Harm replied. He poured the remaining water left in the cup over his head.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, sir."

"Bud, you don't need to call me 'sir' out of uniform."

"Oh, okay. Sorry sir-um, Harm."

Harm chuckled and ran his fingers through his now-damp hair. "It's too bad Mac couldn't compete, but with the baby and everything, it just wasn't a good idea-"

He managed to stop himself before he completed the sentence, but it was already too late.

Bud looked at him with wide eyes. "Sir, did you just say 'baby'?"

Harm was aware that he had made some stupid mistakes in his life. This mistake was right up there with some of the stupidest.

"Uh, no, Bud. I, uh, I misspoke," he tried to hide the fact that he was internally panicking.

"Sir, is Colonel Mackenzie pregnant?"

Harm sighed. There was no way he could talk his way out of this one. Not with Bud, at least "Can you keep a secret?"

Harm did get his congratulatory kiss once he and Mac were seated in her Corvette. It actually ended up being more than one congratulatory kiss, but Harm wasn't able to enjoy very much of it. He couldn't ignore the giant pit of dread that had been in his stomach ever since he'd let the cat-well, baby-out of the bag.

"What's wrong?" Mac asked. Harm should've known she'd catch on immediately.

"Nothing," he said. "How's the kid?" he asked. Maybe changing the subject would help. However, Mac saw through his lie completely, but it was too hot out for her to pursue the matter any further.

She smirked. "It's fine," she said. "Are you happy with second place?"

"It's something I can live with," Harm said, shrugging. "I keep reminding myself that I probably would've gotten third if you were racing."

"So you're admitting that I would've beaten you?"

"I'm saying you probably would have," Harm corrected.

Mac looked down, her smile dimming. "Harm," she looked up, "I have something to tell you."

"What?" he asked. His eyes trailed down to her stomach. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Mac shook her head. "I just hope you won't be mad at me."

Harm frowned. Why would he be mad at her? Last time he checked, she had the ability to keep her mouth shut about secrets, unlike him. "Well, I won't be mad at you, if you're not mad at me," he said with a chuckle.

"What are you talking about?"

"I uh, I told Bud. About the case-the baby, I mean," Harm swallowed. "I told Bud about the baby."

A beat of silence passed, and Harm was watching Mac's expression with apprehension. When she suddenly burst out laughing, he was shocked.

"What's so funny?" Harm demanded, more confused than angry.

"Nothing," Mac snorted. "It's just-I was just gonna tell you that I told Harriet."

Harm looked bewildered for a few seconds, but soon enough he was laughing as well.

2200 EST
ROBERTS' RESIDENCE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

Harriet and Bud were laying side by side in their bed, not saying a word. This was unusual for them, because they usually always told each other about their days. But they weren't saying anything that night. They were both too scared they would accidentally spill the secrets they'd been told earlier. Bud and Harriet usually never kept secrets from each other, at least secrets of this magnitude.

Finally, Harriet had enough. "Bud, honey, I have something to tell you."

Bud turned to look at her. "What is it, Harriet?"

She sighed. "I can't tell you. I wish I could, but I can't."

"I know what you mean," Bud said. "I'm keeping a secret too, and I can't tell you."

That's odd, Harriet thought. She looked up at the ceiling in thought, before something occurred to her. "Why don't we just tell each other?" she asked, turning over to face Bud. "I mean, we're married. We shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other. It's not healthy."

"I know sweetie, but I promised Commander Rabb I wouldn't tell anyone."

"I promised Colonel Mackenzie, but I'm sure they'd forgive us."

"Alright, how about this. We'll both say our secrets on the count of three."

Harriet nodded. "Alright, that sounds good."

They both sat up and looked at each other. Bud started the count off. "One, two three-"

"Harm and Mac are gonna have a baby."

All they could was stare at each other in shock.