Author's Notes: see chapter 1

And do I know how these places work? Nope. Just making it so I would feel comfortable doing it, and in a way that would seem plausible.

Angela B.() - I agree that just asking for command was probably a little ballsy, but to have made LTC, she has already had some level of command (at least in the Army the regular guys run the various shops at the rank of CPT. At LTC they would have command of a Battalion - at least all my husband's CO's have been LTC's). Besides, it gives her something to go to worthy of her rank. I can't make her just somebody's legal weenie. She wasn't really considering doing it herself, but that was what gave her the idea of the sperm bank/fertility clinic. Thanks for your input!!!

Chapter 2

Flashback - first week of January 2004 to end of February 2004

Mac had made the decision to, at least, call and find out exactly what was involved when one wanted a baby but had no male assistance available. Then she'd talked herself into actually making the trip into the center. It was much less daunting than she had originally thought. The entrance and the waiting room looked like any other doctor's office. They gave her the general paperwork, but behind that was the legal documentation necessary for the donor search and the insemination. Once she had returned the clipboard, she was escorted into a small room. In it was a computer, printer and a telephone. The nurse showed her the instructions on using the software and explained how to print. She could stay as long as she liked. If she made a choice, today, the donor information needed to be printed for her records and they would schedule an appointment with the doctor.

Mac sat down, glanced over the instruction one more time to familiarize herself with the program. She elected to search by profession and typed in "military". She was surprised to see that there were over one hundred donors who claimed to belong to one of the services. She tried to search by Marine Corps, but apparently it didn't get that specific. She returned to her original search and began to page through the "advertisements". After the first dozen she realized that many of these must have been from young soldiers preparing for the trip to Iraq. The descriptions they gave seemed to come straight out of a high school novel. A bad one. While she didn't fault the young men for hoping to procreate, she was more interested in someone a little older and more mature. Then she saw one that tweaked her interest:

Military, 37 years old. Graduated from US Naval Academy. Intelligent, fun loving, easy personality. No current relationships. Eyes: Blue. Hair: Brown.

*Wow!* Mac thought, *that could almost be Harm. But he most certainly would have listed that he was a pilot and a lawyer. Right age... Maybe...* She hit the print button. During the next hour she found three more similar entries. They covered an age span of 35 - 40, one claimed to be a doctor, one a chaplain. The last one was a pilot - claimed he flew BlackHawk's. The one that kept drawing her attention, however, was the USNA graduate. Even though she knew it wasn't Harm (this just didn't seem like his thing), she'd never know for sure.

Mac forced herself to walk out of the room, up to the receptionist and turn in the printout. The receptionist smiled and opened the appointment book to the following week. "I'm so glad you found one, Ms. MacKenzie. Let me see if we can set up an appointment for you... It looks like we've got an opening with Dr. Conklin on Thursday at 11:00. Will that work for you?"

Mac walked out of the clinic wondering exactly what she was getting herself into. No one seemed surprised or judgmental. No one was curious why she wanted to do it this way. The acceptance was incredible. She realized that it was just part of the job for them, but it made her feel much more secure in her choices.

The appointment with the doctor was a little more uncomfortable. Dr. Sandra Conklin sat with her for a long time explaining the necessary tests, medical procedures and time schedules necessary in order to make the process work. Mac soon realized that it was much more involved that she had originally imagined. Regular blood work, daily hormone shots to boost her egg production, tracking her cycles religiously... Dr. Conklin warned her that it could easily become overwhelming. Did she have any support? "No," Mac had told her, "I'm in between relationships right now and there really isn't anybody I would want to burden with this."

"No girl friends to talk to?"

*Oh, yeah. Can you see me talking to Harriet about this? All of JAG would know about it before Staff Call.* "Not really."

Dr. Conklin handed her a business card. "We have a group of people who have gone through this process who volunteer their time to answer questions and give moral support. If you get overwhelmed and need someone to talk to, call this number and you'll be connected with somebody who can reassure you. The hormone shots can make you moody and irritable and this can take several attempts so it's all to easy to get discouraged if you don't become pregnant immediately. It helps to talk." Mac took the card and tucked it into her purse. She couldn't share her feelings with her friends, she certainly couldn't do it with a total stranger.

They completed the physical exam, the pelvic exam, took more blood than Mac knew she had (A/N: Vampires are alive and well and working in ob/gyn's offices!), and showed her how to give herself the hormone shots in the top of her thigh. She was given a bag of ovulation kits and instructed that when it gave a positive result, she was to get herself into the clinic for insemination.

As she was getting ready to leave, Dr. Conklin looked at her gravely. "You do realize that we are beginning to realize that women as early as their 30's can begin to have difficulties becoming pregnant?" Mac nodded. She had seen a report on that subject just a few weeks before. It was what had started her thinking about her chances of having children if she waited for true love. "We used to think," Dr. Conklin continued, "that women could pick and choose when they wanted to have babies, but there seems to be a significant number of women between 35 and 40 who are already past their reproductive time."

It took four tries before she got the magic phone call. "Ms. MacKenzie, this Amanda from the fertility clinic," *the perky blonde from the reception desk,* Mac recalled. "Congratulations - you have a positive pregnancy test. Can you come in tomorrow morning to see Dr. Conklin?"


TBC... (sorry I omitted this on the last one - I'm sure there will be much more before I get done with this saga)