DISCLAIMER: I do not own the JAG characters, and promise I will put them back neatly in Donald B's toy box when I am done playing with them. Later on I will add characters of my own, and those are mine, and if you want to play with them, please ask me nicely first. Also, if you would like to post this somewhere, please tell me about it first.

WARNING! Character Death in chapter 2!

Author's Notes:

I tried to start each new speaker off on a new line for ease of reading, hope this helps. Thoughts are in single quotes, Dialogue in Double.

3) This is my first JAG fanfic, so please be nice to me. However, constructive criticism would be welcome.

1800 Romeo

Bethesda Maternity Ward

"What time are they going to be here tomorrow, Sir? Mac asked -  resigned to the fact that she was going to have to suck it up and ignore any issues she had with Brumby. They hadn't had any contact since the day Brumby boarded the flight back to Australia after canceling the wedding.

"They'll be here about 1145, oh, and so we'd better make reservations for them for Friday night when we call the club back with the final details… I'm really thankful you're being so calm about this, Mac. I will find a way to make this up to you, some of it at the expense of Harmful Rabb – he is now the proud owner of all your paperwork for the next two months. If we hadn't already sold the house, I'd just give them the keys. I knew a week ago that they needed a place, and in that time, zilch. I even tried basing him out of Norfolk for two weeks, since they are also understaffed, but there is literally no room for them in Military housing anywhere within a tri state area. Anacostia's full, the guest house at the Academy is full… and the only thing they had for him to do for two weeks is assist the Commander of the Midshipmen anyway…in short, this was the only choice." A.J. realized he was rambling and stopped short.

Mac smiled. "We'll manage, Sir. I just hope Mrs. Brumby doesn't deliver until they have a place of their own. That apartment will be ok with five of us, and that's with Brumby's stepkids on the couch. A sixth is not going to fit very well. Plus when Harriet has the baby I'll have Little A.J. there too.  'I am really going to get Harm for this! Ever since he broke up with his latest fling, he has paid zero attention to his work, and I have been left to cover for him. It's been 5 months now! Why is this eating him so bad? He won't talk to me. Maybe the Admiral will make him see someone now that he know just how bad things are. I should have confided in him ages ago instead of covering up for his mistakes.' She became vaguely aware the Admiral was speaking. "Sorry Sir. I didn't mean to zone out on you."

AJ looked at her with weary, sad eyes. "I understand, Mac…" the rest of the sentence was cut off by the ringing of the phone. AJ nodded to Mac to pick it up.

Lifting the receiver, Mac's expression turned to stone. "Hello, Harm," she said frostily. "If you've managed to get us all transferred due to your recent inability to do your job, I don't wanna know about it! What now?"

"What have I done now, Mac?" Harm whined. "The cigars were an honest mistake, which Harriet I s correcting on her way to the doctor's, by the way. And I'm sure they'll make some temporary arrangement for the Brumby's…."

"Yeah, my spare bedroom." Mac replied glumly.

"WOO-HOO THIS is gonna be INTERESTING!!!" Harm laughed.

"One more word, Harmon, and I'm taking your place and you share my apartment with Brumby, his wife anf her two teenagers. And while you are one the subject, PLEASE try to be civil when he gets here! Good-bye, Harm… Unless you want to actually discuss why you called?"

"I just wanted to know if you needed anything."

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. I'm going to be busy helping the admiral with the twins tonight, and the Brumby's will be here in the morning, so can you go over to my place and clean it up a little? Make sure to put that picture of Mic and me at the Surface Warfare Ball away somewhere… Also make sure the fridge has some edible stuff in it. And when you go to the sort, get some pregnancy stuff, like pickles, ice cream, olives, you remember what Harriet's been eating…stuff like that. Most everything can just be picked up and vacuumed, but the bathroom is going to require some scrubbing."

"Don't' worry, Mac, I'll take care of it. I find cleaning therapeutic when I'm miserable, and I can only clean my little apartment so much… AJ took the other end of the phone from Mac. "Commander, my charge card is in the drawer. Go Shopping, clean the house and buy some things to make the Brumbys comfortable. And go to the Organized Living store and get some extra storage for under the beds, cabinets, etc. Take tomorrow morning too, if you need it. And if you screw this up, your next duty post will be someplace you really don't want to be!"

A.J. hung up the phone and turned to Mac and Jen. "Do you have any plans tonight? If not, I really don't want to be alone right now. I've managed to hold it together for appearances sake, but I'm going to fall apart the minute I'm alone, I know it. And the last time I did that, I got so wasted, I had no memory of where I was or how I got there. A widow lady who lived close to base found me on her lawn, took me in and put me to bed. Just the memory of that and what she did to me the next morning makes me scared of ever doing something like that again. Maybe you could help me put the crib together? We were saving that till she delivered since there's no room in the apartment…we were going to do it together…" He faltered, and in that split second, there was a knock on the door and Bud Roberts poked his head in.

"Hello, Sir, he said quietly. "How's Meredith? Is the baby ok? I'm supposed to meet Harriet for her appointment, so I thought I'd stop in." Mac began to signal frantically from behind A.J.'s back. 'Shut up. Bud!' she thought.

A.J. turned to face Bud. "The babies are fine. Meredith…"He finally broke and began to sob. "Meredith didn't make it."

'"Oh, Sir, I'm so sorry." Bud immediately went to A.J. and led him to a chair, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and handing it to him. A.J. crumpled completely then, and Bud comforted him the way A.J. had done for him when baby Sarah died. Mac and Jen tiptoed out of the room. They met Nurse Robley in the hallway.

"Do you want to come downstairs with me? We've got a mother in labor coming in, and she's going to deliver before she gets here. I'm going to need someone to help me track down her husband." By this time they were approaching the ER, just as the Ambulance doors burst open. Out of the side door of the Ambulance, two figures emerged. An ER tech and…the SECNAV???? 'Uh-OH" Mac thought.

The Tech opened the back door and a gurney was lifted out, on which reposed a strangely thin Harriet Roberts. "Mac!" she squealed. "She's here!" The other medic followed Harriet, and presented Mac with a bundle wrapped in silver-heat blankets. "Mac, this is Eleanor Loren Roberts, Ellie for short."

The SecNav cleared his throat. "I'll go find A.J. while you look after Harriet. Stay with her, Colonel. That's an order."

"Yes, Sir!, and Harriet's husband is with him." She then gave him directions on where to find A.J. and Bud.

Sheffield found the lounge with no trouble. "Mr. Roberts, go meet your wife and daughter downstairs, please."

Bud's eyes grew wide and he bolted out the door, completely forgetting military protocol.

The SecNav chuckled. "Hell, A.J. She did it again. She took the cigars in, and her water broke on the president's rug, right in the middle of the oval office! I had heard what happened with the first one, but she was even quicker this time. The ambulance workers got there in time to see the president deliver her. Naming her after my wife and Lt. Singer was nice gesture, I thought. She named her Eleanor Loren. But I have never seen or heard of a woman delivering so fast."

A.J. truly smiled for the first time that day. 'That's our Harriet, always the overachiever."