A/N: Have I said thank you recently for all the fantastic feedback? You guys are terrific!
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0331 Zulu; National Naval Medical Center; Bethesda, Maryland
"All right, Sarah. Let's see how much progress you're making, shall we?" Dr. Alexander smiled, expertly pulling on a pair of latex gloves.
Tearing his eyes away as she disappeared from view between Mac's raised knees, Harm tried to divert his thoughts from what exactly the physician was doing by picking up Mac's hand and gently stroking his thumb across her palm. When Mac glanced over at him with a smile, he leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. A moment later, the doctor straightened.
"Everything looks good," she informed them, "but the cervix isn't dilating quite as fast as I'd like. You're only at about three centimeters."
"Three? She's been in labor for over six hours!" Harm protested.
"That's not uncommon with first babies, Commander," Harriet shrugged, sitting next to Mac on the other side of the bed.
"Harriet, you had your first baby so fast that we couldn't even get you to the hospital," Harm reminded her.
"Little A.J. was the exception, sir, not the rule."
"Breaking Sarah's water will help to speed things up a bit," Dr. Alexander nodded. Selecting an instrument from the tray beside her, she once again maneuvered herself between Mac's knees. "Just try to relax."
A moment later, Mac sucked in a quick breath at the gush of warm fluid. She tensed briefly, but Harm knew it wasn't from a contraction.
"You okay?" he asked, his hold on her fingers tightening.
Glancing at him, Mac's lips quirked in amused astonishment. "Yeah. Talk about a weird sensation, though."
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0557 Zulu; National Naval Medical Center; Bethesda, Maryland
Within moments of her water breaking, Mac's contractions began to noticeably increase in strength and frequency. At Dr. Alexander's recommendation, she and Harm walked around the ward in an effort to speed up the process of dilation. Side-by-side they meandered through the hallways, pausing every so often to weather each contraction as it came. When they stopped by the waiting room, Mac invited Mattie to come back with them so that Jennifer could go home and get some rest before work. Mattie eagerly accepted, and the three of them returned to Mac's room.
For the last hour, Mattie had been alternating between watching Mac and working on her pre-calc homework. At the moment she was occupied with the latter, while Harm helped Mac ride out the latest powerful spasm that rippled across her belly.
"How are you doing, Tiger?"
He hadn't left Mac's side since Mattie had so easily convinced him to let her stay at the hospital instead of going home. As Mac clutched his hand forcefully, he was yet again weighed down by the belief that he wasn't doing enough to help her get through this. The soothing words and gentle caresses seemed somehow inadequate, despite the knowledge that he was doing everything a man could do under the circumstances. Taking a washcloth from the bedside table, he dabbed at the beads of perspiration that had appeared on Mac's forehead.
"I'm fine. Stop asking me, will you?" she told him irritably, her head lolling backwards as the contraction passed. Letting her eyes drift closed, she focused on how nice the cool cloth felt against her skin.
Harm's response was interrupted by the sound of the door opening behind him.
"I hope you don't mind chips and water, sir. The cafeteria didn't have much in the way of vegetarian selections," Harriet said quietly as she stepped up next to him. "How's she doing?"
"Good so far." Taking the bag and bottle, he opened the cellophane bag and popped a chip in his mouth.
"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Mac said without opening her eyes. "My ears work fine, thanks."
"Sorry, ma'am." Harriet made her way around the bed. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
Mac sighed. "I know. I'm just not feeling like myself right now."
"That's perfectly understandable," Harriet told her.
The door opened again to reveal Dr. Alexander flipping through the pages on the clipboard in her hand. "How are you feeling, Sarah? Everything still under control?"
This time, Mac did open her eyes. "If one more person asks me that..." she glared.
Dr. Alexander chuckled. "You wouldn't be the first woman in labor to wish bodily harm on everyone in the room."
"Sorry, Doc. I don't know what's getting into me."
"You're having a baby, Mac. No one here is begrudging you for having a short temper," Harm said sympathetically.
"Commander Rabb is right, Sarah. Have you changed your mind about getting an epidural? You've got time."
"No." Shaking her head, Mac's gaze met Harm's. She lifted his hand to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to his skin. "I don't care how bad it gets, I'm not changing my mind. I want to do this naturally."
Harm gave a slight nod, his lips curling upward as his heart filled with pride and love.
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0850 Zulu; National Naval Medical Center; Bethesda, Maryland
"Sarah, you're at ten centimeters," the doctor told her with a bright smile. "When the next contraction comes, I want you to start pushing. Okay?"
Mac nodded mutely. Her contractions were now coming only a couple of minutes apart, and the excitement in the room was starting to escalate. To her right stood Harm, one hand on her shoulder and the other clutched firmly in hers. Harriet held a similar station to Mac's left, while Mattie stood close by taking it all in.
"Hang in there, Mac. You're doing fine," Harm encouraged, squeezing her hand.
Taking a deep breath, Mac smiled up at him briefly before she felt the next contraction start to grow. Immediately her attention began to focus inward on the tension that was growing in her abdomen. She exhaled fully before again filling her lungs, her entire body tensing.
"Okay, here we go," Dr. Alexander ordered. "Push, Sarah! To the count of ten: one, two, three, four..."
Bearing down with all her strength, Mac gritted her teeth as everyone counted, Harm, Harriet, Mattie and the doctor all chanting simultaneously to help spur her on. When the count finally reached ten, she exhaled forcefully.
"Again!"
Taking another deep breath, Mac once again forced herself to push downward. She focused on the thought of her baby, the son or daughter she and Harm would shortly be welcoming into the world. You can do this, Marine, she encouraged inwardly, concentrating her efforts on the task at hand. Get over this last hurdle and you'll finally be a mother.
"...eight, nine, ten!" they counted, watching as she endured the potency of the contraction. Panting from the exertion, the spasm finally began to ease up a few moments later. Mac blinked as she glanced up at Harm. She was exhausted. How much longer was this going to take?
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To be continued...
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