RABB RESIDENCE
McLEAN, VIRGINIA
Harm's POV
"Oww," was all I heard when a hand clasped painfully around my foot. Forcing myself to wake up I glanced down to the foot of the bed. Mac stood there with a look of excruciating pain on her face.
"What's wrong?" I sat up reaching for her hand peeling it off my foot, I'm pretty sure she cracked a bone.
"What's it look like?" she asked sarcastically, relaxing her grip.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" I was up and moving. I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, grabbing socks and shoes, sitting down on the bed to slip them on as quick as possible.
"I didn't want it to be like last time," she sighed, she started pacing back and forth across the room, "We were up two nights with Trey and then the actual labor was in the middle of the day."
"I remember," I sighed, "I'm going to grab Trey and his stuff, you want to start making your way down stairs?"
"Oh yeah, that'll go rapidly," she slipped on her 'down hill' shoes as I tended to call them, and motioned to her suitcase.
I placed it at the top of the stairs and grabbed Trey's diaper bag, which had been packed for this particular situation. Carefully lifting the 1 ½ year old to my shoulder I tried to keep him as still as possible. I met Mac at the bottom of the stairs; she was obviously in the middle of a contraction.
"I'll be back in a second," I quickly dashed out to the car placing Trey in his seat and started the car pulling out my phone and dialing the Roberts.
0244 LocalBETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
Bud had picked up Trey not long after we had arrived, and we had been placed in a room. The doctor had come in to tell us that we probably should have come in sooner since Mac was almost 6 cm dilated and was set up with a fetal monitor.
"I want to walk," she whimpered reaching for my hands pulling herself off the bed. The nurse smiled disconnecting the wires and moving the IV to a rolling stand. We covered the floor twice before she stopped leaning heavily against me and groaning deeply.
"Colonel," the doctor saw us a came over, "time to get back to your room." He smiled indulgently and motioned to a nurse with a wheel chair.
"Just as I suspected," he nodded once Mac was back in bed, "you're fully effaced and dilated. On the next contraction I need you to push."
"It's coming Mac," I watched the monitor as it started to rise with the pain of the contraction. She was silent focusing solely on pushing, her face a bright shade of red expending all of her energy.
"I can see the head," I encouraged, watching the doctor gently cradle the head easing out one shoulder than the next, "Hard parts over."
"You want to tell her?" the doctor held up the squalling baby.
"It's a girl," I whispered, squeezing Mac's hand, "she's perfect." The nurse handed me surgical scissors, instructing me on where to cut the cord and then took them back.
"She's beautiful," Mac cradled the new life on her stomach, "I love you."
"I love you too," I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, watching the nurse take our daughter for her first check up. "I'll leave you to get cleaned up I've got some phone calls to make."
0834 LocalBETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
"JAG Headquarters, PO Coates," the voice on the other end of the phone answered when I was finally connected. I had been trying since 0300 to get a hold of anyone from JAG. The Roberts' had been busy three times and the forth was continuous ringing. The Admiral had apparently spent the night at Meredith's since his cell was off and his home phone was being answered by the answering machine.
"Coates could I speak to the Admiral?" I asked quietly trying not to wake Mac or the baby.
"Yes sir, but he seems quite agitated," she said before the line was transferred, "where the hell are you Rabb?"
"Sir, we're at the hospital I thought Lt. Roberts would have told you," I straightened automatically in my seat.
"He's not in yet, boy or girl?"
"Girl," I answered quickly glancing to the small baby as she slept soundly within arms reach of her mother.
"Well I hate to say this but your promotions ceremony was supposed to be this morning and none of you are here," he sighed heavily.
"Yes sir, I think I have an idea on that."
