THURSDAY, 10 AUGUST
1510 ZULU
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Dr. Newman had finally deemed Mac well enough to move into a regular hospital room, which was done first thing Thursday morning, but not without a little grumbling from the patient about being woken up early for the move. The move was finally accomplished by both Matt playing the role of drill sergeant and Trish reassuring her that she could go back to sleep once she was settled in her new room. That accomplished, Matt and Trish had both departed to catch up on some of the sleep they had been missing themselves the past three days, Matt to Mac's apartment and Trish to Harm's where Frank was waiting for her.

Mac was lightly dozing just past eleven hundred hours when she was woken up by a knock on her door. She opened her eyes to find Sydney sticking her head in.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Sydney apologized. "I can come back later if you'd like to get some more sleep."

"No, it's fine," Mac assured her. "I should probably get up anyway. I've been sleeping most of the morning." She pressed a button to raise the head of the bed so that she was propped up in a half-sitting position as Sydney pulled up a chair next to the bed.

"I see AJ finally was able to order Harm back to work," Sydney commented.

"With a little help from me," Mac admitted. "I told Harm that I was going to kick his six from here to the Adriatic if he didn't stop hovering and that if I couldn't do it, I'd get Uncle Matt to do it for me."

Sydney laughed at the image that created in her mind. It wasn't hard to imagine the feisty Marine doing just that despite being injured and pregnant. "I'm sorry," Sydney gasped at Mac's puzzled look, "the image that just created in my mind ..."

Mac smiled herself, careful to head the doctor's warning to watch the laughter due to her healing lung. "I can see why that would be amusing," Mac said dryly. "So what brings you here?"

"My last morning appointment cancelled so I thought I'd take a early lunch and stop by to see you," Sydney explained. "I was curious to see if yesterday's news has sunk in yet."

Mac picked up a book of the nightstand and handed it to Sydney, who read the title aloud. "'Twins! Pregnancy, Birth and The First Year Of Life'," she said. "Who picked this up for you?"

"Harm did," Mac replied. "He stopped off at a bookstore on his way home last night and dropped this off this morning on his way to work. Trish said he bought a copy for himself, too."

"He's really getting into the idea of having two, isn't he?" Sydney asked.

"'Getting into it'?" Mac echoed. "Cloud nine is more like it. Not that I have any experience, but I've never seen a man more excited. Let's see if he can manage to keep the news to himself."

"Are you still planning to wait to tell everyone until you get out of the hospital?"

"Yes," Mac confirmed. "With everything that's happened the last few days, I would feel better if we waited until after I got out of the hospital just in case anything happens."

"As a doctor and a mother myself," Sydney said, "I can understand that. You've been through a trauma and you're still healing. I'd probably do the same thing in your position."

"It's just a little scary," Mac explained softly. "With everything that's happened, I'm lucky I didn't miscarry. Now I find out there are two. You know, when people talk about twins, it's natural to think 'high-risk' pregnancy."

"I don't have any practical experience with the topic," Sydney tried to reassure the younger woman, "but I had a friend many years ago who had twins and her pregnancy was perfectly normal except for gaining more weight than a woman would with a single baby."

"But did your friend get shot then have her ventilator tampered with by a psychopath?" Mac asked.

"No," Sydney answered, putting her hand on Mac's shoulder, "but you and the babies have made it this far. The hard part was getting through the first forty-eight hours. Now, the odds are definitely in your favor. Anyway, look at who these kids have for parents. Some of the stories AJ has told me about you two ..."

"I can imagine," Mac said, smiling at the memories of four years of tight spots and life-or-death situations. She sobered quickly and added, "Sometimes I'm just afraid to hope for too much in my life. So much has happened to me, especially when it seems like everything is going my way."

"Look," Sydney said, "I don't want you to talk too much now. You're still recovering from that collapsed lung. But if you ever want to talk about any of it, I'll listen."

"Thank you," Mac said sincerely. "Outside of Harm and my uncle, there are a lot of things that I've never talked about with anyone. Maybe it would be nice to talk to someone who is outside of it all."

-----

1555 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

It had been strange for Harm to return to work after everything that had happened. Walking through the hallway outside the bullpen, where all hell had broken loose on Monday, Harm could see in his mind the bullet holes that had been in the walls, the blood staining the floor and walls, even though crews had been in Monday evening to repair the damage as soon as the MPs had given the go ahead.

It had been hard getting back into the swing of things that morning, his mind constantly drifting back to the horror three days earlier. The only thing that kept him from wallowing completely in the despair of what had happened had been the knowledge that Mac was on the mend and the baby they were expecting had turned out to be twins.

Twins. When they had made their deal over a year ago to 'go halves on a kid' and every time he had imagined having a child with Mac since then, he had never imagined it being anything like this. After all the stops and starts, miscommunication and misunderstandings, twins just seemed like the perfect beginning to their new life together. He smiled at the thought.

"After everything that's happened," Trish said from the doorway, "it's good to see a smile on your face again. Thinking about yesterday's news?"

Harm looked up from his paperwork to find his mother standing in the open doorway with Frank and Matt behind her. "Mom, Frank, Matt," Harm greeted them, waving them into his office. "It's great to see you, but did Sarah put you up to this?"

"What, we can't stop by at lunchtime and see if you would like to eat with us?" Trish asked in mock indignation. "I'll tell you, kids these days ..."

"Very funny, Mom," Harm said dryly, leaning back in his chair. "But it's a logical assumption given her insistence that I not 'spend the entire day staring at the four walls of my office.' She's the one in the hospital and she's worrying about how I'm doing."

"That's how it works, you know," Trish pointed out. "When you love someone, one of your first considerations is always how the other partner is feeling. Are you going to sit there and try to tell me that you haven't spent a good portion of your morning worrying about her?"

Harm sighed. His mother was right. This was just still so new to him; he felt as if he was driving a new route and constantly trying to look at the road map. Only problem was, most relationships didn't come with road maps to help you find your way when you got a little lost or confused. "Okay, I won't tell you that," Harm finally replied. "And I would love the company for lunch. Actually, this gives me the perfect opportunity to ask for your assistance with something that I want to plan."

"See, Trish," Frank said. "Your son can be sensible when he wants to be." Trish had suggested to her husband and Matt that it might take a lot of persuading to talk Harm into lunch with them. "So what do you need our help with, Harm?"

"Let's just say that it's time to work on 'Plan B'," Harm replied mysteriously as he grabbed his cover. Frank and Trish looked at each other confused while Matt smiled, remembering the conversation Monday night after Hodge had been captured.

-----

The foursome decided to stay at JAG and eat in the courtyard after Harm had assured everyone that the cafeteria food was halfway decent. They all sat down with their food, everyone looking expectantly at Harm.

"I had this big plan in mind to propose to Sarah this weekend after we moved into our new home," Harm began, only to be promptly interrupted by his mother.

"Why haven't you proposed yet?" Trish asked, astonished. "I gave you that ring back in Beallsville over a month ago. I noticed in the hospital that she wasn't wearing the ring, but I thought that it might have been taken off when she went into surgery."

"A month ago?" Matt added. "And it took you that long to come see me in Leavenworth?"

"Give Harm a break," Frank suggested, trying to act as the voice of reason. "After dragging their feet the last four years about getting together, does it really surprise you that they are dragging their feet about getting married?"

"You have at least discussed the topic of a wedding with Mac, haven't you?" This was from his mother, who was wondering how her intelligent son could sometimes make such unintelligent decisions.

"In general, non-specific terms only so far," Harm said, then quickly added due to the look shot him by his mother, "I wanted it to be special. After we got back from Beallsville, we had several investigations and court cases that took our attention, then I went to see Matt to discuss my plans with him last Saturday. I was going to do it this weekend, but ... "

"I'm sorry," Trish said. "We don't mean it to sound like we're criticizing you. I just want to see my only child finally settled down with a family of his own."

"And I want the same for Sarah," Matt added.

"Why don't we start this whole conversation over?" Frank suggested. "Harm can tell us what he has planned and what we can do to help. Okay?"

Everyone nodded their agreement. "Good," Harm said. "Now, the first problem is that Sarah and I were supposed to move into our house this weekend and she needs to be out of her old apartment by the end of the month. I don't want to wait until after she gets out of the hospital to move. She should be taking it easy still, not worrying about moving into a new place, so I would like to get everything moved before she gets out of the hospital. It would be a nice surprise for her to come home to 'our' house."

"Sounds good," Trish said. "What can we do to help?"

"Since I'd like it to be a surprise," Harm continued, "it would be a little suspicious if I was completely absent from the hospital this weekend. So I'd like some help supervising the movers – especially since we've got two apartments to move out of and Sarah's not here to supervise the activity at her place."

"We can do that," Matt said. "One person at each apartment to supervise and one person at the house when the stuff starts arriving. Do you have an idea where you want everything to go?"

"We have worked on that the last couple of weeks and we made some notes," Harm replied. "I'll make sure you have them."

"What about paint, wallpaper, things like that?" Trish asked.

"There is a little bit to be done on that front," he said. "We definitely wanted to re-paper one of the bathrooms. The nursery will need to be done, but we've got several months to worry about that. There are also a few places that need some touch up paint. We talked about putting in some shelves in the room we are going to turn into an office. I was also going to work on that this weekend, also."

"Harm," Frank suggested, "what if we get some of your friends here to help? From what I've seen this week, they care about both of you a lot and would be happy to help."

"I don't know ..." Harm said.

"Well, there's AJ and Sydney," Trish pointed out. "Why don't we ask them and see what they think? AJ! Sydney!" Trish waved the couple, who was heading back into the building from lunch, over to their table.

"Hello, everyone," Sydney greeted them when she and AJ reached the table. She leaned over to give Harm a hug. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay," Harm said. "Trying to keep busy and my mind off of things."

"We were just discussing with Harm the plan for getting his and Mac's stuff moved into their new house before she gets out of the hospital," Trish told them. "There's a little bit of work that needs to be done in the house also and we suggested to Harm that his friends would be willing to help with the work and organizing the move. What do you think?"

"We'd be happy to help," Sydney said. "You know, their house is right across the street from AJ. AJ, you know the rest of the people here better than I do. Do you think they'd be willing to come out and help, too?"

"Most of them have been waiting for this as long as they've known those two," AJ said. "Happy to help? Just try and keep most of the people here away."

Sensing that Harm still needed convincing, Sydney added, "Bud and Harriet? Harm and Mac are their best friends."

"And Gunny?" AJ continued. "Mac got him his job at JAG."

"What about Carolyn? She and Harriet ..." Sydney was interrupted by Harm.

"Okay, you've made your point," he conceded. "I'd be happy to accept any help that is given. I just want to make this perfect for Sarah."

"AJ, why don't you put together a list of those who are closest to Harm and Mac and the rest of us can talk to them," Sydney suggested. "If it came from you, they might see it as an order."

"Maybe we should all get together," Matt suggested, "plan what everyone will do."

"When and where?" Sydney asked. "We can run it by everyone when we talk to them."

"Harm, do you have access to the house already?" Trish asked.

"Yes, I finalized everything on Friday while she was in Quantico," he replied.

"Then why don't we meet there tonight," Trish suggested, "say around seven if everyone's free? Then everyone can get a feel for the layout of the house and you can show us what needs to be done and where everything needs to go."

"What about that other matter, Harm?" Matt asked. "What are your thoughts on that?"

"Well, the original plan was a nice intimate dinner Sunday night in our new home," Harm revealed.

"I assume we're talking a proposal here," Sydney said. "Sounds romantic and I don't see any reason why you can't still do that."

"No," Harm admitted, "but I was thinking of modifying the original plan slightly." Harm paused a moment to gather his thoughts. He was normally a very private person, so public displays like the one he was thinking about were not really his thing. Then again, it would be good practice for the eventual church full of guests. "After everything Sarah's been through the last few days, we've really gained an appreciation of how much our friends here at JAG are like a family to us. Everyone has really been there for us and we both appreciate it. Besides, as the Admiral pointed out, most of our friends have been waiting for this day for a long time. So I was thinking ... how about a dinner party? We can celebrate moving into our new house plus an engagement."

"Are you sure?" Trish asked. "Maybe you'd like something a little more private?"

"I think ... no, I know this is how I want to do it," Harm said. "And we can announce our other news then also."

"Other news?" AJ asked. AJ was the only one present who didn't know the results of the ultrasound as Sydney had agreed that she wouldn't tell anyone, not even him.

"We'll find out with everyone else," Sydney said evasively, smiling at him. "Harm, have the doctors said when Mac is actually going to be released?"

"When I stopped at Bethesda this morning," Harm replied, "Drs. Newman and Calder agreed that if all continued to go well, she would be released Monday. It was supposed to be in the morning, but she said – and I quote – 'I'll be damned if I'm going to sit at home all day Monday while Harm hovers over me.' So Sarah decided that I would go to work on Monday and pick her up on my way home."

"Sounds like my niece," Matt commented.

"So instead of taking her to the apartment, you bring her to the house and everyone is there waiting to welcome her home," Frank said. "Sounds like a plan. Anything else?"

"What about the dinner menu?" Trish asked. "Harm, what kind of foods does she like?"

"Dead cow," Harm replied dryly, eliciting laughs from Trish and Frank and puzzled expressions from everyone else.

"Sydney," Trish suggested, "why don't you and I work on that? Let's see if we can satisfy both my son the vegetarian and Mac the meat eater."

"Fine," Sydney replied, laughing, "we can come up with some ideas today and discuss them when everyone gets together this evening. This should be interesting."

"I think that's everything," Harm said, "so I need to get back to work. Mom, Frank, Matt – I'll see all of you tonight."

"Commander, I'd like to see you in my office when you get a chance," AJ said.

Harm could see in his eyes that it was important. "How's right now? Nothing pressing waiting for me in my office except paperwork," he suggested.

"Good," AJ said. "Goodbye, everyone. I'll see all of you tonight. Sydney, I'll see you after work."

Everyone said their good-byes, then Harm followed AJ back into JAG.

-----

AJ took his seat then said, "Take a seat, Harm."

His commanding officer's use of his first name gave Harm an eerie feeling. He had a feeling that this was about Chief Hodge, a suspicion that was confirmed when AJ began, "Lieutenant Roberts and Gunny delivered their preliminary report on Hodge as I was leaving for lunch."

"What did it say, Sir?" Harm asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Basically, that Hodge was released from Leavenworth three months ago on a technicality," AJ said, then glanced at Harm. The younger man was fighting a losing battle to control his temper. "Somehow, some papers were filled out wrong, not all the I's dotted or the T's crossed and his lawyer was able to pull some fancy maneuvering, find a sympathetic judge and get him released."

"Are you telling me that this man was convicted of two murders, two attempted murders, numerous counts of assault and endangerment and he served only a year in prison?" Harm demanded, his voice taking on a hostile edge. "And why the hell are we just now finding out about this?"

"Harm, I wish I knew the answer to that," AJ said wearily. "Roberts and Gunny are still digging. They also discovered that Hodge has a sister in this area, which is why he ended up here. Also, since he had previously been stationed there, he was familiar with the hospital."

"Any idea why he did what he did, Sir?" Harm asked. "I don't mean the switching of the tanks and coming in to play the hero. That fits his previous MO to a T. But he tried to kill Sarah before, on the Watertown. Why not this time?"

"Apparently, Hodge's sister is pregnant," AJ revealed. "Maybe that got to him in some way and he discovered that he couldn't kill her. With a psychopath like Hodge, who can honestly say? The man should probably have been in a hospital somewhere getting help, not in Leavenworth."

"Probably," Harm said quietly. He didn't really agree, but it wasn't his decision to make. "What's going to happen now?"

"His sister retained a lawyer for him," AJ answered, "who is talking of an insanity plea. I'm still looking for someone from one of the other JAG offices to come in and act as prosecutor. After what happened with Mac, officials at Bethesda have discovered some similar incidents that they are investigating, so no one can really say at this point how this will all play out. Although he would probably be better off not going back to Leavenworth since Matt O'Hara is there."

"Speaking of Matt, has Clay said when he'll have to go back to Leavenworth?" Harm asked, changing the subject. Although he had wanted to know how Hodge had come back into their lives, he didn't like the answers he had gotten. Then again, there probably was no answer he could have gotten that he would have been happy with in this situation.

"By prior agreement, Colonel O'Hara is here at least until Mac is released from the hospital," was the reply. "I need to have a talk with Mr. Webb anyway. I'll see if he can give the Colonel until the end of next week. I'm sure Mac will be happy to spend some time with her uncle once she's out of the hospital."

"Yes, she would like that," Harm agreed. He stood to leave. "Thank you, Admiral – for everything. I appreciate it."

AJ nodded. "Dismissed, Commander," he said.

Harm came to attention and replied, "Aye, aye, Sir."

-----

2300 ZULU
HARM AND MAC'S NEW HOUSE
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

Harm, along with his mother, Frank and Matt, were the last to arrive. Before he had left work, he had given AJ a key to the house, so any early arrivals could wait inside until Harm could get away from the hospital. When they entered the house, Harm was surprised to find not only AJ, Sydney, Bud, Harriet, Gunny and Tiner present, but also Bobbi Latham and Clayton Webb. Honestly, Clay's presence wasn't that much of a mystery. Although he had been very lenient about it given the circumstances, technically he was responsible for Matt's whereabouts.

"Hello, Harm," Bobbi greeted him. "AJ called me and asked for my help. How is Mac doing?"

"She's getting better everyday, or so the doctors tell me," he replied. "Bobbi, these are my parents, Trish and Frank Burnett and this is Mac's uncle, Colonel Matthew O'Hara. Everyone, this is Congresswoman Bobbi Latham. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee."

Greetings were exchanged all around and everyone took a seat on the living room floor while Harm pulled out the notes he and Mac had made based on the floor plans for the house. He spread the plans out on the floor while everyone gathered around to plan.

-----

After everyone from JAG left, Harm stood alone on the porch, staring out into the night. He didn't turn around when he heard someone approach behind him.

"You've got some very good friends at JAG," Frank commented as he stood beside Harm at the rail.

"Yes, I do," Harm said quietly. "You and Mom getting ready to go back to the apartment?"

"In a few minutes," he replied. "I told Trish I wanted to talk to you first."

Harm turned his head and looked at his stepfather. It was a hard realization that he had never given Frank enough credit for everything he had done for Harm, especially in Russia. After all, if things had turned out differently in Russia, it might have cost Frank his marriage. "Do you mind if I say something first?" Harm asked.

"Go ahead."

"I never really thanked you for everything you did when Sarah and I went to Russia," Harm started. "A lot of men in your position would have tried to discourage me. But you never did."

"Harm, all I've ever wanted is for you and your mother to be happy," Frank explained. "If that meant finding your father alive and bringing him home, then I was willing to live with that. That's part of being in love with someone – putting their needs ahead of your own."

"I'm beginning to realize that," Harm said. "I just ... I don't know. Maybe now that I'm about to have a family of my own, I'm beginning to realize a few things that I never wanted to admit before now."

"Such as?"

"The importance of family, I guess," he replied. "I was so wrapped up in the past that I never really appreciated the one I had."

"Harm, I ..." Frank began, but Harm held up his hand.

"Let me finish," Harm requested. "I had this idealized image of who my father was and it hurt not long ago when I found out that he was human and had made mistakes. After I found that out, it took me a while to get past that, to let go of my childhood ideals. I had always placed him on a pedestal and you could never live up to that image in my mind. Now that I can admit that, I wanted to say that I'm sorry. You did the best you could, just as he did. I guess I'm ready to accept that now."

"Harm, I've always know that I could never take your father's place," Frank said, "but I've always been willing to be a friend if you'd let me."

"I know that," Harm admitted. "I always have. I guess now that I'm going to have kids of my own, I wanted to make sure that I settled any differences remaining between us. I don't want any friction between us to get in the way of my children being close to the only grandfather that they'll ever know."

"Thank you," Frank said quietly, holding out his hand. Without hesitation, Harm took it as Trish and Matt joined them on the porch.

"Are you ready to go, Frank?" Trish asked, smiling. It warmed her heart to see the two people closest to her finally put aside their differences.

"Yes," he replied, "Harm and I are finished here."

"Good night, Mom," Harm said, pulling her into his arms for a hug.

"Good night, and thank you," Trish whispered, kissing him on the cheek. "We'll see you later."

Harm and Matt stood on the porch and watched them leave. "That was a good thing you just did," Matt said.

"How long were you two standing at the door?" Harm asked.

"Long enough," he replied, "to hear you give your children a chance at the family Sarah couldn't have and the one you wouldn't allow yourself to have."

"Sarah was right when she said I couldn't let go, back in Australia," Harm admitted. "But now, because of her and our children, I finally can."

-----

MONDAY, 14 AUGUST
1945 ZULU
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Mac sat on the edge of her hospital bed, waiting for Harm to arrive to take her home. She had already signed her discharge papers and received her instructions from Drs. Newman and Calder, along with an order to take at least another week off from work and a restriction from long trips for another two weeks after that.

Flipping through the book on twins that Harm had bought her, she found the section covering twelve to sixteen weeks and began reading to pass the time. After a moment, her head jerked up when she heard several sharp whistles coming from the hall.

"I never realized what that saying about dress whites and gold wings meant until now," she heard a voice exclaim as Mac smiled. She shook her head as she wondered what was up with the dress whites. Surely he hadn't worn them to work.

"Ready to get out of here?" Harm asked, standing in the doorway, his cover under one arm and a bundle of roses cradled in the other. He handed the roses to her as he came to stand in front of her.

She inhaled the rich scent of the flowers as she sighed, "You really know how to make an entrance, don't you?"

"I remember someone saying once that she 'always was a sucker for dress whites'," he teased. "You look very nice, Sarah."

"Harriet brought this for me yesterday," Mac explained, gesturing to her dark blue silk pants and top. At the time, she thought it was a bit dressy to wear home. Now that she had seen Harm in his dress whites, she had a feeling something was up, but she was willing to play along for a while. Especially if this was going where she hoped it was. "She thought I might need something to wear home from the hospital that actually fit."

Harm smiled. He was glad she appeared to like it. Harriet had picked out the outfit, but he had chosen the color. It had reminded him of the dress she had worn to the Sudanese embassy two years earlier. He held out his free hand to her. "Are you ready to go?"

Mac took his hand and allowed him to help her up. "I've been ready," she stated.

"Just a moment, Colonel," a nurse said, pushing a wheelchair into the room as Mac shook her head.

"Humor her," Harm whispered to her as he led her to the chair. "It is hospital policy, unless you want me to carry you through the hospital a la Richard Gere."

Mac smiled at the image that created in her mind. Maybe another time, she promised herself. "I don't think you could carry me in my current state," she teased, gesturing to her expanding middle.

"Are you calling yourself fat?" he shot back.

Mac laughed lightly as she sat in the wheelchair. "Take me home, Flyboy."

-----

Mac said very little as Harm drove, even when he bypassed the exit to head back towards DC and Georgetown and headed instead for the American Legion Bridge across the Potomac into Virginia. She had a feeling all weekend long that something was up when she didn't get many visitors. Not that she had expected her friends at JAG to drop their weekend plans and spend the hours keeping her company, but Trish, Frank and Matt, who were in town specifically for her, had been absent but for a short time Saturday evening. And then they had all appeared tired and hadn't stayed long. Something told her that her hospitalization had not put the move into their new house on hold.

Harm glanced around as he pulled the SUV into their driveway. Everyone had agreed to scatter their cars up and down the street. A bunch of cars parked in front of their house would have given everything away and parking at the Admiral's across the street would have been equally suspicious. After parking in the garage, he exited and came around to her side, helping her down from the car before leading her back out of the garage instead of into the house through the connecting door.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Front door," Harm replied. "Trust me?"

"I'll play along – for now," she said. "Just don't keep me waiting."

"I'll keep that in mind," he teased as he opened the front door. Before she could enter the house, he swung her up into his arms, careful not to jar her injury.

"Harm!" Mac exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" he countered as he carried her in. "I'm carrying you over the threshold of our new home."

"But we're not married yet," she reminded him, her anticipation building.

"Not yet," he agreed as he set her on her feet in the foyer. "But how do you feel about doing something about that?" Even suspecting that something was going on, her heart nearly stopped at the words as he took the bundle of roses out of her hands and placed them on a nearby table, then fished a handkerchief out of his pocket, carefully unfolding it in front of her to reveal a ring.

"My grandfather first gave this to my grandmother Sarah almost seventy years ago," he explained quietly. "Then forty years ago, it was passed on to my father to give to my mother. Last month, the day we found out we are going to have a baby, my mother passed it on to me.

"Sarah, I can't begin to tell you everything you've meant to me," he continued as he dropped to one knee in front of her. "You've been like a candle, bringing light into my life, even during the darkest days. Thanks to you, I've finally found the strength to let go. Eternity is not how long we're going to wait. It's just the beginning of how long I want this to last. Sarah Mackenzie, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Mac couldn't stop her hands from shaking or the tears from falling as she reached out to brush his cheek with her fingers. Trust Harm to turn the foyer in their home into the most romantic place imaginable. She didn't need a fancy setting with all the trimmings; all she needed was her sailor. "Oh, Harm," she said softly. "I can't say anything except ... yes, I will become your wife."

His own hand shaking, he took her left hand and slowly slid the ring onto her finger then stood, pulling her into his arms. "Thank you," he whispered as he lowered his lips to hers for a slow, tender kiss to seal their engagement.

"I love you, Harmon Rabb," she whispered back after she broke of the kiss, stepping back startled as the lights came on in the hallway behind her and all their friends and family broke out in applause. Mac turned around to look into the faces of everyone she loved, then glanced back at Harm, amazed that he had finally not just let go, but that he had done in front of everyone. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to their friends and teased, "What would have happened if I'd said no?"

"Before or after we had taken you back to Bethesda to have your head examined?" Harriet shot back as everyone laughed. "Anyway, that wouldn't have happened, not after everything."

Mac smiled. Their friends had waited for this as long as she and Harm had. Somehow, having them share the moment made it even more special. She looked back at Harm, a question in her eyes as she patted her stomach. He nodded, smiling. "Since we're celebrating tonight," she began, turning back, "Harm and I have an announcement to make. Wednesday, I had an ultrasound done. Now, before anyone asks, we don't know the gender yet, but we did find out ... " she trailed off.

"We're going to have twins," Harm finished, wrapping his arms around her from behind as everyone applauded again.

-----

Continued in Can't Fight This Feeling Chapter V – Throw Away The Oars Forever