WEDNESDAY, 23 AUGUST
1410 ZULU
BETHESDA NAVAL MEDICAL CENTER
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

"Sorry, I'm running behind this morning," Dr. Calder apologized as she entered the exam room. "I just finished up an emergency C-section about half an hour ago. How are you feeling today, Sarah?"

"Fine. I just came from seeing Dr. Newman and he said that I'm healing nicely," she replied. "Dr. Calder, you remember my friend Dr. Sydney Walden, don't you? She agreed to accompany me today since Harm had to go TAD."

"It's good to see you again, Dr. Walden," Calder replied as she gathered everything she would need for the amniocentesis. "Do you have any questions before we begin, Sarah?"

"No, I don't think so," Mac answered. "I'm just ready to get this over with."

"Feeling a little nervous?" Calder asked. "I can understand that. I won't lie to you. There are risks, but they're really very minimal."

Mac smiled weakly. "I know," she said. "That's what Sydney said. I guess it's just a little fear of the unknown."

"Well, we're going to do an ultrasound first," Calder told her. "Just to make sure everything is going well in there and to check the position of the babies and amniotic sacs. I'll mark the spots where we're going insert the needle. Since these are twins, we'll do two insertions, one for each sac. I'll numb your abdomen with a topical anesthetic and using the ultrasound as a guide, I'll insert the needle and withdraw some amniotic fluid. That's all there is to it and we should have the results in about a week."

"It will be okay," Sydney assured Mac, squeezing her hand.

"Thank you for being here with me," she said gratefully.

"One last thing, Sarah," Calder said. "Do you want to know the sex of the babies? If you'd like, we can include that with the amnio results. Unlike an ultrasound, the results from the amnio are one hundred percent accurate since we are actually doing a genetic test and not just depending on seeing body parts on the screen. It's up to you. Some parents still like to be surprised."

"Harm and I have discussed it," Mac replied. "We'd like to know. We want to prepare as much as possible and it'd be nice to know if we need to buy for boys, girls or both."

"Okay," Calder said. "You'll know for sure when you get the amnio results, but we can also try to determine the sex today from the ultrasound if the babies are cooperating by being in a good position." There was a knock at the door and a woman stuck her head in.

"Are you ready, Dr. Calder?" the woman asked.

"Sarah, Dr. Walden, this is one of our nurses, Lieutenant Jamie Smith," Calder said. "She's a certified ultrasound technician and will be doing the ultrasound while I do the actual amniocentesis."

Mac took a few deep breaths while the ultrasound machine was set up and the gel was spread across her tummy. She shivered at the feel of the cool gel. Closing her eyes, she said a silent prayer that everything would be okay.

"Everything looks good," Smith said as she began the ultrasound and the images of the twins appeared on the monitor.

Mac opened her eyes and looked at the screen, where she could see her babies, tiny arms and legs moving. "They're bigger than the last time," she said in awe.

The nurse took some quick measurements and reported, "Twin A is about two and a half inches long and twin B is about two and three quarters. I estimate weight at about seventy grams each."

"Still so tiny," Mac said, her eyes fixed on the screen. "What's this about twin A and B?"

"We label them like that so that we can tell them apart when talking about them," Calder told her. "Baby A is always the one closest to the cervix and we go up from there. The last letter, if there are more than two, is the one closest to the top of the uterus."

"Can you tell the gender from the ultrasound?" Mac asked.

"Yes and no," Smith said with a smile. "Twin A is being cooperative and is facing us. Twin B appears to be a little shy. He or she is facing the other direction. Do you want to know now, or wait until the results of the amnio come in when you can find out both?"

"I don't know," Mac began, then shrugged. "What the heck. Go ahead and tell me."

"Congratulations, Mom," the nurse said. "Twin A is a girl."

"A daughter," Mac whispered, tears in her eyes. As she remembered a certain conversation between her and Harm over a year ago, she knew how she was going to tell him the news. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face. Already she could imagine a beautiful little girl with her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

"Congratulations, Mac," Sydney said, squeezing Mac's hand again.

"That looks like a good place," Calder said, looking at the screen. She pressed something which looked to Mac like a straw to Mac's belly. At Mac's confused look, she explained, "We use this to make the mark where we're going to insert the needle. We don't use ink since it would wash off when we swab your abdomen." Studying the screen again for a moment, she made another mark.

The nurse set the ultrasound wand aside and began rubbing Mac's belly with anesthetic then with alcohol to clean it while Calder prepared the syringes. "Okay, Sarah, I want you to try to relax as much as possible and this will all be over in a few minutes," Calder told her. The nurse held the ultrasound wand over Mac's belly again and Calder, carefully watching the screen, inserted the needle and withdrew the amniotic fluid from the first sac. Setting the first syringe aside, she picked up the second syringe and repeated the procedure for the second sac.

When it was finished, Mac released a breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding. That hadn't been as bad as she had imagined and with the anesthetic, she'd barely felt a thing.

"Just lie here for a few minutes and relax," Calder said. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Dr. Calder and the nurse both left the room, leaving Mac and Sydney alone.

"How do you feel?" Sydney asked.

"Numb," Mac said, then laughed. "Both literally and figuratively. I don't think it's sunk in yet. Harm and I are going to have a daughter."

"I know what you mean," Sydney said. "Of course, back in my day we had to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex. I remember the first time I held my son in my arms, I was in a bit of a state of shock. I couldn't believe that precious little boy was mine."

"Where is your son now?" Mac asked, curious.

"In medical school at Maryland," Sydney said. "I don't get to see him all that much these days, but I remember how crazy a time medical school is. But he's a good boy and I think he'll make a wonderful doctor."

"Sydney, are you doing anything after we leave here?" Mac asked. "I want to pick something up for Harm, something to let him know about the baby and then I thought about getting some lunch. I could really use the company."

"I'd be happy to join you," Sydney said. "Wednesdays are normally my day for doing consults with other doctors and my schedule today is very light. I don't have any appointments until late this afternoon."

"Thank you," Mac said. "I really could use someone to talk to."

"Is there something wrong?" Sydney asked.

"Not really wrong," she replied. "There's just something going on and I think I could use an objective ear."

"Something to do with work?"

"Yes and no," Mac said. "It's hard to explain without going into detail. I'll tell you over lunch, okay?"

Dr. Calder returned before Sydney could reply. "How are you feeling, Sarah?"

"Okay, but still a little numb," she replied.

"That's normal and should disappear in a few hours," the doctor told her. "You may experience some mild cramping as a side effect. If it is too severe, please let me know. I don't want you to do any lifting for a few days. Other than that, you should be okay. You can go ahead and sit up now, just do it slowly in case you get dizzy. If you're feeling okay, then you can go ahead and get dressed and you'll be free to go. Someone will call you when the amnio results are in."

"Thank you, Dr. Calder," Mac said as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position with Sydney's help. "Other than getting the results of the test, when should I return for my next appointment?"

"Well, unless there were specific problems," Calder said, "we'd normally stick with monthly appointments at this stage of pregnancy. But with everything that's happened, I'd like to go ahead and see you again in another two weeks."

"But there's no specific problem," Mac asked for reassurance, "it's just because of the shooting, right?"

"That's right," Calder assured her. "If I didn't know better, I'd never know you've been through a horrible ordeal a few weeks ago. Your pregnancy is progressing normally and you're showing none of the usual side effects of a multiple pregnancy with the exception of the additional weight gain. With a little luck, the rest of your pregnancy will go as smoothly."

-----

1625 ZULU
TYSON'S CORNER CENTER
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

At the mall, Mac had quickly found the Baby Gap store and she and Sydney had spent some time oohing and aahing over all the baby clothes before Mac decided on a pair of pink baby booties to surprise Harm with when he returned from Texas. Now she just had to keep herself from spilling the beans over the phone before then.

After a quick run into Hallmark to pick up a card to go with the booties, Mac and Sydney headed for the Café Corridor and decided on burgers and fries at McDonalds. Finding a table for them, Mac sank gratefully into a chair, ready to get off her feet, while Sydney placed their order. Mac took out the card she had purchased and wrote a quick message inside and was about to seal the card in its envelope when Sydney joined her.

"So, what did you say in the card to break the news?" Sydney asked as she set their tray of food down and sat down herself.

After pausing a moment, Mac took the card out of the envelope and handed it to Sydney. Sydney looked at it and read the single line, puzzled, "'What if she has your looks and my brain?' I take it that has some special meaning?"

Mac smiled as Sydney handed the card back to her and she put it back in the envelope. "Yes," she said. "It's something I said during a conversation that Harm and I once had." She paused, then decided to tell Sydney the whole story. It would probably be good for a laugh. "The day AJ Roberts was born, Harm and I were there in the Admiral's office when he was delivered."

"What a minute," Sydney exclaimed. "Harriet gave birth in AJ's office? He never told me that."

Mac laughed, "It's a long story. Harm had called for an ambulance, but it took away the wrong pregnant woman and ... Anyway, after it was all over and another ambulance arrived to take Harriet and little AJ to the hospital, Harm and I were talking on the front steps at JAG. I guess we were both excited about what we had just witnessed and I was feeling a little blue as well. Chloe had just been visiting and had left that day. So, Harm and I made this deal."

"What kind of deal?" Sydney asked.

"We agreed that if neither of us was in a relationship in five years," she explained, "that we would 'go halves on a kid'. Those were Harm's words, by the way. He's the one who suggested it."

"Okay, wait a minute," Sydney said, stunned. "You and Harm, feeling euphoric because you had just watched your godson be born, made an agreement to have a baby together in five years?"

"Basically, yes," she replied. "I was not sure about it at first and Harm said that with my looks and his brains, he'd be perfect. I countered ..."

Sydney interrupted, understanding dawning, "'What if she has your looks and my brains?'"

"Exactly," Mac said. "We shook on it and that was it, until we really did get involved in a relationship together and decided that we didn't like the five year timetable anymore."

Sydney laughed, "Only you and Harm would claim to be nothing more than friends then make a deal to have a baby together. There's another one for the 'what idiots Harm and Mac have been' file."

"No," Mac said, shaking her head. "You're still not stuck on that idea of telling all these stories at our engagement party?"

"You'll have to wait until the engagement party and find out, won't you?" Sydney teased, smiling. Actually, she'd had a better idea than just telling stories. She'd already talked to AJ about making a videotape of all their friends talking about Harm and Mac. He'd agreed that it was a wonderful idea and had gotten Gunny and Tiner to start going around and interviewing everyone when Harm and Mac weren't around. She wanted the whole thing to be a surprise.

"It's good to laugh," Mac said, playing with a french fry. "There hasn't been much to laugh about this week."

"Something tells me this isn't just about Harm going out of town," Sydney said. "Is this what you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah," Mac replied. "I'm okay with Harm going out of town – that's a fact of our jobs. But something happened at work yesterday. No, it's more a fact of someone showing up at work and it's bothering me a little bit. Harm tried to reassure me that everything was going to be fine, but I'm not so sure and I don't really need the stress right now."

Sydney put her hand on Mac's arm. "What don't you just tell me what this is all about?"

Mac took a deep breath and began, "I don't know if the Admiral told you, but the lawyers who are going to be prosecuting Sergeant Johns and Chief Hodge arrived yesterday."

"AJ mentioned that," Sydney said, "as well as the fact that two of them used to work at headquarters. He said one of them was Harm's old partner."

"Yes," she confirmed, "Lieutenant Meg Austin. I came on board when she transferred to Great Lakes."

"This is something more than just Harm's old partner being back?" Sydney asked. "You don't think there was something between them back then, do you?"

"No," Mac answered quickly, "Harm told me there wasn't. They were just friends. Anyway, Meg seems like a nice enough woman and she's not the problem anyway. It's the other person who used to be at JAG, Commander Allison Krennick. She was the Admiral's chief of staff when she was there. And no, there wasn't anything between her and Harm, either. And that's the problem."

"I don't understand," Sydney said. "If there was nothing between this Commander Krennick and Harm, I would think that would be a good thing."

"See, back then, Krennick was Harm's superior officer," Mac explained. "He had just been promoted to Lieutenant Commander when he first met her and she was, as she is now, a full Commander. He was defending a case she was prosecuting. A few weeks later, she went to see Harm at home when she got transferred to Washington and she flat out told Harm that she wanted him."

"If she was his superior, wouldn't that be considered sexual harassment?"

"Yes, although Harm never said anything to the Admiral," Mac replied. "I don't know if it was because he was a little bit flattered by the attention, even if he didn't return it, or if it was because he thought he could handle Krennick. Anyway, Krennick kept throwing herself at Harm and he kept turning her down. As Bud once put it, he 'threw her more red lights than the Beltway at rush hour'."

"So you think Krennick might still be after Harm?" Sydney asked.

"Well, Krennick went after Harm because she saw him as a threat to what she wanted," Mac revealed. "He was the golden boy at JAG and Krennick thought if they were in a relationship, she could control him to get what she wanted. On their last case together, Krennick tried to bring him up on charges for striking another officer. She told him that she didn't want his mistakes to bring her down in the process." Mac stopped and laughed. "It's funny. She was willing to risk her career over a sexual harassment charge, yet she was ready to ruin his career to protect hers over this assault incident."

"This Krennick sounds like some piece of work," Sydney commented.

"Anyway, some other things happened and Krennick never filed the complaint. She transferred to Hawaii as XO of the JAG office there right after that," Mac continued. "I'm just worried that there is just too much unresolved tension there and it could blow up. Plus ... " she trailed off, uncertain about whether to continue.

"Plus what?" Sydney asked gently.

Mac shrugged. "There's more. This last case they were on concerned the murder of an Academy classmate of Harm's. She – well, she and Harm were supposed to get together, decide where they wanted to go with their relationship, when she was murdered."

"He was in love with her?"

"Yes," Mac answered. "NCIS thought he was too personally involved and wanted Harm pulled off the case. Krennick is the one who suggested to the Admiral that she be put in charge of the JAG investigation instead. She came in and started exerting her authority, excluding Harm from key aspects of the investigation. So he decided to confront a prime suspect on his own, which is where the assault charge comes into it. The other officer refused to press charges, saying that he could understand why Harm came after him. He was in love with Diane, too. But Krennick heard about it and decided to report it herself."

"Do you think Krennick was jealous because of Harm's feelings for Diane?" Sydney asked.

"I don't know," Mac admitted. "It's possible, although Krennick disagreed when Harm confronted her about it. But if she was jealous of Diane, then ..."

"She might be jealous of you?" Sydney finished. "Has she said anything to indicate that?"

"I don't think she knows yet about me and Harm," she answered. "At least, I didn't tell her and she hasn't mentioned it. But ... it's hard to explain. I don't know if I should even be telling you this. I mean, if people don't know the whole story, they might get the wrong impression about me and Harm. But he assured me that he never held it against me and I believe him. As far as I know, Harm and Bud are the only ones who know."

"Know what?"

Mac took a deep breath before continuing. "That even though there are several years' difference in our ages," she said slowly, "Diane and I look enough alike that we could have been twins."

Sydney didn't react, simply saying, "Please continue."

"I know that Harm didn't fall in love with me because I look like Diane," she explained. "According to him, we just looked alike. Our personalities were different. But someone who doesn't know us, but knows about my resemblance to Diane, might try to make something different of the situation."

"And Krennick knows that you look like Diane," Sydney stated.

"I would assume so," Mac answered. "Since she was involved in the investigation, I'm sure she saw the crime scene photos. Meg would probably know, too."

"Because she was Harm's partner at the time."

"Exactly," she replied. "Don't get me wrong. I don't doubt Harm's love. We've been through too much for me to ever doubt that. But I don't need Krennick rocking the boat either. I've been lucky so far that everything has gone well with my pregnancy in spite of everything that's happened. I don't want anything to jeopardize that."

"Have you talked to Harm about this?" Sydney asked.

"Briefly," she said. "I told him that she was here and he is concerned, but he won't let himself worry about it. He even said that he was confident his 'feisty Marine fiancée' could protect him if Krennick tried anything."

"Well, the way I see it," Sydney said, "you need to do two things. First, talk to Harm about it. Let him know how worried about this situation you are. Second, trust in yours and Harm's love. I've rarely seen two people more in love than the two of you. Hold on to that and I think you can get through anything."

"Thank you," Mac said, smiling. "I've been telling myself that, but it helps to hear it from someone outside this whole situation."

"The 'objective ear' you mentioned earlier," Sydney stated. "Glad to be of help, Mac, and please know that if you ever need to talk again that I'm here."

"Thank you, again," Mac replied. "Just one more thing ... I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to the Admiral. He doesn't know about any of this and I'm not sure that Krennick will try anything. I don't see the need to say anything to him until she does."

Sydney noted that Mac had said 'until she does'. She sounded pretty sure that Krennick would try something. Sydney hoped not. Mac and Harm didn't deserve to have this happen on top of everything else they had already been through. She thought about saying something to AJ anyway, but decided against it. Maybe Mac's feelings were wrong and Krennick wouldn't try anything. But Sydney knew deep down that a woman's intuition was rarely wrong.

-----

SATURDAY, 26 AUGUST
1335 ZULU
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

Mac slowly made her way downstairs and found Harm in the kitchen, standing at the stove making eggs. "Mmmm, that smells good," she said, standing behind him and wrapping her arms around him, pressing herself against his back.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said, covering one of her hands with his. "Sleep well?"

"Best night's sleep I've had in days," she replied, "especially since I had you back with me. I'll feel even better once you feed me."

Harm laughed. "My Marine, always thinking with your stomach," he teased. "Go ahead and sit down at the table and breakfast will be ready in a minute. I didn't think about asking last night, but when did Chloe and Martha leave?"

"Thursday," Mac replied. "Martha said they needed to get back so they could make sure Chloe has everything she needs to begin school on Monday."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to spend more time with them," Harm said as he fixed two plates for them. "I thought I told you to sit down?" he teased.

Mac smiled. This was the perfect time to spring her surprise. "Let me get something first," she said. She went to the living room and picked up the package that had been sitting there since Wednesday. She and Harm had been so busy with each other last night that he had never noticed the package and she had let it slip from her mind. She took it back to the kitchen and found Harm seated at the table, waiting for her.

Smiling, she sat down and set the gift-wrapped box in the middle of the table. "I wanted to give this to you when you returned," she explained, "but I kind of got distracted last night when you surprised me by coming home a day early, so ... here you go."

Looking at her, he tore the wrapping off the box and lifted the lid, finding a card and tissue paper. Rummaging through the paper, he pulled out the pair of pink baby booties that she had bought on Wednesday. He looked at them, mystified, then back at her. "It's a little late to tell me that you're pregnant, isn't it?"

"Oh, you," she said, smacking his arm lightly. He had obviously missed the significance of the color. "Why don't you just read the card?"

He opened the envelope and pulled the card out. He opened it up and read it. His eyes moved over the single line inside again before he looked back at her. "Is this. . . ?"

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't know about both babies," she explained. "One of them had his or her back turned towards us during the ultrasound. But it did show that one of the babies is a girl. Harm, we're going to have a daughter."

"A daughter," Harm repeated in shock. "We're going to have a daughter."

Mac nodded as she moved into his lap, straddling him, her hands on either side of his face as she pressed her forehead to his. "Yes, we're going to have a daughter," she repeated.

"Do you know how happy you've made me?" he whispered in awe, running a hand over her belly.

"I love you and our babies so much," she said.

"Me, too," he replied. "So when do we find out about the other baby?"

"Well, since he or she was a little shy during the ultrasound," she explained, "we're going to have to wait a few more days until we get the results of the amniocentesis."

Harm leaned in to kiss her, their lips nearly touching when the phone rang. Mac pulled away and sighed. "Let me get that," she said, climbing off his lap. "Then we can get back to what we were doing." She picked up the phone and answered it, "Hello, Colonel Mackenzie."

She listened for a moment, then said, "Hold on a minute." She held the phone out to Harm. "It's for you, a Commander Jackson from NAS Ft. Worth," she said.

Harm took the phone from her. "Yes, Commander, what can I do for you?" he asked. He listened for a moment, then said, "No, that's okay. The report is at headquarters so it will be at least half an hour before I can fax it to you."

He hung up the phone and handed it back to Mac with a look of regret. "I'm sorry, but I need to run into the office," he told her. "Someone at the JAG office at Ft. Worth spilled coffee and ruined their copy of the accident report. Jackson called headquarters and got a hold of Tiner, who connect him to me here. I need to run into the office and fax them the report. I won't be gone too long."

"Why don't I go with you?" Mac suggested, but Harm shook his head.

"No, you stay here and finished eating," he insisted. "You need the food. I won't be gone that long and I'll be back in plenty of time for us to go to the softball game this afternoon."

"Okay," Mac sighed. "Just hurry back."

-----

1415 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harm walked into JAG headquarters whistling 'Anchors Aweigh', on cloud nine after Mac's news. Not watching where he was going, he nearly ran over Tiner as the latter was exiting the elevator.

"Sorry, Tiner," he apologized. "I should have been watching where I was going."

"Not a problem, Sir," Jason replied. "Sorry to disturb you and the Colonel at home, but Commander Jackson said it was important that he get that report today."

"No problem," Harm assured him. "I'll just get it faxed to Texas and get back home. We'll see you at the game later, right?"

"Yes, Sir," Jason said. "See you later, Commander."

Harm rode the elevator up to the second floor and headed for his office, grabbing the folder he had dropped off before heading home the night before. A smile on his face, he quickly faxed the report to Ft. Worth and put the folder back on his desk, where he intended to leave it until he presented it to the Admiral on Monday. He froze when he heard a voice from the doorway.

"Well, it's about time you got back, Harm," Allison said, leaning against the open door, dressed in her white uniform despite it being Saturday. "I was beginning to think you were staying away just to avoid me."

"Now why would I do that, Commander?" he asked, smiling tightly. "If you'll excuse me, I was just on my way back out."

Allison ignored his insistence that he was leaving and asked, "Why so formal, Harm? We're the same rank now. I think you can get away with calling me Allison."

"I guess old habits die hard," he explained. "When you were here before, you were my superior officer."

"But I'm not anymore," she replied, moving closer to him. "I'm just a temporary visitor here, unless you'd like me to stick around. You know, we could have had something before. Maybe we still could."

Where Harm might have brushed her off with a flip comment in the past, now he was just angry. After all these years, she still hadn't gotten the message. "I don't think so," he said bluntly. "I am involved with someone."

"Please," Allison said, rolling her eyes. "Tell me it's not that Maria whatever-her-name person."

"Not that my personal life is any of your business," Harm replied, a hint of anger in his voice, "but no."

"And what can this mysterious girlfriend of yours give you that I can't?" she asked.

"She isn't just my girlfriend," Harm told her. "Five weeks from today, she will become my wife."

"Harmon Rabb, getting married?" Allison retorted in disbelief. "I'll believe that one when I see it."

"Believe whatever you want," Harm said, grabbing his keys off his desk. "I really don't care. Goodbye, Commander."

"I guess I should be thankful it isn't that Marine Colonel you're involved with," Allison shot back as Harm tried to walk around her to get out of the office. He turned and looked back at her stunned as she continued, "You think I haven't noticed how much she resembles your dead Academy sweetheart? Given that, I probably should be surprised that you haven't been involved with her."

"You are way out of line, Commander," Harm managed to say through clenched teeth, "and you have no idea what you are talking about." Furious now, he stormed out of the office and headed for the stairs, leaving Allison standing in his office.

"Damn you, Harmon Rabb," she said to the empty office after he had stormed off. She was about to leave, then reconsidered. "Something I said struck a nerve," she said aloud. "Maybe there once was something between him and that Marine Colonel." She decided to look around his office to see if she could find out anything about this fiancée he had mentioned.

Moving around the office, she studied everything. Some of the items she recognized as items he'd had in his office back when she had been at JAG. On top of a filing cabinet was a model of a yellow biplane, a replica of one that she knew he owned. Hanging on the wall next to the cabinet was his law school diploma and a picture of graduation day at Annapolis with two older people she assumed where his parents. On another wall was a picture of him in a flight uniform with his squadron which she assumed was taken sometime before his accident had grounded him.

Next she came to several pictures grouped together. The first was of Harm in his dress whites with Mac, another woman in a wedding dress and a man she recognized as Ensign Roberts from the Sea Hawk, a Lieutenant j.g. in the photo and newly married. Another photo was of the same four people, this time with Roberts wearing the stripes of a full Lieutenant and JAG insignia and holding a baby. The last picture was of the five of them, the baby older and Roberts' wife obviously pregnant again, at a park together.

Sitting down in Harm's chair, she found several more pictures on the desk. One was of Harm in his mess dress with Mac by his side in a dark blue dress. Since she had found out Harm had been promoted to full Commander almost a year ago, Allison figured that the picture had been taken some time ago since he still wore the stripes of a Lieutenant Commander. Another photo was of Harm, Mac, the couple from the graduation photo, an older woman and a young girl, possibly taken at the Fourth of July since all were waving small American flags.

Her eyes fell on the final photo on the desk and her hands tightened into fists. This photo was again of Harm and Mac, Harm in his dress whites and Mac in a dark blue pants suit and obviously pregnant. Harm was a full Commander in the photo and Mac was currently pregnant, so it had to be a very recent photo. Harm had an arm draped over Mac's shoulders and Allison caught the sparkle of a diamond on Mac's left hand.

Damn, she thought. He was involved with her. No wonder he'd gotten so defensive when she'd mentioned the resemblance. Four years ago, Harm had been pining over his lost love when he could have had Allison and now he was involved with a woman who looked exactly like Diane. Allison wanted to do something, needed to do something, but she wasn't sure what. For one of the few times in her life, Allison Krennick didn't know what to do.

-----

To be continued…