WEDNESDAY, 30 AUGUST
1620 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mac wearily sank into her office chair after court recessed for lunch, kicking off her shoes underneath the desk and flexing her ankles. She idly wondered if anyone would notice if she just closed her office door for a couple of hours and took a nap. She could let Bud handle the prosecution in the Lawson case and she could rest her aching and tired body.

"And I have to go through this for almost six more months?" she muttered to herself.

"Sorry, Ma'am?" Harriet asked from the doorway.

"Just talking to myself," Mac said, motioning her into the office and towards a chair. "I didn't see you there. Did you need something, Harriet?"

"I just wanted to see if you would like to have lunch with me, Colonel," Harriet said as she sat down. "Bud got called into the Admiral's office just now and I noticed that Commander Rabb is nowhere around."

"I must be more tired than I thought," Mac said, noticing for the first time that from her vantage point, it was obvious the lights in Harm's office were off. "I hadn't even noticed that Harm wasn't here." She looked down at her desk and found a folded sheet of paper. She unfolded it and quickly read the brief note.

"'Got called to Bobbi's office. Will try to be back in time for lunch. Love you, H.,'" she read aloud to Harriet. "Since he obviously has not made it back yet, I think I will have lunch with you. Maybe you can give me some tips on making through the next six months."

"I don't know how much advice I can offer, Ma'am," Harriet said as Mac slowly rose from her chair and grabbed her cover. "I mean, I'm sure having one baby at a time is a lot different from having two."

"Harriet, one baby or two, I've never done this before," she reminded her friend as they headed for the kitchen. "On that score, you know a lot more about pregnancy than I do."

"I guess so, Ma'am," Harriet replied as they entered the kitchen.

Mac opened the fridge and looked for the lunch that Harm had put away that morning. Spotting it, she put a hand on her hip and sighed, "Only a man ..."

"Ma'am?"

Mac gestured towards the open fridge. "Only a man would put a pregnant woman's lunch on the bottom shelf," she completed the thought. Carefully, she stooped and pulled her lunch container out of the fridge then slowly straightened back up.

"Ma'am, you know I love Bud," Harriet said, "and I know you love Commander Rabb. But if we were to wait for them to be considerate all the time about our conditions, we'd be waiting a long time. I mean, a few months ago, when I was trying on dresses for the Surface Warfare Ball and nothing fit, Bud commented that because I was pregnant, I was supposed to look fat."

Mac looked at her for a moment, trying to determine if she was serious. "Bud said that?" she asked, incredulous. "Harm has actually been the opposite in that regard. He's been trying his hardest to reassure me that I look beautiful, not fat."

"Maybe he could give Bud some pointers," Harriet said wistfully as she reached around Mac to get her own lunch off the top shelf in the fridge.

The two women took their lunches downstairs and found an empty table in the courtyard to sit at. Harriet was surprised when Mac pulled out a salad. "Did you grab Commander Rabb's lunch by mistake, Ma'am?" she asked.

"No, but Harm did pack this for me," Mac replied. "With the babies on the way, he's trying to get me to lay off the Beltway Burgers. But how I'm supposed to eat four thousand calories a day on this stuff, I'll never know."

"Four thousand calories, Ma'am?" Harriet asked.

"Dr. Calder said that a daily intake of about four thousand calories helps insure a good birth weight for the babies," Mac explained. "She said that low birth weight can be a result of the mother not eating enough, especially in twins." She paused for a moment, laughing. "You should have seen the look on Harm's face when she said that food high in protein should be a big part of my diet, such as meat. But I did agree to try and cut down on the fat and the junk food."

"Except for the chocolate," Harriet added, laughing.

Mac nodded. "I need one vice," she said. "I've given up caffeine – only decaf coffee or tea for me. I'm cutting down on fat and junk food. I think I'm entitled to one little bad habit."

"But chocolate has caffeine," Harriet pointed out.

"Okay, so I'm not giving up caffeine completely," Mac defended herself. "It's the babies' fault. I never was much of a chocolate eater before I got pregnant."

"That's one way to look at it," Harriet agreed. Then she smiled slyly. "Or we could always blame the men who put us in this position. After all, they don't have to be pregnant for nine months, do they?"

Mac laughed loudly at that, causing everyone within earshot to turn and look at her. She covered her mouth, trying to stop laughing, as Harm walked up to their table, briefcase in hand. "What's so funny, Marine?" he asked.

Mac only laughed harder, shaking her head as Harriet said, trying not to laugh herself, "Just girl talk, Commander."

"Girl talk. Uh huh," he said in disbelief as he grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it up to their table, sitting down.

"So how was your meeting with Congresswoman Latham, Commander?" Harriet asked, trying to divert his attention while Mac attempted to calm herself.

"Fine, Harriet," he replied, distracted, staring at Mac intently. "Sarah?"

Mac finally managed to bring herself somewhat under control. Still smiling, she replied, "I'm fine. Just having a good laugh. There hasn't been much to laugh about recently."

"I guess," he replied, still curious about what exactly it was that had amused her so much.

Mac was saved from explaining more when she caught sight of Kate walking in their direction. "Kate, would you like to join us?" she asked once the other woman was within earshot.

"Actually," Kate replied, "I was looking for you and Harm, anyway. I need to talk to you about the Hodges case."

"Maybe I should go back inside and see if Bud is finished with the Admiral," Harriet suggested as she started to get up.

"No need to leave on my account," Kate assured her. "I just wanted to discuss with Harm and Mac the plea bargain the defense has suggested."

"What kind of plea bargain?" Harm asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Reduced charges, Hodge goes to a psych hospital instead of back to Leavenworth," Kate told them, "and we don't tack on the remainder of his sentence from the previous charges."

"Don't tell me you've already agreed to this?" Harm said, the edge to his voice even more intense.

"Harm," Mac said soothingly, putting a hand on his arm, "let Kate finish."

"It's okay," Kate said. "I think I can understand why Harm feels the way he does. And no, Meg and I have not agreed to this. We both did agree that we wanted to talk to you about this first before we decided anything."

"Let's see if I've got this straight," Mac interjected. "Hodge goes to a psych ward for treatment, in a few years he is declared cured and released instead of going back to Leavenworth to serve out the remainder of his sentence for the previous charges from the Watertown."

"Well," Kate said, "his attorney's argument is that he was lawfully released from Leavenworth."

"Released because of a clerical error on some paperwork," Harm said angrily.

"I know," Kate sighed. "And believe me, after going over the case file from the Watertown and talking to Mac last week, I'd like nothing more than for him to go back to Leavenworth and serve the rest of his original sentence. But I don't know if it is that simple. He was released because of a mistake the military made. The UCMJ doesn't really cover this type of situation."

"Kate," Mac said, trying to be the voice of reason, "I think it would be one thing if, after Hodge had been released, he had gone on the straight and narrow. But he didn't. He falsified records to get a job at Bethesda and created situations where he could play the hero. There were – what? – three other patients besides me where hospital officials suspect him of tampering with their medications or equipment."

Harm looked at Mac curiously. He had never told her all the details of his conversation with the Admiral, where he had found out how Hodge had been released from Leavenworth and about the other suspected incidents at Bethesda.

"That is true," Kate admitted, "but a lot of the evidence against Hodge in the other cases besides yours is circumstantial at best. He got really good at covering his tracks. Be honest. If you hadn't recognized Hodge, despite his changed appearance, would you have suspected Nurse Eustis of having tampered with your ventilator?"

"Probably not," she replied softly. "If this were my case to prosecute, I could see the difficulties. Your major evidence against Hodge is my ID of him. The oxygen tank he removed from my room was never found and no one saw him enter or leave the room. In addition, no one would have suspected any of the other incidents if it weren't for the similarities to what happened to me. But none of that negates the fact that Hodge did not serve his full term in his first case."

"Which leads me to my thoughts on a plea," Kate said. "We agree to the reduced charges and the psych hospital in the current case but insist that when he is released from the hospital, he return to Leavenworth to serve the rest of his sentence on the original charges that he has already been convicted of."

"The defense would never go for it," Harm said, his voice calmer. "Not if he thinks he can successfully argue that Hodge shouldn't be penalized because of a mistake the military made."

"I know, it's a long shot," Kate said, "which is why I need some help doing research. I'd like to find some cases, military or civilian, where this type of situation has been dealt with before. If we can go into negotiations with some cases that back up our position, it would give us the upper hand."

"I can help with that," Mac said. "My case load is still pretty light. The Lawson trial is nearly over and the Admiral hasn't given me any new cases yet. Anyway, I have a vested interest in making sure Hodge pays for what he has done."

"I can help, too," Harriet offered. "I help Bud with a lot of the research for his cases. I'm sure Gunny would be willing to help, also. He is really good at finding things out."

"Thanks," Kate said. "I appreciate the offer of help and I'm sure Meg will, too."

"On that note," Mac said, pushing her chair out from the table, "I really should get back. Court starts up again in thirteen minutes. Harriet, maybe we should get together with Gunny later and decide how to divide up the research."

She took one of Harm's hands in hers and squeezed gently, smiling at him. Leaning over, she whispered, "Try not to worry." Releasing his hand, she headed for the building.

"I really should go, also," Harriet said with a slight grimace. "I promised Lieutenant Singer some help with researching her current case." She got up and left, leaving Harm and Kate alone.

"From that look on Harriet's face," Kate commented, "I gather she doesn't really care for Lieutenant Singer."

Harm smiled grimly. "No one really cares for Lieutenant Singer," he explained. "Her ambition is to be the first female JAG and she's not particular about who she has to step on to do it."

"But what about Mac and Commander Imes? They both outrank her," Kate pointed out. Harm was silent and Kate added, "Or has she already tried something underhanded? With Mac perhaps?"

"Is it that obvious?" Harm asked.

"I wouldn't say obvious," Kate replied, "but it seems a logical conclusion given what you just said and the look on your face."

"I've never told anyone this, not even Mac," Harm said quietly. "A few months ago, Mac was prosecuting someone Singer and Bud were defending. Part B of the mishap report in the case somehow found its way onto the front seat of Mac's car. When it came out that Mac had seen the report, however inadvertently, she was thrown off the case. If our CO had been anyone besides Chegwidden, she probably would have been thrown out of JAG."

"And you suspected Singer of planting the report," Kate guessed.

"Exactly," he replied. "After the Admiral chewed her out over it, she took some leave to think things through. I didn't see the point, at the time, of upsetting her further by telling her what I suspected."

"But I can't imagine you just let it drop," Kate said, "not with Mac's career on the line."

"I did suggest to Singer that if I ever found proof of who put the report in Mac's car, that I would destroy that person," he said firmly.

"You really love her a lot, don't you?" Kate said softly, staring at him intently.

"Kate," he said, looking away from her, "I'm sorry if this upsets you."

Kate shook her head, smiling, "No, I'm not upset. You and I had fun together, but I never thought that it would become serious. You and Mac have something special. It was obvious Saturday at the game and picnic."

Harm looked at her and smiled, "Meg said pretty much the same thing when we had lunch Sunday."

"She's right," Kate said. "Having never been there myself, I'm not sure I can explain it very well, but ..."

Harm interrupted, grinning, "I am there and I can't explain it very well."

Kate laughed a little at that. She had never seen him so relaxed and at ease with himself and the world around him. As an ex-lover who still considered him to be a good friend, she was happy for him. She had meant it when she'd said that she had never thought they would become serious. She had been attracted to that grin of his that could melt a woman's insides, his looks and of course the dress whites and gold wings. But the most they'd ever had between them had been lust. They'd just been fortunate in that they had remained friends after it had ended. "I guess the best way I can explain it is that she completes you," she said. "And you her."

Harm looked at her thoughtfully. "That sounds familiar," he said, "and I guess that's as good a way to explain it as any."

"It's a line from Jerry Macguire," she explained.

"Ah," he said, understanding dawning. "Maybe it's because she knows me so well, and I her. We've told each other things that we've never told anyone else. And we've been there for each other through some of the worst times of our lives. When I returned to flying and I didn't see her for five months, it was as if a part of me was missing."

"You know what?" Kate said, smiling. "If I ever find a guy who loves me half as much as you obviously love Mac, I'll be one of the luckiest women in the world."

"Thank you," Harm said, "although I guess I'm a little surprised."

"Why, because I'm an ex-lover?" Kate asked. At Harm's shrug, she continued, "Like I said before, I never thought that we would become serious. But I still do consider you a dear friend. And as a friend, I'm very happy for you."

"I guess it's just that the women I've dated since I've known Sarah have tended to be a little jealous of the close friendship we have," he explained. "One even suggested that I was secretly in love with her."

"Maybe they all saw something that you didn't," Kate suggested. "From what I've heard about you two, everyone figured out that you two were made for each other long before you two ever did."

Harm grinned. "Do you know how many times I've heard that over the last few months?" he asked.

Kate laughed, "I can imagine." She stood to leave, then added, "I need to go give Hodge's attorney a call and let him know about our counter offer. Be happy, Harmon Rabb."

Harm watched her leave, thoughtful. He was grateful that Meg and Kate were both happy for him. Even though he hadn't seen them in years, he still considered them good friends. Now if he could just keep Krennick off his back for the next four and a half weeks, everything would be perfect.

-----

1910 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harm was heading for his office when Gunny stopped him. "Sir, there's a call for the Colonel," he said. He paused for a moment, then added, "It's from Bethesda."

Probably the amnio results, Harm thought, suddenly nervous. "Mac's still in court," he said. "I'll take the call. Please transfer it into my office."

Harm headed for his office, entering just as the phone rang. Sitting down at his desk, he picked up the phone and said, "This is Commander Rabb."

"Hello, Harm, it's Doctor Calder," she said. "Is Sarah available?"

"Sarah's still in court," he said. "I'm not sure when she will be free."

"I really need to go over these test results with her," Calder said. "And before you ask, I can't just tell you. Even if you are the babies' father, Sarah is the patient."

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," he said. "As I lawyer, I understand, unfortunately. I can have her call you back as soon as she ... hold on a minute, I see her coming." Setting down the phone and getting up, he went to the doorway of his office and motioned to Mac.

She turned and headed in his direction. "What is it?" she asked.

He took one of her hands and led her into his office, closing the door behind them. "Dr. Calder's on the phone," he told her. "She has your test results."

Mac took a deep breath and Harm could feel her hand trembling in his. "I'm sure it will be fine," he said. "If it was bad news, don't you think she'd tell us in person and not over the phone?"

Mac nodded hesitantly. "You right," she said softly. "If it was bad, she wouldn't do this over the phone."

Harm gestured for her to sit in his chair. She did and picked up the phone lying in the middle of the desk. "Dr. Calder, it's Sarah," she said. "Are my babies okay?"

"The babies are fine, Sarah," Calder reassured her. "The amnio found no abnormalities. Are you ready to hear the sex of the other baby?"

Mac looked at Harm and smiled, silently letting him know that everything was fine. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Yes," she said, "I'm ready."

"As you know from the ultrasound," Calder said, "twin A is a girl and the amnio confirmed that. As for twin B ..."

As she remembered the ultrasound, an idea came to Mac and she suddenly interrupted, "Dr. Calder, before you say any more, I have an idea. Since Harm couldn't be with me when I had the ultrasound and found out the sex of the first baby, I want you to tell him the sex of the other." She paused as Harm looked at her, surprised. "I think it's fair," she explained, as much to Harm as to the doctor. "I was the first to find out the sex of the first baby, so I want him to be the first to find out about the other one."

She handed the phone to Harm as he mouthed the question 'Are you sure?' At her nod, he took the phone and said, "Dr. Calder, it's Harm." He nodded, then added, "Thank you, Doctor. We'll see you next week at Sarah's appointment. Goodbye."

He reached around Mac to hand up the phone, then pulled a chair around the desk and sat down next to her. He took her hands in his, fiddling with the engagement ring on her left hand.

His silence was beginning to unnerve Mac, despite the knowledge that everything was fine with the twins. "Harm, we're not talking life and death here," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Just tell me, are we having a boy or a girl?"

Harm chuckled a little. "Sorry, it's just – I'm suddenly overwhelmed," he tried to explain. "When we first made that deal last year, I never expected it to feel like this."

Mac smiled as she remembered their deal and how she had told him about the sex of the first baby. "Well, how about this," she asked, "is he going to have my looks and your brains or are we having another one with your looks and my brain?"

Harm grinned at her and took a deep breath. "Let's just say," he said, "that he'll be perfect."

"He?" Mac echoed, dazed.

Harm nodded. "We're going to have a son," he whispered.

Tears in her eyes, Mac repeated softly, "We're going to have a son." Suddenly, she cried out in excitement, throwing herself into his arms.

Outside Harm's office, everyone within earshot stopped and turned towards the closed door, curious. Gunny, who had an idea what the call had been about, rushed in to allow the couple their privacy. "Come on, people," he said. "There's nothing to see here."

Everyone gathered in the bullpen turned and looked at him, about to protest, until they all noticed the Admiral standing behind him. Suddenly, everyone found other things to do and other places to be, scattering. Gunny turned around and looked at the Admiral, who in turn was looking at the closed office door.

"Gunny, any idea?" he asked, nodding towards the door.

"Colonel Mackenzie got a call from Bethesda," he explained quietly so that no one else would overhear. "I believe it was from her OB."

AJ nodded, thoughtful. "I hope everything is okay," he said as the office door opened. One look at Harm and Mac and AJ knew that all was well. Both were smiling and Harm's hand was resting on Mac's shoulder.

"Since I'm sure everyone is curious," Harm said as everyone stopped and turned to look at them, "we have an announcement to make." He looked around the bullpen before continuing. "Are Bud and Harriet around?"

Loren, standing at the edge of the bullpen, went to Bud's office. She found Bud at his desk, looking through a file. "Bud, where's Harriet?" she asked. "Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie said they have an announcement to make and they asked for both of you."

"I think she went to the bathroom," Bud said.

"I'll go get her," Loren said. "You head out to the bullpen."

Bud went to the bullpen to find most of the staff gathered. A moment later, Loren and Harriet entered the bullpen, coming to stand behind him.

Harm looked around and satisfied that everyone important to them was present, he continued, "Last week, we found out the sex of one of our babies, but we wanted to wait until we knew what the other one is going to be before we made an announcement."

He looked at Mac and she continued, "I just got a call with the results of the amnio that I had last week. First, the babies are fine. There are no problems due to the shooting or the surgery." She paused as everyone expressed their relief at that news.

After a few moments, everyone quieted and looked back at her and Harm expectantly. "As Harm said, last week we found out from an ultrasound the sex of one of the babies, which is a girl," she went on, excited. "The other baby, we just found out from the amnio results, is a boy."

"We're going to have one of each," Harm finished, smiling widely.

"That's wonderful, Sir, Ma'am," Harriet said excitedly as she walked up to them. "I'm so happy for both of you."

"Thank you, Harriet," Mac said as all their friends gathered around to offer their congratulations.

As Kate and Meg were offering their good wishes, Harm looked past them to see Allison standing at the edge of the bullpen, watching with an unreadable expression on her face. Noticing Harm's eyes on her, she turned suddenly and walked away.

Harm wasn't the only one who had noticed Allison's reaction to the news. Watching while everyone else offered their best wishes, AJ was looking around the bullpen when he saw Allison turn and leave. He knew that Allison and Harm had their problems professionally before she had transferred to Hawaii, but he didn't understand why Harm and Mac's news apparently upset her enough that she left so suddenly.

Pushing his concerns aside for now, AJ let the commotion continue for a few moments before he said loudly, "Let's get back to work, people." Everyone moved off, going back to their work.

AJ looked at Harm and Mac and smiled before heading back into his own office. "Hoo rah," he said, just loud enough for Harm and Mac to hear.

-----

FRIDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER
2135 ZULU
BABIES R US
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"You know, we still have almost six months before they will even be here," Harm pointed out as he and Mac began exploring the store. "But we are getting married four weeks from tomorrow. We should be concentrating on that right now."

"Maybe they'll be here in six months, maybe not," she reminded him. "Anyway, the wedding is coming together just fine with all our friends' help. So I want to spend an evening concentrating on our babies."

"The nursery isn't anywhere near being ready to start putting furniture in there yet," he said. "I still need to paint in there and put up wallpaper, if we want it."

"Harm, there is nothing wrong with looking and planning," Mac said, beginning to sound exasperated. "We are going to have twins, meaning we have to buy double of everything. Not to mention the fact that we are having a boy and a girl, meaning we have to buy for both sexes. That is going to take planning. In addition, we probably should have paint and wallpaper picked out before you do that, shouldn't we?"

Harm held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, point taken," he said, hoping to calm her down. "We can look and think about what we need to buy. Did you talk to Harriet?"

"Yes," Mac said, pulling a folded sheet of paper out of her purse and handing it to him, "and she gave me this. It's something Bud pulled off the internet when they were expecting AJ. It's a checklist of things to buy."

Harm unfolded the paper and glanced at it, his mouth dropping open in surprise. "They need all this?" he asked.

"Yes, they do," Mac said, taking the list back from him. "And we need double of everything, remember?"

"We could almost send them to college on what we're going to have to spend on them," he said, stunned, "and they're not even here yet."

"Harm, these are our children and money is no object," she said, glaring at him.

Oh, no, he thought. Time for a hasty retreat. "Sarah, I didn't mean it like that," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Come on. What do you want to look at first?"

"Why don't we start with cribs?" she suggested, calmer now. "They're going to be spending quite a bit of their time there." She led him towards the display of cribs as she added, "Harriet suggested getting a convertible crib."

"Convertible? Sounds like a car," he said, confused.

"It's a crib that can grow with the baby," she explained. "As the baby outgrows the crib, it can convert to a toddler bed, then to a headboard for a double bed. Saves having to buy a new bed as they get bigger."

"That sounds reasonable," he said as they separated and began looking at the hang tags on various cribs.

After a few minutes, Mac waved him over to where she was. "Here's one," she said.

He joined her and looked the crib over, shaking it. At her puzzled look, he said, "Bud suggested it, to check for sturdiness. We don't want a crib that will fall apart." He then looked at the tag. "Almost four hundred dollars for a crib!" he exclaimed.

Mac took a deep breath before replying, "I know, it's a little on the expensive side. But do we want to spend less money now and have to spend hundreds more dollars in a year or two for a new bed, or spend more money now on a piece of furniture that we can use for years."

Harm shrugged. "When you put it that way," he said, "it sounds more reasonable. But that's eight hundred dollars for two. I don't think my – correction, our bed – cost that much."

"That's because you made the headboard when you were remodeling your apartment," she pointed out. "All you had to buy were the mattress, box spring and rails."

"Here, Iet's write down the information on the crib," he suggested. "Then we can do some comparison shopping before we actually buy anything."

Mac dug a pen out of her purse and wrote down the manufacturer, model number and price for the crib on the back of her checklist. "We need to look at mattresses next," she said.

"For that price, shouldn't it come with the crib?" he asked, incredulous. Having spent half his adult life on various Naval vessels, he was used to not needing a lot. Even watching Bud and Harriet have AJ, it had never really occurred to him just how much babies needed.

Mac pointed at the tag. "It says 'mattress not included'," she said. They walked over to the mattresses, looking for the dimensions mentioned on the crib's tag. As they looked, Mac asked, "Have you given any thought to baby names since we found out we're having one of each?"

"Well, I'm not sure I want a Harm III," he said, "but other than that, I haven't really thought about boy's names. There is one name I've kind of always had in mind for a girl, but I'm not sure what you're going to think." As he looked over the mattresses, he commented, "Couldn't they standardize the size on these, as they do for adult beds?"

"Why? That would make sense," Mac shot back. "So what's this name you have in mind?"

"Sarah Patricia," he said, "after my grandmother and mother."

"Don't you have enough Sarahs in your life?" she teased. "How about Patricia Sarah?"

"I don't know," he replied, "I just thought Sarah Patricia Rabb sounded better to my ears than Patricia Sarah Rabb. Anyway, what can I say? Sarah has always been a favorite name of mine." He shot her a dazzling grin.

"No," she said, pointing a finger at his chest and shaking her head, even as she felt a familiar warmth spread through her. "I am not letting that flyboy grin of yours get to me. No way."

He looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes and she sighed. He knew just how to make her weak in the knees. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing his dress whites or she'd be agreeing with anything he said. "Then I want Harmon for our son," she said as he started shaking his head. "For your father," she added.

"What about Matthew?" he countered. "I would have thought you would want to name a boy after your uncle."

"I can," she said, leaning closer to him. "I think Harmon Matthew Rabb has a nice ring to it. And since he would have a different middle name, he wouldn't technically be Harm III."

"What about Matthew Harmon Rabb?" he asked, even as he knew he would probably give in to her, especially if he wanted her to go along with his name suggestion.

"As someone already said," she pointed out, smiling, "I think Harmon Matthew sounds better to my ears."

Harm sighed. "We don't have to decide now," he said, even as he knew that their children would end up being Sarah Patricia and Harmon Matthew Rabb. "We still have almost six months."

-----

SATURDAY, 2 SEPTEMBER
1505 ZULU
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"So, have you given any thought to your married name?" Sydney asked asked as the JAG women all sat around the living room, chatting while they waited for the pizzas they had ordered for lunch to arrive. Aside from the bridal party, who had come to have their measurements taken for their dresses by Rachel Carlisle, the designer Trish had found, Mac had also invited Loren, Meg and Kate for a girls' day together. Everyone, even Loren, was getting along very well together.

Harm had invited AJ, Bud and Alan to the airfield, promising all of them rides in 'Sarah'. Bud, who hadn't been up in the Stearman in a while, and Alan and AJ, who had never been up, had all jumped at the chance. Harriet had brought little AJ with her and after a while of being happily passed around from lap to lap, he had gotten tired and Mac had offered her bed for him to take a nap in.

"I was playing around with it the other day," Mac replied, taking a sip of her glass of milk. Mac had never really cared for it as a drink – unless it was chocolate – but Harm had started insisting that she drink several glasses a day. Sometimes, she was tempted to hide all the baby books from him. She loved him, but sometimes he could be exasperating going on about all the things that he thought she needed to be doing while pregnant. "I got bored during lunch and wrote out several possibilities, trying to decide which one sounded best."

"Well, you have made a name for yourself in the military as Sarah Mackenzie," Harriet pointed out. "That's one of the reasons I decided to keep my maiden name professionally. That, and all the paperwork that has to be filled out to change your name."

"Of course, some women hyphenate their maiden and married names," Carolyn pointed out.

"I thought of both of those," Mac said, "and, of course, Sarah Rabb. Then, I also considered whether I wanted to go by different names professionally and socially or just use one name."

"Sometimes makes you wonder why men can't change their names," Jackie joked as everyone chuckled.

"Finally," Mac continued, "I decided to go for the old-fashioned approach and change my name. I don't think it will make a difference in how I do my job if I go by Sarah Mackenzie or Sarah Rabb. No offense, Harriet."

"None taken," she replied, smiling.

"Anyway, I would be proud to take Harm's name," Mac said. "I also think Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Rabb has nice ring to it. I talked to Gunny yesterday about getting together the paperwork that I will need to change my name on all my military records and to get a new ID card. He has also placed an order for a new sign for my office and business cards. On Monday, I'll order new name tags for my uniforms."

"Well, this will definitely make things easier on the Admiral," Carolyn joked. "Now, instead of asking for Rabb and Mackenzie when he wants to talk to you, he can just yell for Rabb."

Harriet laughed as she added, "I can already hear him now – 'Get me Rabb!'"

Everyone laughed as Loren jumped in, "At least you have different ranks. If anyone wants to differentiate, they can just append Commander or Colonel in front of the name."

"Can you imagine if they were both Navy?" Meg asked. "Then it would be 'Get me Commander Rabb. No, the other Commander Rabb.'"

"Speaking of names, Harriet," Mac said, "have you and Bud thought about names for your baby?"

"Actually, we decided on a name several weeks ago," she said. "We were going to announce it, but then everything happened ..." She trailed off, reluctant to bring up the shooting when everyone was having fun.

"So, don't keep us in suspense, Harriet," Carolyn urged, drawing her attention back to the topic at hand. "What is it?"

"Well, when I was pregnant before, we decided we wanted to name the baby after someone important to both of us," Harriet explained, "which is how we came up with AJ. So we decided to do the same thing with this one."

"Okay, so is it going to be Sarah or Harmony?" Carolyn asked. No one was surprised. Everyone knew that aside from being mentors, Harm and Mac were Bud and Harriet's best friends.

Harriet smiled. "Actually," she replied, "both. We decided on Sarah Harmony Roberts."

"Oh, Harriet," Mac said, tears in her eyes, "I'm honored and I'm sure Harm will be, too." Suddenly, she started laughing, drawing puzzled glances from everyone in the room.

"Mac?" Sydney asked.

"Sorry," Mac said, wiping her eyes, "it's just funny and maybe a little ironic. Harm and I were discussing possible names last night at Babies R Us. Harm said that he has always wanted to name a daughter after his grandmother."

While most everyone looked at her, not sure how that related to Harriet's name choice, Meg and Kate started laughing. "That is funny," Meg agreed. "I guess you could say great minds think alike."

"What is Harm's grandmother's name?" Carolyn asked, curious.

"Sarah," Mac replied, eliciting laughter from everyone else.

"Well, Sarah is a popular name," Jackie pointed out. "I guess if Harm can live with having both a wife and daughter named Sarah, then there's nothing wrong with having both a Sarah Rabb and a Sarah Roberts."

"As was pointed out earlier," Lauren said, "if you want both of them, you only have to call one name."

"So, is this a definite name or are you still thinking about it?" Kate asked.

"Well, nothing is definite yet," Mac replied, "but I have a feeling that we will go with our first choices for names. Harm wants Sarah Patricia for his grandmother and mother and I suggested Harmon Matthew after Harm's father and my uncle."

"So your babies will be named after you and Harm, but not really," Sydney said, amused. "Of course, you could always call them by their middle names to avoid confusion, except that most people call you Mac, so I guess that would cut down on the confusion."

"Except that since we have been together, Harm has taken to calling me Sarah," Mac pointed out, "and I'm not about to suggest he go back to calling me Mac. I really like hearing him call me Sarah." She smiled, remembering how hearing her given name on his lips made her weak in the knees and warm inside.

"You could always swap the names completely," Jackie suggested, "go with Patricia Sarah and Matthew Harmon."

"That idea was discussed, also," Mac replied. "When he first suggested Sarah Patricia, I suggested reversing the names, but Harm is really close to his grandmother, perhaps closer than he is to his mother. After his crash, he spent his time recovering at her farm and she helped him decide to go to law school. I can understand why he would want to name a daughter after her. He suggested the same thing when I said I wanted Harmon Matthew for our son. I told him that if he was going to insist on Sarah for our daughter, then I was going to insist on Harmon for our son."

"Which mean that despite Mac's saying that nothing is definite," Sydney concluded, "we will be welcoming Sarah Patricia Rabb and Harmon Matthew Rabb into the world in about six months."

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To be continued…