A/N: I was just wondering what the fan choice is going to be for the decision that the gang faces at the end of this chapter. Should be interesting to get some input on who/what you guys think is best.

Halloween at JAG, normally it meant nothing. But with three women, very much in love, constantly around the office, they were making every attempt to make every holiday special. They organized a costume party, much to the chagrin of the men in the office. The Admiral volunteered to host it on the condition that he didn't have to do any of the cleaning or cooking.

Harriet had some kind of weird stomach flu lately that was sending her to the bathroom every few minutes. It had Bud really worried, he had no idea what to do and he was scrambling for answers. The only two officers who knew anything about what might be going on, weren't really paying that much intense attention to the situation. The fall was a hard time for cases on the JAG staff. It seemed that sailors and Marines seemed to have problems keeping themselves in lines more during the fall and spring sessions than they did in the summer or around Christmas.

For the first time in the little more than eight months that they had been together, Harm was facing off against Mac in court. The office had been peaceful when they were working on the same team, now that they were working against each other in court, things had become less fluid.

"That's it! You are so sleeping alone tonight, Commander!" Mac shouted as the two of them moved through the bullpen.

"That's real mature, Major. Resorting to threats because you were out-lawyered." Harm shot back as they stood at the entrances to their offices.

"Out-lawyered? Sand-bagged, Commander. I thought that you were mature enough to maybe go beyond pulling cheap tricks to win in court, guess I was wrong, huh." Mac slammed the door behind her and all action screeched to a halt in the bullpen.

"Haven't you people ever heard of argument? Get back to work." Harm stormed off into his office.

In his office, Jim Grant was in mid-swallow of half a bottle of aspirin when he heard the Admiral's voice come over the intercom. There were only two words in his message. "Fix this." Jim turned his chair trying to plot a course of action but he knew what he had to do.

"Roberts!" Jim shouted into the bullpen catching both Bud and Harriet's attention. "My office, please." Bud and Harriet collected themselves and walked into the Colonel's office. "Alright, now I don't know what happened in court but Lieutenant, you were sitting second chair to Commander Rabb, would you care to explain?"

"Well, sir, Commander Rabb was able to get an accident report de-classified by Naval Intelligence this morning." Bud started then stopped.

"That doesn't sound all that angering." Jim interjected.

"No, sir, that's not it. The fact is that he could have had it de-classified earlier and only chose to get it de-classified this morning." Bud explained and watched as comprehension washed over the face of his superior officer and partner.

"Alright, Bud, you and I are going to go in and talk to Harm. Harriet, even though I don't like sending you into Mac's office without back up, I'm afraid I'm going to have to. I've been given orders to fix this. So, let's try." Jim clapped his hands together and the three officers headed out of the office to the other side of the bullpen.

One of the many benefits of being a senior officer is that you don't have to knock on office doors. Jim, knowing full well that Harm was about to boil over, decided to exercise that luxury. "Marine incoming." Jim stated as he opened the door.

"What's up?" Harm asked as he saw Jim and Bud enter the office.

"Apologize." Jim stated plainly.

"Why? I didn't do anything wrong, I did my job." Harm protested.

"I know and if the same situation happened again, I would advise you to do the exact same thing. Apologize anyway." Jim was trying to contain laughs at how naïve Harm was acting.

"I don't understand, if I didn't do anything wrong and you'd order me to do the same thing if the circumstance came up again, why apologize?" Harm was very confused.

"Because it doesn't matter that you don't think you did anything wrong. She thinks you did, therefore you did and if you know what's good for you, you'll apologize." Jim almost sounded like a university professor.

"I'm afraid, I don't understand." Harm looked on quizzically.

"I'm not following either, sir." Bud responded.

"I know you're not. It's because you're both young and stupid, no offence. When I first got married my Grandpa O'Grady took me aside and gave me some advice. He said 'son, there will come a time when you and your bride will argue. When this happens, pose this question to yourself. Would you rather be right or happy? I've been married to your grandmother for 44 years, I haven't been right in thirty-nine years and I am a happy man.' Harm, you're in a relationship, Mac is a woman, the last thing she wants from you is to hear that you're right and she's wrong. It'll make her feel insecure and incompetent which in turn will result in you getting your six kicked. Go in there, apologize and realize that she reserves the right to mention this incident in any future arguments." Jim smiled wisely as he finished.

"Not exactly painting the most encouraging picture of marriage, Colonel. I mean part of what's so great about Mac and I, is how we argue." Harm protested.

"Sir, if I may. I don't think the Colonel's telling you not to argue. I think the Colonel's just telling you to be fast to apologize when the argument's over." Bud clarified well enough to bring a smile to Jim's face.

"See, Bud gets it." Jim laughed.

"So, what do you suggest?" Harm looked up from his desk.

"Mac's favourite fancy restaurant and give her your credit card. I'll talk to the Admiral and get her and Harriet the afternoon off. They can go shopping for a dress for your dinner tonight. But you still have to go into her office and apologize." Jim motioned for the door. Harm got up and walked out to go and apologize to Mac.

"Sir, if I screw up like this with Harriet, will you help me fix it too?" Bud inquired with hopeful eyes.

"Of course Bud, that's what friends are for." Jim gave Bud a fraternal pat on the back and the young Lieutenant smiled.

Harm knocked on Mac's door and poked his head inside. "I'm incredibly sorry for acting stupid. Please accept my apology and offer of dinner at Emerson's tonight?" Harm had a puppy-dog look in his eyes, just pleading with Mac for forgiveness.

"You're forgiven but I don't have a dress for Emerson's tonight." Mac explained but Harm interrupted her.

"Not a problem. I've pleaded with the Admiral, who, - after assurances that this will be the last time we explode at work – has graciously given you and Harriet the afternoon off to go and find a dress. I also figured you could use this." Harm tossed her his credit card. "Have fun, ladies."

"You were pretty confident that I'd accept your apology." She smiled coyly.

"I figured you loved me enough to be forgiving if I admitted I was wrong." He shot her a trademark smile.

"Tell Jim to get Angie out of work to meet us at the mall and you might even get to move off the couch back into the bed tonight." Mac added with a sneaky smile. Harm merely nodded and turned to leave the office. "That is why there should be one experienced married man in every office."

"Why's that ma'am?" Harriet asked, confused by the seemingly random comment.

"In the course of ten minutes, Harm apologized, made dinner reservations, got me the afternoon off and gave me his credit card so I could go buy a dress. It would have taken him days to do that if he didn't have some serious counselling from higher brass." Mac looked knowingly at Harriet.

"You think that the Admiral or the Colonel…"

"I know that they did and don't look so surprised; I know that you were probably in on it." Mac took on her best prosecutorial expression.

"Guilty." Harriet admitted sheepishly. "Come on ma'am, we've got the rest of the day off, let's head down to the mall." Harriet and Mac got up and moved out of the office. Within a few minutes, they were both through the glass doors and on an elevator on their way out of JAG.

"Alright, it's lunch, I ordered Mexican, let's eat." Jim gave Harm a pat on the back and the two of them headed into Harm's office. They ate lunch in Harm's office whenever Mac wasn't in the office. Both of them would sit back and put their feet up on Harm's desk and they would just shoot the breeze. "You know, you're wedding's actually turning into quite the event. Both the Admiral and I have been taking calls from people trying to use our influence to talk to you about inviting them."

"Who could possibly want to come that badly?" Harm quipped as he shoved another bite of his veggie burrito into his face.

"There's the SECDEF, SECNAV and a few members of Congress. But by far, the two most interesting requests came from Heads of State. The Prime Minister of Israel wants to come in order to thank you for saving the life of his Foreign Minister when Mercy Hospital was taken over by terrorists a few years ago. The President wants to come to thank you for avoiding war with North Korea over that incident on the USS Reprisal last year." Jim looked up like he was trying to dig the information out of his memory bank.

Harm almost choked on the water he was drinking when he heard about the last two. "The President actually made a rather handsome offer from what I understand. If he attends, he's allowing the use of the Rose Garden for the reception or the ceremony. I guess he's heard about how you and Mac met." Jim bug into his taco.

"You're serious?" Harm raised his eyebrows in a careful attempt to hide his elation.

"I talked to his Chief of Staff the other day. He said that he realized the press attention such an attendance could bring and that the decision should completely be yours if you even want strangers at the wedding but he wanted you to know that the offer was there." Jim explained with a few animated hand gestures.

"Can I actually turn down an offer made by the President?" Harm inquired.

"I think, since it's your wedding, you can actually do that. I'm not sure quite how wise it would be, but it's in your power." Jim laughed slightly under his breath.

"What about the Israeli Prime Minister?" Harm inquired almost thinking the idea to be somewhat humorous.

"I think he'd get a kick out of knowing that he's attending the wedding of a woman who's part Iranian." Jim quipped.

"My wedding is not a peace summit." Harm commented.

"Maybe you could honeymoon at Camp David." Jim fired back.

"Not funny." Harm stated sternly.

"Oh, it is and you know it." Jim returned.

"What do you think the girls are doing right now?" Harm inquired with a distant look taking over his eyes.

"Burning a hole in your credit card." Jim remarked as he brought his Iced Tea to his mouth.

"Don't remind me, should all be worth it when I see Mac in her dress tonight." Harm smiled widely.

"Jesus, eight months to the wedding and you're already talking like a newlywed. You're going to have one of those families where your first child is born nine months to the day after the wedding night, aren't you?" Jim laughed almost paternally.

"On a different matter, have you noticed that Harriet's been sick an awful lot lately?" It was something Harm was only just catching on to.

"She's pregnant." Jim stated nonchalantly.

"What do you mean, she's pregnant?" Harm almost seemed to choke on his food.

"It's not particularly difficult to put two and two together on this one if you've ever lived with a pregnant woman before. Harriet's sick all the time and her moods are all over the charts." Jim explained as he waved a pen around like he was illustrating his point.

"What do you suggest we do?" Harm questioned.

"Absolutely nothing, let her tell us when she's ready. Until then, don't let her lift anything and be very understanding with her moods. Pregnancy maybe a complete pain for women but it's no cake walk for us either." Jim smirked as he tossed the wrapper from lunch into the garbage.

"I think it's pretty easy for us, though." Harm chuckled under his breath. Jim leaned forward, bent his head over and pulled his ear forward to reveal a scar that was a good inch and a half long.

"You see that scar?" Jim motioned.

"Yeah." Harm surveyed the scar.

"I got that from paring knife when Nikki was pregnant with Gabbs. I wasn't sent on a mission during that entire pregnancy, so I'm lucky that's the only souvenir I have from it. Then there's this…" Jim pulled forward on the collar of his shirt to reveal a scar that extended from his shoulder to his collarbone. "I got that when she was pregnant with David, luckily, I got called into Desert Storm the next day." Jim smiled.

"You were stabbed? What the hell for?" Harm was shocked to say the least.

"Well, the scar I got from David's pregnancy I blacked out afterward so I don't really remember. I think with Gabbs, Nikki told me she was pregnant and I made some comment about elastic waistbands. I spent several nights on the couch for that one." Jim laughed heartily. "That's why I'm good at advising you boys, I've made all the mistakes before."

"That may be but I still can't believe you were stabbed. I mean, I've heard of women going a little overboard but attempted murder seems like crossing the line to me." Harm chuckled.

"Oh that's nothing, she broke three of my fingers when she went into labour with Gabbs. I think I earned it though, by the time her sixth month rolled around I was begging the Company to send me on missions. They just couldn't find anything they wanted me to do. I figured I had less of a chance of getting killed in a war zone. When I found out that she'd gone into labour with David, I was in a meeting with Schwarzkopf. I was still a Major then, TAD from JAG Pacific and this young Corporal comes wandering in and decides to interrupt Schwarzkopf, mid-briefing, to tell me that my wife is in labour back in the states." Jim explained as he lowered his feet off of Harm's desk.

"What did General Schwarzkopf do?" Harm listened to the story with interest.

"Schwarzkopf looked right at the kid and said 'What the fuck good does it do him here? By the time he got back to San Diego, the kid will be born anyway.' Harm, you had to see this kid's face when Schwarzkopf raised his voice, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that terrified."

"We're going to help Bud keep Harriet away from firearms and sharp objects." Harm and Jim shared a laugh and then went back to work.

0100 ZULU

EMERSON'S RESTAURANT

WASHINGTON. D.C

"Great news, sweet thing." Harm cheered as he looked over his menu at her.

"What is it, flyboy?" Mac looked deeply into his eyes and she saw that he was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat.

"We've got the ability to use what has to be the perfect spot for the wedding. There's a condition attached though." Harm started to explain.

"Well first off, I think you should tell me where this ideal place is before we even consider the condition." Mac was dead serious about any business relating to the wedding.

"It's the White House Rose Garden." Harm started and took not of the look of shock on Mac's face.

"Who do you have to kill?" Mac smiled widely, it was the right place, in fact it was the only logical place for the two of them to get married.

"No one, we do have to invite the President though. Apparently a few of our escapades have caught his attention and he wanted to show his appreciation." Harm reached across the table and covered her hand with his. "You look beautiful tonight, Sarah. You just couldn't help but go with the little black dress, could you?"

"Well I just happened to realize that I didn't have one and every girl should have a little black dress. Especially if she's got a sailor like you to appreciate her in it." She raised his palm to her lips and placed a kiss on it.

"Sarah, you have to know by now that it doesn't matter what you wear, I'll appreciate you." He states tenderly as their food arrived.

"I know but like I said, a girl just likes to hear these things sometimes." She smiled as he ran his fingers over the top of her hand.

"So, about the Halloween party tomorrow night at the Admiral's." Harm started. They talked and ate their meal. The conversation was kept mostly to general details about what they wanted for the wedding and then they talked about work and petitioned each other for advice on some of their current cases. Eventually, dinner was done and Harm paid the cheque before they went home.

They went up to the apartment when an idea flashed through Harm's head. There was something he's never done for Mac since they'd been together. He couldn't believe with all that had happened that he would forget this one thing but it escaped him and now he was determined to make it up to her and end their perfect night on the right note.

"Sarah, lay down here." Harm gently guided her over to the bed and he laid her down on her side. "I was trying to think of the perfect way to end this evening and this was – at least I think – the best idea. Harm sat on the edge of the bed with his guitar in his lap and gently he began to serenade her.

She was morning

And I was night-time

I one day woke up

To find her lying

Beside my bed

I softly said

"Come take me"

For I've been lonely

In need of someone

As though I'd done

Someone wrong somewhere

I don't know where

Come lately

You are the sun

I am the moon

You are the words

I am the tune

Play Me

Song she sang to me

Song she brang to me

Words that rang in me

Rhyme that sprang from me

Warmed the night

And what was right

Became me

You are the sun

I am the moon

You are the words

I am the tune

Play Me

And so it was

That I came to travel

Upon a road

That was thorned and narrow

Another place

Another grace

Would save me

You are the sun

I am the moon

You are the words

I am the tune

Play Me

Mac felt the words cascade over her as his voice blended with melody brought on by the plucking of the guitar strings. He was right this was the perfect way to end their evening. His song, was in her mind his testament to how she completed them and she could think of nothing other than how mutual the feeling was. In her attempts to respond to his actions she could only respond with words from the song. "Come take me."

2130 ZULU

ADMIRAL CHEGWIDDEN'S HOME

MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

The folks from JAG were congregating at the Admiral's that night. Harriet had hired caterers so that the Admiral wouldn't have to do any of the cooking or clean up, as per the initial agreement. Most of the couples were trying to match in some way. Harm wanted to go dressed up as a famous pilot and Mac said she felt like dressing up like a princess and having Harm be her prince. They had tried to think for days about ideas for what to go to the party as until, inspiration struck.

Harriet and Angie were the driving forces behind the planning of this party. Harm had been quick to remark that it was remarkable that the Navy and Marines were able to work on anything without arguing. Mac was about to object to his little comment before he reminded her all the times that they argued over pretty much everything. Harm hadn't told anyone of the conversation that he'd had with Jim about Harriet being pregnant. It did amuse him how Bud managed to walk around work looking like the cat who swallowed the canary.

Harm and Mac walked up the Admiral's driveway to the house. They could hear the music inside and smell the food. They opened the door and their eyes were treated to a multitude of questions. "Hey look, the Flintstones are here." Harm pointed over toward the corner where Jim and Angie were dressed up just like Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Jim looked his comical self in the orange Flintstone costume and Angie drew attention as the white Wilma Flintstone dress that she wore clung to all her curves.

"And here come Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe." Mac replied as Bud and Harriet walked over to them.

"Nice costumes, sir. I never would have figured you for a fan." Bud exclaimed with a wide smile brimming on his face.

"I'm not, but Mac wanted to be a princess and I wanted to come as a pilot. Mac wanted her princess to be a strong woman and…" Mac cut him off.

"I wanted her to depend as much on the man in her life as he depended on her. So our costumes were the only logical choice." Mac smiled and wrapped her arm around Harm's waist.

"I still can't believe you went all out with the hairstyle, ma'am. That must have taken your stylist hours." Harriet commented, amazed at the intricacy of Mac's hairstyle.

"It was a total pain to sit through." Mac commented.

"Jesus, Harm, does everything you do have to involve a pilot in some way?" Jim shouted as he and Angie walked over.

"Yeah well, the Millennium Falcon is no Tomcat. I don't know, Flintstone. Hey Jim, didn't you go to grade school with Fred and Barney?" Harm shot sarcastically.

"Har har, remind me why it was funny when I put you on Saturday filing duty." Jim replied.

"Now that you're all here, Bud and I have an announcement." Harriet and Bud were smiling widely. Angie and Mac were wide eyed in anticipation and Jim and Harm exchanged knowing looks. "We're pregnant!" Harriet practically screeched.

"That's fantastic, Harriet." Mac stepped forward and pulled Harriet into a hug.

"Congratulations, Bud, Harriet." Harm shook Bud's hand.

"Way to go, Bud!" Jim gave Bud a high five. Angie had been noticeably silent since the announcement. One would assume that she was waiting to hug Harriet, something Mac wasn't quite done doing yet but for the tears that were threatening her eyes. "You okay, baby girl?" Jim put a comforting hand on her back.

"Oh, it's just these damn hormones!" Angie protested trying to laugh.

"Hormones? Is it…I mean like time of the month?" Jim tried to keep his voice down. Angie had her face buried in her hands as she shook her head from side to side. This little aside conversation had attracted the attention of the group.

"Let's just say Harriet's got company." Angie tried to state softly. A second round of smiles and congratulations passed through the group of friends but it was soon interrupted by the sound of something thudding against the floor.

"What happened?" Bud looked around to for signs of something that was broken but Harm merely pointed to the floor.

"Flintstone down!" Harm announced with a small chuckle as he saw Jim lying unconscious on the floor.

"What happened to him?" The Admiral, dressed as a very dapper George Washington, came rushing into the kitchen.

"He fainted." Harm stated plainly.

"Marines don't faint, we pick inopportune times at which to lose consciousness." Mac informed her fiancé.

"I don't care what it is. What caused him to do it?" The Admiral stressed.

"Well first I announced that I was pregnant, sir." Harriet stated with a smile.

"Congratulations, Ensign. I fail to see why that would cause Colonel Grant's current condition." The Admiral persisted.

"Then I stated that I was pregnant." Angie relinquished the information.

"I now understand why he's on the ground. Tiner!" The Admiral bellowed and the yeoman –dressed as Fonzie – came running to the Admiral's side. "Get me the smelling salts from under the sink in the bathroom."

Tiner dashed off and was back under a minute later with the requested article. The Admiral waved the smelling salts under Jim's nose in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness. The group of friends watched as the Marine Colonel slowly came back to consciousness. "Angie's pregnant isn't she?" Were the first words out of her mouth.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with his memory." Angie stated with a little chuckle.

"Oh, it has nothing to do with my memory. I've only fainted twice before. Both times had been the result of the pregnancy announcements of my children. It serves to reason that would be why I passed out this time." Jim sat up on the floor.

"Up and making logical arguments. He'll be shouting 'Semper Fi!' in no time." Harm smiled and chuckled as he held Mac tight into him. Jim slowly got to his feet and gave his head a shake.

"Yabba Dabba Do! That's what I'm supposed to say, right?" Jim smiled as he roped his arm around Angie's waist.

"What're you thinking, soldier-boy?" Angie was hesitant, she had kind of sprung this on him without warning and hence didn't know what his reaction would be.

"That you just made me one very happy man, baby girl." He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and placed a kiss into the crook of her neck. "Now where's Ritchie Cunningham?" Jim looked around for his son who had dressed up like Ritchie from 'Happy Days'.

"He's still clinging to Fonzie's leg." Mac pointed to where Tiner in fact did have seven year-old David Grant clinging to his leg.

"Look at it this way, Harriet. You'll have someone to go to Lamaze classes with." Jim suggested with a wide smile.

"Hey, you and Bud are going to have to go too, sir." Harriet warned with a scolding finger.

"Bud, think of it this way, you won't have to go through it alone." Jim gave Bud a pat on the shoulder.

"I guess there's some comfort in that, sir." Bud smiled. "I can't believe I'm going to be a dad!" Bud was euphoric.

"Believe it. You're both young too, which, according to studies, means you'll have a pretty good chance at having a boy. Pass on that Roberts name and character, Bud." Jim and Angie smiled at the notion.

"Sir, your first child was a girl so I guess nothing's for certain." Harriet stated.

"Yeah and even by your logic, your next child could be a little girl." Bud stated.

"Not with the history of boys in my family." Angie refuted. "I have eight older brothers."

"My mom had six older brothers, having boys just runs in our families. But, I'll love the child no matter what. That's one of the greatest joys of fatherhood, Bud. In a matter of minutes after that child is born, you will not remember what life was like before it came along." Jim stated wisely as Angie leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"You'll be a great father, Bud." Angie stated sweetly.

"Thank you, ma'am." Bud smiled widely.

"Bud, I'm not in your chain of command and I've only recently been promoted. I think you can call me, Angie." She responded.

"Baby girl, it's no use, I've been trying to get Bud to call me 'Jim' for more than a year." Jim started to slowly sway her in his arms.

"I just respect you too much, sir." Bud replied.

"Let's see if you're singing the same tune after you and I sit in on a few Lamaze classes." Jim shot back and earned a laugh.

1400 ZULU

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The Admiral sat at the head of the conference room table, examining his senior staff at the table. "There's one final item of business today. The SECNAV thinks that we're understaffed. With Rabb, MacKenzie, Grant and Roberts in the field for the LeJeune investigation, this office almost ground to a halt. As such, I've been ordered to post one of the following JAG officers to my staff." The Admiral stopped.

"Why are you letting us know about this, sir?" Harm inquired, speaking for pretty much everyone at the table.

"Because there is a good chemistry in this office, Commander. I want everyone's input on who I assign to this office before I assign them so that I don't disrupt that chemistry. Toward that end, I will read out the names and a little background information on each of the officers and then we'll put it to a vote." The Admiral looked around the table to find consenting nods of approval.

"First up, is a participant in and allied exchange program. An Australian, a Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby. Former boxer, a few citations but nothing spectacular on his record. Second, is a former member of this office. Lieutenant Meg Austin, she's worked here before so she knows the workings of the office and she's worked with Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Roberts so there's something to be said for her ability to fit into this atmosphere. Last, is a former submariner, he's surfaced and now he's a lawyer. Lieutenant Commander Sturgis Turner is the son of the Navy's first black chaplain and a very decorated submariner, he's a by-the-book officer and his record indicates he went to Annapolis with Rabb, is that true?" The Admiral looked down the table at Harm.

"Yes, sir. Sturgis and I were friends at the The Yard." Harm replied.

"Good, let's hear what you have to think people and then we'll vote." The Admiral said and then turned to his right to give Mac the first opinion.