Disclaimer: the usual - not mine, sure wish they were...
A/N: Thanks for the reviews - I love all the great feedback on my story! Seems I'm not alone in wanting to chase that blonde doc from last week's episode, Fit For Duty, away with a broom! I SO hope TPTB get Harm and Mac together PROPERLY and ROMANTICALLY by the end of this season. I'm tired of there always being someone else trying to get each of them, they belong together, darn it all! Sigh, oh well, in my happy little JAG world, they'll ALWAYS be together:)
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Chapter 29:
"That one goes in the kitchen" said Mac to the movers as they carried a large dish pack into the house.
"Yes, ma'am" replied one of the men. "What about the smaller ones there?"
"They can go in the kitchen as well" replied Mac as her cell phone rang. She looked at the Caller ID, smiled and answered.
"Hi babe" she said.
"How's it going over there?" asked Harm on the other end of the line. He'd gone into the office for a half day to get a few imperative things finished while Mac supervised the movers at the new house.
"Great" answered Mac. "They've almost got all the boxes in the kitchen, living room and Mattie's room unloaded, and all that's left is the master bedroom and guest room boxes and some furniture."
"Sounds like someone's been keeping a fire lit underneath these guys" chuckled Harm.
"You know me well, love" replied Mac. "Still planning to be here early afternoon?"
"Yeah, looks like that'll happen" said Harm. "What's the plan once I get there?"
"You can put the beds together" said Mac, "I'll be ready for a little nap right about then."
"Consider it done, babe" said Harm. "I better finish up here so I can get over and help you, OK?"
"Sure thing" said Mac. "I love you."
"Love you, too" replied Harm. "Bye."
"Bye." Mac returned the phone to her back pocket and took a big drink from her water bottle.
"Which room is the nursery, ma'am?" asked one of the movers as he carried in one of the boxes of baby things Mac had allowed them to pack and transport.
"Right around the corner here" she said, "next to the master bedroom."
"Thank you, ma'am" the man replied. He deposited the box in the nursery, and headed out to retrieve the next one.
"When's the big day?" he asked as he came in with the next box.
"About 5-and-a-half more weeks" said Mac. "I'm due September 12."
"Wow, that's not long!" exclaimed the man. "My wife and I are expecting our first in another 4 months."
"Congratulations" said Mac.
"Thank you, ma'am" he replied. "It's real exciting, isn't it?"
"Very much so" said Mac with a smile. After the mover left the room, she stayed for a moment, looking around at what would be the baby's first bedroom. The furniture that retired Admiral Chegwidden had given them as a gift had all been delivered the day before. It was so pretty- a solid oak sleigh crib, matching dresser with a built-in changing table, a 6-foot high bookcase and a glider rocker with a cushion that matched the Pooh bedding set.
"After our nap today, little one" said Mac, "you and I can start getting your room unpacked." She was so excited about seeing it competed. Harm had painted the walls a very light yellow with white trim, and put up a wallpaper border that matched the bedding. It promised to be beautiful once it was all done up. Mac's thoughts were interrupted by another ring of her cell phone.
"Hello again, babe" she said.
"Hey" he said. "I finished up a little earlier than I thought, so I'm on my way over now."
"Great!" said Mac. "Can you bring me something for lunch, please?"
"I was actually calling to see what you wanted for lunch" replied Harm.
"I should have known you'd do that" said Mac sweetly.
"Yeah, you should have, but it's OK if you momentarily forgot what a wonderful and caring fiancé you have" joked Harm.
"Oh brother" said Mac. "Lemme see, what do I want……Taco Bell!"
"Your usual order, I presume?" asked Harm.
"Yep" replied Mac. "Two Burrito Supremes with extra sour cream."
"Your wish is my command" said Harm. "I should be there in 45 minutes or so."
"OK, the movers should be finished and gone by then. Love you, babe" said Mac.
"Love you, too."
Harm arrived with lunch less than an hour later, and they sat down and ate together before he changed into his civvies and started putting the beds together like Mac had asked him to.
"Where do you want the headboard to be?" he asked her as he laid out the pieces to the master bed, which was the bed he'd had in his apartment. It was bigger and newer than Macs, so they agreed they'd keep it and put hers in the guest room.
"I'm thinking against this wall here" she said. "There's a street light outside the window and I don't want it shining in our faces at night."
"Agreed" said Harm. He put the headboard against the wall Mac had chosen and began assembling the frame.
"I'm gonna go start unpacking some of the smaller baby things" said Mac. "Lemme know as soon as you get the bed put together, I need a power nap in the worst way."
"Will do, babe" said Harm. "Don't you overdo it, OK?"
"I won't, I'm fine" said Mac as she bent down to kiss Harm before heading around the corner into the nursery.
She sat down in the glider rocker and opened the box closest to her. She pulled out some clothes, sat the small pile in what little lap she still had with her tummy the size it was, and began sorting it.
"These go in the closet…" she said to herself as she moved the sailor suit, a pink gingham dress with ruffled bloomers and matching shoes, and a white fleece bunting with bunny ears on it aside.
"These need folded…" she said, placing a pile of sleepers and Onesies on top of the dresser. Next in the stack on her lap was the bib Harm had chosen, the one with the red anchor. Underneath it was one Frank had given them. It was green camouflage and had a baby Marine bulldog on it. Mac smiled as she looked at the bibs side-by-side.
"Poor kid" she said. "We're gonna confuse the heck out of it from the second it's born." Just then, Harm entered the room.
"Bed's all ready, babe" he said. "Sheets, blankets and all."
"Ok, thanks" she replied. "Here, can you hang these in the closet, please?' she asked him, handing him the sailor suit, pink dress and bunny suit.
"Sure" he said, taking the clothes from her. "You look really tired, why don't you save the rest of this for later tonight and I'll help you with it then?"
"Good idea" agreed Mac. She tossed the last few things that were in her lap back into the box, and started to get up from the glider.
"Ooohh" she said as she sat back down.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Harm.
"Nothing" answered Mac. "The baby just moved wrong is all, got me in the ribs again."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yep, I'm sure" she said. She tried standing up again, and was successful the second time. "See? No problem."
"OK, babe" said Harm. "What should I do while you nap, anything in particular?"
"You can work in the kitchen if you want to, put the dishes wherever you want them?" she said.
"OK" he agreed.
"I'll be up in a couple of hours" said Mac as she kissed Harm and headed for the bedroom. Harm made his way to the kitchen, chose a box and started unpacking it.
"We've got entirely too many dishes" he concluded as he pulled out seemingly every dish either of them had owned before they moved in together. He decided to keep the everyday basics in the most accessible cabinets, and stack the rest in the higher-up ones.
"Oh yeah" he remembered, "better leave space for the baby bottles and all that stuff." He smiled as he thought about how there'd finally be baby things in his kitchen. He'd waited a long time for that. He was lost in thought when…
"Harm, come here, please..." He heard Mac call to him from the bedroom. He immediately ran down the hall to see what she needed.
"What's wrong, babe?" he asked, the concern in his voice obvious.
"Could you run to the convenience store and get me some ginger ale, please?" she asked. "My lunch is sitting like a rock and I can't get comfortable enough to sleep."
"Sure" said Harm, "I'll be right back. Anything else you think you might need?"
"No, just the soda" said Mac.
"OK" said Harm as he kissed her on the forehead before grabbing his keys and leaving for the store.
He returned about 10 minutes later with 2 bottles of ginger ale and a bag of ice, since they didn't have any ice made at the house yet. He took a cup from the cabinet, threw some ice in it and started off down the hallway with the cup in one hand and the soda in the other.
"Alright, here you go" he said as he walked through the doorway of the bedroom. "Mac! What's wrong?" She was curled up on top of the covers, crying, and squeezing his pillow in her fists as tight as she could.
"Mac! Babe, are you OK?" exclaimed Harm as he knelt down on the floor beside the bed and moved her hair off of her sweaty face.
She didn't say anything, just looked at him and shook her head.
"I'm calling Dr. Mianni!" said Harm.
Mac nodded her head as Harm grabbed his cell phone and made the call.
"Yes, I need to speak with Dr. Mianni, please. This is Commander Harmon Rabb. My fiancée is one of Dr. Mianni's patients. Yes, Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. She's almost 35 weeks pregnant and she thought she had indigestion, but now we're not so sure. She's laying in bed in terrible pain and I need to know what we need to do. OK, yes, it's 555-2114, yes, thank you."
"They're gonna page her and she'll call us right back, OK?" Harm said to Mac as he reached out to hold her hand. "It's gonna be OK, I promise."
"What if… it's not?" cried Mac. "What if I have….the baby… today?" She cried even harder at that idea.
"Then we'll handle it and everything will be just fine, babe" said Harm, doing his best to reassure her but feeling like a failure, just like he did too many times before. Not a moment too soon, his cell phone rang.
"Hi, Dr. Mianni. Yes. Yeah, she went to take a nap and thought she had indigestion, so I went to get her some ginger ale and when I got home, I found her curled up on the bed crying in pain. Yeah. No. If you think that'd be best, certainly. OK, thank you doctor. Bye."
"The doctor said that it's most likely nothing more than really bad indigestion" said Harm, "but since you're so far along and since you've got the blood pressure issue, she wants us to go in right now and she'll check you both over, OK?"
"OK" said Mac, still crying some. "You'll have to help me up."
"Of course I will" said Harm, putting his arms around her and slowly moving her into a sitting position.
"Has the pain lessened at all?" he asked, once again trying to mask his concern so she wouldn't know how scared he was.
"It's a little better" she said. "At least I can move and speak now."
"See, that's good!" he said, seizing the opportunity to encourage her.
He helped her into her shoes and out to his vehicle, and they headed towards the doctor's office, unsure of what the remainder of the day held in store…