A/N: I'm glad I'm not alone in my feelings of utter disgust towards the new guy at JAG! I know TPTB are trying to put a new guy in place in case they go into an eleventh season, but let's face it, no one will ever be as sexy as Harm or as good for Mac as Harm! I totally hate how Harm and Mac weren't together at all in that episode, and I hate how they gave us such hope in "Four Percent Solution", but since then there's been no indication that they've worked on their relationship at all! ARGH!
Sigh, ah well, once again, enough about "real world JAG". On to another installment of MY world of JAG, where Harm and Mac will ALWAYS be together!
Chapter 34:
"Hey, flyboy" said Mac as she gently rubbed Harm's shoulder. "Time to wake up."
"What? Is it time?" said Harm as he startled awake. "Is the baby coming?"
"Doesn't look like it yet" said Mac, the dejection in her voice ringing loud and clear. "It was worth a try though, last night I mean."
"Yeah, it was" agreed Harm as he stretched and wiped the sleep from his eyes. "You don't feel anything yet though, huh?"
"Nope." said Mac. She took a deep breath, "however, today is one day past my due date, so God-willing it won't be much longer."
"Well, you know" said Harm with a sneaky smile, "if today doesn't end up being the day..."
Mac smiled back at him. "Harmon Rabb, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were just looking for an excuse to have your way with me."
Harm leaned over and kissed Mac tenderly on the lips. "Do I need an excuse?"
"None at all" replied Mac, and they kissed again…and again…
-
"Well, it may not have been a bad idea" said Mac as she hurriedly applied her make-up, "but if we don't walk out of this house in exactly 4 minutes, we won't make roll call and then everyone will wonder if we're having the baby and we'll have to field a million 'we thought maybe you were having the baby' comments in addition to the 'how nice of you two to join us' line we'll no doubt get from the General!"
"We'll make roll call, babe" said Harm as he threw the shower curtain open and jumped out, "don't worry." He quickly toweled off, ran a comb and a little gel through his wet hair, and got dressed. He knew Mac was a little miffed about the time, she absolutely hated running late, but he also knew she didn't really mind that they'd spent a few intimate moments that morning trying to get labor going.
"Are you ready?" she called to Harm as she grabbed her cover and purse.
"Yep, let's go" he said as he ran down the hall, gathered up his cover and both their briefcases and headed for the front door.
"Made it with 2 minutes to spare" said Harm as they exited the elevator at JAG and headed towards Mac's office.
"I'm glad" she said. "When are you due in court?"
"Nine" said Harm. "If yesterday was any indication, I'll be there all day again today."
"Well" smiled Mac, "you never know. Maybe the baby will get you excused early."
"That'd be really great" said Harm, "for all of us! I can only handle so much of Lt. Singer without wanting to pull out my own fingernails."
"Oh, please don't do that" said Mac. "I need your hands in strong working order during labor!"
"I won't do it" laughed Harm, "but you gotta admit, sometimes it'd be less painful than listening to that witch babble on and on."
"Agreed" said Mac as they walked to the bullpen, "but let's hope we both get a reason to head out of here early today. At least labor pain will be productive."
"Good morning Colonel, Commander" said Harriet. "Obviously no news yet, huh?"
"Not yet" said Mac, "but we'll see what today brings."
"Are you in court again today, Sir?" she asked Harm.
"'Fraid so" he answered. "I know you'll keep an eye on the Colonel for me though."
"Count on it, Sir" said Harriet.
"I knew I could" replied Harm. "Oops, better get over there for roll call, thanks, Harriet."
Following roll call, Harm and Mac stopped by his office so he could grab his files and get into the courtroom before the judge reconvened. He knew his mind wouldn't really be on the case, partly because it was such a ridiculous one to have to be on front of a judge over, but mostly because of Mac and the baby.
"You know where to find me if anything happens" he said as he walked Mac to her office on his way to court.
"I hope I have a reason to find you" said Mac, reaching up to kiss him. As he went down the hall, she carefully sat down in her chair and looked through the few files on her desk. Nothing very exciting, she decided. She started to boot up her laptop when she realized she needed a drink but she didn't feel like going to get it.
She picked up her phone and punched a couple numbers. "Harriet, can you come here, please?"
Harriet rushed into Mac's office. "Is it time? Do I need to go get the Commander?" she asked.
"Sorry to disappoint you" said Mac, "I just need a bottle of water and I was hoping you'd get it for me."
"Oh, sure I will" said Harriet. "Are you hungry? Want a snack or anything?"
"No, thanks" said Mac, "just the water for now."
"Yes, ma'am" replied Harriet, and she walked towards the kitchen. Mac picked up one of the folders on her desk and thumbed through it, her mind not in it at all. "Come on, Mackenzie, get your head in the game" she said to herself.
"Here you go, ma'am" said Harriet as she returned with the water.
"Thanks" said Mac, "I'll holler if I need anything else."
"Please do" replied Harriet. "I know you must be going crazy waiting like this, so if there's anything I can do to help, I'm here for you."
"That's really sweet of you, Harriet" said Mac, "thanks." With that, Mac returned to her work, determined to get at least one report finished before lunchtime. She did a remarkable job of focusing on her work for the next couple of hours, discounting the 5 bathroom breaks.
"Hey, babe" said Harm as he caught up with Mac in the hallway on her way back from the bathroom.
"Hey" she said. "You finished or just in recess?"
"Recess until 1:00" he replied. "You hungry?"
"Yeah" said Mac, "but I'm too tired to go anywhere."
"I'll run and grab you a sandwich if you want one" offered Harm.
"That sounds great, babe" she replied. "Turkey BLT on white?"
"Coming right up" he said with a sweet smile. He kissed her before leaving for the deli, and she returned to her desk to work a little more.
"Have you eaten, ma'am?" asked Harriet as she noticed Mac still working in her office when she walked past.
"Not yet" replied Mac, "but the Commander is bringing me lunch in just a few minutes."
"OK" said Harriet, "just wanted to make sure you ate."
"Thanks, Harriet" said Mac, "you're looking after me quite nicely and I appreciate it."
"No problem, ma'am" she said. As she returned to her desk, Harm stepped off the elevator with lunch for both he and Mac.
"Alright" he said, setting the bag and the drink carrier on Mac's desk. "Here's yours" he said as he passed a sandwich to her, "and mine's right here… Here's your drink, too. I got you caffeine free root beer."
"Mmm, I love root beer" said Mac.
Harm pulled a chair up next to Mac's desk, and they shared a nice, albeit hurried, lunch.
"How's the case going?" asked Mac as she took a drink of her root beer.
"I think it's easily winnable" replied Harm, wiping the mayo from his veggie combo off his mouth. "I swear, Singer keeps pulling things out of thin air. My word of the day is 'objection', and I think the members can see right through her showboating."
"I'm sorry you got saddled with this" said Mac.
"Ah, I'm trying to see the bright side of things" said Harm, "at least I'm staying busy."
"Good point" agreed Mac, polishing off the last bite of her sandwich. "Mmm, that was delicious."
"I'm glad" said Harm as he gathered their wrappers and napkins and shoved them into the deli bag. "I better head back, you need anything else right now?"
"I think I'm good for now" said Mac, "thanks though."
Harm gave her a kiss, then leaned down to talk to her tummy. "Hey little one, daddy sure could use an excuse to get outta court this afternoon, so if you'd care to make some noise, that'd really help me out." He kissed his fingers and laid them on Mac's tummy.
"Good luck, babe" she said as he left her office.
"Thanks" he replied with a smile, "same to you."
"It's not up to me" she answered, "but we'll see what happens."
She reopened the file she'd been working on before lunch and made a determined attempt at refocusing her attention on it. It was hard, though, since she felt like she was just doing "busywork", nothing that whoever would be taking over her caseload while she was gone couldn't handle.
"Forget this crap" she said to herself. She tossed the file back onto her desk and pulled a baby name book out of her top, right hand drawer. She and Harm had been going over names for 4 months and had managed to narrow it down from 26 girls names and 34 boys names to 15 girls names and 21 boys names.
"Maybe…maybe…nah…still like it…" she said as she went through the list she'd jotted down along the way and stuck inside the cover of the book. She didn't know which names were still on Harm's list, he didn't let her see it anymore, but she had a feeling they were going to end up choosing a name after the baby was born since it had proven to be a real challenge to settle on one beforehand.
"Let's see if anything new strikes my fancy" she said aloud to herself as she flipped to the beginning of the book and began glancing over the familiar pages. She was halfway through the "D's" in the girls section when…
"Ooooh…" She put the book down and held her hand on the spot where the pain had been. It went away quickly, and she waited for another, hoping it was more than just the baby moving around. After 3 minutes, she picked the book back up and continued looking through it. Eleven minutes later…
"Ouch!" The pain was in the same place, only this time it took her breath away. She kept her hand over that spot and silently prayed that this was finally it.
"Come on, little one" she whispered, "don't tease mommy, that's not nice. I'm not gonna pull daddy out of court unless I'm sure you're on your way, so if you are, let me know, OK?" Just then, Harriet knocked at Mac's office door.
"Come in" said Mac. Harriet entered and saw that Mac was holding a hand on her tummy.
"Are you OK, ma'am?" asked Harriet.
"I'm not sure exactly" replied Mac. "When your labor started, how long was it before you knew for sure it was the real thing?"
"Well, with AJ, not long at all" laughed Harriet. "With Jimmy, it was maybe an hour or so. Why?"
"I've had two really sharp pains in the same place in the last half hour" said Mac.
"How far apart were they?" asked Harriet.
"14 minutes" answered Mac, "that's why I'm not sure if they mean anything or not."
"Do you want me to go get the Commander?" Harriet asked Mac.
"No, not yet" she replied, "I don't want to pull him out of court and have it be nothing. Would you wait here with me and we'll see what happens in the next hour or so?"
"No problem, ma'am" said Harriet. "Let me go finish up one quick thing at my desk, and I'll be right back."
"OK" said Mac, leaning back in her chair and attempting to relax. Harriet returned a few minutes later and closed Mac's door behind her.
"Any more pain?" she asked.
"Not like the first two" replied Mac, "but yeah, a few twinges."
"Well, let's keep our hopes up" said Harriet, "this is the most that's happened so far, right?"
Mac nodded. "I really hope this is it, I'm so ready for this part to be over."
"Been there, done that, ma'am" agreed Harriet. "Has being pregnant been what you thought it would be?"
"I'm not really sure" said Mac. "It's been neat in so many ways, and scary in so many ways, wonderful, exciting, aggravating, challenging - it's definitely been an experience!"
"Can't argue with you there, Colonel" said Harriet. "I'm glad I got to experience it, though."
"Oh, me too" said Mac, "especially since I had to work so hard at - Oooohhh!" Another pain hit her.
"Ma'am!" exclaimed Harriet, "should I - "
"Go get him!" answered Mac in a painfully stern voice.
"Yes, ma'am! I'll be right back!"
Harriet ran back to her desk, grabbed a note that she'd written that morning, and headed towards the courtroom. She opened the door as quietly as possible and slipped inside.
"Please give this to Commander Rabb right away" she whispered, handing the note to the guard just inside the door. The guard nodded, walked to the front of the courtroom and laid the note on the table in front of Harm. He picked it up and read Harriet's words, "It's time!" , then, in the middle of Lt. Singer's questioning of an eyewitness…
"Excuse me, your honor" he said, "may we approach?"
"Now, Commander?" asked the judge.
"Yes, ma'am" he replied, holding the note up.
"Very well" she said, "approach."
"This better be good, Rabb" hissed Lt. Singer as the two reached the bench. Harm didn't even bother to look at her. He didn't have to clear anything with her, and he knew it.
"Can I assume, Commander" asked the judge, "that you've received word that Colonel Mackenzie needs you?"
"Yes, your honor" answered Harm, the note still in his hand. "It looks like we just might be having a baby today!"
"Very well, Commander" said the judge, "you're hereby excused and Lt. Roberts will take over as we discussed earlier. Good luck and congratulations."
"Thank you, ma'am" said Harm as he hurried back to the table, gathered his briefcase and cover and dashed out of the courtroom. Once out the door, he ran to Mac's office in record time.
"Hey babe" he said, tossing his things in the corner and kneeling down beside Mac's chair. "What's happening?"
"I'm having pains that hurt like hell!" replied Mac.
"How close together?" he asked her as he rubbed her knee.
"14 minutes between the first two" answered Mac, "then a couple smaller ones 12 minutes after that, and the one I had right before I sent for you was 11 minutes after those."
"That sounds like the real thing to me" said Harm, "what do you think, Lieutenant?" He looked up at Harriet, who was standing out of their way.
"I'd have to agree with you, Sir" she said, "I mean, they're still pretty far apart, but getting closer."
"When do you wanna head for the hospital, babe?" he asked Mac.
"The sooner, the better" said Mac as she pushed herself up out of her chair. "I know if we get there and it's not real labor, they'll probably send us home, but I really think this is it."
"Well then" replied Harm, "let's go." He grabbed his briefcase and cover from the corner and Mac's from atop her filing cabinet.
"Sir, let me get those for you" offered Harriet.
"Thanks, lieutenant" said Harm, and he handed her the pile. "You want me to go bring the car up or can you make it all the way out there?" he asked Mac.
"I'm fine, babe" said Mac as the three of them walked to the elevator. They put on their covers and made it to Harm's SUV with no problem. Once Mac was settled and buckled in the passenger seat, Harm took the briefcases that Harriet had carried out for him.
"Thanks, Harriet" he said. "I'll call you from Bethesda and let you know if this is it or not before you go all the way out there."
"Sounds good, Commander" she replied. "I'm so excited, though, I really think this is gonna be the day!"
"I sure hope it is" said Harm as he closed the driver's door and started the car.
"So" he said as they left the parking lot, "maybe last night and this morning worked after all."
"It sure looks that way from here" said Mac. "Even if not, it was a really ni- oh, dammit!" She laid her head back on the headrest and took slow, deep breaths as another contraction hit her.
"Just keep breathing, babe" said Harm, "I'll get us there as fast as I can."
A/N: Oh, this is getting exciting!