A/N: Once again, PLEASE forgive the delay in posting. I'm still fighting the MS flare-up, and it's been a real dilly. I'm hoping to get back to weekly postings, but we'll see how it goes. Thank you all for being so patient with me, and for your continued interest in the story. I hope you like this chapter. :) Thanks to She'sAShipper for her buddy-ness and creative nudges. :)
Chapter 85:
Ainsley managed to cut her two top teeth in the next two weeks, keeping her parents awake nights for most of that time with sore gums and low grade fevers. Harm and Mac settled back into their routine and soon it was like he never left. Their love life suffered a bit to Ainsley's teeth, but they managed to still find a decent amount of time for physical love and affection.
Harm went to Dr. Kendall and had his test done. Much to his delight it came back normal thus allaying his silent fear that his back problems had affected him in that way.
Before either knew it, they were both back in the radiology department at Bethesda waiting for Mac to undergo her second HSG, a test that she was not looking forward to doing again (A/N: See chapter 5 for the first time she had this done. I had to have it twice myself.)
Mac lay on the table, Harm up near her head while she waited for the doctor to come in and do her test. She held tight to his hand, hers quaking a little. She remembered the pain from the last time and was not looking forward to doing it again. Strong prescription painkillers were not an option for her since she was nursing, so they only things she had to cushion it were Tylenol and will.
"You ready for this?" he asked, rubbing the back of her hand.
"No" she replied. "It hurt last time and I know its going to hurt this time."
"He said it might not be as bad" encouraged Harm. "He also said it depends on what he sees and what he has to do to get the pictures he needs."
"Hold my hand the whole time, okay?" Mac asked, needing to be reassured even though she knew he'd never not be there for her.
"You know I will, babe" he said softly. "You'll do better than you think. Compared to labor and delivery, this should be a relative breeze, maybe?"
"I hope so" she replied just as Dr. Kendall joined them. "Everybody ready?" he asked smiling.
"Not exactly" answered Harm with a little smile. "She's pretty nervous."
"You've done this before, Sarah" he comforted. "Piece of cake."
"Spoken like someone who's never been on this side of it" replied Mac, trying to laugh but finding it difficult.
"I'll be as gentle as I can" he assured her. "You want a chair, Harm?"
"No, thank you" he replied. "I'm gonna stand right up here and hold her hand, just like before."
"Okay, then let's get this done" the doctor replied.
"Yes, let's" agreed Mac, ready for it to be nothing but a bad memory.
Dr. Kendall began the procedure explaining the steps as he went along. "Here comes the catheter, Sarah" he told her. "Try to relax."
As Dr. Kendall began to ease the catheter up Mac felt her uterus begin to cramp, much stronger than she remembered it doing and lasting longer.
"Ow...ow...ow..." she said softly, knowing it was going to get worse from there.
"Ssh" Harm comforted. "I'm right here. It's okay."
"It hurts" she whispered.
"I know it does, baby" he replied. "More than last time?"
She nodded. "I think so, but I don't know for sure."
"Hanging in there, Sarah?" Dr. Kendall asked. "I'm ready to inject the dye."
"Go ahead" she said, squeezing Harm's hand even tighter.
"In five, four, three, two..." He counted off before injecting the dye into her uterus.
"How you doing?" he asked when he had begun to ease in the dye.
"I'm okay" she said, holding her breath unintentionally as she felt the cramping worsen as more dye was injected.
"You sure?" he asked noticing her body getting tense. "We're almost done."
"Yeah" she answered, "it hurts, but I'm okay." She looked up at Harm as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Harm reached and wiped her tear away. "I'm sorry it hurts so much" he whispered leaning down to kiss the track of her tear. Just as the doctor warned, "I'm going to get the pictures now, Sarah. Hang in there."
Mac lay on the table and continued to squeeze Harm's hand until finally the doctor announced "all done," and pulled the catheter out.
"That was pretty horrible" she said when the doctor had left and told her to lie still until she felt ready to get up.
"You did so great with it" said Harm, leaning down to kiss her lips. "You hurting a lot?"
"Mmhmm" she replied. "Much worse than the last time."
"Want some more Tylenol?" he asked. "Last time you took some right after and it helped."
"I'm not sure I can even move right now, babe" she replied. "Can you get some?"
"Oh, I know you can't move, baby" he said. "I didn't mean for you to go get it. How many do you want?"
"The bottle?" she asked with a small laugh.
He laughed to match hers. "Only if there are no more than 4 pills in it, my dear."
"You have no mercy" she sighed and placed her hand on her cramping abdomen.
"I do so" he countered as he fished the pill bottle from her purse. "I just refuse to let you take too much of this stuff, it's not good for you or Ainsley."
"I know" Mac sighed. "Think she did okay today?"
"Oh, I'm sure she did fine" he said as he opened her water bottle for her. "She's like a new baby since those teeth finally broke through."
"She is. Just to think what we have to look forward to with her molars and eye teeth." Mac sighed and moaned a bit in pain.
"I'm sorry you had to do this again" said Harm as he brushed her hair off her forehead with his fingers. "Hopefully, it's the last time."
"Hopefully" she sighed and pressed her face into his hand.
"How are we doing in here, Sarah?" the doctor asked as he came back in.
"Hurting" she answered.
"How badly? Just cramps or different?" he asked her a bit concerned.
"Really bad cramps" she said. "Not like labor pains, but worse than I remember feeling after last time."
"Okay, hang in there" he smiled. "Let me check you quick and make sure everything is okay, alright?"
"If you feel you need to" said Mac as she reached out for her husband's hand, "go ahead."
Dr. Kendall did a quick exam, being as gentle as he could be. "Everything looks fine, Sarah" he replied. "Just lie still for a bit longer, okay?"
"Gladly" she replied. "Did it go okay, the test?"
"So far, so good" the doctor replied. "Call Kacie and make an appointment for one week from now and we'll go over it in detail, but so far so good."
"Oh, I'm glad" she said. "I was a little worried that you'd find something."
"Nope, other than the normal uterine changes that occur with a pregnancy, it all looks alright, clear tubes, and all" the doctor told her. "Commander, I want you to make sure she rests tonight, nothing strenuous since this was so hard on her, okay?"
"I'll make sure she remains on 'princess status' the rest of the day" smiled Harm.
"Good" the doctor replied. "Take your time, if the pain gets worse or doesn't ease by tomorrow give me a call." With that Dr. Kendall once again left the X-ray room.
"Princess status, huh?" Mac asked. "And what does that entail?"
"Oh, I dunno" said Harm in a playful, sing-song tone. "Probably means you get to lie around, do nothing, order me around, you know, fun stuff."
"I do that all the time already" Mac teased.
"Oh, please, babe" he laughed. "You're one of the busiest people I know, but today you won't be. I'll take care of everything, including Ainsley, so you can rest and relax."
Mac smiled faintly then looked at him with very serious eyes, "I love you."
"God, I love you, too" he replied, leaning down to kiss her lips once again.
Mac returned the kiss then sighed against his lips. "I think I'm ready to get out of here. I want to go home and lay in my own bed."
"Let me help you up" he said, sliding his arm beneath her back. "Take your time getting dressed, don't hurt yourself."
Twenty minutes later Mac had managed to dress herself and left the hospital arm in arm with Harm. "This is going to happen" she said after they'd reached the car in silence.
"By 'this', you mean we'll have another baby?" he asked.
"Yeah" Mac replied. "I'm starting to feel better about it."
"I'm glad, babe" he said, reaching over to take her hand. "It's always nice to get good news; I know I always feel better about our chances after we hear something positive."
"Yeah" Mac sighed. "Me too. Let's go get our girl."
Harm dropped by Harriet's and true to his word shouldered all of the house and baby responsibility for the rest of the day, insisting that Mac stay in their bed with her feet up. When it was time to nurse the baby he brought her into Mac, and then burped her, bathed her, and put her down for the night. He was tired by the time he joined Mac in their bed, but it was just the kind of tired he wanted to be.
"You're beat huh?" she asked him as she snuggled in closer to his warm body. "She go right in?"
"Yeah, she did" he said, wrapping his arm around her. "She's so funny that way - sometimes she goes down with no fight, other times it takes both of us to get her to sleep."
"Thanks for everything you did today" Mac replied. "I feel better now."
"I'm glad" he said. "And you're more than welcome."
"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Mac asked.
"Doesn't matter" he said. "I'd love a boy, but how could I not get excited at the idea of another little girl, you know?"
"See, I knew it" she smiled and ran her hand up and down his chest.
"Knew what?" he asked softly.
"That you wanted a son" Mac replied. "I want to give you that. I want to give you the chance your dad never had."
He smiled at the idea of having a son someday. "I'd love to have that chance" he said. "But if it never comes my way, I'll be more than happy with what I've already been blessed with."
"Hey, I just thought of something we should do" Mac said enthusiastically.
"What's that?" he asked.
"We should take her to The Wall. Let her meet her Grandpa Harmon" Mac said. "Would you like that?"
"I'd love to" he said. "We didn't go on her first Christmas Eve because it was snowing to beat the band and she had a little cold as it was, but yeah, I'd love to take her soon. He'd be so proud of her, Mac. He'd love you, too. I know he would."
Mac smiled and snuggled closer. "Good. Have you given any thought to...to your quals?" she asked.
He sighed. "Yeah. I keep putting them off."
"You still intend to do it?" Mac asked.
"I haven't told Captain Hendricks to take me off the list permanently" he said. "But I...I don't know. That's why I haven't done anything yet. I'm trying to make the best choice from every aspect, and what might seem obvious to some folks who're on the outside looking in, isn't so simple on this side."
"Are you including me in that statement?" Mac asked. "I've made it clear where I stand."
"No, no, sweetie" he said. "I didn't mean you; you're right, you've made it clear, and most of the time that's the direction I'm leaning in, but...It sucks, the whole thing just sucks."
"I know" she sympathized. "And even though I prefer you hang it up, I'll support you no matter what." Mac placed a kiss on his chest.
"I love you" he said. "I'll make up my mind soon, I promise."
Mac nodded, "I love you too. How about some sleep?" she asked with a yawn.
"Sleep sounds...wonderful" he said, nestling his head a bit closer to hers.
Another week passed and all that while Mac had been saving up bottles for Ainsley in case Dr. Kendall said she had to cut back on breastfeeding. It was a Friday, ten days after the HSG and it was time for the result. Harm was nervous this time, while Mac remained calm.
"Relax, sweetie" Mac soothed. "He said it all looked okay at the hospital."
"I know" said Harm. "I don't know why I'm so nervous this time, there's really no reason for me to be."
"It's still cute" Mac replied. "I wish I had a camera to get your knee going up and down like that."
He looked down at his leg as his knee bounced up and down, over and over. Purposefully ceasing the motion, he looked at Mac and smiled. "I guess I just want this all to work out."
"Mrs. Rabb" the nurse called, "come on back."
Rising together, they held hands and followed the nurse to the exam room, a trip they'd taken many times in their quest to have Ainsley. A trip they hadn't missed.
Mac sat on the table, Harm stood at her side. They weren't long to wait before the doctor appeared. "Good afternoon, Sarah, Commander" he greeted.
"Hi" said Harm.
"What's wrong?" Dr. Kendall asked. "You seem tense?"
Harm smiled a little and shook his head. "I haven't a clue, doctor. I'm nervous as hell, and there's no good reason for it, at least none we can think of. Probably just my turn to feel emotional about this for a change."
"It would be nice if every husband we got in here could do that" he replied. "But you are right. There is no reason to be nervous. The HSG was perfect, uterus looks great, clear tubes...textbook."
"That's great" said Harm, very relieved. "So, you didn't find any new problems?"
"Nothing" he smiled. "She's in great shape as far as that goes."
"But...there's more to today's report, isn't there?" asked a once-again wary Harm.
"Unfortunately, the results of Sarah's latest blood tests are not as encouraging as I'd have liked them to be" Dr. Kendall replied. "Her prolactin levels are still high, her iron is still low, and her progesterone levels are off as well. You're going to have to cut back on nursing to get back on track, Sarah."
Mac sighed. "I was afraid of that. How much are we talking? How bad are my numbers?"
"Overall, not too bad as far as the prolactin and progesterone go. I would suggest laying off three feedings a day for now and see what next month brings. Your iron...Are you still feeling dizzy?" he asked her.
"No, I'm not" she said, "but cutting out three feedings a day? That seems like a lot when she only nurses 6 or 7 times in 24 hours."
"It's a suggestion" Dr. Kendall replied. "I feel at this point that is the best option."
Looking down at the floor, then over at her husband, she sighed. "Okay. If you think that's what I need to do, I'll give it a try."
"Okay" he replied. "I want you to try and eat a bit more red meat, at least twice a week and try some green leafy vegetables" he recommended. "Let's get that iron level up and that prolactin level down, okay?"
"I'll do my best" she said with a halfhearted smile.
"Good" he replied. "Take care of yourselves. I'll see you next month?"
"Yes, sir" said Harm. "Thanks again for everything."
With a wave and a quick smile, Dr. Kendall left them to see to other patients.
"Well, what do you think about all that?" asked Harm.
Mac forced a tiny smile, "It's not anything I didn't already know. You are going to have to find a way to get spinach into a Beltway Burger, Flyboy."
He smiled. "You'd be amazed what I can sneak into your food, my dear."
"Would I?" Mac asked preparing to slide off the table. "And what pray tell have you snuck into my food?"
"Oh, nothing yet" he replied happily as he offered her a hand. "But don't underestimate me." He smiled yet again and gave her a little wink.
They walked out of Dr. Kendall's office hand in hand. Harm could tell that the report had upset Mac but he chose to hold his piece for now. When she was ready she would talk to him, she always did.
The rest of the day went by relatively without incident except for Ainsley discovering that she - like her mother - did not enjoy spinach. The day, while easy, had been long for both Harm and Mac so they decided to turn in early. Harm actually suggested it and Mac knew why, he wanted her to tell him her feelings about Dr. Kendall's report, the only thing was she wasn't ready just yet.
"I'm going to take a bath, okay honey?" Mac asked.
"Sure" he replied, "take your time, enjoy it."
"You going to do your work out while I'm in there?" Mac asked. Harm had been sliding on his back rehab of late.
"I suppose I should" he sighed. "I'll be glad when I don't have to do it anymore."
"You always have to do it" Mac replied. "Stop complaining and get it over with."
"Yes, dear" he said with a mock sarcasm that he knew made her smile.
Mac sank in the tub and soaked, letting her mind run over her feelings from Dr. Kendall's report. Even though she wanted the second baby, she felt like she was cheating Ainsley out of her attention and that upset her. Still, she didn't want to talk about it, saying it would make it truer. What if Harm felt that way? Instead she was going to push him on another subject or two.
Harm was lying in bed reading when Mac came out the tub. He smiled at her.
"All clean now, beautiful?" he asked softly.
"Yes" Mac replied and slipped in beside him. "How many squats did you get tonight?"
"Three reps of twenty" he answered. "I need to get back on track; I've been slacking."
"You're supposed to be able to do five of twenty. Why did you stop?" Mac asked brow raised.
"Started hurting" he said. "Not too bad, but I didn't feel like risking it. I'll get better and get back up to 5."
"Where did it hurt?" she asked. She was still fretting constantly.
"Middle of my back" he said, tossing the book he'd been reading onto the night stand and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "It's no big deal; I just need to get back with the program, that's all."
"Does it still hurt? Want me to put your legs up or rub it for you?" she asked. She really didn't feel like being intimate but she'd rub his back if it were sore.
He pondered her offer for a moment. "Okay, sure" he finally said. "A backrub would be great."
Harm rolled over onto his stomach and Mac pulled back the sheet. She found the spot where Dr. Peddie had corrected the bad disc and touched it. "Here?"
"Mm-hmm" he answered.
Gently Mac began to massage the sore spot on Harm's back. She remained silent through out the fifteen minute massage, not even asking him how it felt or doing anything to arouse him whatsoever. Finally she spoke, "Mattie is still seeing that boy."
"I know" said Harm. "This is so new to me; I don't really know what to do. I don't like it, but if we forbid it, you know..."
"I think we need to have her invite him over here. I want to meet him" Mac replied.
"Me too" said Harm. "I don't like her being so 'involved' with someone we don't know, but it just kinda happened this time."
"It just kind of happens all the time" she replied and ceased her massage. "Better?"
"Mmm, much" he answered rolling onto his side to face her. "Crawl in here, babe."
"I'm good" Mac replied and reached up to turn out the lamp.
He was worried that her refusal to be snuggled against him was another indicator of her unhappiness from the doctor's appointment. "You doin' okay?" he asked softly as she climbed into bed but didn't get very close to him.
"I'm fine" Mac replied. "It's just been a long day. I'm kind of tired."
Harm sighed to himself and took a deep breath. "Mac" he said, "I don't want to push you, but...we need to talk about this. We can't go to sleep with this cloud hovering above your side of the bed."
"I don't know what you're talking about" Mac replied. She really did not want to pay lip service to her thoughts.
"Yes, you do, sweetie" he said gently, reaching his hand out to find hers.
Mac pulled back. "I don't..." She began. "I don't want to talk about this Harm."
He knew when he needed to stop, and that time was now. "Okay" he said softly. "Well, whenever you're ready, I'll be here." He leaned over to kiss her cheek before rolling onto his other side to go to sleep.
Mac waited until Harm was sleeping, or at least until his breathing evened out before she slipped out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. She had so much to think about, so many thoughts and questions and doubts running in her head. She roamed the house, thinking about all of the things Dr. Kendall had said, about having to cut back on feeding Ainsley and how her iron level was still too low. She thought about her fears, how they'd dissipated only to be replaced with stronger one. She found herself in Ainsley's room before she knew she'd even gone in there. She looked down at her baby girl, sleeping peacefully, her little lamb tucked against her side. It was then, with the nightlight shining on her baby's angelic face, that the storm broke.
Harm was sound asleep as Mac's heartbroken sobs came over the baby monitor. He thought he was dreaming at first, until he got his mind to awaken a bit more. As soon as he realized Mac was upset, he tossed his covers aside and rolled out of bed, knowing from the source of the cries right where to find her.
He turned the corner into the nursery and found his wife sitting on the floor with her back against the crib, knees drawn to her chest and her head resting upon them as she cried. He knelt down beside her and places a loving hand on her back. "It's okay, baby" he whispered.
"I'm a lousy mother" she sobbed to him not lifting her face from her lap.
"No, you're not" he countered gently.
She made a little squeaking sound. "Yes. I am. I want a baby so much that I'll..."
"Shh... Try to calm down" he said quietly. "Tell me what you're so upset about, what will you 'do' to have a baby?"
"Sacrifice one for the other" she whispered. "That's something my mother would do."
Harm was taken aback by his wife's reply. "I...I don't understand."
"Of course you don't" she replied. "You couldn't."
"I'll try" he said. "If you'll let me; explain it to me, sweetie. Please?"
"I have...in order to get our next baby I have to...to..." She started to sob again and hid her face from him.
It hit him what she was talking about. "Mac, baby" he began, "please don't be so upset about that. It was just a suggestion the doctor made; you don't even have to do it if you don't want to. You can keep feeding her as much as you want for as long as you want, and I'll be 100 percent behind you on it."
"That's just it...I want to listen to him" Mac cried. "I want to and that makes me feel so terrible."
He sighed and reached an arm around her back to pull her close. "It's okay to feel that way; to want to do whatever it takes. We felt that way the first time around, so it's natural to feel like that now. I know the situation was different the first time, but a lot of this roller coaster ride is the same no matter how many times you do it."
"You don't think she'll...think I've...you know..." Mac asked, her face set like a child's asking her father if he was mad at her.
He shook his head gently. "Not at all. Ainsley loves you, Mac. You're her mother and she knows that, and as long as you feel that you're doing the best things you can for her, she'll be just fine."
"Do mothers always know what's best?" she asked herself more than him.
"My Grams said something to my mom when I was a tiny baby" said Harm, "and my mom said it to me not long after Ainsley was born. 'Just do the best you can do for her, and let God fill in the gaps.' All you can do is go with your heart, Mac."
Mac leaned over and snuggled up to Harm. "I love you. You always know what to say and how..." Mac couldn't finish her sentence before Ainsley began to fuss in her crib. Mac laughed a bit.
"Guess we should've taken this someplace else, huh?" he asked as he kissed the top of Mac's head.
"She's hungry anyway. Want to get her a bottle, daddy?" Mac asked rising from the floor and reaching down to help Harm up.
"Do you want me to?" he asked. "I will, I just want to be sure that you're not avoiding the issue."
"No...I just needed to get that out" Mac replied. "You okay?"
"I'm fine" he said as he lifted Ainsley from her crib. "I'm still not convinced that you're okay, though. I think maybe we need to talk some more after the little one here has her snack."
"I'm really okay" Mac replied. "Honest."
He nodded warily. "Okay, well she's fit to be tied, so if you'll take her, I'll go get the bottle."
"Let's feed her together" Mac replied taking the baby from Harm and holding her. "Ssh, it's alright, baby. Daddy's going to fix your hungry belly. Yes he is."
Mac followed Harm out to the front of the house and sat down on the sofa rocking Ainsley. In short order Harm was back and Mac handed him the crying baby.
"Here we go, my little love" he cooed as he got Ainsley situated in his lap and placed the bottle to her lips.
"I love watching you do that" Mac smiled and played with the baby's foot as she ate.
He smiled. "I love doing it. Not sure why; I just do."
Mac remained silent and continued to play with Ainsley's feet as she sucked on her bottle.
"I guess we need to start getting her to take a bottle from you" he said to Mac as he looked into his daughter's bright blue eyes.
"Guess so" Mac replied. "You know what really sucks about this?"
He shook his head.
"Spinach" Mac replied. "All those veggies I'm going to have to eat."
"I thought you were more upset over this" he said, nodding towards the baby in his lap, "than over the diet."
"The diet is just another annoying thing" Mac said. "This…I could get used to watching you with her like this."
"I won't be doing this all the time" he said. "Plus you're still planning to nurse her as much as you can, aren't you? You don't have to just stop."
"I'm going to nurse her, but I'm going to have to stop eventually" Mac replied.
He could sense this issue, the one she'd been in pieces over, was as of yet unresolved. "Right" he said, "but you were going to have to stop eventually anyway, I mean you can't nurse her forever. Is...are you sure you're okay with this? Your words say you are, but I'm...I'm not feeling it."
"Yeah" Mac replied. "I was thinking I'd be a bad parent, choosing one over the other, but you fixed that for me. I knew you would" Mac smiled and reached out to touch his hand as he held the bottle.
"You could've told me how upset you were before I fell asleep" he said, looking into her eyes to show her his bruised feelings. "I'm here for you, Mac, but I can't help you when you don't talk to me."
Mac frowned. "I hurt your feelings."
He nodded. "I know you didn't mean to, but yeah..."
"Do I always have to tell you everything?" she asked. "I mean..."
"No" he answered as he moved Ainsley to his lap for a burp. "But if it's something big enough to land you in tears, I'd like to know what it is, and if it has anything to do with getting back into testing and treatment, I really want to be able to help you through it."
"This had nothing to do with treatments, Harm" Mac replied. "Nothing at all."
"But it did" he said. "It stemmed from what you have to do in order for us to get ready to go back into treatment, and regardless, it had to do with you and your feelings about a part of our daughter's life. I want to help you through this kind of thing, Mac, but you're the only one who can choose whether to let me do that or not."
"I'm just not used to it, I guess" Mac replied. "You say you'll always be there, but...I've had so many people break promises to me, Harm. I'm still not used to you keeping them."
He re-settled Ainsley in his lap and looked directly at Mac. "I'll never, ever break a promise to you, Mac. I love you way too much to ever do that to you." He knew they'd made huge strides as far as emotional issues went, but he also knew they had a good ways yet to go. He knew she trusted him on many levels, most actually, but when it came to matters of the heart, every so often, she'd still shut him out.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, honey" Mac replied. "How is she doing there?"
"I think" he said, preparing to hand the baby over to her mother, "that she's ready for bed."
"Good, cause mommy sure is" Mac replied. "Come on sweetie pie," Mac whispered. "Let's go sleepy."
Mac carried the baby to the nursery and gently placed her in the crib. "Good night, little girl" Mac whispered to her before she left to join Harm in bed. He was lying on his back when she came in and she climbed into bed and snuggled close. "Out like a light" she announced.
"I figured as much" he said, nestling himself against her.
"Forgive me?" she asked laying her cheek on his chest.
"Of course" he said softly. "I hate seeing you carrying anything that painful all by yourself. Promise me you'll start letting me in?"
"I can only promise to try harder" Mac replied. "And I do promise that. I will try."
"That's good enough for me" he said with a little smile.
"Ready to go sleep now?" Mac asked yawning. "We have a full day tomorrow."
"Yeah" he answered. "It's been a long day."
"I love you," Mac whispered as she let her body succumb to sleep.
"Love you, too, beautiful" he whispered in reply before his own eyes fell shut.
A/N: I'll TRY to get you the next chapter within a week, I really will!