An: So sorry for the delay in getting this sotry posted. I wasn't able to upload any documents for several days and could not even put up a small note to let you know about the problem. The problem is now fixed, so I'm going to go ahead and post the rest of the story, all in one go.

OOOO

Part 8

"You need help?" Harm asked, from beside the kitchen door.

Mac was preparing the veggies for a salad to accompany their lunch, but she'd nearly cut her fingers off a couple of times, because her mind was so preoccupied.

"I think you should take over," she set the knife down, "It's probably best if I weren't in charge of using the big kitchen knife."

Harm gave a chuckle, washed his hands and took over. Mac went back to supervising the pasta that was cooking on the stove.

"So, do you think they'll have gone in for their appointment, yet?" Harm asked, as they both tucked into their meal, twenty minutes later.

"Maybe," Mac supposed, "But you know how busy the hospital gets, this time of day. They might be delayed, a bit."

OOOO

Andy and Lainey's appointment had indeed been delayed, but only by twenty minutes or so, which was good for late-morning Saturday.

The doctor finally came to the door and called them in, after reading Elaine's case notes.

"So, it says here that the two of you are here today to see if your blood types are compatible to go ahead with a kidney transplant…What blood group do you have Mr…"

"James, Lieutenant JG Andrew James, Sir," Andy filled him in, "and I'm A negative, just like Lainey."

"That's good," the doctor approved, "Although blood types don't always have the be the exact same type, an exact match is a good thing. But you do of course understand that even though your blood types are identical, that does not mean that the Lieutenant will be suitable to be your organ donor. We will have to do a tissue-typing test, to make sure that your tissues match as well as your blood types. And sometimes, the recipient may carry some sort of antigen in their blood, which turns on the donor organ and thus the body rejects it…"

"That was the case with my Mother," Elaine nodded.

"But we want to try," Andy added, "We can only take the tests and see if we'll be okay to go ahead with the transplant."

"Of course," the doctor nodded, "I only mean to make certain that you are prepared for any eventuality, you understand…Ms. Hodge, I see that your tests in the hospital showed that you have no heart problems…That is good. You will need to have this checked every year that you are on dialysis. But I sincerely hope that this will not prove necessary…I wish the both of you the very best of luck. The nurse down the hall will take a sample of blood from each of you, then the tests will be completed as you wait. It might take a while, though…"

"That's no problem," Andrew told him, "and thank you, doctor."

They both shook hands with the man and left the room to go in search of the nurse's office.

OOOO

"Mommy," little AJ asked, from where he and Jimmy were playing with his friend, Jake, "Can we go to the park, today?"

"Not today, honey," Harriet shook her head, "Mommy would like to stay close to home, today. You remember that Uncle Andy and Aunt Lainey are going to the hospital for their tests, don't you? They should be calling any time, now, to let us know what the results are."

"What're the tests for, again?" AJ asked, for about the hundredth time since his parents had first explained it.

"It's to test and see if Uncle Andy can help Aunt Lainey get better, so she doesn't have to be sick anymore," Harriet explained, again, trying to keep her explanation simple enough for a four-year-old.

"And if Uncle Andy can help her, will Aunt Lainey be able to come back to work at JAG?" AJ asked.

"I hope so," Harriet nodded, "But that'll be up to Aunt Lainey. Maybe she might want a job where she wouldn't be so busy."

"I hope she does get better and comes back to JAG," AJ told his friend, "I can tell, my Uncle Andy really misses her. They used to be partners, you know…"

Harriet just smiled, as she watched over the three boys playing. Many children were lucky enough to be born in good health, but there were some, like Lainey, who had spent their childhoods going in and out of hospital.

OOOO

Elaine and Andrew had finally given up for the day and gone home, because the test results had still not come back from the lab. The nurse had promised to get back to them, as soon as the results arrived on her desk.

They sat down to watch tv for a while before they were to make dinner, but Andy kept finding his gaze being drawn towards the clock on the mantelpiece. Knowing this was a sure way to drive himself crazy, he escaped to the kitchen, to get a start on preparing the meal.

"Think you might want to eat a little early?" he asked Lainey, as she came in to get a drink of water.

"Sure," she glanced over at him, appraisingly then asked, "Couldn't sit still any longer, could you?"

Andrew chuckled, then pulled her into his arms, burying his face into the side of her neck and nuzzling her.

"It'll be okay," Elaine soothed him, running a hand up the back of his neck and through his hair, "The nurse will call back with the results and whatever they tell us, we'll just move on from there…If the tissue-typing is incompatible or the cross-matching is positive; we keep waiting and I just continue with the dialysis. If the tissue-typing is compatible and the cross-matching is negative; we start with the medication, the preliminary tests and the counseling sessions until the doctors think we're ready. You'll still have plenty more time to wait, either way, so you'd better start getting used to it."

"Yes Ma'am," Andrew gave her a mock salute and Lainey walked out of the kitchen, mumbling something along the lines of, "Good to know just who's in charge in this house…"

And Andrew didn't care; as long as she was alright, he'd give up any claim he had to responsibilities, if that was what made her happy.

OOOO

"Hello, Mac?" Harriet asked, as she heard the phone get picked up, "It's Harriet."

"Hey Harriet," Mac greeted, "I take it you haven't heard anything either…"

"No," Harriet shook her head, "Bud and I were hoping that you had."

"No," Mac told her, "they haven't been in touch with me. As far as I know, they were to wait at the hospital for the results, but their appointment must have been over hours ago. But if they're still at the hospital, they won't be picking up their cellphones."

"I didn't want to bug them," Harriet agreed, "They have enough on their minds without us calling them up and hassling them. I guess it's just a waiting game."

"I'm sure that they won't be too much longer…" Mac began.

She cut off whatever she was going to say when she heard the signal for the call-waiting.

"That's somebody calling, Harriet," she explained, quickly, "I'd better check…But I'll let you know as soon as I hear something."

"Thanks Mac, talk to you later," Harriet bid her goodbye.

Unfortunately, it was just the Admiral who, like Harriet, was checking to see whether Mac had heard anything.

OOOO

Lainey dropped her fork as the phone in the living room began to ring. She paused only momentarily before she rose to her feet and crossed the room to pick the receiver up.

Andrew watched her intently, as she had a quick conversation with the person on the other line.

"Uh-huh…Yes, that's right…You're sure about that?…And the other one?…I see…Okay, I'll do that, thank you."

"Well?" he was a little hesitant in asking, once she had returned to the table, "What were the results of the tests?"

"The tests," Elaine regarded him carefully, watching his facial expressions, "showed compatible and negative, respectively..."

Before he let himself feel anything, he checked, "I understand 'compatible,' but negative is what we were hoping for, right? For the transplant to be a success?"

"Yes," Lainey smiled, "That's what we were hoping for."

Andy didn't give himself a chance to think anything else, but stood up and swept her into his arms.

The phone-lines between the JAG staff were burning up that night, as the good news was passed around from person to person.

OOOO

Part 9

Three weeks later…

"Are you okay?" Andy asked, as he lifted the empty plate from the bed beside where Elaine was resting.

"Just tired," she assured him.

She'd had a mammoth session of dialysis that day; the process had taken the longest time yet. Although she was able to sit and rest while it was taking place, it still took an awful lot of energy out of her.

"Do you think you could give me my insulin tonight?" she asked her boyfriend, "I don't think I'll be able to hold the needle steady."

It wasn't something that Andrew enjoyed, but he wanted to help his girlfriend in any way he could, so he had learnt how to do this and had now become quite good at it.

"Where shall it be, tonight?" he asked, taking a look at first one thigh, then the other, then lifting up her shirt and examining the flesh of her smooth, taut abdomen.

"I stuck there, yesterday," Lainey told him, drowsily, "Left thigh, I think…"

Andy went and washed his hands, then removed the syringe from its case. He swabbed over a small patch with rubbing alcohol, then filled the syringe with the correct dosage and tapped out any bubbles.

"Relax," he told Lainey and she took several deep breaths and exhaled, trying not to tense up her muscles, as this would only make things more painful.

The pain was minimal when the needle first went in, but stung a bit while the insulin was being injected. Andy, however, had enough practice at doing this so that he knew what speed he was best using to deliver the insulin. As he pulled the needle out, Lainey pressed a cotton ball over the puncture mark, while he went and got her a band-aid.

"Thank you," she told him, once it was all done and her other medication taken, giving him a kiss and lying down on the bed as he climbed in behind her.

They both forgot about even getting changed into pajamas, they were so tired that they both went to sleep almost instantaneously.

OOOO

Two months later…

"You okay?" Mac asked, toweling off her hair as she left the bathroom.

"Yeah," Harm nodded, from where he still lay in bed, "Just wondering what's going on just now, is all."

"They're probably being prepped for surgery," Mac told him, "but I doubt the surgeon would be there, this early…would you like to give the nurse's station a call? I'm sure Lainey or Andrew's parents wouldn't mind telling us how everything is going."

"No," Harm dismissed, pulled himself to sitting, "we'd probably just cause more delay."

OOOO

The week had been stressful enough, but the surgery had been put back from the day before, because the surgeon had been pulled away on an emergency case. Even though the whole staff had thought that Lainy's case was a priority one itself, they conceded that it probably didn't exactly classify as 'emergency.' But one thing was for sure; she wouldn't be able to continue with dialysis for much longer, as it was becoming less and less effective. With the demands that it and managing her diabetes placed on her, Elaine now stayed home in between dialysis sessions and Andy had taken a leave of absence to care for her full-time.

The transplant being pushed back had been a bitter pill to swallow for the JAG staff, as it was now occurring during work hours and not during the weekend, outside of their time on duty. Several staff members had court sessions today, but had their beepers with them so that they would get the news from their colleagues as soon as it was in from the hospital.

"Coates!" Cresswell bellowed, as he returned from a meeting with the SECNAV, "Bring me some strong coffee and some Tylenol!"

The other staff members felt at least a little better after witnessing this, knowing that at least they weren't the only ones feeling anxious, today.

OOOO

"You scared?" Andy reached out of his bed and took his girlfriend's hand.

They were both ready for going down to pre-op, but had a few minutes while they waited for the anesthesiologist. Both sets of parents ( Elaine's parents and Andy's Mom and Stepfather) had wished them good luck and had promised to be there when they both woke up in the ICU, afterwards. They would both stay there to be closely monitored for at least a few days after the surgery.

"Why should I be scared," Lainey asked, "when you'll be there the whole time? You promised you'd always take care of me and…"

"And it's not a promise I intend to break," Andy finished for her.

"Besides," Lainey gave a small laugh as she eyed his chest where the blanket only half covered him, "I'm going to enjoy laughing when your Mother teases you about your bald chest! And hear her telling you off for scratching it when the hair comes back through…"

"I kinda like it all smooth," Andy joked, grinning wickedly, "It's kinky! Besides, I'm not going to ask where they might have shaved you."

"You'll never know…" Lainey told him, grinning mock-sternly, just as the nurses and a doctor came back to wheel them down.

"You'll be going first, Lieutenant," the doctor told Andy, "We'll bring Ms. Hodge straight down after you and you'll have a few minutes in pre-op before the anesthesiologist arrives to do his thing. We'll see you in just a minute, Ms. Hodge…"

"She's a Lieutenant JG as well, you know," Andy told his doctor, who raised his eyebrows, impressed, "Went through boot-camp and everything…"

"I 'was' a Lieutenant JG," Elaine corrected him.

"And will be again," Andrew added, "once all of this is taken care of. We're gonna have a few impressive battle-scars, too, you realize."

"I can just imagine you two showing them off at work," the doctor joked, to which Lainey replied, "Oh, don't think he won't doctor!"

They all laughed and then Andy was wheeled down the corridor, towards the elevator.

As they were separated for a short period, Andrew raised his fingers to his lips and blew Elaine a kiss that was meant to 'keep her going' for the next few minutes.

Elaine mouthed 'I love you' back to him, before he turned a corner and disappeared from her sight.

Elaine's nurses and team of surgeons arrived, just a few minutes later and she was on her way, too…

OOOO

Epilogue

"You alright, honey?" Andrew asked his wife as they sat on the blanket spread over the ground.

"Yeah," she nodded, "just a little sore."

Their wedding had been a very low-key affair, which had taken place while they were both still in hospital. Andrew had been about to be released, while Elaine had to stay there for a little longer and resume dialysis to help take the pressure off her new kidney, while they waited for it to get up to speed. Andy had decided that he'd give her something to look forward to, once she got home from hospital so had enlisted the help of his Mother in picking out an engagement ring. The lovebirds had caved within a few days and decided to hold a very low-key ceremony in the hospital chapel, attended by family, friends and co-workers. Since that day, the two of them had gone from strength to strength, and not just where their health was concerned.

Harm and Mac were the next down the aisle in a ceremony that was organized just after Elaine had been told her new kidney was now functioning at almost 100.

"Can I get you anything?" Andy asked, "Something to eat or drink?"

"No, thanks," Elaine thanked him, happy for now to stretch out in the sunshine and enjoy the life she had once assumed she would never have.

Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet were over by the barbecue, where Mac was showing Bud how to cook burgers without reducing them to lumps of coal.

"AJ Roberts," Harriet called out to her son, "Your brother is only five years old! I don't want you seriously injuring him until he's at least your age!"

AJ was wrestling with his youngest brother, born five years after him and three years after Jimmy.

"But that's still five years away, Mom!" AJ objected.

"I said no wrestling moves, Mister!" Harriet warned him again and he let Mark go.

Mark went off to join his twin sister Nikki, who was having a fun time in the sand, showing her 'little cousin' (Ashley Rabb was only one year younger, but idolized Nikki all the same) how to make perfect sandcastles.

"We've nearly got the burgers ready, kids!" Harm called them all in, fixing them to the specification of each child, "Come and get some wet-wipes for your hands so that you're ready to eat."

"Do you want a burger?" Mac asked, scooping her daughter up and proceeding to clean off her hands.

The girl just wrinkled her nose and shook her head, vehemently.

"That's your fault," Mac couldn't help but laugh as she accused her husband, "You've been poisoning her mind against the joys of red meat, haven't you?"

Harm finished dressing the last burger and put it on the plate that Harriet was about to bring over to the large picnic table.

"Hey, she just takes after me, that's all," Harm tried to talk himself out of trouble, "Some of us just don't like the taste of artery clogging animal fat…"

"Ar-tree cloggin' ani-muh fat…" Ashley mimicked him, with a smile.

This cut off any other excuse that Harm was about to give his wife, but Mac just laughed and took Ashley over to where Elaine and Andrew sat on the picnic blanket spread out over the ground. She saw Elaine shifting a bit uncomfortably and asked,

"Would you be a bit more comfortable at the picnic table, Lainey?"

Elaine shook her head, "No thanks, Mac. I'm okay," as Andrew moved in behind her, a leg on either side of her so that she could lean back and rest her weight upon him.

"Is the incision still hurting?" Mac asked, sympathetically.

"Yeah, but that'll be normal for the next few weeks. It's a pretty major surgery, after all," Lainey explained

"Yeah, but just look at what it got us," Andy pointed out, leaning to look over Elaine's shoulder, with a smile.

"I'll say," Mac grinned, looking down at her and Harm's ten-day-old Godson, who had been delivered by caesarean section, now safely settled in his Mother's lap.

"Jeremy Andrew James." Lainey spoke to her sleeping son, "You are our little miracle!"

Fin