He met up with Loren at her car.

He put his things in the trunk and turned to explain to her. "I told Tiner that you were sick again and that I'm taking you home, so it would be better if they saw me driving. As soon as I can, I'll pull over and you can drive if you feel up to it. I know it's not easy to trust somebody with your own car."

Loren nodded and handed over the keys "That's okay, I'm not up to driving. I feel miserable and I'm tired. You drive. I know who you are and I'm a lawyer so I can sue you if you trash my car."

Harm laughed at that. It was good to see her joking. It meant she wasn't letting their situation beat her down. He moved to her side and opened the door for her. She graced him with a small smile and got in. He shut the door, went around the car and got in himself. She gave him her address and off they went.

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An hour later they entered her apartment.

It was a good thing Loren wasn't driving as she was sick once more on the way there. Harm felt helpless since he couldn't do anything more than just hold her hair from her face and rub her back. When she was finished he gave her a tissue so she could use it. She nodded thankfully and used it, then made her way towards the car. When Harm noticed how wobbly she was on her feet so he quickly jumped to her side and supported her. Lack of sleep, stress, pregnancy and vomiting took almost everything out of her and she was unsteady on her feet due to exhaustion and depletion of energy.

When they got into her apartment she quickly went into her bedroom to change into her off-duty clothes, while Harm waited for her, sitting on the couch.

He heard the shower come on, obviously she felt like she needed to feel clean after the day she had. He glanced around her living room, feminine, but not frilly. Just the way he liked a woman.

After a while she came out, wearing a Navy sweatshirt and sweatpants, thick woolly socks on her feet. She looked so warm and soft that he suddenly had the insane urge of wanting to cuddle her. 'Later. First we have to talk.'

She was all business when she sat next to him and asked "So, what do we do now?"

He looked at her, pondering his answer. She pressed on. "Harm, we've broken the frat regs. You know them as well as I do. No dating or sexual relationship are allowed. And we definitely had sex. There is a proof of that in here and it can be used against us. If I decide to go forth with this pregnancy."

Harm stared steadily at her. "I won't interfere with your decision if you'll decide to abort. I've always believed that only the woman herself has the right to make decisions about her body and her life and no-one, not anyone else, nor the Church and not even the government, has the right to tell her what to do. But if you are interested in what I would like, then know that I would like you to go forth with this pregnancy."

Loren rose to her feet angry. "That's easy for you to say! You got me pregnant and now your role is finished, while I have to go through the vomiting, the swelling, the tender breasts, the exhaustion, the mood swings, the disgusting-food cravings, the back-aches,... Oh, yeah, let's not forget the labor!"

Harm said quietly. "You don't have to go through it alone."

Loren threw her hands up in the air. "What. You intend to move in with me and hold my hand while I puke my guts out into the toilet?"

Harm rose to his feet also and stood before her, looking her in the eyes. The seriousness in his expression made her nervous. What he said next stunned her into silence.

"No, I intend to marry you."

Loren was too stunned to even react for a few minutes. All she could do was stand there, with her mouth opening and closing, but nothing came out. After a few minutes she finally managed to break through her stupor and he prepared himself for her next words.

"YOU WHAT?"

"I want to marry you." he said calmly.

"We've had sex once and you're talking about marriage? Are you crazy?"

Harm finally lost his cool. "Will you please stop screaming and listen to me?"

With a huff she sat down and crossed her arms over her breasts. Her pissy silence told him she was waiting for him to say what he had to say.

"Okay, I know it sounds crazy to get married immediately. But if you decide to proceed with the pregnancy know this. The last 3 generations of Rabbs have all grown up without their fathers. I grew up without mine, my father without his and my grandfather without his. I'm not willing to let any child of mine grow up without me being it's full-time father. AND I want to give my child a real family. Which means you, me, wedding rings and a marriage certificate. Nothing less."

"Wow" she whispered "You really are serious, aren't you?" He just looked at her, saying nothing, his silence doing the talking.

When she was silent for a while he continued. "Besides, do you know any other way that wouldn't have us court martialled? You know that only marriages are allowed."

She had to admit he was right. But that still didn't mean she was willing to tell him so.

"So, what? You intend to marry a woman you don't love, because you got her pregnant? You intend to tie yourself to me for the rest of your life?" What she really meant was what would happend when he got tired of her and didn't want her anymore or when their child grew up and became independent? Would she suddenly find herself alone at 50 years of age? No life partner and the child independent, not needing her anymore? It's already hard to find a good life partner while young, people at over 50 have only a small chance of succeeding. She didn't want that to happen to her. She'd rather raise their child alone and hope to meet someone who would truly love her and want to commit himself to her for life despite her being a single mother, rather than marry someone who doesn't love her and would just leave her when their child became independent and their family and marriage thus lost it's glue. His voice broke her out of her thoughts and fears.

"No, I plan to marry my soulmate."

Loren snorted rudely. "Soulmate, yeah, right. Where did you get that crap from?"

"The buzzing told me."

That stopped her cold. When she recovered she tried to manipulate what he said because she was afraid that he was right. Right about them being soulmates.

"What buzzing? Don't tell me you're starting to hear voices."

Harm knew what she was doing and wasn't about to let her. "The buzzing that you are hearing also. You know, the faint, constant, comforting buzzing at the back of your mind."

Loren conceded defeat. "It's not buzzing yet, just something similar."

Harm nodded understandingly. "I know. It's still developing. But with time it will be real."

Loren looked up at him. "What does it mean? Why do we hear it? Why do I hear it?"

Harm looked down guiltily. "It's because of me. It's said that when a Rabb makes love to their soulmate they create a bond and the buzzing is the awareness of the other's life force. By it being there you know if your soulmate is alive and well. It only stops when your soulmate dies. I can also hear a second buzzing."

"A second one? Have you been going around having sex with someone else?" Her possessive tone surprised him pleasantly. It meant she did care and thought of him as hers.

"No, the second buzzing is for our child. You'll hear it too eventually. That's how I knew for certain that you are pregnant." Her eyes softened at his words and her hands moved instinctively towards her abdomen, as if to protect their unborn legacy. His hands covered hers on her still-flat belly and their fingers intertwined. She hung her head and spent a long time watching their hands.

Finally a whispered "Okay." was heard.

Harm ducked his head down, trying to catch her gaze and asked "Okay?"

She met his eyes dead on. "Okay. Let's get married."

Harm's face broke out into a grin. Loren quickly interrupted. "But Harm, know this. You are marrying me for life. There will be no divorce, we will work out any problem immediately or work on working it out until we succeed. There will be no affairs, no wandering eyes, no evoiding responsibility in your part of the marriage, you will pull your weight around here, you will open jars for me and most important of all, remember that you are mine, and only mine, for the rest of your life. I will accept nothing less and you will promise me all these things now and I expect you to keep them for the rest of your life. If you break one of them, I swear, I will make your life a living hell. And believe me I can do it. I'm namely a lawyer."

Her determined gaze told him exactly how serious she was about this and he knew life was never going to be the same again. He couldn't wait for it to happen. He knelt down on one knee before her and pulled a ring from his back pocket. The ring he'd been carrying around everywhere with him for the past several days.

"I promise all the things you have just said, along with my promise to be the best husband and the best father I can possibly be. I will take my responsibilities seriously and I swear and promise you to always keep them. I also promise to make you and our children happy for the rest of our lives. I will always be faithful to you and cherish you until my dying breath. So, will you be my wife?"

Loren's eyes were overflowing with tears from hearing his vows and from seeing him on his knee before her. She held out her left hand and said. "Yes."

Harm let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in and with the biggest grin anyone had ever seen he slid the ring on her finger.

They exchanged a chaste, brief kiss, so unlike the hot, passionate ones from their one night together.

Then he climbed up on the sofa and they sat in silence, holding hands, contemplating what had just happened.

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