A/N: Chapter 2 and 3 are shorties, so I am posting them back to back. I need to add a little more to Chapter 4, but it should be posted this week some time. :) I'm glad you are enjoying this story! (Also, I know next to nothing about the adoption process, so please excuse my creative license)
"Mac…"Harm started as he watched his new wife dig through her suitcase. Since the coin toss at McMurphy's he felt like someone had hit fast forward on his life and had yet to let up. A week ago, he was moving to London to take up his post as force judge advocate for Naval Forces Europe. Now, he'd made it to London, but for reasons almost completely separate from the Navy. In the meantime, he'd gotten married, prepared himself to move to San Diego with his new wife, and written his resignation papers. He'd only been disappointed by the result of the coin toss for a moment. The familiar tug of the Navy beckoned him, but all it took was one look at the beautiful woman in his arms to dispel that feeling. He'd given it all up for her once before; and he now realized he would do it over and over again if it meant he got to spend the rest of his life with her. But that hardly mattered at the moment. She never reported for duty and he had yet to resign. Those plans were on hold in lieu of a more pressing need: A baby in need of parents.
He could hardly believe he was sitting in a hotel room in London, freshly married to Lt. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, waiting to go meet a little boy who would hopefully bear his name. He was so afraid it was all a dream he was going to wake up from at any moment. But in order to wake up, one actually has to sleep, something he nor Mac had done in days.
"Mac..." he tried again, noticing his wife had obviously found what she was looking for in her suitcase and moved to the small desk near the window where she was currently organizing paperwork. She continued to ignore him. "Sarah." He switched tactics, knowing her given name held more weight. Finally her dark eyes flicked up to meet his. "Please come get some rest," he urged.
"I'm fine, I slept on the plane," she replied with a dismissive shrug of her shoulders. He was too tired to hold back the bark of laughter. She leveled him with a glare, but he brushed her off. There was no heat behind it. They both knew she was lying. She had been restless the entire flight. He could feel her practically vibrating with nervous energy in the seat next to him. She set the papers down and stood from the desk. "I want to see him, Harm," she admitted.
"I know, and so do I. But we don't meet with his advocate until tomorrow morning. There is nothing we can do to expedite that, so we might as well get some sleep," he mentioned gently, watching her fists clench and unclench. She was a Marine, unused to unmovable obstacles. "Just a couple hours of rack time," he pleaded, opening his arms to her. With another heavy sigh, she surrendered. She shuffled across the room and crawled onto the bed next to him.
Mac laid her head on Harm's chest and tried to let some of the tension out of her body. She would feel better once she set eyes on the baby. They submitted the paperwork for temporary guardianship to the child's advocate before they even left the US. The paperwork had been filed with the appropriate authorities and they would find out tomorrow if they were approved. From there they would start the official adoption process.
"Harm?" she asked softly. She knew he hadn't nodded off yet, but was close. She felt his hummed response rumble through his chest. "Do you think he's our baby?"
Harm heard the worry in his wife's voice. In a strange way, it filled him with warmth. He was one of a privileged few who were allowed to see her vulnerabilities, and it'd been that way since they'd met. He'd been less willing to return the favor, but she had her ways of getting past his walls. "Of course he is," he replied automatically. There was very little doubt in his mind.
"How can you be so sure?" she asked, lifting her head to meet his eyes.
"He's the son of a naval aviator," Harm grinned. He was pleased with himself as he watched her fight off a smile.
"Harm, be serious," she admonished, burying her face in his shoulder to stifle her laugh.
"What are the chances you get the call less than a week after we get married? He's meant for us, Mac. I told you fate could keep us together forever. Now it's going to make us a family." He amended, knowing she would be more satisfied with that answer. However, for him, his first answer was more accurate. The fact that he and this child were both sons of fallen aviators touched his soul. It was his own personal sign that fate had a hand in this. "Any more pressing questions?" he asked, the last word nearly disappearing in a yawn.
"No, that's enough for now Flyboy, you've earned your sleep," she chuckled.