A/N: Sorry for the delay- I am one of those non-essential, essential healthcare workers and like the rest of us, my world has turned upside down. I so appreciate all of your feedback and all of your patience between updates. If there is anything specific you would like to see, please let me know. I still have tons of content to post on this story, it's just a matter of cleaning up the chapters. Just a reminder, I know very little about adoption law, so I am going with what little I can navigate on the internet and making up the rest.
"I'm Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, this is my husband Captain Harmon Rabb, we're supposed to meet with the advocate for the Navy baby," Mac rattled off to the receptionist in the social work office.
"She's not here yet, ma'am. If you have a seat, we'll call you when she gets here," the woman replied politely. Mac nodded and allowed Harm to pull her towards one of the empty chairs lining the wall. Harm picked up a dated Time magazine and began thumbing through it.
"She's late," Mac grumbled under her breath.
"By how much?" Harm asked.
"47 seconds."
"Mac," he laughed. "I'm sure she's very busy."
"That doesn't mean she can't be timely," she crossed her arms across her chest, looking very much like a pouting child.
"Mac…" Harm started again.
"Colonel, Captain, she will see you now," the receptionist interrupted him.
"One minute and seventeen seconds late," Mac persisted.
"Mac, we need this woman to like us. Play nice," he whispered in her ear, gently pinching her side. She let out a little yelp and scowled at him. He raised his eyebrows, amused.
"I'm Lydia Franklin, I apologize for your wait, I had an unexpected challenge with one of my kiddos this morning," Harm's eyes cut around to Mac. She barely resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.
"Not a problem. Harmon Rabb, and my wife Sarah Mackenzie." The couple shook hands with the woman and took a seat in the open chairs in front of her desk.
"Newlyweds correct? I noticed until recently, the paperwork had all been in Col. Mackenzie's name. Capt. Rabb was a late addition." Lydia flipped open the file to check her information.
"Uh yes, long story, will that be a problem?" Mac fidgeted in her chair. Harm set a reassuring hand on her knee. She covered it with her own, her thumb running across his wedding band.
"No, not at all, in fact it may make the process easier. Unfortunately adoption judges can be somewhat archaic from time to time, modular families seem to have less obstacles. And finding a husband who was already a certified foster parent is just a bonus," the woman beamed at Harm.
"Oh, good," Mac murmured, squeezing Harm's hand.
"Now, I said less obstacles. This baby's situation is a little bit sticky," Lydia flipped through the folder in front of her.
"Did you find the lieutenant's advanced directive?" The last time Mac had spoken to him, they only had Commander Casey's advanced directive on file. Since the Lieutenant hadn't been deployed in sometime, they couldn't verify the relevance of hers.
"Both Lieutenant and Commander Casey's advanced directives leave no instructions about the child. Obviously the death of the mother was quite unexpected. To our knowledge there is no family. That is really not our concern at the moment." The woman shook her head.
"And what is the concern?" Harm wondered, feeling Mac tense beside him once again.
"The location of the child. As the child of two naval officers, he is an American citizen and therefore a ward of the state, we're still trying to sort out which one. So that's going to take a little time. And it states here that you intend to move him to California, correct?"
"That is the plan, yes." The marine replied.
"Interstate adoptions are tough, but not impossible. Luckily you are Military and that gives us a little bit of leeway. It would actually be easier if you intended to stay in London, but it is hard to argue with the Marines," Lydia chuckled to herself.
Harm and Mac shared a look. London was still an option. Harm hadn't turned in his papers. They were both on their allotted twenty one days of "adoption leave".
"Once we sort out the location issues, everything should be pretty straight forward. But it's not going to be a quick process."
Both perspective parents nodded. As fast as everything was moving, they realized it wouldn't continue on that way. It would be a hurry up at wait process, just like any bureaucracy. Luckily long military careers built up their endurance for such things.
"But all of that aside, I do have some good news. Should you decide to take him, you two have been cleared to be named as the baby's foster parents."
Mac gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Harm sent her a full wattage smile. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her so happy, and that included their wedding day.
"When do we sign the paperwork?" he asked.
Lydia's smile lost some of its warmth, suddenly going tight. "After you see him. I want you to be aware of what you're getting into. He's not a normal healthy baby. He is premature and needs a little more time to grow. But his prognosis is good and there's no reason he won't lead a completely normal life. But in the beginning, it will be a challenge."
"Ma'am, all due respect, I am a marine. Challenges are kind of our thing. I want this baby," Mac straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin ever so slightly. Harm bit back a laugh. She was not going to let anything get between her and this baby.
"That's what we like to hear, but we just want you to be sure," the advocate replied kindly. "Let's head over to the neonatal intensive care unit. You can speak with his care team and get a peek at him."
Mac looked at the baby, her face pressed so close to the plastic isolette that her breath left a fan of fog. His eyes were covered with a soft mask to keep the stimulus of the room from disturbing his much needed sleep and circular leads projected his tiny heartbeat onto the monitor on the wall. As the nurse had mentioned he was on oxygen and a feeding tube. They told her it looked worse than it was. He needed to be able to breathe on his own, gain weight, and keep warm. They were all tasks he would learn as his body matured over the next few weeks. Then he could come home. Home. With she and Harm as their son. Just the idea of it filled her with joy.
She giggled when she looked through the isolette and right into Harm's face. She could only imagine how silly they must look, studying the baby in front of them like he was some kind of item on exhibit. However, her breathe caught in her chest when she saw the absolute awe on her husband's face. It was the way he looked after a perfect carrier landing.
"Mac…" his voice was think with emotion.
Mac straightened up to look at him properly. "This is our baby, isn't it?" she asked softly. She knew it without a shadow of a doubt. This baby was meant for them. Harm only nodded. He reached for he hand over the top of the crib and intertwined their fingers.
"That's our baby," he said finally. Harm wanted this baby just as much as Mac did, but he expected it to take longer to feel the connection, the fatherly bond, but it was surprisingly immediate.
"When do we sign the paperwork?" Mac parroted Harm's earlier question.
"Let's go back to my office," Lydia smiled.
"Have you thought about a name?" The advocate asked. "We can't make anything official until the adoption goes through, but we can call him something other than Navy baby."
"Well we..."Harm started.
"Morgan." Mac interrupted.
"I…uh…"Her husband stammered, still caught on the sentence he was trying to finish. His brow furrowed, not expecting her to have an answer at the ready.
"It means Sea Defender." She added quickly. "Do you hate it?"
"Not at all," he chuckled. "It's fitting. Morgan it is," Harm confirmed with a nod.
"Dad, do you have a middle name?" Lydia asked.
"Mackenzie, after his mother," Harm responded without hesitation, winking at Mac. "Morgan Mackenzie Rabb."
"Rabb?" Mac leveled him with a glare, but her dark eyes were full of mirth.
"Colonel Mackenzie, some day you will retire and I will convince you to take my name," Harm grinned.
"Male Chauvinist," she snorted.
"Oh, you love it," he returned. Mac scowled at him. But she did love it. This family they were creating. It had only been in short quiet moments over the last nine years that she'd allowed herself to hope for just this. Their son would carry his name. Whether she would follow suit down the line remained to be seen. She worked hard to make Mackenzie a name she was proud of, it wouldn't be easy to part with.
After signing the paperwork, the couple was sent home. They would be officially listed as Morgan's foster parents until the following morning, thus were restricted from visiting until then.
Harm took Mac's hand as they made the short walk back to their hotel.
"We're parents, Mac. We have a son," he mentioned.
"A foster son," she reminded, afraid to get her hopes too far up.
"A son," Harm repeated. She smiled a gave his hand a squeeze. "And I have to ask, when did you come up with the name Morgan?"
"Promise not to make fun of me?" she asked.
"No, but tell me anyway," he teased. She rolled her eyes.
"The night we made our deal,"
"That long!?" Harm's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
"You remember, AJ kinda of gave us all baby fever for a while there. I just got to thinking about "what if?'" she shrugged.
"And you just happened to pick a name that meant 'sea defender'"," he chuckled, but then another thought occurred to him. "I guess it would have still been appropriate had you and Mick…" he added sourly.
Mac stopped walking, yanking Harm around to face her. "No. Morgan was always intended for our baby. I wouldn't have used it any other way," she stated. Her tone left no room for argument. Harm smiled and dipped her head to kiss her.
"And now Morgan is our baby," he whispered against her lips.
"Almost," she reminded again.
"It's just a matter of time Mac, he'll be completely ours soon enough," Harm assured her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.