A/N: The next few chapters might not feature Morgan as much, but more so Harm and Mac getting everything in order to bring him home. I literally just finished this, so apologies for any errors.

Harm leaned heavily against the isolette, watching the newborn. He marveled at the fact that that tiny human was a few signatures and a court day away from being his son.

"Did you want to hold him?" A voice asked from the door.

"Um…?" Harm's eyes darted between the baby and the nurse at the door.

"I'm Jill, one of Morgan's primary nurses. You're Dad, correct?"

"Yes, Harm," he nodded.

"Nice to meet you," Jill smiled. " I am going to change some of his lines and his bedding, so it's a perfect time to hold him if you're interested," she added.

"Oh. Ok, sure," Harm shrugged.

"Go ahead and wash your hands again and I'll get him out," Jill instructed. "You came on a good day, this is the calmest I've seen him," she made conversation while Harm scrubbed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I like to think it's because he has a name now. This world is tough enough if you have a name," she shrugged, untangling the IV tubing before disconnecting it and capping the end.

"Well, that's all my wife's doing. Apparently, she had his name picked out for most of the last decade," he chuckled.

"So you guys have been together awhile then," Jill mused.

"In a matter of speaking, but we just got married last week,"

"But how long have you been a couple?

"Ten days," he grinned as Jill's eyes went wide. "It's a long story."

"One I look forward to learning from both of you while we get this guy healthy and strong," she loosely swaddled Morgan, lifted him out of his bed, and set him in his father's arms. His tiny hands splayed for a moment as he was overwhelmed by the sudden environment change, but he settled easily into Harm's warm hold.

He felt tears prick the back of his eyes as he realized the gravity of the moment, of holding his son for the first time. The baby nearly fit in the palm of his large hand. This tiny human would grow into it to a walking talking person who would call him "Dad".

"Your first?" Jill asked, seeing the all too familiar look on his face. She wasn't going to assume that just because he was a newlywed, he couldn't have children from a previous relationship.

"Uh baby, yes. I fostered a teenager a couple years back," Harm replied absently.

"Which is admirable in its own right," the nurse mentioned.

"Yeah, but this…" his thumb ghosted Morgan's cheek.

"Is something different entirely," she chuckled.

"Harm?" Mac voice was full of awe as she watched her husband cradle their son. She set down the two paper cups she was holding a generously sanitized her hands before dashing to his side.

"Mac…" Harm felt a quick flash of guilt, wondering if he should have waited until Mac returned from her coffee run. But all of that disappeared when she pressed her finger into one of Morgan's tiny hands and all his little fingers curled around the digit.

"Harm, he's prefect," she whispered.

"I'm going to give you two a minute," Jill spoke up.

"Oh…what if…?" Harm panicked a little. He wasn't sure exactly how fragile Morgan's health was and he didn't exactly want to find out in his first few hours as his father.

"He'll be fine. He's still hooked up to his monitors, so he'll alarm if he's in distress. If you need anything else, just hit the call light. I'm going to go grab his meds," Jill insisted. "Sit down and relax. Enjoy your son."

"May I…?" Mac met Harm's eyes. She didn't want to end his turn too soon, but she wasn't sure how long Morgan would be in the mood to be held.

"Of course," Harm shifted the baby in his wife's arms, enjoying the delight that consumed her features. He kissed the boy's stocking capped head before taking a seat on the couch. It was only a beat later that Mac joined him.

"I was always afraid I would have trouble connecting with a baby I didn't carry," Mac whispered as she looked down at the baby in her arms. "but I was so wrong. I didn't know I could love someone so much."

"Oh Mac," Harm sighed, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I wanted to experience pregnancy so bad that I almost refused to even consider adoption. If I had, we wouldn't have ever…" she shifted her hold on Morgan, placing him across her lap.

"Hey, we're here and he's ours," he reminded, sliding his finger in Morgan's grip. "And if you want to try for another baby down the line, we can do that too."

"That would be a tough road. Tougher than the one this little guy has ahead of him," she breathed.

"Then let's shelf that conversation for the time being. Get our boy healthy and then think about the future," Harm suggested.

"I like that idea," she beamed up at him.

Suddenly, the room came alive with sound and Morgan began squirming in Mac's lap. Both parents looked at the monitor, trying to figure out what was wrong with the child. Harm flew to his feet, ready to hit the call light button, but before he got there Jill returned.

"It's ok, he's ok," she said quickly. She silenced the alarms and approached Mac. The Marine handed the baby over to the nurse. "Hey buddy," Jill crooned, assessing Morgan. "There's no need to get so agitated, it just scares your mom and dad." She adjusted the glowing band on his foot, turning to check the monitor, seeing his numbers return to normal. "He woke up a little bit and kicked his pulse ox off. That's why he alarmed," she explained to the wide-eyed parents.

"But he's ok?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. Unfortunately, probably done being held for the day though," the nurse mentioned, settling Morgan back in the isolette and starting to check his vitals and prep his meds.

"As long as he's ok," Mac shrugged.

"His overall condition his pretty stable. He doesn't have complications to underlying conditions, he's really just here to grow. How long he'll be here depends how long he takes to reach his milestones. He just gets agitated easily. My hope is now that he has parents and you guys start doing skin to skin with him, he'll get used to being held and out of his bed," Jill stated.

"We want to provide him whatever he needs," Harm replied.

"Good, I'm glad you guys are here. Please don't hesitate to come to me with any questions or concerns. I've been with Morgan since day one. He's special to me," Jill smiled.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it," Mac nodded, a bit overwhelmed by the nurse's kindness.

"No..." Mac muttered softly, rolling over in her sleep. Harm stirred, trying to decipher what woke him. "No, that's not true," Mac spoke again. He watched her for a moment. He wanted to see if she would settle herself back down before he attempted to wake her. He'd known for years she was a troubled sleeper but he'd yet to experience himself. Mind you he'd only been sharing a bed with her for a little over a week. "Stop it, you're lying!" Mac's cry in the dark startled him. Her gentle rolling back and forth turned into wild thrashing. He shifted closer to her, gently placing a hand on her stomach.

"Mac," he tried to wake her.

"You're lying," she repeated, her hand gripped his wrist. He recognized the strength in her hold, knowing if he went about this incorrectly, she could very well flip him onto the floor. He covered her hand with his free one.

"Mac, wake up," he stated firmly.

"No, stop it," she fought to get out of his hold. Taking a risk, Harm wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. She finally began to stir.

"Mac, you're safe," he murmured against her ear. "You're safe."

It took Mac a moment to figure out where she was. She was in bed with someone. Harm, her husband. Realizing it was all just a dream and suddenly feeling vulnerable, she tensed in his hold and tried to push away again.

"Don't, don't to that," he resisted. "It's just me, you're safe," he repeated, except this time was no longer telling her she was safe from her dream but instead was safe to be vulnerable. She allowed herself to relax against him, taking a deep full breath.

"It wasn't real," she said finally.

"No, it was just a dream," he reminded, stroking a hand up and down her back.

"No, in my dream...this wasn't real. You, me...Morgan...they were trying to convince me..."she corrected, her fingers tracing the bulk of muscle across his shoulders, still trying to prove to herself he was actually there.

"Mac, look at me," Harm requested. She shifted out of his hold just enough to see his face. "Hi," he grinned.

"Hey, she breathed, her lips quirking into a smile.

"I assure you this is very real," he started grabbing her left hand with his. "We have the rings to prove it." A thrill rolled up her spine like it did every time she saw the ring on Harm's hand. She knew there was no other woman in the world who could tie him down the way she had.

"You're only this way with me," she whispered, mirroring an old conversation.

"Only with you," he assured her, kissing her softly.

He tucked her back against is chest, hoping she would settled down and nod back off, but the tension in her lithe form told him otherwise. "What's got you spooked?" he spoke against her hair.

"I was thinking about Morgan," she admitted.

"You heard what Jill said: he's stable, he just needs to grow," he reminded gently

"I know, it's not that. I was thinking about how he spent two weeks on this earth without a family or even a name," Mac explained

"Mac…" Harm started, but was cut off.

"And how he ended up so alone. And it made me think of how alone I've been most of my life and despite our little JAG family, that feeling didn't really go away until I married you," she continued.

"Mac, you were never alone. For the last decade, you've been a very important part of my life, even when I made you feel like you weren't. Ninety percent of the time I would have dropped everything for you, if you just asked and the other ten percent, I will spend the rest of my life making up to you. You, Sarah Mackenzie will never be alone again, and neither will Morgan. You both have a family now, one to call your own," Harm replied adamantly. He had seen her abandonment issues exhibit in many ways over the years but never so directly. He had no idea she'd felt alone all those years. He made himself a promise to make sure she never felt that way again.

"Thank you," she whispered, burying her face in his neck.

"I will repeat it anytime you need to hear it," he promised. "Now try and get some rest," he urged, his hand drawing slow circles on her back until he felt her body go lax.