A/N: And here's the part you have been waiting for. I know it's bad that she is telling him over the phone, but Mac isn't good at keeping things from him. He usually knows when something is bothering her. I hope you enjoy it!
Harm calls the house that evening to find out how everything went at the doctor. He is slightly surprised when his mom answers the phone instead of Mac. He figures that Mac must be resting, but that would be unlike her at dinnertime. Immediately, he is on high alert. He starts rambling his jumbled thoughts, "Hi Mom. How was your flight? How did everything go at the doctor today? How are the kids? Where is my wife?"
Trish laughs as she tries to keep up with him before responding, "Hello, darling. My flight was ok, but I got in later than expected. Mac was already in the room for her appointment when I finally got to Bethesda. I was able to be with her for the ultrasound. Mac's a little out of sorts, but she didn't want to talk about all of it yet. We went out to lunch, and picked up the kids. She asked me if I could watch the kids for a little bit while she went to take a bath. The kids are currently finishing their grilled cheese sandwiches, and just so you know, Matthew informed me that I make them the right way. I didn't want to question her, and she really looked like she needed a little down time. I will go check on her in just a little bit."
A thousand thoughts start running through his head, none of which are good. He is cursing the fact that he wasn't with her today. He practically yells, "Mom, let me talk to her, NOW!"
Trish tries to placate her son by quietly telling him, "Darling, she wasn't crying so I don't think it's anything bad. I think she is just overwhelmed."
Harm is having none of the coddling. He needs reassurances for himself that Sarah and the baby are alright. He starts again, "Mom...go get her, NOW!"
Trish knows how Harm gets when he is concerned. His stubbornness matches her own. She relents, "Talk to the kids for a minute while I go check on her." She calls into the living room, "Trisha, Matt, your Dad is on the phone."
Harm isn't even going to question right now why they are eating in the living room instead of the dining room. That is definitely not something that him and Mac encourage. His children come bounding into the kitchen as Trish puts the phone on speaker so they can both talk to him. She tells the children, "You guys talk to Dad for a few minutes while I go get your Mom."
Trisha and Matt start telling Harm everything that has been going on the past few days. He tries to listen to everything while worriedly pacing in his hotel room waiting for word on his wife.
Trish goes upstairs and knocks on the bathroom door where she hears quiet sniffling coming from inside. "Sarah, honey, Harm is on the phone."
Mac leans her head against the bath pillow in the tub and sighs, "Trish, tell him I will call him back later tonight."
Trish calmly states, "I'm sorry dear, but I don't think that is going to work. I made the mistake of telling him I was concerned about you, and he is demanding to talk to you now. I sidetracked him with the kids for a few minutes so that I could come get you, but you know that isn't going to work for very long. He's having a hard time keeping it together at the moment."
Mac frustratingly starts to get out of the tub muttering under her breath, "I don't want to talk to him right now." She says a little louder, "I'll be down in just a few."
Unfortunately, Trish heard the first part also and now she is concerned as well. Whatever is going on can't be good. The doctor didn't say anything that should have caused Mac to be feeling this way. She will have to see if she can get Mac to open up a little about her feelings later tonight after the kids are in bed. However, if anyone can get Mac to talk, it's Harm. She tells Mac, "Do you mind if I take the kids to a movie to give you and Harm some time to talk?"
Mac steps out of the bathroom in her robe. She gives her caring mother-in-law a hug, "Thank you, that would be great. I'm fine, my emotions and thoughts are just running on overdrive."
Trish eyes her warily. Mac gives her a small smile and says, "I promise, everything is fine."
Trish releases her embrace and tells her, "I'll go get the kids ready while you get dressed."
Trish heads back downstairs and smiles as she hears her grandchildren still talking animatedly with their father, and Harm barely being able to get in a word in edgewise. She tells the kids, "Ok you two, tell Daddy good-bye and go get your coats. Your mom said I could treat you guys to a movie tonight."
Matthew, absolutely ecstatic, begins racing away from the table and shouts "Good-bye Dad" over his shoulder.
Trisha looks at her Grandmother like she is totally off her rocker, quirking her eyebrow just like her mom. She asks, "Mom said we could go out to a movie on a school night?"
Trish simply smiles. Her granddaughter already has those Marine instincts honed to a tee. "Yes, she wanted me to be able to spend some time with you guys."
Trisha thinks about this for a moment before agreeing. She isn't buying the answer her grandmother gives her, but she isn't going to look a gift-horse in the mouth either. "Ok, I guess I will talk to you later Dad, I love you." She turns to her grandmother and asks, "Can we go watch the new dragon movie?"
Trish tells her, "As long as your mother doesn't think Matthew is too young for it, yes we can."
Mac walks into the room and quietly tells Trish, so that Harm doesn't hear her yet, "Nah, Matt will be fine, he loves Toothless."
Harm chimes in from the other end, "I love you too sweetie, have a good time with your Grandma." He then adds, "Mom, have a good time with the kids, and please don't let them eat too much junk."
Trish waits until both the kids are in the other room, depresses the speakerphone button, and then quietly says, "Good luck darling, I really hope that everything is ok with you and Sarah."
Harm sighs, "Me too, Mom. Is she there yet?"
Mac comes to the phone, and very quietly speaks, "Hi, Harm."
Harm immediately wishes he was there to there to wrap his arms around his wife. She sounds so lost and alone right now. He hesitantly asks, "Baby, what is going on?"
"Hang on, Harm. Let me tell the kids and your mom good-bye, then I will tell you everything," Sarah explains. "Matthew, Trisha, come give me a hug and kiss good-bye."
Harm is inside his hotel room, pacing as he impatiently waits. In the time he has waited for her to come to the phone, his mind has wandered through all the worst-case scenarios and how he will best be able to help her and stay strong for both of them. Now that he has heard her voice, he is slightly less concerned, but he is still rather worried. She sounds so sad, but she isn't crying, so it can't be that bad. It isn't all that often that she lets her Marine façade slip this much, especially in front of people other than him. He hears the door close at his residence and braces himself for whatever news she will be imparting.
Sarah waits for the car to start before she heads back to the kitchen and sits down with an audible heavy sigh.
Harm sits down on his bed and quietly asks, "Sarah, what is wrong? What did the doctor say? Are you alright? Is the baby alright?"
All Harm initially hears is Sarah starting to sniffle on the other end. He jumps up and exclaims, "That's it! I'm calling the General, and asking for the first transport home. He can send someone else out here to finish the case."
Sarah finally finds her voice. "No Harm, don't do that. I'm fine, just a little overwhelmed. And the babies are fine too."
Harm is not going to be dissuaded. He is still extremely overprotective of his wife. He continues rambling, "You need me home. I'm sure the General can find someone to take over, I have the majority of the interviews done already, I just don't have the final missing piece of the puzzle. Someone else can finish this. I need to be home for you, and we will get through whatever we have to, together. We can go see the doctor and figure out what our next course of action will be." All of a sudden, her words begin to register, "Wait, you said fine, and did I hear you say babies?"
For the first time she was given the news, Mac really starts to smile. That silver tongue her husband uses all the time in the courtroom sometimes comes through at home, at the most unexpected times. Her Sailor is so cute when he gets on a rant. She can just picture him pacing the room, running his hand through his hair, making it stand up in all directions. If he still has his uniform shirt on, he has probably undone the buttons at the cuff and rolled his sleeves up. She waits for him to pause so that she can get a word in edgewise. She giggles, "Yes, Harm, I said babies, as in more than one."
In that instant, his heart relaxes, and his blood pressure starts to return to a somewhat level state. He has been running on pure adrenaline since he first called the house to find something wrong. He sits down on the bed happily, and lets all the air rush from his lungs. He is inwardly smiling that his intuition about this pregnancy being different than the first two was correct. He chuckles, "So I guess now wouldn't be a good time to tell you 'I told you so'? It's ok that we are having twins, Bud and Harriet went through this and everything was just fine."
Even though she can't see it, she knows his flyboy grin is firmly in place. That cocky aviator still shows through every once in a while. She rolls her eyes at his 'I told you so' comment, not willing to let him have the upper hand. Instantly deciding to put him back in his place, she mysteriously adds, "Try again, Sailor."
Harm laughs, "What? I did tell you that this pregnancy was not seemingly like the other two, and you didn't believe me. You just don't want to admit that I was right!"
She relents, "True, I will concede that you were correct on that point."
Harm mentally places a mark in the win column for the Navy, grinning at his victory! He thinks, 'wait a minute, she gave in too easily there, what am I missing?' He questions, "You don't think we can handle twins? Together, we are an unstoppable team, it will be easy!"
Mac chuckles at his bravado before realizing the ego boost she is about to give him. "Oh, I fully agree we are the Dynamic Duo. However, you are one short there, Squid."
Mac hears the phone fall to the floor on the other end. "Harm, are you still there?...Harm?" One mark in the victory column for the Marines. She really hopes he hasn't pulled a Tiner and passed out on the floor. She will give him a few minutes before she calls the hotel for a wellness check.
Harm picks up the phone and ekes, "Sarah, are you trying to tell me that we are having triplets?"
Mac sighs, "Oh Flyboy, I knew you let missiles chase you, but I had no idea that you could shoot them perfectly as well."
