To London With Love

by Nix707

Harm and Mac part ways only to meet each other a year later through a twist of fate. But will fate be able to keep the two together, or tear them eternally apart?

20. Here Nikki Nikki

A/N: Guys, I'm so sorry, but I can't find the real chapter twenty so . . . I don't think it was absolutely crucial to the plot. I kind of remember what was in it, and I think I can carry on without it so, let's just pretend it never happened, okay?

Here, Nikki Nikki . . .

1137

Copps Coliseum

Harm's POV

"Okay, ladies, gents, and felines, out of the car," I jammed my thumb at the door as I pulled the van into the coliseum parkinglot. Mac swiftly exited the passenger seat and opened up the right rear door to lift Mitchell out of his car seat as Jimmy and AJ both struggled with their seatbelts.

"Alright, Harm, when does the first activity start?" Mac asked as soon as we'd entered the building, each carrying a twin in one arm and holding a hand of one of the older Roberts children in the other.

I checked the brochure, letting go of Jimmy's hand for a second. "Twenty-five minutes," I said, shifting Nikki up onto my left shoulder. "Right now, the top team should be down in the ring preparing themselves. I guess that's where Zach and Terry are."

"Okay, but first we've got to drop the kids off at the Child Care," Mac said reasonably. She turned to look around. "Does it say on the brochure where it is or are we going to have to go on a little treasure hunt?"

"I like treasure hunts," AJ said solemnly.

"That's nice," I replied briefly. My eyes scanned the flier. "Yeah, the Child Care Center's over this way – the hall to our left." I turned back to AJ and Jimmy. "Hey guys, while Aunt Mac and I are doing some adult business, you guys get to go a little play center. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yes," AJ replied with Jimmy nodding vigorously beside him.

"Okay, then team, let's go," Mac commanded as we walked down the left hall towards the 'CHILD CARE' sign. I heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps today wouldn't be as hectic as I thought it would. Perhaps everything would run smoothly. Terry and Zach would maybe make the quarter finals, the kids would have a blast in the playroom, and hopefully be worn out by the time Mac and I came to pick them up. Yes, everything would be smooth sailing.

"Hi," I said as we approached the front desk of the Child Care Center. "I'm Captain Harmon Rabb and –"

"Yes, yes, you're here for that little competition they've got going and you want to drop your younglings off for the afternoon," the woman at the desk rattled off. I just stared at her. Evidently she'd been working here a LONG time.

I cleared my throat, "Um, yes. Where is it I sign up?"

"Clipboard," she said monotone, gesturing at the clipboard on the desk in front of me. "Um, okay," I said slowly, signing my name on one of the lines. "Do I just . . . um, put them inside the room?"

The woman nodded, preoccupied with her cell phone. I rolled my eyes and Mac and I entered the care center room. And what met our eyes shocked us. There were three people, barely out of high school – it seemed – and there were kids ALL over the place. Paint was splashed on the floor – still wet – and kids were trampling through it throwing things at each other. The instructors were powerless to stop them. Screams – both shrill and pained – met our ears and I felt myself externally wince.

"Oh, hello," one exhausted looking teen came up to us. "My name is Jerry, and I'm one of the instructors here." He offered his hand to me which I foolishly took, my palm immediately soaking it with blue paint.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Jerry apologized throwing me an already paint-damp rag to wipe my hands off with. "One of the kids just decided to do a little finger art. We were really powerless to stop in." He flashed me a guilty smile as one of the kids threw a little plastic truck at him and it bounced off his forehead. "Anyways," he continued, bending over to look at the kids. "Who are these little angels?"

Mac's voice was strained. "This is AJ, Jimmy, Nikki, and Mitch."

"Well, aren't you a cutie?" Jerry cooed, and forgetting his hands were paint covered, pinched Nikki's cheeks, immediately placing two blue fingerprints on her creamy white skin. I sighed, my voice almost estranged from my throat as Jerry immediately apologized and reached to wipe Nikki's cheeks with the paint soaked rag.

I groaned, "Thanks, Jer, but I think we can take it from here."

"Oh, of course," Jerry nodded insistently. "So, when will you be by to pick up your kids?"

I opened my mouth to give Jerry a time but felt a sharp tug on my collar knock the breath out of me. "Hey, Harm," Mac said through gritted teeth. "Could I talk to you in private for just a second?"

"Uh . . . sure," I said in response and then flashed Jerry an apologetic grin as I walked over with Mac to the corner. "What?" I asked as she nailed me with a stern glare.

"Harm," Mac's whisper was pressed. "We can't leave the kids here with these fools! Look," she pointed as some boy – maybe four years old – ran past us stark naked with blue paint caked to his buttocks. "I'm sorry, but I'm NOT having FOUR kids coming home with us looking like THAT."

"Aww, Mac, it's only for a couple of hours . . ." I whined but Mac's glare just continued to rise in ferocity. "Okay, okay," I relented, my hands rising in self defense. "But then what do you propose we do with them?"

Mac shrugged her shoulders. "They can just stay with us, can't they? I mean, as long as they're quiet I don't see why it would be a problem."

I released a strangled sigh. "Ngh."

"Harm . . ." Mac trailed.

"Are you very sure we just can't leave them here?" I whined. I had kind of been counting on being alone with Mac this afternoon. Alone, if you excluded the hundred or so people that would also be in the room with us. I don't know why I was so keen on it, but it had just suddenly struck me last night as I was leaving her hotel that I only had one more week with her before she'd return to San Diego and I wanted to make the most of it.

"Harm, we are NOT leaving our godchildren here to . . . run with the wolves," Mac said as the four year old streaker zipped past us followed by Jerry & Co.

I sighed, "Fine."

"Alright then," she said. We walked back to where the kids stood, both fascinated and disgusted with the sight before them. I had to grin at Jimmy's awed expression. He looked exactly like Bud did on that beach in Sydney. Dumbstruck.

Mac shot me a curious glance as she picked both twins up, "What are you grinning all idiotically for?"

"Nothing," I replied, deciding the Bud-scene had been repeated more times than I could count. I immediately wiped the smirk off my face. "Now let's get going or the Admiral will have our asses for tardiness."

Mac rolled her eyes as we rushed down the hallway. "Don't you think it's sad that we're still so threatened by the Admiral and he's not even our CO anymore?"

"I think he's just a very threatening man in general and we have nothing to be ashamed of," I replied with a smirk as we opened up the doors to the theatre ring, immediately greeted by two very familiar voices.

"Bout time you showed up," the General said roughly. He looked down at the four kids that accompanied us. He sighed, "Romantic weekend for the Roberts, I'm assuming?"

Mac nodded. "We're babysitting."

"And what's that?" the General pointed at the pat transporter box I'd set down beside the fold out plastic seats we were to sit in.

The Admiral smiled grimly. "Albatross Wallace." The General flashed us all bewildered glances.

"Don't ask," we said simultaneously.

The Admiral shook his head. "Well, Gordon and I are going to go to the opposite hall where they've got a big board of Battleship going. We'll be back for the beginning of the first round. Kay?" he asked.

"Yup, sure," I nodded as the General and Admiral began to walk away. I flashed a shaky grin at Mac. "So, where are our young prodigies?"

Mac sighed, leaning over the edge of the rail. She squinted for a moment and then, "There they are!" She pointed down at the rink where I could just spot two shaky teens fighting over a water bottle. I sighed. True Zach and Terry style.

"Hey, kids, wrap it up," I ordered and untangled their hands from the water bottle. Zach's scowl at me was short lived due to Terry's sudden squeal of excitement.

"Oh my gosh, you've got babies!" Terry shrieked. She fled over to Mac who was holding Mitchell. "I didn't even know you and the Captain were together, let alone had kids!"

I cleared my throat kind of nervously, trying to spare as much of an embarrassing moment as I possibly could. "Um, the kids aren't Mac's – Colonel Mackenize's and mine. They're a friend's of ours."

Immediately, Terry's cheeks flushed pink. "Oh," she whispered, sharply elbowing Zach in the ribs as the undeniable grin of him partner's embarrassment flushed onto his face.

"Ow," he muttered, elbowing her back.

"Quit it, you two," Mac said annoyed, placing the twins in two of the fold out plastic chairs and making sure AJ and Jimmy were seated before continuing. "Have you guys gone through the exercises in the manual we gave you? The bridge things and the leading games?"

"Yes," Zach nodded vigorously. "We've done them all – and I don't see how they will help." He looked at the ground almost disdainfully. "We suck, Colonel."

"Oh, don't say that . . ." Mac begin but we were interrupted by the sound of an almost rhythmic marching. Dun, dun, dun, dun-dun, dun, dun, dun . . . we whirled around at the same time as two black-clad teens jogged into the ring. Immediately, they grasped hands and broke down into partner-pull-ups, doing like one per second. All I could think was Holy Mother of F –

"You're kidding me," Zach could only gape. He turned back to Mac and I wide-eyed. "Okay, we are not cut out for this. We gotta go before we publicly embarrass ourselves."

"I second that," Terry piped up quickly. "We can't do this, Captain," she pleaded with me. "Please, let us at least save our reps."

For a second there I had real pity for them. Zach and Terry, as prepared as they might be, were no match for the Black team. Or, by the looks of it, any other team for that matter. I swallowed down my sympathy as Mac took on the hard-ass marine roll. "Snap out of it!" she barked at them. "Are you two just going to mope around and complain about your hard luck?"

Her eyes just dared them to say yes. I swallowed a grin. Man, this was going to be fun. "N-no," Terry stammered nervously.

"You sure as hell aren't!" Mac cried passionately. "You two are the representatives of The JAG Partnership Building Program. The PBP. And you're not going to let some . . . track-suited ninjas steal your glory, are you?"

"No?" Zach's answer came out as more of a question than anything.

"Damn straight you're not," Mac ranted on. "You two are going to go out there, do your best, and you're sure as hell going to win! Are you with me?" She hollered.

"We're with you!" Terry and Zach half-heartedly chanted back.

"Okay then, you go out there and you . . ." Mac trailed, "you do your . . . trust-game-thingy." Zach and Terry scampered off. Mac just sat there, her eyebrow raised into oblivion. "Man, that was a sucky end."

"Fit the speech," I grinned at her and received a light slap on my shoulder for my efforts. "So . . ." I trailed as I watched Zach and Terry take the mat with the other competitors. "You really think Zach and Terry are going to make first?"

Mac just stares at me as if I've grown another head. "Are you kidding?"

"Well, that's what you s –" I began but was cut off by Mac.

"Well, of course that's what I said, Harm," Mac rolled her eyes. "My money's on eighth place."

"There's ten teams," I pointed out.

Mac nodded and sighed, leaning back in the plastic chair next to Jimmy. "Exactly."

Same Time

Other Room

No POV

"Lord, those two bite," the General said as he looked down from the stand in the corner and into the arena where Zach and Terry were practicing. He chuckled as he took note of the anxiety on both Rabb and Mackenzie's faces.

"Well, we did twist their arms behind their backs by giving them Taron and Connors," the Admiral reasoned with a wry grin. "But I suppose our revenge will be short lived. Rabb and Mackenzie will break them soon."

"AJ, they can't even break each other," the General pointed out, "how are they supposed to do the same to their miniature versions?"

The Admiral sighed, "Nothing's impossible for the dream team."

"I agree," the General whispered. "But they don't seize half the possibilities in front of them."

And suddenly the Admiral felt that Gordon was no longer talking about teenage competitions.

Same Time

Next Room

Mac's POV

"Alright, Ladies and Gentleman, would you kindle take your seats for the beginning of the first task of this competition."

I can feel something within me begin to tingle, and I pray it's the competition rather than the fact that Harm's leaning into me so he can pick Mitchell out of the seat next to me. I look down at Zach and Terry who are so nervous they're practically breaking out into sweat. And suddenly I feel nervous for them too. It's not only their reps they'll destroy if they embarrass themselves. It's Harm's and mine too. But even more than that, they almost . . . remind me of Harm and me. Which is kind of scary, I've got to admit. But if everything works out alright for Zach and Terry, does that mean it can work out for me and Harm?

My thoughts were interrupted by the Boom! of the competition beginning. I watched as some near-bald man walked out into the center of the ring, microphone in hand. "Welcome, Ladies and gentlemen, competitors and coaches, to the thirteenth annual Trust Troop Competition. For our first task, we have one rather large wave trampoline."

He motioned behind him where we could now see a trampoline – as large as the whole ring – being set up with a bar in the middle. I flashed Harm a curious look, but he just shrugged his shoulders. He had no clue what was going on either.

"The way this works is the pair of competitors will walk onto the trampoline, one on either side of the bar in the middle. When one bounces on one side, the other side reacts. It's like a seesaw. When one is up, the other is down, and they meet in the middle for only a split second as they travel their directions. The goal of this task is for the team to not only keep balance with each other's rhythm, but they will have to pass an egg between each other. An egg will be given to one of the pair to start off and he or she must throw it to their partner as they are in motion. The most throws and catches will be awarded points, as well as balance. Good luck to you all!"

I'm now a little panicked now. Neither Harm nor I had ever been crazy enough to give Zach and Terry eggs. Eggs break. Zach, Terry, and eggs just don't belong in the same sentence. I cast Harm a worried look, "If they break the first egg – they don't get a second, do they?"
"First pair up," the speaker crackled, "Zachary Taron and Teresa Connors from the JAG Partnership Building Program."

Harm winced, "Why do THEY have to go first?"

I patted his arm, looking down into the ring and sighing. "Well, maybe it's better this way. If they went last, it would show how much they suck. At least this way they don't have anyone to be compared to yet."

Harm chuckled. "Quite the optimist, aren't you?"

I scowled at him and then smiled. These days I was finding it very hard to stay mad at Harm. Instead this feeling of utter giddiness would sweep my body when I looked at him. My stomach did somersaults. "Jimmy, please don't play with Nikki's seat," I said as Jimmy's hands roamed under the unfastening clip.

"Okay," Harm breathed, his perilous blue eyes firmly fixed on Zach and Terry. "Here we go."

Zach stood on the left side of the trampoline, and Terry on the right. In Zach's right hand he held the egg, looking down at the ground and drawing long tantalizing breaths. His eyes leaped up to meet Terry's who immediately connected with his. Zach began to bounce, slowly and surely, as Terry on the other end swayed to his motion. Was that their plan? To move slowly? I didn't think they'd get many points for that. But I had to give them some credit, they probably wouldn't break the egg this way.

Slowly but surely, Zach was jumping higher – with more force – and Terry was on the receiving end, touching the ground and almost immediately leaving it with as little weight as possible. They were . . . graceful. I couldn't put it any other way. Zach would leap gently so Terry would not crash, and she would leap and spring off as fast as she could so he could come back down. Were they, dare I say it, . . . working together?

"Do you see what I see?" I whispered to Harm in his ear.

"Shh!" He put his finger to my lips. "You're going to jinx it."

Zach and Terry had created this firm balance between each other. I watched as Zach's arm slowly raised before his chest. I bit my lower lip. He was going to throw the egg. Almost as if sensing my anticipation, Harm grasped my hand in his own. I felt my heart rate triple in speed. Oh, my doctor was not going to like this . . .

Zach threw the egg. Slowly and surely it sailed through the air just as Terry plummeted back down towards the trampoline. Her arms flew out in front of her, frantically scrapping at the air as the egg tumbled towards her. I felt my breath catch in my throat. Harm squeezed my hand hard. And . . .

Terry caught it. The egg fell into her hands, almost immediately flying upwards as Terry hit the trampoline and soared back into the sky. This almost feminine strangled cheer erupted from within Zach's throat. I felt pride soar within me, golden and hot, engulfing my very being. Harm and I hadn't failed them. If anything, they were stronger. It took a massive trampoline and a fragile egg to make us realize that, but now that we had the image was unfazed by the past.

Terry released the egg from her grasp and it landed idly in Zach's open palms. Somewhere in the distant echoing of my ears, it registered that crowd was cheering. Cheering for Zach and Terry. My grin spread wildly over my lips.

"Yes, they're doing it!" Harm's on his feet, clapping madly as is other people. He ran over to AJ, picking him up as if he was as light as a sack of potatoes, and swinging him around insanely. "Harm, be careful," I warned, ever the protective one.

"Yeah, yeah," Harm shrugged it off, putting AJ and down and picking up Mitchell who gurgled happily in Harm's arms. He'd known Harm for little more than a week, and already they were best friends. Kissing Mitchell firmly on the head, he tucked him back in his seat, reaching over to Nikki's. "Come here, Nikki-babe, ahhhh!"

I whirled around just to see a very agitated Albatross Wallace throw himself at Harm as Harm swings his arms around like a windmill trying to ward the demonic cat off. He's hopping from foot to foot, Albatross clawing his face insanely, with Harm's screams of pain as motivation.

"Harm!" I cried running over to him. "Just sit still! I can get poor Allie off."

"POOR ALLIE!" Harm was attracting more attention than the actual competition was. "POOR ALLIE? YOUR POOR ALLIE IS EATING MY FACE!"

"Oh, hush, Harm, everyone's staring at you," I moaned as I seized Albatross Wallace from around his middle and yanked him off Harm's head. Struggling, I threw him back into the pet cage, taking a long sympathizing look at Harm. His previously smooth tanned skin was now cut and torn, with blood seeping between the gashes.

"Oh, Harm, I'm sorry," I whispered, retrieving a Kleenex from within my purse and dabbing his cuts gently. Slowly, I drew my face towards his and blew on the cuts. Never had he felt so gentle underneath my hands . . . "Why ever would you let Allie out?"

Harm's at peace expression was suddenly gone. "What?" he echoed. "I didn't let him out. I only went over to Nikki's little seat and . . ." he suddenly broke off. "And your cat was sitting in her little seat-thing, not her."

My brown eyes connect with his ocean blue. "But . . . but if Allie was in Nikki's seat then where's . . ."

Harm and I shot out from the position where we were squatting while I dabbed his wounds, and sprinted over to our seats. There AJ and Jimmy at like perfect angels, watching Zach and Terry bounced. I looked at the two baby seats positioned next to me and Jimmy. There Mitchell sat, entertaining himself by squeezing his hands over his ears, but the seat next to him was empty.

"Nikki!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I ran through the rows and rows of seats. "Nikki, honey!" This overwhelming sense of urgency swept my body. "Nikki! Please come out! Nikki!"

Harm's voice echoed around the room as he too started shouting her name. We were attracting a lot of attention. The Cat Scratch Man also lost a kid? I was sprinting through the audience, checking under every seat. All I could think was we lost Harriet's only daughter! "Nikki, baby, please come out. Nikki!"

I ran over to Harm who was frantically jumping through all the unoccupied seats. I knew the answer before I asked the question. "Have you found her yet?"

Harm's silence ripped right through me. He dashed over to where AJ, Jimmy and Mitchell sat, determined not to lose any more kids. "Hey guys, do you know how Nikki got out of her seat? Did you see her go?"

AJ shook his head solemnly, but Jimmy was suddenly ghostly quiet. "Jimmy?" I prodded gently. "Jimmy, honey, do you know how Nikki left her seat?"

Jimmy was silent and then in a small voice he said, "If I tell you'll be mad."

"Oh no," Harm pleaded, holding onto Jimmy's small shoulders. "We won't be mad, we just want to find your sister."

Jimmy's dark eyes flipped between Harm and I and then he sighed. "I let her out."

My voice tightened. "What do you mean you let her out?"

"She was bored," Jimmy professed. "She wanted to go, and Mr. Kitty wanted to be out of his cage so I let him out and took Nikki out of her seat."

"And where did you put her, Jimmy?" Harm whispered.

Jimmy pointed at the floor beneath his feet. "I put her on the floor, but she must have walked away."

Harm's eyes and mine flew together. Walked away? "Okay, AJ, Jimmy, I need you guys to stay here," I rattled off quickly. "AJ, don't let Jimmy and Mitch out of your sight for one SECOND, okay?"

AJ nodded, wrapping his arm protectively around his youngest brother. "I won't."

"Okay, where do we look?" I asked as Harm and I were just about to start on the stairs but we were both interrupted by the shrill cry of a child.

"Ni ni!" I could hear Mitch call. "Ni ni!" We ran back to them. Mitchell sat happily in AJ's lap, his arm outstretched and finger pointing down into the ring. "Ni ni!"

Harm stared at me. "What's a Ni ni?"

"That's what Mitch calls Nikki," AJ said matter-a-factly. We stared down at where Mitch was pointing in horror. And sure enough, right at the edge of the trampoline, we could see a small blonde girl crawling forward. Onto the trampoline.

"No!" Harm was shouting from the top of the railing. "Someone stop that baby!"

Harm's voice is lost in the cheers of the crowd as Terry and Zach complete another stunning pass of the egg. Harm and I are sprinting down the stairs to the ring as fast as we possibly can. I can hear the beat of my own heart echoing within my ears. We run out to the edge of the ring, panting from the extent of our speed. "Nikki!" I'm screaming so hard. "Nikki! Don't!"

We run to the ring but two rather well built security guards stop us. "I'm sorry, Sir, Ma'am, you can't go into the ring."

Harm will have none of that. "That's our baby right there!" he hollered.

The security guards just stared at us. "Excuse me?"

"That's our baby," I said, frantically pointing at Nikki. "And if you don't hurry, she's going to crawl right onto the trampo –"

BOUNCE!

Nikki soared into the air, so light she flew higher than Zach and Terry. Emitting a loud childish shriek of delight she plummeted back onto the stretchy material beneath her. "NIKKI!" Harm hollered.

"Oh god, you've got to stop the trampoline!" I'm screaming at the guard. "If she falls on her head, she could die!"

The guards are finally up to speed but reluctant to comply. "I'm sorry, sir, ma'am, but we're under strict orders not to turn off the generator under the trampoline under any circumstances."

Harm moves as though to rise himself to full height but he never gets that far. I stand in front of the guards, small and threatening. "YOU LISTEN TO ME, YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR MEN. THERE IS A ONE YEAR OLD CHILD ON THAT FREAKING DEVICE OF YOURS AND ONE LITTLE FLIP IN THE AIR AND SHE COULD DIE. DO YOU WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOSS OF A HUMAN LIFE? DO YOU? WELL KEEP IT UP! WE WILL SUE YOU FOR ALL YOUR PATHETIC INCOME'S WORTH!"

One of the guards is already on the phone with his superior while the other tries to pacify Mac. "We can't influence the outcome of the events. The lawsuits against the company would . . ."

"DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT LAW SUITS?" I'm hollering at the top of my lungs. "YOU BET YOUR ASS WE CAN TALK ABOUT LAWSUITS IF YOU DON'T GET MY LITTLE GIRL OFF THAT TRAMPOLINE!"

The guy must be twice my size, probably twice my height too – I guess I must be real scary when I'm mad because he's fumbling with the cords to his phone. "Let me just call my supervisor and . . ."

We have no time. Harm leaps forward, crashes through the arms of the security guard and runs over to the electronic control panel. There are buttons, wires, bars, etc. Neither of us have any clue which one turns off the trampoline. So what do we do? Just guess.

Harm pushes down all the buttons at the same time I pull out the wires. Our hands run along the switches, flipping everyone either down or up depending on what direction they were originally in. Immediately, the room is plunged into darkness along with the deafening whoosh! of the trampoline deflating.

"Harm?" I grope through the inky blackness towards where I'd last seen him. "Harm?"

I suddenly crash into him, feeling his strong arms circle around me to keep me from tripping. I cling to his neck, almost unwilling to let go. My voice pushes unwillingly out of my throat. "Nikki?" I whispered. "Where's Nikki?"

"You two." The voice is low and dangerous, a firm hand suddenly planted on both our shoulders. "You need to come with us."

Twenty Minutes Later

Customer Service

"You don't understand, sir," Harm grit his teeth hard. "She's not OUR daughter. She's our friend's daughter, and we're her godparents. And if you don't let us get back to the theatre room, we're going to have her three brothers wandering aimlessly around this place."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rabb, but we can't release the girl to your custody until we're absolutely positive that's where she needs to be," the man at Customer's Service droned. "As far as my computer tells me, you and Colonel Mackenzie are not married, live in two separate locations, as do the parents of the girl."

"Her name," I said through gritted teeth, "is Nikki Erica Roberts, not THE GIRL. And so help me, if you don't give me my goddaughter I will –"

"Please, ma'am," the man droned. "No threats or I will have you removed from the room and you won't be seeing your "goddaughter" any time soon. Now, if you have any proof that she is entrusted in your custody, you can be on your way."

Harm sighed heavily, looking at me in despair. "We have to get the Admiral."

I winced, "alright. I'll go get him, but this isn't going to be pretty."

"Oh yeah, and pick the trio up while you're at it," Harm said as an afterthought as I was leaving the room. I nodded in response and quickly left the room, entering the stage room where AJ, Jimmy, and Mitch sat patiently.

"Hey boys," I said, picking Mitchell up off of AJ's lap and holding him in my left arm. "Come on, we need to go get Nikki and Uncle Harm." I gulped a little as I approached the Admiral and the General cautiously. "Sirs?"

The Admiral surveyed me through skeptical eyes. "Quite a show you and the Captain put on."

"Er – yes, about that, sir," I began shakily. "Um, well, to get Nikki back we kind of need someone to prove that we're the ones taking care of Nikki and since you're an Admiral and everything . . ." I trailed. I cleared my throat, "would you, sir?"

The Admiral sighed heavily, following me down the stairs to the Customer Service desk. "The things I do for you two." He approached the desk. "Mr . . ." his eyes squinted as he read the name tag, "Mr. Archibald, I am Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden, retiree of the Judge Advocate General Corps. I am here to assure you that these two nitwits," he scowled at Harm and I, "are in fact the godparents of Nikki Roberts. Both the Colonel and the Captain were previously under my command as well as Nikki's parents."

"Well, that's all very well, General, but –"

"Admiral," the Admiral corrected. "I'm ADMIRAL Chegwidden."

"Oh yes, sorry, Captain," Archibald lazily corrected. "Are you personally vouching these two are taking care of the kid?"

The Admiral rolled his eyes. "Yes, I am."

Archie shrugged his shoulders. "Okay then. You two," he nodded to Harm and I. "Go in through the back door there, you'll find the girl. But leave the kids outside," he nodded towards AJ, Jimmy, and Mitch. "Kids touch things that don't belong to them."

I sighed heavily, "Admiral, would you mind watching –?"

"Just go," the Admiral said waving us forward. Harm and I stumbled into the back room.

"Boy," Harm breathed. "The jams we get ourselves into."

"You said it," I returned, relieved. We looked around the room. "Oh no."

"What?" Harm said, suddenly casting a look around the room too. "Oh shit."

"Don't swear in front of kids," I admonished as I walked forward. In the room there were four babies, each in their own cribs. Two were very obviously not Nikki, wearing very bright clothes. But the other two were both wearing the same plain white jumper, had thin blonde hair, and blue eyes. "Okay, Harm, you pick up Nikki and I'll return to the kids."

"Oh no, come back her Mackenzie," Harm tugged on my collar pulling me closer to him. "YOU can pick up Nikki and I'll go get the boys. It's best I pacify a disgruntled Admiral."

"No no, I insist," I pressed, turning to the door. "You can get Nikki."

"Mac."

"Harm."

There was this long threatening pause and then, "You don't know which one's Nikki do you?" I asked softly.

"Do you?" Harm shot back. We fell into embarrassed silence. "Okay, Mac, let's think this through logically. She's our goddaughter, we can figure out which one's her."

"Yes, that's right," I nodded along with Harm. I picked up both babies, weighing them carefully in my arms. "This one has airplanes on her jumper, and the other one has balloons. Was Nikki wearing airplanes or balloons?"

"Airplanes," Harm replied instantly.

My eyes nailed him to the wall. "I didn't ask what you wanted her to wear, what was she wearing?"

"Airplanes," Harm replied easily. I heaved a sigh of relief, picking the airplane-clad baby out of the crib. ". . . or balloons."

I glared at him. "Well which is it?"

"I don't know!" Harm exclaimed, his hands rising in defense. "How come you didn't notice what she was wearing? You're a girl. Girls just generally notice clothing!"

"Not BABY CLOTHING!" I yelled at him.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Harm spoke slowly and rationally. "We can figure out which one's Nikki. It should be simple."

"How?" I asked.

"We'll put them in the middle of the room and call to her. Whichever one comes to us fastest is Nikki."

"Harm!" I exclaimed, hitting him in the back of the head. "We are not going to race them to see which one's our goddaughter! What if we brought home the wrong kid?"

"Bud and Harriet will have a track star for a daughter," Harm snickered. I glared at him.

"This isn't funny, Harm."

"I know, I know," Harm sobered instantly. "We could bring Mitch inside here and pick the kid that looks the most like him. I mean, Nikki and Mitch are twins, after all."

"We could . . ." I trailed doubtfully. "But that's pretty faulty reasoning. Besides, these two kids look so much alike. It would be hard."

We fell into a shaky silence, only to be broken by, "Captain! Colonel! What's taking so long?"

"Oh no," I groaned, leaning into Harm pathetically. "The Admiral's gonna skin us."

"Use that psychic power of yours," Harm encouraged. "You found Chloe and you found me. Surely you can find the kids three feet in front of you."

"It doesn't work like that, Harm," I whined. "Now quick, we have to pick a kid. Which one's Nikki?"

"Um, okay, uh . . . spin me around," he said.

"What?"

"Spin me around," Harm ordered. "I'll close my eyes and point my finger. Whichever kid the finger lands on is Nikki."

"Harm!" I cried incredulously. "That'll never work!"

"We've got a fifty fifty chance," Harm reasoned. "If it's not one, it's the other."

"Well, we're not taking both home," my voice rose.

"WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE MATTER HERE?" The Admiral boomed. We whirled around as he stalked into the room. "Let's get the kid and get a move on."

I bit my lower lip. "Um, well . . . you see, uh, sir . . . Harm?" I asked weakly.

"It's just that . . ." Harm trailed. "You see, Nikki's kind of . . . um . . ."

"Spit it out, already," the Admiral said impatiently.

"We just don't know which one's Nikki," Harm blurted out. The Admiral just stared at us, his eyes traveling between Harm and I lengthily, looking like one of those moving-eye cat clocks you can buy at the dollars store.

"You're kidding me," he said bluntly.

I'm distinctly uncomfortable, "We wish we were."

The Admiral moaned, approaching the two cribs where the Nikki-look-alikes sat. He picked up the one in the airplanes, held the baby upside down, cradled it in his arms, and inspected it all over. He placed it back in the crib and handed us the baby in the balloons. "Here's Nikki," he said with finality.

I held Nikki awkwardly. "You're sure, sir?"

"Positive," the Admiral said, beginning to walk out the door. I just flashed Harm a curious look which Harm returned with his own inquisitive glance. We ran behind the admiral through the door.

"You know as a matter of fact," Harm pressed. "Like, a hundred percent?"

"Yes, Captain," the Admiral drawled in a bored voice. "That is Nikki Roberts."

"But, but how do you know?" I asked as we approached AJ, Jimmy, and Mitch sitting in the lobby of Customer Service.

"Because," the Admiral said turning around as he exited the room, "what you two geniuses failed to notice was the other kid was a boy."

And with those elegant parting words, the Admiral exited the room. I just looked at Harm, who in return stared at me. I began to laugh shakily, my voice trembling as I held Nikki to me, kissing her all over her forehead. "Oh my god, we nearly brought home a fourth boy . . ." I gasped.

Harm grinned, running his hands through Nikki's soft blonde hair. "I knew it was you all along, sweetie," he whispered to her, casting me a shrewd glance. "Even if your Aunt Mac had you confused with some other boy."

"Oh yeah, says the guy who was absolutely sure Nikki was wearing airplanes," I rolled my eyes at him.

Harm grinned at me, as the six of us exited Copps Coliseum. "I do believe you asked while we were in the car what could possibly go wrong with this weekend?"

I sighed, shifting Nikki up to one arm so I could take Jimmy's hand as we crossed the street. "And here we're only an hour in."

A/N: Since the disappearance of the real chapter twenty, only one more chapter before i start writing new stuff again.