OOOO
"Have you got everything you need?" Mac asked, looking to see if anything else of Gina's was in the baby supply bag.
"I think I'm all set," Gina took a deep breath as she felt the familiar nausea begin to roll around in the pit of her stomach.
"Just have the nurse call me if you need anything…" Mac began, sitting down on the bed and pulling her little sister into her arms, "I'll be right back with anything you need."
"I'll be okay," Gina assured her, even though she knew that the day ahead of her would be pure hell, "The nurses take good care of me."
"Okay," Mac ran her fingers through Gina's long, dark hair one last time, before getting up from the bed and lifting Penny and the diaper bag, "We'll see you later tonight. I'll wait for the nurses to call."
The nurses usually called in the evening, when the worst of the nausea was finally subsiding.
"Bye," Gina smiled and Mac paused for a moment in the doorway, thinking about how small her little sister looked in that bed; small and fragile and innocent, "We love you."
"Love…you...too," was all that Gina could reply.
She was able to hold back her tears until she was sure that Mac and Penny were gone.
OOOO
"Everything okay?" Harm asked, as Mac greeted him at her door.
"She got really sick, really fast, this time," Mac lowered her eyes, "But the nurses assured me that they'd seen this type of thing many times before and that they'd take good care of her."
"She'll be okay, Mac," Harm gave her a hug, before smiling and turning his attention to Penny, "I see Penny here's waiting for a hug from her Uncle Harm…"
"She wouldn't nap, this afternoon," Mac shook her head, distractedly, "I think she knew there was something wrong. Babies sense these kinds of things. I'm surprised she isn't asleep already…Maybe she was waiting for her uncle Harm."
Harm just flashed that flyboy grin as he maneuvered the baby into his arms and Mac felt her heart step up the pace. Even though she tried to make sure her face was carefully neutral, Harm must have caught the look.
"What about you? Are you glad to see me, too?"
Mac just gave him a quirky smile.
"Sure I am! I haven't had dinner yet and I've got all the fixings to make 'Harm's special home-made lasagna'! C'mon flyboy! I'm starving."
"Now there's a surprise," Harm mumbled to Penny, but loud enough for Mac to hear.
She swatted him with a dishtowel, once he joined her in the kitchen, to show him that she wasn't amused by his comment. Penny soon fell asleep while they were preparing dinner, so Mac put her down for a nap in her cot in the bedroom.
Harm was glad that he could take Mac's mind off of her and her sister's problems, at least for a while. Dinner was a peaceful, intimate affair, but afterwards a call came from the hospital, to say that Gina was still suffering nausea, so would be kept in the hospital, which the doctor had warned them was a distinct possibility.
"Do you need me to run you back to the hospital, or does Gina have everything she'll need, tonight?" Harm asked, when Mac told him what the nurse had told her.
"No, she has everything," Mac shook her head.
"If you want, I can still run you there and I'll stay outside with Penny, while you go and say goodnight to Gina," Harm offered, knowing that Mac actually did want to check on her sister, that night.
"Would you mind?" Mac asked.
"Not at all," Harm smiled, turning the television off and standing up.
Mac went and got Penny ready, putting her in warmer clothes now that night had fallen outside and secured the little girl in her carrier.
Once they got to the hospital, Harm stayed in the oncology unit lounge with Penny, while Mac went to check on Gina. One of the nurses recognized her as she passed the nurses' station.
Ms. MacKenzie," she nodded.
"How's she doing?" Mac asked, concerned.
"Her nausea has subsided," she was told, "for now…but her doctor would rather observe her for tonight, seeing as this is her first treatment at the increased dosage."
Mac entered quietly, just in case Gina was sleeping. Gina was indeed very drowsy, but she was still conscious.
"Hey!" Mac smiled, made her way over to the chair beside Gina's bed, "How are you doing?"
"Tired," Gina voice was slurred, "Penny?"
"She's with Harm, in the waiting room. It's quite nice in there…I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."
"Just tired…I don't think I've puked like that in all of my years…"
Mac moved to lie down on the bed, beside her sister, putting her arm around her and pulling her close.
"Shhh…It's going to be okay. I'm going to take some time off work, I'm going to go out and look for a well-qualified, experienced nanny and I'm going to be here for your next treatment…"
Gina went to broker a weak protest, but Mac hushed her, quietly, "Shhh…no arguments. That's just the way it has to be. You shouldn't be alone and Penny spends so much time asleep, she wouldn't even realize you're not around, let alone me…"
Gina gave a little chuckle.
"Are you going to introduce me to your friends and the people you work with?" Gina asked, tiredly.
"Yeah, of course…You've just had so much to deal with, lately. I'll leave the timing up to you. Whenever you're feeling better."
"It'll have to be soon," Gina supposed, "I don't know how much longer my hair is going to stay in and I don't want to be completely bald when I do meet them."
"Let's just wait and see," Mac stroked her sister's hair, "It's more important that you're feeling better…"
Harm found them like this forty minutes later. Gina had fallen asleep against Mac, as had Penny, against Harm's shoulder.
"Sorry," Harm apologized, explaining, "Penny fell asleep and I just wanted to make sure Gina was okay."
"Yeah," Mac nodded, with a smile, "She's still feeling pretty rough, but she's not being sick anymore. She'll just need some rest, then the doctor told her she can go home in the morning. I'm going to take some time off…"
"And come and pick her up…" Harm finished, but Mac continued.
"Yes, that and spend some time with her, over the next few weeks. I'm going to find a nanny to take care of Penny, so that I can be here full-time, with Gina."
"You might have trouble getting more than a couple of weeks," Harm flinched, remembering the General's mood, the past week.
"I really don't care about how bad his mood is, tomorrow," Mac shook her head, thinking about the past week, herself, "This isn't about him, it's about my sister who needs my help. This isn't something that he can deny me."
Harm gave her hand a squeeze, to convey that he understood and that he'd provide her any help she needed.
OOOO
"Coates, is the general available, please?" Mac asked, the next morning.
"He says he's got five minutes or so, Ma'am," Coates replied, after she checked, "Is that enough time for you?"
"That's plenty, thank you, petty officer," Mac graced Jen with a smile.
"You're welcome ma'am," was Coates' bemused reply.
The past few days, the Colonel had been distant, by no means cold or unfriendly, but distant.
OOOO
"How'd it go?" Harm asked, when Mac joined him in the break-room.
"He didn't like it," Mac shook her head, "He got ready to deny my when I first asked, but once I told him why I needed to take so much time off, he had no choice but to grant it to me. I may have to wait for a week or so, but he says he'll bring somebody in from one of the other JAG offices and I'll get my time away. A full month."
OOOO
Mac was preparing to call more nanny-vetting agencies, when her phone rang.
"Is this Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, please?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Yes," Mac replied, tensely.
"I'm calling from the oncology unit at the Lombardi Center…"
"Is my sister okay?" Mac cut the nurse off.
"Yes, Ma'am, but she's a little upset…She's asking for you…"
"I'll be right there," Mac replied, then rang off.
She rushed around to Harm's apartment, hoping that he'd be there and not out goodness knew where.
She was in luck.
"Hey there…"
"I'm sorry Harm, I can't stay, but I was really hoping that you could look after Penny for me for a few hours…"
"Sure," Harm said, without pausing for even a beat.
"I'm really sorry to do this, but the hospital called and Gina's been asking for me. They say she's upset…"
"Don't worry about it, Mac. I know this is important…"
"Thanks so much!" Mac surprised herself when she pulled Harm into a big-bear hug, before setting all of Penny's supplies next to where she'd placed the baby, in her carrier, "Just page me if you have any problems, I'll try to step out and check my pager every half-hour or so…"
"We'll be fine," Harm assured her, snapping out of his surprised silence "…seriously, go…"
Mac nodded and took off to the hospital.
When she got there, the nurse explained to her what was going on.
"She woke up and there was some hair on her pillow…She got awfully upset. I tried to explain that it was just a small amount, that she could tie her hair back and probably nobody would even notice. She's still kinda upset, we've been doing our best to put her at ease, but…"
It's okay," Mac calmed the woman, who had obviously been deeply affected by her sister's plight. Mac suspected that she was either relatively new to the profession, or she had personal experience with such a disease, "Thank you for taking care of her until I could get here."
Quietly entering Gina's room, she found her little sister in a state as bad as she had been expecting. The young woman was still in tears, with a small amount of her long, dark hair still clutched in her right hand.
"Gi?" Mac let her know that she was there, when Gina didn't seem to realize herself, "What wrong, honey?"
"They said they'd called you, but you still weren't here…" Gina sniffled, morosely.
"I'm sorry I took a while to get here," Mac apologized, explaining, "I had to drop Penny at Harm's and the traffic at this time of day was horrendous…"
Mac knew that Gina wasn't really questioning why she hadn't made it down there faster, but was just in pain right now and needing some sympathy.
"It's started," Gina released a shuddering sigh, lifting up the small handful of hair for Mac to see.
In the relatively short time they'd spent with each other, Mac had come to know that Gina was immensely proud of her hair. It was much like Mac's, but only slightly wavy and a little darker.
"It's going to be okay," Mac hugged her, kissing her temple, "If it all comes out, then we'll get you a hair-piece or two…Then you could even change the color, each day of the week…"
Gina gave a teary chuckle, but didn't say anything, just cuddling in closer.
As Mac was looking down as where Gina's head was resting underneath her chin, she caught sight of where her own hair was mingling with Gina's darker locks. It was then that an idea came to her. She didn't say anything to Gina for now; she wanted the opportunity to check things out, first.
OOOO
"Wow!"
That was all that Harm was able to say, when he opened his door to her, the next week.
"I take it you like my hair, then?" Mac questioned, stepping through the door as Harm held it open for her and Penny.
"Yeah. It's dark. It's darker than it's been for a while, now…"
"I decided to return to my natural shade," Mac revealed.
"It's a lot like Gina's," Harm remarked and Mac chose this opportunity to tell him more.
"Well, I wouldn't get too attached to it, especially the length, because it's getting chopped off, in a couple of weeks…"
"What?" Harm's face showed his confusion, as her took Penny from Mac, so Mac could set all of her supplies down.
Gina was again in the hospital for the day and Mac was going to go and see her, before her treatment began.
"What do you mean 'chopped off'?" Harm asked, when Mac volunteered no more.
"I'm going back to a shorter length," Mac finally elaborated, "One that is more regulation length and doesn't require so much energy every morning, when I'm getting ready for work. Most of it will go to a private hair salon in Georgetown, whose help I've enlisted in finding somebody who makes hair pieces…"
"Gina?" Harm asked, to which Mac replied with a nod.
"Her hair has been coming out more and more, over the past few days. It's so thin now, she's even wearing a hat when she's in bed, in her room. I hate to see her so down, so I thought about having a wig made for her, one that will suit her coloring and will look just like her natural hair…"
"I'm proud of you, Marine," it was now Harm's turn to unexpectedly give Mac the hug.
"What? What for? She's my sister and she's the one losing all her hair, not me. I'm just cutting some of it off for her to use."
"Still," Harm maintained, "I know how much time and effort it took for you to grow your hair this long. And I know how much you liked having your hair this length. This is a good thing you're doing for Gina."
"She's the brave one," Mac mumbled, leaning her head on Harm's shoulder, "not me…Besides, it'll be easier to handle for work and this way, Gina will benefit from it."
"Can I go with you, when you have it done?"
Mac pulled back to look at Harm, to assess if he was really serious.
"What? I just want to see you get it cut…I've had short hair all my life. The only thing I say to my hair-dresser is, 'I little off the top and short back and sides.' I'm just curious, okay?"
Okay," Mac conceded.
Harm had been there for her whenever she really needed him, even when she burst in unexpectedly and didn't give him much of an explanation why.
"So," Mac gave the run-down of everything in Penny's supply bag and instructions about her routine.
If you need anything, just page me and I'll call you…"
"We'll be fine," Harm told her, again.
Mac knew that the last time she'd left Penny with Harm, nothing had gone wrong, but that he had called Harriet with a couple of questions. She had pondered whether he was just too embarrassed to call her, but had dismissed the idea, quickly. Harm had probably not wanted to detract her attention from Gina, so had called the only other person he knew well, who would be able to answer his questions. She had not brought it up with Harm, she was sure that his heart had been in the right place.
OOOO
Harm was trying to secure the disposable diaper on this wriggly little scrap of humanity, wondering how these diapers were meant to fit all young babies, especially ones as small as Penny.
"Are you just sucking in or something, missy? Because you can stop that right now. I certainly don't care about the measurement of your waist or whether this diaper makes your butt look big! Hey! Wait a sec…"
Harm discovered the little tags that were attached to the side of the adhesive strips, that tore away, allowing the strip to stretch, therefore securing the diaper snugly in place.
"There! We made it! All set!"
He gave the little girl a slight jiggle, to make sure the diaper really wasn't going anywhere.
"Who changed the diapers they brought for you? Was it Aunt Mac?" he asked the little girl, conversationally, "These aren't the kind you were wearing, last week. They don't realize that it takes us a while to catch up with them, do they?"
The little girl just watched him, her mouth open.
"Yeah, I know, it's Uncle Harm who's the slow one. I bet you had that figured out before me, huh?"
The little girl wasn't saying anything, but Harm knew she was probably marveling at how clueless he was.
He replaced her little pink snuggly and settled them both on the couch to watch Sunday morning cartoons. Although she couldn't hear the words, she was fascinated by the colors and movements and could remain entranced for hours. Harm had come to realize what Mac had been talking about, when she had first told him about Penny's condition and how they acted around her. Talking to the little girl, while obviously conveying nothing to her verbally, conveyed plenty on an emotional level. When he talked, she watched his face, picked up non-verbal cues and just generally bonded with him. He had noticed that if he lay her down on his chest and began talking, while he lay down on the couch or settled back in a lounge chair, she would feel the rumbling in his chest and try to lift her head and catch sight of his face. She had become so at home with him now and he with her and he thought nothing of carrying out a continuous monologue for her benefit, much like he had with the Roberts children, before they were able to talk.
"How about we watch half-an-hour of the Coyote and the Roadrunner, then we get up and get you a bottle warmed up?"
Penny quickly maneuvered her head so that she could see Harm's face.
"Does that sound good? Huh?"
Penny gave a blink, as if to agree.
Harm chuckled and gave her a little kiss on the fore head, gently settling her head back into her original position, watching cartoons. As he stroked her baby-fine hair, he noted about how easy it would be to get used to this.
OOOO