A/N: Here's chapter 2 finally. Sorry about the wait. It's been one of those weeks, and my muse went on vacation because of it. I hope you enjoy the story, and please don't kill me when you're done reading.

As the storm continued to build outside, inside the hospital was still fairly calm despite the disaster preparations going on throughout the halls. The next half hour seemed to pass quickly for Mac as she no longer felt any contractions or any pain. For that, she was truly thankful. She and Harriet spent the time talking and discussing the children that the Roberts had and then the child that Mac and Harm would soon have in their arms. Harriet gave her lots of advice about caring for their new infant the first few days and how to balance feedings and sleep. Harm and Bud continued to sit on the other side of the room discussing much of the same thing, balancing a baby, sleep and taking care of his wife. Bud was a wealth of information, and despite his initial discomfort with giving advice about parenthood to a superior officer, he gave Harm lots of good tips about being a first time dad and how to juggle all of it. Harm was truly grateful for Bud's advice as his own parents were too far away at the moment to get advice from them. Even then, his mom would really only be able to give her perspective and his dad was dead and Frank wasn't even in the picture then. He could have talked to AJ about it, but he wasn't really around when Francesca was little, and there was no way he felt comfortable enough to discuss these things with General Cresswell. Bud was his only source of information and advice.

Shortly before the half hour was up a knock came at the door, and the door was pushed open once Mac and Harm had granted their vocal permission to enter. Amy stepped through and looked toward Mac and then Harm with a question in her eyes. "There are two young ladies out here who insist they are your daughters and would like to come in," she explained to the group. She was a little unsure as the two girls looked nothing like Harm and Mac but she was not one to judge as she knew many kids were adopted.

Harm and Mac smiled at each other. "Mattie and Chloe," they voiced together.

"If they really are yours, its okay, but normally we don't allow anyone under 14 back into the L&D rooms unless they are immediate family," Amy explained her trepidation further.

"Well, technically," Harm started to explain, "They are not our daughters, but Mattie is 17 and our ward."

"And Chloe is almost 19," Mac explained. "And she is staying with us this weekend and she is almost like our daughter."

"I guess they can come in, but not for very long," Amy finally acquiesced. "Dr. Sawyer will be in shortly to check on you." With that, she turned to leave the room and bring back the two excited girls.

Harriet and Bud stood and excused themselves promising to return later once the storm had passed to check in on them. They wanted to get home to their youngest two children who were at home with Mike who had offered to baby-sit while Bud and Harriet came to check on Mac. AJ and Jimmy were spending a weekend with their grandparents in Florida of which Harriett was very appreciative. She wanted to be able to be with Mac as much as possible this weekend once the baby arrived. Four kids at home underfoot would have greatly hampered that ability.

In less than a minute, Mattie and Chloe were peeking around the corner of the door looking for permission to enter. "Come in you two," Mac laughed seeing their eyes peering around the room. "You two are very sneaky and underhanded," she chastised them trying to keep a straight face but not succeeding as she broke out into a smile at their antics.

Harm walked over to them and placed one arm around each girl's shoulders. "So, are you two trying to make trouble for us or something?" he asked teasing them lightly.

"Something like that," Mattie spoke up teasing back.

"We just wanted to see our little brother or sister being born," Chloe defended their actions.

"By the way, what are we getting?" Mattie asked, "A brother or a sister?"

Mac just smiled and shook her head as Harm answered for them. "We're not telling anyone until he or she gets here."

"Do you even know?" Chloe asked still trying to get an answer out of them.

"Yeah, we know," Mac admitted with a wink in Harm's direction, "we're just not telling anyone until the baby is born."

"Not even my parents know yet," Harm admitted to the girls. "They get to find out when everyone else does."

"And you two call us sneaky and underhanded," Mattie accused them with a teasing glint in her eye.

Harm proceeded to pull up the chair from the other side of the room so the girls could sit down and talk to Mac. As they sat and talked to her, Harm returned to his position at the head of Mac's bed and rested slightly on the edge as he grabbed her hand in his again.

The visit with the girls was animated and full of laughs. It was also short-lived as the doctor knocked on the door a mere 10 minutes after the girls' arrival.

"They can stay if they want," Mac assured Dr. Sawyer when she questioned about the girls presence during the check. Both girls chose to move closer to Mac's head while the doctor did her check and they directed anymore of their conversation at Harm until the doctor was done. "So what's the verdict?" Mac asked once the doctor had completed her examination and was washing her hands.

"Well, the baby seems to be progressing slowly. There's a little bit of progress, but not enough to make me happy," the doctor told them. "I would like to go ahead and administer Pitocin and move this little one along. Once that's done, though, I will ask everyone to leave the room except for your husband. The fewer people in here for the birth, the easier it is for us to do what we need to do for the baby."

"We understand," Mattie spoke up for the girls. "We can go ahead and wait outside, as long as we can come back as soon as he or she arrives."

Dr. Sawyer smiled at the girls' enthusiasm and nodded her agreement to their stipulations. "As long as the baby has no immediate issues, once cleanup is complete, you girls can come back in. In fact, we'll let your dad come and get you and tell you the news once the baby is here."

Both girls shined and smiled at Harm being referred to as their dad. Although he was father to neither one, they both considered him as much their dad as their own fathers. Chloe's dad was great but he was at sea a lot and she spent most of her time with her grandparents who were also great, but they weren't the same as a dad. Mattie's dad was pretty much absent since her accident and so she had taken to calling Harm and Mac dad and mom much of the time. At the moment they both had custody of her and were in the process of attempting to adopt her. This was new territory for all of them, but they were enjoying the ride together. They all knew that bringing a new baby into all of this would bring lots of changes and sacrifices, but it was something they were more than willing to do.

Fifteen minutes later, Mac found herself hooked up to an IV of Pitocin and waiting for the drug to take effect and speed up her labor. She was anxious to meet the little one who had been inside of her for the last nine months. She knew Harm felt the same way by the way he had nearly hovered the last few months watching every morsel she ate and worrying every time she went anywhere. In many ways his hovering was nearly driving her to distraction, but she knew he only did it because he loved her and their baby. So for the time being, she allowed him to hover and worry.

Another half hour or so later, the doctor came in again and checked her progress. She seemed please with how the labor was progressing and told Harm and Mac so as she washed her hands. "I like what I'm seeing so far. The baby seems to be headed in the right direction now and should be making an appearance in the next half hour or so. Are you just about ready to do some pushing?" she asked.

"Do I have the option of saying no?" Mac asked with a tired grin. At least her sense of humor hadn't left her in all of this.

"I think we're beyond that point," Harm pointed out as the doctor just smiled at them and shook her head in response to Mac's question. "Dr. Sawyer, I was wondering if you think the storm causing Mac's water to break early is going to be a problem with the baby?"

"I don't think there should be any problems even though we are a few weeks early. She's past the 36 week mark, so the baby's lungs should be developed," she explained. "Part of the reason I want you to try and have this baby vaginally, though, is to help squeeze out any fluid that might be in the baby's lungs. I will only do a caesarean if there is some danger to you or the baby."

"What kind of danger?" Harm asked suddenly nervous.

"If there are changes in fetal heart rate or changes in Sarah's heart rate, I would do a c-section to avoid any unnecessary problems," she explained trying to allay his sudden fears. "As of right now, though, I don't see any problems with that. Both mom's and baby's heart rate are strong and steady. There are no blips on any monitors which are exactly what we've been looking for. I see no reason to try anything other than a vaginal birth. So, in just a few short minutes, I'll bring Amy back in along with a pediatric nurse, and we'll get to work on that pushing. Does that sound okay with you, Sarah?" she finally asked.

"I just want to see this baby," Mac finally agreed. "I'm ready to do whatever it takes."

"That's my Marine," Harm proudly leaned over and brushed a kiss to her temple.

"Alright, then, I'm going to go put on some scrubs and let Amy and the pediatric nurse know of our plan. I should be back in about ten minutes, and we'll have this baby here shortly," Dr. Sawyer said leaving them to go get ready.

Harm and Mac spent the next few minutes trying to calm their nerves as the storm built outside. They weren't completely aware of what was going on outside the door to their room or even outside the hospital, but they weren't completely unaware of the storm either. Harm walked over to the window just to take a peek and see what was happening. All he saw were gray clouds and trees bending in the wind. The rain had yet to make an appearance, but he could tell by the slant of the clouds in the distance that it wasn't far off. He silently prayed that their friends had already made it home to their family, and the family in the hospital would be safe from any danger.

Across the room, Mac could tell his nerves were starting to get the best of him. "It's going to be okay," she said quietly into the silence.

Startled out of his reverie, he turned and smiled at her. "I know," he agreed. "I was just saying a prayer for Bud and Harriet to get home safely. The storm is starting to look pretty bad."

"I'm glad we're in here then," Mac joked trying to lighten the mood some.

"Me too," he agreed returning to her bedside and picking up her hand again. He softly stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "You know, I'm excited about this. I'm still a little nervous, but I'm really excited about holding our baby in my arms," he admitted quietly. He wasn't sure why he said it, but it was something he felt he needed to say aloud almost as an assurance to himself about his own feelings.

Sensing he needed her validation of his emotions, she quietly nodded her head and smiled up at him. "I can't wait either. I'm a little nervous too. We've never had a baby all on our own. Babysitting is one thing, but this is something completely different. We can't give the baby back at the end of the evening or at the end of the weekend. This one is ours for keeps."

Harm was prevented from saying anything more as the door swung open and Dr. Sawyer returned with Amy and another nurse in tow. "This is Lisa," she introduced them. "She is a neo-natal nurse who will take care of cleaning up the baby and doing all the measurements immediately after delivery. If there are no issues, she will allow you to hold the baby before heading to the nursery for official measurements." As she spoke, Dr. Sawyer had carefully laid out a tray of instruments to be used during the birth. Amy had begun to make changes to the bed Mac was laying in by adding leg stirrups and removing the bottom quarter of the bed to allow the doctor easier access.

Harm watched all of this in wonder and realized he was glad that Mattie and Chloe were outside in the waiting room. There was no way they were ready to see all of this. He wasn't even sure he was ready to see all of the changes they were making. Amy explained about the leg stirrups and had Harm assist her in placing Mac's legs carefully in them to change the position of her body. A few moments later and Dr. Sawyer declared they were all set to deliver the baby.

The next time a contraction hit, Dr. Sawyer had Mac bear down and push to see what the reaction of the baby would be. "Everything looks good," she told them as she looked over all the readouts quickly. "The baby's head is just about there, so for the next few contractions we're going to push and get this baby out," she continued coaching them along.

Harm stood by Mac's head holding her hand and allowing her to squeeze as tightly as she needed over the next few pushes. He split his time between watching her face and glancing down to see the progress of the baby. He couldn't really tell anything for sure, but he listened carefully to what the doctor said and took it all in as a first time father to be.

"Okay, the head's out," the doctor told them once the current contraction had passed. "On the next one, you're going to give one good hard push and we're gong to have the shoulders and then the rest of the baby should slide out." As she finished speaking, the next contraction hit, Mac began to push, and all hell seemed to break loose.