A/N: I will try to update every day this week since we are into the home stretch for this story. Thanks for sticking it out so long.

Disclaimers apply.

Chapter 75

Harm slowly laid her back down and rolled her onto her left side as the contraction maintained a death grip on her body. "Breathe, Mac, come on, you know how, long and slow...just like that..."

The new position did help take some of the pressure off and she was able to draw several adequate breaths until the contraction finally let up. "Oh," she sighed. "Harm..."

"What?" he asked, still holding onto her hand.

"It hurts so bad," she whispered. "Worse than DJ. He said this might happen..."

Harm nodded. "Level with me, Mac. If this happens before we get out of here, I need to know what to expect. What did Dr. Bradley say might happen with this delivery?"

"He said...he said that the baby could get stuck or that my uterus could rupture, and if that happens..." Mac started to breath deeply again still winded from that last horrible contraction.

"If that happens, you could both die in here," said Harm, hating the words but knowing they had to be said. "Well, all we can do is wait and see what happens. Maybe we'll get lucky and you won't feel like you have to push until we get out of here."

"Not both of us Harm," Mac said. "More likely me."

"Assuming...it happened after the baby was out," he replied. "I'm no doctor, but I know enough to know that if the baby gets stuck in there and your uterus ruptures, it wouldn't be good for either of you. We need to try not to think like that, though, because it's not like we have any control whatsoever over this situation right now, so whatever happens is what we'll deal with." He tried to sound encouraging and confident, knowing she needed him to be.

Mac nodded her head, "Positive. Let's talk about something else until the next one."

"Okay," agreed Harm, leaning against the wall and trying to think of a nice topic. "I heard from my mom the other day."

"Oh, how is she? Still hate me?" Mac asked.

He wished he could say that his mother never hated Mac, but they both knew that would've been a lie. "I think she's getting over that, little by little," he said. "She's gotten involved in some organic gardening club in La Jolla; said she loves it."

"Sounds like fun," Mac replied. "Did you sell that cabin in Utah?"

"Yeah, I did," he said. "I got tired of being so isolated, which is something you don't really think a lot about when you're thinking about buying a place in the middle of nowhere. Of course, when I bought it, I wanted the isolation, so..."

"It was a nice place," Mac sighed. "The view was breathtaking."

"It sure was," he agreed. "That's the one thing I miss about it."

"Any good memories from there?" Mac asked. "Anything really special?"

He shook his head as he stared off into space. "Not really...well, nah, nothing..."

"Not even those weeks we spent together?" she asked. "We managed to heal some wounds I think."

He looked at her with his eyes showing just a little more light than before. "Actually, that's the one good memory I have. I almost brought it up, but, you know, I wasn't sure..."

"I was so scared for you," Mac sighed. "You were so sick and so stubborn."

"I don't think I was ever sicker in my life than I was then," he said. "I should have been in the hospital, but like you said, I was too stubborn."

"When you got that arthritis...My God..." Mac asked shifting again to get more comfortable. "You were...Oh..." she stopped and moaned as another contraction seized her.

He slid closer to her and reached out for her hands before looking at the time. "Nine minutes; they're getting closer together."

"No kidding," she groaned. "Help me."

"I'll do anything I can," he said sincerely. "Just tell me what that is."

"Breathe," she gasped out. She needed him to breath with her to focus her exhausted mind.

"Oh yeah," he said, feeling stupid for not thinking of it himself. "In...out...in...out...good job...out...in...Squeeze my hand, just like that...great job, Mac..."

With Harm's coaching Mac found it easier to do the deep breathing she needed to do until the contraction let up. "That was easier. Thank you."

"Welcome," he said. "That one lasted a minute and a half; closer together and shorter."

"Shorter is good," Mac sighed. "I think...Can you look again?"

"Yeah, let me wash my hands," he said, standing up from his place at her side. Once he'd done that, he knelt in front of her again. "I'll be as quick and gentle as I can, but tell me if I hurt you."

Mac nodded. "I'll be okay."

"I'll start with two this time" he said, carefully sliding two fingers inside her body. He carefully felt around, like he'd done before, placing his fingertips in the same spot. "Wow," he said.

"Wow?" Is that a good wow?" Mac asked a bit nervous.

"I think so," he said. "The space feels bigger; lemme try three fingers and see." He slowly added another finger and as he hoped, all three fit into the space and there was even a little room to spare. "Wow, three and a little left over; you do the math."

"Seven," Mac sighed. "Too fast."

"I thought we wanted it fast," he said from the sink. "Well, actually we don't, we want it to wait until morning, but I thought you'd want the pain to be over sooner rather than later?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather have this baby in a hospital," Mac replied. "Harm?"

"Hmm?" he answered.

"If I do make the hospital," Mac said. "Will you stay with me?"

"Wow, Mac," he said, amazed at her request. "Uh...yeah, I will. Sure I will." His thoughts immediately drifted back to Annie's labor and delivery, how he'd been in the waiting area for that, and actually been a little excited only to have a piece of paper from the lab tell him it was all for naught a week later. This time, though, there was no pressure like that attached; no question of paternity. She was asking for his support, and that was one of the few things he could give her at this point in their relationship. "If we make it there, I won't leave you to do this alone."

"Thank you," Mac sighed. "I could always count on you. No matter what's been going on in our life, you never failed me."

"Okay, now I know you're in pain," he said with a halfhearted laugh. "I failed you, Mac; we both know that."

Mac shook her head, "I failed you. I shut you out, I realize that now." She sucked in a breath and started to breath deeply once again.

He dropped to her side and took her hands in his. "In...out...good...You may have shut me out, but I kept things inside when I should have talked to you about them. Great job, just like that...in...out..."

This time even his soft tones didn't work. She tried to breath but each breath made the pain feel worse. She took shallow gasps of air, until her eyelids began to droop and her world began to pitch.

"Mac! Mac!" he said. "Stay with me! Come on, keep your eyes open and breathe!"

Mac fought to listen and focus, but the burning pain inside her stomach did not allow for adequate breaths. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but made no sound as she was out of air.

Harm was terrified. If she passed out, he didn't know what he'd do. He could handle getting the baby out under the best of circumstances, but if she wasn't able to work with him, he'd have to sit back and watch both mother and child fade away. "Mac! Mac! I need you to breathe, now come on! Do it for your baby!"

Try as she might Mac was still unable to draw adequate air. She managed a few pitiful exchanges, until finally the contraction let up leaving her panting. "Pain," she managed to get out.

"I know," he said as he brushed the hair off her sweaty forehead. "I wish I could do something other than hold your hand and make you breathe."

She shook her head, "Pain still here."

His eyes grew wide with fear. "Pain? Like you need to push, that kind of pain?"

She shook her head, "No. Never felt before..." She told him.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked, feeling his heart racing within his chest.

"Back, legs, stomach," she listed. She gasped breathing hard as she communicated this to him.

"Do you think the baby is pressing on your spine?" he asked, doing a quick mental assessment of what she'd told him.

"Maybe," she answered. It was as good an explanation as any.

"Roll onto your side again," he said. "I'll help you, maybe that'll help some."

"Can't move," Mac bit out. "Hurts too much."

"Then I'll move you," he said gently. "Just lie still; I'll take care of you." As the words escaped his lips, he could've sworn he'd uttered that very phrase to her on countless occasions during their marriage, specifically the times when her endometriosis was at its worst. He still felt the same love for her now, as she lay on the floor of a parking garage restroom in labor with another man's child, as he felt for her every day since he'd known her. They'd grown apart, no question, but a piece of his heart had always belonged to her.

The new position helped some and Mac could relax a bit. "A little better."

"Good," he said as he looked at the time. "It's almost 0300. Only 5 more hours in here."

"Good," Mac sighed. "Not sure if I'm going to make it. Look again."

He nodded and rose to wash his hands, feeling like an old hand at this already. As before, he started with two fingers, then went to three, then four, then "Wow, Mac...I...I dunno about this."

"What Harm? What?" she asked.

He looked her in the eye. "I've got four fingertips in there, and there's still room. Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Not until its five, Harm," Mac sighed. "I don't feel like I have to push yet."

"Well, you're probably one, maybe two more big contractions away from being all the way there," he said as he pulled his hand back. "Oh boy..."

"What's wrong?" Mac asked.

"You're starting to bleed" he said. "Is that bad?"

"No," Mac sighed. "Some is normal."

"Okay, okay, good," he said, clearly relieved. "I've, of course, never been on this end of things before, at least not without a lot of help, so feel free to set me straight if I panic over nothing."

Mac smiled, "Same old Harm. Remember Lucy's first cut?"

"Boy, do I!" he said as he washed his hands again. "She grabbed my razor off the sink one morning, blade end of course, sliced right into her index finger. Blood all over, I know I only made it worse by freaking out like I did."

"I bet you were thanking God for the Marines then," Mac sighed, just as her breathing sped up signaling another contraction.

"I sure was," he said, getting to her side as fast as possible so she could have his hands in hers. "Breathe...in...out...just this one and maybe one more and you can push...keep going...in...out...great..."

Mac was able to do it this time for the most part until the pain gripped her back, "Oh!" she cried out. "Oh, God!"

"Stay on your side, Mac," he said. "It was better on your side, remember? Keep breathing...you'll get through it...good..."

Finally the pain stopped, and Mac could speak again. "How long?"

"Uhh..." He looked at his watch. "Lasted for a minute fifteen seconds, and it was 6 minutes after the last one."

"It felt like forever," Mac sighed. "Harm?" Mac gasped her voice filled with fear. "Again."

"Another one?" he asked in shock.

Mac started to breath again as she felt the contraction take hold. "Oh...oh God!" she gasped.

"Just like before, okay?" he said. "Just breathe; one at a time, in and out...you're doing great, Mac. I know it hurts so badly, but you're making it; you're getting there!"

She was starting to cry as she listened to his voice. She was terrified for herself, for her baby, and for Harm.

"You're okay, Mac, I promise," he said, wiping the tears from her face. "Keep breathing; breathe through the pain, and then it'll be over and maybe you can push open the next one...Come on, in and out, nice and slow..."

"I'm scared," she whispered as she breathed.

"I know you are," he said as she squeezed his hand harder than she ever had before. "I'm scared, too, but you know what? You're gonna have this baby tonight, and I'm gonna help you through it, just like I promised."

Mac nodded and took a long cleansing breath, "It's over."

He once again brushed the damp hair away from her forehead. "You want me to look again?"

"No," Mac tossed her head. "Again? Oh, I think I have to push."

"Shouldn't we make sure first?" he asked as she retained a crushing grasp on his hand.

Breathing hard through the pain she nodded.

"As soon as this one is over, I'll look, okay?" he said. "I'm willing to bet you're there, what do you think?"

"Aah," Mac groaned as she worked through the contraction. "I have to push now."

"No, not yet!" he said. "If you can let go of my hand, I'll check now and then you can push, but we don't want you wasting your strength pushing too soon."

Mac held fast to his hand, and continued to cry that she has to push until finally the pain ebbed. "Okay. Hurry."

He jumped up and ran to the sink, washing his hands in record time before dropping to his knees in front of her and checking her as fast as he could. "You're there, Mac!" he exclaimed. "No question! You can push whenever you want to!"

"Now," she gasped. "I forgot how."

He nodded and counted aloud for her as she pushed with all her might. "Eight...nine...ten, let it out and relax! That was a good one, Mac!"

"Can you see it?" she asked dropping back to rest.

"Not yet," he said. "But you've only pushed once. It'll show up soon, Lucy and DJ sure did."

It took another 45 minutes and 6 pushes before Harm could actually see the top of the baby's little head. After that point, things seemed to come to a brief standstill as her contractions stalled. She was in agony with the baby being so low down, but she was too exhausted to push any more. Somehow, she dug down deep and when the contractions started up again a half hour later, she was able to get back into pushing. She pushed for another 45 minutes and only moved the baby another inch, if that. Completely worn out and in horrible pain, she laid her head back against the makeshift pillow. "I...I can't do this anymore!" she cried.

"Yes, you can, Mac!" he exclaimed. "You're so close, come on!"

"No, I can't I don't want to," she sobbed. "It hurts too much."

"I know it hurts," he said, "But the baby is right here, you've almost got it out! Give me your hand, I'll let you feel it for yourself!"

"No, no," she sobbed. "I can't do it. I...Help me, Harm. Get it out!"

"I'm doing the best I can," he said, "But it's still too far in there for me to get my hands around, and I damn sure don't want to hurt it, so you have to keep pushing! Come on, Marine! Take a breath with that next big pain and push this baby out!"

That pain came just then, and Mac took a deep breath and held it, putting her last reserves of strength behind her into the push. This time she managed to move the baby and something else.

He saw the gush of blood, but he knew it wasn't something he should tell her about. For all he knew, it was completely normal, so he focused instead of cheering her efforts. "See? I told you that you could do it! You moved that baby a good two inches that time! A few more of those and the head should be out!"

Three contractions later, the head was out, and she'd begun to bleed even more. She was starting to lose her energy, and was still in agonizing pain, in spite of being one or two pushes away. "Again," she whimpered and breathed in to try to push.

"Just get the shoulders out, Mac!" he said, concentrating 100 percent on keeping the baby from moving out too fast. "Remember, just like you did with DJ? You can do it; I know you can."

Somehow she managed it and she felt the baby slip from her body and it Harm's arms. It was only then she felt the blood as well, dripping spilling from her body. "Is it okay?" she asked him, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"It's not crying," he said in horror. "What do I do?"

"Clear its mouth," she gasped through pain still dominant. "The rub it firm, not rough."

He did as she said, using his finger to clear the fluids from the baby's mouth and then rubbing his hands against the baby's body to stimulate it. "Come on, baby," he said. "Let's hear you cry...come on..."

After a minute, but what seemed like hours to Harm and Mac the baby let out a tiny mew, then a whimper, and finally a full blown cry. Mac smiled through tears and let her weary head loll against the makeshift pillow. "Is it a girl or a boy?"

He hadn't even thought to look before then. "It's a...a boy! He's big, too; I bet he weighs at least 9 pounds!"

Mac wanted to hold her son, and tried to verbalize that, but she couldn't. She felt a sharp pain, sharper than any she'd felt during her labor and let out a cry of agony in the form of Harm's name.

"Another contraction?" he asked, knowing she still needed to deliver the placenta.

Mac shook her head, "No," she whispered. "I think I'm bleeding."

He looked down, having not moved from his position for the past three hours, and found she was right. "You are," he said. "That's okay though, isn't it? I mean, you just had a baby, I know you're supposed to bleed some with that."

"Some...How much? No puddles," she tried to tell him. Then, "Baby?"

"No puddles so far," he said, "but you're bleeding pretty steadily. I'll watch it." He looked down at the baby in his arms, still naked and still crying. "You wanna hold him while I get my sweatshirt off and wrap him up in it?"

Mac accepted her son and studied him. He was long, and chubby, just like DJ had been. He was beautiful, just perfect. "Matthew," she whispered. "Matthew Harmon."

Harm looked up as he pulled his sweatshirt over his head. "What...what's his name?"

"Matthew," she repeated. "Matthew Harmon...Rabb."