Disclaimer in chapter 1.

A/N: As promised here is the second, revised, and better chapter. Once again sorry for the long update as I've said between recovering from the flu, escaping to the mountains for a week of RR, and then midterms it took me awhile to update, so I hope it was worth the wait. Once again I will promise to post two chapters before I disappear to Florida in a little over a week. Now that is the last time I will say that! Thanks as always to those who reviewed and really do appreciate your opinion, so please review. To The Blur I hope this chapter is much better! I also noted that I haven't posted a chapter in Mac's view, so that is where I decided to take this chapter angle.

Chapter 7

A Mom's Prayer

Mac didn't know what came over her…she was a marine…a jarhead…one of the few and the proud…everything they used to describe a marine, and yet when she realized that Palmer had kidnapped her daughters she had been reduced to a comatose, pathetic state. It was Harm who called every contact that he and Mac had and soon they were over crowding both their offices and the bullpen. Mac remained in a numb state sitting perched at the end of Harm's computer chair staring at the screen. Every once in awhile she would double click on the file Harm had pulled up on Palmer, that was up to date on his recent profile on charges from around the world. As Mac read the profile the icky feeling in the pit of her stomach grew to an acid, ulcer state in which she felt she was about the throw up all her stomach content. This man, if he deserved to be associated with the human race, had her daughters, her flesh and blood the love of her life.

That's when it hit her, like a bolt of lightning, what was she doing, what good was she doing in the search for her daughter's sitting at a desk re-reading a well known file? She glanced up at the clock on the wall…five hours had passed! How did she loose five hours when it felt like only five minutes? Mac's eyes then settled on a picture framed on Harm's desk, it was a picture of all four of them that was taken there first free weekend after they moved to Hawaii. The twins had their identical smiles the same 'flyboy grin' their father had, the whole family was laughing so hard you could see it in their eyes. They were wearing their swimsuits the whole family was attempting to surf, though they did it on occasion in San Diego once they moved to Hawaii they decided to really pick it up, a good family exercise. They had all stuck their surfboards in the sand in the background, it was the twins' idea, they wanted to recreate a photo like you would see in a 1960s beach movie. Mac picked up the frame gently stroking the picture with her finger. She wished that this was all a bad dream, that any second now her daughter would come bounding into her office, telling her about their day, and their recent crushes that they kept secret from their dad.

"Please God, protect my babies, please bring them back safe to me." Mac prayed, she was normally not the religious type, but she acknowledged the fact there was a God, and that only He right now could really watch over her daughters.

"Mac?" Mac looked up and into the eyes of her concerned husband, she attempted a reassuring smile, but instantly started crying, her body shook as she tried to suppress her sobs. Harm closed the door behind him and went up behind Mac wrapping his arms around her supporting her allowing her to cry on his shoulder.

"Harm I don't know what is wrong with me. I have been unproductive for the past five hours, and I've been out of character. I've been through similar predicaments before, why now am I so … weak?" She cried.

"Because this is the first time it has ever involved the girls."

"I know, it would have been different if it were me, why didn't he take me instead of the girls." Harm tightened his grip on Mac.

"Don't say that, don't you dare say that, its hard enough on me with the girls it would be just as equally hard if he had taken you." Harm turned Mac so that she was looking into his eyes. "The last time someone took you I almost died. If Palmer were to take you too I don't know what I would do." Harm temporarily grew quiet, staring at Mac before continuing. "We will find them Mac, the girls are strong, they are our daughters after all, and when we do we will make sure Palmer will pay." Mac gave a genuine, confident smile.

"That's just what I needed to hear." Harm gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Good now if you are ready I would really appreciate some help." Mac nodded eager to help. As she instantly got caught up in the hustle and bustle of the attempt to find the twins, she couldn't help but think about the girls in the corner of her mind.

Were they cold? Scared? Hungry? If you had told Mac back in the 90s when she first met Harm that she would marry him, and become the proud yet protective mother of two she would of laughed. She never saw herself as the motherly type, it was a perfect role for people like Harriet and Jen but not her, and yet here she was, and it felt totally natural.

Baja, Mexico

Two hours later

The jet landed at a small, rural airfield, at the end of the runway were two jeeps they drove up as soon as the jet came to a halt. The twins were forced off at gunpoint and loaded into two separate jeeps where they were blindfolded. They must have driven for about twenty minutes; nobody spoke to them though a few words were whispered in Spanish. The jeeps finally came to a halt and the girls were once again pushed out of the jeeps, while still blindfolded they were led into a building of some sort. By the smell of the air the girls assumed they were somewhere near the beach. Once indoors the blindfolds were finally removed the twins blinked their eyes; they were standing in a room with no windows only two cots were set up against the opposite wall. By the time they got their bearing straight they heard the door slam behind them, and they were left in the dark. The girls reached for each other entwining their fingers, searching for strength from each other.

"It's going to be ok." They assured each other as they moved towards the cots.

JAG Island Circuit Office

Same Time

Two hours had past and despite the fact they had been productive, it had produced nothing. Just when Mac was really starting to get concerned the phone in Harm's office rang.

"Captain Rabb." Harm answered, the voice he heard on the other end, made his blood pressure shoot up.

"Harm, it's been a long time."

Well that is it for now I hope it was worth the wait, and much better then the last chapter.