Chapter Forty-Three:
Putting the Pieces Together

WEEK 27
DECEMBER 5TH, 2001

0700 EST
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Harriet knew where the maternity ward was from memory, but she didn't know where she could find Melinda Gardner. It was a complete shot in the dark that Melinda would just be strolling around, readily available for Harriet to talk to her. But Harriet was feeling oddly optimistic, so there she was at Bethesda Naval Hospital at 0700, on the hunt for Dr. Gardner.

Harriet paced around the floor until she was sure she was making the nurses at the reception desk suspicious, so she decided it would just be better to approach them rather than make herself look like a security threat.

"Hi," Harriet said, clearing her throat, "I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find Dr. Gardner?"

The nurse stared up at Harriet for a moment, and suddenly it occurred to Harriet that the nurse probably had no clue where Dr. Gardner was.

"Do you have an appointment?" the nurse asked.

"No but...could I make one?" No wait, that wouldn't work. Obviously that wouldn't work "Actually, could you make it a consultation? Or a meeting, rather?"

"A meeting?" the nurse raised an eyebrow. "For a pregnancy, I'm assuming?"

"Well, yes. But also no. It's for a pregnancy, but the pregnancy already happened," Harriet explained, smiling to help herself look more convincing.

"A postpartum appointment?" the nurse asked. "Are you one of her patients?"

"No…" Harriet said. "I'm a…" Friend? Do I know her well enough for that? No, of course not. I've had two conversations with her. "An aquatinace," she nodded. "Yeah, I'm an acquaintance.."

The nurse nodded slowly. "I see…"

"I have this for her," Harriet pulled out the reason for her coming to the hospital from her purse. "It's an invitation to my friend's baby shower. I was wondering if I could give it to her."

"Oh," the nurse reached for the invitation. "I can put it on her desk, so she'll see it."

"Actually, could I just just give it to her?"

"No," the nurse gave her a patient smile. "You know what, is your phone number on the invitation?"

Harriet nodded. "Yes."

"Then why don't you leave the invitation with me," the nurse was surprisingly able to pry the invitation out of Harriet's hand. "I'll give it to Dr. Gardner, and then she can contact you. Since you two are acquaintances."

Harriet knew she could insist further, but it was just too early in the morning, and she could tell the nurse was over her. "Alright," she nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

As Harriet walked away, she caught a glimpse at the nurse's name tag. Joy? Harriet thought to herself. For having that name, she doesn't seem all that joyous.

1735 EST
APARTMENT OF SARAH MACKENZIE
GEORGETOWN

"Honey, I'm home!" Mac called as she unlocked the door. Unable to take the discomfort any longer, she kicked off her heels as soon as she got inside. Waddling around a week away from the third trimester was hard enough without being in heels.

"Hey, I'm in here," Harm replied from the nursery. Mac sat her briefcase down on the coffee table, and it was then that she noticed the boxes. There were several stacks of boxes piled high in the middle of the living room.

"What is all of this?" she asked, knowing they weren't boxes of Christmas decorations. She should've known Harm would use his off day to start a new project rather than tackle something already on their to-do list. Christmas was getting closer by the day and their tree was still naked except for a mixture of white and multicolored Christmas lights.

"Oh," Harm poked his head out of the nursery. "I decided to do something productive."

"And what is that?" Mac peeked at one of the labels on the box, finding out that it was for a crib.

Harm walked into the living room, a tape measure clipped to one of the belt loops on his jeans. "I got furniture for the nursery-and a carseat," he said with a grin.

Mac's eyebrows shot up. "And a carseat?"

"Uh-huh," Harm nodded. "Don't worry, I got all of the stuff you said you wanted."

"I see…" she nodded slowly. "Hey, honey?"

"Yeah?"

"How is all this stuff going to fit into the nursery?"

Harm's smile dimmed. He laughed nervously, running his fingers through his hair. "Well...you see, what happened was-"

"Harm-"

"Okay, let me explain. I did measure the room beforehand, so there was some planning. You should be proud of me for that," Harm told her. Mac nodded. "But-"

"But what?" Mac asked.

"But, I think I accidentally looked at the centimeter side of the measuring tape while I was measuring," Harm smiled sheepishly.

"Instead of the inch side?"

He nodded. "Exactly. So some of the things might not fit, but I'm trying to be optimistic. It might just be a little cramped," he smirked. "Good thing the kid's going to be tiny for the first couple of years."

Mac took a deep breath, trying to ignore the kick to her ribcage. "Okay…"

"You're not mad, are you? Because I can take some of it back if you are-"

"No, no," Mac quickly shook her head. "It's just...could you maybe move all of this-" she gestured to all the boxes. "Into the nursery? For now?"

Harm nodded. "Sure," he moved to get to work, but paused when he noticed the pinched expression on Mac's face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Mac nodded. "I'm just tired."

"In general? Or tired of being pregnant?"

"Both," she sighed, unbuttoning the top few buttons on her uniform jacket. Harm walked over to her, placing a kiss on her forehead. She leaned against him, hoping to relieve some of the pressure on her feet.

"Thirteen more weeks," she murmured against his shirt. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply.

"Thirteen more weeks," Harm repeated, placing another kiss into her hair. "You got this, marine. Ooh rah, am I right?"

That made Mac smile. Lifting her head from his chest, she nodded. "Ooh rah."

"You know that book came in the mail today," Harm said, brushing Mac's bangs away from her face.

She frowned. "What book?"

"The one about pregnancy yoga and relaxation."

Mac's eyes lit up. "Really?" That sounded like just what she needed-at least the relaxation part did. Mac didn't know how keen she was on doing yoga when she already felt like a walking yoga ball.

"Uh-huh. Why don't you check it out while I move these boxes and get dinner started?"

"As long as you're doing most of the heavy lifting, I'm fine with doing whatever."

Mac found the book sitting on their bed, still in the shipping box. Happy to finally lay eyes on a box that wasn't completely overwhelming in size, Mac opened it. She ran her fingers over the glossy cover and began to flip through the pages.

Let's see, she thought, where's an activity that requires no movement?

2030 EST

ROBERTS RESIDENCE

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

Harriet had just started running a bath for Little AJ when the phone in the living room started to ring. She jumped up, feeling her heart jolt. Everytime the phone rang that day, she'd had a similar reaction. She knew it was unrealistic to expect Dr. Gardner called her back this soon, or for her to call her back at all, but she remained hopeful nonetheless.

"I'll get it!" Bud called from the hall, and Harriet groaned. In the event that it was Dr. Gardner calling, she didn't want Bud to know - in fact, that was the last thing she wanted. They made a deal after the trial to move on from what happened as best they could, and Harriet wasn't exactly doing that by trying to get Dr. Gardner's thoughts on the situation.

Please let it be a wrong number, she silently begged.

"Harriet, it's for you! It's uh...Dr. Garnder?"

Dammit. "Alright! I'm coming," Harriet headed to the bathroom door. "Can you watch Little AJ?"

"Sure."

Harriet rushed to get the phone, purposely avoiding eye contact with Bud when she passed him in the hall. She would have to field his questions later; she didn't have time for it now.

"Hello," she said as soon as she picked up the receiver. "This is Harriet Sims."

"Hi Harriet, it's Melinda Gardner. I hope I'm not calling too late."

"Oh no," Harriet shook her head. "You're completely fine. Thank you for getting back to me so quickly."

"You're welcome," Melinda replied warmly. "I got your invitation for Mac's baby shower."

"You did? That's great. I was worried you didn't," Thinking over what she had just said, Harriet suddenly wanted to kick herself. Of course she got the invitation Harriet, she scolded herself, How else would she have gotten your number?

Melinda laughed. "I did," she paused. "I'm afraid I can't come, though."

"Oh," Harriet's smile dimmed. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yes, unfortunately I am quite busy. Also it wouldn't look good for me to get too tangled up in my patients' personal lives."

Harriet nodded. "I understand. But the gala-"

"Was an unfortunate coincidence between our schedules," Melinda said hastily, "It was a one time thing that will never happen again."

"I see-"

"Ever. In fact I would love to just forget it ever happened."

Harriet blinked a few times. "Oh, well, alright."

"Yes, so," Melinda cleared her throat, "I can send a card by if you can give me an address…"

After giving Melinda her address, Harriet knew she had to ask the question before her courage failed her-or before Melinda got pulled away from the phone.

"If there's anything else you need, I can give you my-"

"Actually, there is something else I need, Dr. Gardner" Harriet interrupted, silently cursing herself for the quiver in her voice. She felt bad for being rude, but she needed to speak before it was too late.

There was a small pause on the other end of the line. "Oh...alright," Harriet could tell by Melinda's tone that she hadn't been expecting Harriet to need anything else. "What is it?"

Harriet took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding in her throat. The last time she remembered being this nervous was on her first day as an Ensign aboard the USS Seahawk. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the speech she'd rehearsed in the car and in the shower-the only two places she could truly be alone with her thoughts.

"Well, you see Dr. Gardner," Harriet paused to collect her thoughts. "A little over a year ago, on November 14th, 2000, my daughter was stillborn. But it wasn't entirely an accident-Well, what I mean is, there was a reason for us-my husband and I-to believe that my doctor was at fault. We pursued legal action, but lost the case. That's not why I called you, though. I was just wondering if maybe you could take a look at the files, and maybe some of the scans, so I could get a second opinion. Just to see if there was anything that could've been done-if there was anything you would've done differently, ma'am."

There was a long pause.

"Dr. Gardner? Are you still there?"

"You were Dr. Gettis' patient, weren't you?"

"Yes," Harriet felt her voice catch in her throat. "I was."

"Let's see…." there was the sound of rustling papers. "I'm free this Friday at 1pm-as of right now. Could you meet me here for lunch?"

"Oh-of course. I would love to-that would be great," Harriet was speaking so quickly her brain couldn't keep up with her mouth.

"Alright. I'll put you down. I'll take a look at your files when I get a chance."

"Okay. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome Lieutenant. I'll see you Friday."

"Have a good evening."

"You too."

Putting the receiver down, Harriet's hands instantly went to her cheeks. They were burning with a mixture of expired nerves, excitement, and fear. As she walked into her and Bud's bedroom, Harriet was practically buzzing.

She was in her pajamas and under the covers by the time Bud came in from putting Little AJ to bed. Harriet could feel his eyes on her from the moment he walked in. She decided to just face the confrontation head-on. "Hi honey," she said, sitting her book down.

"Hey, Harriet," Bud replied. He started to dig around in his dresser, but paused. He looked up. "Who were you talking to?" his tone was casual, but Harriet knew what he was getting at.

"Dr. Gardner. She was calling to say she couldn't come to Mac's baby shower," she told him. Bud's brow furrowed.

"Who's that?" he asked, his voice muffled by the t-shirt he was putting on.

"She's the OB at Bethesda. Mac's doctor."

"Oh," Bud didn't say anything as he pulled back to cover and climbed into bed next to his wife. "Was that all you talked about?"

"Yes," Harriet sat her book down again. "Why?"

"No reason," Bud shrugged. "I was just wondering."

"Okay."

Bud reached over to kiss her on the cheek. "Night, honey."

"Good night."

The light turned off and the two of them settled into bed. Harriet didn't lie often, especially to Bud, so it was kind of obvious when she did.

"Harriet-" Bud started.

"Bud, I don't want to hear it," she snapped. Her snapping was an even rarer occurrence than her lying. "Not after everything you did last year."

Bud turned the light back on. "What do you mean, 'after everything you did last year?' What are you talking about? The trial?'

"Yes," Harriet sat up. "I never wanted that trial, and you know it."

"I know, you've told me," Bud said, trying not to lose his patience. This had been a point they'd rehashed multiple times during couple's therapy, so Bud was already well aware of Harriet's thoughts and feelings on what had happened last year.

"I never got a chance to grieve, Bud," Harriet said. "I grieved for maybe five seconds before I had to keep you from falling apart and take care of our son. I never had a moment to think about myself-I still barely have time."

"I understand-"

"No you don't!" Harriet's voice was a fierce whisper to avoid waking their son in the next room. "If you understood, you wouldn't have any reservations about me talking to Dr. Gardner!"

Bud sighed. "I never said I had any reservations about you talking to Dr. Gardner."

"You didn't have to say anything," Harriet responded. The two sat in silence until Harriet spoke again. "The trial gave you closure, Bud, but it didn't do that for me," she said quietly. "I need to get peace. Let me have my peace."

Bud was quiet for a few moments. "I don't need your permission," she told him. "I'm going to do this whether you want me to or not."

He finally nodded. "Alright," was all he said.

"Good," Harriet settled back into bed. She reached over and turned out the light.

THE NEXT DAY

1900 EST
APARTMENT OF SARAH MACKENZIE
GEORGETOWN

In the Mac's apartment that night, there was a distinct mixture of extreme stress and extreme relaxation. Mac was laying on the sofa with her eyes closed, the book on pregnancy meditation open on her chest. Harm was sitting on the floor, the pieces and parts of the crib spread out around him. He had the instructions in his hand, but they were providing little to no help.

"Okay, so it says to connect Part A and Part B, but I haven't even assembled those yet, and it doesn't tell me how," Harm looked up to see Mac snoring softly on the sofa. "Mac?"

She jerked awake. "Huh?" The book slid off her chest and hit the floor with a thump.

Harm held up the white wood slats. "Are you gonna help?"

"Maybe," Mac yawned. "I'm trying to do yoga right now, though."

"Yoga?" Harm's eyebrows shot up. "What position are you trying to do?"

"The horizontal mountain."

"The horizontal mountain?" Harm parroted, wrinkling his nose. "Is that a real thing?"

Mac looked at him, smiling smugly. "I made it up."

Harm chuckled and shook his head to himself. He looked around at the crib pieces surrounding him. "Is there any chance that you want to put this together so I can do some yoga?"

"Hmmm," Mac yawned thoughtfully. "I guess I can help," she sat up and stretched. She looked around the room with a frown. "Where did my yoga ball go?"

"I put it in the bedroom so I could have room to work."

Mac stood up and disappeared into the bedroom. She came back out, nudging her yoga ball along with her foot. She sat down on it next to Harm, almost losing her balance. Harm quickly reached out to steady the ball and his very pregnant girlfriend who was teetering on top.

"Are you gonna be okay up there?" he asked.

"Well if I sit on the floor I'm not going to be able to get up. Now, let's see," Mac plucked the directions from Harm's hands. "This can't be that hard."

TWO HOURS LATER

As much as Mac didn't want to, she ended up sitting on the floor. Harm was sprawled out on his back beside her, looking over the directions for what had to be the thousandth time that evening. He jerked the paper down, staring at Mac in disbelief. "This doesn't make sense to you, right?"

Mac scoffed. "If it made sense to me, I would've told you how to put it together by now," she gently pushed the yoga ball over to him.

"How are we gonna put this thing together?" Harm asked, pushing the ball back towards Mac. "Our kid isn't gonna have a bed."

"Our kid is gonna have a bed," Mac told him, rolling her eyes. "Stop being dramatic," she looked around at the scattered pieces and parts. "It just might not be this bed…"

Harm groaned, raking his fingers through his hair. "I just don't get it." he said. "The lady at the store said this was the best crib."

"That's probably why it's so hard to put together."

They sat there in silence, the only sound being Mac's fingers as she drummed them on her yoga ball. Deciding to try out Mac's horizontal mountain move, Harm began to doze off on the carpet, the crib looking more like a pile of sticks than a crib.

Meanwhile, Mac didn't know what to do, because Harm was right; their kid needed a bed. Also, Mac didn't want crib pieces junking up her apartment right before Christmas.

"Why don't we call Bud and Harriet?" she asked suddenly.

Harm opened one eye. "You think they could help?"

Mac shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

With a groan, Harm hauled himself into a sitting position. He checked his pockets and the floor space around him. "Where's my phone?"

"I think I saw it underneath some plastic wrap a little while ago."

"We're surrounded by plastic wrap, Mac."

Putting the crib together required four JAG officers, which sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that was what happened. It would've required four JAG officers and a toddler if Little AJ hadn't gotten bored after ten minutes and fallen asleep on Harm and Mac's bed.

"Where do you want this, sir?" Bud asked. Now that the crib was fully assembled, Bud and Harm were placing it into the nursery.

"Over there, under the window," Harm nodded in the direction. They shuffled the crib over to the window towards the back of the room, sitting it down right beneath it.

"What do you think?" Harm asked, stepping back to admire the set up. As much of a bitch it had been to put up, it did look nice. The cream and light gray of the crib offset the yellow walls perfectly, and Harm couldn't help but take pride in his knack for interior design. He wanted nothing but the best for their baby.

"It looks good, sir," Bud nodded. "You might want to get curtains, though."

Harm's brow furrowed. He turned to look at Bud. "Why? Isn't natural light good?"

"Oh it is sir, but do you want the sun to be right in the baby's eyes like that?" Bud looked up at him. "You might want to get some curtains."

Bud watched as the realization dawned across Harm's expression. "You're right," he said, immediately turning on his heel and marching out of the bedroom. "Mac!" he called. "We need to buy curtains!"

"Huh?"

While Harm and Bud were moving the crib, Harriet and Mac stood in the living room, watching. They didn't have much to say to each other, or about the situation. They'd talked while putting the crib together of course, but that had been to achieve a common goal. Saying, "Oh I think this might go here," or "Where does this go again?" didn't count as a conversation.

Harriet looked around Mac's living room. If Harriet hadn't already been there a million times and if the decorations had changed at all (they hadn't) she would've said, "I love what you've done with the place." That was how dry their conversations had gotten.

The nursery door was wide open, and Harriet caught a glimpse of the inside. She saw the soft, cheery yellow walls and felt a small twist of pain. It wasn't a full-on stab of pain, because the walls in Sarah's nursery had been pink. Harriet was thankful that Mac was more a modern woman than she was and didn't follow gender norms when it came to color.

"I like the walls," Harriet said.

"Oh thank you," Mac said. She'd begun to zone out, focusing on counting the ridges of the nearby yoga ball (Little AJ had a field day with that before he knocked out) instead of the woman who used to be her best friend giving her the cold shoulder right beside her.

"Are you still keeping the gender a surprise?"

"Uh-huh," Mac nodded, reaching down to rub her belly. Harriet couldn't resist a glance down. She felt another pang. This one was of jealousy.

"That's exciting."

"It is."

If Harriet had felt bolder, or if her and Mac had been on better terms, she would've made some joke about how they should go ahead and find out the gender anyway because the anticipation was killing her. It was killing her, that wasn't a lie. She wanted to know if Mac was having a girl. Harriet wanted to know if God hated her enough to play that cruel trick on her; give her best friend a baby girl, after not giving one to Harriet.

"I think it's a boy," Mac said.

"Oh," was Harriet's reply.

"Harm thinks it's a girl, though.

Fuck, was Harriet's thought. Which one of them is right?

"Well that'll be cool," she said aloud. "You get to see which one of you is right."

Mac smirked. "Yeah," she stifled a yawn. "That'll be fun."

Harriet stifled her own yawn. "So, have you come up with any names or-"

"Mac! We need to buy curtains!" Harm announced as he strode out of the nursery, Bud trailing after him. Both of the womens' heads snapped up.

Mac frowned, her brow crinkling. "Huh?"

` "For the nursery," Harm explained. "We need curtains so the baby doesn't get sun in their eyes."

"I'll add that to the grocery list, I guess-" Mac yawned again, and Harriet got an idea.

"Why don't you add it to your baby shower registry?" she asked. Harm and Mac both paused, Mac was still mid-yawn.

"We have one of those?" Harm asked, looking at Mac.

"If we do, I don't know about it."

Harriet was full of ideas that evening. The awkward silence between her and Mac had not only given her time to dwell, but had also allowed her creative juices to get flowing. "I could make one for you."

"Are you sure?" Harm asked. "That sounds like a lot of work."

"Are you sure?" Bud looked at Harriet with raised eyebrows.

She shrugged. "I'm sure I can manage it. I'll stop by your office tomorrow so we can make a list of things you want."

Mac was eyeing her with suspicion. Harriet tried to ignore it. "Thanks, Harriet," she finally said, remembering that she should smile.

"Oh it's no problem."

When Bud and Harriet left, Bud was holding a sleeping Little AJ, so Harriet was free to pull Mac in for a hug. The embrace took Mac by surprise, and she felt the baby kick at her movement. The baby overall was getting a lot more active, rolling and tumbling around Mac's uterus like it was a jungle gym. Mac had a feeling the baby was either going to be a gymnast or a soccer player. They might even follow in her footsteps and be a kickboxer.

"I'll let you know how my talk with Dr. Gardner goes," Harriet said when they broke apart. Mac blinked.

"Oh-okay," she decided it would've been rude to admit she'd forgotten something Harriet had told her-even though she still had no clue what Harriet was talking about. Maybe her 'pregnancy brain' was now making her forget conversations. Great.

THAT FRIDAY

1310 EST
BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Harriet was sitting on a bench in the hospital courtyard, trying to keep her knee from bouncing nervously. If she knew she would get this anxious, she would've rescheduled-or even canceled. But there was no going back now. In her lap, Harriet had all of her ultrasounds and some paperwork-all stuff Bud had originally collected a year before. He also had a timeline of events that he'd written himself, timed down almost to the minute, but Harriet didn't need it. She'd already had the events memorized, the times and all.

Just when Harriet was beginning to wonder if Melinda had gotten tied up or had forgotten, she noticed her heading up the walkway towards her. At first she didn't recognize her in her scrubs. It was the first time Harriet had seen her out of regular clothes-with the exception of when Melinda had stormed into JAG HQ like a hurricane, but that had been merely a glance.

"Harriet," Melinda greeted, squinting slightly in the afternoon sun. She stuck out her hand.

Harriet shook it. "Good afternoon, Dr. Gardner."

Melinda sat down next to her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Harriet shifted towards her, the file almost slipping out of her lap. "How are you?"

"I've been better, but I've also been worse," Melinda's eyes drifted down to the file in Harriet's lap. She gave a polite smile. "I suppose you want to get right down to business, don't you?"

"I would like that."

Melinda nodded slowly. "Okay-"

Harriet held up the files. "Here, I have everything you'd need to look at in this file," she waited for Melinda to take them, but she didn't.

"I don't need to see the files, Harriet."

"What?" Harriet lowered the files in confusion. "Did you already look at them?" she should've figured that they had everything filed here at Bethesda.

Melinda shrugged. "Would it make a difference if I did?"

"What do you mean?" Harriet frowned. She was trying to get a second opinion, did Dr. Gardner not understand that? Harriet couldn't help but feel some irritation rise up in her. She had such little free time and-

"What I mean is, I don't have a time machine," Melinda answered. "Even if I had been able to save your daughter, I couldn't do that now."

"Oh," Harriet sat back for a moment. Of course she knew nothing anyone could do would bring her daughter back from dead, but it took someone else saying it for Harriet to actually gain that clarity. Over the past year she'd been living in an echo chamber of What-Ifs and What-Could've-Beens, that she'd stupidly held on to hope that would never come to fruition.

"Nothing I can tell you would bring her back," Melinda said gently, reaching out to take Harriet's free hand in hers. "If you knew your daughter would be alive if I had been here instead of Dr. Gettis, what would you gain from it?"

Harriet didn't say anything.

"I'll tell you what you would gain," Melinda continued. "Unnecessary heartache. You might get peace of mind, but that would come with a whole lot of extra pain that I would wager you don't need."

"You're right," Harriet nodded. She suddenly felt embarrassed. She'd taken up Melinda's valuable time just to have her tell Harriet something she already knew. Flustered, Harriet got to her feet, the file and papers within it almost slipping from her grip.

"This was dumb of me. I shouldn't have-I really should be going-"

"No. Wait," Melinda held out a hand to stop Harriet. "You're not being silly. You're a grieving mother, there's nothing silly about that. Believe me, I know."

Harriet nodded, biting her lip. The ache for her daughter would never go away, and it might never ever weigh less on Harriet's heart, but she wasn't doing herself any favors by beating herself over the head with it every day. She was doing the exact thing Bud had done a year ago, and now she felt like the world's biggest hypocrite for it.

"Dr. Gardner?" she asked suddenly. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she was caught off guard by the sound of her own voice.

"Yes?"

"You'll take care of Mac, won't you?" Harriet asked. As obvious as Melinda's answer was, Harriet still needed to hear it. "You'll take care of her and her baby?"

"Of course," Melinda nodded. "I'll do my absolute best. I promise"

"Thank you," Harriet said, trying to ignore the tears springing up in her eyes. They weren't tears of grief, but ones of gratitude, because her best friend and her baby would be okay, even if Harriet and Baby Sarah weren't.

Ow. I hate writing all this sad stuff, but I suppose it had to be done. It's kind of interesting to re-read these chapters over a year after I wrote them, because I think I was projecting a lot of the emotions I was feeling at the time on to the characters. I wasn't something I noticed at the time, but looking back it's very apparent. Very funny how our brains work like that.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!

-Harper