Title: Symptoms
Author: Aimee
Email: harmonrabb.sarahmackenzie@gmail.com
Website: http://darkbeauty.org
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Minor ones for The Four Percent Solution
Disclaimer: Harm and Mac do not belong to me. I’m just playing with them for a while.
Summary: Mac thought she had the flu, but test results showed something else.
Author’s Notes: Thanks to Dev for the beta. You’re very much appreciated.

For the third morning in a row, she woke up and had to run to the bathroom, emptying out her stomach contents. She thought maybe she was getting the flu or had a stomach virus, but she always felt better by the afternoon. Not feeling strong enough to get up, she leaned back against the bathtub.

Quietly easing the door open, he made his way to her side. Brushing her hair back from her face, he kissed her cheek. “Mac, you need to see a doctor,” he told her.

“I know. I’ll call Dr. Chan today.”

“Good. And I’m going with you.”

“Harm, you don’t have to do that. It’s probably just the flu anyway.”

“It doesn’t matter. I want to be there. I’m worried about you and I’ll feel better if I am there.”

“Oh, Harm.”

“I love you, Mac,” he told her tenderly.

1530 Zulu
Bethesda Naval Hospital

“Sarah MacKenzie-Rabb,” the nurse called her name. They rose together and followed the nurse into the doctor’s office. “Please have a seat. The doctor will be with you shortly,” she told them.

“Thank-you,” Harm told her as he helped his wife into a chair and then sat down beside her.

“I’m glad you’re here, Harm,” Mac told him. “Even though I still think it’s the flu, your very presence calms me,” she said, taking his hand.

He squeezed her hand in response.

The door opened and the doctor walked in. “Hello, Mr & Mrs. Rabb. How are you today?” she asked.

“Well, I’m fine,” Harm answered, “but my wife isn’t.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Dr. Chan asked.

“For the past three mornings I’ve had to rush to the bathroom to throw up immediately upon waking,” Mac told her, “but then I feel fine by the afternoon.”

“Let me run a couple of tests and we’ll have an answer for you.”

“Thank-you, Doctor.”

A little less than an hour later she returned, test results in hand.

“So what’s the verdict?” Harm inquired.

“I initially thought it might be the flu or a stomach virus.”

“It’s not?” Mac asked.

“No.”

Harm took her hand in his. “What then?”

Dr. Chan looked at them both and smiled. “You’re pregnant.”

Tears sprang to their eyes in joy. “Are you serious?” Harm asked.

“Yes, I am. I had them run the test twice to be sure.”

“I thought I had less than a five percent chance of conceiving.”

“You did, but I guess you like to beat the odds,” Dr. Chan said.

“Yes, we do,” Harm replied, squeezing Mac’s hand and sharing a meaningful look with her.

“How far along am I?”

“About five weeks.”

“Do you know what that means, Harm?”

“What?”

“We must have conceived on our wedding night,” Mac said, smiling.

Harm smiled, a look of wonder in his eyes.

“Congratulations,” Dr. Chan told them. “Colonel, I want to see you again in three weeks. The only restriction I have for you at this point is no heavy lifting.”

“Thank-you,” Harm told her.

They rose and made their way to the receptionist, where Mac made an appointment for three weeks later.

1700 Zulu
Rabb Residence

Standing in their bedroom, they just tenderly looked at each other. Then Harm kissed her softly.

Tears stream down her face. “All my dreams are coming true, Harm. When we got married I didn’t think I could be any happier. I was wrong.”

“You have made me the happiest man alive, Mac, first by becoming my wife and now by carrying our child.”

She smiled. “It’s funny. I remember telling my therapist that there was less than a five percent chance of us getting together,” she told him as they settled down on the bed together for an afternoon nap.

He laughed. “When was this? You haven’t seen her for awhile,” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Shortly before my car accident on Christmas Eve.”

She turned in his arms so she could look at him. “What do you want? Boy or girl?”

He smiled. “I would be happy with either, of course.”

“But?” Mac asked.

“I can’t help but dream of a dark-haired little girl who looks like her mother,” he told her.

“What about you? What do you want, Mac?”

“Well, I keep picturing a dark-haired little boy who looks just like his daddy,” she smiled.

“Well, no matter what we have, he or she will be perfect. How could she not with you for her mother?” he said.

“I love you so much, Harm,” Mac told him as tears slipped down her face at his sweet declaration.

“I love you, Mac.”

With that, they sweetly kissed and drifted off into dreamland, where their dreams were filled with dark-haired little girls and boys.