I'm continuing this story as requested by so many of you. Thank you for your interest in this storyline. Between a full-time job and publishing my first novella in a few months, I will do my best to do this story justice. Thank you in advance for your patience. I will get some longer chapters out soon but wanted to give you a taste of what is to come.

TIME JUMP. HARM LEFT TO PURSUE FLYING AGAIN AS MAC INSISTED, AND AS ALWAYS, THIS PAIR LEFT EVERYTHING UP IN THE AIR.

"I had an appointment at the fertility clinic today."

"Mac, tell me you didn't," Harm begged into the phone, taking a step closer to it as if he was stepping closer to her. If he were actually with her, instead of thousands of miles away on a floating metal city, he would take her hand in his and hold her gaze for all it was worth. "Tell me you didn't go through with it."

Silence followed for a few seconds, and he wondered if he'd lost the connection when he heard her sniffle.

"No, I didn't. I canceled the appointment."

"Thank god," He breathed out, having never been so relieved in his life.

"I went. But I left before they called me back. Sitting there in the waiting room, I kept hearing you ask me to wait for you, over and over. I felt I owe it to you to do that much since I forced you to leave in the first place."

"Mac…" Harm said softly, practically hearing her slumped shoulders in her voice. "I don't want you to regret this."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I just meant that...I don't know. I was pushy. Demanded my way. I just...I want you to be happy. I don't want you to resent me for asking you to wait."

"Then give me something, Harm. Give me something to know that I'm not wasting my time here."

"I...What do you want?" Harm asked.

"A commitment of some kind would be nice. Something that lets me know that I'm more than just your coworker or just your friend."

"You know you are, Mac."

"How? How do I know?" She asked, her voice tight.

Harm sighed. "I'm not going to do this like this, Mac. I'm not going to tell you what you're wanting to hear on the phone. When I say it, it's going to be in person. I'm going to be looking straight into your brown eyes and holding you. And then I'm going to kiss you like you've never been kissed before. Okay?"

Silence once again, and he heard her choke out a small sob. And then a very quiet, "Okay."

"Thank you," He told her.

"Harm, there's more to this than just waiting on you, though, and I need you to give me some sort of a clue here. What am I waiting on, exactly? A relationship? Just sex until I get pregnant? Is this one of your things where you don't exactly want me, but you don't want anyone else to have me either? What's the plan here? Are you going to do with me what you've done with everyone else? Date me and then when I ask for a commitment, you break away?"

"No…no I'm not going to do that."

"I don't want to still be in this exact same place a year from now. I need you to understand that. I'm considering IVF because I want to be pregnant right now. It's time for me to start. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to wait."

He swallowed hard.

"So, you're wanting to jump right into this thing?"

"Yes. I am. I've been ready. I've been waiting for you to say the words I needed to hear. Waiting for you to stop treating me like the girl next door. I want to be it, Harm. I want to be the one."

"Okay," he said, without a moment's hesitation. "We'll jump in. But I'm still not saying the words you're wanting until I can look you in the eyes while I'm saying them."

She let out a small breath of air, and he couldn't tell if it was a sigh of contentment or irritation. He let it go, however, feeling they were in a pretty good spot.

"Alright, Flyboy," she said a second later. "I'm going to be late for work if I don't head out. I'm up against Brumby today."

Harm groaned. "Sounds like a handful. Listen, Mac, I know he's got something going for you. If he so much as looks at you the wrong way, I will make him regret it."

"I can handle it myself, Harm."

"I know. But like I told you that morning at your apartment, just because you can, doesn't mean you should have to."

"Right," she agreed. "If he so much as steps an inch out of line, I'll tell him your warning."

"Thank you. I'll talk to you soon, Mac. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"You too," she told him. "Bye, Harm."

"Bye."

He disconnected the call and let out a breath of air. He ran his hand through his hair and stood there, staring at the phone until someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned in apology and handed it to the sailor in line behind him. Skates was leaning against the wall, watching him with a look of concern on her face.

"What happened to you during that phone call?"

"I think I agreed to have a baby," Harm told her, before realizing he had said it.

"What?" she asked. "With who? I thought you said your girlfriend broke up with you because you went back to flight status."

"She did. Jordan did."

"Then who are you having a baby with?"

"It's a long story, Skates, and we've got to get up to the flight deck."

"Tell me on the way?"

"I'll tell you later," Harm told her. "Just not with Buxton anywhere around. Last thing I need is that kid hearing that I'm becoming a dad when he already thinks I'm ancient."

Skates nodded. "I hear you, Commander. Let's head up."

Please leave a review! See you soon!