Title: A second chance at family.

Author: Anaika Skywalker

Author's Email: lindsay30@austarnet.com.au

Rating: PG 13

Summery: Harm has left JAG to return to flying, leaving behind Mac, but never losing his love for her. Now a young woman will come into their lives and bring them together.

Disclaimer: I don't own JAG; I just like to spread my wings occasionally.

Author's Note: Yes amazing, as it seems I can write a Harm/Mac story and I've had this one floating around for ages, I've just never done anything about it. It takes place after 'Goodbyes' on the assumption Harm didn't return to JAG and continued flying. So here it is, please let me know what you think.

A second chance at family

Chapter One: Surprises come in twos

Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie noticed the young woman as soon as she walked into ops; there was something familiar about her. The way she stood, her casualness and the ease she displayed despite the unfamiliar setting. She wore her summer whites well and every man in ops had noticed it too. It was something else though, something that reflected in those sea blue eyes of hers.

Needing to know Sarah went over to the young woman. "Can I help you Ensign?"

She came to attention. "Yes Ma'am, I have an appointment with Admiral Chegwidden."

"This way Ensign."

"Thank you Ma'am."

Sarah took the led, she'd noticed the Gold wings on the younger woman's uniform. They reminded her of Harm. Her former partner and best friend had been gone from JAG for nearly two years and she still missed him. No it was more then that, she loved him and her heart ached a little more each day he was away from her. She would wait for him, even if it meant waiting for eternity. "Here you are, Ensign. Petty Officer Tiner will assist you."

"Thank you Ma'am."

Sarah smiled and walked away slowly. She wanted to hear the young woman's name, perhaps that would clear things up.

The Ensign approached the Petty Officer. "I have an appointment to see the Admiral. Ensign Rabb."

Tiner couldn't help be surprised by the name. "Yes Ma'am." He contacted the Admiral using the intercom. "Sir, Ensign Rabb to see you."

"Send her in Tiner."

"Aye sir," he gestured for the Ensign to do so. "Go on in Ma'am."

"Thank you Petty Officer," she said smiling warmly. She went over to the door, knocked than went in, closing it.

Sarah walked back over to Tiner, seeing his stunned look. "Tiner did I hear her right. Did she say her name was Rabb?"

"Yes Ma'am," he answered, coming out of his daze. "Ma'am do you think she's related to Captain Rabb?"

"Captain?"

"Yes Ma'am, his promotion came through, didn't you know?"

"No. We haven't spoken for a while and last time he was on liberty he went home to see his mum and stepfather," she said aimlessly and then turned and walked away, going back to her office.

In the Admiral's office, he stood face to face with the young woman. She was so much like her father, her hair was a little lighter but she had his eyes and smile. "How was your flight, Ensign?" He asked her, knowing she flown to La Jolla to see her grandparents.

"It was fine thank you sir."

"Good. Sit down Ensign." He insisted. "How is your father Hailey?"

"He's good sir, his promotion came through and his now the Cag aboard the Patrick Henry, he took over after Captain Pike retired."

"You know I thought he was making a mistake returning to flight duty, I'm glade I was wrong," AJ told her.

Hailey smiled warmly. "I expect if he hadn't sir, I may never have found him."

"I'm sure you would have Ensign. Harm has never been a low-keyed officer; he wasn't while he was here and defiantly not on the Patrick Henry. His antics in the last year have shown that," he remarked and saw her smile her father's flyboy grin. "Have you received your orders?"

"Yes sir, I've been assigned to the Theodore Roosevelt, we ship out in two weeks."

"You must be excited?"

"Yes sir," she grinned again.

"Well if we're going to make our dinner reservations then we're going to have to get moving," AJ announced.

"Aye sir," she agreed and they walked out together.

"Tiner, I'm leaving for the day," AJ told the Petty Officer.

"Yes sir."

As they crossed ops, Hailey felt everyone was watching her. AJ saw it also; time to shake things up a little. He gestured Colonel Mackenzie over.

"Colonel a moment."

"Sir," she joined them as they stood in the middle of JAG ops.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, Ensign Hailey Rabb. Captain Rabb's daughter," AJ introduced.

Dead silence fell over the whole office, it was eerie for a moment before everyone recovered and went back to work.

Sarah did also, forcing a smile even though she was stunned and goaded. "It's nice to meet you Ensign."

"You too Ma'am, Dad has told me so much about you."

"Really, he hasn't mentioned you at all," she retorted a little angry, in all his emails Harm had never said anything about having a daughter.

"Colonel why don't you join us for dinner," AJ requested in a tone that said it was an order.

"Yes sir," she agreed, quickly grabbing her pause and cover.

After they'd left Harriet Sims-Roberts turned to her husband. "Captain Rabb has a daughter?"

"Looks like it," Bud Roberts said just as shocked.

"But she's… I mean he would have had to have been…." She couldn't find the words.

"Sixteen," a mater of fact voice said behind them.

They both turned seeing Commander Sturgis Turner, an old friend of the Harm's who had joined JAG and the only other person who knew the whole story.

"Yes sir," Harriet agreed. "That's young to have a child sir."

"He didn't know about her until recently, Harriet and her mother didn't let Hailey know about her father either,"

"So how did they find out about each other sir?" Bud asked.

"Her mother died while Hailey was in flight school, it all came out then and she went looking for him." Sturgis revealed, knowing they would find out sooner or later anyway.

"He's a lucky man then Commander."

"Yes Lieutenant he is," the Commander stated and walked away.

The Admiral chose the restaurant, one he knew both women would enjoy. They were quickly seated and their orders taken.

Sarah wasn't surprised to find Harm's daughter was a vegetarian; she was just surprised to know he had a daughter and she found she couldn't hate the young woman. "Ensign I'd like to apologize for my actions at JAG, it was just a surprise."

"I understand Ma'am."

"Hailey only found out about her father after her mother passed," the Admiral supplied. "Up until then she didn't know he was even alive."

"My mother gave me his name, but told me he'd been killed before I was born," Hailey explained. "I was half way through flight school when she passed away, it all came out then. What happened between them, how they'd been together, that he'd ran off to Vietnam before she found out she was pregnant and after he did she was so angry at him for leaving she ran herself."

"So how did you finally meet?"

Hailey smiled. "I'd been hearing stories about Harmon Rabb Junior at the Academy and then at flight school. I gathered as much information as I could about him, hoping he was maybe a relative," she recalled. "Than mum died and I was going through her belongings and found some letters she'd written to him but never sent and photos and newspaper clippings. Suddenly I had the truth and a father, all I had to do was find him."

"Which is where I come into this story," AJ interjected. "Hailey contacted me since the last clipping she had was about Harm being at JAG, I informed her of her father's change of designator and helped them met. That was nine months ago."

"He never said anything to me," Sarah said in disbelief. "No one word in any of his emails."

Hailey felt sorry for her, but her dad had needed to sort his feelings out first. "Dad told me how you two meet, how you've followed him on his crusades as he calls them and how upset he was to lean you were going to marry that Brumby guy."

Shock crossed Sarah's face. She'd never had the chance to tell Harm about the wedding. "He knew?"

"Yes Ma'am and about you breaking off your engagement," she answered. Then asked. "Colonel may I speak frankly?"

"Yes,"

AJ sat back in his chair; finally the truth was going to come out.

Hailey continued. "Dad has been in love with you since he first meet you in the Rose Garden. He's never stopped loving you and he never will," she saw her father walk quietly up behind the Colonel. "All you have to do is give him the chance."

"How?" Sarah asked her, tears in her eyes.

"Bye telling me," Harm's voice said quietly behind her.

She froze, then slowly pushed her chair back and stood, moving away from it as she turned. "Harm?"

"Sarah," he grinned and drew her into his arms feeling like they'd never been apart. "I love you Sarah."

"I love you too Harm," she told him.

He kissed her long and hard, even though they were standing in a public restaurant and in uniform.

Hailey glanced at the Admiral. "Mission accomplished sir."

"Yes, well done Hailey," he stood, as did she. "Lets get them out of here, they need a less public place."

"Yes sir," she said chuckling. She grabbed her father's arm. "Come on Dad."

"You too Colonel," AJ said following suite.

The waitress winked at them as they left.

Outside the restaurant, Harm hugged his daughter. "Thank you Hailey."

"You're welcome Dad, just make sure I get invited to the wedding," she teased happily.

"You will be,"

"Damn right she will," AJ declared. "Even if I have to call in every favor owed to me."

Sarah hugged her next. "Thank you Ensign."

"Hailey," she told her. "You're going to be family Ma'am."

"Than you'd better call me Sarah or Mac,"

"Yes Ma'am," she said grinning her inherited flyboy grin.

Sarah laughed. "You are your fathers daughter."

"More than he wants to admit at times," she smirked.

"Colonel, take the next two days off," AJ told her. "Come back on Monday with a Wedding date so I can put plans into action."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

"Don't mention it," he said and happily walked away.

"We have some talking to do," Harm declared.

"My place or yours?" Sarah asked him lightly.

He glanced at his daughter. "Is mine respectable?"

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Of course, I even have dinner prepared. I had a feeling this would work."

"Lets go than."

Harm drove them not to his apartment as Sarah expected, but a house in one of the suburbs. It was exactly what she'd always dreamed off. He pulled his Lexus up next to his red corvette. "It's still in one piece I see?"

"The house or your Vette, Dad?" Hailey asked him smiling.

"Both," he smirked and they got out. He took Sarah's hand and led her into his home, his daughter coming in behind them.

The house was as beautiful on the inside as the outside, Sarah looked around the living room. The furniture she remembered from Harm's apartment was there, as were a few things she supposed were his daughter's. Hailey's flight jacket lay over the back of one of the chairs.

All three left their covers on the coffee table. "I'll go change and organize dinner." Hailey told them and hurried off.

Sarah picked up a framed photo from the mantel, it showed Harm, his mother and stepfather standing either side of Hailey. Obviously taken when she'd completed flight school and received her wings.

"I wanted to tell you, but I had to except it myself," Harm announced, explaining. "I was so young when I met her mother, sixteen. It was just before I ran off to Vietnam," he took the photo from her. "I needed someone who understood and Amy did, or I thought she did, mostly she listened."

"You did more then talk though."

He nodded, not embarrassed at all. "It was the first time for me, but not for her. When I go back Amy was gone and from the letters Hailey let me read, she left when she found out she was pregnant," he put the photo down and took Sarah in his arms. "I missed so much of her life, but I won't make the same mistake twice."

"What are you saying, Harm?"

"I love you Sarah and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, have children with you," he took a small box from his pocket and opened it. "Marry me Sarah?"

She looked at the ring and let him slip it on her finger. "Yes," she told him grinning. "Yes," she said again and then kissed him.

From the doorway Hailey smiled, going back into the kitchen she put the dinner she'd prepared in the fridge and grabbed the keys to the Vett and her pause, slipping out the door unnoticed.

Harm and Sarah heard the Corvette start up and drive away. "Smart daughter we have there?" He said caressing her neck with his lips.

"Very smart," she agreed and sighed as he picked her up, holding her in his arms. Carrying her towards his bedroom.

A little later they lay together in each other's arms, content. "Was your mother and Frank surprised when they found out you have a daughter?"

"Stunned is more like it," he answered her. "Though once mum saw Hailey, she just started to cry and hugged her. We talked for hours, mum showed her photos me as a child and a teenage and every other one she could find."

"She embarrassed you huh?"

"Like you wouldn't believe, but she excepted Hailey and that was the main thing."

"So does Hailey have a call sign yet?" Sarah asked him, rolling onto her stomach. Resting her head on his chest.

"Mmm, Zapper," he said proudly, and then explained. "It was the call sign Keeter gave me in flight school."

"Like father, like daughter."

He chuckled. "She's good, Sarah, very good."

"As good as you?"

"She will be," Harm answered. "For a Hornet pilot."

"Hornets," she laughed. "Your little girl flies Hornets."

"Super Hornets and don't rub it in," he stated and they laughed together. "Not that she'll be alone in that soon."

Sarah looked up. "You're being retrained?"

He nodded. "Even the Raptor's have to move with the times."

"So when is the wake?" she asked with a smirk.

"Two weeks time."

She kissed him. "I'm sorry honey, I'll come with you."

"I wouldn't want you any where else, sweetheart." He said seriously and kissed her again.

Signing against his mouth, she straddled him, feeling her hands on her back. "I love you Harm."

"I love you Sarah," he sat up with her in his arms. "I don't want to wait, marry me as soon as we can arrange it."

"Any where, any time," she said breathless as he kissed her collarbone. "When does Hailey deploy?"

"Two weeks."

"Then before she goes, I can be ready," she insisted, and then groaned as he slipped a hand between them, caressing sensitive skin.

"So can I," he agreed and they made love again, this time more slowly. Falling asleep in each other's arms.

In the morning, Sarah woke late, smiling contently as she thought of the night's activities. Rolling over she found herself alone in the bed, she could hear voices though, Harm's and Hailey's. Getting up she took a quick shower and raided Harm's clothes, pulling on a pair of boxes and a navy t-shirt and a pair of sweet shorts. She padded barefoot out into the kitchen. "Morning."

"Morning," Harm drew her into his arms. "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby," she gave him a quick kiss. "You're all sweaty."

"Well I had to show this young imp I could keep up with her," he smirked. "So we went jogging."

"And he kept up," Hailey said with a grin. "Just."

Harm pulled away. "Oh that hurt, Zapper."

"Just calling them like I see them, Hammer," she challenged, leaning against the counter.

"That's it pain," he launched at her, picking her up in a fireman's hold as she squealed, carrying her into the lounge.

Sarah followed, laughing. Watching as father and daughter played. Harm held his daughter down on a large fluffy matt tickling her. Hailey finally got the better of her father, flipping him onto his back, sitting on him. Sarah chose then to join in, sitting behind her soon to be stepdaughter.

"Not fair, you're ganging up on me."

"Get use to it flyboy, you've got two woman in your life now," his fiancée teased.

"I'm screwed," he groaned and they both laughed.

To be continued…