The Sharpest Lives.
Summary: Because ultimately I believe in happy endings. Post-finale fic. Slightly AU.
Disclaimer: The JAG characters do not belong to me. Unfortunately.
I made AJ Roberts a bit younger to suit the story. That's all you need to know. I think. And sorry for the sucky summary. Oh, and some military stuff may be wrong, I'm not American or military so please forgive my ignorance.
Chapter One- Admiral Harmon 'Harm' Rabb.
Mya grinned at her father as he shot her a stern glance. She sitting on the edge of his desk in JAG headquarters, in the office that had been General Cresswell's and Admiral Chegwidden's before him. Admiral Harmon 'Harm' Rabb sighed as he tried in vain to convince the unruly teenager to get of his desk. He had been absently shuffling his papers around for a good ten minutes now, waiting for said unruly teenager's mother to arrive. He knew Mya had turned out the way she had because of his influence, and because of the Navy lifestyle, but it still annoyed the hell out of him. She sang, played guitar, and wanted to be be a naval aviator, much to her mother's annoyance. Just as Harm was about to suggest that they go find out what the hell was taking her so long, said mother walked through the door. Said door slammed shut with a loud bang as Mac rushed through it, late as usual. It was surprising, Harm thought, that a woman who could tell the time without a watch and get it so perfectly accurate should always be late. To everything. Especially if it was important.
" Sorry I'm late Harm." The Marine General said, panting, " Hey Mya." She gave her fifteen year old daughter a quick kiss, " So, what can I do for the Judge Advocate General?"
" One, get his daughter of his desk. Two, give him a kiss. And three, tell him what the hell is happening with Sturgis and the Grant case."
Mya hopped off the desk at a look from her mother, she had learned not to argue with her at an early age, and Mac leaned forward to give her husband a quick kiss. " Sturgis is panicking as usual because his witnesses have all clammed up and he doesn't have a clue why."
" You got any ideas?" Harm asked, rubbing a tired hand across his face.
" Nada." Mac replied, watching her husband carefully. Fifteen years hadn't aged him much, if anything he looked as youthful as when she first met him. He had slimmed down a lot recently and grown his hair, looking more and more like the young, almost anorexic senior lawyer she had met so many years ago. She just hoped he didn't start smoking cigars again. That would really give Mya the wrong idea. Then there was the Sturgis problem. He was a competent lawyer, and an old friend of Harm's, but he was a pain in the arse. A very righteous pain in the arse. He was a bit like Harm she mused, as she watched the love of her life pick up the telephone and tell Petty Officer AJ Roberts to get Commander Tuner in yesterday.
She heard AJ assure his godfather that as soon as he found Sturgis the man would be running for Harm's office as fast as he could. Harm chuckled, hanging up.
" That kid has some guts." He laughed.
Mac nodded, sighing. Two years ago, AJ's mother and father, their best friends for many years had been killed in a car crash, and Harm and Mac's godson had entered the Navy that very same year ago. Under Harm's tutelage he had quickly risen to the rank of Petty Officer. Harm watched his wife carefully, saw the sorrow on her face. " I miss them." He told her quietly.
Mac walked round the desk, placing a hand on Harm's arm, rubbing it gently, " I know." She kissed the top of his head and Mya groaned, " I'm gonna go help AJ look for Sturgis." She said, fed up with her parents. The door slammed behind her as she left. Mac grinned at her husband, " I thought she'd never leave." She smirked, kissing Harm.
" Well, if you'd arrived on time we could have got rid on her sooner." Harm retorted, earning himself a punch in the ribs, " Ow!"
As she exited the office, Mya ran straight into Commander Sturgis Turner running the opposite way. " Hey Sturgis. Mom and dad want to see you. Sounds important." She said as she walked past, sitting down on the edge of nineteen year old AJ's desk, grinning her Rabb grin at him. He gave her a grin and returned to his work, a small smile on his face. Mya was a very pretty girl, with her mother's hair and skin colouring, and her father's smile and eyes. She had dyed her hair black a few years ago, but if anything it made her look even prettier. She was very thin like her father and right now she had on a pair of black skinny jeans and a tight 'My Chemical Romance' tee-shirt. As she watched AJ tapping the keys on his computer keyboard, occasionally answering the phone, her eyes sparkled and a Rabb grin spread across her pretty features. AJ was a total contrast to the rebellious teenager. Baby-faced, with short blond hair cut Navy style, he always did what he was told, never questioned orders. Especially if they came from his godfather or godmother. That made him alright in Mya's view. That, and he was, as she put it, 'soooo cute'! Mya swung her long black hair over her shoulder as she got up, " See ya later AJ." She said as she got up.
" See ya Mya." He replied, watching her leave.
Mya headed straight for the office next to her mother's, occupied by Lieutenant j.g. Jen Coates. Having recently qualified as a lawyer, Jen was up to her elbows in files and paperwork. She looked up as Mya knocked on the door, " Hey Mya." She put her pen down, " What's up kid?"
" You sure you aren't too busy?" Mya asked.
" Yeah sure." Jen leant her head on her hands, elbows resting on the table. Mya identified with Jen's past and bad experiences with her father. While she loved her parents dearly, both of them could be complete pains at times. As she opened her mouth to speak she heard her father shouting and turned to see Sturgis running across the bullpen looking behind him, his expression clearly shocked. She saw Harm in the doorway to his office, a hard expression on his face. She saw her mother behind him, a hand on his arm, pulling him back. As she watched she saw a deep sadness on Harm's face. " Looks like dad needs some cheering up." Jen said. Jen was like a daughter to Harm and she still called him dad from when his ward, Mattie, had been her room-mate and Harm had been like a father to both of them. Now Mattie was back with her paternal father, Jen still hung out at the house almost everyday and was best friends with Mya. The young girl nodded as Jen voiced her concerns about the stress being placed on their father, and an idea began to form in her head, " It's dad's birthday next week." She said, a grin spreading across her face.
A similar grin appeared on Jen's face, " Surprise party?"
" Surprise party."
After a very late night in the office, Harm decided it wasn't worth going home as he's have to be back in a couple of hours anyway, and, although the house in Falls Church wasn't far away, he couldn't see any point in driving the whole way only to come back in two hours. Mac was on assignment in the Pacific somewhere, Mya was sleeping over at a friend's house, and Jen was probably at her own flat in Harm's old apartment block. He leant back in his chair and tried to get some sleep. The office under Harm hadn't changed much. The desk was still where it always had been, the American flag still stood next to the door. The pictures on the walls now showed Harm with various congressmen and women, the president, and different celebrities. On his desk were pictures of Mattie, Mya and Mac, his two old squadrons, and the JAG personnel. The models behind him were of an F-14 and other fighter planes. The desk was, for once, mercifully tidy, and Harm soon drifted off into a fitful sleep. He awoke to the sound of AJ knocking the door. He sprang up and tried to look busy as he called the young man in, " Yes Roberts?"
" Your schedule sir." AJ handed Harm a file, " And I have General MacKenzie on the phone."
" Put her through."
" Yes sir.
" Hey Harm."
" Hey Ninja Girl. So, how's the case doing?" Harm asked, glad for the distraction.
" I've got a preliminary report to submit, but not much luck. I could really use your help on this one."
Harm thought that over for a minute, " I dunno Mac... It's kinda busy here."
The tiredness in his voice must've shown through because Mac chuckled and said, " You didn't go home last night at all, did you Sailor?"
" No ma'am!"
Mac laughed again, " Delegate Harm. It'd be good for Sturgis."
" Maybe for Sturgis, but what about the rest of the office?" Harm asked dryly, " Vulkovic and Jen are gonna kill me."
" Commander Vulkovic can take care of himself, and Jen'll probably just... do what Jen does."
" I guess." Harm paused, " Alright. I'll inform the staff, catch the next plane out."
" Thanks Harm. I really appreciate it."
The relationship between Harm's office and Mac's was a strange one. Obviously, as a married couple they couldn't stay in the same chain of command. Therefore, Mac was sort of on loan to Harm, but she ran her own department over in San Diego, so Harm had never totally figured out how the whole thing worked. He surmised that there was some poor second in command over their who had suddenly found himself stuck with running the day-to-day operations. Mac occasionally went out there for an inspection or to deal with a big problem, but that was it. While driving to the airfield, Harm thought over Mac's case. A Lieutenant Tom 'Arrow' Grant, a Tomcat pilot, had got into a fight with a Marine. No surprise there. Should've been an easy case except for one problem, the Marine, a Major Charlie Elliot, claimed the Lieutenant was doing drugs and that was why he hit him. mac was all ready to recommend a Captain's mast for both of them until this new evidence came to light. Then, in the middle of the investigation into the drugs, the Marine Major went missing. Harm knew that he and Mac would be on opposite sides of this, that was why he had agreed to take the case in the first place. That and the recommendations of the Judge Advocate General were rarely ignored; he wanted this case to be properly dealt with. The convening authority would be the Lieutenant's superior if any action was taken and he wanted to make sure that the correct punishment would be dealt; while he would defend the Lieutenant simply on the fact he was a naval aviator, he also believed that if a naval aviator committed a crime, especially murder, it should be dealt with in the proper fashion if not harsher. He held naval aviators to a higher standard. He realised that he didn't hold himself to that standard, but he liked to think that at times in his life he might have met that standard. Might have.
" Good to see you again skipper."
" Likewise Harm." The skipper of the USS Seahawk shook hands with Harm, " So, what about this case needs a Marine General and the Judge Advocate General?"
" My curiosity, coupled with Mac's inability to dig up any evidence to fit any conclusion." Harm replied, watching a Tomcat take off from the deck.
" You're looking good Harm. Look younger than last time I saw you."
Harm grinned, " Thanks skip. Not looking too bad yourself."
" Don't let appearances fool you, I'm getting to old for this kind of work." The skipper chuckled dryly.
Harm put on a mock shocked expression, " What, you? Never."
The skipper laughed, " I guess you'd better get to it. Sir."
Both men snapped to attention, familiarity between then shelved for the moment, military courtesy surfacing. The skipper saluted and Harm returned the gesture, contemplating how strange it was being the superior officer of a man who had outranked him for so many years. Thanking the skipper for his co-operation, Harm left to find Mac.