Legal disclaimer: I own neither the copyrights to JAG, "Dream a Little Dream of Me", nor any of the copyrighted materials mentioned herein. I make no money off the writings of fanfictions, it just gives me something to think about in the shower.
Personal disclaimer: I know practically nothing of the practice of law, and even less of the UCMJ, the procedures for courts-martial, and the Navy in general. Also, I know that normally things like "The Breakroom" or "Mac's Office" wouldn't be in the write-up, but since this is an adaptation of a TV show, sometimes you have to bend normalities a bit. To that end, I have written the dialogue the way (I imagine) it would be performed by Catherine Bell and David James Elliot (and the rest of the cast). To get the intended effect, I advise you to read it as such.

-JAGJAGJAGJAGJAGJAG-

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams, whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me...

Harm woke with a start. 'What the hell kind of dream was THAT?' He sat up and tried to replay the visions of his sleep but couldn't make enough sense of them to do so. All he could remember was that Mac was in trouble and he couldn't seem to get anywhere to help her. He tried his hardest to run but moved like a snail. Harm was pulled back into the present with a shiver. He moved to cross his arms and felt a cold sweat across his skin. Knowing that lying back down would do no good, Harm rose to shower and glanced at the clock. '4:30? Great. There's no way I'm getting back to sleep this morning.' Harm stepped out of his boxers and into the hot shower that filled the room with steam. He let the warm water flow over him and tried to no avail to relax his body and his mind.

0930 ZULU
JAG HEADQUATERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
HARM'S OFFICE

"Hey, sailor. You look tired. Late night, last night?" Mac asked, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"More like early morning. I woke up at 4:30. Good thing I went to bed early or I'd've gotten no sleep at all." 'WHY does she have to be such a morning person?!?'

"And by 'early' you mean midnight, right?" Harm nodded. 'She knows me too well...'

"You're such a night owl." Mac chuckled. "So why were you up so early? Bad alarm clock?"

"Bad dream. I woke up to a racing heart and cold sweats."

"Kind of sounds like you're going through menopause." He shot her a dirty look. "I'm sorry," she chuckled again, "You wanna tell me about it?"

'Right. I can only imagine what you'd say if you knew you've been starring in my dreams...' "Nah, I'll be fine. 'Sides, it was only a dream, right?"

"...Right..." Mac knew something was bugging Harm about that dream. She didn't worry too much about it, though. If any one knew how to get something out of Harm, it was Mac.

Three quick knocks brought their attentions to Harm's door. "Good morning Colonel, Commander."

"Morning, Tyner", Mac replied with a smile.

"The Admiral wants to see you two in his office as soon as you get your things squared away."

"Thanks, Tyner." Harm replied. Tyner nodded sharply and headed toward Commander Turner's office.

"Shall we?" Harm asked Mac, gesturing towards the door.

Harm followed Mac into Admiral Chegwidden's office and they snapped to attention in unison.

"Morning Colonel, Commander."

"Good morning, Sir,"

"Ah, Commander Turner. Welcome."

"Good Morning, Admiral."

"We have a new case for the three of you that's of a sensitive manner."

"Secrecy, Admiral?" Harm inquired.

"No, just..." he glanced at Mac almost imperceptibly "...delicate. It has to do with domestic abuse." The Admiral watched carefully for a reaction from his senior staff members. While there was no physical response to be seen, all three men could feel immediately the chill that resonated from the core of Colonel Mackenzie. "Colonel, you will be prosecuting since the defendant is a marine, with Commander Rabb sitting a close second. Commander Turner, you will be sitting second chair defense council." The Admiral handed case folders to each of the officers.

"Second to whom, Sir?" Turner asked.

"To Captain Marsh's civilian attorney. Apparently a family member of the captain's. Any questions?" No one answered. "Dismissed."

"Aye, aye, Sir."

All three clicked their heels and turned sharply to leave. "Rabb-" Harm turned back to his commanding officer. Chegwidden engaged in a muted tone, "Like I said, the Colonel is first chair with you as a close second. We all know how she feels about men like this, and with good reason. But she can't afford to lose her cool in this case. This lawyer of Marsh's is nothing to sneeze at."

"Yes, Sir."

"That's all."

Harm left and caught up with the others. "So Sturgis, second chair to a civilian, huh?"

"Yeah?" He drawled inquisitively.

"Have fun," Harm teased.

Harm followed Mac into her office and shut the door quickly. Mac slammed the case file down on the desk and crossed her arms, fuming. She tried as quickly as possible to contain herself, knowing this was not the way an officer should act. Harm started gently, "Mac-"

"Have you seen her, Harm?" She cut him off. "Have you looked at her picture? Read her stats? Five foot four and 110 pounds!" She shouted, incredulous. "There's not an ounce of muscle on this woman, excuse me, 18-year-old GIRL. How is she supposed to have defended herself? With her pretty eyes?!?"

'Wait. Is Mac mad at him or her?'

"Can you imagine marrying some one only to find out weeks later that he was some one completely different than who you thought? How is such a child supposed to deal with something like that? This will scar her for life, Harm, and I don't just mean physically."

'Oh, okay. Him.'

Harm knew the rant was over, but that the feelings that rushed back to Mac were not. He walked to her and placed his hand at the top of her arm. He looked into her eyes, trying to convey silently all the concern and support he was feeling. She looked back, her expression softening slightly. "I'll be fine. Just the shock of seeing her face, imagining what she's going through... I'll be fine."

Harm knew she was right, but wanted to stay close all the same, at least at the beginning of this case. "Why don't you come over tonight, I'll make dinner, and we can talk about the case. Or not, whichever."

She smiled at her best friend. "Sure, that sounds great."

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I better go, Bud and I have some investigations to take care of on another case. I'll probably be out all day."

"All right. I'll go over the files on this case and I'll see you tonight at eight?"

"See you then." Harm watched her walk to Bud's office and then gathered the files to take back to his office. 'Maybe it won't be so bad, keeping an eye on her.'