This fic is going to be my attempt at a rewrite. This is how I think season 4 could have gone. We may not have had to wait 6 more years for our favorite Naval Aviator turned Lawyer and certain Marine Corps Lawyer to pull their collective head out of their six…maybe.

As with my other story, all mistakes are honest ones. I will try to keep them to a minimum, but I make no guarantees. If you happen to see anything wrong, please do not hesitate to PM me and I will do what I can to correct and update the chapter. As this is an Alternate Universe, many mistakes will appear to be egregious, but they…should…fit in with how I see this season going. A couple of episodes will be skipped over as they don't fit…well…they just sucked.

SPOILER ALERT: CONTEMPLATING NO BUGME!

Please let me know what you think after this first chapter…along with what you think of the chapter itself. Your reviews will go a long way to helping me write this saga.

A few episodes may have to be split up but I will do what I can to keep the splits to a minimum.

Here's the disclaimer: JAG and its characters the creation of Donald Bellisario and belong to him and CBS/Paramount. Any other characters not related to the show are of my creation. I do not receive any compensation for writing this. I wish I did, but such is life.

That's enough from me…ON WITH THE SHOW!

LIFE AFTER RUSSIA – Between Gypsy Eyes & Embassy

"Chekhov said, 'The strength of the taiga does not lie in its giant trees and silence, but in that only migrating birds know where it ends; only the birds and your father."

"Goodbye, Dad. I love you."

0015 Zulu / 1915 EDT

26 SEPT 1998

Harmon Rabb's Loft Apartment

North of Union Station

Harm walks into his apartment and drops his seabag and carry-on in front of the bookcase that sits next to the front door. From there, he ventures over to the fridge, grabs and opens a beer, then goes over to the couch where he collapses from the fatigue that has, finally, engulfed him from over the last 96 hours.

Over the next 45 minutes, he contemplates what he learned of his father's demise. Once again, he's overcome with emotion and begins to sob heavily.

He has to talk to someone. His mother perhaps…no She would have to wait until he had come to grips with this himself. The Admiral…maybe as a last resort. Chegwidden had taken him under his wing and started to groom Harm for better things. However, the Admiral wasn't quite to the level of father figure enough for Harm to bring himself to taking AJ Chegwidden into his confidence.

Then there was Mac…Sarah. Six months had passed since she had appeared on the pier at Norfolk looking just like…like…HER! It had taken Harm two years to come to grips with Diane's murder. When he was finally able to confront Holbarth with Diane's letter, it was Mac showing up in Harriet Sims' uniform that caused Holbarth to freak out and step back off the pier.

And then…THEY KISSED! Thinking back on it now, the feel of Mac's lips was totally different than Diane's. Diane's lips felt so soft, Harm was afraid he'd break them if he pressed too hard. Mac's, on the other hand, felt like they could take anything and give just as good as they got while not feeling like tanned leather.

Could Mac be who he needed right now? Harm thought about this for another few minutes before making his decision.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a long sigh to settle his nerves, harm picked up the phone and dialed the all too familiar number.

0045 Zulu / 1945 EDT

26 SEPT 1998

Sarah Mackenzie's apartment

Georgetown

Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie sat in her terry cloth bath robe on her couch with her legs tucked underneath herself while she was reading the latest Tom Clancy novel.

Her favorite pastime was interrupted by the shrill screech of her cordless telephone. Mac sighed heavily and reached over to the coffee table to pick up the offending device, clicked "Talk", and answered "Mackenzie."

"Mac…"

She recognized his voice immediately. Then, she heard the hurt oozing from him, even through the copper lines.

"Harm, I'm on my way," she said. Within four minutes and twenty – seven seconds, mac was making her way through her apartment door.

0115 Zulu / 2015 EDT

26 September, 1998

Harm's loft

North of Union Station

Mac knocked on Harm's door about 25 minutes after she locked hers. She didn't have to wait long (four seconds by her count) for Harm to open the door and let her in.

The crestfallen appearance of his face matched the sound of his voice mere moments before. Just looking at the near broken man in front of her made her heart ache for her best friend.

Mac made an executive decision and grabbing Harm by the arm, pulled him into an embrace that was tentatively, at first, returned by him.

Harm could feel the walls around his heart begin to crumble as he simply held Mac, grateful that she was simply willing to do so quietly while he gathered himself. They stayed that way for about three minutes…then the final wall fell.

Mac started to feel the sobs begin, faintly. They started in his chest, followed slowly by his shoulders. Eventually his entire upper torso was ravaged by them as his system finally caught up with his emotions. Throughout the episode, all he would say, between sobs, was, "He's gone, Mac. I can't believe he's truly gone now."

Mac stayed quiet as she was shedding silent tears of her own as her heart now broke for him, for the loss of his father.

Mac moved them over to the couch, where Harm's emotional bout started to subside. Finally, he settled down enough to be able to say, "Thanks, Mac. You have no idea how much you being here means to me."

Mac leaned to the side, away from Harm, and looked into his blue eyes, almost getting lost in them as he returned her gaze. What she saw there completed the heart breaking process as she closed her eyes and drew him close again.

Even with her eyes closed, Mac could still see what was embedded in Harm's: Loss, anger, bitterness, sadness, and (dare she even think it)…fear. Not the fear you face when being shot at or like what you face when facing a red-faced two star Admiral AJ Chegwidden. This was the fear of what happens next. Now knowing what happened to his father, a search that had spanned thirty years, what was he to do now?

She holds onto Harm, desperately trying to give him what strength she can spare, not wanting to look again in to his eyes for fear that she would not be able to stop her own crying she knew would come.

Now, her own private battle started to take place. For two years she has worked closely with this fierce friend, this man she had come to admire and care deeply for.

Maybe that was why she was having a hard time looking into his eyes…that she cared for him? She must have. She wouldn't have done this for just anyone. For Harm…without a moment's hesitation as she did tonight. One thing though: Does he feel the same way about her? He couldn't; he was still dealing with Diane's murder and confronting Holbarth for it.

But that kiss? Where did that come from and who was Harm truly kissing? Mac wanted it to be herself. She could still feel it on her lips, even months after the event.

She had never TRULY had these feelings for any other man. Chris was a mistake that she would have to rectify…and soon (seeing that she was still married to him). She had never loved Eddie, but he was her best friend in high school (she may never forgive herself for his death). John Farrell was a mistake she prayed would not come back to bite her on her six. Dalton Lowne was, yet, another mistake and another death she blamed herself for (also because she fell off the wagon).

Harm? He was another matter altogether. In the two years they had known each other, they had saved each other's' lives more than the collective digits on their hands and feet. Starting with their first assignment going after her uncle and ending with their recent trip to Russia. They had seen each other at their worst; herself last year, with Dalton's murder and her subsequent sobriety failure, and now with Harm's final loss of his father and subsequent emotional tirade.

Now, her second question came into play. Did he feel the same way about her? Being a Marine, her training kicked in and she bit the bullet as she decided to dive in, head long, and just ask, "Harm, I know this couldn't be a worse time to ask this, but how do you feel about me?"

XXXXX – XXXXX – XXXXX – XXXXX

This one's going to be short as I'm feeling my way through this and don't want to go too fast. Please let me what you think. BE HONEST! I'm a big boy. I can take it. :-) PM if you have recommendations or severe criticism and we can discuss it that way.

BTW: Change of destination for me and my wife. She was offered a better position somewhere else closer to home. So, no Texas for us. Just have to find myself a new job now. Good times. :-S Oh well, gonna post this so you all can enjoy (hopefully) it. Talk to you all soon and God Bless.