Title: Getting it RightAuthor: rooster dawn
Pairing: who else is there
Spoiler: The last couple of shows of season ten
Disclaimer: The characters of JAG are the property of Donald Bellisario and Bellisarius Production, Inc. Used without permission. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: Harm and Mac, forever together, never ever apart
Good feedback is good for the soul and my happiness.
part one
8 Apr 2005
Harm's Apartment
Harm was shaken to the core. As he was getting ready to leave the office for the day he received a disturbing phone call from Blacksburg Hospital. Mattie had been involved with an airplane accident.
Her instructor was trying to land the airplane they were flying in when a sudden snowstorm hit the area. They were hit by another airplane coming in for a landing at the same time. Everyone but Mattie had been killed. Mattie had suffered severe injuries and was now in a coma.
Since he had been left in charge when the General took half the staff to San Diego for a conference, he needed to find someone to leave in charge while he went to Blacksburg to check on Mattie.
He called Sturgis to tell him what happen and where he was going to be. He left Sturgis in charge of JAG. He made his way to the hospital to see Mattie. He found Tom half crazed. It wasn't long before he disappeared.
Harm hoped that it wasn't somewhere to find a bottle. He had worked so hard to get his life back together so that he could take care of Mattie. He and Mattie were finally doing okay with each other.
The doctors told him to go home. They didn't anticipate Mattie waking up anytime soon. They would call him if anything changed. He had left begrudgingly. He would be back. He didn't know whether or not he could trust Tom to stay sober and watched out for Mattie interest.
Visitors Officer's Quarters
San Diego, California
Mac was getting ready to meet up with a couple of new jags that had accompanied her to San Diego for a Jag conference. They were two young women who hoped to benefit their careers from working with Mac.
Unfortunately Lieutenant Sixhole was attending the conference with them too. He was a royal pain in the six. They had only been there one day and she already had to discipline him twice for lewd behavior towards her and the other women.
She was heading out the door when her phone rang. She wondered who it could be. She wasn't expecting a call from anyone. She hoped it wasn't the General. She was hoping to avoid him this evening. There was something about him she just didn't like.
"Sarah Mackenzie." said Mac as she answered the phone.
"Mac, it's me, Harm." replied Harm in a distant voice."What's wrong Harm." asked Mac. She could hear that something was wrong in his voice."I needed to hear your voice." he replied sullenly.
"Harm, you're scaring me." responded Mac anxiously."Mac ..... It's Mattie ..... she's been in an accident." replied Harm barely holding it together."Is she okay?" asked Mac."She was hurt pretty badly. The plane she was in hit another plane while it was attempting to land. She's in a coma. They don't know if she will wake up." sobbed Harm.
"I'll be on the next plane Harm." declared Mac.
"You don't have to Mac. There's nothing you can do. You should go to the party." argued Harm.
"I should be there with you Harm. The party means nothing to me. I'm sure the General can survive without me." rebutted Mac.
"Mac, you should stay and enjoy yourself. You can come back in the morning." argued Harm. There wasn't anything she could do. A few hours wouldn't matter one way or another."I won't be able to enjoy myself knowing that you are alone, in pain. It's 1900 hours here. I should be able to make it back by 0800 hours tomorrow." replied Mac."Thanks Mac." said Harm."It's what we do best Harm, we're always there for each other." offered Mac.
Before Mac left San Diego she found the General at the party. She informed the General that there had been an emergency back in Washington that she had to attend to. When the General asked her what it was she replied that Harm's ward had been in an airplane accident.
She told him about what happened. She excused herself saying that she was headed back to Washington and that she would see him in a few days. The General wanted her to stay. The meeting was very important and would benefit her if she stayed, but Mac declined.
Her place right now was with Harm, not socializing with people she didn't know or care about. Let the General deal with Vukobum. He seemed to like him. He had wondered why she needed to return to Washington.
She wasn't married to Rabb. Mattie wasn't her child. There was no immediate need for her to go. Mac wondered why he was giving her a hard time about this. He didn't need her there. It was just a conference for JAG officers to get together and discuss some interesting cases.
Finally she told him that over the nine years that they had worked together, they had always been there when the other one needed them. She had been there last year as a character witness when Harm was looking to become Mattie's guardian.
She arranged with the girl's father to let Harm take care of her until he was ready to resume his parental duties. Last winter Harm was there for her when she crashed into a tree. He stayed with her until she was back on her feet.
The General finally relented. Coates had told him all about their connection. They never let anyone get in between them. Even when they were dating others, they still had a special bond that no one could break.
The General was disappointed though. He had hoped to introduce her around to some old colleagues of his. They were setting up a new command to be located here in San Diego. A command comprised of Marines and Squids.
He wanted them to get to know the Colonel and understand why the CNO, SecNav, and he thought that the Colonel was the right person to take charge of this special new Command.
A few hours later Mac was on a plane back to Washington, back to Harm. As promised she was with Harm at the Blacksburg Hospital by 0800 hours the next morning. Tom hadn't returned. Harm was afraid that he had fallen off the wagon and was drunk.
Mac assured him that everything would be alright. She would be there for him. Mattie would be alright. She had him in her life now. She would recover and be fine. She had the Rabb lucky charm taking care of her.
Harm wasn't so sure. He felt that he used up most of what luck he had left when he ejected several years ago. They were lucky to survive two years ago in Paraguay when they were shot down. He didn't think he had any luck left.
5 May 2005
Mac's office
Jag Headquarters
Harm made the trip to Blacksburg everyday for two weeks. The General told him to take whatever time he needed. Mac went with him a couple times a week usually spending the weekend with him.
After about a month Mattie woke up. She was a little dispirited due to her new condition. She hadn't seen her father since she woke up. She was afraid that he hit the booze again. While she didn't like it, at least she had Harm.
And it appeared to her that she might have Mac in her life too. She had been spending a lot of time with Harm. They always came to the hospital together to see her. She was going to have to stay in the hospital for a few months to rehab before they would release her to Harm's care.
With Mattie out of the woods Harm returned to work. Fortunately the General sent Sturgis on all investigations which thrilled Sturgis to no end. He didn't like doing investigations. He preferred spending time in the courtroom.
Currently Harm was assigned to work with the new Lieutenant, the one he heard horror stories about. The Lieutenant was a womanizer and a snake charmer. His courtroom methods were questionable at best.
Harm had just returned from court. He had been co-counselor with the Vukovic on this case that lasted a week. It was a unique experience for Harm. Vukovic had done a fairly good job, but he had lost to Bud. Bud had done a great job. He walked over to Mac's office and sat down in one of her chairs.
"I thought you were kidding me about the snot nose Lieutenant. He doesn't take direction very well. I though he was John Kerry's step son, Flopper Junior. I don't think he had any idea what he was doing in there.
He kept switching his defense strategies. It was like watching a tennis match and I didn't know whether he was serving or defending. I didn't know what direction he was going. He and Singer would have made a good pair." sighed Harm.
"That's why I don't like him. He tries to win by deceiving people. He doesn't understand that he should be focusing on trying to find the truth. Everything else will take care of itself.
You know, like the Buxton case we tried several years back. As much as I thought he was guilty, your argument to get him acquitted was a valid one. He was young and inexperienced. He was trained to do a job as a fighter pilot.
He was on a razor edge, ready for action. For him taking out the enemy was a right of passage. But in the end his CO saw that and he was removed from flying because he lacked the proper discipline and restraint to fly combat missions.
He was a poor example for the other men to be their leader. Maybe with a little more maturity he would have made his way back to flying like you did. If he was willing to pay for his lack of discipline he might have found his way back to flying, a better officer and man.
But in the end a bad apple was removed from the Navy and the truth won out. I pray to God that the same thing happens to the Lieutenant." confirmed Mac.
"How did you get stuck with him anyway Mac? I would have thought the General would have put him with Sturgis or me. You know how anal retentive Sturgis can be. He would have kept him on the straight and narrow. He wouldn't be pulling any of these stunts with Sturgis." pondered Harm.
"The General thought he was too much like you. He needed a firm hand. He needed to learn discipline and military bearing." Mac replied sarcastically. At least that was what the General had told her.
"What did he think, that he was a puppy dog? Swat him on the nose a few times and he will behave? Guys like him don't respect women, at best they tolerate them until they can get the upper hand, they wear them down eventually.
He's more like Bugme. He likes to push the limit as much as he can. He figures sooner or later his rude behavior will be accepted as normal. They don't take no for an answer. I mean if you're looking for a drinking buddy, he's okay.
But sooner or later you have to grow up. Bugme never did. I don't think the Lieutenant has either. He needs to work with Sturgis for six months. Then when he gets the opportunity to work with a professional like you Mac, he'll appreciate the wonderful opportunity he has." replied Harm.
"Mic wasn't that bad Harm." she argued.
"No, he was even worse. Even when he won you over his behavior was boorish at best. I would hear you tell him to do something in a certain way and he would say okay and then he would go off and do it his own way. It got to the point you weren't yourself.
If he was a real man he would have given you the time you needed after you postponed the wedding. Instead it became all about him and what he wanted. He was afraid that he was going to lose you to me.
He didn't trust you. He couldn't except the fact that you cared for someone other than him. He didn't give you the time to recover from the experience of nearly losing your best friend. He never truly loved you.
Everyone was concerned about me after I was found, but sometimes people forget about the ones who almost lost a love one. The pain of almost losing someone doesn't just go away over night. It takes time." argued Harm.
"You were a prize to him. He only saw the beautiful woman, not the marine. He didn't want the total person. It was like Jordan, she loved me as the lawyer, but not as a fighter pilot. But at least she was honest about what she wanted.
It wasn't her goal to change me into someone I wasn't. In the end Mic would have taken you away from everything you knew and the people you love. And he would have expected you to stay home with the children." continued Harm.
"Why are we talking about Mic? I thought we were discussing the Lieutenant." replied Mac a little angry. How had this discussion suddenly become about her failed relationship?
"I'm sorry Mac. Some people just rub me the wrong way. The Lieutenant has the potential to be one of those people. He just reminds me too much of Mic particularly from what you've told me." moaned Harm.
"Well maybe we won't have to put up with him much longer." smiled Mac.
"We can only hope." smiled Harm.