Spoilers: Anything up to the series finale, but nothing to major is said about this episode.

Rating: I'm going to say 'M' for some angst-y issues that aren't suitable for children (although it is a sad fact that many children have to deal with such harsh realities in their everyday lives.)

AN: This hasn't seen a beta, so all the mistakes in this are mine. Just a little idea I had, it deviates from any of the usual stuff I do. If I had to classify it, I'd say it was a Little AJ fic. Many other characters are involved, but it all eventually comes down to Little AJ. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: JAG and its main characters belong to DPB and to CBS. I don't make any profit from writing any of these fics, but simply get to exercise my overactive imagination every now and then. Please don't sue me, as I'm poor with very little money!

Category: In a way, it is Harm/Mac shipper, because Harm and Mac are together. However, like I said, this story is about Little AJ.

OOOO

Saving Sarah

Part 1

OOOO

Harriet and Mac were sitting out on the back porch of Harriet and Bud's new house. Harm and Bud had taken the Roberts children to see a movie, leaving the women lots of time to catch up. Harm and Mac had recently been transferred back Stateside, which was even better for them, now that Mattie was back in the in the US at college. They would be closer to her, which had Harm and Mac a lot more at ease.

"So, for now we're in a service apartment, until we can find a house," Mac was telling Harriet.

"That's great!" Harriet smiled then noticed that her glass was empty and that Mac's was nearly so, "Can I get you some more ice tea?"

"That would be great, thanks," Mac nodded, handing Harriet her glass.

While Harriet was in the kitchen, Mac leaned back in her chair and looked out over the yard. It was huge, so even though this house wasn't quite as large as the one they'd lived in previously, it was more suitable to the three growing boys and the growing little girl it now housed.

Mac nearly jumped in her seat when she caught sight of the little girl in overalls, standing at the side of the sun porch. The child looked just as surprised to see her.

"I'm sorry! " Mac apologized, "Guess we scared each other, huh?"

The child just smiled, shyly.

"Sorry, but AJ isn't here right now…"

She judged the girl to be about ten or so, so she must be here to see little AJ.

The girl just regarded Mac, her expression unreadable.

"He's gone out with his Dad and his uncle to see a movie…You're welcome to stay, though…"

The child stood still for a minute then ran back the way she came.

Mac rounded the porch, watching the child run across the street, disappearing from sight.

When Harriet came out, she let her know.

"One of AJ's friends just stopped by. I let her know that he was out and said that she could stay around, but she ran off…"

"A little girl?" Harriet asked, curiously.

"Yeah," Mac nodded, "she looked to be about nine or ten, so I wasn't sure if she was a friend of AJ's or Jimmy's, but I suppose she's more likely to be a friend of AJ's…"

"Well," Harriet supposed, "Jimmy's going through a stage now where he thinks that all little girls have the plague, so I suppose it must be a friend of AJ's. What did she look like?"

"Well, she had auburn hair in braids, was about this tall, was dressed in blue overalls…"

"Don't recognize that description, but maybe it's a new girlfriend!" Harriet smiled.

Little AJ was turning out to be something of a little Romeo, although he didn't seem to have totally realized the power he held in that smile, just yet!

"She'll probably be back around to see him later…"

"You didn't tell me about your new girlfriend, AJ Roberts!" Mac teased him, when he, his brothers, sister, uncle and father got home, a few hours later, "You've been in town all of two weeks and you've got a new girlfriend, already!"

"I don't have a girlfriend, Aunt Mac!" AJ laughed.

"Well, somebody came around and your Aunt and I just assumed she was your girlfriend," Harriet commented, "Maybe it was one of your new classmates."

"Mom, did she tell you that she was my girlfriend?" AJ grinned, with that cheeky Robert's expression, " 'Cos every girl wishes she was my girlfriend!"

Harriet and Mac gave a delighted chuckle, as Mac affectionately ruffled her Godson's spiky, blond hair.

OOOO

Now that they were back in the States, Mac was often on the phone to Harriet. In fact currently, Harriet was speaking to Mac, standing in front of the big bay window, looking out on their back yard.

"Mac, can I call you back, please?" Harriet frowned as she took stock of all that the back yard held, "I promise, I'll just be a ten minutes…"

Once she heard Mac hang up, Harriet replaced the receiver and slowly made her way outside. After a moment of thought, Harriet let the back screen door slam behind her, with a loud 'thunk.'

The figure sitting underneath the largest tree in the yard jumped and twisted around. When she saw Harriet standing on the porch, she quickly got to her feet, but Harriet put her at ease before she took flight.

"It's okay," she told the girl, "don't worry, it's okay for you to be here…you don't need to be afraid of me. You aren't here to see any of my boys, are you?"

"I don't know your boys," the child confirmed.

"I thought so," Harriet smiled, taking a seat on the grass, next to the girl, "You came over to sit in my yard?"

"I used to live here," the girl, told her, "I didn't mean to trespass…I just really needed to come and sit by the tree…I like it here and nobody ever seems to use it, so I thought it'd be okay, if I didn't bother anyone…"

"Do you still live in the neighborhood?" Harriet asked, "Because you can come by and sit out here anytime you want. Would you like to sit in the tree?"

"No, thanks," the girl shook her head, "I don't live around here anymore, so I don't think I can come again…But thank you, Mrs…"

"Mrs. Roberts," Harriet told her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Roberts," the girl nodded, then told her, "I'm Sarah."

"Anytime you want to come, Sarah," Harriet told her, "You're always welcome here."

They heard the sound of a large vehicle pulling up to the curb, outside and the girl hurriedly got up.

"You need to go?" Harriet asked her.

"My ride is here," Sarah nodded, "I just thought I'd have more time."

Harriet followed her outside through the side gate, catching sight of a large yellow bus.

The girl ran to where a strict, middle-aged woman stood, in the doorway to the bus, her arms crossed and her lips pursed.

The words 'Children's Home' were written in big, black letters on the side of the bus.

OOOO

"So she used to live in your house and now she's in a children's home?" Mac asked, as she and Harriet sat having lunch.

"I guess so, Ma'am," Harriet shook her head then looked up to see Mac's frown.

"Sorry," she apologized, "must be the uniform…Mac, I meant."

"So, what happened?"

"I don't know. Maybe she was a foster child? Maybe they had to put her into the state-run children's home? Maybe they couldn't take care of her, anymore?"

Just then, AJ came and joined them, coming from the playground outside, where he'd been keeping an eye on his younger siblings.

"AJ, Honey?" Harriet asked her son, "Do you know that little girl who was in our yard, yesterday?"

"The one who got on the big yellow bus?" AJ asked.

He had seen it briefly, and the girl and woman it carried out of the street, from his bedroom window.

"Yeah, kinda. She goes to my school," AJ nodded.

"Is she in your grade?"

"Yeah, but she's in Mr. Rennick's class. I don't really know anything about her."

"She said she used to live in our house," Harriet told him.

"She did?" AJ asked, "She's never said anything to me…Why's she in a children's home, Mom?"

"I don't know, Sweetie," Harriet hugged him, "Maybe she lost her parents. Not all children are as lucky as you and your brothers and sister. Could you go and get them, please? Their food's going to be here any minute."

AJ ran out to get his siblings.

"He's grown up so much since we've been gone," Mac smiled as she watched him.

"They grown up fast, don't they?" Harriet agreed, "Here's Mattie going back to college and AJ's in junior high…"

"I'm so glad Harm and I are back here," Mac confided, "Mattie's a lot more independent, now, but sometimes I worry about her, so much…"

"She's getting help and support at college, isn't she?" Harriet asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Mac nodded, smiling, "or else her Father never would have agreed to her going! She's so independent now, but I still worry about her. I can't help but try and help her with the things that still challenge her…I know she needs to do it on her own, but every time I see her fail and get so discouraged…"

"She'll get there, Mac," Harriet put her hand over hers, "She always does. Her doctors thought she might not even wake up, at first. Then they doubted that she'd ever walk again, even breath without a ventilator…Now she's going to college."

"Yeah," Mac smiled, wiping away a tear that had escaped, "I know…I know..."

OOOO

Harriet was surprised to find who had rung the doorbell, a week later.

"Mrs. Roberts," Sarah spoke up, quietly, "Is it still okay for me to be here?"

"Of course it is," Harriet told her, "just as long as somebody knows that you're here and doesn't think you're missing…"

"They won't think that I'm missing…" Sarah revealed, but added, "but they don't exactly know that I'm gone. Somebody's covering for me…"

"Then you can't stay too long," Harriet sighed and stipulated, "but I'll run you home, when you have to go. I don't want you traveling on public transport on your own."

When Mac came over, twenty minutes later, Harriet was on the front porch, watching AJ and Sarah as they talked underneath the giant tree.

"Hey," Mac smiled as she took a seat beside Harriet, "so AJ's little girlfriend came back?"

"He insists that she's not his girlfriend," Harriet smiled, "but then again they have kinda hit it off."

"So if she didn't come here to see AJ, why is she here?" Mac asked, "To see the house?"

"The tree, actually," Harriet revealed, "It seems to be important to her."

"She came all this way from the children's home to sit underneath that tree?"

"Seems like it. I haven't been able to get much out of her. I keep saying that I'll have to run her home, but I lose my resolve…Anytime now, somebody's going to notice she's gone…"

"Nobody at the home knows she's here!" Mac nearly spit out her ice tea.

"No," Harriet shook her head, "she said that she got the public bus here. I'm going to run her back, as soon as I can get her from under that tree…but…"

"Harriet," Mac told her, "you have to take her back, before you get into trouble."

"She made her own way here," Harriet argued.

"But you let her stay here," Mac pointed out, "even after you knew that she had left the home without any permission."

Harriet sighed.

"Yeah, I know…I'll go and get her."

After explaining to her why she had to return to the children's home, Harriet ushered Sarah around the side entrance to the yard.

"The next time you come here, Sarah," Harriet told her, "you're going to have to get an adult's permission. You'll get into big trouble, just disappearing. And what if something had happened to you, on your way here? Nobody would know to look for you, if they didn't even know you were gone. I'll even come and pick you up, if nobody can run you here, but you really need to ask permission."

"I know, Mrs. Roberts," Sarah sighed, "it's just that I really needed to be here, today and I knew that nobody would say yes…"

"I will come and get you, if you phone me," Harriet reiterated, "Just don't try getting the bus all the way here, again."

"Okay, Mrs. Roberts," Sarah nodded.

She and Harriet left in the SUV, while Mac stayed to keep an eye on the Roberts children. While Nikki, Mark and Jimmy were in the yard, AJ went to sit with his Godmother.

"Sarah's in your grade, isn't she AJ?" Mac asked, "Do you know anything about her?"

"Not much," AJ shook his head, "But some of the girls in my class do. They said that she had to go into the children's home last year, when her parents died."

"Did they say how it happened?" Mac asked.

"Not exactly," AJ revealed, "just that her Father died in an auto-accident. Some time after that, her Mom died too, so Sarah was sent to the children's home, because there wasn't anyone else to look after her…Aunt Mac, if anything happened to my Mom and Dad and there wasn't anyone else, could I come to live with you and Uncle Harm?"

"Of course you could," Mac hugged her Godson, "Uncle Harm and I would never stand by and let any of our Godchildren get put into a children's home. Has this been bothering you?"

"Kinda," AJ revealed, "Somebody said something at school and it's made me think, ever since."

"What was that?" Mac asked.

"That nobody wants older kids," AJ told her, "They said that people who adopt kids are looking for a little kid, ones that they can raise. They said that somebody like Sarah would be in the children's home until they were 18 and that after that, they'd just be pushed out the door and forgotten about…"

"I'm sure that wouldn't happen," Mac soothed him, "Mattie was older than Sarah is, now and Harm and I still took her into our family…"

"Yeah, but not every family is like you and Uncle Harm," AJ explained, "In real life, you and Uncle Harm are just like you are at work. You don't stop when you find something that is wrong until you've made it right. Most other people I know wouldn't look twice, if they saw something happening that wasn't right."

"Not all people would do that, AJ," Mac stroked AJ's cheek, "I'm sure there's somebody out there for Sarah. Try not to worry about it."

OOOO