Getting a New Partner

author: rooster dawn

Classification: Harm/Mac

Summary: Alternative Universe

Disclaimers: The characters of JAG are the property of Donald Bellisario and Bellisarius Production, Inc. Used without permission.

Feedback is greatly appreciated and welcomed.

part one The Plan

1100 hours

10 June 1996

JAG Headquarters

Harm was sitting in his office thinking about the last few months. It had been awhile now since his partner Lieutenant JG Meg Austin had left. She had requested a transfer shortly after their last case together.

It was case he still had nightmares about. His beloved Diane had been murdered. He was going to meet her the morning she died and go away to a cabin in the mountains to talk about their future.

The case had been close, but he wasn't sure that they had gotten the right man. Somehow he believe his love for Diane was the reason for Meg leaving. Meg had always come across as someone who had more then a passing interest in him.

They had done more then their share of flirting. He thought maybe Meg was in love with him, but he wasn't in love with her. He had been in love with Diane, his Naval Academy sweetheart.

They were going to go away for a week to discuss their future. He had considered asking her to marry him. Harm then began to think about his future. Did he really want too stay in the Navy or not.

Right now he was tired of how he had been force to forgo a relationship with Diane for the last eleven years because of no fraternization regulations.

Even if they had gotten married they wouldn't have been able to work together under the same command. Was it really worth it? He didn't know any more, especially now that he rarely ever flew tomcats anymore.

And flying tomcats was the main reason why he had been in the navy for such a long time. Maybe it was time to hang it up. But first, lunch seem to be in order. Harm got up and signed out for an early lunch.

1145 hours

Admiral's office

The Admiral was sitting in his office reviewing some of the cases his officers had recently completed. He had to marvel at the excellent work they had been doing. He loved it.

He knew when he had first arrived at JAG taking over for Commander Lindsey, many of the officers had gotten pretty soft, especially Commander Rabb who like to take advantaged of Commander Lindsey and his partner Meg Austin.

He had put the fear of God into all of them and their work had improved immeasurably. But lately Rabb had begun to slip again.

He was still an excellent attorney, but the passion that Harm had brought to the courtroom seemed to be waning the last few months ever since his partner, Meg Austin, had left.

Even though Rabb appeared to be a lone wolf, maybe he wasn't meant to be one here at JAG. Maybe it was time to find him a new partner.

There was a knock at his door.

"Enter!" bellowed the Admiral.

He looked up to see a man impeccably dressed in an expensive European cut three piece suit walked in. Who was this guy? He definitely didn't belong in the military. He had no military bearing at all.

"What can I do for you?" asked the Admiral.

"Good morning Sir. My name is Clayton Webb. I work for the Under Secretary of State. And I need your assistance." replied Webb.

"What's this all about Mr. Webb?" asked the Admiral.

"I need two of your best officers Sir and they need to be married." replied Webb with a smirk.

"I guess I can't help you then Mr. Webb. None of my officers are married." responded the Admiral with a smile.

"Actually I only need one of your officers Admiral. I have recruited an officer from the West Coast office of JAG. I was hoping to recruit Commander Rabb from your office." countered Webb.

The Admiral leaned back in his chair and shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This strange little man comes waltzing into his office and wants two JAG officers to get married to fulfill some crazy operation he had concocted. He felt like throwing the man out of his office on his duff.

"Why in the world would you want Commander Rabb? He's a loose cannon. He lacks the discipline for any long term operations." said the Admiral finally answering.

"That's just it. He has the knack of thinking fast on his feet and getting the job done. He has an exceptional mind and cocky attitude to pull off this operation." replied Webb.

"I still don't know. I need to hear more about this operation first before I can decide to let you have either one of them." responded the Admiral.

"Fair enough Admiral, but let me inform you first that the Secretary of the Navy has already approved of this operation." replied Webb.

"Okay, so be it. What's the operation?" asked the Admiral.

"It covers three different phases. The first phase entails the officers to get married in a big fancy wedding at Annapolis. A lot of very important people will be attending." began Webb.

"That's why you needed someone like Commander Rabb, an Annapolis graduate." added the Admiral. "You could always go with Commander Carmichael, I understand he's an academy grad too and he works for Navy Intelligence."

"Yes Sir. Rabb comes from a family with many generations of service in the Navy. He also is well bred from a well to do family. He knows how to conduct himself in a formal setting." continued Webb.

"So whom have you chosen for his bride to be?" asked the Admiral with a smile. Maybe this is what Rabb needs to perk up.

"She's a Marine officer." smiled Webb looking to see what kind of reaction he would get from the Admiral.

"What! Are you joking? Don't you know jarheads and squids don't mix." bellowed the Admiral in amazement.

"I've heard something to that effect Sir, but like you said, Rabb is a loose cannon. He needs someone who can keep him under control, make sure he stays on the straight and narrow. Who better then a no nonsense marine." smiled Webb.

"I still think you're playing with fire Webb." replied the Admiral.

"I think in this case it will be okay once the Commander sees the Major. In fact I think he will be speechless the first time he sees her." smiled Webb smugly.

"What aren't you telling me Webb?" bellowed the Admiral trying to intimidate the smaller man.

"Nothing Admiral. The Major happens to be a very beautiful woman. She's tall and lean. She's very intelligent. She also speaks five languages." replied Webb.

"What's her name?" asked the Admiral.

"Her name is Sarah MacKenzie." replied Webb.

"So tell me what's going to happen and in what kind of time frame are we talking about?" bellowed the Admiral.

"The Major is on her way here as we speak. She should be here before the end of the day. We can brief the Commander after lunch. He can then meet her later today.

The announcement of their marriage will be placed in the Washington Post Society pages. Six weeks later they will be married. After a two week honeymoon they will report to the Naval Academy at Annapolis to receive four months of instructions of the finer points in Naval Maritime Law.

They will then instruct all JAG officers in Maritime Law over the course of one year. After which phase two of the operation will begin." Webb smiled as he saw how the Admiral was very interested.

"That sounds quite ambitious. Why the sudden interest in Maritime Law?" asked the Admiral.

"The SecNav thought it was very important now with all the conflicts going on around the world. All naval JAG lawyers should be familiar with the nuances in Maritime Laws.

Commander Rabb has a reputation of being very knowledgeable. He has a command presence and is easily approachable." replied Webb.

"So what happens in the next phase?" asked the Admiral.

"The Commander and the Major will the be station in Europe for a couple of years teaching and handling Maritime Law matters of US interest with NATO." smiled Webb as he finished.

"Sounds interesting Webb. I hope they go for it. Though I wonder about the Commander. He hasn't been the same the last few months since his partner requested a transfer without telling him.

He has been very quiet and has kept mostly to himself. I don't know what it will take to snap him out of it." sighed the Admiral.

"Then this might be perfect for him then. It sounds like he needs a change. And this should be right up his alley." smiled Webb.

"I still don't understand why he needs to be married." sighed the Admiral.

part two Time to Meet Sarah

1500 hours

Admiral's Office

Later that afternoon the Admiral called Harm into his office after lunch. He and Webb met with Harm to discuss the mission with him in every detail possible before allowing him to speak. They wanted to get through the briefing before they heard any arguments from Harm.

"So what do you think Commander?" asked the Admiral with a stern look.

"Sounds interesting Sir. I don't understand the need for a wife though Sir." replied Harm.

"As I'm sure you're quite aware of, only married men teach at the Academy. Since the first phase of this operation entails you being an instructor at the Academy for twelve months, you will need to be married.

Secondly this operation will require a lot of work. It's been deem to be too much for one person to handle all by himself. Therefore you might as well have a wife that is able to assist you in your duties." smile the Admiral, surprised that Harm was being so calm about all of this.

"What can you tell me about the officer who has agreed to become my wife?" asked Harm with curiosity.

Even though he wasn't too please about the idea of getting married this way, he was ready to settle down. It was at times like this he missed Diane the most. He hated being alone. He needed companionship of the female variety.

"I think you'll like her Commander. She's a Marine." smiled Webb as he and the Admiral tried to hold back a laugh.

"A Marine! God almighty, why a Marine? Why don't you just shoot me now and put me out of my misery. She's probably some short dumpy, tobacco chewing, tattooed jarhead with half her teeth missing." whined Harm.

The Admiral and Webb both laughed at Harm's discomfort. Webb had taken the liberty to show the Admiral a picture of Mac. He had to admit that Webb had very good taste in women.

"At ease Commander. I expect better then that from you. I've seen a picture of her. You'll be pleasantly surprise. I doubt you'll be disappointed." smile the Admiral.

"Yes Sir." replied a gloomy Harm.

At that point there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." gestured the Admiral looking at the young marine officer.

He was the only one who had seen her since Harm and Webb were sitting in the chairs facing him. He had seen her standing there at the door waiting to come in when Harm began his blistering diatribe about marine women.

He noticed a look of hurt and anger on her beautiful face. She must have heard Harm's last comment thought the Admiral. Then he grinned as he got ready for the fireworks that he was sure would soon followed.

Mac walked into the office and stood at attention in front of the Admiral.

"Major Sarah MacKenzie reporting as ordered, Sir." stated Sarah with a touch of anger. Harm stood up to greet her as the Admiral told Sarah,

"At Ease Major. I would like you to meet Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb, your finance." smiled the Admiral as he anticipated Harm having his six chewed out.

"It's nice to meet you Commander." greeted Sarah as she held out her hand to a shocked Harm.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was Diane, his lost love. But it couldn't be, she was dead. He just stood there looking at her, not moving.

"What's the matter Commander, never seen a Marine before? Or were you expecting a short dumpy woman with half her teeth and a crew cut." continued Sarah as she pleasantly ripped into him.

Then she reached up behind her head to let down her hair. It was quite long running down to the middle of her back. It was very dark, thick, and silky.

"How about now, do I pass inspection Commander?" challenge Sarah.

Finally Harm came out of his stupor.

"Actually no I didn't. I figured Webb would find the most beautiful woman in the military. He always wants the best to be part of his operations." smile Harm hesitantly trying to defuse the situation.

Now it was Sarah's turn to be taken aback as her cheeks blushed. Harm had basically said she was the most beautiful woman in the military. She wasn't used to this kind of compliment.

"It's just you look like the woman I was dating when I was at the academy. She and I were going to get together this spring to discuss our future together." continued Harm.

"What happened?" asked a curious Sarah.

"She's dead." replied a solemn Harm as he turned away. He didn't want anyone to see the tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." replied Sarah as she placed a hand on his back to try and help console him.

1600 hours

14 June 1996

Dulles International airport

A few days later Trish Burnett, Harm's mother, was spending the afternoon reading the Sunday newspaper. She couldn't believe what she was reading. She called Frank over to show him. They were looking at the society pages in the local paper.

It stated that Lieutenant Harm Rabb Jr. was engaged to marry Major Sarah MacKenzie. They were going to marry 26 July 1996 at the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis.

Trish was shock to see the news of Harm getting married, but quickly overcame it and became very excited. The next thing she did was to call Harm. The telephone rang in Harm's apartment. He picked up the phone.

"Hello, Harmon Rabb speaking." He heard a woman speaking and knew it was his mother.

She asked him "Why didn't you call me Harm? Why did I have to read about you getting married in the newspapers?"

"All I can tell you Mom is, my proposal to Sarah was very sudden. A close friend of mine who I had discussed marrying Sarah with, decided to let the newspapers know of my marriage proposal before I had even asked her.

He jumped the gun. I was put in an awkward position of asking her to marry me before she could read about it in the newspapers herself. I haven't had the chance to call you since I asked her." replied Harm hoping she wouldn't ask to many questions.

He didn't have all the answers yet himself. He and Sarah needed some time to sit down and create a believable story.

A week later Trish and Frank came to DC to visit Harm and meet Sarah. She must be someone very special. He went to the airport to pick them up. When he saw them coming off the plane he went over to greet them. His mother was so excited.

She couldn't believe her baby boy was getting married. She hadn't even realized he was seeing anyone since Diane's death. Frank was calm and collected. He too was taken by surprise of the news that Harm was getting married.

He just couldn't picture Harm settling down so soon. He figured that Harm would put in his twenty years first before retiring and then settling down. But still he was happy for Harm and particularly for his wife Trish.

"How are you Mom?" asked Harm.

"I'm good Harm. The flight was quite enjoyable." replied Trish.

"That's because your mother is still on an emotional high son. You've made her very happy. It's all she's been able to talk about all week." smile Frank.

"Thanks Frank. We're going to have dinner with her tonight. You both are going to love her. By the way you may notice the resemblance. She looks like Diane." smiled Harm.

"Is that why you're marrying her Harm?" asked Frank.

"No, it's not. She's just someone I met recently at work. She's entirely different from Diane. Actually she's quite stubborn and has a very quick temper." laughed Harm.

"I take it then she's not your typical beautiful airhead, who's only capable of cooing on your arm." laughed Frank.

"No she's not. She is very intelligent and isn't afraid to speak her mind." smiled Harm wishfully.