Chapter 1:

04:03 ZULU

Rabb Residence, San Diego, CA

Gentle waves from the Pacific Ocean lapped the shore of the five mile long private beach as the sun began to dip below the horizon. Perched high above the coastline on a natural bluff, and holding on to her new husband's arm, Sarah MacKenzie Rabb descended the long stairway leading to the beach.

The view of the sunset from here had memorized her the first time she had seen it, a week and a half after arriving in San Diego. And their new home, a four bedroom contemporary, with a walkout balcony off the master bedroom, a house she had fallen in love with at first sight. She had sent a picture of the place to Harm while he was still in Washington, tying up loose ends. The caption she added had read, one can only dream.

Sarah had lived simply during her stint in the Marine Corps, banking every penny she could. The only extravagant purchase she ever made was her candy apple red newer model Corvette, and even that was purchased second hand. Okay, it was practically brand new but because it was a lease which was returned after a few weeks, she had gotten an incredible deal.

In all the years they had known each other, Mac and Harm had never discussed money until now which made sense as they had gone from close friends to husband and wife in the matter of a month. They were still learning important things about each other.

Mac was pleased to learn her fiancé was a saver. In addition to his time at JAG, Harm had accrued extra income with flight pay, at sea, and combat pay. In addition, his stint in the CIA had brought him a significant amount of money, which he had squirreled away. Both of them had made some good investments and when they compared their finances they found they had accrued enough capital to place a sizable amount on the home, however, they didn't have enough to drop the mortgage payments to something manageable unless they completely drained both their accounts.

A week before their wedding, they were having dinner with Harm's parents Trish and Frank. When Trish asked about the house, Harm had to tell her that they needed to pass on it and they were going to look in a less expensive and less desirable neighborhood. After dinner, Trish pulled Mac aside.

"I know Harm is not going to like this, but Frank and I are going to give the two of you some financial help so you can purchase your dream home…"

"Mrs. Burnett, you're right, Harm isn't going to like it and neither am I. Please, don't misunderstand me, we both appreciate the offer, but, we need to do this ourselves…"

"Sarah, I told you to call me Trish, or Mom, after all, you are going to be my daughter."

Mac had felt her heartstrings being tugged at. She had never really had much of a family life, until now and she had seen the sincerity in her future mother in law's eyes. She had to force herself to hold back the tears.

"Just listen to me for a moment," Trish continued. "Frank and I are set for life. We have more money than we could ever know what to do with and when we are gone, you and Harm are going to get it anyway. I would much rather give it to you now, so the two of you can make a good home for our grandchildren."

"Trish, I don't know if Harm and I will be able to have children…"

"You already have Mattie."

It was the one thing Trish could say to make her surrender and the one thing she could say to Harm which forced him to agree. Mac and Harm closed on the house two weeks ago.

The past few weeks had been crazy for both of them and if it hadn't been for Trish and Harriet, their wedding would have been a disaster. They were married in a Saturday evening ceremony on May 21, 2005, and while the wedding wasn't quite as extravagant as she would have liked, all off the people she cared about were there, including the Admiral, who walked her down the aisle.

They had a brief reprise the week following the wedding while they honeymooned in Hawaii. Six days and seven nights of marital bliss, and Sarah smiled as she remembered how the first two days were spent.

Mattie had made remarkable strides in her recovery after she learned Mac and Harm were engaged. Over the phone, she had told Mac, "Whatever it takes, I'm going to walk again so I can be in your wedding." And walk she did, with a little help from Bud's brother Mikey. Of course, Bud was Harms' Best Man and Harriet was Mac's Matron of Honor.

Harm had been right when he told her the reason Bud and Harriet had chosen to stay in Washington. Once they found out that Mac was going to marry Harm and they would be together in San Diego, they decided to make the move allowing Bud to accept the offer as Mac's executive officer.

As they reached the beach, Mac undid her cover revealing the royal blue bikini underneath. Turning to her husband, she unbuttoned his shirt and drew him into a long embrace.

This had been the first day since returning from their honeymoon that they were able to get some much needed down time and just enjoy being in love, and being with each other.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Harm as they drew apart to face each other.

"I'm…overwhelmed, Harm," she replied. "Everything is just starting to catch up with me."

"It has been one hell of a ride, Mac." He reached down and brushed a tear from her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking, that's all."

"Regrets?" he asked.

"Only one," she replied, looking intently at him. "I should have done this the day we made the baby deal."

"Would you have been able to deal with me being out to sea, Mac?"

"Knowing what I know now, yeah, I could."

Joining hands they strolled down the beach as the last vestiges of sunshine disappeared below the horizon. They had just reached their favorite spot, a line of rocks jutting out of the sand a few hundred yards south of their home when they heard someone calling. A lone figure was running down the beach from the direction of their home.

"You expecting company, Mac?"

"No…hey…that sounds like Gunny."

A few moments later, Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez came up to them and snapped to attention.

"At ease, Gunny," said Mac. "What is it?"

"Sir, Ma'am," he began. "CNAF set me out to find you. He's called an emergency briefing set to begin in two hours. Ma'am, General Cresswell wants you to represent JAG at the briefing."

"What the hell is going on, Gunny, World War Three?"

"It could be, sir. The KPAF attacked a flight of F-18s operating over the Sea of Japan. They shot one down and damaged another. The damaged aircraft made it back to the carrier but crashed during landing. The pilot managed to punch out at the last minute but he's in serious condition."

"My God, Harm?" said Mac, to her husband.

"It gets worse, Ma'am. The North Koreans are blaming us. They say our plane fired first."

"Let's move," said Harm. "We don't have much time."

The three of them ran back to the stairway. So much for our evening alone, thought Mac.