August 2009

Mac knew the moment she saw him. It was him. She took a calming breath and looked away, determined to avoid that he saw her. She was too late, he stopped and smiled.

"Mackenzie?"

She hesitated. "Sir," she acknowledged him.

"I didn't know you were in Florida?"

"It's new. I've only been here for about a month," she looked past him and saw Harm approach her.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he walked up to her. "Am I disturbing?"

"Admiral Harmon Rabb, this is General Stark. We served together for a short while in Bosnia," Mac said through gritted teeth.

"The Colonel was with my unit for a short time. I believe her orders were cut and she returned to the US," General Stark said.

"I was needed for an assignment," Mac said without specifying it.

Harm nodded. "Are you ready for lunch?"

"Absolutely," Mac forced a smile and turned to leave, Harm following behind. She didn't care that she was being rude towards a senior officer, just turning and leaving like that. When she stepped outside she took a cleansing breath and tried to control her anger.

"Mac?"

She shook her head. "Not now, let's just have lunch."

Harm wanted to ask, but he decided that it could wait until later. Something was going on with his wife, and it had something to do with General Stark.

Dinner was ready by the time Mac came home. Trish had been with them since they arrived from London about a month ago, to help with the transition. There were so many changes for the kids with the move, a new life in a new place and their Mom going back to work full time. School would be starting in a few weeks and Trish would go home again once they had their routine in place. She and Frank had an apartment nearby, and Frank was flying back and forth between San Diego and Florida, to take care of business.

"Oh Trish, what will we do when you leave us?" Mac said as she entered the kitchen.

Trish laughed. "I love being here with the kids."

Mac hugged Matthew, then Claire and Nathan. "Did you guys have a good day?"

"We did. I was over to Patrick's place to play," Nathan said and smiled.

"That's great. What about you Claire?" she knew that Claire took the move harder than her brother, and she had seemed sad ever since they left London. She missed her friends, and hadn't found many new friends yet, unlike her brother who knew almost everyone in the neighborhood by now.

"I met a girl, Jenna. She just got home from vacation, and we're meeting again tomorrow," Claire said.

"That's great," Mac said.

"Jenna's Mom was here earlier, she wanted to meet you. I told her you would be home tomorrow, and I told her to bring Jenna over," Trish said.

"Okay," Mac ruffled Matthew's hair. "Mommy has to go change."

"I go with you, Mommy," Matthew took her hand.

"Okay, come on then," Mac said and headed for the second floor. "Did you have fun with grandma?"

Matthew nodded and ran over and jumped on the bed. "When's Daddy comin' ome?"

"Soon," Mac started removing her uniform while Matthew jumped on the bed. Which he wasn't really allowed to do, but she just smiled and let him jump. He was growing so big, time sure flew by.

"Jumping on the bed, buddy?"

Mac turned towards the door where Harm stood smiling.

"Daddy!" Matthew jumped off the bed and ran over to his Dad.

Mac finished dressing and hung her uniform away before walking over.

Harm put Matthew down and leaned in and kissed her. "Ready for the weekend?"

"Absolutely," she smiled and walked past him. "Hurry up and change."

"Yes, ma'am," he said and walked into the bedroom.

Harm finished brushing his teeth and put the toothbrush away before he stepped out of the bathroom. He noticed that his wife was sitting crossed legged on their bed with her computer in front of her.

"What are you doing?" he wondered as he removed his t-shirt.

"Just checking something," she mumbled without looking up.

He removed his pants and walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. "About General Stark? What's the deal with this guy?"

"I followed his unit my last month in Bosnia. The Marine Corps needed me home, so my orders were cut. It was about a year before I met you."

"How long were you in Bosnia?" he asked.

"Six months," Mac turned the computer towards him.

"Sergeants suspected of raping young girl in Bosnia," Harm read out loud. "This is a new article. Did someone look into it recently?"

Mac shifted to another page. "A young reporter from The Times who's been looking into US involvement in Bosnia. She's been trying to figure out if American UN workers were involved in the sex trade scandal and she has also looking into how American soldiers conducted themselves."

Harm looked at the next page Mac showed him. "Sergeants cleared of all suspicion."

"I talked to that girl. She was fifteen and she came to us because she was worried about her sister who had disappeared. You know of the mass rapes. I spent some time talking to women who had been assaulted. It was one of the toughest experiences of my life" Mac closed her computer and put it away. "Her sister had been taken by men while she had been walking home from school. No one saw her again. I went to, then, Lt. Colonel Stark with the information. He told me he'd take it further, that it wasn't my job to investigate the locals, and that he'd talk to the local police. The next day she wouldn't talk to me. Said I had to go away or they'd hurt her more. I asked who she meant, and she told me that after she had talked to me she had been raped by two American soldiers. She begged me to leave her alone, and she shut the door in my face."

"I never heard about it," Harm said thoughtfully.

"I had gotten my new orders the day before, just after I talked to Stark, and I was to leave two days later. I was replaced by a young male Judge Advocate with no experience. Stark played him, and he covered for his men. I followed up with my replacement the best I could from back home, but he just couldn't prove what had happened. I can't prove it, but I know those two sergeants did it. Stark had told them to take her home after she came to talk to us. They had taken advantage of her. I tried to confront Stark about it on several occasions, after I got back home as well, but he just laughed it off, told me I was too soft to play with the men, and then he hung up on me," Mac hesitated. "I thought I had put it behind me, but seeing him again, it just all came back to me. How arrogant he was over there, how little concern he had for the local people. The way he treated me…"

"What do you mean?" Harm questioned.

Mac let out a sigh. "I was pretty alone as a female soldier over there, and you know how a unit often reflect how their leaders act. I never felt safe working with them, I was always looking over my shoulder. It was pretty clear that women didn't belong, and especially not a female JAG. It was a sharp contrast to how it was the five months prior to Stark and his unit arriving to replace the first unit I worked with. As much as I would have liked to stay and see it through, to tell you the truth, I was pretty relieved when I got new orders."

"I can understand that," Harm said thoughtfully. "You know, it took me a while to understand why you used so much time letting me close. You were so rigid back then. It must have been so hard for you to work your way through that male dominated environment, especially since you are smoking hot."

Mac rolled her eyes.

"You let me in eventually," he bumped her shoulder with his.

"You were pretty different than anyone I'd ever worked with," Mac admitted. "You didn't hit on me, well except that comment about there being a bed in the back of that car."

Harm laughed softly. "I was sure you were going to punch my lights out when I said that. Oh, the look on your face…"

Mac smiled. "I thought you were just like any other man," she sobered up. "But you proved me wrong."

He nodded. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, it just brought out some memories. Bosnia was hard. Being there, talking to the women, it got to me. Just to be around all that evil. And when I know that UN workers did in fact take advantage of the situation, and that the UN never truly dealt with it in a satisfying way, it just makes me think that I could have done more."

"Mac, there was no way for you to do anything more than you did. You got new orders. It was the JAG in charge who's responsibility it was to investigate," he put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Can I do something?"

"You're doing it," she said and offered a weak smile.

"Don't take the burdens of the world on your shoulders," he said and kissed her cheek.

"I won't, Admiral wise," she said with a teasing smile.

He laughed softly. "By the way, how did your appointment go today?" he asked as he released her and got off the bed, pulling the sheets down and getting under.

Mac did the same and got comfortable in his arms. "It went great. She was pleased with my treatment and since it seems to be working she thinks it's best to continue with it. I was really lucky to get an appointment with her."

"It's a good thing Cathy pulled some strings then," Harm said thoughtfully. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. As long as I take care of myself and the treatment is working my endometriosis shouldn't cause a problem," she reassured and yawned. "Tired though."

"We better get some sleep. Nanny grandma has the weekend off so we're on kid duty ourselves," he said and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered softly and kissed him. "Thanks for listening."

"Any time," he cupped her face. "Good night beautiful."

One week later Mac was getting some work out of the way when there was a knock on her office door. She looked up and smiled.

"Hi."

"Hey there," Harm stepped into her office and closed the door.

"What did I do to deserve a visit from this handsome sailor?" she stood and stepped around her desk.

His smile widened and he kissed her softly. "Just because I missed you."

"Are you wrapping up early today?" she wondered.

"I thought I'd pick up the kids, spend some time at the beach or something. Will you be late?" he wondered.

"I can leave with you," she said.

"Great," he hesitated. "Actually, there was one thing. A case landed on my desk today. You know the prostitution scandal? It just turned a lot uglier. It turns out that a lot more officers were involved."

"Really?" she knew the case only from the media, and by what Harm had told her.

"There have been a few parties out of control," Harm hesitated. "Your friend Stark was one of the names that popped up."

"Really? Is he being charged?" she wondered.

"He's in it knee deep. I can't really talk details because the investigation is still happening, but I think the guys at the Pentagon will have a hard time clearing this mess up. A lot of heads rolling," Harm said sternly. "I don't understand what would make, what appears to be, good officers, get into so much trouble for sex."

"It's a powerful weapon," Mac said as she started clearing her desk. "Some men are just nasty."

Harm nodded. "I'm beginning to realize that there is a large amount of them walking around."

Mac put some files into her briefcase and walked over to him. "It makes me realize that I'm a lucky girl."

"You are lucky," he said teasingly.

Mac laughed. "Come on, let's go get the kids. And we can have ice cream."

"Ice cream sounds good," he touched her arm in a sweet gesture. "I'm glad Stark gets his punishment, even if it's a little late."

Mac nodded. "Me too."

"I guess justice is served in the end, huh?" he opened her office door and let her walk in front of him. "It just takes a while sometimes."

She waited for him to close her office door before she fell into steps with him. "It sure does."