Oh, you guys and gals rock! I love the feedback coming in. If you haven't yet and are enjoying the story, please leave a review. It doesn't matter if you are a member or not. Good, bad, or ugly; I would love to hear what you think. Please send any major gripes or criticisms to me in a PM. I'll see what I can do to fix any errors I can.

Alix33, you were absolutely correct with your lentil / lintel comment. I changed that to "frame" to fix that. :-)

JPSTAR57, yes I did dude! I had to end it there. I like cliffhangers. What can I say? I'm cruel like that. B-) Yes that was familiar. Can't wait for your next update.

Steamboat, again, thanks for reading. I know it was a bit of a boneheaded move. That's our Harm.

Ad694, thank you for that. Brumby will be making his entrance...eventually. The same with Renee. Not telling how here. You'll just have to keep reading. ;-)

JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett, I appreciate the note. You wanted the meeting with AJ and here it is. :-) I've also included Harm's first session. Hope you like it.

And now...ON WITH THE SHOW!

Sarah shook herself of that last thought as she stood up, giving off every appearance of the stoic Marine she had been trained to be and walked over to Harm's office.

Knocking on the door frame, she stepped in and asked, "So, are you ready, Harm?"

1640 Zulu / 1140 EDT

28 September, 1998

RADM Chegwidden's office, JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

Harm knocked on the door frame that led to Admiral Chegwidden's inner sanctum after having asked Tiner if the Admiral was able to see him and Sarah. After hearing AJ's gruff "Enter," Harm opened the door and allowed Sarah to go before following her in as they traversed the ten to twelve feet that spanned between the door and AJ's desk.

As Harm stopped next to Sarah he began, "Thank you for see us on such short notice, sir."

Admiral Chegwidden peered at them over the top of his reading glasses with a questioning look on his face. "Hmm," he grunted. "At ease. What can I do for you, Commander, Major?"

Harm stole a quick glance at Sarah before clearing his suddenly scratchy throat and answering, "Well, sir, I...that is we...need to inform you of a change in our personal status, sir." For some reason, Harm couldn't escape the feeling that he was back in junior high and he had just been summoned to the principal's office and began to fidget nervously. This could go very badly for the both of them and couldn't hide his trepidation.

AJ saw this and gave a smirk as he had some idea as to what the pair had come to see him about after Harm's, rather inauspicious, beginning statement. He decided to let them stew in their collective juices for a few seconds before speaking again. "Well, take a seat and get on with it. I haven't got all day," he said in a grumbly voice.

The pair sat in the leather guest chairs in front of the desk; as usual, Sarah in the right and Harm in the left hand chair. Harm cleared his throat again and went to speak, but for all his eloquence in the courtroom, he was finding it extremely hard to form any coherent sentence let alone a single word.

Sarah saw his discomfiture and took it upon herself to speak for them both. "Sir, we have decided that we would like to see each other in an other than professional or social capacity, sir."

AJ grunted his understanding and asked, "This capacity would be of the romantic nature, I assume?"

Now, it was Sarah turn to become nervous as one of her legs began to shake offering the quick 'tap, tap, tap' associated with the heel of her regulation pump wrapping on the floor.

Harm took up the proverbial baton and continued for her. "Yes, sir. We have admitted our feelings for each other and want to pursue a romantic relationship. We spent this past weekend discussing some things that we both needed to tell the other, sir."

"Hmm, I see. Didn't I order you two not to get too familiar; that you would be working together," AJ asked in a slightly elevated and aggrieved tone.

This caused the two senior attorneys to shift uncomfortable in their chairs; the desired effect the Admiral was going for.

"Yes, sir," came the chorused answer.

AJ leveled a glare at the two of them. He had ordered them two years ago to not get too familiar. He had seen the look Harm gave Sarah when they first met and knew exactly why the look was given. At the time, AJ decided not to say anything about it. Now he didn't have a choice in the matter. "Do you know why that order was given?"

"No, sir," was the simultaneous response.

"I'm going to make this a little less formal. I saw the look that Harm gave you, Mac. I know why he looked at you like that. Has he told you about Lt. Schoenk?" After receiving an affirming nod from Sarah, AJ continued, "I was concerned that he would mistake you for her. At the time, he was one of my best investigators and I didn't want him to do something that would jeopardize his career by doing something inappropriate in assuming a familiarity that was not there.

"Up until now, I've been pleased with your collective performance and have notated your FITREPs as such. Have you both truly spoken about everything? I want you to be absolutely sure about this as this may have a damaging effect upon your careers."

Harm and Sarah looked at each other, having a quick silent conversation. Having shared a mutual agreement, Harm answered, "Yes, sir we have. Sara...uh...the Major and I spoke about that and several other things from our respective pasts. We've agreed that we want to see where this will lead."

AJ leaned back in his chair and ran through what Harm had just said. After about twenty – three seconds, by Sarah's count, he leaned forward once more; placing his elbows on the desk and clasping his hands together saying, "Alright then. As you two seem to have given this considerable thought, I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do." Returning to the formal, he rendered his verdict. "Commander, Major, I'm going to allow you two to continue to work together. While you are here, you will conduct yourselves with the same level of decorum and professionalism that you have thus far. You will continue to perform your duties at the same level or better, if possible. You will not make me send a chaperone with you every time you two go into the galley. That's why we have broom closets." That last sentence was said with a sarcastic smirk. "Are we clear?"

Harm and Sarah had barely contained a snort of laughter, but recovered well enough to respond together, "Yes, sir!"

AJ stared at the two of them for a few seconds more before musing, "Very well. I believe you two have work to do. Since, Commander, you will be securing early today, I suggest you get to it."

Recognizing the implied dismissal, Harm and Sarah snapped to attention and paused the requisite two seconds before answering in unison, "Aye, aye, sir!" They, then, each performed a parade ground perfect about face and proceeded to exit the Admiral's office with Harm allowing Sarah to exit before him.

Before Harm could escape, AJ called out to him, "Commander?"

Harm stopped mid-stride, turned around, and answered, "Yes, sir?"

"Close the hatch and take a seat."

Sarah for her part had already made it through Petty Officer Tiner's anteroom and into the bullpen before she realized that she was no longer being followed. Turning around and noticing that the Admiral's office door was closed, she sighed to herself and made a mental note to talk to Harm about what happened after she walked out.

Doing as directed, Harm closed the door and returned to his customary seat in front of the Admiral's desk; all the while wondering what else the Admiral would need to say to him.

As Harm was acquiescing, AJ stood up and took a seat in the other guest chair. After Harm sat, AJ dropped his commander facade and began, "How are you doing, Harm? I know that what you've gone through the past few months couldn't have been easy on you. Although it wasn't the same way, I lost my father about twenty years ago. It's not easy no matter how it happens. I just wanted to know how you were coping."

Harm looked at his CO intently. He had never heard, nor seen, this side of the former Navy SeAL before and it was a bit unsettling hearing the Admiral refer to him with his the shortened version of his given name. Suddenly finding his throat dry and unable to utter anything, Harm nodded solemnly.

AJ, noticing this, looked in understanding and said, "Take your time, son."

Again, Harm nodded in acceptance of AJ's gesture. After the moment passed in which it took Harm to collect himself he was finally able to speak. "Thank you, sir. I'm doing about as well as I can. Ma...uh...Sar...um...permission to speak freely, sir?" Receiving AJ's grunt of approval, Harm continued, "Sarah came over Friday night after I called her. I was having a really hard time with everything, sir, and needed a friendly ear. She was the only one I could think of that might be able to help. After she came to my apartment, I told her everything that I was feeling. It seemed like it went on forever, my crying and mumbling gibberish aside. It was like thirty years of frustration, fear, anger, all of it flowed right out of me.

"Sarah told me that I shouldn't be going through this by myself and suggested that I go see someone. That's why I made the appointment to see one of the counselors at Bethesda, sir. She was right, as usual."

AJ nodded and said, "Yes, I agree with that assessment. By all means, get the help you need. Let me know if you will be getting a set schedule for the counseling and I will do what I can to make sure that you're able to get the time you need. Also, let me know if you need another ear. I'll make myself available for a beer."

Harm nodded and responded, "Thank you, sir. I'll keep that in mind."

Returning to the more formal form of address AJ quipped, "You do that Commander."

Harm stood in response to the implied precursor to his dismal before the Admiral continued, "And Commander, if you hurt the Major in any way..." He paused to give his words more emphasis. "...you will not like the outcome. Do you understand?"

Harm gulped at the intimated promise of unpleasant retribution and answered, "Yes, sir!"

AJ, once again, leveled a glare at the junior officer and said, "Very well, Commander. Dismissed."

Harm stiffened into a brace and barked out, "Aye, aye, sir!" He then turned about on his heel and exited the Admiral's office.

AJ sat back in his chair, and with a wry grin thought, 'What the hell took those two so damn long? I'll have to check in with Tiner and Ensign Sims on the office pool. I may have to change the date I picked.' With that, AJ gave a short chuckle and returned to his JAG duties.

1715 Zulu / 1215 EDT

28 September, 1998

Harm's office, JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, Virginia

Harm sat in his office going over the conversation with the Admiral in his head again. He was still surprised that the Admiral was able to turn his 'CO Mode' on and off with such precision and timing that a Swiss watchmaker would have been impressed.

Harm's ruminations were interrupted by the double knock on his door. When he looked up, a small smile creased his lips at the recognition of the welcomed intruder. Knowing the scuttlebutt mongers in the bullpen always had their ears perked for juicy tidbits of gossip, Harm kept a professional tone to his voice and said, "Well, hello Major. What can I do for you?"

Sarah returned his smile and answered, "Commander, I was wondering if you'd like to go to lunch." Then, in a softer tone, asked, "Is everything ok? I turned back after I left the Admiral's office and you weren't there."

Harm nodded and replied, "Yeah, Mac. Everything's good. The Admiral just wanted to see how I was doing and to offer help and / or advice if I needed it. Before I walked out he even gave me a warning."

His last statement surprised Sarah and she asked, "Warning? What warning would he need to give you?"

Harm feigned a look of fear and responded, "Oh, nothing much. He just insinuated that I would not like the outcome if I, for some reason, hurt you 'in any way'. Some form of physical retribution I reckon."

Sarah chuckled lightly and mused in a sarcastic tone, "Is the normally unflappable Harmon Rabb scared of a certain former SeAL?"

Harm chuckled himself and retorted, "When said former SeAL wears a set of two stars and growls like a Rottweiler? You bet I am! So, in deference to my well – being, I fully intend to follow his suggestion to the letter."

By this time, Harm and Sarah had made their way to the commissary. After making their selections and paying the cashier, they made their way out to the patio to take in one of the last good days of weather before fall takes full effect.

As they were surrounded by other members of the JAG staff, which were themselves enjoying the mild early fall weather, Harm and Sarah kept their discussion light with talk about their respective cases and the occasional mention of the upcoming weekend. With their lunch consumed, they cleared the table they were at and began their trek back to the Ops floor and their offices.

As fortune smiled on them, they found themselves alone in the elevator. With this development, Harm took a chance and decided to lift the hand closest to him and lightly kiss her knuckles. This caused Sarah's face to turn a shade of pink as the unexpected show of affection surprised her. She looked up him with a questioning expression on her face.

"Harm, you know you can't do that here. What if someone saw that? We're supposed to keep this..." motioning between them "...out of the office. Not that I didn't like it, but what were you thinking," she kindly reprimanded him.

Before Harm could form a response, a ding rang out from the elevator signaling that the device had reached the required floor. Allowing her to precede him out, he spoke just loud enough for Sarah to hear, "Because I wanted to."

The simple response only caused Sarah to blush more. Looking around for anyone who might hear her, she returned, "Don't do that to me. Now I need to go to the head and cool off before I go back to my office." Making her way to her new destination she quietly threw back over her shoulder, "I'm gonna get you for that, Squid!" Then she smiled so to take any sting her remark may have had.

Harm chuckled at that and then proceeded to his office.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful as the entirety of JAG ops was silently going about their work.

Eventually, 1515 rolled around and it was time for Harm to secure for the day and make his way to Bethesda for his appointment. 'This is going to be interesting,' Harm thought as he got into his Corvette to leave.

2100 Zulu / 1600 EDT

28 September, 1998

Waiting room, Psychological Ward, Bethesda Naval Hospital

Bethesda, Maryland

Harm had arrived at his appointment about fifteen minutes early so that he could fill out the requisite forms. After having done so, he only had to wait another five minutes when he heard the Yeoman call out, "Lieutenant Commander Rabb? The doctor will see you now. This way please, sir."

Grabbing his cover from the seat next to him, Harm got up to follow the Petty Officer to the doctor's office. Having arrived at the designated location, the Petty Officer said, "The doctor will be right with you, sir."

Harm nodded his thanks and began his inspection of the office. There were all the certificates of a naval officer and psychologist hanging behind the doctor's desk one might expect. 'Hmm, no stereotypical couch for me to lay down on and tell all my darkest secrets? Interesting,' Harm thought.

His ruminations were interrupted when the office door was opened. The doctor entered the room and began the introductions. "Lieutenant Commander Rabb? I'm Lieutenant Commander Jordan Parker."

With introductions made and hands shook, Harm sat down in the proffered visitor's chair and waited for the inquisition.

"Just a couple of things before we start. First off, there are no ranks while we're in session. So, what do I call you," Jordan began.

"Harm."

"Ok, Harm. You can call me Jordan, Doctor, or Doc; whichever makes you more comfortable. Secondly, my job is to help you deal with whatever it is you are dealing with. Finally, I see you are a lawyer and are familiar with attorney – client privilege. The same goes in here. I'm bound by doctor – patient confidentiality. I can only divulge anything you've said if you intimate that you are going to hurt yourself or others. Like your profession, this is so that we can build a level of trust with our patients.

"Now, with that out of the way, what brings you here today, Harm?"

Harm shuffled nervously in his chair. He was not used to speaking about his feelings with anyone he didn't know, especially any type of doctor. Summoning his courage and his lawyering skills, he began, "After about a thirty year search for my father, I recently found out what happened to him. I'm having a hard time coming to grips with what I found. I've also entered into a relationship with the woman I love and don't want my recent experience to jeopardize it."

Jordan nodded and answered, "I see. So, when did your search for your father begin?"

"It all started Christmas Eve 1969 when my father was shot down on a mission. He was an F – 4 pilot in Vietnam flying off the Ticonderoga. I was six at the time he went down. At the time, he was pronounced MIA. By the time I was thirteen, I had come to the decision that I was going to find out what happened to him, no matter what the cost or what I had to do.

"When I was sixteen, I found out that a former Marine was in 'Nam looking for MIAs who might still be in hiding or locked up in camps. Without my mother and step – father's permission or knowledge, I used all my savings and some money I nipped from my step – dad and went to 'Nam looking for the Marine to see if we couldn't find my father. While I was there, I came to know a Vietnamese girl named Gym. She was helping Colonel Stryker with his search. We became quite close.

"Anyway, we were walking along the 'Nam / Laos border when a Laotian border patrol in a chopper discovered us and started to fire on us. Stryker and I were able to get ahead of the attack and to safety." Harm stopped at this point and gave a visible shudder, not unseen by Jordan.

"Please...continue Harm," she encouraged him.

Clearing his throat and his emotions, he continued, "Gym was hit...She...didn't make it.

"Stryker and I never did find my father or any other POW / MIA. I returned to San Diego with my tail between my legs, even more determined to find my dad."

Jordan nodded and commented, "That experience would be enough to make anyone else give up. Why did you feel that you had to keep looking?"

"I guess you could say that I became obsessed with finding him. After I got home, my mother grounded me until 'they find a cure for children who scare the tar out of their parents' my mother said."

"Did that experience change you?"

"In retrospect, I'd have to say that it did. Before I left for 'Nam, I was a handful for my mom and step – dad; always getting myself in trouble."

"Why was that?"

"Seven years after Dad went MIA, Mom had him legally declared dead and soon after married my step – dad, Frank Burnett. This piss...uh...ticked me off to no end. I was furious that Mom was so willing to write Dad off and move on like he never existed. I hated Frank for barging in and trying to take Dad's place. I started getting into fights at school and racking up tons of detention hours. If I wasn't getting in trouble at school, I was fighting with Mom and Frank at home."

"What changed?"

"I guess I did. After I got back from 'Nam, Mom sent me to live with my Dad's mother in Belleville, Pennsylvania. She owned a farm out there that her grandfather built in the 1870s and she's still there. I did more chores and manual labor than I had ever thought possible.

"After 'Nam, my whole attitude changed. I became focused on following in my father's footsteps by getting into the Naval Academy and becoming a pilot. At the time, I figured that it was the only way that I would get to be close to Dad. I needed something that would keep me connected to him.

"After that first summer at my grandmother, Grams', farm, I asked if I could keep going back there every summer. Since Mom didn't want to keep me from my grandmother, she let me go every year until I graduated. It also was a chance to be close to Dad since that's where he grew up.

"One day at Grams' place, that first summer, I was going through the barn looking for some tools to put up some shutters. I came across something huge with a giant tarp draped over it. I pulled off the tarp and found an old bi – plane that had looked like it had seen much better days. In one of Dad's work benches, I found the plans he had drawn up to fix the plane up. They said that it was a Boeing – Stearman Model 75 Kaydet, tail number NR153. I covered the plane back up and went to ask Grams what it was doing there. She told me that my father was planning on rebuilding her from the ground up."

Harm was about to continue when Jordan spoke up, "I think this is a good place to stop for today, Harm. Looks like we've just started at the tip of the iceberg. Now for your homework. I want you to focus on your relationship with your mom and step – dad. Write down how you want to, if necessary, repair that. Then I want you to think about where you want your relationship with your girlfriend to go and write that down.

"I'm going to set up a schedule of treatment for three days a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We'll go on like this for the next couple of months and re – evaluate at the end of November. I may change this as needed depending on your progress. Do you have any questions for me?"

'Ugh! Three days a week for two months? Is she crazy?! Crap! Suck it up, Rabb! You promised Sarah and you're going to keep that promise,' Harm thought to himself. Internally shaking himself from his thoughts, he responded, "Sounds like a plan. There may be times when my duties take me out of the area for various investigations and such. If I'm not overseas, is there a way that we may have a few sessions over the phone, Doc?"

Jordan thought about this for a moment before replying, "That may be possible. Just be sure to call when you know you'll be gone and we'll work something out. In the meantime, my next appointment should be here soon. Thank you for coming in. I will see you on Wednesday."

Harm rose and shook Jordan's hand saying, "Thanks Doc. I'll see you then." Then Harm exited the office to make his way home.

2400 Zulu / 1900 EDT

29 / 28 September, 1998

Sarah Mackenzie's apartment

Georgetown, Maryland

It had been agreed upon at lunch earlier that day that Harm would pick up some food from their favorite Chinese restaurant and they would eat at Sarah's place tonight.

Having heard a knock at the door, Sarah got up from the couch and walked over to answer it. After looking through the Judas hole, she immediately pulled the door open and allowed Harm to enter.

Once he had deposited the bags of food onto the kitchen table, Sarah launched herself at him. Harm barely had time to react and was just able to catch her in mid – flight before the force of Sarah's momentum forced him up against the wall with a thud, nearly knocking a picture off the wall.

After she had been caught, Sarah proceeded to kiss Harm with such strength and authority that it knocked the rest of the air out of Harm's lungs. It wasn't until Harm started going weak in his legs that she finally pulled her lips away, allowing him to breathe once more.

It took a few moments for Harm to gather himself so that he could finally ask, "What on Earth was that for, Marine?"

Sarah had a grin on her face that the Cheshire Cat would be envious of when she lightly used her forefinger to help Harm close his mouth saying, "Told you I'd get you back, Flyboy."

When she pulled her finger away, Harm's jaw dropped to the floor as he watched her sashay away with a sultry sway to her hips.

As Sarah returned to her perch on the couch, she could swear that she heard a thud, thud, thud coming from where she had just been.

Harm was softly banging his head up against the wall.

Sarah had, finally, rendered the former aviator turned lawyer speechless.

XXXXX – XXXXX – XXXXX – XXXXX

PROGRAM NOTE: Like I said in the first chapter, I'm going to skipping a few chapters, adding notice to what happened as it just doesn't fit with where I see this going. Therefore, episodes 5-7 are gone ("The Martin Baker Fan Club", "Act of Terror", and "Angels 30"). I should be able to fill those in with new stuff. Just trying to work my way through that.

The next chapter may include "Embassy".

Thanks for reading.