Title: Do You Believe in Surprise Endings
Author: rooster dawn
Pairing: Harm and anyone who was around at the time
Alternative Universe : Harm and Mac don't work together. They meet at pivotal times in Harm's life.
Disclaimer: JAG is property of Belisarius productions, no copyright
infringement intended.
Summary: Harm is a Naval Aviator. With it comes a cocky attitude and the makings of an international playboy. Will his actions catch up to him?
Author's note: Harm and Mac look back on their lives that have gone in opposite directions. They meet again and come to a surprising conclusion.
Author's note 2: Many of the chapters are a reflection of what happened in the character's lives over the last ten years.
Good feedback is good for one's soul and everyone's happiness.
part nine Finishing up a career or not
Over the next three months Harm was busy helping Sarah set up her new command? It wasn't an easy task because of all the logistics that were involved. That wasn't exactly one of his forte. He was more a people person.
He liked working with people, finding out about their strengths and weaknesses. He liked training people, helping them to be more, and to succeed. He enjoyed it whenever they succeeded because he felt he had succeeded too.
He decided to let Meg and Caitlin handle the logistics end of the business. He would help Sarah review the many personnel files that were available of young marine and navy lawyers who had experience, but not in the courtroom.
They had decided to go with younger lawyers since they would be easier to train and learn to conduct their business the right way, the way Sarah and Harm wanted them to. The young lawyers wouldn't have had the time to develop too many bad habits.
Since it was suppose to be a joint Navy/Marine Command, they decided it was best to have an equal number of squids and jarheads. They would pair one squid with one jarhead.
It was thought that it would help each lawyer to see and learn about the other branch of the service from their point of view. The Marines and Navy had a history of not seeing eye to eye on many things. They hoped this would help resolve that.
During his three months in San Diego Harm got to know each of his new children better. One day a week he would spend a couple of hours with each child.
Monday was reserved for Heather. She was learning how to play a musical instrument. Harm like this because he played the guitar and a little piano. He could help Heather learn to read music and learn the different notes and scales.
Tuesday was the day for Mike. He usually had a ball game scheduled. Harm was quite surprise to see how good he was. He divided time between pitching and first base. He was also a good hitter.
Thursday was the day for Henry. That was a common night for him to have a ball game. He played shortstop. Occasionally he would get an opportunity to pitch. Harm would watch Henry play ball while he told Beth stories.
On the weekends everyone would gather at one of their houses. It seemed Grandma Trish's house was the one most visited. They all love her, but they like her house mainly because it overlooked the ocean and had a nice private beach to play on.
Trish didn't mind having them over to her place because it gave her the chance to get to know each of her grandchildren better along with their mothers. She admired all the women for the wonderful job they had done. She knew it hadn't been easy since she had done the same with Harm.
All the kids were well behaved. They got along so wonderfully. If she hadn't known better she would have sworn they had know each other all their lives instead of only for a few months.
She was also very happy to see Harm coming out of the deep funk he had been in since Jordan's death. He seemed happier and more alive. It even looked like to her that he was ready to get involved in a relationship again.
He seemed to be falling in love with one dark haired individual in particular. Maybe there would be a wedding in the near future.
With all the time he was spending with Sarah and the kids, Harm knew he was making the right decision to resign his commission and retire after he had his twenty years in. His life was here in San Diego now.
He knew he wasn't going to get his own command so why stay in and risked being assigned to a Jag unit far away from his new found family, that is his four new children.
It hadn't taken him long to get over the anger of missing out on their lives. The future was the only thing that counted now, not the past. He loved his new kids so much now, he couldn't imagine not having them in his life.
What surprised him even more was his relationship with Sarah. When he first arrived he was resentful of her success and the opportunity she received to have her own command, but now ...
He was falling deeply in love with her. Sandy loved her as if Sarah was her mother. Sarah seemed to love Sandy as much as her own two children.
He just loved everything about her. Not only was she very beautiful, but she was also very intelligent. She was his equal and so much more.
He understood now why her career was skyrocketing. She was very good and had the respect of everyone who had ever served with her unlike himself. He had ruffled a lot of feathers in his day.
He worked with her everyday. He ate lunched with her. They talked about the past. It seemed he spent every waking hour either being with her or thinking about her. She was quickly becoming his life, his reason for being.
The night before he was scheduled to return to Washington Harm invited Sarah out to dinner. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to talk about a future together. He couldn't imagine not spending the rest of his life with her and getting to know his children better.
"So what are your plans Harmon after you return to Washington?" asked Sarah. He smiled at her use of his formal name.
After spending so much time with Harm at work and at home with the kids, she had fallen in loved with him. She wanted a future with him, but didn't know if it was possible.
She knew the Navy was Harm's life. His father had been Navy. All he knew was the Navy. Was it even possible for him to exist outside the Navy in the real world? Did he even want to? Did he want to be with her?
Did he love her as much as she loved him? Did he love his children? She thought he did. He seemed to spend a lot of time with all of them not just with Sandy, her Henry and Beth, but with Mike and Heather as well.
Was it enough for him to come back to her? His mother lived near by. He always said he loved her very much. But what did that really mean? As much as he supposedly loved her, he was lucky if he saw her every few years before he had Sandy and Jordan died.
Did he love her enough to end his navy career and come back to San Diego to be with her? He said he only had another month before he had his twenty years. Would he retire?
"As you know I only have a month to go before I have my twenty. At that point I can retire from the Navy. I'm not sure if that is what I want, but I do know I want to be here for the kids. I don't want to miss any more of their lives than can be helped.
No matter what I decide I will have to talk it over with the General. It's not as easy to retire or resign your commission since nine eleven. I could always see if there is anything available in the San Diego area.
There are a lot of Navy bases in the area. Maybe they have a position for an old seadog like me." replied Harm with a smile.
"Are you going to take Sandy back with you?" asked Sarah.
"I don't think so, at least not for a month. She has become very attached to her grandmother and her brothers and sisters. She has also become very attached to a certain softhearted Marine, as have I.
I love you Sarah MacKenzie. I plan on coming back." smiled Harm.
Sarah's breath caught in her throat. She had been hoping that Harm would tell her how he felt. She was so happy that tears began to form in her eyes. He loved her and he was coming back to her.
"I love you too Harm. I'll make sure Henry and Beth spend time with Sandy while you're gone. I can't promise anything about Mike and Heather, but I'm sure Meg and Caitlin will include her in some family outings." replied Sarah with tears in her eyes.
She reached a hand over to Harm. He took her hand and placed a small box in it. She opened it revealing a beautiful engagement ring.
"I love you Sarah, I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?"
