Title : Where The Sea Meets The Sky
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. 'Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye' belongs to PAX TV - and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Rating : G to PG-13
Thanks go to cbw; jtbwriter; beegirl, katydid13, ninjaturtle, capriceann, starryeyes10, kirsten, soonerfan, another tracy, tomcat-all, lori4, carol, eliv.thade, alicia5 and fragmentpieces for their reviews. As before, any reviewers I miss between posts will be added to the list for the next chapter!
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LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT
TERMINAl 3 DEPARTURES
MONDAY EVENING
Mac glanced across at Mattie as they sat in the Business Class lounge reserved for Gulf Air passengers. The teenager was trying to hide a yawn behind her hand and her magazine.
"You okay?" Mac asked, smiling, and Mattie returned the smile.
"Yeah. It's just been a long day. Heck, it's been a long week, hasn't it?"
"I guess it has, yes. It seems ages since Harm left, and yet it is only a week."
"Does this break your previous record?" Mattie asked, eyeing Mac with a mischievous grin.
"And what record would that be?" replied Mac, curious as to where Mattie was going with her question.
"How long it takes you to follow Harm out to a carrier."
"Mattie!" Mac protested, but not too vehemently, and with a hint of a grin on her face. Relenting, she nodded. "It does, by a week."
"Hah!" Mattie gave Mac a high-five, and grinned. "Mac, I have a huge favor to ask."
"Go on," Mac invited, watching Mattie's face change from the imp to the still-unsure young woman who was on the verge of changing her whole life.
"You've known Harm a long time," Mattie began, but Mac thought she knew what the next question would be and she started to interrupt. Mattie spoke again, and Mac was silenced, more by surprise than good manners. "It's all right, Mac, I'm not going to ask anything too personal. It's just... since I came to DC to live with Harm, I've heard stories about things he's done over the years, and some of them seem too... I don't know... too much! At least, too much for one man to have done."
"I have to say, Mattie, Harm is a legend in his own lifetime. Most of what you've heard won't have been an exaggeration. Tell me what you've heard, and I'll tell you how true the story is. I've been with him on most of the assignments, and court cases, so I can probably tell you most of what's real and what isn't."
"Well, for starters, I've heard that he's cost the Navy over 120 million dollars in aircraft alone! And he's still employed!"
Mac laughed at that one. "Roughly, that's about 40 million dollars an aircraft, and so far he's had a ramp strike, a ditch, and a bail-out over Russia - that one was with me, so I know that's true. The ramp strike was first, before I knew him. His RIO was killed, and Harm was misdiagnosed with night-blindness. He wasn't charged in the death, but he couldn't carry on flying either, so that's when he went back and got his law degree to transfer to JAG. There was one other incident involving a Navy jet, well, two actually, but both the jets survived the experience. One of them was minus a canopy, and a rear-seat, but they're not as expensive to replace as the whole jet."
Mattie had pulled her chair nearer to Mac's during the first series of explanations, and Mac smiled at the intent look on the teenager's face. This wasn't just casual interest in a larger-than-life character. Mattie was genuinely interested in knowing what made Harm the man he was, and what had made him come to Grace Aviation in the first place. That explanation would no doubt be asked for later on, and Mac wasn't sure how she was going to get through that one, but she would. Mattie deserved to know the truth about her guardian, and Mac would ensure she was told everything she needed to know.
"What happened to the jet without the canopy?" Mattie asked, and Mac launched into the explanation of the Admiral losing his bearings, pulling the ejection handle by mistake, and launching himself out of the jet and into the Washington National Forest. Mattie laughed at the part where, when told that his CO would demand an explanation of why Harm's passenger had ejected, Harm had told the officer that it was his CO that had been ejected. 'God help you, Rabb', had been the reply.
"The other jet incident happened Christmas before last. Everyone was due at Bud and Harriet's for Christmas dinner. Harm had been out on an investigation on board a carrier with retired Rear-Admiral Thomas Boone, and they were both due to travel back on the last COD. Unfortunately, the incoming aircraft broke its tailhook and had to abort the landing, forcing the pair into a possible Christmas at sea. Until, that is, Harm found out about a jet that needed to be transported back to land and offered the assigned pilot and his RIO a date with Jennifer Lopez in exchange. When Tom Boone asked Harm if he really knew Jennifer Lopez he grinned and replied, in all honesty, 'I see her twice a year. She's my dental hygienist'."
"So, did anything happen to the jet en-route?"
Mac nodded, and smiled as she recalled the night in question.
"To begin with, the CAG on the carrier wasn't too happy with Harm flying the jet in the first place. It so happened that on the night Harm ditched the plane over the Atlantic, the man waiting for the jet so he could return to the carrier was the CAG. He threatened to take Harm's wings if anything happened to the current aircraft."
"Something did happen, didn't it?" Mattie was so engrossed in Mac's explanations that she jumped when Mac was approached by Lieutenant Commander Glennan, assigned as the replacement JAG on board the carrier.
The man had been unfairly judged as UA when he had returned to his hometown for a family emergency. His papers giving him leave of absence for two days had been misfiled, and on his return he had been arrested by the security officer at his base. Once the misunderstanding had been sorted, and the unfortunate filing officer duly reprimanded, the JAG officer had been reinstated as the proposed carrier JAG, and told to report to Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie at the American Airlines ticket counter for the flight to London, England, and onto Bahrain, and the carrier, from there.
"Ma'am, the flight has been called. I saw you talking to Miss Grace, and figured you were a little too involved to have heard the call."
"Thank you, Commander. I didn't get chance to ask before we left the States; did you manage to sort your family emergency?"
"Yes, ma'am. My mother has been having treatment for cancer, and she's in remission. There was a mix-up with results and she believed the cancer had come back. That shock caused her to have a mild heart attack. She is back at home now, and the matter has been sorted."
"I'm glad to hear that, Commander." At that moment there was another boarding announcement, and the airline representative in the lounge came across to the three of them with a clipboard in her hand.
"Your flight is boarding now, if you would like to join the other passengers at the gate."
"Thank you." Mac picked up her coat, cover and briefcase and Mattie grabbed her rucksack and shoved her magazine back inside. With Lieutenant Commander Glennan following, Mac preceded Mattie out of the lounge and onto the concourse, heading for their assigned gate and aircraft. As Mattie kept pace beside her, Mac turned and smiled. "I'll tell you more when we get settled on the plane."
"Thanks." Mattie nodded, tried to hide another yawn, and grinned at Mac. "That's if I can stay awake! Boy, I think those sedatives are still in my system!" It was testament to Mattie's resilience that she could now joke about her ordeal. Mac was sure there would be some tears in remembering, when she would be able to tell Harm what had happened to her, but that was to be expected, and not a sign that she was falling apart over the incident.
Once they were settled on the commercial airliner, Mac continued the story of the Christmas flight that involved Harm's jet colliding with a weather balloon, and the emergency request for them to divert and assist a transporter with navigation problems; when they discovered the transporter's cargo was toys for the 'Toys For Tots' program, both Harm and Tom had laughed. During the flight, when Harm had made the decision to divert and help the larger aircraft, Tom had asked him 'just how many people are you planning to piss off today, Harm?' to which the younger man had answered 'everyone but you, Tom'.
When Mac finished telling that particular tale, she noticed that Mattie's eyes were closed, and her head had settled against Mac's own shoulder. Pulling a blanket up over Mattie's shoulders, she leaned in to drop a kiss on the teenager's head, and then settled back in her own seat to watch the film screen in front of her. Beside her, across the aisle, Dominic Glennan smiled at the sleeping teenager.
"Miss Grace is your relative, ma'am?"
"No, Commander. Actually, she's Captain Rabb's ward. I have permission from Captain Johnson to bring her on board the carrier for a few days. Mattie wants to go into the Naval Academy, and this will be her first time on board a carrier. In fact, I think this is her first time on board a commercial airliner."
"You wouldn't guess that, ma'am. She's so self-assured about all this, you'd think she was a pro."
"I was thinking the same thing, Commander," Mac admitted, turning again to look down at Mattie.
"Ma'am, I couldn't help overhearing you telling Miss Grace about Captain Rabb. I've only heard of his exploits in the courtroom, as I have heard of yours. Is he really still an active military pilot?"
Mac nodded. "In fact, that's why he's on board the Sea Hawk at the moment. Commander Turner is the acting JAG until you arrive. Captain Rabb was assigned to the squadron."
"It's going to be an honor to meet him, ma'am." The awe in the man's voice was evident, and Mac tried to find a simple way to tell the officer that Harm was just a man, despite his colorful and decorated history.
"Yes, I would imagine it is. However, don't forget one thing, Commander. He is still a human being, doing the same thing as you and I. Defending his country and his people. He just happens to have a unique way of doing that."
"In other words, ma'am, he's not a god."
"Got it in one, Commander. You're fast."
"Yes, ma'am. Well, if you'll excuse me now, I'll take a leaf out of Miss Grace's book and get some shut-eye for a while."
"Goodnight, Commander," Mac smiled, and then turned her attention again to the screen in front of her, her hand resting across her stomach.
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To be continued
A/N:
1. I've noticed a slip or two - previously I have had Sue call Mac 'Sarah', and I have noticed that I've let this lapse into 'Mac'. I haven't been checking, and so apologies now, and corrections from this chapter onwards! Continuity is everything!
2. A reviewer kindly pointed out that in the last chapter I had Sue commenting on Jack's 'come to bed' voice, and considering Sue is deaf, how would she know? Well, I can honestly say I got carried away (who wouldn't!) with the scene, and it just went down so easily on the paper! I will try to ensure that it doesn't happen again. However, it is feasible that maybe Lucy has described Jack's voice to Sue, or that Sue herself has been aware of Jack's facial features changing when they're talking. (Sue can tell when people change their tone from talking to shouting, so why not to 'whispering sweet nothings'?). Besides, if he's got 'come-to-bed' eyes, why not a voice to match? Maybe Sue can 'feel' the tone of his voice much the same way as she was taught to speak. (Please remember, we are talking the screen 'Sue Thomas' here, fiction, and not the real 'Sue Thomas'!) Creative license allows for a lot!
Author : Jaggie 107
Disclaimer : JAG characters belong to DPB, CBS and Paramount. 'Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye' belongs to PAX TV - and I hope all parties will allow me to have fun for a little while, and replace them all when I'm done. Thank you.
Rating : G to PG-13
Thanks go to cbw; jtbwriter; beegirl, katydid13, ninjaturtle, capriceann, starryeyes10, kirsten, soonerfan, another tracy, tomcat-all, lori4, carol, eliv.thade, alicia5 and fragmentpieces for their reviews. As before, any reviewers I miss between posts will be added to the list for the next chapter!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT
TERMINAl 3 DEPARTURES
MONDAY EVENING
Mac glanced across at Mattie as they sat in the Business Class lounge reserved for Gulf Air passengers. The teenager was trying to hide a yawn behind her hand and her magazine.
"You okay?" Mac asked, smiling, and Mattie returned the smile.
"Yeah. It's just been a long day. Heck, it's been a long week, hasn't it?"
"I guess it has, yes. It seems ages since Harm left, and yet it is only a week."
"Does this break your previous record?" Mattie asked, eyeing Mac with a mischievous grin.
"And what record would that be?" replied Mac, curious as to where Mattie was going with her question.
"How long it takes you to follow Harm out to a carrier."
"Mattie!" Mac protested, but not too vehemently, and with a hint of a grin on her face. Relenting, she nodded. "It does, by a week."
"Hah!" Mattie gave Mac a high-five, and grinned. "Mac, I have a huge favor to ask."
"Go on," Mac invited, watching Mattie's face change from the imp to the still-unsure young woman who was on the verge of changing her whole life.
"You've known Harm a long time," Mattie began, but Mac thought she knew what the next question would be and she started to interrupt. Mattie spoke again, and Mac was silenced, more by surprise than good manners. "It's all right, Mac, I'm not going to ask anything too personal. It's just... since I came to DC to live with Harm, I've heard stories about things he's done over the years, and some of them seem too... I don't know... too much! At least, too much for one man to have done."
"I have to say, Mattie, Harm is a legend in his own lifetime. Most of what you've heard won't have been an exaggeration. Tell me what you've heard, and I'll tell you how true the story is. I've been with him on most of the assignments, and court cases, so I can probably tell you most of what's real and what isn't."
"Well, for starters, I've heard that he's cost the Navy over 120 million dollars in aircraft alone! And he's still employed!"
Mac laughed at that one. "Roughly, that's about 40 million dollars an aircraft, and so far he's had a ramp strike, a ditch, and a bail-out over Russia - that one was with me, so I know that's true. The ramp strike was first, before I knew him. His RIO was killed, and Harm was misdiagnosed with night-blindness. He wasn't charged in the death, but he couldn't carry on flying either, so that's when he went back and got his law degree to transfer to JAG. There was one other incident involving a Navy jet, well, two actually, but both the jets survived the experience. One of them was minus a canopy, and a rear-seat, but they're not as expensive to replace as the whole jet."
Mattie had pulled her chair nearer to Mac's during the first series of explanations, and Mac smiled at the intent look on the teenager's face. This wasn't just casual interest in a larger-than-life character. Mattie was genuinely interested in knowing what made Harm the man he was, and what had made him come to Grace Aviation in the first place. That explanation would no doubt be asked for later on, and Mac wasn't sure how she was going to get through that one, but she would. Mattie deserved to know the truth about her guardian, and Mac would ensure she was told everything she needed to know.
"What happened to the jet without the canopy?" Mattie asked, and Mac launched into the explanation of the Admiral losing his bearings, pulling the ejection handle by mistake, and launching himself out of the jet and into the Washington National Forest. Mattie laughed at the part where, when told that his CO would demand an explanation of why Harm's passenger had ejected, Harm had told the officer that it was his CO that had been ejected. 'God help you, Rabb', had been the reply.
"The other jet incident happened Christmas before last. Everyone was due at Bud and Harriet's for Christmas dinner. Harm had been out on an investigation on board a carrier with retired Rear-Admiral Thomas Boone, and they were both due to travel back on the last COD. Unfortunately, the incoming aircraft broke its tailhook and had to abort the landing, forcing the pair into a possible Christmas at sea. Until, that is, Harm found out about a jet that needed to be transported back to land and offered the assigned pilot and his RIO a date with Jennifer Lopez in exchange. When Tom Boone asked Harm if he really knew Jennifer Lopez he grinned and replied, in all honesty, 'I see her twice a year. She's my dental hygienist'."
"So, did anything happen to the jet en-route?"
Mac nodded, and smiled as she recalled the night in question.
"To begin with, the CAG on the carrier wasn't too happy with Harm flying the jet in the first place. It so happened that on the night Harm ditched the plane over the Atlantic, the man waiting for the jet so he could return to the carrier was the CAG. He threatened to take Harm's wings if anything happened to the current aircraft."
"Something did happen, didn't it?" Mattie was so engrossed in Mac's explanations that she jumped when Mac was approached by Lieutenant Commander Glennan, assigned as the replacement JAG on board the carrier.
The man had been unfairly judged as UA when he had returned to his hometown for a family emergency. His papers giving him leave of absence for two days had been misfiled, and on his return he had been arrested by the security officer at his base. Once the misunderstanding had been sorted, and the unfortunate filing officer duly reprimanded, the JAG officer had been reinstated as the proposed carrier JAG, and told to report to Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie at the American Airlines ticket counter for the flight to London, England, and onto Bahrain, and the carrier, from there.
"Ma'am, the flight has been called. I saw you talking to Miss Grace, and figured you were a little too involved to have heard the call."
"Thank you, Commander. I didn't get chance to ask before we left the States; did you manage to sort your family emergency?"
"Yes, ma'am. My mother has been having treatment for cancer, and she's in remission. There was a mix-up with results and she believed the cancer had come back. That shock caused her to have a mild heart attack. She is back at home now, and the matter has been sorted."
"I'm glad to hear that, Commander." At that moment there was another boarding announcement, and the airline representative in the lounge came across to the three of them with a clipboard in her hand.
"Your flight is boarding now, if you would like to join the other passengers at the gate."
"Thank you." Mac picked up her coat, cover and briefcase and Mattie grabbed her rucksack and shoved her magazine back inside. With Lieutenant Commander Glennan following, Mac preceded Mattie out of the lounge and onto the concourse, heading for their assigned gate and aircraft. As Mattie kept pace beside her, Mac turned and smiled. "I'll tell you more when we get settled on the plane."
"Thanks." Mattie nodded, tried to hide another yawn, and grinned at Mac. "That's if I can stay awake! Boy, I think those sedatives are still in my system!" It was testament to Mattie's resilience that she could now joke about her ordeal. Mac was sure there would be some tears in remembering, when she would be able to tell Harm what had happened to her, but that was to be expected, and not a sign that she was falling apart over the incident.
Once they were settled on the commercial airliner, Mac continued the story of the Christmas flight that involved Harm's jet colliding with a weather balloon, and the emergency request for them to divert and assist a transporter with navigation problems; when they discovered the transporter's cargo was toys for the 'Toys For Tots' program, both Harm and Tom had laughed. During the flight, when Harm had made the decision to divert and help the larger aircraft, Tom had asked him 'just how many people are you planning to piss off today, Harm?' to which the younger man had answered 'everyone but you, Tom'.
When Mac finished telling that particular tale, she noticed that Mattie's eyes were closed, and her head had settled against Mac's own shoulder. Pulling a blanket up over Mattie's shoulders, she leaned in to drop a kiss on the teenager's head, and then settled back in her own seat to watch the film screen in front of her. Beside her, across the aisle, Dominic Glennan smiled at the sleeping teenager.
"Miss Grace is your relative, ma'am?"
"No, Commander. Actually, she's Captain Rabb's ward. I have permission from Captain Johnson to bring her on board the carrier for a few days. Mattie wants to go into the Naval Academy, and this will be her first time on board a carrier. In fact, I think this is her first time on board a commercial airliner."
"You wouldn't guess that, ma'am. She's so self-assured about all this, you'd think she was a pro."
"I was thinking the same thing, Commander," Mac admitted, turning again to look down at Mattie.
"Ma'am, I couldn't help overhearing you telling Miss Grace about Captain Rabb. I've only heard of his exploits in the courtroom, as I have heard of yours. Is he really still an active military pilot?"
Mac nodded. "In fact, that's why he's on board the Sea Hawk at the moment. Commander Turner is the acting JAG until you arrive. Captain Rabb was assigned to the squadron."
"It's going to be an honor to meet him, ma'am." The awe in the man's voice was evident, and Mac tried to find a simple way to tell the officer that Harm was just a man, despite his colorful and decorated history.
"Yes, I would imagine it is. However, don't forget one thing, Commander. He is still a human being, doing the same thing as you and I. Defending his country and his people. He just happens to have a unique way of doing that."
"In other words, ma'am, he's not a god."
"Got it in one, Commander. You're fast."
"Yes, ma'am. Well, if you'll excuse me now, I'll take a leaf out of Miss Grace's book and get some shut-eye for a while."
"Goodnight, Commander," Mac smiled, and then turned her attention again to the screen in front of her, her hand resting across her stomach.
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To be continued
A/N:
1. I've noticed a slip or two - previously I have had Sue call Mac 'Sarah', and I have noticed that I've let this lapse into 'Mac'. I haven't been checking, and so apologies now, and corrections from this chapter onwards! Continuity is everything!
2. A reviewer kindly pointed out that in the last chapter I had Sue commenting on Jack's 'come to bed' voice, and considering Sue is deaf, how would she know? Well, I can honestly say I got carried away (who wouldn't!) with the scene, and it just went down so easily on the paper! I will try to ensure that it doesn't happen again. However, it is feasible that maybe Lucy has described Jack's voice to Sue, or that Sue herself has been aware of Jack's facial features changing when they're talking. (Sue can tell when people change their tone from talking to shouting, so why not to 'whispering sweet nothings'?). Besides, if he's got 'come-to-bed' eyes, why not a voice to match? Maybe Sue can 'feel' the tone of his voice much the same way as she was taught to speak. (Please remember, we are talking the screen 'Sue Thomas' here, fiction, and not the real 'Sue Thomas'!) Creative license allows for a lot!