"We should get going and let you enjoy your evening." AJ said standing. Mac started to get to her feet.
"Stay where you are Colonel." Admiral Morris said. "If you're not feeling better on Monday call me and I'll arrange for someone else to take over the court martial."
"I'll be there sir." Mac replied.
"We'll see ourselves out." AJ added.
"Have a nice weekend sir." Mac said.
"Thank you."
Mac waited until the door had closed and then waited another thirty seconds.
"You can stop hiding now they've gone." She yelled upstairs.
"We weren't hiding." Harm said coming down the stairs holding Abi, Faith followed him. "We were allowing you some privacy."
"I see. Well they are gone now."
"What did they want?" Harm asked.
"Me to stop presiding over courts martial."
"Can they do that?" Harm asked. "That's the main point of being a judge."
"They are still going to let me do all the other non-court martial related stuff, like issuing warrants."
"Sounds like you're getting stuck with all the paperwork Mac." Faith said.
"Actually they want to trial a new program they want me to run, with Jen's assistance."
"What kind of program?" Harm questioned.
"They think that it would be good for the office staff if they had a better understanding of the judicial process. So they want me to run a program where a couple days a week we get them in, give them a court scenario and allow them to argue it out."
"It's an interesting idea." Harm said.
"I'm guessing this is on the theory that the more they know the better they'll be at their jobs and helping us to do ours." Faith suggested. "Like Jen reading case reports so she knows more about decisions that you make in court."
"Exactly. But more than likely they are fed up with people complaining because I keep having to stop going to the bathroom and because I'm taking a few days off now."
"Mac, you're a great judge." Faith assured her. "It's a good scheme and they could have asked anyone better to run it."
"When do they want you to start?" Harm asked.
"They've given me until Tuesday to think it over, talk to Jen. Then a couple weeks to organise it, then have a few weeks to test out the idea before I go on maternity leave."
"How much longer are you planning on working?" Faith asked.
"Mary said in theory I could work right up until I give birth, but I should probably take maternity leave from about eight months."
"Although I'd rather she'd not go back in the New Year at all." Harm said.
"Harm…"
"I know you're a Marine. Semper Fi and all."
"Actually I was going to say if I agree to this I could probably go down to a three day week then."
"Oh."
"So Krennick." Mac prompted.
Faith gave Mac run down of the witnesses Brett had called and closing statements.
"They'll be back Monday." Faith finished.
"What are you going for in sentencing?" Mac asked.
"Dishonourable discharge with forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and five years." Faith replied.
"Sounds reasonable." Mac replied.
"Brett wants me to agree to honourable discharge and that's it."
"Is he delusional?"
"We're going to verdict with this and she's going to jail."
"This has taken a lot longer than I thought it would." Harm said handing Abi a toy.
"Justice takes as long as it takes." Mac said.
"And I liked having my best friend around for a while. It will be weird when he goes."
"How would you feel if he stayed?" Mac asked.
"That would be great, but he's only here to defend Krennick."
"Actually the Admiral talked to his CO, they are going to transfer him here permanently." Mac replied.
"That's the first I've heard of that." Harm said.
"Brett would have told me if he knew something like that."
"That's because it was only confirmed today, the Admiral told me and we discussed it a few weeks ago. Brett will find out on Monday, and you can't say anything, you're not supposed to know."
"The more lawyers around the less work for the rest of us."
"Don't worry flyboy; I'm sure there will be more than enough trouble for you to get yourself into."
TBC