"The long road to justice" - Ch07– "Beyond history lessons to a future"
AU: a speculative story, imagining the unpublished back story of Faith Coleman in the JAG supporting cast, who crossed over into the early days of NCIS. (See Ch 01 for disclaimers).
A/N: "they aren't mine, I'm just playing with them - apart from any character created by myself".
Summary: this is a fictional story, in a fictional (slightly) Alternative Universe, about fictional characters who entertained us in a fictional TV series between 1995 and 2005 and its spin-off.
Canon: Linking the story into the Season eight "death of Loren Singer" episodes, then onwards to a couple of early (S1/S2) NCIS episodes as the chapters develop. Mike
A/N: Ch07. With grateful thanks for the return of my beta, "SyRae".
A/N published 13MAY2021: because there is no "back-story" to so many of the JAG characters, I have let my imagination roam around Faith Coleman's possible back-story - and I hope you enjoy it. This will eventually circle around into the events of my story "Red Mittens and a Rose Garden". Comments and PMs and suggestions are most welcome; I shall update periodically. Mike
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Ch07– "Beyond history lessons to a future"
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Sunday 6th July 2003, 10:13hrs EST
Faith Coleman's apartment, Chevy Chase MD, 20815
Almost an hour after she had started telling her story on the Sunday morning, Faith had returned to an even keel and had finally dried her eyes. Jack felt sickened by the fate which had befallen her. He was even more disgusted with the man responsible, because poor Faith had needed to piece together what had been done to her, from medical and forensic evidence, after the event – she had been knocked unconscious at the start of the attack.
The previous evening, after returning from their meal, they had sat and talked on the couch. She had fallen asleep in his arms; he had supported her as she slept fitfully, until they eventually re-awakened around 02:15hrs on the Sunday morning and headed for their respective beds.
By this time, the weather had evolved into a bright and warm day, so they planned a trip out in the fresh air as a post-catharsis effort to blow away any lingering dark clouds of memory.
They decided to get their bicycles out (Faith had kept Alan's mountain bike, which would fit Jack) and to start exploring the Capital Crescent Trail, which runs on the abandoned right-of-way of the Georgetown Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Alan had supported the project and this was another spiritual link between Faith and the past. Faith regarded the trail as another opportunity to get close to Alan's spirit – and Jack appreciated the chance to be close to Faith and to get out into the fresh air.
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Much later in the day, weary and somewhat mud-splattered, Faith and Jack returned to the apartment to clean up. The bikes had been hosed down, before being locked away in the bike-store at the back of the underground car park. Fresh from her shower, Faith turned to Jack, holding up a flyer from the local pizza joint.
"I don't fancy cooking and I bet you don't either."
"Oh yes: decision time on takeaway, Lady Sailor?"
"Oh yes, Mister Marine. But maybe in a little while?"
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Sunday 6th July 2003, 16:47hrs EST
Faith Coleman's apartment, Chevy Chase MD, 20815
The decision to order out for pizza had been an easy one. Faith and Jack had moved back into what was becoming their comfortable position – lying in each other's arms on the couch. Resting her shoulders on his thighs, Faith stretched her long legs out along the couch and looked up into the eyes of her Marine.
Inevitably, their lips met. This was becoming a very natural position for the two JAG love-birds.
Almost an hour later, the pizza was delivered on schedule.
Jack had no objection to Faith's request that the "separate bedrooms" arrangement was to continue for a little while longer.
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Monday 14th July 2003, 14:06hrs EST
Faith Coleman's office, JAG HQ, Falls Church VA
"Coleman."
"Hey Lady Sailor, how's your Monday going?"
"All the better for hearing your voice, Mister Marine. How's the view across Pearl Harbour?"
"Well, it's missing a raven-haired Lady Sailor who has stolen my heart, but for now it brings me comfort whilst I talk to her from the other side of the planet."
Jack had been dispatched on the Friday night, westbound to the mid-Pacific region, following up on a case from a few months earlier. The female lieutenant had emerged from her coma and provided a statement which confirmed the initial evidence which NCIS had been able to gather, so Jack had led the arraignment and Article 32 hearing against the accused sailor.
"Faith, this should be wrapped up by Wednesday, so expect a jet-lagged Marine on your doorstep sometime late on Thursday – if I have the time-zones correct."
"Jack, whenever you get home, that will be fine."
"You know, Faith? I like that word 'home' every time you mention it."
"Well, it is a word with greater meaning for me every month." Faith shifted gears. "Look, Jack, we've finally been able to arrange a funeral for Loren Singer and her baby; the Ohio Valley is truly lovely at this time of year and she would have been 32 years old on July 25th – next Friday. A couple of us are going to attend. Traci Manetti has been a real terrier in tracking down Loren's estranged parents and cajoling them into a church service on the Sunday afternoon."
Winding the telephone cord around her long fingers, she lowered her voice to issue an invitation across the miles to Honolulu.
"So, Mister Marine, how do you fancy a weekend in Ohio, to help you recover from the long flights around the world this past week?"
"Lady Sailor, I like the way you're thinkin' – book me a slot please."
With the plans agreed and bookings in place, all that Faith needed to do was pray that Jack's court case and travel plans didn't fall apart.
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Friday 25th July 2003, 12:00hrs EST
Germantown Cemetery, Germantown, OHIO
11177 W Market St, Germantown, OH 45327
When Traci Manetti had been planning the logistics for the funeral of Loren and her unborn child, nobody had fancied spending eight hours on driving nearly 500 miles from Falls Church to Germantown – then back after Loren Singer's funeral.
They looked at the several airports spread around Cincinnati (OH), including over the border in Kentucky across the Ohio River. With these airports located on the southwest side of the State – 70 miles away and diametrically opposite to Germantown where Loren was to be buried – the Admiral had eventually swung a favour to hitch rides on a MATS service flight into Wright-Patterson AFB east of Dayton. This left a journey of under 30 miles to the hotel in Germantown, not far from the historic Germantown Covered Bridge over the Little Twin Creek.
In Traci's discussions with Loren's estranged parents, it had been made clear that they had not endorsed Loren's decision to join the military (it eventually transpired that she had run away from a strict, female-suppressing, religiously-orthodox family life). During this period, some of Loren's apparent "quirks" made sense. So, black suits were the order of the day.
"Coleman, MIB" was Jack's frivolous comment when Faith stood before him after breakfast in the guest house where the "gang" had based themselves for the duration of Loren's funeral on the Friday.
A dry day with light winds and a temperature nudging 82 degrees meant that, by 1PM, the funeral group standing in the cemetery were quite warm as they looked at the simple gravestone with its engraved legend of "Loren Maria Singer 07-25-1971 – 01-05-2003" with, on the line below, a simple "Baby Singer 2003".
It was an elegant conclusion to an ugly, brutal, painful and entirely-unnecessary chapter in the history of the JAG family.
Faith removed her sunglasses and squatted down alongside Loren's marked, placing a hand upon the warm stone as it sat above the grass and the disturbed soil in front of it.
"Rest in peace, Loren; I am glad that we caught the perp."
She stood up and put her sunglasses back on; Jack was waiting for her, a little off to one side from the grave. Hand in hand, they walked slowly from the cemetery to the nearby boarding house where the Singer family had observed the customs of hospitality for those attending a family funeral.
Faith had noticed that there were no photographs of Loren on display. She mentioned this to Traci over dinner that evening; the two JAGs were glad that THEY, at least, had made the effort to observe and commemorate Loren's short, eventful and tragic life. They could be proud of what they had achieved in laying her to rest.
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Saturday 26th July 2003, 16:08hrs EST
Germantown Covered Bridge Monument, Germantown, OHIO
E Center St, Germantown, OH 45327, United States
Traci and the rest of the JAG contingent headed off to Wright-Patt after breakfast. Faith and Jack had elected to stay on for the weekend, booking a commercial flight back (from Cincinatti) to Reagan National on the Sunday afternoon.
Thus it was that, on the Saturday afternoon, Faith and Jack found themselves on the Old Germantown Covered Bridge, looking north up the creek with the sun behind them.
Faith sighed and turned around, resting her back against the railing and looking at Jack. "This is nice."
"Indeed it is; and I am thinking of something else to make the day even nicer, if you have a moment?"
Faith looked quizzically at him. "Yes Jack, of course."
"Well, since the matter of Loren's funeral came up, I have had a few things on my mind – and after yesterday standing around a hole in the ground, I got to thinking again."
He paused. Faith waited expectantly before he continued.
"Faith Coleman." Jack went down on one knee and reached for her hands. Faith stood stock still, waiting for her Marine to continue. "This is not (yet) a proposal – more of a proposition, really - because I don't think that either of us is completely ready."
"Speak for yourself, Marine!" flashed through Faith's mind, but she simply nodded.
"Faith, would you consider us formally moving in together, with a view to making this more permanent later in the year?"
Faith only hesitated for a moment, before she leaned down and kissed him – fully, passionately and ultimately breathlessly. The customary immaculate Faith Coleman lip-gloss was significantly smeared by the time she allowed Jack to come up for air and to stand up from his kneeling position.
"Wow – I'll take that as a yes, shall I, Lady Sailor?"
"Hell yes, Mister Marine."
The two love-birds lingered on the bridge for quite some time.
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End of "The long road to Justice" Ch07– "Beyond history lessons to a future".
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A/N: Alan Coleman had been a keen supporter of the rails-to-trails project which had gained traction in 1985 after the last train had run. He had been a keen supporter at the inception of the project. Advocates for turning the railroad into a trail, including the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Coalition and the newly formed Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail began to lobby local and federal officials to do so, putting together a Concept Plan in 1988. Alan had lived long enough to see the first section of the Trail opened, when the ribbon was cut on March 30, 1994 – not long after he had first met Faith. Faith had endorsed and encouraged Alan's interest in the Trail. Her interest continued after his senseless murder, bringing her closer, on the Trail, to her late husband's spirit.
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End of "The long road to Justice" Ch07– "Beyond history lessons to a future".
Mike, United Kingdom, 13-05-2021