Chapter Fifteen

Two days before Election Day, Harm was at home, preparing for his next trial. He was prosecuting a female Petty Officer who turned out to be pregnant while serving on the Patrick Henry. The case made him think about Singer, who had left JAG the day after their confrontation at Benzinger's while he had been in San Diego for the Presidential Debate. He had thought about contacting her, but decided against it. He didn't want to ask anybody about her phone number, as he would have to explain why he wanted to speak with her. C.J. agreed with him he could only leave her be now.

He looked over to his girlfriend, who was lying on the couch, preparing for the next day. They were spending more and more time together during the weeks, either at his or her apartment. Sometimes they would sleepover. They tried to keep their Thursday tradition and from time to time went out on dates on the weekend. He enjoyed spending time with her. It was one of the simplest relationships he'd ever had.

His ringing phone interrupted his thoughts. He checked but didn't recognize the number. "Rabb."

"Uh, Harm, this is Mattie, uh, Mattie Grace from the airfield. We've met…."

Harm thought that the girl sounded weird. "Hi, Mattie. I know who you are. This is a surprise."

Hearing Mattie's name, C.J.'s eyes widened.

Harm shrugged his shoulders; he didn't know why she called him either.

"You said that I could call…"

"Is everything alright?" Harm asked, concerned. C.J. walked over to Harm, who put the call on the loudspeaker.

"Uh, no, not really," Mattie replied, and Harm thought that she sounded like she had been crying. A lot.

"Hi Mattie, it's C.J. What's wrong?" C.J. asked.

"Uh, C.J. I'm sorry to interrupt your…"

"Don't worry about it, Mattie. Tell us what's wrong?" Harm ordered softly.

"Uh, the power company has turned the power off, and I'm cold," Mattie said, sniffling.

C.J. looked concerned at Harm. "Where is your father, Mattie?"

When Mattie didn't reply, Harm got a terrible feeling. "Mattie?"

"He's not here."

"How long…," Harm said, but stopped. "Ah, you know what, Mattie? It doesn't matter for a moment."

He turned to C.J. "As soon as we stop talking, I want you to pack a bag with clothes and everything you think you'll need for a few days. I'm coming out to get you so that you can spend a couple of days with me."

Harm relaxed when C.J. nodded her head.

"Honey, you're going to spend time with Harm and me."

While she did not doubt that Mattie would be safe with Harm, she didn't know whether the girl would feel safe alone with him.

Harm looked at C.J. and nodded thankfully.

"Are… Are you sure?" Mattie sounded much younger than she was.

"Absolutely," Harm replied.

"Yes, Mattie. It's not a problem," C.J. agreed.

"All right. Thank you."

"No problem, squirt. I'm going to get ready. Why don't you talk with C.J. for a while?"

"Okay."

Harm handed his cell phone to C.J., kissed her quickly on the lips, and walked into his bedroom to change. He made a quick calculation about how much time he'd needed to get out there and be back. While the streets would be empty, it would take him hours, nonetheless.

Then he thought about his schedule for the next day. As far as he remembered, there were only a few calls he would have to make, but he couldn't think of any meeting he would have to attend. Nevertheless, he decided to call the Admiral.

Fully clothed, he walked back into his living room, a bag in his hands. He stuffed several blankets and some snacks into it.

Then he walked to his landline phone. When C.J. looked at him, he mouthed, 'Chegwidden'.

Harm called the number and waited for a few seconds.

When he heard the Admiral growl out his name, he checked his watch and cringed. "Good evening, Admiral. It's Commander Rabb."

"Rabb?" Chegwidden asked, surprised. Then he sighed. "What's the problem?"

They both knew that Harm wouldn't have called him if there wasn't some kind of problem. Especially not this late on a Sunday evening.

Harm explained about Mattie and summarized her call. He also told him what he planned to do.

"All right. So, you want to take tomorrow off?"

"Uh, I actually wanted to ask whether I could come in later," Harm said.

"Commander, not only will you be up until early morning, but it also sounds like there are some problems to solve with the young girl. As far as I remember, you don't have to be in court before Thursday. As there are no pressing matters, concentrate on the girl. Let's talk again tomorrow to check whether you need another day."

Harm thought about it. "You're right. Thank you, Admiral."

"Good. Now Commander, while the situation doesn't sound good, the girl doesn't seem to be in any danger. So, drive safely."

"Yes, sir."

They said their goodbyes.

Harm turned to C.J. who had finished her call with Mattie. "Her battery was going low. We stopped talking for the moment so that she could call later again," C.J. told Harm as she handed him his cell phone.

"Alright. The Admiral gave me the day off tomorrow to concentrate on Mattie."

"That's good. I'd like to do the same, but there is no way that I can take off the day before Election Day," C.J. said.

Harm could see that this was bothering her. "Don't worry about it, C.J. I was lucky that I didn't have any trials scheduled. Otherwise, the Admiral wouldn't have given me the day off either." Harm said and then kissed her.

"I have to go now."

"Okay. Drive safely."

Harm was about to walk out of the door when C.J. asked him to wait for a moment. When Harm turned around, C.J. had keys in her hand. "Here, take my keys, Harm. I think it would be better to take her to my apartment. I have a guest room that Mattie could use."

Harm didn't think long about it. "Okay. But how are you going to get into your apartment?"

C.J. sighed softly. "I have enough time to drive to the White House and get my spare keys. And I'm going to leave in a few minutes so that I can prepare her room."

"Alright." Harm kissed her again and left.

On his drive to Blacksburg, Harm thought about what he knew and assumed about Mattie's situation and made some tentative plans. He knew that he would have to involve child services at some point. For now, all that mattered was to get to Mattie and make sure that she was safe.

Harm called her a few miles before he reached the address she had given him. When he reached the house, he called again, but she didn't answer. He got out of his car and looked around, making sure that it was safe. There were only a few houses on the street. Some had a light on at the front of their house, others didn't.

Harm walked up to the house. It surprised him when the door opened, and Mattie greeted him standing in the door.

She looked miserable. "Hello, Harm."

"Hi, squirt." He held out his hand to hand over the bag to Mattie. "There are blankets and snacks in it."

"Thank you." She said it with so much meaning that he understood it was for more than the bag and snacks.

They walked into the house. Harm saw a suitcase and two bags near the entrance.

"Is this everything you want to take with you?"
"It's only for a few days, isn't it?"

Harm sighed. "Look Mattie, I don't want to lie to you. Obviously, something troubling is going on here. And as long as I don't have all the information, I can't give you a definite answer. However, C.J. and I are happy to have you with us, despite the circumstances."

Mattie stared at Harm, who wondered how she'd react. "I guess there is no going back now that I've called you, is there?"

Harm returned the look. "No, Mattie, there isn't."

"Didn't think so."

"All right. Let me grab that suitcase and bags."

"I can grab one."

"Okay. You want to check around one last time?"

"Uh, sure."

While Mattie walked away, Harm used the time to send C.J. a brief message, telling her he had arrived and that they were about to drive back.

When Mattie got back, they each grabbed their bags. When they left the house, Harm waited for Mattie to lock up before they put the bags into the car.

Even though Mattie had wrapped herself into a blanket, Harm put the heater up.

"Listen, Mattie, why don't you tell me what is going on before you go to sleep? Just the facts so that I can get a better picture. We can have a more detailed discussion tomorrow. Well, later today."

"Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Where is your father?"

Harm was surprised to see anger on the teenager's face, and more so when he heard her next words.

"He was driving the car in the accident that killed my mum."

Mattie looked out of the window. "He was drunk. After he killed her, he kept right on drinking."

Harm had many questions, but one very important one. "Mattie, where is he?"

"Don't know, don't care!" Mattie spat.

"So what, you're living at home alone?"

"Yes."

"What about relatives?"

"Most of them are his family. When they call, I tell them that dad is passed out on the couch."

"What happens when your dad comes back?"

"Pfff, he's not coming back," Mattie sneered. "Not after what he did. Besides, I don't let him in the house."

"It's his house, Mattie." Harm thought that was obvious even to the teenager.

"It's mine! My mom left me the house and the airplanes in her will."

Well, Harm, you thought wrong.

"What happens when they find out, Mattie? I mean Child Protective Services, the FAA. Because one way or another, they will."

"You gonna tell?"

Harm sighed. "Yes, Mattie. I'm gonna tell. I should have called CPS immediately after you called me. I am legally obliged to do so. But that is a problem for later. That you called me tells me you know that you're in trouble and accept that you need help. So, tomorrow, we're going to sit down and figure out how I, I mean C.J. and I, can help you. Is that okay with you?"

Mattie wanted to be stubborn and tell him it wasn't okay with her. That she didn't want CPS to be involved. That she could go on with no help. But she was honest with herself. She wasn't okay. She hadn't been okay for a few weeks now, but it had got worse when the power went out on Thursday. The first two days had been all right, but the last two days she had been freezing. Hungry, cold, and very uncomfortable. So, she had decided that she needed help and called the only people who had shown some interest in her wellbeing in the past few months. Deep down, she had known that her life would change as soon as she made the call. So, the only thing she could do was to go with the flow.

"Yeah, it's okay."

She turned to see Harm smiling widely and responded with a small smile of herself. Then she yawned.

"All right, squirt, why don't you rest until we're at C.J.'s?"

"We're going to her apartment? Don't you live together?"

Harm chuckled. "No, we don't live together. We've only been together for a few months. And yes, we're going to stay at her place for a few days because she has an extra room you can use. I only have a one-room apartment."

"Oh, alright. I didn't think about that."

"Don't worry about it, Mattie. I can't promise you that everything will be alright, but I can promise you we will help you as much as we can. Okay?"

"Yeah."

"No, get some rest."

"Okay. Thanks."

It didn't take long for Mattie to fall asleep. On the way back, Harm tried to relax. When Mattie told him about her father's drinking problem, he had immediately thought back to Mac's past. As far as he could see, Mattie's father didn't seem to be abusive, just absent. While that was bad enough, it was better than the other option. Anyway, now that he knew more about her situation, he had a better idea about what he had to do and made plans accordingly.

When they arrived at C.J.'s place, Harm woke Mattie. Using the keys C.J. had given him, he let himself into the house and then her apartment. Harm showed Mattie where her room and the bathroom were.

In the bathroom, Harm could see that C.J. had laid out some products for Mattie to use. However, Mattie was too tired to take a shower. She just changed into something more comfortable and went to bed. However, to his surprise, the girl turned around and hugged Harm, and hurried back into her room.

When Harm walked into C.J.s bedroom. As usual, he stripped down to his boxers and laid down. He wasn't too surprised when C.J. snuggled into him. "How bad?"

"Bad, but it could be worse. Let's talk about it tomorrow. For now, take comfort in the fact that she is safe in your guest room."

"Okay. Love you." C.J. said sleepily.

It took a moment for Harm to recover from hearing those words. They hadn't used those words so far. He looked at C.J. and saw that she was asleep again. That gave him some time to think about his feelings for her. But that was something for another time, as he was too tired to do it now.

Even though he didn't have to go into the office and only had a few hours of sleep, Harm got up with C.J. the next morning. While C.J. showered, he made pancakes.

During the breakfast, Harm briefed her on Mattie's situation. C.J. was sad and angry on Mattie's behalf.

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know yet. Today, I'm going to have a long talk with her. About her mother's accident, her father, her living situation, and Grace Aviation. From what I understood last night, the house and the company belong to Mattie, or at least the planes. Then I have to decide what to do with CPS. As an officer of the court, no, as a human being, I am obliged to call in child neglect," Harm said, shaking his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Besides the obvious?"

"Yes."

"I'm wondering how long it's been going on. How long she's been alone…"

"You're wondering whether she had been alone already when we met her," C.J. stated.

"Yeah…"

"I do, too. And I'm sure that you have come to the same conclusion that I have."

"Yeah, I remember us talking about the fact that something had felt wrong. I'm angry at myself for not looking into the situation."

"Yeah, me too. But there is nothing we can change about the past. What we can do, however, is try to help her go forward."

"I know."

"Do you have any ideas?" C.J. asked.

Harm looked at her for a moment. "I have some ideas, but no concrete plans. There are some things I could help with, but I don't want to make plans without knowing everything about the situation first."

"Hey, don't make any plans without me, okay?"

"Okay."

C.J. checked her watch. "All right, I have to hurry. Today is going to be busy. I don't know whether I really get to it, but I'll try checking in with you."

"Okay. Now, it's still early and I'm sure Mattie will sleep for a while longer. So, I'm going to lie down for a while, too. Have fun at work."

A couple of hours later, Harm woke up and got ready for the day. He checked whether Mattie was awake but couldn't hear anything. He let her sleep as he was loathe to wake her up. It was clear from her appearance last night that she had got little sleep the past few days.

He used the time to attend some personal business, check on some things and even work on some files. When he heard noises from the guest room, Harm walked over. He knocked on the door, and called out, "Hey, Mattie. You awake?"

"Huh. Harm?"

"Yes, Mattie."

"Uh, yeah, I'm up."

"Okay. Why don't you take a shower and I make you breakfast? How do pancakes sound?"

After a moment of silence, Mattie replied, "Pancakes sound good."

"Great."

An hour later, Mattie had finished her breakfast, and they had both squared away from the kitchen.

Harm turned to Mattie and looked at her. "It's time we talked."

Mattie sighed. "I guess. What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

For the next few hours, Mattie answered all of Harm's questions. She also asked him some of her own, which Harm tried to answer truthfully. When it was time for lunch, Harm asked her what she wanted to eat.

"Pizza?"

Harm looked at her. "Didn't you have enough pizza for a while?"

While she looked a bit embarrassed, she told him that one could never have enough pizza.

Harm just shook his head. While he enjoyed a pizza from time to time, he was far too conscious about his health and the food he ate for it to happen regularly. They talked about it for a few minutes and compromised on Chinese. Both were happy with their decision.

C.J. had, in fact, called in during a quick lunch break. He had updated her about what he had learned. She shocked him when she called to say that she was finishing up-and-coming home. What was shocking was that she was leaving work earlier than usual and that the evening before Election Day. She told Harm that her bosses and colleagues had looked at her like she was crazy, but after she had explained that she had a family emergency and reassured them that her father and Hogan were alright, they reluctantly let her go. But not without warning that they wanted to learn more as soon as she was able to tell.

When C.J. got home, Harm had dinner prepared for her. She put it into the microwave and sat down at the kitchen table, where Harm and Mattie joined her. She told them about her day and what a madhouse the White House had been. She told them that her colleagues had been driving her crazy. Well, even more so than usual.

After she had finished her dinner, they all sat down on the couch.

"Alright, we all know that we have some things to talk about and decide how we can best help Mattie."

He turned to the teenager. "The most important problems to solve are your living situation including your education and the financial problems with your house and the company."

Mattie nodded. There was nothing she could say.

"The financial problems are probably the easiest to solve. There are several things we could do and if nothing else helps, I can lend you the money."

Both C.J. and Mattie looked at him, surprised.

"What?" Mattie asked, flabbergasted.

"What she said," C.J. added, surprised as well.

"Look, there are a few options to solve your financial problems, and we'll certainly talk about them in detail. However, more pressing is your living situation. We must contact CPS soon for all our sake. Mainly for you, Mattie, but also for us. It wouldn't be good for either C.J. or me if somebody were to learn that we knew about a neglected teenager and didn't call it in."

Mattie sighed deeply. "I know. You explained it to me. You're a lawyer and C.J. works for the President. And as I said before, I may not be interested in politics, but I find it so cool that you work for the freak…"

"Mattie," Harm warned.

"Uh, sorry. But you know what I mean."

"Yes, I find it very cool myself," C.J. replied. "Anyway, let's get back to the topic at hand. I thought about it, and I know it's a totally crazy idea, but what would you say about living with me for a while?" C.J. asked.

Silence.

Mattie looked to Harm, who was looking at C.J. who was looking at Mattie.

The teenager was the first to react and blurted out. "What?"

"What she said," Harm quoted C.J.

"Look, I know we don't know each other very well, and I should probably have spoken to Harm, but I…"

She didn't finish as she saw the look on Harm's face. "Why are you smiling?"

Mattie turned to Harm.

"Well, C.J., here I was thinking how to convince you both about us becoming Mattie's legal guardian. I'm just happy that I'm not the only crazy person in this relationship."

C.J. reacted by sticking out her tongue, which made everybody laugh for a moment.

Harm spoke up first. "All right, let's get back to work. Look, Mattie, I don't want you to get swallowed up by the system. You're too bright for that and you'd probably go crazy in some foster home. Well, until you run away, that is. You're far too stubborn and independent to stay at some foster home with people you don't know."

Or only take kids in for the sake of the social security check, Harm thought.

Mattie's silence was all the answer the adults needed.

"Anyway, I told you earlier that you should go to school and be with other kids. You should enjoy being young. While we don't know each other that well yet, you still know us much better than any foster family CPS will undoubtedly put you in. And even if you don't want to stay with us, we'll always be here for you if you need anything," Harm said.

"Absolutely," C.J. agreed. "Whatever you decide, you'll never be alone."

Mattie switched from looking at C.J. and Harm. She was at a loss for words. In fact, she could not think of anything for the moment. Before yesterday, they had met only once in person and spoke once on the phone. But she had been so desperate that she had called Harm for help. She realized at that moment that she had trusted him more than her actual family.

She was smart enough to know that not everything would go smoothly, but looking at them, they actually wanted to help her. Help her with her house, her and her mother's company and, more importantly, even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, help her with her life. They had promised her that whatever happened, whatever she decided, she would never have to be alone again. And for some strange reason, she believed them.

"Okay, let's do it."