OCC: hopefully I got the Zulu time correct *sighs* its harder than when they're in Virginia had to make myself a conversation table…


Chapter 2 - Life Goes On… (2 Years, 5 Months, 29 days Later…)

06.23.07
1500 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia


Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. and Colonel Sarah MacKenzie-Rabb entered JAG. Tiner spotted them before they could pick up their mail or messages. "Commander! Colonel!" Tiner shouted and ran over to them.

"Yes, Tiner?" Harm answered turning to face him.

"The admiral wants to see you both in his office."

"I thought you weren't relaying messages for the admiral, Tiner," Mac said half amused.

"I'm not, Ma'am, but I…well," Tiner stopped to think exactly why he was still doing it. It hadn't been his job for almost two years now, but every now and then he and the admiral forgot.

"Thank you Tiner," Harm said smiling and then looked over at his wife and noticed that she looked miserable and checking her watch. "Mac? You okay?" Even though they were married he still called her Mac, especially at work.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

Harm's heart immediately saddened, he hated seeing her so upset, but she seemed to be constantly upset since their daughter had been declared missing. It had been well over two years and he knew the one thing that had kept them both going was JAG. He took her arm and lead her to his office, closed the door, closed the blinds, and then pulled her into his arms. "What's wrong?" he asked gently holding her and swaying a bit.

"Do you know what day it is?" she asked him quietly and obviously upset.

"June twenty-third," he said.

"She…she…would be two and a…h..half in two days Harm," she struggled to explain her upset.

Tears began to fill his eyes also, he had forgotten. Not their daughter, but the date's significance. It hadn't registered in his brain. He wiped her tears and kept his tears from falling. "I know, but we need to go see the admiral now. Are you going to be okay?" he asked mentally kicking himself for not remembering. Why hadn't he?! It wasn't like they didn't think of her everyday. Mac had had a dream the day before about their baby, Harm knew everything was so much harder because neither had even SEEN their daughter before she disappeared.

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0455 Zulu
06.23.07
Seal Beach Naval Base
Seal Beach, California


Harm, Mac, and Sturgis had been sent to investigate the disappearance of a US Navy couple's missing daughter. It was too late to check in with the couple, by they did manage to check in with the base and get a two room temporary house on the base.

"So, what information do we have?" Harm asked Sturgis as he entered with food for all of them.

"Well, it's a Major Robert Collins and 1st Lieutenant Jennifer Collins, they've been stationed here for two years and about five or six months. They were restationed here right after the birth of their daughter, Sydney Elle Collins.

Mac dropped her head into her hands.

"Mac?" Sturgis questioned as he set food down on the table.

Harm looked back at her as well. "Sarah, you okay?"

She nodded not moving her head from her hands.

"What's wrong?" Harm pushed.

"This little girl is the same age as…" Mac stopped herself.

"As Sydelle would have been," Harm finished.

"AND her name is SYDney ELLE!" Mac said becoming more and more upset. She got up, walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

'Mac was right,' Harm thought. 'There was a lot that was connecting this case to their daughter, but that didn't mean anything.' They still had a job to do.

"She going to be okay?" Sturgis asked pulling the food out of their bags.

"I'm not sure…look Sturgis, would you mind taking lead on this case?"

"Actually I was just going to suggest that."

"Thanks," Harm said, he was happy his friend understood.

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06.24.03
1600 Zulu
Seal Beach Naval Base
Seal Beach, California


Commander Turner was escorted to the Collins Residence on base and knocked after his escort left. Sturgis waited patiently until a distraught women in uniform answered the door. 'Lt Jennifer Collins,' Sturgis reminded himself.

"What can I do for you, Commander?" Jennifer Collins asked kindly obviously trying to compose herself.

"I'm Commander Sturgis Turner, I'm here from JAG. Myself and two other officers have been assigned to investigate the disappearance of your daughter…"

A man came to the door also in uniform, "please. Come in." They stepped aside and lead Sturgis to their living room area. "Please, have a seat, Commander." As soon as Sturgis sat, they sat across from them. "Is there anyway we can help with your investigation?"

Sturgis was a bit surprised, "uhh well I was wondering if I could have a recent picture if possible. The local authorities have one, but-"

"Of course, I'll get you one," Jennifer Collins interrupted and went off to find a picture.

"Commander? You'll find our little girl?" Major Robert Collins asked.

"We'll do our best, I also had a few other requests that could help with our investigation."

"Of course. What can I do?"

"Sydney is a small child and can easily be slightly changed to make her unnoticeable. We'd like to have her medical information, including her hand and foot prints taken at birth if possible."

"Of course," Robert responded. "I'll have our base medic send them to you. As for the prints I think Jennifer put them in Sydney's scrapbook."

Jennifer walked out with a white and pink photo album. "I didn't know which picture to give you…maybe this will help?" Jennifer said offering Sturgis the album, which he accepted. "There's a picture of Sydney in there for almost every month…"

"If not every week," Robert Collins added. "My wife likes to take pictures…"

Jennifer nodded, "and her prints are all in there even finger prints she had taken at this special thing they had at school…and there's hair from when she was a baby…"

Sturgis stood up holding the book, "this is be /very/ helpful. I assure you we'll do everything we can to find your daughter."

"Thank you."

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TBC...