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 and eliv.thade 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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MAC'S OFFICE
JAG HEADQUARTERS
1200 HOURS LOCAL - FRIDAY
There was a knock at her door at the same time as Mac bent down to retrieve the file that had slipped off her desk. Calling out 'enter' as she made a grab for the elusive file, Harriet walked into the office at the same time as Mac got to her feet and swayed, grabbing the edge of her desk and letting the file slip again.
"Ma'am? Mac? Are you all right?" Harriet rushed forward and helped Mac into one of the visitor's seats in front of her desk. Taking the other seat, Harriet leaned forward and looked closely at Mac. What she saw there made her eyes dance, and Mac dropped her head between her knees for a minute or two until the wave of nausea passed and she could look up at Harriet again.
"What? Harriet, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Have you eaten yet, Mac?"
"No. Couldn't face... oh!" Mac's face suddenly paled again, and then a blush rose up her cheeks. Harriet's smile reached across her face as she nodded at Mac, who shut her eyes and shook her head. Then she opened them again, and the sweetest smile slid onto her lips. Harriet understood at that moment that Mac knew, without the need of a little plastic stick, that she was pregnant. "Oh, Harriet. What do I do now?"
"Go get it confirmed, Mac. And then tell Harm."
"I'm on the pill!"
"It isn't a hundred percent proof, Mac, and I'm guessing you didn't always use 'other' protection." Harriet tried very hard to be delicate about discussing another couple's intimacies, but she knew from other 'girlie' conversations with Harm's previous lovers that he was as inventive as he was a gentleman, and thoughts of protection at times such as those weren't always top of the list. Mac looked at Harriet as a tear slid down her cheek. The younger woman was half-afraid that Mac was in shock, but then the smile on Mac's lips widened, and she actually laughed.
"Oh. My. God!" Mac whispered, and then suddenly grabbed Harriet in a hug. Both women were crying now, joyful tears, and it was this scene that Jennifer walked in on when she knocked on the door.
"Ma'am, the Admiral would like to... oh, ma'am! Are you all right? Harriet, what's going on?"
"Shut the door, Jen, quick!" Harriet instructed, and then looked from Jennifer to Mac, whose smile had now turned to a goofy grin. There was absolutely no way that Mac could face the Admiral until she had pulled herself together, but then with the news she had just received, pulling herself together was the last thing she wanted to do. Yelling from the rooftops was more in order; after telling the other party in this development that he had made good on his promise, and he was about to get all his presents early this year!
"I need to talk to Harm!" Mac murmured huskily. Looking from a confused Jennifer to an ecstatic Harriet.
"Ma'am, you need to see the Admiral first. He said it was urgent." Jennifer tried again to get through to Mac, but it was Harriet who spoke to the Petty Officer.
"Jen, tell the Admiral that Mac had to use the ladies room, urgently. Some news, she's a little upset."
"I'm not upset! I'm ecstatic!" Mac suddenly burst out, and grinned widely. "Don't worry, Harriet, I'm going in to see the Admiral. I'll be fine. Watch me!" With that, and a useless grab from Harriet to stop her, Mac left her office and practically floated across the bullpen.
"Jen, you'd better follow her. Do you know why the Admiral wants to see her?"
"Something to do with Commander Turner, I think. The new carrier JAG hasn't turned up yet, but the Admiral needs Commander Turner back here for something. You don't think he'll send Mac over there, do you? What about fraternization? I mean, he knows about the Captain and the Colonel, doesn't he?"
Harriet nodded, and then she spoke, almost to herself. "The Captain and the Colonel have worked together on board a carrier before, Jen. There's no infringement of regulations unless they are caught together. They are both too professional for that to happen."
MATTIE'S SCHOOL
SAME TIME - FRIDAY
Jack's cell phone rang just as he and Sue were heading out of the door of the office. They dropped back into the office and closed the door, and Sue sat on one of the visitor chairs as Jack leaned back against his desk, watching her face as he spoke to Bobby.
"Bobby, what have you got?"
"Dinner reservations, tonight, 7.30pm, little Italian around the corner from Jenny's place. If you want to you can park outside her place and walk with us, or meet us there. There is a parking lot at the back of the restaurant too."
"Okay. We'll meet you there. Anything else?"
"Yep, actually. You might want to concentrate your attention on the vice principal at the school. Quite a few bones rattling in her closet. Not sure if the principal is aware of the expensive tastes of his v-p, nor of the rap sheet that goes with her name."
"We'll look into it here. Thanks, Bobby." Jack closed his cell phone and smiled at Sue. "Dinner tonight, 7.30? The Italian place just around the corner from Harm's apartment."
"Sure." Sue nodded, and got to her feet. Jack crossed the room before she could open the door to leave, putting a hand on her arm. Sue looked up at him, and her eyes were questioning.
"Bobby says we need to check out the vice principal. They've had a flag up on her name back at the office; expensive habit, and a taste for designers, whatever the material goods."
"All right. Maybe if we eat in the cafeteria today, we'll get to see the vice principal in there."
Jack pulled a face at the thought of school food, and Sue couldn't help the smile that came to her face at his expression. As she turned to leave again he moved into her line of sight, signing 'sorry' on his chest.
"What are you sorry about, Jack?" she asked, softly.
"Hurting you. I've just got some things going around in my head, Sue, and I need to clear them on my own. But I've been making you miserable, and I don't mean to."
"Isn't there anything I can do?" Sue asked.
"No. Really, it's just with me. I didn't mean to brush you off last night, either. I missed you when I got home to my apartment."
"Then why didn't you take me with you?"
"I needed some space."
"If you need space from me, then what's bothering you concerns me, doesn't it?"
Jack nodded, looking dejected. Sue sighed, and put her hand out to open the door before turning back to face Jack.
"We should talk about this but we don't have time right now. Besides, it isn't the right place. After dinner, okay?"
Jack nodded in assent, and Sue opened the door and left the office, walking ahead of Jack down the corridor to the cafeteria. Her face had none of it's usual brightness, and her eyes were dull and distant.
During lunch they observed the vice principal, and made mental notes on the woman, with the intention of talking to Mattie about her over the weekend and regrouping to consult with their colleagues on Monday morning. Once lunch was over they returned to the office and picked up the pretence of being counselors. Neither spoke to the other, until it was time to leave for the day, and Sue climbed into the car beside Jack.
"I'd prefer if you'll drop me at my apartment. I'll find my own way to the restaurant tonight."
"But I thought we were going to talk afterwards?"
Sue nodded. "We will. But it's going to have to be neutral territory, Jack."
The fact that he nodded in agreement so quickly had Sue's heart plummeting, and Jack saw the slump in her shoulders even as she sat in the car. He was fast losing control of the situation, and Sue still had no idea what was going on in his mind; he knew she was worrying about them, and if he was wanting to break up with her. He couldn't reassure her that leaving her was the last thing he ever wanted to do, without admitting by default that he had even considered it in the first place!
MAMA AMALFI'S RESTAURANT
NORTH OF UNION STATION
1915 HOURS - FRIDAY
Sue sat at the table in the restaurant, next to Jennifer, with Jack and Bobby opposite their respective partners for the evening. As the two men excused themselves to the bar to order drinks and the meals, Sue made herself concentrate on Jennifer and start a conversation. It wasn't hard. Jennifer was easy to talk to, and since the first time they had met at JAG, they had nurtured a friendship.
"Has Mac heard from Harm? I forgot to ask her yesterday," Sue admitted, and Jennifer gave her a strange look before answering in the affirmative.
"Yes. The Admiral had asked for Commander Turner to return stateside, but the JAG officer appointed to replace the UA officer has disappeared too. Between doing his quals and taking on sorties, Harm has been helping out with the JAG stuff."
"Sorties?" asked Sue, unsure of what Jennifer was talking about.
"The flights he's making as part of the squadron on board the ship; they're called sorties."
"It sounds like he could be out there quite a while then?"
"Possibly, but he's trying to get leave to come back for Mattie's six-month hearing, in Family Court."
Sue nodded her head at that. "I remember. Mac told me about that. Mattie's asked for a special paper to be issued, isn't that right?"
Jennifer nodded, knowing that Sue had no reason to fish for information. It was obvious Sue genuinely cared for Mac and Harm, and Mattie, and Jennifer was doing no wrong by confirming Sue's belief. "Mattie's asked for an emancipation request, so that if her father... Tom Johnson, that is... if he tries to take her away from Harm, she can be declared an emancipated minor and be responsible for herself. Of course, she wouldn't be by herself. With emancipation granted, she would be free to live with Harm and Mac until she was ready to go to the Academy at the usual admitting age. However, if Tom Johnson caused Mac and Harm any problems for having Mattie with them, she's prepared to enter the Academy earlier than planned, and with her scholastic and business records, and her gifted abilities, she would be a guaranteed placement. Considering Harm and Mattie have only known each other just less than six months, they've both come a long way. I can vouch for the JAG family, Sue. They'll never willingly let you down."
"You say that like you have been let down by them," observed Sue, and Jennifer was aware of just how well Sue read faces as well as lips.
"Not me. Harm. When he was jailed before... we were ordered not to visit him, in case we compromised his chances. It hurt all of us not to be there for him, at a time he needed us most, and we really hurt him by not being there. Especially Mac. It's taken them a long time to get where they are today, and when things were looking really good for them, this happened. It was the hardest thing we ever did, avoiding Harm, and we still all feel a little guilty that we weren't strong enough to ignore the Admiral's order."
"I'm sure he has moved on from that, Jennifer."
"I hope so, Sue. It looks like he and Mac are back on track anyway, and that's what matters really. Their relationship is something of a modern miracle to all of us at JAG." Jennifer smiled at her own humor, and Sue grinned. However the grin faded as she caught sight of Jack and Bobby's conversation at the bar.
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To be continued
A/N :
1. Just been re-reading, and noticed something... after I promoted Harm to Captain I did mention him as 'Commander Rabb' when Mattie was talking to Sue and Jack (Ch. 13). Given the timing, it was feasible that Mac hadn't yet had time to inform Mattie of his change of rank. All subsequent references to Harm have been/will be as Captain.
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 and eliv.thade for their reviews. As before, any reviewers I miss between posts will be added to the list for the next chapter!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAC'S OFFICE
JAG HEADQUARTERS
1200 HOURS LOCAL - FRIDAY
There was a knock at her door at the same time as Mac bent down to retrieve the file that had slipped off her desk. Calling out 'enter' as she made a grab for the elusive file, Harriet walked into the office at the same time as Mac got to her feet and swayed, grabbing the edge of her desk and letting the file slip again.
"Ma'am? Mac? Are you all right?" Harriet rushed forward and helped Mac into one of the visitor's seats in front of her desk. Taking the other seat, Harriet leaned forward and looked closely at Mac. What she saw there made her eyes dance, and Mac dropped her head between her knees for a minute or two until the wave of nausea passed and she could look up at Harriet again.
"What? Harriet, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Have you eaten yet, Mac?"
"No. Couldn't face... oh!" Mac's face suddenly paled again, and then a blush rose up her cheeks. Harriet's smile reached across her face as she nodded at Mac, who shut her eyes and shook her head. Then she opened them again, and the sweetest smile slid onto her lips. Harriet understood at that moment that Mac knew, without the need of a little plastic stick, that she was pregnant. "Oh, Harriet. What do I do now?"
"Go get it confirmed, Mac. And then tell Harm."
"I'm on the pill!"
"It isn't a hundred percent proof, Mac, and I'm guessing you didn't always use 'other' protection." Harriet tried very hard to be delicate about discussing another couple's intimacies, but she knew from other 'girlie' conversations with Harm's previous lovers that he was as inventive as he was a gentleman, and thoughts of protection at times such as those weren't always top of the list. Mac looked at Harriet as a tear slid down her cheek. The younger woman was half-afraid that Mac was in shock, but then the smile on Mac's lips widened, and she actually laughed.
"Oh. My. God!" Mac whispered, and then suddenly grabbed Harriet in a hug. Both women were crying now, joyful tears, and it was this scene that Jennifer walked in on when she knocked on the door.
"Ma'am, the Admiral would like to... oh, ma'am! Are you all right? Harriet, what's going on?"
"Shut the door, Jen, quick!" Harriet instructed, and then looked from Jennifer to Mac, whose smile had now turned to a goofy grin. There was absolutely no way that Mac could face the Admiral until she had pulled herself together, but then with the news she had just received, pulling herself together was the last thing she wanted to do. Yelling from the rooftops was more in order; after telling the other party in this development that he had made good on his promise, and he was about to get all his presents early this year!
"I need to talk to Harm!" Mac murmured huskily. Looking from a confused Jennifer to an ecstatic Harriet.
"Ma'am, you need to see the Admiral first. He said it was urgent." Jennifer tried again to get through to Mac, but it was Harriet who spoke to the Petty Officer.
"Jen, tell the Admiral that Mac had to use the ladies room, urgently. Some news, she's a little upset."
"I'm not upset! I'm ecstatic!" Mac suddenly burst out, and grinned widely. "Don't worry, Harriet, I'm going in to see the Admiral. I'll be fine. Watch me!" With that, and a useless grab from Harriet to stop her, Mac left her office and practically floated across the bullpen.
"Jen, you'd better follow her. Do you know why the Admiral wants to see her?"
"Something to do with Commander Turner, I think. The new carrier JAG hasn't turned up yet, but the Admiral needs Commander Turner back here for something. You don't think he'll send Mac over there, do you? What about fraternization? I mean, he knows about the Captain and the Colonel, doesn't he?"
Harriet nodded, and then she spoke, almost to herself. "The Captain and the Colonel have worked together on board a carrier before, Jen. There's no infringement of regulations unless they are caught together. They are both too professional for that to happen."
MATTIE'S SCHOOL
SAME TIME - FRIDAY
Jack's cell phone rang just as he and Sue were heading out of the door of the office. They dropped back into the office and closed the door, and Sue sat on one of the visitor chairs as Jack leaned back against his desk, watching her face as he spoke to Bobby.
"Bobby, what have you got?"
"Dinner reservations, tonight, 7.30pm, little Italian around the corner from Jenny's place. If you want to you can park outside her place and walk with us, or meet us there. There is a parking lot at the back of the restaurant too."
"Okay. We'll meet you there. Anything else?"
"Yep, actually. You might want to concentrate your attention on the vice principal at the school. Quite a few bones rattling in her closet. Not sure if the principal is aware of the expensive tastes of his v-p, nor of the rap sheet that goes with her name."
"We'll look into it here. Thanks, Bobby." Jack closed his cell phone and smiled at Sue. "Dinner tonight, 7.30? The Italian place just around the corner from Harm's apartment."
"Sure." Sue nodded, and got to her feet. Jack crossed the room before she could open the door to leave, putting a hand on her arm. Sue looked up at him, and her eyes were questioning.
"Bobby says we need to check out the vice principal. They've had a flag up on her name back at the office; expensive habit, and a taste for designers, whatever the material goods."
"All right. Maybe if we eat in the cafeteria today, we'll get to see the vice principal in there."
Jack pulled a face at the thought of school food, and Sue couldn't help the smile that came to her face at his expression. As she turned to leave again he moved into her line of sight, signing 'sorry' on his chest.
"What are you sorry about, Jack?" she asked, softly.
"Hurting you. I've just got some things going around in my head, Sue, and I need to clear them on my own. But I've been making you miserable, and I don't mean to."
"Isn't there anything I can do?" Sue asked.
"No. Really, it's just with me. I didn't mean to brush you off last night, either. I missed you when I got home to my apartment."
"Then why didn't you take me with you?"
"I needed some space."
"If you need space from me, then what's bothering you concerns me, doesn't it?"
Jack nodded, looking dejected. Sue sighed, and put her hand out to open the door before turning back to face Jack.
"We should talk about this but we don't have time right now. Besides, it isn't the right place. After dinner, okay?"
Jack nodded in assent, and Sue opened the door and left the office, walking ahead of Jack down the corridor to the cafeteria. Her face had none of it's usual brightness, and her eyes were dull and distant.
During lunch they observed the vice principal, and made mental notes on the woman, with the intention of talking to Mattie about her over the weekend and regrouping to consult with their colleagues on Monday morning. Once lunch was over they returned to the office and picked up the pretence of being counselors. Neither spoke to the other, until it was time to leave for the day, and Sue climbed into the car beside Jack.
"I'd prefer if you'll drop me at my apartment. I'll find my own way to the restaurant tonight."
"But I thought we were going to talk afterwards?"
Sue nodded. "We will. But it's going to have to be neutral territory, Jack."
The fact that he nodded in agreement so quickly had Sue's heart plummeting, and Jack saw the slump in her shoulders even as she sat in the car. He was fast losing control of the situation, and Sue still had no idea what was going on in his mind; he knew she was worrying about them, and if he was wanting to break up with her. He couldn't reassure her that leaving her was the last thing he ever wanted to do, without admitting by default that he had even considered it in the first place!
MAMA AMALFI'S RESTAURANT
NORTH OF UNION STATION
1915 HOURS - FRIDAY
Sue sat at the table in the restaurant, next to Jennifer, with Jack and Bobby opposite their respective partners for the evening. As the two men excused themselves to the bar to order drinks and the meals, Sue made herself concentrate on Jennifer and start a conversation. It wasn't hard. Jennifer was easy to talk to, and since the first time they had met at JAG, they had nurtured a friendship.
"Has Mac heard from Harm? I forgot to ask her yesterday," Sue admitted, and Jennifer gave her a strange look before answering in the affirmative.
"Yes. The Admiral had asked for Commander Turner to return stateside, but the JAG officer appointed to replace the UA officer has disappeared too. Between doing his quals and taking on sorties, Harm has been helping out with the JAG stuff."
"Sorties?" asked Sue, unsure of what Jennifer was talking about.
"The flights he's making as part of the squadron on board the ship; they're called sorties."
"It sounds like he could be out there quite a while then?"
"Possibly, but he's trying to get leave to come back for Mattie's six-month hearing, in Family Court."
Sue nodded her head at that. "I remember. Mac told me about that. Mattie's asked for a special paper to be issued, isn't that right?"
Jennifer nodded, knowing that Sue had no reason to fish for information. It was obvious Sue genuinely cared for Mac and Harm, and Mattie, and Jennifer was doing no wrong by confirming Sue's belief. "Mattie's asked for an emancipation request, so that if her father... Tom Johnson, that is... if he tries to take her away from Harm, she can be declared an emancipated minor and be responsible for herself. Of course, she wouldn't be by herself. With emancipation granted, she would be free to live with Harm and Mac until she was ready to go to the Academy at the usual admitting age. However, if Tom Johnson caused Mac and Harm any problems for having Mattie with them, she's prepared to enter the Academy earlier than planned, and with her scholastic and business records, and her gifted abilities, she would be a guaranteed placement. Considering Harm and Mattie have only known each other just less than six months, they've both come a long way. I can vouch for the JAG family, Sue. They'll never willingly let you down."
"You say that like you have been let down by them," observed Sue, and Jennifer was aware of just how well Sue read faces as well as lips.
"Not me. Harm. When he was jailed before... we were ordered not to visit him, in case we compromised his chances. It hurt all of us not to be there for him, at a time he needed us most, and we really hurt him by not being there. Especially Mac. It's taken them a long time to get where they are today, and when things were looking really good for them, this happened. It was the hardest thing we ever did, avoiding Harm, and we still all feel a little guilty that we weren't strong enough to ignore the Admiral's order."
"I'm sure he has moved on from that, Jennifer."
"I hope so, Sue. It looks like he and Mac are back on track anyway, and that's what matters really. Their relationship is something of a modern miracle to all of us at JAG." Jennifer smiled at her own humor, and Sue grinned. However the grin faded as she caught sight of Jack and Bobby's conversation at the bar.
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To be continued
A/N :
1. Just been re-reading, and noticed something... after I promoted Harm to Captain I did mention him as 'Commander Rabb' when Mattie was talking to Sue and Jack (Ch. 13). Given the timing, it was feasible that Mac hadn't yet had time to inform Mattie of his change of rank. All subsequent references to Harm have been/will be as Captain.