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, eliv.thade and alicia5 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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LOCAL HOSPITAL
SATURDAY EVENING
Mattie stirred on the bed and opened her eyes slowly. Her head had stopped throbbing, her stomach had settled, and she felt almost human again. The memories of the previous traumatic hours were still with her, but they were tempered now with the knowledge that Mac knew, and everything was going to be all right. As she thought of Mac, Mattie looked around the room, and found her surrogate guardian asleep in a fold out chair. Mattie smiled to herself as she watched Mac while she was sleeping. It was hard to associate this woman with the tough Marine lawyer she was used to seeing. Even when Mac was off duty and with Harm, although there was the obvious affection between the two adults, Mac still appeared in control (little did Mattie know, Harm only had to give Mac 'that look' and the Marine was mush!), and Mattie had never had occasion before to see the small child that Mac had once been in her relaxed features as she slept. This was a look that Harm found irresistible, and made him sad at the same time - to think that Mac's childhood had been so traumatized.
"Mattie? Are you okay?" Mac came awake fast, aware that Mattie was looking across at her intensely.
"Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry, I was staring... I... you looked... like you were really asleep." It was a lame excuse, ending her sentence like that, but Mattie didn't feel that she could tell Mac yet how young the woman had looked in her sleep.
"I don't sleep too deeply, and especially not in hospitals, but you were doing okay, so I closed my eyes for a while."
"If you have plans, I don't mind..." Mattie started, wondering if Mac wanted to be anywhere else other than at the hospital.
"I do have plans, with you..." Mac smiled, and got up out of her chair, stretching as she did so. Walking across to the bed she sat on the edge and took one of Mattie's hands in hers. "I'm right where I want to be, Mattie. You are very special to me, both as Harm's ward, and as a person I've come to respect and love. I'm just so glad that you are safe."
"Harm's going to hit the roof. Have you told him yet?"
Mac nodded. "I made a couple of phone calls while you were sleeping. Harm is fine about all this, and sends you his love. He's only angry about the fact that he can't be here to hug you in person and tell you it's going to be all right. Secondly, I spoke to Jack. Actually, he rang me. It would appear he has a contact in DCPD, so he's called in a favor, spoken to his friend, and you won't be getting any visit from the police now. Jack and Sue have told them all they need to know, and the information the school principal gave them on Mrs Van Meer will give them enough to arrest her shortly. They are hoping she will give them information on the other people involved, probably in return for a deal on her sentence."
"You said you made a couple of calls. Was the other one to Tom?"
Mac shook her head. "No. I intend to go and see him tomorrow. You are being discharged in the morning. If you are up to it, we could go together. That would arouse even less suspicion with him. My second call was to the Admiral. I needed to bring him up to date on a few things at work."
"Okay." Mattie looked at Mac. "There's something else, isn't there?"
"Yep." Mac couldn't help it; a big grin broke out on her face, and she leaned in to give Mattie a hug. "You and I have a date on Monday with a jet to the Middle East! It's part work, we're escorting the new carrier JAG to his post on board the Sea Hawk, but we'll get to spend some time with Harm, and then you will travel back with Sturgis. I will have to stay, for the court martial of the JAG who went UA in Bahrain."
Mattie squealed with delight, and then groaned. While her headache was gone, her head still felt shaky. Mac looked worried but Mattie reassured her that it was all right.
"Harm's got to be a pain right now then, waiting for you to get there."
"He doesn't know. I spoke to Captain Johnson, and he's agreed to keep it a surprise." Mac was excited, but then she noticed Mattie's slight frown.
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Nothing. I just wish I could get to be on the carrier too. It must be awesome!"
"Well, in that case, I should tell you that you have a special invitation, from Captain Johnson no less, to be on board the Sea Hawk as Ensign Grace, special class. For this trip only. Any other chances you get to be on board a carrier are going to be up to you when you graduate from the Academy."
"Oh, wow! And Harm doesn't know any of this?"
"Not a thing," Mac reiterated, grinning along with the teenager. Their appearance on the carrier would be one surprise, but Mac had something else to tell Harm, too!
"Will it be all right with the court?" Mattie suddenly asked, her face showing concern.
"Absolutely no problem. I checked. Harm has guardianship of you, which entitles you to travel with him, or any person holding his proxy, which is me, anywhere that he is required to go, and that he chooses to take you."
"I need to find my passport."
"Already done. Jen's booked everything."
"How did you know I even had a passport?" Mattie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Ah, now that would be telling. Let's just say, Jen called in a favor of her own, and got the passport application records."
"Sneaky! I think I like having friends in low places!" Mattie grinned mischievously, and Mac smiled.
"It comes in handy." A shadow crossed Mac's face as she thought of someone else who would have had that information available too, but then the shadow passed and she smiled again, her hand unconsciously rubbing down her stomach. Mattie noticed the movement.
"Are you hungry? You're making the sign for it," Mattie rubbed her own stomach, and then explained. "Sue showed me."
Mac jumped guiltily, aware that only she and Harriet knew about the baby. Nodding, she went along with Mattie's rationalization.
"Yeah. I haven't eaten in a while. Neither have you, come to that. Can you face something to eat now? I'll go down to the cafeteria."
"Yeuch, no!" Mattie scowled, and then made a request for pizza.
"Harm would have my hide if I ordered pizza after what you've been through. Good healthy salad would be on his list," Mac waved an admonishing finger at Mattie, then tipped it up to her chin and clicked her fingers. "Guess what! Harm's not here! So, do you want anchovies?"
"Way to go, Mac!" Mattie whooped, and leaned in to hug Mac. "Thanks, for being here."
"You're welcome." Mac returned the hug, and then went off in search of a place to use her cell phone.
VOQ CABIN
USS SEA HAWK
SOMEWHERE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
SATURDAY NIGHT
"So, we have the UA JAG coming on board tomorrow for his court martial, and the replacement JAG arriving on board on Tuesday." Sturgis checked his paperwork again, to confirm details. Harm nodded, but said nothing. Sturgis looked up from the file in his hand and across at his friend. "Something wrong?"
"Nope. Just going to be quiet around here when you've gone, pal."
"Ah, you'll never miss me." Sturgis realized he might have said a little too much, so he picked up quickly and went on. "You'll be so busy with the squadron, you'll not have time."
"I wish. I've done my quals, a couple of sorties, and a fly-by," Harm grinned at that, knowing he'd made a few new recruits jump on deck, and a few old hands too! All that Captain Johnson had done was shake his head, and mutter 'Rabb's just a big kid.' In answer to this, Sturgis had commented, 'It's an awfully big toy, sir.' and earned himself a slight grin in acknowledgement. "It's quiet, right now. We're just flying to keep the jets turned over. I've done more work helping you with the JAG stuff."
Sturgis breathed a sigh of relief to himself that Harm hadn't picked up on his near-slip, and he acknowledged Harm's words.
"I'm grateful for that, and so is the Captain. So much so, that we have a pass for Thursday night, staying over Friday, in Bahrain. You and I are guests of Varese, who happens to be appearing at the Sheraton Hotel, and we are going. No argument!" Sturgis raised a finger in the air as Harm opened his mouth to protest, and then thought better of it.
"Okay. You've got yourself a deal." Harm nodded, deciding it would be nice to get off the Sea Hawk for a break, and to finally meet Sturgis' lady-friend. After all, it was thanks to Varese that Sturgis was back to his old self again.
"Great. Now, lights out."
"Why, you needing your beauty sleep?" Harm joked, and got a pillow thrown at him for his comment. Tossing the pillow back to Sturgis in his bunk, Harm sat down on his own bunk and stretched out. Sleep wouldn't come, but he didn't mind laying in the dark. In the silence his thoughts were his own, and they were all focused on a certain Marine Lieutenant Colonel. When Mac had called him earlier in the day he had just finished eating in the Officers' Mess. What she had told him about Mattie's misadventures had raised his anger - not at Mattie, but at the people who had tried to harm his child. 'His child'. Now that was a thought that pleased him, and in reality it wasn't so far away. He knew they had the court date to face, but he was hopeful that with the time spent with Mattie, and the arrangements he had made for her care and well-being in his absences, the incident at the school was something that was totally explainable, and beyond his means to control it, and therefore it wouldn't reflect too badly on his parenting skills. On the heels of the thought of Mattie being his child, regardless of a piece of paper, came the more constant yearning of his having a child with Mac. Their baby promise was still viable, and given their current state of relationship, it was now a more hopeful prospect. When his trip to the Sea Hawk was over, and he was back at JAG again, he promised himself he would ask Mac her thoughts on starting a family, and giving Mattie a brother or sister. He finally fell asleep with these thoughts in his mind, and a smile on his lips.
SAME TIME - WASHINGTON DC
Mac was in the process of paying for the pizza delivery, when she felt something move inside her. It was the tiniest flutter, but it brought a smile to her face.
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To be continued
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, eliv.thade and alicia5 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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LOCAL HOSPITAL
SATURDAY EVENING
Mattie stirred on the bed and opened her eyes slowly. Her head had stopped throbbing, her stomach had settled, and she felt almost human again. The memories of the previous traumatic hours were still with her, but they were tempered now with the knowledge that Mac knew, and everything was going to be all right. As she thought of Mac, Mattie looked around the room, and found her surrogate guardian asleep in a fold out chair. Mattie smiled to herself as she watched Mac while she was sleeping. It was hard to associate this woman with the tough Marine lawyer she was used to seeing. Even when Mac was off duty and with Harm, although there was the obvious affection between the two adults, Mac still appeared in control (little did Mattie know, Harm only had to give Mac 'that look' and the Marine was mush!), and Mattie had never had occasion before to see the small child that Mac had once been in her relaxed features as she slept. This was a look that Harm found irresistible, and made him sad at the same time - to think that Mac's childhood had been so traumatized.
"Mattie? Are you okay?" Mac came awake fast, aware that Mattie was looking across at her intensely.
"Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry, I was staring... I... you looked... like you were really asleep." It was a lame excuse, ending her sentence like that, but Mattie didn't feel that she could tell Mac yet how young the woman had looked in her sleep.
"I don't sleep too deeply, and especially not in hospitals, but you were doing okay, so I closed my eyes for a while."
"If you have plans, I don't mind..." Mattie started, wondering if Mac wanted to be anywhere else other than at the hospital.
"I do have plans, with you..." Mac smiled, and got up out of her chair, stretching as she did so. Walking across to the bed she sat on the edge and took one of Mattie's hands in hers. "I'm right where I want to be, Mattie. You are very special to me, both as Harm's ward, and as a person I've come to respect and love. I'm just so glad that you are safe."
"Harm's going to hit the roof. Have you told him yet?"
Mac nodded. "I made a couple of phone calls while you were sleeping. Harm is fine about all this, and sends you his love. He's only angry about the fact that he can't be here to hug you in person and tell you it's going to be all right. Secondly, I spoke to Jack. Actually, he rang me. It would appear he has a contact in DCPD, so he's called in a favor, spoken to his friend, and you won't be getting any visit from the police now. Jack and Sue have told them all they need to know, and the information the school principal gave them on Mrs Van Meer will give them enough to arrest her shortly. They are hoping she will give them information on the other people involved, probably in return for a deal on her sentence."
"You said you made a couple of calls. Was the other one to Tom?"
Mac shook her head. "No. I intend to go and see him tomorrow. You are being discharged in the morning. If you are up to it, we could go together. That would arouse even less suspicion with him. My second call was to the Admiral. I needed to bring him up to date on a few things at work."
"Okay." Mattie looked at Mac. "There's something else, isn't there?"
"Yep." Mac couldn't help it; a big grin broke out on her face, and she leaned in to give Mattie a hug. "You and I have a date on Monday with a jet to the Middle East! It's part work, we're escorting the new carrier JAG to his post on board the Sea Hawk, but we'll get to spend some time with Harm, and then you will travel back with Sturgis. I will have to stay, for the court martial of the JAG who went UA in Bahrain."
Mattie squealed with delight, and then groaned. While her headache was gone, her head still felt shaky. Mac looked worried but Mattie reassured her that it was all right.
"Harm's got to be a pain right now then, waiting for you to get there."
"He doesn't know. I spoke to Captain Johnson, and he's agreed to keep it a surprise." Mac was excited, but then she noticed Mattie's slight frown.
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Nothing. I just wish I could get to be on the carrier too. It must be awesome!"
"Well, in that case, I should tell you that you have a special invitation, from Captain Johnson no less, to be on board the Sea Hawk as Ensign Grace, special class. For this trip only. Any other chances you get to be on board a carrier are going to be up to you when you graduate from the Academy."
"Oh, wow! And Harm doesn't know any of this?"
"Not a thing," Mac reiterated, grinning along with the teenager. Their appearance on the carrier would be one surprise, but Mac had something else to tell Harm, too!
"Will it be all right with the court?" Mattie suddenly asked, her face showing concern.
"Absolutely no problem. I checked. Harm has guardianship of you, which entitles you to travel with him, or any person holding his proxy, which is me, anywhere that he is required to go, and that he chooses to take you."
"I need to find my passport."
"Already done. Jen's booked everything."
"How did you know I even had a passport?" Mattie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Ah, now that would be telling. Let's just say, Jen called in a favor of her own, and got the passport application records."
"Sneaky! I think I like having friends in low places!" Mattie grinned mischievously, and Mac smiled.
"It comes in handy." A shadow crossed Mac's face as she thought of someone else who would have had that information available too, but then the shadow passed and she smiled again, her hand unconsciously rubbing down her stomach. Mattie noticed the movement.
"Are you hungry? You're making the sign for it," Mattie rubbed her own stomach, and then explained. "Sue showed me."
Mac jumped guiltily, aware that only she and Harriet knew about the baby. Nodding, she went along with Mattie's rationalization.
"Yeah. I haven't eaten in a while. Neither have you, come to that. Can you face something to eat now? I'll go down to the cafeteria."
"Yeuch, no!" Mattie scowled, and then made a request for pizza.
"Harm would have my hide if I ordered pizza after what you've been through. Good healthy salad would be on his list," Mac waved an admonishing finger at Mattie, then tipped it up to her chin and clicked her fingers. "Guess what! Harm's not here! So, do you want anchovies?"
"Way to go, Mac!" Mattie whooped, and leaned in to hug Mac. "Thanks, for being here."
"You're welcome." Mac returned the hug, and then went off in search of a place to use her cell phone.
VOQ CABIN
USS SEA HAWK
SOMEWHERE IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
SATURDAY NIGHT
"So, we have the UA JAG coming on board tomorrow for his court martial, and the replacement JAG arriving on board on Tuesday." Sturgis checked his paperwork again, to confirm details. Harm nodded, but said nothing. Sturgis looked up from the file in his hand and across at his friend. "Something wrong?"
"Nope. Just going to be quiet around here when you've gone, pal."
"Ah, you'll never miss me." Sturgis realized he might have said a little too much, so he picked up quickly and went on. "You'll be so busy with the squadron, you'll not have time."
"I wish. I've done my quals, a couple of sorties, and a fly-by," Harm grinned at that, knowing he'd made a few new recruits jump on deck, and a few old hands too! All that Captain Johnson had done was shake his head, and mutter 'Rabb's just a big kid.' In answer to this, Sturgis had commented, 'It's an awfully big toy, sir.' and earned himself a slight grin in acknowledgement. "It's quiet, right now. We're just flying to keep the jets turned over. I've done more work helping you with the JAG stuff."
Sturgis breathed a sigh of relief to himself that Harm hadn't picked up on his near-slip, and he acknowledged Harm's words.
"I'm grateful for that, and so is the Captain. So much so, that we have a pass for Thursday night, staying over Friday, in Bahrain. You and I are guests of Varese, who happens to be appearing at the Sheraton Hotel, and we are going. No argument!" Sturgis raised a finger in the air as Harm opened his mouth to protest, and then thought better of it.
"Okay. You've got yourself a deal." Harm nodded, deciding it would be nice to get off the Sea Hawk for a break, and to finally meet Sturgis' lady-friend. After all, it was thanks to Varese that Sturgis was back to his old self again.
"Great. Now, lights out."
"Why, you needing your beauty sleep?" Harm joked, and got a pillow thrown at him for his comment. Tossing the pillow back to Sturgis in his bunk, Harm sat down on his own bunk and stretched out. Sleep wouldn't come, but he didn't mind laying in the dark. In the silence his thoughts were his own, and they were all focused on a certain Marine Lieutenant Colonel. When Mac had called him earlier in the day he had just finished eating in the Officers' Mess. What she had told him about Mattie's misadventures had raised his anger - not at Mattie, but at the people who had tried to harm his child. 'His child'. Now that was a thought that pleased him, and in reality it wasn't so far away. He knew they had the court date to face, but he was hopeful that with the time spent with Mattie, and the arrangements he had made for her care and well-being in his absences, the incident at the school was something that was totally explainable, and beyond his means to control it, and therefore it wouldn't reflect too badly on his parenting skills. On the heels of the thought of Mattie being his child, regardless of a piece of paper, came the more constant yearning of his having a child with Mac. Their baby promise was still viable, and given their current state of relationship, it was now a more hopeful prospect. When his trip to the Sea Hawk was over, and he was back at JAG again, he promised himself he would ask Mac her thoughts on starting a family, and giving Mattie a brother or sister. He finally fell asleep with these thoughts in his mind, and a smile on his lips.
SAME TIME - WASHINGTON DC
Mac was in the process of paying for the pizza delivery, when she felt something move inside her. It was the tiniest flutter, but it brought a smile to her face.
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To be continued