DISCLAIMER: This chapter does contain certain inappropriate references, I apologize. It is not my standard to use them, but when it falls within the characteristics of the characters, then I believe that they are necessary.

Chapter 16: In the Courtroom
They broke late for lunch on the second day and Harm was fuming. He would hardly utter a word to anyone and instead focused on mindless paperwork that didn't really need to be done. By the end of the day, things had gotten no better.

Overall, things were going well for him, AJ was shutting down nearly every effort that Sturgis or Nick would make, but unfortunately, Nick was still able to make a few attacks on Harm's character that AJ couldn't legally fight against.

Mac had been watching Harm carefully for his reactions. He would grip the edge of the table tightly or bite his lower lip when Nick would make a roundabout accusation through his questioning.

The prosecution had interviewed Jennifer and Mattie and through his questions, he had implied that Harm had taken Mattie in because he was taking advantage of her. Mattie was not as well-prepared in her answers as Mac and AJ had prepped her to be; she was nervous and intimidated by the courtroom setting. Despite that, she still managed to make a fair impression upon the jury. Then Nick had called Jennifer to the stand, to try and make another character attack on Harm.

Sturgis was having a hard time prosecuting this case. He had been trained to do his duty and it was taking all of that training to keep him going. He was truly grateful that Nick had offered to take this line of questioning. To do his duty was one thing, to challenge his good friends' character was another matter entirely.

Parkinson had made an issue of the impropriety of a young female Petty Officer living down the hall from a single male Captain for over a year. He hardly touched on the fact that Harm was married now, and to a retired Colonel in the USMC. What brought concern to the minds of the members was the fact that Harm was still paying half the rent for Jen's apartment. Nick bluntly asked Jen what else Harm was paying for before both AJ and Mac had jumped to their feet, demanding for objections. Captain Morris had agreed that the questioning had indeed gone too far and granted the objection, much to Harm's relief. This kind of behavior continued throughout the day and so when they had finally dismissed for the day, Allison and Nick were both grinning smugly and the defense team was less than pleased.

AJ, Harm, Mac, and Bud were still in the courtroom when Mattie breathlessly came running in minutes later.

AJ and Bud had been talking strategy and about witnesses while Mac was busy trying to keep Harm from going after Nick. He was furious that Jen and Mattie had been accused like that. Attacking him was one thing, but implying that Jen and Mattie were sleeping with him was a low blow.

Mattie came running back into the courtroom, the doors slamming shut behind her.

"Harm!" she cried out, running up to him and Mac.

"You're not supposed to be running through JAG," he lightly reprimanded. "What's wrong?"

"I was looking for the bathroom and I opened the door to what I thought was it but it wasn't and I saw Krennick and that mean guy ... going at it." At this point, she blushed. She was far too innocent to see things like what she had seen.

"Saw what? What were they doing?" AJ stepped in.

"They were...well...she was...he was...." Mattie was flustered in her attempt to try and describe the less than innocent scene she had seen.

THREE DAYS LATER

JAG HQ

ADMIRAL MORRIS' COURTROOM

"Miss Grace, why don't you tell us what you saw?" Mac asked, stopping her pacing of the courtroom to focus on Mattie.

"I thought it was the bathroom...but when I opened the door, I found Admiral Krennick and Commander Parkinson kissing..."

"Kissing?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mattie politely confirmed.

"Was that all they were doing?" asked Mac as she glanced over at the prosecutor's table.

"No...they were touching each other... and neither was fully clothed." Mattie blushed a deep red as Mac smiled at her, letting her know that she had done good, and she stepped back.

The court was stunned but not entirely convinced of the girl's story.

"No further questions, your Honor."

"Commanders?"

Sturgis stood up, giving Mattie a smile. She didn't smile back, instead, she eyed him warily as he approached her.

"Miss Grace, do you love Captain Rabb?" he asked.

"Objection. Relevance?" Mac asked.

"Your honor, if I may be allowed a little leeway, I promise I'll get to my point quickly," Sturgis pleaded.

"Objection overruled, for now, Commander," granted Morris.

"Do you love Captain Rabb?"' Sturgis repeated.

"As a father figure, yes."

"He's done a lot for you, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he took me in when no one else cared."

"So you would do a lot for him in return?"

"Yes."

"In fact, you love him so much and he's done so much for you that you would lie to save him, would you not?" Sturgis' voice rose as he went on.

"No!" Mattie cried out. "Yes, Harm has done a lot for me. He took me in and became my guardian when my mother had died and my father abandoned me. He has been nothing but honorable with me and he has taught me to be honest, above all else. He has been like a father to me and I love him as such, but I would never lie to him and lie for him." Her voice was strong, solid, and determined. It left no doubt to anyone in the courtroom whether she was lying or not.

Sturgis may have looked disappointed at her response, but inwardly, he was very proud of her.

"No more questions," he announced.

"We will recess for lunch now. Court will resume at 1330."

Allison sat in the back of the courtroom, glaring at the teen who had just ruined her case. True, she and Nick should not have been going at it in the small closet of JAG HQ, but they had both been so excited about the way their case was going, they couldn't help themselves.

The court would have to wait until after lunch to be given more of an explanation of the closet incident of Allison and Nick.

"You did good, Mattie," AJ told her.

"Thank you, sir," she said politely.

"I think you can call me AJ. You earned that when you tamed Rabb," AJ smirked, holding out his hand.

She shook it, grinning. "It took some work, AJ, and it was a dirty job but someone had to do it."

"Hey," protested Harm.

"Actually, I just helped in the process. Mac was the one who did the most work," Mattie explained, her eyes twinkling.

Mac came to stand next to Mattie and eyed Harm. "We've done okay, haven't we?"

"Still needs a little work, I think."

AJ laughed loudly as Harm stood there helplessly, letting himself be teased by two of the most important women in his life.

"But he's turned out well," finished Mattie.

Harm pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Thanks, Mattie."

Suddenly Mac's cell phone went off and she stepped away to answer it. Minutes later, she stepped back to the group.

"I hate to do this, but we've got to go, Mattie. That was the family court and they've moved the date on our hearing up. They'll do it this afternoon or we'll have to wait another month to get in," Mac informed them.

"Go take care of that, I can do this," AJ told them.

Harm hugged Mattie again. "I wish I could be there."

"I know, but you need to be here. Mac and I can handle it," she told him.

Harm moved to stand directly in front of his wife. "Thank you for taking care of this," he softly told her.

"Don't worry about us, there's no way the court will let Mattie go back to Tom," Mac said confidently.

The others pretended not to watch as Harm and Mac continued their soft conversation, assuring the other that they would win each of their court cases. The others also still pretended not to watch as the couple kissed. And kissed. And kissed.

Finally AJ muttered loudly, "Breathe, you two."

Harm and Mac didn't even hear him, so engrossed in their kiss were they, but just by happenchance, the lack of oxygen did force them apart at that moment.

"Come on, Mac. You can reapply your lipstick in the car," Mattie said, heading out.

Unconsciously, Harm reached up to wipe his mouth, freeing it of any trace of Mac's lipstick.

That afternoon, while Mac was busy fighting for permission to adopt Mattie, AJ was busy with Harm's defense and nailing Krennick's ass to the wall.

The court no longer had any doubt as to whether Harm was innocent or not. AJ and Mac had done a excellent job proving that Harm's character was nothing but honorable and had been for many years. The charges were very unfounded.

And in so proving Harm innocent and good, the defense was sinking Allison. They called Meg Austin, who told of Allison trying to come onto Harm years before. She told them what Krennick had told her when they were in China trying to get Harm. Allison had admitted that she wanted Harm, and she had admitted it in front of a junior officer.

When Meg was done testifying, the defense called Commander Matthew Dymock, harassed by Allison when she had transferred into a new command after JAG; Lieutenant Adam McMullin, who had actually committed fraternization with Krennick after she had pressured and harassed him, not to mention practically ordered him into doing it before coming to JAG; Captain Jack Remington, one of her more recent conquests. The list that Bud had dug up had indeed been long but AJ felt that these five would be enough.

His second to final witness surprised and shocked everyone, including the one called.

"The defense calls Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Parkinson to the stand," AJ announced loudly.

Both Sturgis and Nick jumped to their feet. "Objection!"

But before AJ could explain why, Admiral Morris held up his hand to stop him. "Objection overruled, Commander Parkinson, you will take the stand," he said sternly.

SAME TIME

FAMILY COURT OF WASHINGTON D.C.

COURTROOM OF JUDGE KELLI BUCHANAN

"Your honor, Tom Johnson has been given a second chance to straighten up his life and fix things with his daughter. He ruined that chance when he became drunk and violently beat his daughter. He ruined that chance again when he was found sneaking alcohol in jail. He has shown that he is not responsible enough to be a good father. Tom Johnson is still a good person, however, he has made some grievous mistakes. Mattie deserves better. She deserves to live in a home with people who love and adore her, with people who treat her as family and with people who have proven that they can treat as family." Mac hadn't meant for it to become like a closing argument, but once she got started, the lawyer in her emerged and she just couldn't help it.

Judge Buchanan looked through the paperwork in front of her. "Mrs. Rabb, you husband is Harmon Rabb, correct?"

"Yes."

"The same Harmon Rabb that took in Miss Grace over a year ago to be her guardian?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"The same man who let her go?"

"He knew that Mattie and her father needed a second chance together. Because of these latest incidents, Captain Rabb and I feel that living with her father is not the best environment and we would like to petition for her adoption," Mac said, smiling as she felt Mattie's hand slip into hers.

"Captain Rabb? He's military?"

"Yes, he is."

The judge sat there thoughtfully for a moment, taking special note of the scene before her. Tom Johnson, in the orange jumpsuit that marked him as an inmate of the local jail, his hands confined in the cold, metal handcuffs. His head was hung low and he looked dejected; the fight had gone out of him. He was not protesting the relinquishing of his parental rights to his daughter. The need and want for liquor was apparent on his demeanor and it was obvious that this same need and want had taken over his control.

Sarah MacKenzie Rabb stood before her at the other table, her head held high. Her voice had been bold and confident, yet soft and pleading at the same time. Her words had touched the judge and those others within the walls of the courtroom. She still looked nearly every bit a marine, and yet she also had this motherly look about her. She was fighting to save someone else from the childhood that she had had. Beside her stood the girl, whose welfare was in question. There were still the faint traces of bruises and cuts on various parts of her body, but she too, stood confidently before the judge. Only when she happened to glance at her father would her gaze turn somewhat hateful and resentful. She had been betrayed by him not only once, but twice, and in her eyes, that was hard to forgive.

To the casual observer, and to the judge, it was obvious what the choice would be.

"Mr. Johnson, this court decided to give you another chance with your daughter and sadly, you have wasted that opportunity. While we acknowledge that you are Miss Grace's biological father, it seems to me that you certainly have not acted like one. Captain Rabb has proven that he can be a father, and a good one at that. The fact that his wife is here, fighting for this, shows me that she also cares and will be a good mother. Therefore, it is my ruling that Miss Matilda Grace be placed with Captain and Mrs. Rabb and that you, Mr. Johnson, relinquish all parental rights," the judge stated.

Tom could only nod in response. He had failed. Again. He had beaten his daughter and he knew that she would never forgive him again. Harm Rabb would be the father that he never could.

As much as they wanted to celebrate that night, Harm, Mac, and Mattie decided to wait until they would find out the verdict on Harm's case. They were all pretty sure of what it would be, but wanted to be certain before they had a huge celebration.

They had packed up all of Mattie's things and either boxed them up, or moved them into Jen's apartment. Mattie was going to stay with Jen until the wedding and the honeymoon were over. Harm and Mac already had a house lined up to buy and were just waiting for things to fall into place. They were working on a loan, so that they could afford both the house and the wedding. What they didn't know was that Frank was already stepping in behind the scenes to stop the paperwork on their loan so that he and Trish could buy the house for Harm and Mac. It was to be their wedding present, they just didn't know it yet.

THE FOLLOWING DAY

JAG HQ

ADMIRAL MORRIS' COURTROOM

"Commander, is it true that you and Admiral Krennick have been having sexual relations?" AJ asked, point-blank.

"No." But his response came a little too fast, his voice just a few notches higher.

"Commander, I remind you that you are under oath."

"So what if we are?" Nick shot back. "The UCMJ is a bunch of crap with that stupid rule about fraternization. Yeah, we've been having sex. Yeah, we've been doing it in the office. So what? It's our lives. We've been doing it for years, no one's been smart enough to notice. The fact that we've both been at the same stations for the past 9 years hasn't been surprising to anyone yet. We were just helping each other's careers and having a good time! Captain Rabb doesn't know what he's missing."

AJ took a step back, not expecting the sudden outburst as the answer. Had it not been a military court, whispers would have been heard throughout the room.

Nick hung his head, knowing that he and Allison were ruined. The court was stunned by the Commander's admission. They were so caught up that none of them were watching Allison.

Allison Krennick was livid. Her career was over, it was ruined. The NAVY's Golden Poster Boy had fooled everyone, yet again. He would come out, innocent and free, and she was destroyed.

"Damn you, Harmon Rabb," she seethed, turning to face him, her eyes full of fire and hatred. "Once again, you've won. You're still everybody's little Golden Boy. You always have to come out on top, don't you? Doesn't matter whose lives you ruin in the process."

"Admiral Krennick! Order!" Admiral Morris commanded, banging down his gavel. Two Marine guards took a few steps toward the woman's direction, in case she decided to get physical.

But she didn't listen to Morris, she just continued on in her tirade.

"I pity anyone who even enters your life. You'll only end up hurting them."

Her words were cutting through Harm, tearing him up inside. He knew she was just bitter, but there was some truth to what she was saying about him. He had hurt his mother when he ran away to Vietnam to find his father; he had hurt Frank when he refused to show him any shred of kindness or respect while he was growing up; he had hurt countless girlfriends because of his inability to commit to the relationship. Before he could think of any more examples, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see AJ looking at him, having recognized the look in the younger man's eyes.

"Don't you dare listen to her," he warned.

Mac appeared next to Harm on his other side. Her only action was to take his right hand in hers and squeeze it gently. A warm smile filled her face and he found himself comforted.

Finally seeing that Harm was paying her any attention or listening to a word of what she was saying, Allison launched herself in the trio's direction. They thought she was aiming for Harm and so, out of instinct, Mac stepped in front of her husband protectively.

That was a mistake.

AN: There is only one more chapter, plus an epilogue (or maybe two!)

((AN: I know this is very selfish of me and I had promised myself that I wouldn't do this, but I'm begging for reviews. There's about 155 there right now and I think that it would be awesome if it could reach 200. But this is very selfish of me because I should be writing because I want to and because I enjoy it, not for seeking the approval and response of others. Thanks, anyway!))