Another Time 3

Mackenzie Wells didn't have as rough of a childhood as Sarah Mackenzie did, but it wasn't easy. Her parents had always had problems, but when she was ten, her mother had a miscarriage, and it was the breaking point of their marriage. They divorced three months later. Her mother ran off with some actor, and Mackenzie hadn't heard from her since she was 16, when her mother sent her a short card from a movie set in France. When she was 18, she was accepted into the Naval Academy at Annapolis, where she decided to be a JAG, just like her idol Lt. Colonel Sarah Mackenzie.

Three days after graduation from the Academy, her father was killed in a car accident. She hadn't fully healed before she went to law school, and so she threw herself into work, not bothering to make new friends at the school. Her first assignment after she graduated was an assistant JAG aboard the carrier USS Kennedy (A/N: I'm not sure if that's a real carrier or not, I think that I just made it up.). That was where she first met her soulmate, Robert Hall.

Robert Hall's childhood was difficult in its own right also. His father was killed in an airplane crash when little Robbie was only seven. His mother remarried when he was 14, and through that marriage he gained a little sister, and a new stepfather. His stepfather, Steven, and he didn't always get along, but he and his little sister, Liz, were inseparable.

When he was eighteen, he was also accepted to the Naval Academy. Despite what happened to his father, he had always wanted to be a pilot. The Navy sent him off to flight school at Pensacola, and one of his duty stations was on the USS Kennedy. Little did he know that his entire life would change one night, when the new assistant JAG came to visit.

It was Rob's fourth month at sea, and he was finally beginning to feel at home. He knew the carrier like the back of his hand already, and he had made plenty of comrades within the squadron. He hung out with his fellow pilots the entire day, with one exception. He shared quarters with the onboard JAG, a Lt. Commander named Jack Turner. He knew that Jack loved his work, but Harm wasn't sure if he could sit behind a desk all day. Although there would be one perk, getting to work with one Lt. (jg.) Mackenzie Wells.

She was known onboard as a looker, but one dared messing with her. Her reputation was that she was somewhat of an Ice Queen, not letting anybody in, even Jack. They had a close working relationship, but she didn't tell him many personal things, and in her off time, she kept to herself.

One night, Rob was in his quarters, writing a letter to Liz, when he heard a knock on the door. He got up, curious as to whom it was. He opened the hatch to reveal one very beautiful Lt. Her thick brown hair was up in a regulation bun, but when let down, it reached a little below her shoulder. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown that could easily captivate any man. (A/N: She looks similar to Mac. I'm not very creative so.....And Rob resembles Harm.) "I'm sorry, are these Lt. Commander Turner's quarters?" She asked cordially.

Harm nodded. "Yes, I'm his roommate Lt. Robert Hall. He just went out to interview some witness, he should be back shortly." He opened the hatch wider. "You can come in and wait for him. He shouldn't be too much longer."

Mackenzie stepped over the knee-knockers. "Thank you Lt." She said. "You sure that I'm not interrupting anything?" She asked, not wanting to intrude on the pilot's time. Rob shook his head, and motioned to one of the chairs. She sat down, and placed the folder in her lap.

They sat there in an almost uncomfortable silence, as every now and then, Harm would regard her carefully. She really was beautiful, he didn't understand how Jack hadn't fallen in love with her yet. Jack could fall in 'love' with anything that moved and wore a skirt. So why this hadn't happened with the very attractive woman sitting across from him had him wondering.

"Who are you writing to?" She asked quietly, getting tired of the silence. Rob's head jerked up, startled by the attempt at conversation.

"My little sister Liz. She lives in Washington DC with my parents, she's only 15. Great girl, that's a picture of her." He said pointing to the picture on his desk proudly. Although Rob wasn't quick to open up about himself, he was always obliged to talk about his little sister. Mackenzie studied the picture, and smiled at Rob.

"She's beautiful. She must mean a lot to you." She said. They lapsed back into silence for a few more moments, until she spoke up again. "I don't have any pictures on my desk." She murmured. When Rob looked up at her, her head popped up, and he swore that he could see the slightest tint of red in her cheeks. "Did I just say that? I'm sorry Lt., I'm sure that you don't care about my personal life. I'll let you get back to your letter." She looked down at her hands, and began fiddling with her Academy ring.

He smiled, and went back to his letter. Without looking up, he said, "I wouldn't mind getting to know about your personal life." He then did look up, cracking a textbook flyboy smile. "And that wasn't a lame pick up line, just so you know." He then picked up his pen again, and was about to start writing, when he heard her laugh. He turned to look at her, and she was grinning smugly.

"Lt. I work around flyboys the entire day. I'm immune to that smile. Which by the way, I bet that smile is your pickup line." She cracked a grin, and suddenly Rob's mind seemed not to function properly. She was gorgeous. "Oh crap." She muttered suddenly, as her ring fell off and rolled underneath Rob's chair. She looked at him hopefully. "Could you get that for me?"

Rob smiled and nodded. "One minute." He got onto the floor, and reached for the ring. He straightened once he got the ring, and faced her, still on one knee. Jack chose this moment to walk in.

"Hey Rob, you'll......oh, did I walk in on something?" He asked, honestly bewildered. The two officers in the room laughed, as Rob handed Mackenzie back her ring, and got up.

"Not quite Jack. She dropped her ring and I picked it up for her." Rob said, sitting back down. Mackenzie smiled as she slipped the ring back on, and picked up the files that she had meant to give him.

"Here you are sir, the Messing and Henry files, just like you asked for." She said, handing Jack the files. She headed towards the hatch, when she turned around abruptly. "Maybe I'll see you later Lt. Both of you have a good night."

"Call me Rob, by the way." He called towards the hatch. He could see her shaking her head, and imagined the grin that he saw earlier was on her face. He waited until the hatch was closed before turning back to his letter. He continued to write for a few minutes, until he finally turned around to face his roommate, who was staring at him. "What?"

"I didn't know that you and Lt. Wells had a thing going on." He said smugly from his place on the rack. Rob rolled his eyes, and turned back to the desk. "And don't think that I didn't see those little smiles you two were shooting back and forth. You're smitten with her."

"I'm not smitten Jack. We were making conversation, waiting for you to show up. That was all." He said, sighing as he signed the letter, and put it aside so that he could find an envelope. "She's nice Jack. This was the first time I ever met her. How can I be smitten if I don't even know her?" He asked incredulously.

"You are though buddy. I've seen the look, and I know it well. You're taken with her, just admit it."

"I won't admit to something that isn't true." He said, smiling as he faced his roommate. "Frankly I'm surprised that you haven't gone after her."

"Have you heard her rep man? She's not really my type. Besides, we work together. She's a nice girl and all, but I'm thinking that you can have her Loverboy." He said, unable to resist teasing his friend a little more.

Rob rolled his eyes, getting out of the chair. "I've got to go get ready for a mission Jack. I'll catch you later." He said, walking out of their quarters, eager to get away. It couldn't be true could it? He had just met this Lt. Mackenzie Wells. He couldn't be falling for he?

Author's Notes: Alright, I'm not sure if you guys want me to continue this story or not, since the rest of it is going to be about Rob and Mackenzie. There will be parallels to their JAG lives, but they'll get together a lot sooner! Please review and tell me what you thought!