Hey gang! Sorry for the lack of postings. I am still sick, bronchitis to be exact (I was forced to seek medical attention yesterday), and am happily medicated. My entertainment center looks like a pharmacy. Last week sucked, I am hoarse and can't sleep, breathe. . .you know all of the joys of being all blah. Therefore reading/writing. . . not on the top of my to do list. ;)

This I managed to beta between 3 days. I kept falling asleep. Sad that it's a short chappie. I hope I don't lose anyone, if I do, I'll turn around and pick you up. Most of this, if you've seen the first episodes of season 7, will make sense. If you haven't, sorey!

Thanks to: XBlueShadowX, LieutenantjgMegAustin , maidenpride21, froggy0319, Navy Babe, Hieros Gamos, Charmboy4, blonde-brain, Anaika Skywalker, Charmboy4, zeilfanaat, Nikki, jaggurl, achaon, cbw, Manda May, FoxyWombat, Jackia & Jenny, for all the feedback. :)

Enjoy,

Jackie

PART 4 – Keep Her Safe
1400 Zulu
American Consulate
Aceh, Indonesia

"If there's a massacre, Staff Sergeant, as a staff judge advocate, I'm advising you against doing anything that could inflame this situation." It always amused Mac how bad things always seemed to manifest themselves faster than good things. She'd been sent to Indonesia to take custody of a Marine accused of rape. Police Captain was less than willing to negotiate, until Mac thought about trading Mic's engagement ring for the Marine. The case was a tricky one, Corporal Lassiter denied the accusations, suggesting that he was framed. The whole incident had enflamed an already delicate situation in Aceh, bringing a well organized mob to stand just outside of the US Consulate compound. In the end, for all of her bartering, Lassiter admitted that he had, indeed, raped the young woman.

To try and prevent the mob from wrecking the gate, a small group of Marines, along with Gunny and Mac, headed out to secure the locks. The angry mob, seemed to be just that, until rebels in the crowd decided to drop a grenade right in front of the Marines, killing one and injuring another.

The injured Marine, Staff Sergeant Wakefield stood next to Mac. His hands were neatly folded in front of him, his head wrapped with a thin sheet of gauze that covered his injured eyes. He tried to remain stoic for his men, but there wasn't much he could do at the moment but bark out orders. "That's a lawyer talking, ma'am."

"Marine first, lawyer second." Mac insisted. "We both want a safe evacuation."

Wakefield was not pleased by that, but there wasn't too much he could do, but follow 'orders.' "Alright, Colonel. . . I'll have my men continue with evac procedures."

Sighing, Mac took a look around at the US Consulate. The lights were flickering ominously, the chanting outside providing something of a soundtrack to the whole situation. How did something escalate so rapidly? She should have been safe and sound at JAG, but no, she had to leave and now she was stuck in the thick of it.

Standing by Mac, Gunny Galindez stared out the window to view the angry mob. "I can't believe one man caused all of this, ma'am."

"Believe it Gunny. . . It's often that a single man can be the cause of so much trouble." With a sigh, she turned away from the window and headed to find the consulate general, Mr. Raymond Dart. "Sir, how long until you are able to finish evac procedures?"

Stopping his work, he turned to one of his staff members and estimated the time to be, "Around an hour, Colonel." Nodding, she contacted the Guadalcanal, explaining the situation and asked them to keep the helicopters out of sight. "Wouldn't we WANT to keep a helicopter close?"

"If the crowd sees a helo, there's no telling what they'd do."

Wakefield re-entered the room with a corporal close by to help him move. "I'm ordering my men to bring up the machine guns, we'll mount them up on the roof, just in case. We might need to use them after all."

Mac didn't want the blood of a massacre on her hands or the hands of the Marines in the building, but she did agree that the crowd was getting rowdier, if that was even possible. "I concur, staff sergeant." The lights flickered once again, followed by a loud BOOM and the sound of masonry, probably one of the walls of the consulate crashing to the ground.

1703 Zulu
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia

"Harm?" Looking up from the case he was currently putting the finishing touches on, he was surprised to find Admiral Chegwidden at his door. The attempt to come to attention was waved off and all Harm could think was, 'oh oh' when the Admiral came in with a somber look on his face. "It's about the Colonel. . .Mac and Gunny were sent into the consulate in Aceh to negotiate the return of a Marine accused of rape." Sighing, he brought his arms across his chest. "Apparently the incident inflamed an already intense situation. . . The consulate is now under attack."

Putting down his pen, it took a few seconds for the words to sink in. "I don't understand, Sir? Attack?"

The Admiral nodded softly, "There was an explosion of sorts and reports of injury. . . We don't know anything about Mac or Gunny as yet." How much bad news did he have to dish out in such a short period of time? Weren't they ever going to catch a break? "As soon as information comes in, I'll let you know. . . even if your in court."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Harm watched the Admiral leave and felt a horrible sense of panic. Out of instinct, he went to grab the phone but quickly halted his movements. This time, there was no one he could call to help out. The hero was striped of his superpowers. The only thing he could do was sit and wait. He sat there for a few minutes, staring at the file in front of him but not able to concentrate on anything but Mac. She should have been home, with him, trying to work out whatever was going on. Maybe that was the problem? Maybe she didn't want to be with him. "Damnit, Mac." He said, angrily, slamming his fist onto the top of the desk.

"Something wrong with the, Colonel, sir?" Lt. Loren Singer asked as she walked, uninvited into Harm's office.

Harm didn't mean to be so snippy with her, but damnit, all he could do was think about Mac hurt or worse. . . dead. "Nothing that concerns you, Lieutenant."

Cocking her head to the side, she waited a few moments for Harm to compose himself. "Sir, the jury is ready, sentencing is set to begin in 20 minutes. . . Lieutenants Roberts and Sims seem to be a bit. . .upset?"

You went off on one of our own, Loren, without necessity. . . I'll meet you there, dismissed." He said, before she had a chance to interject anything else. The case was a disaster, one that they had lost. The only thing left was to hope that he could get an easy sentence. Their client, Lt. Commander Keegan, a SEAL, was accused of killing a man on a commercial jet liner when he believed that the man could have harmed the people aboard the plane. The murdered man, Mr. Summers, had an altercation on the plane with one of the flight attendants, the proceeded to grab at the handle to the plane's sealed door. Keegan, hoping to prevent the deaths of the people on board, rushed at Mr. Summers and ended up snapping his neck. Unfortunately for Harm and Singer's defense, Lt. Harriet Sims, Bud's wife, had been on the flight and saw the scuffle between the two men. She remembered Keegan as some what of a bully, making her a prime witness for the prosecution. Singer, who took her turn interrogating Harriet on the stand, had used information that Harriet had been having nightmares about the baby that she and bud had lost a year prior. Using that information to discredit the witness, Loren practically attacked Harriet, wrecking some of their defense. To compact to the issues of the case, a witness appeared to have seen Keegan drinking at the airport bar before boarding the plane. Harm knew he was going to lose the case, he just hoped to God that sentencing would fare better. Sighing, he stood and headed out of his office, receiving torrid looks from Harriet, Bud and others in the bullpen.

With one more passing thought about Mac, he lifted his head up and let out one shaky breath. "Dad, keep her safe." Walking into the courtroom, he managed to drown his feelings for Mac, he had a client to keep out of Leavenworth.
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XBlue - What is it with them deleting your eee's and ooo's? It's not nice!! Not nice I tell you! Okay, so you are chanting now? Not talking to yerself too are ya? Nothing wrong with that if you are, God knows I have some good convos with myself. (chuckles)

Maiden - No they do not!! Cliffhangers ROCK! They R-O-C-K!!!!

Froggy - Even if I am a shipper, I know you cringed anyway. ;)

NavyBabe - Ain't it the truth?! Harm and Mac putting the FUN in DysFUNctional. ;)

Hieros - It's Harm and Macish, they love to run away when things are somewhat normal. LOL!

Charmboy - I am like DPB?! I can tear them apart, but I can also put them back together. Hahahaa!! ;)

Blonde - Same reason why she pushed him away on the show, she needed to get away from him to think straight.

Anaika - Yea, Renee sucks, but she won't be away for long. ;)