Will You Always Be There?
Chapter 41
Disclaimers: As previously stated
Spoilers: Anything up to and including Season 10; Any spoilers posted during Season 10 on spoiler boards mare also fair game.
A/N: Many thanks to aerogirl for her beta reading and excellent input.
1500
Thursday
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez pushed open the doors leading to the bullpen. He was looking for someone he knew. He saw General Creswell's name printed neatly on the window of the JAG's office. This was different. No Tiner, No Lt. Sims, someone else was in Commander Rabb's office. Colonel Mackenzie was in the judiciary now. It would be like starting all over again. He didn't care; he was home, back in uniform where he belonged.
Petty Officer Jennifer Coates stepped out of the outer office of the JAG.
"Petty Officer Coates."
"What brings you here, Gunnery Sergeant?"
"I'm just checking in. I'll begin my new duty station here tomorrow."
"Great, glad to have you aboard." Jennifer smiled and shook his hand, thinking, 'Just what we need – another Marine.'
Harm stepped into the bullpen and saw Coates and Gunny talking. "Gunny! You're back?'
"Yes sir. I start tomorrow." Victor was grinning from ear to ear.
"Glad to hear it."
"Excuse me, sirs. Better keep my nose to the grindstone." Coates nodded toward Creswell's office.
"That tough, huh?" They had a real squared away Marine, he knew.
Harm crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Not really. But he's different, that's for sure."
Gunny stood a little taller. 'Yes, I'm going to like it here,' he thought.
"Hey, how did that case you and Alicia were working on pan out?"
"The Wainwright case? Well, he's a free man now. Turns out the prosecutor involved in the case with held exculpatory evidence and that in addition to Teddy Lindsey for the defense… the poor guy didn't have a chance."
"That's good news. Who was the prosecutor, anyway?"
"A now-Congressman Bolton. Who I'm under the impression doesn't like JAGs much for some reason."
"The congressman who is on the House Armed Services Committee?" 'I can think of one reason,' Harm thought.
"That's the one."
"Welcome back to JAG, Gunny." Harm smiled slyly. They shook hands and parted.
Harm walked into his office, and as he sat down Petty Officer Coates buzzed in.
"Commander Rabb, Admiral Boone is on line 4 for you, sir."
"Thank you, Petty Officer."
Harm picked up the phone and punched the button. "Hello, sir."
"Rabb…Just wanted to talk with you about what I've been able to find out about London."
Harm sat back in his chair.
"I heard you had a visit from Mr. Webb Monday."
"Yes, I did."
"You haven't let him get involved in this, have you?"
"No sir, Admir...AJ was here not long after he arrived. Apparently even the Company has had it with Webb."
"I have it on good authority that even his mother is having a problem with him."
"I didn't know you had met her, sir."
"Yes, we've met. It has been a while. I don't know what it is, but there is something cold-blooded about that woman."
Harm smiled at the thought of how just how cold blooded she could be…when provoked. 'He doesn't know the half of it.'
"You may already know if AJ talked with you. The components of the bomb came from all over the Middle East."
"Yes, I heard."
"There's a lot of speculation, Rabb. It would not be wise to make any assumptions now about who did this."
"I know."
"Are you going to be alright waiting this out?"
"I think so. I've been warned by everyone who knows anything about it to let it be handled by the professionals. Even my new CO knows that I have friends looking into this, so if I want to keep my job I had better stay out of this. I don't like feeling this helpless. I know just enough about both British and American agencies to make me wonder what is truly being done."
"In other words, you know enough to make you dangerous."
Harm smirked. "Yeah, that's about right."
"You doing alright, Harm?" Tom wouldn't have said 'about Trish'. Harm knew.
"Yeah, I'm okay. How about you?"
Tom Boone was a bit taken aback by the question. "I'm fine," he said quickly.
There was a lot Harm didn't know, a lot he'd never know. Trish had a special place in his heart. She was a good friend before Hammer went MIA, and she had come to mean more to him later. They had gone out a couple of times, as friends, a few years after Hammer was missing. She had no word from him, but he was still alive for her, and even if Tom wouldn't have admitted then, he couldn't believe he wasn't out there somewhere too. He knew she could have been the one, but she had married that 'used car salesman' and that was the end of that.
"Sir?" It had gotten quiet on the line.
"Sorry about that."
"It's alright."
"I also heard that you ruffled the feathers of a congressman on the House Armed Services Committee."
"It wasn't intentional, but yes I did." Tom Boone was keeping is ear to the ground.
"Intentional or not, you need to remember that each party has their 'boys' in high ranking positions in all services. You need to be sure that you're not one of them."
"I know, sir. I remember what you said before. It's about getting the job done, not about who is in power. Besides, I really don't have to worry about positions of power for myself, not with my record."
"You never know, Harm," he said cryptically. "Hey, I'm getting out of here. I'll let you know if I hear anything else. I guess I had better talk with AJ before I call you, so that I'm not giving you information you already know."
"That's fine, sir. It's always good to hear from you."
"Thanks." He hesitated and then hung up.
Harm hung up his phone and he continued to look at it for a moment. Tom Boone seemed to live such a solitary life. He still couldn't keep himself from calling him 'sir,' though he had been retired for some time. He was his father's best friend. He was someone he respected more than most men he knew. He admired both him and AJ for their careers, the respect they had from their peers and subordinates. They were accomplished men of integrity. Anyone would want to emulate them; however, he dreaded their solitary lives.
He had never given up on a future with Mac completely, but as time passed he'd begun to wonder. For a while he'd thought that the best he could hope for was his career in the Navy (such as it was) and the possibility of helping Mattie grow up and get established on her own. Now he had Mac and a future. She just had to be okay. She was looking so much better. She seemed radiantly happy. He was too. He loved having her in his life.
"Hey Sailor…waiting for the phone to ring?" Mac stood in the doorway, smiling mischievously.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in court giving other good lawyers a hard time?" Harm smiled sheepishly. He was caught.
"We adjourned early and I wanted to see if you could secure early. I want to Christmas shop."
"Aw, come on, Mac. The mall? I have court in the morning." Harm knew he sounded whiny but he didn't care. All he wanted was a nice hot shower, a good dinner and Mac, not necessarily in that order.
"You'll be alright...you big baby…" Mac turned and stepped out the door. "Besides...I'll make it up to you." She raised her brows and laughed a little.
Harm's smile spread slowly across his face. He might be convinced. "Promises, promises, Mackenzie."
"I don't make promises I can't keep," she said laughingly.
"Hey, I'll meet you downstairs in about 20, okay?"
"Sounds good," she said as she walked down the hall.
1830
Thursday
Roberts's residence
Bud, Mikey and Big Bud sat in the den. Little AJ sat on the floor playing with his Legos.
"This stop loss business is a crock of sh–"
"Dad." Bud looked over at little AJ.
Big Bud rolled his eyes. He knew Bud was a better father than he had been, but having to watch what he said got on his nerves.
Mikey spoke up. "Look, Dad. You knew you were inactive reserve when you retired. Everyone is, for 15 years."
"You know, you're sounding more like an officer everyday, Mikey. They should call up the draft, that's what they should do."
"Look, Dad, I've submitted your records to a medical board of review. We'll just have to wait and see what they have to say." Bud was trying to be the peacemaker this time.
Mikey chimed in again. "I'll tell you right now, I would rather have an experienced enlisted man doing the job than some 'Joe Blow' who was drafted while bagging groceries at the Stop and Shop."
"Alright, you two. We're not battling this out here, tonight."
"Unbelievable...you'd never think he was raised by an enlisted man."
"Oh come on, Dad. I meant that as a compliment, not a put down. How did you get that from what I just said?"
"BUD!"
Bud's head snapped up. It was Harriet calling from upstairs. He ran to the base of the stairs and looked up. Harriet was pale as a ghost and was holding on to the wall. She had blood on her clothing from her upper thighs down. "Something's wrong, Bud…help me…"
Bud struggled up the steps and called to Mikey. "Call 911….Now!"
2340
Harms Apartment
North of Union Station
The phone startled Harm out of a deep sleep. Mac felt it and sat up.
"Rabb."
"Sir?"
"Bud…"
Silence.
"Bud, what's wrong?"
Mac was suddenly wide awake at the sound of alarm in Harm's voice.
"Sir, Harriet…she…" Bud cleared his throat. He was trying to pull himself together.
"Harriet is in surgery. The babies, they're here, but Harriet has had a lot of damage to her...well, she is in surgery now. The doctors say she'll be fine…"
"Bud, we're on our way."
"No, sir, I couldn't ask…I just wanted to know if you would inform General Creswell. I don't think I would handle the conversation very professionally right now. I'll talk to him first thing tomorrow. I'll know more about what's happening then."
"I'll do it, Bud, but we're still on our way."
Harm and Mac looked at each other and, without a word, dressed and started out to Bethesda.
As they pulled onto the Beltway, Harm opened his cellphone. He punched the familiar number.
"Chegwidden," said the voice on the other end of the line.
Chapter 42
0145
December 10th
Friday
National Naval Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland
Harm and Mac swiftly made their way down the hallway toward the waiting room on the surgical deck. Bud was sitting on a bench pushed against the wall. He heard them approaching and stood.
"Bud?" Harm slowed his pace as he approached.
"Sir…I haven't heard anything yet."
Mac rested her hand on his arm. "She's going to come out of this, Bud."
Bud nodded. "She's been through so much. I should have known that this would be too much for her, after all the difficulties in the past. We are lucky to have little AJ and Jimmy. We should never have had more."
"Are the babies alright?" Mac asked.
Bud looked at her and with a distracted and hollow sound to his voice said, "Yes, I haven't seen them yet." Bud sat back down on the bench and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and bowing his head.
"That's great, Bud."
Harm and Mac sat down with Bud. "The doctor said that she had residual damage from the miscarriage and when we lost baby Sarah. The babies' weight contributed to the hemorrhage."
Mac looked at Harm over Bud's back briefly. Harm understood her feelings about baby Sarah now. He knew it pained her to think of the loss of her namesake.
A corpsman entered the waiting area. "Commander Roberts?"
Bud's head snapped up and he stood. "Your wife is in recovery, sir. Commander Fletcher will be in to see you shortly."
"Is she alright?"
"She is resting comfortably, sir. Commander Fletcher will answer any other questions you may have, sir."
"Thank you, Petty Officer."
Bud heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't know what he would have done if he had lost her.
Mac stood and offered to get Bud something to drink while he waited. She felt a little awkward and Harm seemed almost angry; not at her, but she wasn't sure what he was feeling. He just seemed very distant all of a sudden.
Harm watched Mac walk down the hallway. 'We are not going to go through this,' he thought. It just wasn't worth it to him. They had been so happy that he had forgotten the fear he'd felt when he thought he might lose her. Seeing Bud go through this tonight made him realize that nothing was worth that. They would adopt, raise foster kids, whatever. He would not take the slightest chance when it came to her life.
Commander Fletcher approached them. Harm and Bud both stood. "Commander Roberts?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Harm started to step away, but Bud stopped him and asked him to stay.
"Your wife is stable, Commander, and she will recover fully."
Bud heaved a sigh of relief.
"However, due to the damage to her uterus she had to undergo a partial hysterectomy. It was the only way to get the hemorrhage under control. She had lost a lot of blood prior to her surgery. She required 2 units during surgery."
Bud swallowed hard. "But she will be alright?"
"Yes, Commander, she will. She is asking for you, so I suggest you get down there and see her." Commander Fletcher smiled.
"Yes, ma'am."
Bud followed the commander down the hallway to see his wife, and Harm waited for Mac to return. She came a few minutes later carrying coffee in Styrofoam cups. Harm had been looking out the window, thinking about how to even begin to discuss what he was thinking with Mac. He turned and saw her coming and tried to smile.
Mac saw Harm turn toward her. To say he looked troubled would have been an understatement.
"Harm, is everything alright? Where is Bud?"
"He's going to see Harriet. She's going to recover – she'll be fine."
"Oh thank God." She sat the cups down and walked up to stand next to Harm. He had turned to look out the windows again. It was obvious he wasn't looking at anything.
"Hey, nice view, Sailor." She tucked herself under his arm, and he pulled her into an embrace. She drew back and looked him in the eye. He looked away, avoiding her gaze.
"Harm, talk to me."
He pulled her close again. "I just don't ever want to lose you, Mac. Being here, seeing what Bud was going through tonight… I don't want that to happen to us. Nothing is worth that."
"I'm getting better all the time, Harm. There's nothing more to worry about. Why are you so much more upset?" She drew back to look at him again and then she knew.
"It's about having children…isn't it?"
Harm pulled her close again and nodded.
"We don't have to even worry about that now. I won't be able to even begin to try until next year. We'll know so much more next year than we do now about how I'm doing."
"Mac, I don't want to take a chance, not with your life."
"I love my life too, Harm, but I'm not going to make a decision like that this quickly."
She looked at him with love and determination in her eyes.
"I just don't want you to leave me out of the decision, Mac. I can't be there for you if I don't know what's going on."
"I know that, Harm. While we are on the subject of leaving someone out of things, when are you going to talk to me about Webb coming to JAG to talk to you? I know this is probably not the time or the place, Harm, but I can't seem to find the right time. I wanted to talk to you about it that evening, but that was when Mattie told you about going back to Blacksburg."
Harm stepped out of her embrace and sat down on the bench. "How did you know about it?"
"I happened to look out my window and see you, AJ and Webb having a very heated discussion….Look, Harm, I wasn't spying on you." She sat down beside him.
He looked at her. "I know you weren't, Mac. I just want to know what happened. I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it. I didn't want to put that on you in addition to everything else we were going through."
"That's right, Harm…..We."
"Webb showed up uninvited and was promptly sent his way with a little help from AJ. He and Tom Boone are looking into some things for me. Keeter said he would talk with some of his contacts. I haven't heard from him yet. Look, Mac, I've been warned away from this by everyone from General Creswell to Admiral Boone." He turned and leaned forward on his arms. "I'm not going to do anything stupid this time, Mac. I don't want to take any chances with our future." He sat back up and looked at her directly in the eye. "I don't want you to either."
They heard footsteps approaching. AJ Chegwidden walked purposefully toward them. They stood.
"Harriet?"
"She's fine, sir." Harm answered.
"Outstanding"
Bud came down the hallway and joined them. He looked much better than he did before. He was smiling.
"Hello, sir." Bud shook AJ's hand. "Come and see my daughters."
They all followed Bud to the nursery and stood at the window. Bud knocked on the nursery door and had the lieutenant show the babies to their first visitors. They were small but very healthy. Their faces were round and red with shocks of black hair peeking out of their caps.
Bud was beaming, a complete change from his demeanor while in the waiting room earlier. AJ crossed his arms and leaned forward a bit, looking through the glass at the little girls.
"I guess it's a night for miracles."
Mac stood a little closer to Harm, and he drew her to him. "Do you believe in miracles, sir? she asked.
"Well I've been a skeptic in the past, I'll admit, but I'm looking at two miracles right now."
Mac nodded toward the babies. "Those two definitely qualify."
"Mac, those two babies are just one miracle – the other is the fact that you two are on the same page on anything, let alone in a relationship."
AJ smiled his wry smile. Harm and Mac both chuckled and Harm hugged Mac a little tighter. They couldn't argue with that.
AJ shrugged and said, "Hell, maybe it's a year for miracles. The Red Sox won."
They all laughed and remembered AJ's comment when he announced his retirement.
Bud came and stood beside AJ. "Have you two decided on names yet?"
"We have, Jennifer Bethany and Justice Brittany."
"Oh, Bud, that's great. Jen will be honored, I'm sure." Mac knew Jen would be pleased.
"She saved my life, Colonel; I wouldn't be here if it had not been for her. Harriet insisted and I agree."
Mac yawned. It was nearly 0300. "We better get you home, Marine," Harm said. "We have to be at staff call at 0830."
"I'll stay awhile with Bud." AJ patted Bud on the back. With that Mac and Harm went home to catch a couple of hours sleep before they had to begin their day.
Chapter 43
1730
Friday
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Harm replaced the receiver down on the phone. Mac just didn't know what she was in for. He couldn't keep the smile from his face. She just had to agree. He had left a message for her that said he couldn't meet for lunch but that he would see her at the apartment after work.
He had made arrangements with his grandmother, her pastor, looked into getting a marriage license, and spoke with Chaplain Turner. He had made reservations at Pineloch Forest Resort for a cabin. They could spend their time any way they liked. They could go to a five star restaurant, go dancing, go skiing, snow tubing or just stay hidden away in their cabin the whole time. He kind of liked that idea, but anything she wanted would suit him.
You only got married once, as far as he was concerned. They would discuss it tonight and put in for leave over the long weekend at Christmas. Surely all the Christmases that neither of them had taken leave would account for something. He turned off the computer and picked up his cover, turning off the light and closing the door behind him. He strode down the hall and out to the elevators, still smiling broadly.
General Creswell looked out to see him leaving. Everyone else had secured for the day. This was the face of an almost-married man if he had ever seen one he thought to himself.
1815
Harm's Apartment
North of Union Station
Mac heard Harm put his key in the door. She had ordered pizza, no cooking tonight. She was dying to find out what General Creswell had said. Harm pushed open the door with the key still in the lock.
"Hi." He smiled sheepishly and looked at her from under the bill of his cover.
"Hello, Sailor…talk to me." She was so anxious that she didn't see the box in his other arm as he opened the door. When he had stepped fully into the room she saw it. He set the box down on the dining room table and took off his cover and then opened it. They were roses, deep red and beautiful.
"Oh, what have you done? Oh no, he didn't say no, did he?"
Harm thought this might be an opportunity to give her a hard time but he was so excited about what he had planned he couldn't wait to tell her. "He approved the request."
Mac launched herself into his arms. "Oh!" she squealed. "I was so afraid he would deny it" She leaned back and looked at him "Every now and then I still get paranoid about something coming between us. I don't want anything to keep us apart." She hugged him again.
Harm smiled to himself, still surprised at the unguarded emotion Mac was able to show him, he would never tire of it.
"Come on, Mac, come sit down for a minute."
"Aren't you hungry? I ordered some dinner...I… "
"It'll keep. I want to talk to you about something." He took off his coat and loosened his tie. He took her hand and led her to the couch.
Mac thought he looked like the cat that ate the canary. "What are you up to, Flyboy?"
"Marry me Christmas Eve, Mac." He knew he was just blurting it out, but he also knew he stood a better chance of not putting his foot in his mouth if he said it quickly.
Mac drew in a breath sharply. "What?"
"Marry me Christmas Eve." He was starting to worry.
"Harm…I..."
"Come on, Mac, no more sad Christmases for us. Let's make it our best day, our happiest day." He pulled her closer to him and looked at her directly in the eye. "Come on."
As she looked back at him she decided in an instant, she would do it. She was ready to put all the pain of the past behind her and she saw now that Harm was ready too. "I'll do it."
Harm laughed from pure joy and pulled her into his embrace.
"How will we do this, Harm? We've got two weeks." Mac pulled back and looked at him questioningly.
"Well, this is where you are going to have to trust me." He smiled mischievously.
"What have you been up to this afternoon? No wonder you couldn't meet me for lunch."
She sat back and placed her hand on her hip.
"Okay, now this is just tentatively set up. You can change anything or everything…as long as you marry me...okay?" He raised his eyebrows and was already giving her his best puppy dog look.
"Alright, spill it, Sailor." She already knew she was ready to go to a justice of the peace with the way he was looking at her now.
"How would you feel about getting married in Belleville?"
Mac was a bit taken aback. It was perfect but she hadn't even considered that. "Oh, Harm…I love the idea, but what about Annapolis? I just assumed you would want to be married there."
"I used to think I did. The Academy still means a lot to me. It occurred to me after I spoke with General Creswell, when he was talking about how busy we would all be over the next six months. He also said that during the holidays our case loads would slow down a bit. I thought it might be the only opportunity we would have until next summer." He took her hand in both of his hands. "I don't want to wait that long….do you?"
"No." 'Wow, this is moving fast, Harmon Rabb moving at the speed of light,' she thought
"The chapel would have been impossible to get...so I spoke with Grandma's pastor and the church would be available early in the afternoon. It will already be decorated for Christmas Eve evening services. Chaplain Turner as agreed to perform the ceremony. Grandma will put him and Sturgis up the night before, and the early service will get them back to their families in time to celebrate the holidays."
"What about guests and our reception?" Mac started to think of the logistics: Christmas, the distance, and so on.
Harm looked down at their joined hands. "Mac I just want our close friends and family. It's too soon after losing my Mom for a big celebration." Harm gave her a sad smile. "She would have loved it, though...wouldn't she?"
Mac kissed his cheek. "Yes, she would have."
The more Mac thought about this, the better she liked the idea. The elaborate wedding she and Mic had planned had been almost overwhelming, and as time went on became less and less about them and more about details...details that didn't really matter in the long run. They couldn't make up for what they really had never had. Real love.
"Who would we invite?"
"Oh, I thought maybe Keeter, Tom Boone, Mattie and Tom, the Chegwiddens, Grandma, the O'Reillys." He looked at her questioningly. "We can get everyone together to celebrate our wedding after we get back."
"Sounds good – maybe Chloe can make it too. It's probably going to be too soon for Bud and Harriet."
Being a part of their wedding had meant a lot to her. Looking at Harm across the aisle, he'd looked for all the world like a movie star; she thought she had seen something then. He had looked at her during the vows, for just a few seconds, their eyes had locked. When she allowed herself to think about it, she imagined he felt more for her than he let her see. He had been so hard to read then.
"Do you remember their wedding?"
"How could I forget? The day before I was accused of being a stripper in my off hours and got a beer bottle broken over my head."
"I seem to recall bailing some sailors out of jail the night before." She laughed.
"The look on your face when you saw the admiral… while you were scolding us was priceless." Harm laughed and pulled her close.
"Do you remember the wedding itself?" She was fishing, she knew, but she couldn't help herself.
"Yeah, I remember – I remember how beautiful you were that day. It had been a while since I had seen you dressed like that. It may have been the NATO Ball."
"Oh, you mean back when you thought of me as your sister?" She teased.
"Knock it off, Marine. You know I didn't see you that way. I remember looking at you for a moment during the ceremony. It was one of the times I asked myself why you and I weren't more than friends." His look softened and he kissed her. "I'm so glad were not there anymore."
"Me too. So, Harm, where will we go for our honeymoon?" She raised her eyebrows and smiled.
"That's where you'll have to trust me. I want to make it a surprise." He smiled slyly.
"How will I know what to pack?"
"Pack a little bit of everything. You're a Marine, just use your initiative." He laughed.
She punched him lightly on the chest. "Don't knock Marine initiative, Sailor. It has saved your six more than once."
"No arguments there. No kidding, Mac, I want to make this a Christmas and wedding gift combined." He pulled her close again and kissed her. "Okay?"
She would have agreed to just about anything. She wondered if he understood the power he had over her now. She kissed him back, more sensuously and passionately, and looked at him through half closed eyes. "Okay."
Mac drew back for a moment. "So...um...are you hungry?" she asked with a slow sly smile.
Harm nodded, still looking at her lips.
"Okay, I'll warm up the pizza." Mac started to slip out of his embrace.
Harm moved close again, not releasing her, and looked at her in the eye. "Pizza?" and pushed her back on the couch.
1400
Friday
December 17th
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
The week had gone by at lightning speed. Their leave for the 23rd through the 28th had been approved. Case load had not been heavy but it had been complicated. Harm sat at his desk looking at a brochure for Pineloch Forest. He had just called to have some special things arranged for Mac when they arrived Christmas Eve night. The sound of his intercom pulled him from his reverie.
"Commander Rabb, you have Mattie on line 5."
Harm picked up the phone and answered. "Hey, kiddo. What's up?"
"Hey yourself. I'm just getting ready to get out of town with Dad and I wanted to say goodbye and that I can't wait till the wedding."
"Well, you guys drive carefully and I'll look forward to seeing you both." There was a silence on the line which was not at all like Mattie. "What's on your mind, Mats?"
"Harm I don't want to pry or be a busy body…I could be totally wrong and I don't want to cause a problem for Jen."
"Just tell me, Matilda."
"I'm just worried about Jen. She really seems to be having a harder time than I thought she would about me going back to my Dad. I know it's not official until next month but I don't know...it's hard to explain." Mattie blew out a breath.
"What is she doing that has you so concerned?"
"Well, her old friend, the one I told you about before, she has been spending a lot of time with her."
"That doesn't sound bad..."
"It is just that this girl…really woman is …different."
"How is she different?' Harm was having a hard time following this. It sounded like Mattie's intuition was kicking in at an early age…once again.
"Okay…I mean she is the same age as Jen...but she seems really older…and harder…I don't know."
"There's something else, Mattie."
"Okay…I overheard her talking to someone on the phone. She was talking about Jen and she didn't sound like much of a friend. I think she's in some kind of trouble and that she is using her in some way….I don't know, I know I shouldn't have been listening, but …I just felt that something wasn't right. I know that there is a chance that I'm wrong…but I don't think I am…you know?"
The scary thing was that Harm did understand. Mattie wasn't the type of person to immediately dislike a person without reason. She may be having trouble expressing her concerns, but she had to rely on her instincts when she was on her own. He trusted them.
"Don't worry Mattie, I'll look into it."
"Please don't say anything to her, Harm. I don't want her to think I'm spying on her."
"I know, Mattie, don't worry. Just go and have a great time with your Dad and the rest of your family. I'll see you in Belleville."
"Okay…love you, Harm."
"Love you too, kiddo."
Harm hung up, deciding it was time to take a little stroll into the bullpen and try and get a handle on what was going on with Jennifer Coates.
Harm walked into the bullpen. Major McBurney and Commander Coleman were making their way out and toward the elevators.
"Commander." McBurney nodded.
"Major. Heading for Gitmo?"
"Yeah, you want to join us?" he smirked.
"No thanks…Hey it could be worse, you could be heading back to Iraq."
McBurney laughed. "I think I'd almost prefer it."
Commander looked from Harm to McBurney. She said nothing, she just continued toward the elevators. Harm opened the doors to the bullpen and glanced over his shoulder. He did not envy McBurney now, that was for sure. He wondered if she slept in that uniform. He shook his head and walked toward Gunny's desk.
Gunny had been watching him approach. "Can I help you, sir?" He looked through the glass doors as the elevators closed on Commander Coleman and Major McBurney. Harm followed his gaze; he wouldn't be sharing what he had just been thinking, that was for sure.
"Gunny, are you busy right now?"
"Just finishing a few things, sir."
"I may need your help with something. I need any information you can get on a Pia Bonfilio."
"Will do, sir."
Harm looked toward Jen's desk. "Oh, and keep this to between us."
TBC