TITLE: Pall
DEFINITION: PALL
Pronunciation: 'pol
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, short for appallen, to become pale
1 to lose strength or effectiveness
2 to lose in interest or attraction his humor began to pall on us>
3 to become tired of something
4 to cause to become insipid
5 to deprive of pleasure in something by satiating
(source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
RATING: PG-13 or R. R to be safe. Mostly for lanugage to begin with, maybe for... other things... later on.
SUMMERY: After an attack on a graduation ceremony at Annapolis the JAG office is thrown into a state of flux.
SPOILERS/TIMELINE/ALTERATIONS I'VE MADE: A little AU, and very messed up, so stay with me here.
-Harm has had his eyes fixed but he's not returning to flying.
-Little AJ is about three months old (I'm assuming he was born in May sometime, and, for the purposes of this story, please just go along with that).
-Chegwidden and Harriet (and Harm, obviously)are Annapolis graduates, Mac and Bud are OCS grads. It's never really been said where Chegwidden, Harriet, and Bud went, so I made an executive decision.
-Mic is on loan from RAN to the JAG office and is still annoying and hitting on Mac at every turn. Beyond the fact that I loathe Mic, I can't get past the idea of having two characters named Mic and Mac get together. It's like whenmy friend Yin Lee married James Yang. Creepy.
DEDICATION: To Tracy, for bringing the character of Meg Austin to life, and to all the Harm/Meg shippers out there.
DISCLAIMER: If you have to ask...
NOTE 1: The first chapter of this fic ended up being over fifty pages, so I've split it up into two chapters.
NOTE 2: I swear I don't have anything against Harriet or Bud. Honestly.
NOTE 3: The idea of 'soul connections' is one that I personally subscribe to, and was the basis for this entire fic.
ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACADEMY
1351 (EST)
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
SATURDAY, JULY 15
"Which one?" Mac asked as they came up to a point where the breezeway met up with two buildings, neither bearing any signage.
"Left," Harm said, pointing to the building on their left hand side. He put on a burst of speed and got to the door first, pulling it open and letting Mac race through before following his partner.
Mac found it more difficult to find purchase on the linoleum and soon ended up slipping and falling flat on her back. Harm stopped to help her but she waved him on. "Get moving, Harm. I'm fine. The people out there aren't," she said vehemently, her expression cold and set. Her tailbone was probably bruised, and she'd hit the back of her head pretty hard when she fell, but otherwise she was fine and Harm could see that, so he turned and started running again.
Mac struggled to her feet and, after gracelessly pulling off her ruined pantyhose and tossing them to the side, she started running after Harm again. She heard footfalls coming up fast to her right and her entire body tensed for a fight—one she wasn't sure she could win if the attacker had the shoot-first-and-don't-bother-with-asking-questions mentality she was sure the group that was shooting down innocent people had.
It turned out to be Admiral Chegwidden. He had been part of the actual ceremony since he was a two-star and the JAG group had planned on meeting up for dinner after everything was over. Mac didn't see that happening anytime soon, though.
"You okay?" Chegwidden asked, his strong hand wrapping around Mac's bicep and pulling her along with him down toward the armoury.
"Peachy," Mac said bitterly. "Harm is headed for the armoury. There are at least three shooters out there with AK-47's. Full cammies, strategic positioning, latest military spec… I'm betting all we find in the armoury is empty racks."
Chegwidden nodded and, without warning, changed directions, heading back the way they came.
Knowing AJ Chegwidden too well to argue with him, Mac simply ran alongside her CO and prayed that the SEAL had a plan.
ROBERTS RESIDENCE
1902 (EST)
ROSSYLN, VIRGINIA
MONDAY, JULY 17
"Sir, ma'am, what are you doing here?" Harriet asked after taking a few deep breaths to get past the shock of seeing Harm and Mac in her home instead of Tiner who she had assumed would be watching television or talking on the phone with Jennifer.
"We came to see AJ," Mac said. "We just got him to sleep."
"Tiner went home to get some sleep himself," Harm put in helpfully.
"Yeah… I came home so he could rest up before work…" Harriet said softly. It was obviously killing her to be away from Bud's side. "Bud's mom is with him now."
Harm put his hand on her arm. "How's he doing?" he asked gently.
"Still in a non-coma," Harriet said as they went into the living room. "They keep telling me that it's a good sign that he's not in a full coma… but I heard the doctors talking… they're worried."
Mac wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders and tried to think of something supportive to say. She prided herself in her ability to find a response to anything and everything, regardless of the subject matter or amount of prep time she got before her reply was expected.
But… there were no words.
The silence seemed to comfort Harriet more than empty platitudes and false hopes ever could, though, so Mac decided not to worry too much about her inability to find something to say.
Harriet took comfort in the presence of her two friends, knowing that they both loved Bud as much as she did, though in blatantly different ways, and she knew that, even if the worst would happen, she wouldn't be alone. The whole JAG family would always be there for her, and for little AJ. Even though she refused to think that she could lose Bud because of this, Harriet felt a little better once armed with that knowledge.
"Thank you for coming over," Harriet said softly. "I think AJ is getting confused, being around Tiner more than me and Bud. It's good that you guys came to see him."
"You should stay home with him tomorrow," Harm said. "I know he can't visit Bud, but I'm sure it would be good for him to have some time with you."
Sighing heavily, Harriet smiled tightly. "I could use some time with him, too," she admitted. "I just don't want to be away from the hospital for too long."
"You're only a phone call away if there's any change," Mac said, "and you need to start taking care of yourself. When was the last time you ate?"
"Um… the bagel in the car on the way to the graduation ceremony?" Harriet said, her words more of a question than an answer.
Without another thought Harm went to make some tea and to find some soup for Harriet to eat—his mother had always told him that nothing made a bleak situation brighter better than some hot soup—and Mac went with Harriet to check on AJ.
"I gave him a bottle about an hour ago, and while Harm cleaned the aftermath of that attempt off the ceiling I gave him a bath," Mac said. "AJ, not Harm," she added quickly. Harriet giggled. "Then AJ and I fought the battle to get him into his sleeper. He fell asleep halfway through that and he's been a little angel ever since," she reported in a hushed voice as they went down the hall to the nursery.
"Good. Tiner said he hasn't been sleeping well lately," Harriet said. "I think he might be having nightmares about the shooting," she added softly.
"I think he just knows that something's not right," Mac said. She rubbed her hand over Harriet's back. "He needs his mother," she said gently before going off, ostensibly to check on Harm but really just wanting to give mother and son some time to reconnect.
ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACADEMY
1409 (EST)
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
SATURDAY, JULY 15
The armoury was a total bust; the enemy had already neutralized their most obvious line of defence. Harm knew the Commandant had a store of weapons in his office, but that was on the other side of the quad, and he seriously doubted he would be able to make it across the wide-open field without getting some serious lead pumped into his body.
Harm decided to call that Plan B.
Unfortunately, without a Plan A his options were seriously limited.
"Rabb, get your ass in gear," a deep voice said from the doorway.
Admiral Chegwidden.
He tossed a pair of handguns to Harm before motioning for the pilot to follow him. They ran back to where Harm and Mac had originally taken cover. Mac was waiting there, her keen eyes trying to confirm that the three shooters were still where they had been ten minutes before.
"I know you would rather have a forty-million dollar hunk of metal right now but you're gonna have to deal with what we've got on hand, Flyboy," Mac said as she aimed her gun at the shooter in the oak tree since he seemed to be taking out the majority of the people who hadn't made it to cover. Tree-guy fell to the ground a moment after she fired the gun, his hand clutching his shoulder. It wasn't a fatal shot, but his weapon had fallen at least ten feet away from him and he was injured. Mac was pleased with the outcome of her shot.
"Hunk of metal?" Harm asked, his tone and expression all righteous indignation, as he lined up his shot for Shrub-guy.
"Children, settle your Navy-vs-Marines battle later. We've got civilians dying out there," Chegwidden said. Normally he was amused by the banter his two senior lawyers engaged in. This wasn't one of those times.
His SEAL training kicked in and Chegwidden took aim, firing off a full clip at the shooter in the shed before deftly reloading and taking out a fourth shooter that neither Harm nor Mac had seen. Harm had managed to kill Shrub-guy while his CO was taking out the other two shooters.
Silence reigned over Annapolis Naval Academy.
And then the shock wore off and the screaming started.
ROBERTS RESIDENCE
1918 (EST)
ROSSYLN, VIRGINIA
MONDAY, JULY 17Using his key, Harm locked up the townhouse on the way out. Harriet had taken AJ into her room and they had fallen asleep together on Bud's side of the bed after Harm got Harriet to eat some soup and Mac made her promise to call them if she needed anything at all.
"Poor Harriet," Mac said as she waited for Harm to unlock the car. "I can't imagine going through all this crap with Bud while trying to raise an infant."
"I can't imagine trying to raise an infant period," Harm said as he slid into the driver's seat. He reached across the car and unlocked Mac's door.
"I dunno, you were pretty good with AJ tonight," Mac said as she did up her seatbelt. "And you were very parental when you made Harriet eat something before going to bed."
Harm chuckled. "That's from years of my mom drilling new meanings for the term comfort food into my head," he said. "Instead of chocolate and ice cream, I got vegetable soup and fresh fruit. Frank would take me out for junk food but that was more because he's got a sweet tooth the size of Canada than anything else."
"I've never heard you talk about Frank like that before," Mac said with a soft smile.
"Like what?" Harm asked, checking for oncoming traffic.
"Like an old friend," Mac said. "You always paint him as this guy who came in and made your mom forget about your dad; the evil stepparent from the fairytales of our youth. I'm glad you have some good memories of growing up with Frank around. Especially now that you understand he wasn't trying to replace your dad."
"I actually have more good memories about Frank than I like to admit," Harm said. "I just never really got over the whole 'new dad' thing. I don't think I ever will."
Mac reached over and ran her hand down his arm, giving his muscles a light squeeze before letting go again. "Just because you have good memories of hanging out with your stepfather doesn't mean that the time you spent with your real father was any less special or important."
"I know. Sometimes I just felt so guilty."
"For enjoying having Frank in your life when your dad was out there somewhere?" Mac asked.
"Something like that," Harm nodded. "It's only been since I found out what really happened to my dad that I've been able to really get to know Frank."
"Have you two spent any time together? Done any bonding things?" Mac asked.
Harm smiled. "He was in DC one week for some work thing and he got a day off. I took him up in 'Sarah'."
"Did he love it?" Mac asked, beaming at the memories of her own first flight in 'Sarah'. Gunshot wound notwithstanding it was an amazing trip.
"He got airsick ten minutes out," Harm laughed.
"Good to know I'm not the only one who gets sick when you start pulling stunts," Mac teased.
"Flying in a Tomcat and a Stearman are totally different, Mac, and when I said Frank got sick ten minutes out, I mean literally ten minutes out. I had barely cleared the airfield when he started heaving."
"Thanks for sharing," Mac said, scrunching up her nose in disgust.
They chatted comfortably until they got back to Harm's apartment where Mac had left her car. "Want to come up for some coffee?" Harm offered.
"It's late, and I've got a ton of work to do tomorrow," Mac said, feeling a little like this was the end of a date. The only thing was that, despite her weak protests, she wanted to go up to Harm's apartment. If only to stay in his comforting presence for a little while longer. "There's bound to be major fallout from yesterday," she finished, hoping that the truth of the statement would be enough for her to convince herself that the best course of action was for her to get herself home.
Harm nodded. "I've already been warned to be on time tomorrow," he said, taking her protests at face value. "Bud's replacement comes in on Wednesday and I'm supposed to make sure that his office is ready for it's new occupant."
"That's fast," Mac commented, toying with her keys.
"Normally it wouldn't be so… immediate," Harm said. "But with the high profile deaths and the fact that our office is going to be getting it from all sides… SecNav feels it is best to keep moving as if nothing's happened."
"So who is it?" Mac asked.
"Don't have a clue. All I know is that we're getting a Navy commander who has been shipped around to five different JAG offices in the last few years," Harm said. "London, San Diego, Russia, France, and somewhere in South America."
"Any idea why they've been moved so much? Disciplinary problems? Special skills? Anything?"
"Nothing of note," Harm said. "Disciplinary action consists of nothing that everyone hasn't done a hundred times before. Speaking out of turn, late paperwork, your basic slips that no one really gives a damn about. The Admiral said he didn't get any real information, just that we should expect our new co-worker on Wednesday morning and that we should try not to scare this one away."
Mac smiled and they said a quick goodnight before they went their separate ways; her into her car and him into the building.
They both knew that the next few months would be hell.
ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACADEMY
1414 (EST)
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
SATURDAY, JULY 15
When all was said and done three terrorists, fifty-six civilians, and eighty-one military personal were killed; one hundred and fifty men, women, and children were wounded, and almost a thousand people were traumatised.
Not letting go of their weapons, Harm and Mac went off in search of Bud, Harriet, and AJ Roberts while the Admiral went to secure Tree-guy. Harriet and AJ had been inside looking at some old pictures with 'mommy', 'Uncle Harm', and 'Uncle AJ' in them with their respective classes, and had been safe from the shooting, though the gunfire had scared little AJ out of his mind and he had yet to stop crying. His wails led his Aunt Mac and Uncle Harm to him and his mother.
"What the hell happened?" Harriet demanded, not caring about protocol, just wanting to know what had happened to cause her son to scream like a banshee.
"Four men with AK-47's let loose on the crowd," Harm said.
"They've been taken care of," Mac said, tucking her gun in the waistband of her ruined uniform skirt.
Harriet visibly relaxed for a moment before tensing up.
"BUD!" she cried, hurriedly passing her son to his godmother and tearing off down the hallway toward the quad.
Harm looked at Mac desperately. "Go," she urged, cradling AJ closer to her chest and stroking his downy head soothingly. The sudden passing-off hadn't helped AJ calm down any. Harm took off after Harriet; catching up to her quickly since the office-manager wasn't accustomed to running in heels and Harm had already found the right speed and weight-distribution to limit slipping on the linoleum in his dress shoes.
"Harriet, slow down," Harm said, gripping her shoulder as he slowed down a little to keep from passing her.
"Bud's hurt, sir," Harriet said, speeding up and pulling free of his grasp without further explanation.
Harm didn't argue. He had seen enough things, been through enough horrors to know that when the person you loved most in the world was hurt you just knew, instinctively. It was programmed into the human DNA, like the 'fight or flight' urges; like the need to propagate the species; like the most basic of instincts that, even if you choose to ignore the message, you still hear it loud and clear. Harm's grandma Sarah said that it all came down to a connection of souls. Sarah Rabb believed that everyone's souls were broken down into pieces and that throughout your lifetime you would meet people who had other parts to your soul and would make your life more complete. They could be friends, lovers, even a pet. She also believed that, though everyone only had one true soulmate, all the other people who contained a piece of your soul had a piece of you, and therefore could feel what you felt.
Believing that Harriet and Bud were soulmates, and, therefore, had the biggest part of each other's souls in their metaphysical possession, Harm sped up, keeping pace with the blonde lieutenant who was searching frantically for her husband.
Like lead shavings to a magnet, Harriet found Bud. He was lying in the grass, bleeding from the chest. A redheaded woman in her early twenties was applying pressure to his chest while begging him not to die and thanking him for saving her life.
The next half hour was a blur of tears, screams, and ambulance wails. Harriet broke down next to her husband and, even when the paramedics came over to tend to him, she wouldn't leave his side. Harm stayed behind while Harriet rode to the hospital with Bud who, the paramedics said, probably had a badly damaged lung and needed surgery immediately.
"He pushed me out of the way," the redhead said softly, looking at the blood on her hands and clothing. "He saved my life," she said, tears falling down her cheeks in waves. "I don't even know his name."
"Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts, JAG Corp. We work together," Harm said. He pulled a card from his wallet. "I have to check on some other people. If you need anything, though, please don't hesitate to call me."
"Thank you," the redhead, Melody, said, tucking the card into her purse to avoid bloodying it.
Harm gave her a reassuring smile before heading off to find the Admiral and Mac.
An hour later Harm's cell phone rang as he was giving his statement to the FBI. Seeing as it was federal property, the Feds were taking over the investigation, something that relieved the JAG staff immensely.
Harriet's news, however, did not relieve anyone.
"Bud's right lung was torn up by the bullets… the surgeon said he has to remove it."
That was the extent of what Harriet said to Harm before hanging up.
Harm then had the daunting and unenviable task of informing Chegwidden and Mac of what had happened to their friend and co-worker.
JAG HEADQUARTERS
0639 (EST)
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19
Tuesday had passed relatively well. Calls from the press were mostly being fielded by the FBI and most of the complaints about security were going through Annapolis. Harm only had to deal with the regular caseloads as well as some of the higher-ups who wanted to know what the hell he, Mac, and the Admiral had been doing there in the first place, let alone with weapons, as well as why the situation wasn't diffused earlier.
Harm had exercised a lot of restraint to keep from telling the Commandant from Annapolis that if he had made sure the armoury was locked and guarded according to SOP the would mess could have been avoided. The head lab tech at Quantico had called Harm at home at five o'clock to tell him that the tests had come back positive.
The AK-47's had come from the campus armoury.
Naturally the press would lap that information up like melting ice cream in the middle of summer, and, beyond the shooters, the lab tech from Quantico, the two FBI agents who were the lead investigators of the attack, Harm, and the SecNav, no one knew that little detail. Harm had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't stay that way for long, but, for the moment, the secret was safe.
Bud still hadn't woken up, and the doctors had stopped saying that it was a coma-like state and had finally announced that it was, in fact, a coma that Bud was laying in. That news did nothing to bolster the confidence of Harriet, or the JAG staff, and Harm had hated being the one who had to pass the message along to everyone else.
Harm was shaken from his thoughts by a knock at the door. 'His' yeoman wasn't due in for at least twenty minutes so he had no clue who was at the door. Harm had a momentary pang at the loss of the expansive windows that made up the walls of his own office. Real walls were disconcerting after spending so many years in his bright office off the bullpen."Enter," Harm called, still feeling that it was too early to be awake, let alone deal with whatever problem had arisen.
The door opened and the sight before him made Harm freeze up completely.
"Oh my god," two completely shocked voices said simultaneously.
I doubt anyone will be surprised about who is at the door.
Let me know what you think.
M