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

(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

RATING: PG-13 or R. R to be safe. Mostly for language 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. Please see previous chapters for more details.

DEDICATION: To my readers. I'm writing this for you.

NOTE: In earlier chapters I had Mac ranked as Lieutenant Colonel, but I just realized that, at the point that my story is set, she hasn't been promoted yet. Sorry for the mix-up. Mac is still a Major in this fic. And Harm is still 'night blind' and will not be returning to carrier duty.

ROBERTS RESIDENCE

ROSSYLN, VIRGINIA

0435 (EST)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

"I… um… I did actually have a reason when I called you tonight," Harriet said rather awkwardly. "I need a favour."

"Anything," Harm said without hesitation.

Harriet took a deep breath and then started speaking.

"Want you to take care of AJ… to raise him… if anything happens to me," Harriet said. "Bud and I were going to talk to you about this soon anyway when we updated our wills… we want you to raise AJ if anything happens to us."

"Harriet, nothing's going to happen," Harm said. "Bud is going to pull through this and AJ is going to have both his parents raising him."

"I hope so, sir, but I need to know that if… if that isn't what happens… I need to know that you will take AJ and raise him like he's your son," Harriet said.

Harm couldn't believe what Harriet was asking of him. It was so incredibly huge and overwhelming that Harmon Rabb Jr was, for maybe the third time in his entire life, speechless. But, as always, he recovered quickly. "Harriet, I would be honoured to raise AJ. I love that little boy more than I ever expected to love another man's son. But please, don't count on that happening. You and Bud are going to live long enough to spoil your great grandchildren. I can feel it."

"Then just think of this as Plan B," Harriet said. She pushed a file folder toward Harm. "Bud had this drafted a few days before the graduation ceremony. We were going to talk to you after about AJ but…"

"Things got crazy," Harm nodded.

"To say the least," Harriet nodded. "Anyway, if you don't think it's something you can do, I understand. It's not like we're asking you to water the plants while we're visiting my parents or something. I already talked to the Major… if you can't or don't want to, she'll become his guardian. The Admiral is after her, and then my parents. But Bud and I really want you to be the one to raise our son if we can't."

"Why me?" Harm asked. He had to know. As honoured as he was, he had to know why he was first on the list to raise little AJ if Bud and Harriet couldn't be there for him.

"Because you have always been there for Bud, and for me. You always supported us, even when we were both being idiots, and you have always come through for us," Harriet said. "There's no way that Bid Bud is getting custody," she added and Harm cringed at the thought of what Bud's father could do to little AJ, "and I really don't want my son raised by my parents in that house that's more like a compound than anything else."

"But what about Mac?" Harm asked.

Harriet looked down at her hands and then looked back up at Harm. "I know this sounds awful, but the Major… she wasn't raised in a family environment. Even after you lost your father you had a strong family to support you, and you know what it's like to grow up with someone other than your father. The Major… doesn't have that family background. I know she will be an amazing mother and if she does end up raising AJ I'm positive that she will be just fine… but… I don't know." She rubbed her eyes and fought a yawn. "Bud and I just think that… that AJ will be better off with you."

"Did… how did you explain this to Mac?" Harm asked. He couldn't stand it if something like their friend's will came between them.

"We talked over lunch… she was a little hurt but she said she understood. She said it helped knowing that AJ would be with you," Harriet said.

He picked up the file and read it over with the eyes of a skilled lawyer. It basically said that if he either couldn't or wouldn't take AJ in if Bud and Harriet died or were otherwise incapable of raising their child, Mac would get him. And if Mac couldn't or wouldn't AJ would go to the Admiral, who had already signed off on the plan. There was money set aside for AJ's education and all assets would be diverted to aid in paying for anything that AJ would need. The agreement went on for several pages, outlining everything that Child Services required for a legal adoption as well as many other addendums that were put in to protect both Harm and AJ from the kinds of things that most people didn't even bother to think about until it was too late.

"I know this is a huge favour, and I can understand if you need time to think about it," Harriet went on, "but I just… after the call I got tonight… I want to make sure that everything is in order. Just in case."

Harm looked up at Harriet sharply. "What call?" he asked.

ROBERTS' RESIDENCE

ROSSYLN, VIRGINIA

0241 (EST)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

Harriet had just settled AJ down after his two-o'clock feeding when the phone rang.

Because she was racing to grab the handset before it woke the baby back up, Harriet didn't have time to worry about what a call at twenty to three in the morning could mean.

"Roberts residence," Harriet said, thankful that there were no sounds coming from the nursery other than AJ's soft snores and the soothing sounds of the little music box that the Admiral had brought back from Milan while he was visiting his daughter a few weeks earlier.

"Mrs Roberts, this is Dr. Lowry, the attending on duty at Bethesda Naval Hospital tonight," the male voice on the other end of the line said. "Ma'am, you might want to sit down," he said gently.

Harriet didn't think she could make it to a chair so she sank down the wall and sat on the floor in the hallway. Her fingers were wrapped around the phone so tightly that her knuckles were white and her whole body was shaking.

"What happened?" Harriet asked, her voice shaking much more than she would have liked. "Is my husband alright?"

"He's stable," Lowry said. "He had some internal bleeding that we didn't catch before. We did some scans and found a portion of a bullet that was missed in the initial surgery. It moved from where it was harmless and it damaged two arteries. It was caught early enough, though, and he is in recovery again."

"How did you miss this fragment?" Harriet asked, her fear turning to anger. Bethesda was supposed to be the best facility in the world.

"I honestly cannot tell you, ma'am. I have yet to speak with the surgeon who worked on your husband when he was first brought in," Lowry said. "I'll have more information for you in the morning."

ROBERTS RESIDENCE

ROSSYLN, VIRGINIA

0450 (EST)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

"That's it? That's all he told you?" Harm asked.

Harriet nodded. "Lowry said that Bud is back in recovery and that he will probably be there for a few days before he's moved back to the ICU. He still hasn't woken up and, with the second surgery…" she trailed off, unable to continue.

Harm moved over and pulled Harriet into his arms. She curled up against his chest and cried, and Harm held her, hoping that he was offering her at least a little comfort.

NORFOLK NAVAL BASE

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

0600 (EST)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

Everyone in the lab was exhausted and, for lack of a better word, grumpy, but, finally, after several hours of non-stop analysis that normally would have taken a small task force months, possibly even years, to tackle, they were successful in getting a complete list of what was extracted by the thieves.

After sending everyone to their quarters for some sleep Meg typed out the list before e-mailing it to Harm at the office. She figured that what they had could wait until he got to work in a few hours. From what she could put together in her sleep-deprived brain the thieves were trying to build a weapon with the parts that didn't have scanning codes. Scanning codes were randomly interspersed in ninety percent of complex weaponry and it hadn't even occurred to her until a Petty Officer with an eagle eye and a mind that, apparently, worked amazingly well on no sleep and long hours, pointed it out to her. Meg had made a note of his name and was going to give his CO a very favourable review.

The only good thing about the thieves only taking the non-scanned parts was that it would take a lot of time and a huge trail for them to get what they needed for the end result.

She finished typing out the list and printed a copy for the investigation file. Figuring she could be on the road back to DC in about half an hour, assuming Brumby was as ready to go as he had been five hours ago, Meg started wrapping things up.

What she didn't count on, however, was the man with dark hair, an expensive suit, and an attitude that screamed 'spoiled child' walking up to her and tossing a file onto the keyboard that her fingers were flying over.

"Lieutenant Commander Austin," he said. It wasn't a question.

Since nothing about him made her think military, let along senior officer, Meg moved the file off to the side and finished off the e-mail. She clicked SEND and shut everything down before responding. "Do I know you?" she asked, rising and looking the man in the eye.

"Clayton Webb, Department of State," he said, extending his hand to her.

"Ah, the infamous Webb," Meg nodded, not taking the proffered hand. "In case you hadn't noticed, this is a secure facility and, unless I'm very much mistaken, I'm not the CIA's lapdog, so you can forget whatever mission you just tossed my way."

"I'm not here to get anything, Meg."

"Commander Austin," Meg corrected firmly.

"Commander Austin," Clay acquiesced. "I'm here to give you a list of names."

Biting back several sarcastic comments, Meg picked up the file. "Names?" she asked, not wanting to crack the file lest she find out that as soon as she read what was inside she was trapped into executing some CIA mission like Harm and Mac had been so many times in the past.

"Of the people responsible for the attack on the Academy," Clay said. "The man the FBI has in custody is Pete Marino. He's wanted on eighteen anti-military acts on four different continents. The two DOA's are Angelo Carletti and Ryner Oates. The rest are known associates, potential whereabouts, crimes that have been attributed to them, and any dirt I could find that could help put them away. You might find a familiar name on there. A Lieutenant Taylor Oswell, USN."

"The weapons expert here on base," Meg said softly. It was all coming together, and she really didn't like where she saw this going.

Looking up at the CIA agent, her clear blue eyes sharp and unblinking. "Why?"

"Why am I helping? Because, despite his bumbling nature, Roberts is a good man and his wife and kid deserve to know who did this to him," Webb said. "If you need anything else, you know how to contact me."

"Sorry, I lost my keys to the Bat Signal," Meg said sarcastically. Clay sighed and pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Meg who glanced at it before tucking it into her own pocket without a thought.

Then, without another word, Clay left as silently as he had arrived.

Pulling out her phone Meg dialled Brumby's cell number. The Aussie answered almost immediately, as if he were waiting for a call. "Brumby."

"It's me," Meg said. "You ready to head back to DC?"

ROBERTS RESIDENCE

ROSSYLN, VIRGINIA

0515 (EST)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

Harriet had cried herself to sleep in Harm's arms. Harm had carried her up to her room and tucked her in, taking the baby monitor with him so that she could get a few hours of, hopefully, uninterrupted sleep even if AJ woke up again.

He was just going to go into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee when he heard a key turning in the front door. He tensed up, wishing he knew where Bud kept his service weapon. "Harm?" Mac's voice called softly. Harm relaxed and went to the front entryway.

"Shh. Harriet just fell asleep and I don't know how long AJ'll be out before he gets hungry again," Harm said softly.

"Where's Mikey?" Mac asked as she toed off her shoes and nudged them into a corner.

"He decided to stay at a hotel for the night to give Harriet some time with little AJ," Harm said as they went into the kitchen. He started the coffee and then, once Mac was sitting down, he told her about Bud's second surgery.

Fat crystalline tears slid down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away with a paper napkin.

"We have to find out why this happened, Harm," Mac said.

"I promise you that we will," Harm pledged.

Mac was comforted by that. Harm never made a promise he couldn't keep.

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

1400 (EST)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

Even though they weren't expected back at the office until the next morning, neither Meg nor Brumby felt much like taking the day off, especially when the information that they had was potentially volatile and needed to be given to the proper people before it was discovered that they knew what Clay had told Meg.

"Tiner, where is Commander Rabb?" Meg asked the Petty Officer who was bent over the copy machine.

"Conference Room B," Tiner said. "The new lawyers arrived about half an hour ago, ma'am, and the Commander and the Major have been with them ever since."

Brumby looked at his watch and then over at Meg. "Think the Feds'll still be in the office?"

"It's highly likely," Meg said with a roll of her baby blue eyes. "Call the SAC and get someone over here to pick up the files Webb gave me," she said to Brumby. Normally she would have never thought to give a superior officer an order, but she was in charge of the Annapolis investigation and that put her in charge of Brumby for the time being. "Thank you, Tiner," she added, heading toward Conference Room B.

Pausing momentarily outside the door to take a calming breath, Meg pushed her way into the conference room where Harm and Mac were sorting through cases with two lawyers, one Navy and one Marine.

"Meg," Mac said, surprised. "I thought you would be in Norfolk for at least another day."

"So did I," Meg admitted as she reached into her leather briefcase. "But the list was compiled faster than expected and… there's been a few revelations that I think the FBI agents and the Admiral should be let in on."

Harm's eyes met Meg's for a long moment, silently asking her if she was alright. She nodded almost imperceptibly and Harm felt some of the tension that had been building up since her first call several hours ago dissipate. "Lieutenant Commander Austin, these are our latest additions to the office. Commander Stiles, Major Carter, this is Commander Austin."

Greetings were exchanged and then Harm said, "I think you two have enough to deal with at the moment. Go get settled and make sure Petty Officer Tiner receives your paperwork before you leave for the day."

"Aye, aye, sir," Stiles said as he and Carter stood at attention. They gathered up the files they had been given and left the room without another word.

"Revelations?" Mac prodded.

"Clayton Webb came to see me as I was typing up the list of stolen parts," Meg said. "He gave me this," she said as she slid the file down the table to Harm and Mac.

"How the hell did Webb get involved?" Mac asked as she opened the file and scanned the top page.

"I don't know, ma'am, but if what is in that file is factual the FBI might be able to use that against the shooter," Meg said. "Commander Brumby is calling the Special Agent in Charge now. Hopefully the intel that Mr. Webb gave me is accurate and will help them with their interrogation of Pete Marino, the man you shot out of the tree, Mac."

Mac looked from the file then to Meg. "How did Webb act when he gave this to you?"

"Nervous," Meg said. "Maybe a little guilty. And cocky."

"Cocky doesn't tell us anything. That's just Webb being Webb," Harm said as he lifted the top page of the file to look at the following sheet. "These names sound familiar," he said softly.

Then the realization hit him.

"I've gotta call the Admiral," Harm said, grabbing the file and rushing from the room, leaving two very confused women in his wake.