Harm guided Mac out of the elevator with a hand at the small of her back. His partner was just barely more alert than a zombie, grief, hunger, and exhaustion coming together to take all the fight out of Sarah MacKenzie. She had dozed for a few minutes in the car and Harm could tell she was seriously in need of a cappuccino, preferably in a nice warm bed, as she had once said to him. He hoped she would settle for a chair and stale coffee laden with sugar from the break room.

Sturgis and Carolyn had already arrived and were in the Admiral's office. Jennifer Coates was searching through a filing cabinet and fighting a yawn as she told them to go right in. Harm and Mac stood at attention when they came in the room and the Admiral shot them a harsh glare. "There is no need to stand on ceremony tonight," he said before indicating for them to sit down in the two remaining leather club chairs.

"Have you been able to reach Meg?" Harm asked as he poured himself and Mac coffee from the tray on the sideboard. The Admiral always had good, strong coffee, courtesy of Petty Officer Jennifer Coates.

"She'll be landing at Dulles at 0545. Harm, you can pick her up and bring her here, right?" Chegwidden asked. Harm nodded. "I also called the SecNav and he's going to send over papers in the morning to make this all official, including her permanent transfer to this office." Harm nodded again. He was incredibly relieved that someone he trusted implicitly would be running the investigation. He was also looking forward to seeing his old friend again and working with her once more. "There isn't much we can do tonight, I'm afraid. Until all this is settled I don't want any of you to go anywhere alone, understood?"

A four-part harmony of 'yes sir' was the Admiral's response.

"Harm, get a continuance in the Miles case and try to get that bastard locked up in solitary until we've sorted through this mess," Chegwidden said. Harm nodded. He had had a feeling that would be his task for the morning. "Sturgis, I need you to take over all of Bud's cases. Get continuances where you can and use sources other than Bud wherever possible. I don't want him to have to worry about anything other than his family right now," the SEAL continued. Sturgis nodded solemnly. "Carolyn, Mac, I need you two to make sure that everything that could possibly be pertinent to Harriet's death is ready for Meg when she gets here." They nodded in response, both glad they wouldn't have to wade through the paperwork alone. "Now, I know this may be impossible, but I want you all to go home and get some sleep. Tell Coates to do the same."

The four lawyers stood up and frowned as the Admiral sat down at his desk. "Aren't you going to go home, sir?" Mac asked, worried about their friend more than their CO. Two-star Admiral Chegwidden, Navy SEAL, JAG, could deal with whatever life threw at him. But AJ Chegwidden was every bit as human as the rest of the world, and Mac knew that he took losses like this very personally. After Laura Delaney had been killed outside his McLean home she had actually become afraid that he might do something permanent after getting revenge on Osborne.

"Sleep is not on the top of my priority list, Colonel," he replied distantly. When he realized no one had moved, he looked up and said, "I thought I told you four to get some rest."

"Yes, you did, sir," Mac said. "And your advice has never led any of us astray. So you might want to consider taking your own advice."

The look she got in response told her all she needed to know.

He wasn't going anywhere until they found Harriet's murderer.

This had become one of his obsessions.

If the son of a bitch hadn't just killed one of her best friends, Mac might have felt sorry for the person who was the target of Admiral AJ Chegwidden's ire.

Without another word the lawyers filed out. Jennifer Coates was sitting at her desk, clearly exhausted and grief-stricken. "Jen, do you want a ride home? The Admiral ordered us all to get some rest," Harm said.

"That would be nice, sir," Coates said. She was dead on her feet.

"Carolyn, Sturgis, you two headed home?" Mac asked.

"Not eagerly," Sturgis said.

"I don't think I'll get any sleep," Carolyn put in.

Mac looked at Harm who shrugged. "I think we all need to stick together tonight. Slumber party at Harm's?" Mac said. She would have offered up her place but she didn't keep any alcohol on hand and wasn't sure how well stocked her fridge was. Food and drinks were definitely required for the next few hours.

"You good with that plan?" Sturgis asked Harm.

"Completely," Harm said. "Jen, you in? The only stipulation is that there are no ranks, sir's, or ma'am's."

"Sure," the petty officer said, not used to being invited to hang out with the Commanders and the Colonel. When the whole JAG gang went to McMurphy's she went, and enjoyed spending time with the people she worked with without the constraints of their uniforms, but she wasn't used to the almost intimate, though thoroughly nonsexual, atmosphere that this 'slumber party' implied.

While the officers collected their covers, coats, and briefcases, Jennifer knocked tentatively on the Admiral's door.

"I thought I told you all to go home," he snapped as he pulled the door open.

"You did, sir. I just wanted to see if you needed anything before I left," Coates said.

"I'm fine, Coates," Chegwidden said apologetically. He really liked the girl and she didn't deserve to take the brunt of his anger, though she did without complaint.

"Alright, sir. I'll see you in the morning… later in the morning," Coates said awkwardly. Chegwidden nodded.

Harm came back first and looked at the Admiral. "We're all going to my place… none of us really want to be alone right now," he said. "You're welcome to join us."

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll just stay here," AJ said, touched that the officers under his command cared so much about him. Being the boss rarely allowed him the opportunity to actively be a part of the JAG family, and when he got the chance he truly treasured the time.

"Alright," Harm said. He obviously hadn't expected the Admiral to accept his offer. "The offer stands, though," he said before leaving to join the others by the elevators.

They all headed down to the parking garage and split up, Harm and Coates in his car, Mac in her own, and Carolyn and Sturgis in their respective vehicles. The plan was for all of them to go home, pick up the clothes they would need for the morning, and then meet at Harm's. Since Mac kept a couple of uniforms at Harm's, as he did at her apartment, Mac had volunteered to pick up some food on her way.

Harm didn't like how they were all splitting up, if only for a little while, but everyone assured him that they would be extremely careful and that they would call if there was even the slightest sign of trouble.

Within an hour everyone was at Harm's and there hadn't been any incidents. There was a collective sigh of relief as they all sat down in the living room together, dressed in civvies, food cooking in the kitchen and drinks chilling in the fridge.

"This is really a beautiful apartment," Carolyn said, glancing around.

"Thanks," Harm said. "I did most of the work myself. It's… kinda a work in progress, though."

"How long have you lived here?" Coates asked, biting her tongue to stave off the 'sir' that was begging to come out.

"About six years," Harm said. "Mac still thinks I'm crazy," he added.

"The first time I was ever here was thirty-two minutes and forty-eight seconds after we met, Harm, and the place looked like a war zone, only without the fun," Mac said. "You didn't even have your fridge plugged in. You just stuck a cooler inside it and buried your beer in bags of ice."

Harm rolled his eyes and Sturgis laughed. It was such a Harm thing to do—save space by keeping the cooler inside the fridge while foregoing the pleasures of electricity to do other things around the apartment.

"You only knew each other for half an hour before he got you into his apartment?" Carolyn asked Mac, her eyebrow arched and her voice laced with innuendo.

It was Mac's turn to roll her eyes. "We met and were sent on an investigation right away. I had my bag packed, but Flyboy here needed to make sure he had his Cubans with him."

"My cigars were the last thing on my mind," Harm protested.

"Yeah. Right," Mac scoffed. It felt wrong to be smiling, but they all knew that Harriet, one of the happiest people they knew, wouldn't want them to be depressed. "You packed more cigars than you did clothes, Harm."

"I wasn't expecting to have to go undercover in civvies, Mac. You could have filled me in on what we were walking into before we left DC," Harm replied.

"What were you investigating?" Sturgis asked. He had been told the story of how they met in the Rose Garden after Harm was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross, but he hadn't been told anything about their first case together.

Harm and Mac shared a look and then Mac sighed and nodded to Harm to take over the narration. "The Declaration of Independence was being transported to have some restoration work done and a Marine Colonel named Matt O'Hara and his… followers, I guess you could call them… stole it to point out some serious issues within the government."

"Which could have been dealt with in another way, but my uncle never was one to go for the subtle approach," Mac put in.

"Uncle?" Carolyn asked, intrigued. She had always preferred hearing about the romantic way they met instead of hearing about the cases they investigated. Even though she had a crush on the aviator, Carolyn knew that his heart belonged to Mac and that she would be burned at the stake if she ever made a move on the hunky Commander Rabb.

"My mother's older brother," Mac nodded.

"Once we ditched Clay and his CIA friends Mac and I went to Red Rock Mesa where Matt was holed up," Harm said.

"And I took Harm hostage," Mac grinned. She still couldn't believe that Harm had trusted her after she pulled a gun on him.

"Way to build trust, Marine," Sturgis teased. Mac threw a pillow at him.

Harm and Mac relayed the rest of the adventure, slipping in comments about certain things and teasing each other good-naturedly. After the tale was told Harm went to check on the late dinner he had made for everyone and Mac started quizzing Sturgis about some of Harm's embarrassing stories from the Academy. A story including Bill the goat urged Mac to tell the tale of the poor mascot's demise and subsequent exhumation and replacement, a tale that had Sturgis laughing so hard he was almost in tears.

"Anyone want anything to drink?" Harm asked as he handed Mac a plate with a large steak on it. In deference to his partner's carnivorous eating habits he had started stocking meat in his freezer so he would be prepared for their dinner-and-work sessions that usually lasted until the early hours of the morning.

"Beer," Sturgis said.

"Beer's good," Carolyn said.

Harm looked at Jennifer who was looking down at her hands. "You're allowed to drink, Jen," he said warmly. "As long as you don't show up at work hung over I doubt the Admiral will ever even find out."

Jennifer smiled softly and requested a beer as well. Harm looked at Mac who asked for a soda before digging into her steak. Nothing could curb the appetite of his beloved Marine.

Coming back to the living room with three beers and two sodas—when Mac was around Harm made a point of not imbibing, partially because he felt it was a little rude, partially to support her continued sobriety, and partially because he needed all his mental faculties fully intact to keep up with the kick-ass Jarhead he knew and loved—Harm picked at his salad, not feeling all that hungry but knowing he needed to eat something since he hadn't had anything since the half a stale doughnut he had munched on while driving to work early that morning. The other three had declined dinner, preferring to stick to drowning their sorrows in the comfort food of chocolate and chips that Mac had supplied.

A little before five Harm went to take a shower and get dressed, careful not to wake Jennifer who had fallen asleep not long after finishing her beer or Sturgis who had taken to snoring a few minutes after Jennifer. Carolyn had found a book that interested her and had curled up by a window to read, and Mac had taken Harm's bed where she had slid under the covers and surrounded herself in Harm's exquisitely masculine scent and had drifted into dreamland a little after four. Harm finished his shower, shaving while bathing to save some time, and after he got dressed he went to the kitchen to see if he had anything he could bring with him for a semblance of a breakfast. Settling on fruit, Harm grabbed a couple of apples before he said a quick goodbye to Carolyn and made sure that the alarm was set so that the exhausted group didn't sleep in, and he left his loft to head to the airport.

Meg's flight landed on time and she got off almost immediately. Harm once again thanked his genes for allowing him to be so tall and he saw his ex-partner's blonde head and soft smile right away.

Stopping a few feet in front of him, Meg stood at attention and saluted. Harm rolled his eyes and saluted back before pulling Meg into a tight embrace. She returned the hug immediately, holding him for a while longer than was generally deemed proper.

"How're you holding up?" Meg asked as Harm took her garment bag from her. One of his gentlemanly habits that had annoyed her back when they were partners until she realized he wasn't trying to be the big strong manly man but was really just being chivalrous.

"I think I'm still in denial about it all," Harm admitted. "I mean, I've known Harriet for years. I was there when she and Bud met, I saw their first kiss, I was there while they dated, I was Bud's best man at their wedding… I was a little too involved for comfort when little AJ was born… and now she's just gone."

Meg rubbed his back comfortingly. "What about Bud? How's he doing? And their son… I can't remember his name…"

"AJ, more commonly called 'little AJ' so that people don't confuse him and the Admiral," Harm said. Meg nodded and Harm sighed heavily. "They're both heartbroken. Mac and I left Bud at Harriet's parent's last night with little AJ," Harm said. "God, I can't imagine how he's going to deal without his mom," he said softly.

"I'm not saying that it's a great way to grow up, but you and I both did pretty okay with only one parent," Meg pointed out as they approached his car. She was glad he had decided against getting another 'Vette after his had been stolen. She had never liked that car. "I'm sure Bud will make sure his son has a good life."

Harm nodded. He knew Bud would do anything for little AJ. He also knew that AJ would always have his godfather and godmother if his father wasn't enough support. "I… don't really want to talk about this, if that's aright, Meg," Harm said as he closed the back of the car where he'd set Meg's belongings down.

"Okay," Meg said. She caught Harm by the arm before he could go around to the driver's side of the SUV. "Just, when you are ready to talk? I'm here. Any time; day or night."

"I know," Harm said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head and hugging her briefly before moving once again to get in the car. Mac, Meg, the Admiral, Bud, his mother, and his Grandma Sarah were the only people that Harm knew he could always count on, no matter what. They had never let him down, and he knew they never would.

Meg waited until Harm had gotten them out of the horror known as Dulles airport's parking 'arena' before she spoke again. "This might be totally inappropriate, and if it is, just tell me, okay?"

"What?" Harm asked, immediately concerned. Not much made Meg Austin uncomfortable. Other than their first case together when they were in a submarine the only time he had really seen her act nervously was when she was trying to figure out the code to disarm a bomb while he drove up a mountain road and Kate Pike argued with her about what the correct code for the forms for visiting officers was.

"I just… I know these aren't the best of circumstances, but it's really good to see you again, Harm," Meg said with a shy smile.

Harm smiled back, a full-fledged Flyboy smile. "It's really good to see you, too, Meg," he replied honestly. "Circumstances notwithstanding."


I can't seem to write a JAG story without bringing Meg back. I really tried this time, but then I realized that even cops aren't allowed to investigate the death of someone from their squad without at least one impartial person to lead the investigation, and, since I felt the JAG family would want someone they trusted to head up the investigation, I immediately thought of Meg.

I'm planning on exploring the Harm-Mac relationship in what I feel is a different way than is normally used in fanfiction. There will be some very OOC moments, not just for the heros, but also for other members of the mismatched family, and several serious topics will be touched on and explored more indepthly before this tale is told.

If you have any comments, please feel free to reply, but I also love getting e-mails from readers. It's a more open way of communicating thoughts about stories or whatever, and I really want to know what my readers think of my work.

my e-mail address you.

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