San Antonio International Airport

0400 hours

San Antonio, Texas

Mac was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. After calling Commander Austin back but getting a machine herself, Mac had been called to the Admiral's office for a meeting with Chegwidden and Sturgis about some cases they were working on. That kept her occupied for most of the rest of the day. Then, just before she left for the day, Admiral Chegwidden had told her that she was being assigned to go help Commander Austin in Texas. He also said that if the case ran longer than Friday he would make sure that Harm changed his flight plan to meet up with her in San Antonio.

So she headed for the airport, her bag already in the trunk of her car—good Marines were always ready to leave at a moment's notice—and she got on a plane.

A haggard looking blonde woman in a Navy uniform was waiting for Mac, offering up a weak smile before greeting the Colonel. "I'm Commander Meg Austin. It's an honour to meet you, ma'am."

"Sarah MacKenzie. Call me Mac," was Mac's reply. "So, you're the Lieutenant Austin I've heard so much about."

"Pardon me, ma'am?" the native Texan asked politely as they headed out to Meg's care.

"From Harm. I was brought in as your replacement at JAG after you left," Mac said.

Meg's face lit up in a brilliant smile. "I have to confess, when I called the Admiral I was hoping he would tell me to talk to Harm," she said. "I mean, because we've worked together before," the younger woman back-pedalled quickly.

"I'm not here to question your motives, Commander. And I'm also not here to make assumptions. But please don't make it impossible for me not to," Mac said as she stopped beside a fleet sedan. "Whatever went on between you and Harm doesn't concern me, and has no bearing on what is going on right now. So, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to try to get some sleep before starting on this case."

Meg unlocked the door and took Mac's bag to put it in the trunk, then went around to the driver's side and slid in carefully. "I realize it's none of my business, ma'am, and I'm sure you get this all the time—Lord knows I did, and I was only his partner for a year—but is there anything going on with you and Harm?" Meg asked.

"We're friends and colleagues. That's all," Mac said. Then, reluctantly, she asked a question that had been burning at her for years. "What about you? Were you and Harm ever… more than partners?"

"God no. Gorgeous as he is, Harm is not my type," Meg said with a smile.

Mac smiled in return. She had always worried that Harm and his former partner had been more than just co-workers. The way he talked about Meg Austin was the same way he talked about his father or about flying. With respect and reverence and a great deal of love, like one spoke of the one that got away.

It wasn't easy for Mac to admit that she was jealous. Renee and Jordan were two women that had gotten under her skin enough for Mac to admit to jealousy. Not aloud, of course, but at least to herself. But there was something about Meg Austin that was different. There was something almost sacred about Meg and Harm's relationship.

Mac wasn't under any delusions about her place in Harm's life. She knew he loved her as a friend—his best friend—and the connection they had forged over the years was unbreakable, no matter what life threw at them. Their relationship was solid.

That said, everyone has insecurities. Mac's was her feminity, or, rather, the lack thereof. She was a lean, mean, fighting Marine and damn proud of it, but under the wool uniforms and tough as nails exterior she was still a woman who hadn't had the easiest life and wanted to be loved and cared for. And, while Meg had multiple commendations and had been in the military for almost as long as Mac, Meg still had a sweet guilelessness about her. With her pale skin that was dusted with freckles and her wide and innocent eyes Meg was a paradox; a little girl dressing up in a Navy uniform and doing a good job of acting the part while still keeping her innate innocence. Meg looked like the type of woman who wouldn't put up a fight if some man decided to play knight in shining armour—or inshining gold wings. Mac, on the other hand, was trained from birth, almost, that the only person she could rely on was herself. Harm had been able to open her up a little, but there were still very few people who she trusted, and there was no one she trusted more than Harmon Rabb.

Meg's voice grew wistful. "I do miss him, though."

"You haven't stayed in touch?" Mac inquired innocently.

Meg shrugged her slim shoulders. "Phone calls for birthdays, Christmas cards… a few e-mails. Your basic stay-in-touch pact. We're both busy with work and everything, but we try to stay up to date in each other's lives."

"That's nice," Mac said, jealousy threatening to overtake her.

Meg observed the straight-laced Marine out of the corner of her eye. Underneath the uniform and the tough-chick façade Meg could tell that Sarah MacKenzie was in love with Harmon Rabb. It was obvious that they weren't together, but from the way Harm talked about his partner when they had spoken anytime in the past eight years or so, Harm loved Mac with everything he had.

Not usually one to play matchmaker, Meg decided that she might be able to help get her friend and his partner together.

Her mind immediately concocted a plan and she put it into action immediately.

"Harm and I have actually been talking a lot lately," Meg said.

"Really?" Mac asked, feigning interest in hopes of masking her irrational urge to scream.

Meg nodded. "Yeah. He's been so great. He's even promised to come here to be with me… when it happens. You know, to help me get things settled and organized. I doubt I'll be up to much, anyway."

Mac frowned. She was more confused and intrigued than ever before.

"He even offered to come stay with us for a little while, before… but no one knows how long it will be before… and there's no sense in him taking time off work to wait for something to happen," Meg continued, noting Mac's frown and furrowed brow but pretending she didn't have a clue. "He's not so great at civil law, truth be told, but he's put a lot of time and energy into ensuring that after my mother dies my brothers and I won't have to worry about anything."

"Your mother is dying?" Mac asked softly. She suddenly felt like crap for having the feelings towards the other woman that she had.

Meg nodded. "Slowly and painfully. Leukemia. She was diagnosed ten years ago. That's why I left JAG, originally. To help her out. She went into remission but the cancer came back about a year ago and she refused to take the time for treatment. Running the ranch is time consuming and it's all she has. She hasn't been able to get out of bed for almost a week, though. That's part of why I called Admiral Chegwidden for help. With my mother bedridden and the ranch to take care of I've been having a tough time keeping up with some of my investigations."

"What do you do when your investigations take you away from the ranch?" Mac asked.

"My CO hasn't put me on any that have required travel. He's an old friend of my family and doesn't seem to have a problem making the schedules of people under his command flexible," Meg said. She turned off the highway onto a gravel road. "I hope you don't mind staying at the ranch. The majority of base housing is being renoed and it's too late to find a hotel."

"It's fine," Mac said.

"Only a few rooms have air conditioning… you could have mine if you're uncomfortable in this heat," Meg said.

"I'll be fine anywhere. I spent most of my life in Arizona. Heat is not an issue for me," Mac assured the other woman as they pulled up to a large ranch. There was a simple house sitting next to numerous stables. Some basic equipment could be seen from the parking space. The smell of fresh cut hay filled the air as Mac got out of the car.

Mac grabbed her bag from the trunk and brought it inside, following Meg who made a beeline for the kitchen.

"So tell me about the investigation so far," Mac said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

Meg headed for the fridge. "Two Naval officers were on their way home after their TOD ended. They were driving past a school and they hit an eight year old boy who was on his way home from baseball practise," Meg said. "Do you want anything?" she added, holding up two bottles of beer.

Mac had no desire to take Meg up on her alcoholic offer. "No thanks, I'm fine," Mac said. She didn't see any reason to reveal her alcoholism to the blonde. Meg put one bottle back in the fridge and then opened the other for herself. "So the boy was alone?" Mac asked.

"His parents were with him. He was running ahead of them. Wanted to get home in time for some TV show."

"What's the boy's condition?" Mac inquired.

"Multiple fractures, ruptured spleen, a punctured lung. He made it through surgery without any complications, but he hasn't woken up yet," Meg said softly, picking at the label on her bottle. "The doctors aren't holding out much hope," she added sadly.

"What did the drivers do?"

"After they hit the boy they sped away. The parents got the licence plate and saw the uniforms. The car was tracked down and was taken to the base lab. We're just waiting for the analysis on the trace to come back. It should be ready for us to pick up around noon."

"Have you interviewed Lieutenant Lleavaier and Lieutenant Commander Miller?"

"Briefly," Meg nodded before taking a draw from her bottle. "Neither one of them is being that forthcoming."

"I've never met anyone who was in their situation," Mac said coolly. Meg half nodded in response. "Alright. I'd like to talk to them tomorrow. The parents of the boy, as well, if possible."

Meg nodded. "As soon as Admiral Chegwidden called to tell me that you were on your way I made appointments with Lleavaier and Miller for 0800, and Jonathon and Brenda Wade will be at the hospital with their son all day tomorrow. I figured we could talk to Lleavaier and Miller, pick up the results from the lab, and then head over to the hospital."

"Sounds like a plan," Mac nodded.

Most updates won't be this short, I promise. The next chapter will be longer, and, if things go according to my mental plan, Harm should be joining Meg and Mac in Texas in the next update.

Any suggestions for theboy's first name would be greatly appreciated. I hate coming up with names for people. Probably why I stopped writing original fics and moved to the world of fanfiction.

M