Title: ready or not
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. JAG belongs to CBS and DPB and Paramount too.
Rating: T just to be safe.
A/N: Everything happened till „Goodbyes", but in my universe Harm never went back to JAG and now 2 years later he returns. Look at what happens. Please read and review, tell me what you think.
A/N2: I´m really sorry for the delay, it was hard to find some time to write between work and school, but I finally found some so here is the third chapter, enjoy and review :o)
Big thanks to my beta Nix707.
MARINE COMMAND BUNKER DESERT NEAR KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
Unlike that morning, the camp was bustling with energy, everyone was doing something and all you could see was dust. Mac called over the radio what happened, well, sort of. She told them that she got injured people so the field doctor was ready, ready as he could be. It was an eternity until the trucks appeared at the horizont. Mac was in full marine mode sitting next to Sean, holding a pice of cloth to the bullet wound, every now and then glancing at the dog in the backseat. Sean was really in bad shape, but the one bleeding all over the place was Butch. When the vehicles stopped everyone got out. The medics loaded Sean on a stretcher and carried him away. Soon everyone was looked at including Mac.
She glanced at the medic who was trying to clean the cut on her head but she refused to hold stil. Instead she took the dog from the back seat in her arms and carried him back to the medic.
„I don´t need any help, but he does." The medic was evidently scared and didn´t know what to do.
„He is bleeding all over me, take him to the sick bay."
„Ma´am, but I … it´s a dog Ma´am."
„Oh really, I didn´t notice" Mac was irritated. She decided she can get him there faster on her own anyway. When she entered the room, she looked around. The doctor worked on Sean who laid on a table. There was one another in the corner of the room. She laid the dog there and said.
„Anyone here who does not have anything to do?". Some medic came to her thinking that she needs medical attention.
„Ma´am?" She pointed at the dog.
„Take care of him".
„I am sorry ma´am, but you can´t take the dog in here".
„You don´t know how to do it or what!"
„Ugh I…I think you should." The poor guy didn´t know what to do.
„Take care of him, they do teach you that on dogs in school don´t they!"
„Well yes ma´am, but." Mac was desperate, so she took her gun from the pocket and pointed it at the medic. She pointed it directly at his head and said:
„That´s an order." He hesistated only for a second and then did as been told.
Mac sat down in one chair outside the sick bay. Her hair was tousled, her clothes were completely soaked in blood. Mac looked down at therself. Only now did she realize what she'd done. She pointed a gun at an enlisted person in sick bay. She is going to be court-martialed, how great, maybe Harm would come to her rescue. She had to smile at that. Mac hid her face in her hands. She fought with herself as not to fall apart right there in front of her friends, teammates, in front of the General. She couldn't do that. What a mess she was in. She tried to smooth her hair down and then tuck it behind her ears.
„Hi." The general took a seat next to Mac. She glanced up at him then, about to ask what he wanted, and saw the frown on his face.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Fine, sir" she replied curtly.
"You sure? You don´t look too good to me at all."
"It's nothing. Really, I´m fine." She glanced down at her hands and then back at the general.
„There is going to be an investigation, I thought you should know it".
„The Jag´s are comming?"
„Yes, I called the Secnav right after you came in". Mac sighed softly and tucked a few strands of her loose hair back behind her ear. She stared at the closed door of the sick bay for a moment, then stood up and quietly left the building.
JAG Headquarters, Fallschurch, VA
Folders, memos, computer disks, another case files...
Harmon Rabb rummaged through the mess which Admiral had left on his usually neatly organized desk. Only five minutes ago he'd known where his tuna sandwich was. That was until his boss had seemingly dumped the entire contents of his desk on top of his. How nice of him. Reaching under a stack of bound paper, his fingers came into contact with a clingy wrap. Pulling the wrapped object out from under the paper, Harm held it up in front of his in dismay.
"So much for lunch," He said sadly as he gazed down at the sandwich which was now half the thickness it had once been.
"Good morning Sir." Bud said as he walked into Commanders Rabb's office.
"Morning Bud." Harm grumbled to him.
"Here is that file you asked me about." Bud said handing Harm a case file.
Suddenly Admiral Chegwidden stalked from the elevator, past the bullpen into his office and was gone. It all happened in a few seconds. Lt Roberts looked at the commander and asked
"Sir, do you know what's wrong with the Admiral?" The both continued to watch the closed doors of his office.
"I don't know, Bud. But " He gestured to the Admiral's departure. "I'd make a guess that it isn't good."
"No, probably not." They went back to work, but htey didn´t work for long.
"Excuse me Sir's but the Admiral is asking for the both of you in his office ASAP." Tiner said as he walked into Rabb's office.
"Thank you Tiner. We'll be there shortly." Harm said standing up.
"We should see what the Admiral needs from us."
"Yes Sir." Bud said as they both left the office and went to the Admirals office.
Tiner saw them coming and said, "He's expecting you."
"Thank you Tiner." Harm said to him.
They walked into the Admirals office and came to stand at attention. The Admiral glanced at them from some papers he was curently reading and after a while closed the folder and sighed. He gestured for them to sit down.
„Okay I have a new case for you. You have approximately two hours to pack and give all your cases to Lt.Cdr. Watson. There's been an incident on the Marine command bunker near Kabul. I want you to go down there and investigate."
„Is it the base the Colonel is stationed, Sir?" Bud was obviously concerned about her so he had to ask.
At the Admiral´s nod, Harm got a little bit more attentive.
„Sir? Do we know what happened?" The Admiral once again looked through the folder in his hand and then tossed it to the Commander.
„It was a normal assigment, should have been an easy mission. One team had to find some terrorists and capture them, but before the team actually got to do anything, another team from the same bunker attacked them. So far no one knows what the other team was doing there".
„Were there injuries?"
„Yes, I´m afraid so. One marine was seriously injured and he is not out of the woods yet. Anything else? Well then, dissmised".
„Aye Aye sir". And so they left the office.
JAG HQ, FALLSCHURCH VA
„You ready to go Bud? We have only one hour and twenty minutes to get to Andrews." Harm happily anounced to Bud, nervously waiting in front of Bud´s office.
„I´m ready sir, we can go".
On the ride to Andrews, Bud finally asked the question about what he wanted to know.
„Permission to speak freely sir?". Harm glanced at him from the wheel.
„Sure Bud." Bud nervously shifted in the passenger seat and asked.
„You are really happy that you would see the Colonel, are you?"
„Yes Bud, I am happy. I didn´t see her in ages, she is stil my best friend after all." Well, that was not exactly what Bud wanted to hear, but once a lawyer, always a lawyer.
Harm would not admit it out loud, but he was excited to be in Afghanistan. He stood for a moment and absorbed the atmosphere. All that mattered to him right now was that he would finally see Mac, talk to her. He'd find her soon, but in the mean time he needed to report in. It didn´t even occur to him, that she could possibly be in trouble.
GENERAL BLAKE´S OFFICE, AFGHANISTAN
"Commander Harmon Rabb and Lieutenant Bud Roberts reporting in, Sir!"
"At ease." The General ordered. He was eying them closely. After a while he spoke to them.
„Please take a seat. I assume that you have been briefed about the situation we have here." He gave each of them some folders.
„These are the reports from the personal including Colonel Mackenzie and Murray. But before you start your investigation, have you all been quartered yet?"
„No sir!"
„Chief!" General hollered at one of the men outside his office. When he appeared, the general gave him his orders.
„Chief, find them some quarters."
„Aye sir!" and he left.
„Try not to lose him, I wouldn´t want you to get missing around here. Dismissed!"
„Yes sir!"
MARINE COMMAND BUNKER DESERT NEAR KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
Mac spent the entire day at the infirmary, watching over Sean, who was asleep the whole time, every now and then going to look at Butch. It didn´t look too good for any of them. Sean was unconscious, the machines around him steadily beeping,an IV tube attached to him. He looked so pale and fragile. His skin was almost as white as the sheets he was tucked in. Butch on the other hand was fully awake, heavily bandaged, laying on some old blanket on the ground and looking around, watching Mac and her every move. Mac blamed herself for what happened. She didn´t care about Murray at all. It seemed not real to her until she saw the hello landing and Harm getting out of it. She wanted to kept herself hidden as long as she could. She didn´t want to deal with Harm just yet and the infirmary was tbe best place to be in and maybe not. It will be the first place he would go. She sat on a very uncomfortable chair next to Sean´s bed, facing the door and quietly waiting for them to open.
They did open about a hour later, revealing only the corpsman. He checked Sean´s vitals, scribed something into a file and left. Mac wondered whether she should go to see them rather than wait here, but she didn´t got the time to think it over, because the doors opened again and there he was…
TBC
Thanks to all who reviewed, I try to respond to them with the next chapter, because I wanted to post this one ASAP. But I had to respond to one:
Abigail – that´s not true! My dog eats chocolate all the time and nothing happened to him and he is not even fat or anything! Lol.