Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended by this series, which is being done solely for recreational purposes. JAG and all of its characters are the property of Don P. Bellisario et al.

No profit is being made from this series.

I'd really appreciate any feedback you wish to give me!

Author's note: This piece is part of a series that consists of twelve parts;

1.Things Fall Apart.

2. Picking Up The Pieces.

3(a & b.) Starting Over.

4. Getting It Right.

5. Getting To Know You.

6. Happy Endings.

7. Sleepless Night

8. See You In My Dreams.

9. Scattered Photographs.

10. Dreams Really Do Come True.

11. Celebrations.

12. Turning Full Circle.

Summary: This part of the series takes place in the year following Cathy's placement in her Uncle Jim's home. SP: Starting Over, part 3b takes place immediately the events of 3a.

Spoilers: None, really, but during this year, everything from Goodbyes' up until Body Talk' takes place. I thought that it might be interesting to add another JAG part-time character into this, just to liven things up! Please tell me what you think!

Classifictaion: Drama, angst, tiny bit of UST (Planning on some Harm/Mac shipperiness, later on in the series.)

AN: Please do remember that this was one of the first JAG fanfics that I ever wrote. This was a good seven or so years ago, before I even knew about this archive. Hence, why this was never posted there. Thought you might all enjoy reading it though, even if I was still developing as a fanfiction writer.

Okay, now onto the story…

Shattered Promises 3b: Starting Over, part 1.

OOOO

From SP 3a: Starting over, ch8…

Mac gave a big sigh of relief, then exclaimed to herself,

"Stress," trying to convince herself that was what it was. The whole

thing seemed to have a familiar note to it, but Mac just disregarded

this thought and pulled out onto the road again.

OOOO

Ch 1

Mac was about an hour outside D.C. when she got the call from
Captain Lundt.

"Mackenzie."

"Colonel?" Lundt asked, before continuing, "Listen, I can't go
into details, Mac, but you need to get back here, now."
Instantly alerted by his tone of voice, Mac sobered, asking
him, "What's wrong Captain?"

Lundt, however, would not go into details over the phone, only
insisting that Mac get back as soon as she could. Now panic
stricken, Mac pulled into a gas station and turned around, about to
pull out into the lane leading in the direction she had come, when
her phone rang.

She answered to find it was Harm, who was more than a little
worried after reading the series of messages that she had left
for him. Mac tried to summarize what had happened so far,
including the worrying message that she had gotten from Captain Lundt.

"Harm, where are you now?" Mac asked Harm.

"I'm just leaving for Dulles from North Dakota," he replied.

"Well, you need to get back to Washington as fast as you can.
Oh Harm, I'm so afraid she's done something to hurt herself!
She begged me not to let them take her back to Jim's house and I did
nothing to help her!" Mac sobbed, as Harm sat powerless, on the other
side of the line.

"Don't worry," he comforted, "I'm right behind you, Sarah.
Everything's going to be okay. As soon as I get into Dulles,
I'll give you a call."

OOOO

A couple of hours later, Mac pulled up in the busy yard of the
Davidson house, noticing all of the police officers that were
swarming around. The front door had 'crime scene' tape across
it, so Mac ran towards the back door, dodging Captain Lundt in
the driveway, who tried to stop her. Mac felt her stomach
wrench as she took in the scene of total devastation. The glass door
had been smashed through and the glass pieces were scattered across
the blood soaked porch and concrete pathway below. Mac, unable to
deal with what she saw, dropped to her knees and emptied the contents
of her stomach into the bushes in the back yard. After the wrenching
in her stomach had eased, Mac tearfully asked Captain Lundt, "Where
is she? Please can I see her?"

Captain Lundt hesitated momentarily and Mac mistook this to mean that
her worst fear were true, that all of this blood couldn't have come
out of one person, without killing them.

As the Captain finally found the words, he explained, "Rick Manning
found her Mac. Jim was passed out drunk on the couch, in the house.
We think he must have come after her with a softball bat while she
was trying to get out of the house. The doors were locked and we
presume that she fell through the glass door and down the steps into
the yard. They rushed her to the County Medical Center, but they
weren't equipped to deal with such a trauma. Her injuries were so
severe that they've rushed her by air ambulance to Bethesda for
immediate treatment. The last update I got said that she was on the
operating table, but I'm afraid it doesn't look good."

Seeing the state that Mac was in, he asked her, "Is there anything I
can do for you?"

Mac shook her head, but told him, "My partner's on his way home from
an assignment. I've got to get back to D.C. and get to Bethesda.
Once I get there, I can give my commanding officer and some friends
that I work with at JAG a call."

"But you're in no condition to drive. How about I get one of my
Deputies to rush you down there? I could arrange to have your car
delivered, tomorrow," he suggested.

Too weak to argue, Mac just nodded, as Captain Lundt led her to one
of the police vehicles. He gave the deputy a set of precise orders,
then turned to Mac, telling her," I'll keep trying to contact Cathy's
social worker." He handed her Cathy's small, purple diary, then
closed the door of the police cruiser, which pulled out of the
driveway, sirens blaring.

OOOO