"The long road to justice" – Ch13– "A young and growing family"
AU: a speculative story, imagining the unpublished back story of Faith Coleman in the JAG supporting cast, who crossed over into the early days of NCIS. (See Ch01 for disclaimers).
A/N: "they aren't mine, I'm just playing with them - apart from any character created by myself".
Summary: this is a fictional story, in a fictional (slightly) Alternative Universe, about fictional characters who entertained us in a fictional TV series between 1995 and 2005 and its spin-off. Because there is no "back-story" to so many of the JAG characters, I have let my imagination roam around Faith Coleman's possible back-story - and I hope you enjoy it. This story will eventually circle around into the events of my story "Red Mittens and a Rose Garden - the Trisha Pike chronicles". Comments and PMs and suggestions are most welcome; I shall update periodically. Mike
Canon: "Family Secrets" JAG S06Ep09, 12-DEC-2000. We are now beyond "canon time" in Faith's appearances in the early seasons of "NCIS".
A/N: With grateful thanks to my beta, "Syrae".
A/N published 27-NOV-2022: Transitioning Faith into the post-JAG (or "JAG season 11" and beyond) world of her contributions to "NCIS" - and onwards with her life towards XO at USNA Annapolis with Harm.
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Ch13– "A young and growing family"
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*Flashback*
Tuesday 16th August 2005 – 14:23hrs EST
ER, Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre
8901 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
The General, summoned to the ER, barely recognised the blood-spattered woman, in her USN summer whites, as the usually-immaculate Faith McBurney-Coleman. Fresh blood was smeared across her "fruit salad" medal rack, where she had desperately cradled Jack's head as she first reached him on the floor of the court-room.
Her customary "Vulcan calm" was totally disrupted as she stood by the curtained area. A very irregular heart rate was beeping out from behind the curtain.
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She had just walked into the court-room when the shooting started - and had seen Jack fall. Quick reactions by Faith and the Marine guard (after he had put three rounds into the would-be escaping convict) had stabilised Jack, but Faith still had more of his blood on her jacket than was ideal.
The cuffs of her summer whites were also smeared with his blood, as was the area around her medal ribbons, where she had cradled his head as the medics got to work on his wounds as she desperately tried to encourage her wounded husband.
"Jack, come back to me."
Cresswell tried to be supportive. "Commander, he is in the best place and will receive the best treatment."
She turned to stare frantically into his eyes, tears pouring down her face, which was deathly-pale and showing all the freckles in her makeup-free complexion as she considered his assurances. He realised that there was almost more colour in her summer whites uniform than in her face.
She nodded to Jack's gurney.
"But General, you don't understand; I cannot lose another husband. Jack *has* to survive. He doesn't yet know that he's going to be a father."
*end flashback*
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Tuesday 16th August 2005 – 14:25hrs EST
ER, Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre
8901 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
The General, recovering quickly from his surprise, smiled. "Well, congratulations Commander. I am sure that you didn't intend to disclose your status to me in this manner and at this time, but I am certain that congratulations are in order."
Faith barely responded.
He decided that he should try to distract the distraught woman from the treatment of her husband – if only for a moment. Even in the (evidently) early weeks of a pregnancy, he was sure that stress would not be beneficial to the expectant mother or her foetus. Judging by what he had heard from the ER attending, at least one of Jack's bullet wounds was serious.
He thought it was worth trying to distract Faith - even just for a few moments - from her concerns for her wounded husband.
"So, how do your dates line up?"
A shy Faith Coleman smile preceded her response. "Everything seems to track back to a honeymoon baby, sir. About a month from now, we should be able to look at an ultrasound which should be somewhat more accurate, but the morning sickness kicked in a week ago (fortunately, *only* in the early mornings so far!) and I reckon I'm around my fifth or sixth week."
Biff Cresswell though back to his daughter Cammy's conception – which had always been assumed by Dora to be a result of their honeymoon in Hawaii. "Well that is good news, so please keep me informed. Now, let's see if we can get you in to support your husband."
Jack's heartrate had stabilised by this time, so Cresswell led the bloodstained Faith into the cubicle. The attending physician looked up in surprise, took in the uniform and simply asked "Wife?"
Faith nodded, and she beckoned her over. "Your husband has been very lucky – but he's not out of the woods yet. I am comfortably optimistic however, Commander McBurney…" She paused, looking at the "Coleman" name plate on Faith's chest.
Faith followed her gaze, looked back up then smiled weakly. "BuPERS!"
The physician smiled and nodded knowingly, then realised that the woman in front of her was still frantic to find out about Jack's injuries.
"Now, let me fill you in about our wounded hero here."
It took a few minutes to run through Jack's injuries. Nothing was now life-threatening, but the wound to his left shoulder joint might turn out to be life-changing.
Jack would spend nearly two weeks in Bethesda, before being released to start physical therapy and rehab ahead of his return to Falls Church.
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Saturday 27th August 2005 – 15:54hrs EST
Home of Jack and Faith McBurney-Coleman, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States
Faith helped Jack out from the passenger seat and supported him as he stood upright. She handed him the hospital-issue aluminium crutch which he placed in his armpit, ready to hobble the short distance to their front entrance door.
She hastily dumped the Jeep in one of the visitor parking spaces (she would come back later to move their car into its allocated space in the underground parking lot) then collected her back-pack and Jack's half-empty sea bag from the rear seat of the Jeep.
"Now Jack, the General doesn't want to see you in Falls Church next week as you continue recuperating, but the case management committee would like to depose you as to the events on the 16th. I've suggested that they come over here to the apartment - and preferably in the Labour Day week."
"OK darling, good thinking – thanks. Let's worry about that on Monday. For now, I accept that I need to get into the apartment and I need to rest. That physical therapy session this morning was hard, but I reckon that I can feel the benefits. The knee is going to take a while, but feeling is returning to the arm."
He looked into Faith's eyes as he balanced on his crutch.
"I am just so glad that the prisoner shot me in my left shoulder. Being right-handed, it would have been a real problem if he'd gone for my other one."
Faith leaned in carefully and kissed him. "That's my Marine. Now, come on and let's get you in and rested; I need to shift the Jeep once you are up in the apartment and settled."
Together, Mr and Mrs McBurney-Coleman slowly shuffled into the apartment block and headed for the elevator. By the time they had entered the apartment, Jack was tired and ready to rest on the sofa. Faith ensured that he was settled then went back to move her Jeep.
This "help a wounded hero/warrior" commitment was quite a labour-intensive role, she decided. However, she knew that she wouldn't have it any other way. By the time that she had returned to the apartment, Jack was asleep.
The next morning, both of them attended the Episcopal Church on Wisconsin Avenue in Chevy Chase, to give thanks.
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Faith's next ultrasound scan confirmed that their baby was – in all probability – a product of their honeymoon. The dates aligned, leading to the forecast that their first child (revealed as a girl) would be arriving on the scene around Faith's 38th birthday on 16th April 2006.
In the event, Jack would be bringing Faith her birthday cake in the maternity ward, because little Maria Hope McBurney-Coleman was to put in her appearance two days earlier on April 14th!
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Thursday 21st December 2006 – 15:54hrs EST
Central Courtroom, Main floor, JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA, United States
Sadly, Jack's rehabilitation could only bring him a moderate measure of full-function in his left arm, despite over a year of focussed physical therapy. He would not be commanding a front-line Marine unit in the future.
However, there was nothing wrong with Jack's brain. By the end of 2006, Stiles Morris would be welcoming a new probationary judge to the bench, where Jack would be reinforcing Amy Helfman, Owen Sebring and Clifford Blakely. Stiles was glad to have the "wounded hero" joining his ranks, having been the presiding judge in the courtroom when the shooting occurred back in August 2005.
Faith, along with her eight-month-old daughter in her porta-crib, was proud to be present when Jack took the oath of office. He had also decided (with Faith's support) to volunteer at a nearby VA shelter. He knew how close those court-room bullets had come to ending his USMC career – let alone his life. It was time to "pay it forward."
As always, Faith and Jack faced problems together – and triumphed. Their little Maria was to become the centre of their lives – for the two years before Loren Charity Paula McBurney-Coleman arrived, being born on 12th June 2008, two months after Faith's 40th birthday. Faith and Jack had both chosen the "Paula" name in tribute to Faith's slain NCIS colleague Paula Cassidy (who had died in a terrorist bombing in April 2007).
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Tragedy struck a year later when Faith miscarried in the middle of her pregnancy with (as it turned out) their son. The catastrophic nature of the 2009 miscarriage (eerily echoing the fate which would later befall Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie-Rabb on 2011) meant that Faith and Jack would, forever, have two children.
She was always determined that something good would come out of her personal tragedy. She overcame her disappointment and heartache, eventually volunteering in the "Little Sarah" new-born annex established by Dr Lawrence Gettis in the aftermath of Bud and Harriet's loss of their daughter "Sarah" back in 2000.
Jack had quickly settled into the role as "Judge McBurney-Coleman" and would deliver decades of service on the JAG bench, continuing when Faith was head-hunted to join Harmon Rabb. Harm was appointed as Superintendent of the Academy and recruited Captain Faith McBurney-Coleman. She arrived as his XO shortly later, when her predecessor took retirement to look after his ailing wife.
Jack set about the regular commute from their quarters in Annapolis to Falls Church. The girls quickly settled into their new schools.
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Harm and Faith made a formidable team as he implemented his new approaches at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
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Meanwhile, in the scientific community, DNA analysis techniques and technology continued to develop. One day, police and federal authorities would be able to identify criminals from familial links, enabling "cold case" evidence to be linked and perpetrators to be identified – even decades after the crimes.
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End of "The long road to Justice" Ch13– "A young and growing family"
Mike, United Kingdom, 27-11-2022