Hello people! I am surprised nobody jumped at me for my blunder of making Meg a "Margaret" instead of "Megan", which, according to a little research I did, was actually the character's name. Anyway, the mistake has been corrected :)


Harm immediately forgot all about his fatigue, when familiar blue eyes met his and a small smile, accompanied with a barely noticeable tilt of a head which caused several blonde strands of hair fall over her forehead.

"Meg?" he asked, still a little stunned.

Lt. Commander Megan Hartley gracefully rose up from her seat, letting the small smile grow into a big one, as she thrust out her arm enthusiastically.

"Hello, Harm."

He hesitated for a second. Should he shake her hand or should he hug her? What was the correct protocol for running into an old friend years after she had simply left and never even called? Perhaps hug would be too personal. And given the presence of Petty Officer Stoud definitely a source for rumours. So he decided to follow her lead and shook her hand heartily.

"Well, this certainly is a surprise," he managed to say, a smile lighting up his face as well.

"Hopefully a good one," she retorted. "Thank you, Petty Officer," she turned to Stoud briefly. "Close the hatch on your way out. Commander Rabb and I have things to discuss."

"Straight to the point, I see," Harm said. The whole encounter was finally gaining a sense of reality and he felt a silent, genuine joy. The year he spent with then Lt. (j.g.) Meg Austin was a good one. At least for the most part. And at least in hindsight. Perhaps interesting was a better word to describe it? Then again compared to some things he went through later he did seem to bear many things with a lighter heart and forgot the difficult parts sooner. He felt old all of a sudden. All the years he had left in the sky just an hour ago settled back onto his shoulders without mercy.

"I really hate wasting time. The sooner we manage to go through the official business the longer I will have to grill you for everything embarrassing you have done since we parted," she said, still smiling, as she made herself comfortable on a chair and motioned to him to sit opposite her.

"Who says I have done anything embarrassing? Just so you know I have done some really heroic things," he joked, settling down, his eyes studying her curiously.

Her remembered her always being exceedingly pretty and the nine years did nothing to diminish her looks. Her hair was a bit darker, but still stylishly short. She had lost the tomboyish cuteness and gained an attractive, more mature allure of a self-aware woman. She looked like a woman comfortable in her skin and confident in her choices. She looked... well-sorted, he decided finally. She grew up.

"Let's just say I am more interested in things that did not make it into papers."

"Are you saying you searched for my name in the papers?"

"Hardly," she laughed at his self-satisfied smirk. "But I have made an effort to keep on track with your career."

"Not enough to reach out."

Her smile faded.

"Harm..."

"Not enough to keep in touch. Or to tell me why did I have to find out my partner has requested to transfer out and leave even before I managed to talk to her."

She sighed. "Well, I have to admit I expected that to be the first thing you would say to me, so I suppose while you still hold a grudge it is not as big as I had feared it was."

"I don't hold a grudge, Meg," he said, even though he kinda did. Not a big one. But he hated loose ends and her abrupt and unexplained leaving was still living in his mind as very unfair. "I am just still waiting for an answer."

"And you will get it, I promise," she replied but in the same breath added: "But right now we should get to work not to waste the Government's money. Or are you not really curious why I am here?"

"Shoot," he said after a little pause. He would make sure that he had that answer before she left the carrier. She straightened her back and opened a little notebook, just to be sure she did not forget any details.

"Do you know Lieutenant Mary Hudson?"

Harm quickly searched his memory, then nodded. "She is one of the RIOs on board, right? A young kid, very promising, even if a bit nervous."

"Have you stopped to wonder why she might be nervous?"

"I assumed she was simply getting used to everything. Which one of us wasn't nervous during their first deployment? Why? Should I have noticed anything extraordinary?" he frowned.

"Lieutenant Hudson has contacted her family a few days ago via phone. The call was short and rather chaotic, but her parents understood from it that their daughter has been repeatedly sexually assaulted, received threats and was on the verge of a nervous collapse."

"Wait. What? Repeatedly... you mean here? On the carrier?"

"Yes. The parents reacted by immediately contacting JAG and the moment General Cresswell was alerted to the accusation he called me in and despatched me the next day."

A lot was wrong with all of the information he just received but there was something wrong in it, beyond the obvious suspicion of assault. It took him a second before he realized what it was.

"General Cresswell summoned you," he repeated. "He sent you here." She paused and gave him a slightly confused look.

"Why wouldn't he?" she asked.

"Well, why you?"

"Who else is there? For all the talk about equal opportunities, the JAG headquarters is one big sausage fest, if you pardon my language. General believes this requires a female approach and sensibilities."

He said nothing. Why wouldn't Cresswell send Mac? And why would Meg think there was no female senior officer back at JAG in D.C.? Perhaps they missed each other. Or maybe Mac was already invested in some other serious case? He really should write to her again, just to catch up. Or maybe he would brave a phone call...

"Harm? Are you still with me?"

He blinked and turned his attention back to the woman in front of him.

"Sure. I was just wondering about something. Not important right now. So you are here to take Hudson's testimony?"

"Yes, if she decides to give one. Her parents said she confided in them but did not want them to take any action. She thought it would make her an even easier target. Naturally, they decided that her Navy career was not worth her health, or possibly even life."

"Maybe she didn't want them to do anything because she made it up?"

"Why would she?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was a dare? Maybe she wanted to take revenge on someone? Maybe she was drunk?"

"And maybe she was sexually assaulted," Meg interrupted him harshly, her face now serious and angry. "You disappoint me, Harm. I hoped you were not one of those who immediately jump to the conclusion that a woman who says she was harassed lies."

"I am not saying that," he defended himself, but also felt ashamed. That actually was his first thought. "I am just listing other possibilities."

"List anything you want. This girl has a right to be heard if she finds enough courage, and then you can dissect whatever I manage to get from her and others involved. I have been instructed to escort her back home if the accusation proves to be true."

"You must admit her not coming to me or let's say the skipper does not lend her much credibility," he tried again.

"On the contrary," Meg argued. "Sexual assault is an extremely traumatic experience that can undermine your whole personality. It is quite possible she simply doesn't trust men in general now. She also had to weigh the consequences to her career. She could be ostracized by her peers either because she was so week as not to fight back, or because she looks for help. Being in the Navy is dangerous enough. She should not feel unsafe among her own shipmates."

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"No. I have arrived just two hours ago. Did not want to spook her, since this investigation was set in motion by her parents, not herself, so she doesn't even know I am here yet. I will talk to her first thing in the morning."

"I will be there with you."

"Not a good idea," she dismissed him, calmly again. "The whole point of me being here is that she might confide in me as a woman. Your presence would probably just frighten her even more. I imagine this whole experience is a nightmare for her. No need to fuel it."

He nodded. She was right of course.

"You will let me get on this if you manage to get some names from her though, right?" he asked. She agreed.

"Anything else I can help you with, fair lady?" he smiled once everything was explained and settled.

"Yes," she replied. "You can invite me to dinner. I haven't eaten since yesterday."


The mess hall was half-empty due to the very late hour, so they seated themselves in a fair distance from the other occupants. After they ate Harm had produced coffee for both of them and now they were sitting in companionable silence. It did not last too long. There were things that needed to be asked and answered.

"So, Lt. Commander Hartley, huh?" Harm started.

"Yeah. But I have only held the rank for three months now."

"Really? I always thought you were pretty bright. Figured you'd get promoted soon and often. I was actually afraid you might end up overtaking me in the process," he joked but was sincere in his sentiment.

"I would have," she said importantly, but then let out a laugh. "Truth is I have spent a few years in the reserves. Only returned to active duty five years ago, and that too at a boring and uneventful post. Nobody came to us to shoot a Navy recruitment ad, that's for sure."

"Please tell me you have not seen that," he groaned and ran his hand over his eyes.

"Afraid so. Actually, I taped it. Still have it somewhere."

"You do not."

"I do."

"You just enjoy toying with me."

"Sure. But I still have that tape."

He desperately wanted to change the topic.

"You got married?" he asked.

"Obviously," she said, her mirth subdued again. "In fact, I married just eight months after I transferred from D.C. Thomas is a journalist for a local newspaper back in Texas. Ours was not a well-thought-through marriage. I think I just needed somebody to be there for me at the time and he was willing. Never thought I would be marrying somebody with a notion it would not last, but that was exactly what I did. We got a divorce sometime after I returned to the service. I don't think we would have lasted even that on if it weren't for the kids."

"Kids?"

One of the things he has noticed about Meg was how clearly her emotions always read on her face. There was never a need to guess, because her eyes, her forehead, her brows and mouth spoke a language of their own. While she was talking about her marriage, she looked a little sad, little happy and a little melancholy. But now she positively lit up.

"Yep. The reason why I went into the inactive reserves for a few years. Jacob is almost eight, Georgie will be six next month."

"That is wonderful, Meg," said Harm. "Where are they now?"

"Right now they are with Thomas. Our marriage may have been rocky but our separation was actually quite civil. Most of the time they live with me and my mother home at Texas. They love it there."

"You have to show me a picture later."

"I will. Any other requests?"

"Actually yeah. Can we now have that discussion about why you left the way you left?"

She was looking at him, apparently hesitating. Then she shook her head.

"Not right now, Harm. But I promise we will talk about it during some future occasion."

"Will there be a future occasion?" he countered. "I mean you are going to wrap this case up and return to Texas and I will be left all bereft again," he said dramatically, hand in a mocking gesture on his chest.

"Actually, I am not going back to Texas. Not for a few months at least," she said. "I am temporarily TAD to JAG headquarters as a replacement, with a possible permanent post there later. So I suppose we are going to see each other quite a lot." She offered a shy smile with that last remark.

Harm felt a tight knot coil up in his belly. All of the previous little things he did not understand were suddenly taking shape and he did not like it at all. Surely not...

"A replacement for whom?"

"Well, one of the senior officers. Colonel Mackenzie I believe is his name."

"Why would the Colonel need to be replaced?" Harm said in a small, tense voice.

"Harm, are you OK?" Meg asked, aware of how the mood had changed.

"Why would they need to replace her?" he repeated.

"Her? Mackenzie is a woman? I didn't know that," said Meg.

"Meg. Why?"

"Look, I have no details. Cresswell called me just a few days ago and I was at the headquarters for all of forty minutes. All I was told was that Colonel Mackenzie is on medical leave and they have no idea when she might be back."

She noticed that Harm grew suddenly grey with pallor, but before she could ask if he was fine, he quickly got up.

"I am sorry, Meg. I need to make a phone call."

"OK," she managed to get out before he disappeared from the room. She sat for a little while longer, finished her coffee and then made way into her cabin to get some sleep.

Lord knew tomorrow would be a long day.