Chapter 2

JAG Headquarters, Conference Room, December 3, 1999, 18:45 EST

Colonel Mackenzie called Commander Rabb and Lieutenant Hawkes into the JAG conference room to discuss the plea offer they had recently proposed. Harm was trying to get Captain Tobias Ingles to agree to non-judicial punishment and a letter of admonition. Unfortunately, that would still make Skates's chance at promotion nearly impossible, but it wouldn't end her career and she wouldn't be dealing with forfeiture of pay or confinement.

"I talked to Captain Ingles about your plea offer. He turned it down. However, he will consider dereliction of duty through negligence - forfeiture of half pay for one month, 15 days confinement," Mac told them. Skates inhaled sharply then slowly exhaled with a shocked expression on her face. Harm adjusted himself in his seat. He leaned in towards Skates to tell her of his recommendation.

"Any chance you have for a career in civilian aviation will be shot. I recommend declining the offer," Harm told her.

"What are the odds of an acquittal?" Skates asked.

"70-30 in our favor," he told her.

"70-30 again!" Mac snapped. Skates wasn't sure which to believe so she thought of it more as 50-50, but still put her trust in her former pilot's judgement.

"I'll go along with whatever you recommend, sir," Skates told him.

"Lieutenant, I don't have to tell you, Captain Ingles is not a man to back away from a fight. I'd consider his offer carefully," Mac said to Skates. The more the lawyers talked, the more Skates hated the situation she found herself in.

"We have Colonel, and we decline. Thank you," Harm told Mac before Skates had an opportunity to speak.

"Very well," Mac said. She stood up from her seat and exited the conference room leaving Harm and Skates alone. Skates took another deep breath and sighed. She then allowed her elbows to rest on the table and her head to fall into her hands. She closed her eyes and shook her head, wishing that she could wake up from this nightmare.

"Skates -" Harm began, but was interrupted.

"Confinement?!" Skates said in a worried voice.

"I'm not gonna lie to you Skates, it's a possibility," he told her. He watched her close her eyes and wished there was something he could do to console her.

"What's the worst case scenario?" Skates asked, trying to prepare herself for the worst. Harm paused before answering. He knew she wouldn't like the answer. "Harm…" She urged.

"The maximum would be forfeiture of two-thirds pay for three months and three months confinement," Harm told her. The forfeiture of pay wasn't that big of a deal, but confinement certainly was.

"And that would be Miramar?" Skates asked. Harm nodded. Miramar was the only military prison for women in the country.

"Skates," Harm began, "I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that doesn't happen."

"I believe that you're going to try, I just don't have much faith in the members anymore, Harm," Skates said. Harm could hear the despair in her voice.

JAG Headquarters, Courtroom, December 8, 1999, 13:00 EST

"Mr President," Captain Sebring said, "have the members reached a verdict?"

The senior member stood up and stated, "We have, your honor." The piece of paper with the verdict was handed to Captain Sebring. He opened it and read it to himself first.

"Lieutenant Hawkes, will you and your counsel please rise?" He asked. Skates and Harm both stood up. Skates couldn't help it - her hands were shaking with nervousness.

"Mr President, you may announce your findings," Captain Sebring told the senior member of the jury.

"Lieutenant Elizabeth Hawkes, on the charge and specification of Article 92, Dereliction of Duty through Culpable Inefficiency, this court martial finds you guilty."

Commander Rabb couldn't believe what he was hearing. Skates tried her best to keep it together but failed. A tear fell on each cheek. She hardly even heard Harm when he told her that they would appeal.

JAG Headquarters, Courtroom, December 10, 1999, 13:00 EST

The past two days, Harm, Mac, and Mic had spent their days in the sentencing hearing for Lieutenant Hawkes. Mic and Mac tried their best to play on emotions, showing how badly injured the men were due to Skates's actions. Harm did all he could to show what an outstanding record Skates held and how she was truly sorry for the outcome of the mishap. It was now the time for them to hear the sentencing.

"Lieutenant Elizabeth Hawkes and counsel, please rise," Captain Sebring said. "As stated previously, on the charge and specification of Article 92, Dereliction of Duty through Culpable Inefficiency, this court finds you guilty. This court sentences you to forfeiture of half pay for two months and two months confinement."

As she did only two days prior, Skates was not able to contain her emotions. She hung her head and tried to hide her face but it was obvious she was crying. Even though she hadn't been discharged from the Navy, her career, both military and civilian, was essentially over. Harm turned to look at her. He could feel the hurt and wished he could do something to comfort her, but he knew nothing would help. He put his hand on her shoulder and brought her in for a side hug.

JAG Headquarters, Outside, December 10, 1999, 13:30 EST

Skates and Harm did not speak until they exited the JAG building. Skates walked the entire way with her head hung low. She would reach up every now and then to wipe her eyes or her cheek. Harm only watched and wished he could offer some comfort, however, he didn't know how to. Once outside, Skates began to ask Harm some questions.

"So, what now?" Skates asked.

"Captain Sebring allowed me to be the one to transport you to restrictive barracks at Anacostia since you're not a flight risk. From there, you'll be taken to Miramar to carry out your sentence," Harm told her. "I'm sorry, Skates."

"It's not your fault, sir. You did the best you could. I didn't give you much to work with," Skates admitted.

"Skates, we both know it wasn't your fault. Boomer and Duke are covering Boomer's mistake and blaming you for it. It's wrong and I'm going to prove it," he told her.

"I hope you're right, sir, but I have to be prepared for the worst," Skates said. "When do we leave?" She asked.

"We have some time for you to say your goodbyes to your loved ones," Harm said to her, knowing her intentions.

"Thank you," Skates told him. Harm smiled and nodded at her.

At that moment, the attendees of the sentencing hearing began making their way out of JAG headquarters. Skates first saw Captain Ingles. As he walked past, he acknowledged her. She saluted him, though she didn't want to. Next, she saw Captain Pike. Captain Pike was unhappy with Captain Ingle's decision to go through with the court martial and even more unhappy that it resulted in his best RIO being confined for two months. She then saw the prosecution attorneys Colonel Mackenzie and Lieutenant Commander Brumby. Brumby gave a slight nod in her direction as he had initially thought her not culpable. Mac didn't make eye contact as she passed by. She felt bad that Skates was being punished so harshly, but agreed that punishment was warranted. Next, Boomer and Duke made their appearances. Harm wasn't able to contain himself with those two.

"Why'd you do it?" He asked, angrily.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Pappy," Boomer said with a smug grin on his face.

"Cut the crap, Boomer. You're a deck spotter. We all know it," Harm said to him.

"What? Is that what she told you? You're gonna let some bitch tell you whether or not I can land a plane?" Boomer asked, gesturing towards Skates.

"How dare you -" Harm started but stopped himself. "Do you even know how many times she saved your ass just in the short time I was on board?"

"Boomer, let's just go," Lieutenant Grady suggested.

"No," Skates said, gaining the courage to say what she had been thinking the past few weeks. "Duke, how do you let all those years of friendship go down the drain? How can you possibly live with yourself knowing that your lies are causing someone to be confined for months and then have no chance at a career once released?" Skates's words were now filled more with rage than with hurt. Duke didn't have an answer. He looked down and then up at Boomer who gestured for them to leave. Harm considered calling for them to come back, but he knew it wouldn't get them anywhere. The last person to come out of the building was Skates's fiancé, Commander Dennis Hill, Public Affairs Officer to the Secretary of the Navy. Harm excused himself to give the pair some privacy.

"Elizabeth, I'm surprised," Dennis said to her.

"Me, too," she responded. "We'll get through it. We've always made my deployments work. This is shorter," she told him.

"I don't think we will," he admitted.

"What?" Skates asked, shocked. "What do you mean?"

"Elizabeth, I'm Public Affairs for Secnav -" he began.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Skates interrupted, her temper rising.

"It means you're too high risk." Dennis saw his fiancé's mouth drop open in disbelief. "Your negligence caused a lot of people to suffer. There are consequences that I will have to deal with at work because of you. Even when you do get out, I can't trust you to act appropriately in the future either. Goodbye."

Skates was speechless. She figured of everyone, her fiancé would stand by her side. After all, they were close to saying the words of for better or for worse. Clearly, those words meant nothing to Dennis. Once Skates was over the initial shock, she took off the ring from her left hand and caught up with Dennis.

"Take your damn ring you son of a bitch," Skates spat out at him, throwing the ring at him. She then turned away to not show him how much pain she was feeling.

Off in the distance, Harm was talking to Mic and Mac about another case they were working on, trying his best not to be upset with the pair of them. He knew they were only doing their jobs - no matter how damaging it was for his friend. Once Dennis and Skates began making a scene, it caught the attention of the three attorneys. Harm immediately went to see if Skates was alright.

"What's wrong?" He asked her urgently. After seeing how visibly upset she was, he led her back into JAG Headquarters and into a private room where they could discuss what had happened without anyone overhearing their conversation. He also figured it would give Skates some much needed privacy to let her feelings out.

"He's gone," Skates told him. "He believes that I did it and that it was on purpose. He left me because of his stupid job with the Secnav. He decided our relationship of over three years meant nothing compared to his PA position. I was a threat to his career and I was inconveniencing his office with the fallout from the mishap." Harm listened intently as Skates vented all of her frustrations. When she had finished, Harm took a moment to think of what to say before speaking.

"God, Skates, I am so sorry," Harm told her. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but try to listen. People don't just get this way all of a sudden - they're always that way. Be thankful that you found out now rather than down the line when you may have been married or had children together, if that was your wish."

"Harm, I really don't -"

"I know," Harm said, interrupting Skates. "But you need to hear it. I know you're innocent. Boomer and Duke practically admitted to lying on the stand right in front of us. We'll find a way to overturn the ruling. I'll get you out of this, I promise," Harm told her.

Though he didn't want to, he saw his former RIO cry once again. In all the time he had known her, he had never seen her this emotional. Sure, he had seen her deal with some anxiety back on the U.S.S. Patrick Henry, but she dealt with it privately until Harm pried the information out of her. Even then, she stayed solid. This side of Skates was not something Harm was used to seeing and it broke him to witness. He walked over to where she was standing and outstretched his arms for a hug. She accepted and rested her head against his chest.

"It'll be okay," he whispered to her. She tried with all her might to believe him, but a small part of her was still filled with doubt.