Title: Reunion
Author: red rooster dawn
Pairing: Harm/Mac
Disclaimer: JAG is property of Belisarius productions, no copyright infringement intended.
Summary: With trepidation Mac returns home for her high school reunion.
part four
"That's all very interesting Sarah, but what happened to the missile? Did Harm shoot it down?" asked Debbie.
"What happened to the sub?" asked Eliza. Surely they wouldn't have let the sub get away.
"The sub was destroyed seconds after it launched the missile by one of our subs chasing it." replied Mac
"As for the missile, it was too close to the fleet when Harm located it. If he shot it down then the radioactive fallout would have come down on fleet causing first illness and then death to all on board.
It was then that Harm decided to play tag with the missile. He flew in front of the missile so that it would lock onto his tomcat. Harm then led the missile safely away from the fleet so that it would fall harmlessly into the ocean.
He was a hero that day. He saved the lives of over fifteen thousands men and women that day including mine." concluded Mac.
"Wow! You were almost killed four times in less than a week!" exclaimed Ginger.
"Have you ever flown in a jet Sarah?" asked Karen.
It seemed like a reasonable question considering that Harm was a pilot and Sarah was obviously in love with him. He did say that they spent sixteen hours a day together.
"A couple of times. The first time I almost passed out. I felt so sick. It was so nauseating. The second time was when we were in Russia to look for his dad. We stole a MIG, but we were shot down before we went too far. My stomach was doing somersaults the whole time." moaned Mac.
"I didn't have any weapons to fight back with. If I had, they would have been the ones ejecting." explained Harm.
"That's an amazing story. You must have lots of stories to tell Sarah. How many adventures have you been on Sarah?" asked Laura.
"Most of them aren't very interesting. We have traveled all over the world and visited many places. It's really sad to see how many of them live and how the people are mistreated by their own governments. We're very lucky to live here in America." sighed Mac.
Everyone spent the rest of the afternoon talking and renewing acquaintances. Harm and Ben shared barbequing duties. Tammy and Amy brought out several different kinds of salads; potato, pasta, and the standard kind.
Earlier Ben had set up several coolers filled with beer and tonic. There was also a choice of dips, chips, and pickles to munch on.
"Thank you Harm for convincing Sarah to come back this year for the reunion. As you can see everyone here loves her and wanted to see her very much. It gave many of them a reason to attend the reunion themselves. She was a special person in our lives." remarked Ben.
"I wasn't sure I believed everything you said Ben. Sarah has told me more than a few times that high school wasn't a very pleasant experience for her. I guess her relationship with her father and that her mother left probably tainted her view.
I can see that she had more friends than she thought she had and as you said they care for her very much." replied Harm.
"Tammy mentioned to me that she heard that Sarah's dad died a few years ago." commented Ben.
"Yeah, it was three years ago. It was a very emotional experience for her. She came to terms with her father and she saw her mother for the first time in seventeen years. Coming here today will finally take all the hurt and emotional pain away from her." sighed Harm.
The party began to thin out after 2000 hours as many of them had to get home to their kids. It wasn't long until only Ben and Tammy were alone with Harm and Mac. Ben informed Harm of the different activities that were planned for tomorrow.
"Sarah, I have never seen someone with so many different hairstyles. I must have counted at least ten different ones. I think most of us are lucky if we try one or two different ones." declared Robin.
"I used to be that way until about eight years ago, but I got tired of putting my hair up in a bun every morning. It didn't do much for my hair either. So one day I had it cut. At first I tried to keep it longer by curling the ends.
There's so much more you can do with your hair when it's longer. After a while I studied the fashion magazines and found many attractive hair styles. I chose the different styles that I liked. Though one year my stylist cut it way too short. I didn't go back to him." explained Mac.
"I wish I could show my sisters these pictures. They haven't changed their hairstyle in over ten years. All they do is have their hair trimmed a few inches three or four times a year." wailed Heather.
"I hate to tell you, but that's all I would do if I didn't have to put my hair up in a bun every morning. I liked wearing my hair long. It's the only thing I don't like about being in the military." countered Mac.
Saturday
Mac spent the next day showing Harm around the town she grew up in. There wasn't much of note to see, only a few strip malls and churches along with the schools. There was little commercial development as the town was mostly residential.
While Mac was showing Harm around town Ben took advantage with some assistance from Tammy to scan an assortment of Mac's pictures into his computer to enlarge them for the reunion. He tried his best to get a cross section of her life.
Many of the pictures had Harm in them. There were many pictures of Mac in the different uniforms she wore. There were pictures of her friends from JAG in relaxed social gatherings. And then there was Mac as the belle of the ball at the many formal social functions she attended.
He printed them out on nine by twelve inch photo quality paper ad took them over to the reunion hall. He gave the pictures to Victoria and Heather who were in charge of the poster honoring Sarah MacKenzie.
They were honoring Sarah tonight. She was an American hero who had been away for a very long time. They wanted to show her that her service to their country was appreciated, that she was remembered, and loved by all.
"Where did you get these pictures Ben? They're all so beautiful." asked Victoria."I got them from her collection of photo albums." replied Ben.
"She's here Ben? You've actually seen her?" asked Heather.
"I picked her up at the airport yesterday. We had a little party for her to welcome her home." replied Ben.
"And you didn't invite us?" pouted Heather.
"She almost didn't come. She doesn't think anybody care about her. Tammy and I wanted to show her that she made an impression on a lot of people. Most of the people there were her teammates on the different teams she played on and a few others who were her very close friends." replied Ben trying to reassure her.
"Does she still look as good as she does in the pictures and who is this man with her?" asked Victoria licking her chops.
"His name is Harmon Rabb. He's in the Navy. They work together, but I think that there is more between them than they're letting on. She looks like she is in good shape. She looks pretty small when she stands next to Harm, but she really isn't. Harm is a very tall and physically imposing person." smiled Ben
1900 hours
Ben's house
It was time to go. Mac had convinced Harm to wear his dress whites for the occasion. She loved the way he looked in them. It would also answer a few questions before they were asked and allow her friends a topic in which to talk to Harm about.
Mac, herself, was wearing a maroon colored gown that came down to just above the knee. It hugged her body like a glove. Tammy and Ben were taken aback a little when they saw her.
Sure, they had seen the pictures of her in her gowns and they had seen her yesterday dress very casually. While she looked very nice she didn't look that special. She looked rather small and skinny standing next to Harm.
But tonight she looked unbelievably beautiful with so many curves in all the right places. Harm came along to stand right behind her making her look even more beautiful against Harm's dress whites.
"You look so beautiful Sarah. I can't remember a day I looked half as good as you do." wailed Tammy.
"Thank you Tammy. I work very hard to stay in shape. Buying a dress like this is my reward. What time does the reunion start?" asked Mac.
"They should start arriving at the hall around seven o'clock. Dinner starts about eight thirty. What?" asked Tammy a bit confuse.
"Sarah doesn't like to be late for anything. She very discipline and punctual." replied Harm.
"It's only five minutes to the hall, but tonight is a special night. Sarah has return home. She an American hero. We want to give everyone a chance to be there to welcome her home." offered Ben.
"I'm only a lawyer Ben, I'm not a hero. Besides I don't think that many people care if I'm here or not. I wasn't anyone special when I was here in high school." countered Mac.
She really didn't want the unwanted attention. She had seen the people she wanted to see yesterday.
"You were to us Sarah, we're your friends. You saw how many people were here yesterday. They are your friends, they care about you Sarah. It was why they were all here. You made a big impression on a lot of people in high school." argued Tammy.
"That's Sarah for you. She's very humble about her achievements. When she received the highest honor that a marine can receive she didn't want a large ceremony or any special recognition.
She believed that she was only doing her job. She is highly respected in Washington. She has always received accelerated promotions for her outstanding performances." explained Harm.
"While I appreciate the compliments, reality tells me something very different. I've lived a very lonely life the last twenty years. I'm not married and I don't have any children.
Hardly a sign that I'm loved by all." replied Mac as she walked out of the room. She felt like crying at that moment. She was beginning to wonder why she had bothered to come. Some very painful memories were resurfacing after so many years.
"What's wrong? What did we say?" asked Tammy.
"She has suffered from abandonment issues ever since her mother left when she was fifteen years old. Ever since then anyone she has ever loved has left her. Even I was guilty of that several years ago when I left JAG and returned to the fleet to fly again.
I was only gone six months, but it hurt our relationship for a long time. When she was ready to trust me again, I wasn't ready to be with her in the manner she needed me to be. I couldn't give her what she wanted.
It led to some poor decisions on both our parts. It has only been the last year that we have gotten back to where we were before I left to fly." answered Harm.
"It must have been very special Harm from what I've seen today and the pictures in the albums." observed Ben.
"I think it's time that we head over to the hall. Maybe when she sees her friends and how we all feel about her she'll feel better." offered Tammy.