If Only the Dead Could Talk

rooster dawn

Disclaimer: The characters of JAG are the property of Donald Bellisario and Bellisarius Production, Inc. Used without permission. No copyright infringement intended. May be reproduce if unchanged, author given full credit, and no financial transaction is involved.

Spoiler: None

Pairing: Harm/Mac, Victoria/Henry

Alternate Universe

Summary: When the future meets the past, strange things happen. The son of a lost love of Harm meets Mac's daughter at Annapolis with interesting results.

Author's note: This is a continuing story of an "A Special Child" Mac's daughter, given up at birth, reunited with Mac, is now attending Annapolis.

part three

Saturday

17 Dec 2005

Naval Academy

Several weeks later Tory met up with Henry. It was of their twice monthly visits with each other. Tory wish it could be more often, but knew it wasn't possible right now. She was a lowly plebe, he was an upper classman.

Next year it would be better. They couldn't actually date, but they could spend time with each other, something she wanted very much. She was sure Henry wanted to spend more time with her too.

"How was your thanksgiving Tory? Did you feel like a human being again?" laughed Henry. Plebes were treated like sub-humans at the academy. They never seem to have enough time for themselves and everyone was always telling them what to do and think.

"Yeah, it was great. I saw my mom and baby brother when I got home. My step dad I didn't see until the next morning. My mom and I went through his old academy album. It was interesting to see how little things have changed around here.

I told my dad about you. I told him how much you want to become a pilot. His eyes lit up with excitement with the thoughts of a new generation of pilots coming out of the academy. He said the best pilots always came out of the academy.

He suggested anytime you want to talk about flying, he would be more than willing to spend time with you. He has flown just about every kind of jet there is at one time or another." smiled Tory.

"That would be great Tory. I would like that very much, thank you. It's kind of hard to talk with my grandparents. They're getting up there in years. My grandmother fears I could get killed and my grandfather seems to hate them.

Do you think he will come up here sometime to visit you?" he asked hoping that she could introduce him to her father.

"I'm sure at some point of time he and my mom will come up here to visit, but it won't be until much later next year. If you want, ... you can come home with me and stay over the Christmas break.

We have plenty of room and they would love to meet you. You can talk to him about flying. We can look through his academy photo album. He has pictures of your mother in there.

We could spend some time together without worrying about what everyone else may think." she tried to reason with him.

"I don't know Tory. It sounds very tempting, but I usually like to spend my free time with my grandparents. There's a reason why they don't like plebes spending time with upper classman." he argued.

"You could spend a few days with my family and then after Christmas go home to your family. Of course then again you might want to spend the whole time with me after you see what I have planned for you, that is if you have gumption to take a chance." teased Tory.

"Alright Tory, you win. I'll go home with you and meet your parents. I'll spend a few days with you, but I hope you realize that it doesn't make us a couple.

It doesn't make me your boyfriend and we're not looking for your parents' approval. And I reserve the right to leave at anytime after Christmas and go home to my grandparents. Do we understand each other Tory?" he insisted.

He was kind of dreading the whole idea. They didn't really know each other that well. They had only gotten together for a few hours twice a month over the past few months. They weren't dating.

He hoped she understood that. He hoped her parents didn't read too much into his visit. He was only indulging her by going home with her. Though he like the idea of meeting her father, a commander in the Navy and a former Tomcat fighter pilot.

He could learn a lot from him. He wondered what it was like to fly one. Was he made of the right stuff? Would he be able to handle all the negative g's?

He had heard stories of cadets dreaming all their lives to be fighter pilots only to lose their lunch the first time they flew, thus ruining any chance, their dreams, and their careers.

He was also dreading meeting a Marine Colonel and Navy Commander. They were important people. They were also lawyers, trained to extract vital information that people didn't want to give.

"Alright Henry, I'll meet you at 1500 hours in front of my residence next Thursday. Don't be late. We don't want to contend with the late afternoon traffic on the Beltway.

1700 hours Thursday

22 Dec 2005

Rabb/MacKenzie Estate

The day had arrived to go home. Tory was excited to be going home. This could be one of the best Christmases ever if what she believed to be true turned out to be true, that is Henry was Harm's son.

It would make him her stepbrother. It would make their relationship more confusing than it already was, but then again it would give them the excuse to spend more time together.

Since they weren't related it meant there was still the possibility of a future for them to be together, if that was what they decided they wanted.

Harm would be happy to have a son he didn't know and Henry would have the father he had wanted all his life. She didn't know about her mother. How would she feel about Harm having a son by another woman? She wasn't sure Mac would be alright about it.

Tory was waiting outside her barracks for Henry. She had a couple of bags with her. One contained her clothes and the other contained her shoes and presents for her family. It had been a tight fit, but she managed to get everything packed.

She saw a cobalt blue 96 corvette in mint condition driving down the street in her direction. She wondered if it was Henry. It wouldn't surprise her if it was him. He wanted to be a flyboy. Flyboys like to drive fast cars.

It was nice looking, better than Harm's red 69 corvette, but not as nice as Mac's red 99 corvette. She had had a blast driving them, especially on the highway. They weren't a bad touring car on the winding rural state highways either.

Maybe he would let her drive it some day. Though she doubt that would happen today on the trip home. It was only a hundred miles, easy enough for one person to drive without a break.

The cobalt blue corvette came to a stop in front of her. Henry got out of the car smiling at her. He was proud of his corvette. He was sure Tory would be impressed, but he was disappointed when Tory only yawned and said.

"You're late flyboy wantabee. Can't you ever be on time for anything. I thought the academy was suppose to teach you that. Isn't that the first thing you told me when I ran into you last September."

Henry looked at her disappointedly as she scolded him. It surely wasn't what he had expected, but then again he was always running late when he went to see her. And every time she had mentioned it to him.

For once though he had thought he would be on time. He still was disappointed that she wasn't impress with his car. It was beautiful, fast, and very powerful. A car made for a fighter pilot.

"I'm sorry Tory, I guess it took longer to get here than I thought. How do you like my car. It's a 96 cobalt blue corvette. It's in mint condition." he beamed with enthusiasm.

"I've seen better. Why do you have such an old car? It is after all 2005." she asked letting him know she wasn't impress with a fast car, particularly an old one.

"It's was supposed to be my mother's car. My grandfather bought it for her. It was suppose to be welcome home present, a possible wedding present. But like I told you before she was killed before she ever saw it.

My grandfather kept it stored away for me. It's to remind me of how special she was. I'll never forget her." he answered her hoping that she understood now.

"I'm sorry Henry, I didn't know. Harm, my father, has a red 69 corvette. It was the year his father was shot down in Viet Nam. It's one of his ways of remembering his father." she replied sadly.

After they packed her stuff in the back they stopped off to get a large coffee from Dunkin Donuts. It was a two hour trip and Tory wanted something to drink along the way. Like her mother, she was a coffee addict.

They made good time along the way. Fortunately traffic was light due to the early hour. They also had been lucky that the roads were clean. It hadn't snowed in two weeks. Any snow that they had received had melted.

Tory gave Henry the directions to her house as they enter Metropolitan DC. Henry was quite impress with the area. The neighborhoods were well landscaped and the lawns well manicured. The houses were large and well designed.

When they pulled into the driveway, Tommy Frank was running around the yard kicking a ball. Tory smiled at the sight. She saw her mother sitting on the front steps watching Tommy Frank play.

Mac had wondered who was in the car. She suspected it was Tory and her friend Henry. She was expecting them to arrive at any time. She remembered Tory saying something about Henry wanting to be a pilot.

Pilots liked fast cars and she ought to know, she was married to one. She watched as Tory was the first one to get out of the car. She hurried over to pick up Tommy Frank who had quickly approached the car when he saw her.

Mac always took great pride and satisfaction in how much Tory loved her little brother. She knew it couldn't be easy especially for Tory considering she now had to share her mother's love with someone else when she had missed out on it for sixteen years.

Then she saw the man she believed was Henry emerged from the car. He seemed to get out of the car like Harm. When he stood up beside the car she was amazed at how tall he was. He looked even taller than Harm.

Tory walked around the car holding Tommy Frank. She grabbed his hand and said "Come on Henry, she doesn't bite. Tommy might, but mom doesn't."

He looked at her warily. It was bad enough that he had to meet her mother, but she was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines. Marines weren't known to have a sense of humor. They were strict, by the book, no nonsense people.

He managed to free his hand from hers. He didn't want to give Tory's mother the wrong impression about their relationship. They were only friends who shared a common interest, flying.

Though some day he wouldn't mind having a woman like Tory. She was beautiful, strong, intelligent, and very sexy when she wanted to be.

Mac noticed Tory take Henry's hand and how quickly he freed his hand. She smiled at the gesture. It seemed there was something special between them that Henry wasn't about to acknowledge yet. It reminded her of how Harm was about their relationship.

"Mom, this is Henry. Henry, this is my mother Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, US Marine Corp." smiled Tory.

Mac reached out to shake his hand, but he stood there frozen in space and time. It was like deja vu for Mac. Harm had done the same thing the first time they met. Wow! She thought to herself. He definitely looks like Harm.

Finally Henry awaken from his stupor and shook her hand in greeting. "Good afternoon Colonel, I'm sorry for my poor manners. It's just ... you looked so much like my mother."

Mac could detect a hint of sadness in his voice. She understood why. His mother must have been Diane. She was well aware of how his mother died and who killed her. It made sense to her now why Tory had wanted to look at the photo album, why she asked about someone looking liked her.

"I do? And who may I ask is your mother?" she asked him.

Tory gave her a look of astonishment wondering how she could ask him such a question. But Mac thought it was best to get it out in the open. She had to know who Henry really was. Was he Harm's child? He sure as hell looked like Harm.

"My mother's name was Diane Shonke. My name is Henry Shonke, Ma'am. She's dead Ma'am." answered Henry sadly.

"So I have been told. Harm told me how your mother died shortly after I met him. He said she was a wonderful woman. A friend of mine, Bud Roberts knew her too.

Maybe he can come over sometime this weekend and tell you about her. He was a very good friend of hers. He used to e-mail her all the time. They use to play computer games over the internet." replied Mac solemnly.

She felt for him. She knew her death must have been difficult for him. It had affected Harm for years. She felt it was one of the things that had kept them apart for so many years.

"Thank you Ma'am. I would like that very much." he smiled.

"Henry, please call me Mac. When a young guy like you calls me Ma'am, it makes me feel old. And while you're here, there will be no use of military formality. Understood cadet." laughed Mac.

"Yes Mac." he replied with a smile.