A/N: Thanks to Snugglebug. Love ya! Thanks to the reviewers, enjoy!

Court recessed until Monday when Harm was able to return and finish his testimony showing far more competence than he did the first time around. All in all by the end of the week Harm and Mac were neck and neck in their battle for their children. That was when Mac's lawyer put her feet to the fire. "Sarah, there has to be something, something that will crack him, make him angry, make him...make him not so steady."

"Like what?" she asked. "He's a lawyer; he knows how this game works. Throwing him off balance will be really hard to do…not to mention...I'm not sure it's in his best interest, given his current health."

"His current health is one of the only weapons we have," Jacob sighed. "That and...what really gets to him? What is really a rough spot with him?"

Mac thought for a second. "The kids. He'll defend and protect them to the utmost end, but you're not suggesting we use that against him?"

"Well Maureen McAuliffe is as good as it gets when it comes to strategy and the fact that she didn't call your daughter means we can't. No, I'm not suggesting we use that against him, I'm saying that's the only hope you have of sole custody. If we can show he's volatile, that he has a temper..."

"Oh, he has one," said Mac. "Believe me."

"Well unless he shows it in the court room..." Mr. Johnston sighed.

Suddenly, Mac had an insight. "We can call a witness, someone who'll be sure to set him off."

"Who?" he asked, interested piqued. "Annie Pendry?"

"She'd get his goat for sure, yes, but she might do more harm than good to us. I was thinking of Mic Brumby," she answered. "He's my...we're semi-involved, and Harm has hated him from day one."

Mr. Johnston nodded, "Thank you Sarah," he smiled. "I'll take it from here."

Maureen battled her hardest to keep Mic from testifying as a rebuttal witness, but the judge gave in. He reasoned that Mic was in contact with the children often and could and would give testimony about what was in their best interested.

"What is your current relationship with Sarah Mackenzie Rabb?" Mr. Johnston asked.

"I'm her boyfriend." replied Mic, looking at Mac as he did so.

"And what is your relationship with Lucille and David Rabb?" he asked.

"I take care of them quite often," he said. "They call me 'Uncle Mic'."

"So the children are fond of you then?" he asked.

Mic nodded. "I do believe so, yes."

"In your experience with the Rabbs, mainly Colonel Rabb, what kind of mother is she?"

"She's the best," he answered. "Very loving, very in tune with her children."

"Do you have a response to the allegations made by Commander Rabb that Colonel Rabb's medical condition makes her incapable of caring for her children properly?" Johnston asked.

"I think it's wrong," said Mic. "She used to be sick, but she's not any longer and she's certainly capable of caring for her children."

"Can you tell us a bit about the children, start with the youngest, David?" This was where he hoped to get Harm's goat. Harm was all ready becoming agitated and Maureen was doing her best to keep him calmed down. If Mic said a few unflattering things about Lucy and DJ, well Harm's protective nature would come flying out.

"He's a right sweet little guy," said Mic with a smile. "He's your typical pre-schooler, learning new things everyday and all. He has his moments, but he's a great little mate."

"Moments?"

"Well yeah," said Mic. "He's a three-year-old; he gets frustrated when he can't do something and his mother or I try to help him. Very independent, likes to figure the world out for himself."

"And what of Lucille?" he asked. This was going to be the one.

"Lucy's a good girl," said Mic, his words not as convincing this time as they were when describing DJ. "She's had a tough time as of late, what with everything changing in her life, but she's...she's a good kid."

"You don't seem too sure of that assessment, Commander Brumby?" Johnston pressed while Harm glared at Maureen. "Do something!" he hissed.

"I can't," she sighed. "The judge ruled it relevant, he'll just over rule me and this is a bench trial."

"No, I am," insisted Mic. "Though my relationship with Lucy has been wrought with a few more 'moments' than DJ's has. I love them both, I really do."

He nodded, "What kind of moments, Commander?"

"Objection," Maureen rose. "Relevance."

"Over ruled," the judge sighed. "Commander Brumby's assessment of Lucille's behavior is valid in determining how she is raised and influence by her parents. Move along, Mr. Johnston."

"She's had a bit of an anger problem for awhile now," said Mic. "I first saw it when things between Commander and Colonel Rabb began to turn sour." He looked in Harm's direction, just to be obnoxious.

"And how did her parents deal with that problem, to your knowledge?"

"I know they sent her to therapy," replied Mic. "I don't think it did much good, but they made her go anyway."

"Does Lucy still have this anger problem?" Mr. Johnston asked Mic.

"She most certainly does," stated Mic. "She doesn't listen to a thing I say without getting angry."

Harm felt his blood begin to boil. "Maybe because you're not her Daddy and she knows she doesn't have to listen to you," he grumbled under his breath.

"Harm relax, they are trying to get to you, just sit still," Maureen comforted to no avail.

"What do her parents say when that happens, what does Colonel Rabb do?" Johnston pressed.

"Colonel Rabb takes her aside and talks to her about it, sometimes calms her down," said Mic. "Commander Rabb, I've no idea. He's the reason she's like this to begin with."

"How so?" Johnston tried to hide his smile as Harm shifted in his seat and clenched his fist.

"Well, the way he raised her," Mic sighed. "He's the reason she's so messed up."

"What do you mean by 'messed up' Commander Brumby?"

"I mean she wouldn't be such a demanding little snot," said Mic, his true feelings for Lucy finally coming out.

With those words Harm was on his feet like a shot. Maureen tried to restrain him but he shrugged her off. Before anyone could react he was in Mic's face, "Take it back, Brumby. Right now!"

Maureen recovered and perused her client, "Harm, sit down!" she ordered as the judge demanded order.

"It's true!" said Mic, not backing down from the confrontation at all. "If you'd been a decent father to her, she might be a decent kid!"

"She is a decent kid!" Harm snapped ignoring the bailiff approaching him as the judge threatened to have his held in contempt. "She's the sweetest..." Those were the last words he was able to say before Maureen's sharp pinch hushed him up. "Harm, sit down now!" To the judge, "Your Honor, a brief recess."

Maureen escorted Harm to the interview room and sat him down, "What the Hell was that?" she blasted.

Being a lawyer himself, Harm knew the damage his outburst had almost certainly caused their case, but at the moment he didn't much care. "That jerk-off was insulting my little girl! I wasn't gonna take that sitting down!"

"Harm...he was trying to get to you, to make you angry..." Maureen reminded him. "Now they've won."

"Not necessarily," said Harm, pointing his finger at Maureen for emphasis. "Surely the judge saw through their games."

"Harm, you lunged at the man," she sighed. "I'm going to have to pull off a miracle to get you custody now. Couple this with your collapse last week...you're a lawyer and a father...what would you do?"

"They provoked me with full intention of making me so mad that I'd do...exactly what I did." He sank into his chair. "It'll be harder now, getting custody, but surely between the two of us, we can comprise a strategy."

She sadly looked at him and shook her head, "Harm..."

"No, don't 'Harm...' me," he said insistently. "I know I hurt us in there, but-"

"Harm, to win, Mac would have to show up drunk tomorrow morning," Maureen sighed. "Wait a minute. Did she ever drink around the kids?"

Harm nodded. "Once; when Lucy was little. Her mom had visited...it didn't go too well."

"Will you testify about that?" Maureen asked. "It's a last ditch effort, but maybe it'll help."

It was only his desperation in trying to fix what he'd done to his own case that he agreed. He didn't want to hurt Mac by bringing that episode in her past up again, but he was a father facing the loss of his children; he'd do just about anything.

Maureen read the look, "Okay then. Let's do this."

Harm nodded. "It's all we've got left."

When Maureen and Harm returned to the court room he apologized for his disruption and gave Maureen a chance to paint Mic as the opportunist he was. Still, she knew their case was nearly dead. The judge allowed her to recall Harm as a final rebuttal witness and he was reminded his was still under oath. "Commander Rabb, can you describe for me the events of November 27, 2000?"

Harm had just returned from an emergency diaper run and flat tire. Mac's mother had just left after an unexpected and disruptive visit and he'd wanted to get home to her as soon as he could. The fight with her Mom had left her in pieces and he knew she'd need him to put her back together. He expected tears when he returned but not what he saw.

Lucy, just over a year old was standing on the couch crying loudly as Mac snarled, "Be quiet! Be quiet!"

"What the hell's going on here?" he asked Mac as he quickly picked Lucy up and tried to comfort her.

"Not a whole Hell of a lot," Mac slurred as she dropped the beer bottle on the sofa.

"Oh, Mac," he sighed, so sad, so disappointed. "I'm going to put her down, then I'm making you a strong pot of coffee and we're going to talk, whether you like it or not."

"I don't care," she slurred. "Do what you want, you always do."

He took his daughter and settled her in bed, and then returned to the living room. "Mac," he said softly. "What happened?"

"My mother was here," she slurred. "And she left."

He took to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee, and upon his return he sat beside his wife, reaching out to hold her. "Come here."

"No!" she snapped. "No!"

"Sarah," he said softly. "Please? You're hurting; please let me help take it away."

Mac gave a short laugh, "Take it away? You're just going to be like the rest of them. Just like everybody else."

"I'm not 'everybody else', sweetie," he said. "I'm your husband, and I love you more than anything, and I hate to see you like this."

"Then don't look," she replied. "Oh I forgot, if you didn't, you won't get to be the hero. Harmon Rabb to the rescue. Well, I don't need to rescued. I need..." She froze and reached for the bottle on the table.

He reached out and beat her to it, moving it far out of her reach. "This isn't the answer, Mac."

"Why not? It's the only thing that's never left me, never hurt me," she whispered. "I just..." Her eyes were starting to tear and spill over.

He grasped her shoulders and turned her body to face his. "I'll never leave you. I know I've hurt you in the past, but I'll never leave you."

With those tender words the sobs came, "I just want somebody to love me. I want my Mom to love me," she sobbed out to him. "Why can't she? I'm her baby, like Lucy and...I love her so much, why can't my Mommy love me?"

"Oh, Mac..." he said softly, pulling her in close, this time without her fighting him on it.

She cried into his chest for several minutes, "My Dad, as messed up as he was, he loved me in his own pathetic way. He tried you know?"

"Shh...I know," he soothed. "It's not your fault she left, baby. You think it is, but it's not."

Mac began to cry harder again, so hard she wasn't able to draw proper breath. "I don't feel well," she squeaked out after a few minutes.

"You wanna go lie down?" he asked.

"Gonna be sick," she managed.

"Kitchen it is!" he said, helping her up and to the kitchen trash can as fast as he could.

She made it by a hair before she became ill from the alcohol and the emotional pain. When she was finished she sagged against him, "Where is Lucy?"

"I put her to bed," he answered tenderly. "She's fine; she was scared."

Mac looked up at him with wet doe eyes, "I didn't hurt her, did I? I'm so sorry, Harm."

"She's not hurt," he assured her. "You're okay, too. You need some sleep, but you're okay."

Mac nodded, "Can you bring her to our bed? I want to hold her."

"Sure, sure I can," he said. "Go in and take a hot bath and get into those tattered pajamas you love so much, and I'll bring her in."

Mac raised her lips to his and kissed him, "Sometimes...Sometimes it is still hard for me to realize you love me."

He smiled. "I do, and I always will."

Mac with Harm's help went and got into a hot tub. While she soaked he cleaned up the mess in the living room. Just before he went to retrieve their baby daughter, there was a knock at the door.

He looked through the peephole and his stance stiffened as he spied the unwelcome caller on the other side. He undid the chain lock and opened the door slowly, finding himself standing face to face with his wife's estranged mother, Deanna Mackenzie.

"I want to see Sarah," she told him.

"Absolutely not!" he said. "Do you have any idea what your coming here has done to her? I came home this evening and found her drunk and heart broken, all because of you!"

"That's because of Joe," Deanna replied. "We're not finish talking. She's my daughter and I want to see her and my grandchild."

"You're not coming back in this house!" said Harm. Mac will contact you when, how and if she chooses, until then, goodbye!"

Deanna tried to push past him, "Who do you think you are? She's my daughter and I'll see her when I choose to see her."

"Not in this lifetime, Deanna!" he spat, easily pushing her back away from the door. "You need to leave before I call the cops. I mean it; don't push your luck."

That did it, Deanna turned and left, never to see Mac again.

"At any time during this episode and the coming weeks, did you fear for your child's safety with her mother?" Maureen asked.

"There was some level of fear; worry perhaps," he answered.

"And you equated Colonel's Rabb alcoholism to stress?"

"Indeed," said Harm. "Her mother's visit was too much for her to handle effectively."

"And this situation, the end of her marriage, losing the only person she believed loved her unconditionally, in you assessment Commander, will that be too much for her to handle?" Maureen asked, winding up a brilliant fast ball pitch.

He looked down at his hands, at the vacant white space where his wedding band once sat. "Yes."

"No further questions."

Harm faced a second brutal cross by Mr. Johnston, then retired home with AJ. The next day would be the truthsayer. He'd know then if he lost his babies or not, if he did, he didn't know how he'd go on.

The following morning, Harm sat with his lawyer, Mac with her as the judge entered to render his decision. "Good morning. I am charged with a very difficult task, the task of choosing between two very loving and very capable parents. If I had my way, which I often do, these two people would happily share their children and call it a day. Alas, it is not my decision to say whether or not they should share, it is my decision to say which or these two will be the best overall caregiver for Lucille and David Rabb. Thus, I hereby award sole custodial responsibility to Sarah Mackenzie Rabb and order one weekend per month visitation to Commander Harmon Rabb to be carried out on the fourth Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the month. So ordered.!" With that he banged his gavel and left the court room.

Mac leapt for joy, going to Mic's arms to celebrate her good fortune. For his part, Harm sat still, too devastated to move. Part of him was numb; another part was crumbling to dust as sure as the world was spinning round. He could do nothing at first except sit and stare into space, until Maureen brought him out of his emptiness.

She touched his shoulder, "We'll appeal. It's not over."

He looked up at her as his tears began to fall. "I can't lose them, they're all I have."

"We'll appeal," Maureen comforted.

"And if we lose again?"

She sighed, "We could. And you could lose visitation. If we file she'll probably try to revoke it all together."

He buried his head in his hands. "I can't believe this is happening," he said. "It's my fault; the way I went after Brumby."

"Its not your fault," she comforted. "These things happen. Why don't we go out for a bite to eat, we'll restrategize."

"Not hungry," he mumbled.

"Then watch me eat," she replied. "That is, assuming you want to fight her."

He looked up once again. "We have to."

"We don't have to," Maureen answered. "Most fathers don't. But it's your call."

"I can't lose them," he said again. "I lost Mac; I...I can't lose my kids."

"But you did," he heard from behind him, in Mic's Australian drawl.

Harm looked up at Mic, saying absolutely nothing. He just didn't have any fight left.

Maureen reached her hand down to him, "Come on. Let's get you out of here. Its been a rough morning."

Rising slowly, Harm followed his attorney out of the courtroom, the place his life had changed in so many unimaginable ways in such a short time.

In spite of her urging Harm just wanted to go home, back to AJ's. He went inside, walked past the retired Admiral, and went to his bed.