Giving it a Try

by byrhthelm

All it takes is one answer to one question to change lives. H. Rabb & C. Gale - Complete

10. Chapter 10

10

Harm sat at his kitchen's breakfast bar, a plate of now-cold toast by his elbow, and a mug of coffee cradled in his hands as he stared moodily at his cell phone on the bar-top in front of him and contemplated on last evening's events.

After Tracy Manetti's departure, he had hastily thrown together a dish of pasta with pesto which as soon as it was ready he and Catherine had eaten, sharing the silence just as much as they had shared the meal. Recognising his pre-occupation Catherine had been content to just sit with him for a while as he wrestled with his instincts, his wishes and his obligations. Eventually however, she had started yawning, jolting Harm from his introspection, and apologising for his bad manners, he had walked her down to her car.

Unlocking her car, Catherine had turned to him and holding onto his upper arms for balance, she had raised herself on tip-toe and kissed him gently, "Don't sit up all night brooding," she admonished him quietly, "You always do the right thing, even when it costs you. So have faith in your instincts. Whatever you decide, I'm right here, and I'm not fixing to go anywhere."

Harm had just smiled warmly, returned her kiss and said, "Thank you."

But despite Catherine's pledged support and all the arguments he had tossed back and forth during a mostly sleepless night, he still hadn't reached a decision. He shook his head, impatient with himself for not being able to make a simple decision, and then again remembering Catherine's words, "it couldn't hurt," he swore silently, and fishing Tracy's card out of his shirt pocket, he cast a calculating glance at his watch and then dialled her cell 'phone.

"Manetti."

"Good morning… Tracy, it's Harm…"

"Good morning to you too, sir." The rising inflection of her voice made her simple greeting sound like a question.

"Yeah. OK, I've decided, I'll accept the SecNav's invitation to meet; but it can't be today… There's a lot going on with me right now, and I have some important stuff to deal with…"

"I understand, Harm. I'll explain you have a full agenda for today… It might actually help your negotiating position if he thinks that you have other fish to fry…" she added speculatively.

Harm smiled mirthlessly, "That sounds a mite devious… and there I was a-thinking you were just another spoiled southern belle!"

"Oh, but I am, sir, although it's most ungallant of you to say so!" And then losing the teasing note in her voice, she added soberly, "OK, Harm, I'll tell him you called, and I'll get back to you with a time and a date."

"Yeah, thanks Tracy - have you got my cell 'phone number?"

"I have now, Harm! 'Bye."

"Yeah, 'bye, Tracy."

Harm closed his cell phone after another look at his watch, and then decided he'd wait until he got down to Charlottesville before he called Catherine to tell her of his decision. He shrugged into his leather jacket and slipping the 'phone into his pocket, he picked up his crash helmet and made for the door.

x-x-x-x-x

Harm had by-passed Charlottesville-Albemarle airport and had ridden straight to Charlottesville municipal courthouse, where a succession of inquiries eventually led to the family court clerk's office. The clerk, separated by a counter from the public, was a middle-aged female who appeared to be about five-feet nothing tall, with a full figure, her sizeable bosom matched by her wide hips.

As Harm entered her office, she looked up at him, over the top of her wire-framed spectacles, and gave him a look of a type that he normally reserved for cockroaches, rats and other assorted vermin. Harm gulped as he realised he would have to face this gorgon on her own turf. In the nature of things, as a trial lawyer, he knew next to nothing about family courts, except that they were frequently run on very different lines from that to which he was accustomed.

It seemed his worst fears were realised when she asked in a cold voice, "How may I help you?"

Harm tried a smile, which she met with a stony glare, as he swallowed hard, and replied, "I… I've come to inquire about applying for legal guardianship of a child…"

A snorted "H'mph!" was his only verbal answer as she heaved herself to her feet and walked across her office to a filing cabinet where, after a few seconds she turned to the counter with a large manila envelope in her hand. "Well, here it is everything you need to know right now, what forms to complete, what the court fees are, the criteria that need to met before application for a court hearing, and it explains the need for home visits and an interview by the Guardian ad Litem - that's…"

"I do know what a Guardian ad Litem is, thank you!" Harm interrupted her brusquely. In the space of three minutes she had succeeded in angering him, It wasn't so much what the woman had said, but rather the affectedly superior manner in which she used them, as if he, a member of the public was somehow an inferior breed to a minor civil servant.

Harm picked up the envelope and tucked into the partially zipped front of his jacket, and with a nod and a "Thank you, ma'am," made a quick getaway. Standing next to the Indian he forced himself to breathe deeply, getting frustrated with petty officialdom this early in the process of applying for Mattie's guardianship did not, he told himself, bode well for the future. But the really worrying aspect of this affair, he thought as he fastened his helmet strap, was that he had reacted so quickly to much less provocation than he had received in the past from obtuse and/or hostile senior officers. Was it only the navy discipline enforced by the UCMJ, that had prevented him from blowing up in their faces, or had his character actually changed in the months he had been out of the navy?

Kicking the Indian's engine into life, he leaned into the right hand turn from the court house parking lot, and accelerated gently on the road that would lead him to the airport, but now, as he rode, he wondered if he was still psychologically fit to be a naval officer.

He still hadn't decided on an answer to that question when some fifteen minutes later he rolled to a halt alongside the Grace Aviation Hangar and turned the Indian's key in the ignition, killing the engine. As he dismounted and heaved the heavy machine up onto its stand he saw the diminutive figure of Mattie stride determinedly towards him, a definite scowl of displeasure on her face.

"You're late!" she snapped at him.

"Yeah… sorry about that boss… but I had something urgent to do in Charlottesville, and… uh… it's kind of important, so I couldn't just let it wait…"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Mattie demanded her arms firmly crossed in front of her chest, her feet braced apart and her chin jutting pugnaciously.

Harm grinned at her and waited for a moment, and then as her eyes narrowed and her mouth began to open, he interjected, "Well, I had to go to the courthouse and start the paperwork so that Catherine and I can become your guardians…" he said softly.

Mattie's eyes suddenly swam with moisture, and she turned away from him as she hastily swiped her eyes with the cuff of her sweat shirt sleeve and said gruffly, "You don't have to do this, you know."

Harm took the necessary three steps to close the distance between them and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yeah, we do," he contradicted her.

"Yeah, whatever. But you still got the long field at the old Williams place to spray. So if you want your pay, you'd best damn' well go and earn it!"

Knowing that Mattie was using her peevish scolding voice as a cover for her emotions, Harm just squeezed her shoulder slightly for a second or two, and said, "On it ma'am! But, before I go…" he pulled his cell 'phone out of his pocket, "Can you look after this for me, and answer any calls and take any messages, please?"

"What am I, your damn secretary all of a sudden? Yeah, OK, just give me the 'phone, find out where it is you're supposed to be going and get your a… uh… your six in the air!"

"Aye, aye, ma'am!"

Feeling him move away from her, Mattie stood still for a few seconds before she turned and watched him walk away, "Why are you doing this?" she whispered, and then, "Please, don't let this be some kind of sick joke…"

x-x-x-x-x

Harm taxied the Ag-Cat back to the hangar and applied the brakes to halt it on the apron as he eased the throttle all the way back as he switched off the engine. Climbing out of the cockpit he indulged in his customary bending and stretching exercises to work the kinks out of his back, before he headed for the office.

"Hey, boss…" he started cheerfully, only to stop dead as he saw Mattie's woebegone face which bore the unmistakable signs of a very recent bout of tears. "Hey, squirt," he began again, but in a much softer, more concerned tone, "what's happened here? Where's the spitfire that tore me a new one just a couple of hours ago?"

Mattie just shook her head and gestured helplessly at the pile of paperwork on the desk in front of her, after a moment or two as she worked her mouth, she managed to croak, "Harm, I'm getting so tired of it… everyday, more bills, more demands for payment, more threats of taking the company to court…"

Harm moved forward and squatted in front of Mattie, taking her hands in his, "Hey, hey, OK, so it's bad, but it's not so bad that we can't fix it. You, me, Catherine, we're a team now… Hey, you haven't seen Catherine in action, I have. I've been up against her in court. She's one damn tough lady lawyer; these legal weenies writing these pathetic little letters? They haven't got a clue what they'll be facing - she'll have 'em for breakfast!"

Mattie sniffled, "ya think?"

Harm smiled reassuringly, "No Mattie, I don't think; I know!"

Mattie cocked her head sideways and squinted up at him, "So she kicked your butt in court then, huh?"

"Ummm…" Harm had the grace to look slightly embarrassed, "Uh… no… actually, I… uh.., won that case…"

"So you're a better lawyer than she is? So how come you won't be my lawyer against these…?"

"Umm… I… I wouldn't say I was a better lawyer… I…uh… got lucky in that case against Catherine; somebody I know came up with some evidence she didn't know about, and it kinda tipped things in my favour, but until then she was in a fair way to whupping my a… uh… six! Besides which, we work in slightly different areas of the law, I'm more of a criminal lawyer, I either send the bad guys to jail or keep the good guys out of jail… and Catherine… she's more of a… corporate lawyer, she deals more with injunctions and torts and claims and damages, so she's got a lot more relevant experience than I have."

"Uh-huh," Mattie nodded to show that she understood what Harm was telling her, but the tone of her voice and the expression on her face just about screamed out loud that while she might accept his explanation, she didn't necessarily believe him.

"So, kiddo… uh… boss lady secretary…" Mattie giggled at the sudden plethora of titles he'd come up with for her, "Any messages come through?"

"Uh… yeah, just one," Mattie scrabbled through the mess of papers on her desk, "Yeah, from a Tracy, she said 'SecNav wants to know if tomorrow at fourteen hundred is OK?'" she paused, the trouble back in her eyes, "Harm, what's SecNav?"

Harm breathed deeply and braced himself, "SecNav is the Secretary for the Navy… he's like the navy's political boss, kind of two steps down the ladder from the President."

"So," Mattie asked suspiciously, "What's he want with you? You're not in the navy any more."

"No… I'm not. And as for what he wants… I'm not sure, but the Tracy that left that message, well, she is still in the navy, and she came by last night to tell me… us… me and Catherine… that the SecNav wants to speak with me, and she kind of hinted that he wants me back in the navy…"

"Huh, so you will go back and work that mean old man!"

"Mattie, I don't know yet what's happening. I don't really know what the SecNav wants with me. But I do know this, if going back into the navy means going back to JAG, it won't happen! And I can't go back and work for admiral Chegwidden, because he's resigned. And" he added with heavy emphasis, "even if the Admirl was still in his job, I still wouldn't go back and work for him. I told you that twice now, and I told him, to his face that I would never serve under him again. What's more, there are other reasons why I won't go back to JAG."

"Yeah, like what?" Mattie demanded, her chair now pushed as far away from Harm as she could manage in her small office, and her arms again crossed in front of her.

"Well, Mattie… they're kind of personal, what we call 'need to know', and right now, you don't need to know anything other than they will keep me away from JAG for the foreseeable future."

Mattie nodded as she digested Harm's words. Although she was burning with curiosity as to what those reasons could be, she treasured her own privacy too much to keep probing what seemed to be a touchy subject. She shrugged, "OK, but, if you go back into the navy, what happens to the idea of you looking after me?"

"Well, you know Mattie, I've been thinking about that… It might actually help… Remember, we're coming to the end of the dusting season, so you won't be using pilots until next spring. And that means I'll be out of a job until then, and that won't look good on the application, even though Catherine's got a good steady job. But the thing is, we haven't really talked about what she's going to do once she'd had the baby, she might want to quit her job and be a stay at home mom, and if that happens, I think we can definitely say goodbye to any chance of being granted guardianship… But…" he held up a silencing hand as Mattie seemed about to speak, "If I'm back in the navy, as an officer, in a respected profession with a good and steady income, then it will help our chances."

"Yeah, but what if you get sent to a ship or even Iraq or Afghanistan…"

"Well, that's always a possibility… one of the chances that you take when you're in the military, but if I decide to go back to the navy, then one of the things I'm going to ask for is a job in the DC area for the next three years, until you are eighteen years old."

"What happens then?"

"Then, you should be in college, and you'll be classified as a young adult, and won't need a guardian."

"So… you'd just cut me loose, hey?"

"Oh, Mattie, no!" Harm protested, "not cut you loose, just slacken off the reins a little bit…"

Mattie stared at him, and although she kept her face impassive, there was just the beginning of hope in her heart, hope that here at last was someone who wouldn't abandon her…

x-x-x-x-x

"Norman, hi, this is Catherine Gale over in legal. Norman, I need your awesome forensic accountancy skills. I have a set of books I really need going over with a fine-tooth comb. The thing is, Norman, is that I don't have a case reference number, so… I need it done off the books… and it's a rush job."

"I don't know Catherine… we're pretty busy over here…" But although Catherine could hear the reluctance in his voice, she thought she could also detect a degree of compliance. It was unfair to play him, she knew, but Norman Jackson had never made a secret of his attraction to her, and although she could never return his sentiments, she didn't actively dislike him, and besides, it was all in a good cause…

"I would be very grateful, Norman," she hinted.

Norman heaved an audible sigh, his way of telling her she'd won, "OK, do you want me to come and get them?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I'll bring them over. I need the exercise," she joked, and of course the fact that because Norman shared an office, she wouldn't have to be alone with him was only an incidental bonus.

x-x-x-x-x

Harm left Mattie alone for a while to think over what he'd said. As he'd tried to make clear to her, all the talk about him going back into the navy was only speculation based on Tracy Manetti's feeling that his return to duty was what SecNav was after. In the meantime, he could definitely do with a sandwich and a coffee, and he also needed to talk to the realtor. The SecNav's invitation - or summons - was having the side effect of speeding up events in other areas of his life.

So sandwich finished and iced tea drunk, Harm fished out his cell 'phone before heading back to the hangar for that coffee he's promised himself. A five minute phone call to the realtor had Harm grinning to himself, as he dialed Catherine's cell 'phone.

"Hi Harm, this is becoming a regular habit!" Catherine had checked caller ID before answering, and had, anyway, half been expecting Harm to call her.

"Yeah, 'tis. Are you sitting down?" he asked solicitously, but Catherine could hear the excitement in his voice.

"Yes… why?" she asked.

"Well, two pieces of news. One good, the other I'm not sure of yet…"

Catherine felt her stomach tighten as she breathed deeply and said, "Go on, then…"

"Well, then… I've just spoken to Graves' Realtors, the vendors have come back with a counter offer, splitting the difference between the asking price and the offer we made yesterday, and have agreed to take twenty five K off the asking price." He paused for a moment before adding, "And I've said 'yes'. Catherine, we're buying the house on Woodford Road in Vienna!"

"Oh, Harm! That's fantastic!" then Catherine too paused, "Now I suppose we need to get our articles of partnership for my mortgage set in motion…"

"Yeah we do, but before we talk about that for the moment, Tracy Manetti's gotten back to me too. The SecNav wants to see me at fourteen hundred tomorrow. Now, if Tracy's right and he's going to offer to reinstate me, and provided the conditions under which any reinstatement takes place are right, then, especially after talking to Mattie today, I'm strongly tempted, at the moment to say 'yes'. And if I do go back to the navy, we can use the LSO to sort out any and all paperwork, without having to ask favours from friends, and without having to pay an outside attorney. But I want to go through my reasons with you this evening, and see if we can come to a joint decision, just in case I have to make an instant decision tomorrow."

Catherine was silent for a long moment; she'd suspected from the instant that Tracy Manetti had hinted that the SecNav might be considering reinstating Harm's commission that if the chance were offered to him that he would take it. It hadn't been anything to take into consideration when she had first agreed to his crazy scheme, but she had seen at that time there was something essentially Harm that was missing from him, and she wanted that part of him back, Maybe his return to the navy would give him, and her, that missing something, whatever it was. But for good or evil Catherine Gale had made her choice. Harm Rabb was her man, and no matter what he decided, she would stand by him.

She was recalled to the present by Harm's anxious voice, "Catherine? Catherine? Are you still there?"

"Oh… yes... I'm still here. I was just thinking for a moment… Yes, you should talk to the SecNav, and yes, we will talk it through this evening.

"Yeah, we will. So… I'll meet you as planned at the hospital, at seventeen hundred hours?"

"Yes. I'll see you there..."

"OK, 'bye"

"Yeah, 'bye Harm…" For some reason Catherine felt reluctant to end the call, and kept her 'phone to her ear until she heard the line go dead. Closing her 'phone she placed back on the desk, and stared unseeingly at it, her mind filled with images of a house with a white picket fence, a swing seat on the porch and rose bushes growing each side of the porch steps. Returning to the sterile reality of her office, Catherine gave a rueful grin, and placing a hand on her bump, she mused, 'Oh boy, have got I the nesting syndrome bad, or what!'

Pushing herself to her feet, she gathered up Grace Aviation's financial books and steeled herself for the trek, 'or long distance waddle' she grinned to herself, across to the accounting department.

x-x-x-x-x

"Hey, there," Harm said quietly as he poked his head around the door frame.

Esther Gale dropped her magazine and hitched herself up in bed, holding out both her hands towards him, and with happiness dancing in her eyes, she exclaimed, "Harmon! Don't just stand there, come on in!"

Harm crossed the room towards her, his eyes anxiously taking in every detail of her appearance, she was a little flushed, if the pink in her cheeks was any guide, but that wasn't necessarily an alarm signal, it might just be, strange as it may seem, that she was happy to see him again, although if he were a betting man, he wouldn't place a vast sum on that possibility. He took her proffered hands gently in his and asked, "How are you today, Mrs Gale?"

Esther tilted her head to one side in her habitual bird-like gesture, her eyes twinkling, "Is that it? Don't I even get a duty kiss?" she pouted.

Harm laughed softly, "Shameless! That's what you are!" he accused her as he perched on the side of the bed and stooped to place a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Oh, I see," a giggling Catherine interrupted from the doorway, "I can't leave you alone with my mother for five minutes before she's trying to make out with you!"

Harm twisted around on the bed, smiling as Catherine entered the room, before standing and helping her off with her coat.

"And just how do you know it was my doing, dear?" Esther challenged her daughter.

"Because, although you were blocked from my sight by Harm, I distinctly heard your voice demanding the kiss," Catherine smiled.

Once again Esther managed a mock pout through her smile, "Drat, busted!"

Harm turned from hanging up Catherine's coat, "Oh, yeah!" he agreed as he slipped his arm around Catherine's waist and dropped a quick kiss on her lips as she raised her face to him.

Esther's bright eyes took in the unselfconscious way in which Harm had kissed her daughter and the readiness with which Catherine had accepted the kiss, and felt her heart warm. It seemed to her that her initial suspicions - or hopes - had not been ill-founded, and that the little ember she'd thought she'd detected had indeed grown, if not a raging inferno, at least to a comfortable glow.

"Bed or chair, Catherine?" Harm asked as they turned back to face her mother.

Catherine debated for a moment. The chair offered her lumbar support, but the bed would be easier to stand up from, and with what she felt she had to tell her mom, the bed would be the better bet. "I'll perch on the bed for a while, thanks, Harm… but if it gets too much I'll swap out with you."

Once again Esther noted that Harm kept a supporting hand in the small of Catherine's back as she moved towards the bed, transferring his grip to her forearm as she lowered herself to the edge of the bed, and Esther was gratified to see that not only had Harm taken hold of Catherine's forearm, but also that she had gripped his wrist for extra support as she sat.

"So, what have you two been up to, since we last spoke?" Esther demanded, her eyes darting back and forth between the two, as Harm pulled a chair forward so that Catherine could see both him and Esther, without having to twist and turn.

"Well… quite a lot…" Catherine hedged, suddenly realising the enormity of the surprises they were about to spring on her mom, considering the state of her health, and she cast a supplicating glance at Harm.

"Well… first off," he said slowly, judging the effect of his words on the older woman, "Catherine and I made an offer on a house, yesterday, and hearing the counter offer that was made today, we've decided to go ahead and buy it. It's in Vienna. A little bit further out than is ideal, but it suits our needs, and in the end the price was right."

"Oh, my!" Esther put her hand to her throat in an instinctive gesture, but as she saw the quick alarm on both Harm and Catherine's faces, she smiled, "No, no. I'm fine. Just a little surprised, is all. Tell me all about the house," she begged with a smile, as she wriggled back against her pillows in an effort to be more comfortable.

Harm gave her a brief run down on the size of the property and its desirable qualities, while Esther listened with an expression of intense interest on her face, and her eyes again darting back and forth between Harm and her daughter. But the by time Harm had finished his description, her face wore a slight frown, "Isn't it a little big for just you two and the baby?"

Catherine blushed slightly and looked an appeal at Harm, who gently shook his head, "Oh no," he said softly, "you got us into this one; you tell her!"

"Just what's going on here, Catherine Gale?" Esther demanded as she sat up in bed again.

"Give me a moment, Mom, please?" then she turned an accusing eye on her tormentor, "And just how is it my fault? You were the one who hit me with it out of the blue last night!" she reminded him.

"Well… true… but you were the one who decided to jump into this thing… and you did agree it would have to be all or nothing…"

Esther had tried and failed to follow the conversation and with a look of utter confusion on her face she asked, "Catherine…?"

"Hush, mom," her loving daughter said, as she glared at a totally unrepentant and broadly grinning Harm, "You're loving this aren't you?" she demanded of him.

"Oh, yeah!" he smirked

Catherine glared at him again and then turned back to her mother, "The thing is mom, that by Christmas, we reckon that you won't have one granddaughter, but two…"

"Two…? I don't understand… If you're having twins… then how… what you said about last night, and getting involved… Catherine! If you're teasing me…!"

"Well, we are a bit, mom, but it's not twins, honestly. But do you remember how Harm was joking about his new job as a crop duster?" Esther nodded.

"Well, he thought that it was the boss' daughter running the office, while her dad was off piloting. It seems though, that the daughter, Mattie, was running the whole shebang herself. And I might add, quite illegally and without the necessary licences from the FAA."

"But where were her father, and her mother in all this?" Esther asked; her indignation and bewilderment fading as she became absorbed in the story.

"Well it seems the father was responsible for killing the mother by drunk driving, and has now vanished, leaving fourteen year old Mattie on her own. She's done a pretty good job of looking after herself," Harm took up the story, "But, the business is in trouble, and unless it can be turned around in a very short time, she's going to lose the business and her home. And sooner or later the FAA are going to find out what's happening - they always do, and then Child Protective Services will have to get involved, and… well, the long and the short of it is that Catherine and I have decided to apply for legal guardianship of Mattie, and see if we can't at least save her house."

Esther's face assumed the expression of concern it had worn when she had first learned that Harm had never before his first day at Grace Aviation flown a crop dusting sortie, "Aren't you two taking on a house that's too big, just on the chance that you'll be able to act as guardians for this… Mattie, girl?"

"Now that ball is definitely back in your court!" Harm told a stunned Catherine, and then as the import of his words struck home she turned crimson.

"Well, mom, we'd already decided…" Catherine gulped, "on that particular house, before we knew anything about Mattie and her circumstances… the fact is that we'd already discussed, as an hypothesis you understand, the question of a brother or sister for Elizabeth…"

"H'mm," her irrepressible parent replied, "don't you think that there might be something you're missing out? That you're not missing a little step that might just be desirable?"

Catherine was even more crimson than she had been a few minutes ago, and relenting in order to spare her any further discomfort, Harm stepped in again, "Well, Mrs Gale…"

"Esther, Harmon, Esther," she interrupted him.

"Esther," he nodded his agreement, "No… that step would and will be taken before there is any real question of adding to our family, but at the moment, it's not something we've discussed." He raised his eyes from Esther to Catherine's face, now dominated by eyes rounded in surprise, and smiled gently at her, "But when the time is right, I'm sure we will have that conversation."

"Y… yes… yes w..we will. We most certainly will!" Catherine declared determinedly, having recovered some of her wits that Harm had just scattered to the four winds for her.

Esther sank back onto her pillows again, a small smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. It seemed that her bull-headed daughter may have not only met her man, but also her match.

As she closed her eyes for a second, Catherine looked at her in concern, and then mouthed to Harm "SecNav?"

He looked at her for a moment, considering whether they ought to unload any further news on her this evening, but given the uncertain nature of his projected meeting with Mr Secretary Sheffield he decided that it might be better to wait until there was something concrete, if there was going to be anything concrete, to tell her. "No, leave it." He whispered back.

Catherine nodded her understanding, and asked "Mom, are you OK? You've gone very quiet."

Esther opened her eyes and tilted her head to one side as she looked up at her daughter, "No, I'm fine, Catherine, thank you, just having a few old lady thoughts. But, I guess I am a little tired. They let me up for a couple of hours this afternoon, you know, and oh, it was such a blessed relief to get out of this bed for a while. I had one of the orderlies wheel me down the hall to the day room, and it was so nice, just to sit there and look out of a different window, to see something different. And the doctors said if I don't show any signs of any ill effects, they'll consider letting me out more and for longer, but it has taken it out of me - just a little bit."

"That's great, mom! But when exactly were you planning on telling us this?"

"Oh Catherine, it's no big thing, and besides, I just did!"

"It is a big thing mom!" Catherine argued, "and it's proof that we do need that big old house, Before you know it, you'll be getting better, and then maybe you can come and stay with us for weekends until you're well enough to go home!"

"Oh, that would be lovely, dear. I shall look forward to that - once you're settled in of course!"

"Yeah, well, we've a little way to go before that stage, and I'm sure you'll be well enough by then."

"Of course I will, Catherine! But, if you don't mind, I'd like to rest for a little while before dinner. So…"

"Yes, of course, mom. Good night." Catherine bent to kiss her mother's cheek and return the surprisingly strong grip with which Esther took hold of her hands.

Harm too came to the bedside, and gently kissed Esther's other cheek, "Just so I don't make you beg again," he teased her.

"You are a bad man, Harmon Rabb," Esther scolded him, "and you look after my daughter and your children do you hear?"

"I hear you, ma'am. Loud and clear! Goodnight."

Esther watched in happy silence as Harm helped Catherine with her coat and blew them both a kiss as they paused and turned at the door. Once they had vanished from her sight, she lay back against her pillow, the brightness in her eyes now caused by unshed tears, "Oh Catherine," she sighed, "We both know that I'm never going to get out of here…"

"You're not, you know" Catherine said in a muffled voice as they walked out into the dark of the parking lot.

"Not what?" Harm asked in surprise.

"Despite what mom said, you're not a bad man. You are a good man Harmon Rabb!" Catherine declared fervently.

Fortunately it was too dark for Catherine to see the flush that mounted to Harm's cheeks and perhaps even more fortunate that Catherine didn't give him time to answer before she spoke again in a low voice, "You know that she's never going to get out of there don't you? Not even for weekend visits," and as she said the last few words, Catherine's voice broke, and she felt the sudden tears stream down her face.

"Oh, sweetheart, I know, I know," Harm said as he gathered her into his arms and let her bury her face in his shoulder. He wasn't really surprised at that point to feel his own eyes prickle with excess moisture.

They stood their arms around each other for a minute or two, until Catherine sniffled and stood back, searching in her purse for a Kleenex. Dabbing her face dry, she managed a watery smile, and said, "Well you'd best follow me back to my place, it's my turn to cook this evening!"

"Are you sure you're OK to drive." Harm asked concernedly.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just being silly for a minute or two."

Harm looked at her critically; he wanted to refute her, to tell her that she wasn't being silly, that she was facing a loss that was all too imminent. Despite the temporary rally that Esther Gale had made, it seemed to his admittedly untrained eye that on each visit she seemed a little paler, a little weaker, a little more tired and a little more… he searched for the word he wanted, but the best he could come up with was 'transparent'

x-x-x-x-x

Harm stacked the dishes in Catherine's dishwasher and turned up the heat under her kettle to make two cups of tea, "Lemon grass, please Harm," Catherine called from the living room.

"On it, boss!" Harm replied, and smiled on hearing the answering laugh float through to the kitchen. Once the tea was brewed he bore the two mugs into the living room and carefully placed them on the occasional table in front of the sofa, most of the table's surface was occupied by Grace Aviation's books and Harm had to nudge them slightly to one side in order to make room for the coasters Catherine had ready.

Sitting beside her, Harm looked at the sheet of figures that four hours' of Norman's brainwork had produced. "What exactly are we looking at here?" Harm queried.

"Well, this figure is the net worth of the company. This figure here is the value of its assets, and this figure shows its liabilities as of yesterday's date."

Harm whistled soundlessly as he took in the discrepancies, "Can it be saved?" he asked.

"Well…" Catherine was reluctant to reveal her source, as she had a sneaky, no make that a guilty feeling, that Harm wouldn't approve of her methods, "according to our forensic accountants, it can be saved, but not without an immediate injection of capital, to balance out that discrepancy."

Harm grimaced, "What about that bank loan? That's secured on the house, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's in arrears to that amount," Catherine pointed out another figure, "but even if the arrears were paid off, it's still listed as a company asset, so if the company goes, so does the house."

Harm thought furiously, "Let's say," he suggested, "that the company sold off the house, for more than the loan secured on it. That money would clear the debt and more, and the added benefit would be that the house would no longer be vulnerable to being seized by the bank if the company goes down the tubes, right?"

"Harm, you're not thinking of buying it are you?" Catherine gasped.

"Well, I was…" he admitted sheepishly, "but I can't afford the two houses, ours and Mattie's. But," he added slowly, "I do know someone who might not only be prepared to buy the house, but might even be prepared to invest in the business…"

"Who?" Catherine asked.

"Frank."

"Your step dad?"

"Yeah… don't jump down my throat yet, because I'm still trying to put this together in my head. If we can save the company, it's obvious that Mattie, although she'd worked hard and tried her best, isn't yet up to the job. Besides which, she needs to get back to school. So if we do save the company, we'd need an aviation savvy manager to put in there. And that manager would need to live somewhere, and if that place to live turned out to be Mattie's house, then the manager would need to pay rent. In fact, thinking about it, I wouldn't really need Frank to buy the place, but just to take up the mortgage on it."

Catherine stayed silent, her jaw dropping open as Harm's eyes lit up and his delivery quickened as he followed his train of thought. This was the Harmon Rabb she remembered from the Angelshark case; the Harmon Rabb who could become passionately involved in the problems that lay front of him and who would fight to do the right thing! This was Harmon Rabb finding the piece that he'd been missing since before he went freebooting in Paraguay!

"Yes, OK, I see where you're going with this, but we'd need to find as a manager, someone we trust absolutely. Who are you thinking of, one of your old flying buddies?"

"Yeah… I am," he grinned, "but probably not in the way you're thinking. Is Beth O'Neill still with the company?"

Catherine gasped again, and then an unholy smile spread across her face. "Yes, she is, just about. From what I hear, she was pretty pissed that you got canned!"

"Well then," he said expansively. "Let's make her an offer she can't refuse. Give her my cell 'phone number and we'll set up a meeting!"

"H'mm, slow down Harm. We still have to get this past Mattie."

"Yeah, I know, and I've been thinking about that too!"

"Ooh! Multi-tasking! Oh, Harmon Rabb, you are so wonderful!" Catherine breathed in mock admiration, her voice dripping with insincerity and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"It's a damn good job you've got our daughter in there!" he growled, "Otherwise you'd be in for the tickling of your life!"

"I know," she admitted frankly, "Isn't it a good job that I'm not afraid to take advantage of my condition!"

"Just remember what they say about payback!" he cautioned her.

"Yeah, yeah, promises, promises," she scoffed, "But what about Mattie?"

"Well, I was wondering, could you put her up for one night, here?"

"Well, yes, sure…"

"Good. In that case, if it's convenient for you, I'm going bring her up from Charlottesville tomorrow, when I come up to see SecNav, and then tomorrow evening, we'll take her to meet your mom, and then we can come back here and we'll order in, and then we can put our ideas to her. Double team her."

"And if she says 'no', what then?" Catherine asked with a frown, dismissing for the moment the idea of taking Mattie to Kresge. That wasn't a problem, and would have to be done sometime in the near future, and tomorrow was as good a time as any.

"We try to talk her 'round, if she still says no, then we think again."

"So… I should call Beth tomorrow?"

"No, not yet, and I won't call Frank yet, either…"

"OK," Catherine set about tidying up the paper work, and while she was doing so, she asked, "Now, what about this meeting with the SecNav tomorrow. If he offers to reinstate you, as that… Commander whatever her name is…"

"Tracy" he supplied.

"Yes, thank you. If she's right and that's what on his mind, what are you going to do?"

"That depends, Catherine, on the exact nature of the offer. I can't go back to JAG, for a start."

"Why not?" she asked curiously as she lifted his arm to allow her to lean her against the hollow of his shoulder, "after all, she said the Admiral had resigned…"

"Yeah, and that's precisely why I can't go back. It would be assumed that his going was something that I had demanded as a price for returning to JAG. And anyway, there's still Mac…"

Catherine winced, she had forgotten about that particular eight hundred pound gorilla, and she didn't think that now was a good moment to start discussing that particular situation, instead she fastened on the first of Harm's reservations. "That's ridiculous! Why would Chegwidden's resignation make it impossible for you to go back to a job you love, and how could anybody possibly see it as your doing?" she objected.

"It may be ridiculous, but that's the way it would be seen. It would make me an absolute pariah, a political appointee, the SecNav's hatchet man, I just wouldn't be trusted; it would always be held against me at any promotions board for which I was nominated, and a way would be found, as soon as the administration changes, to get rid of me permanently."

"But, Harm you're a lawyer!"

"Yeah, I am. But I'm also a pilot, and first and foremost, I'm a naval officer!"

"So… you'd go back to flying?"

"No… I don't think so… not on a full time basis. Not any more, there's you and Elizabeth to think of, and now Mattie as well. Which is another point in favour of taking my commission…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. As I said to Mattie this afternoon, the dusting season's just about finished, all bar the shouting, and soon I'll be an unemployed pilot. It won't look good on the guardianship application, but if I'm back in the navy when the hearing comes up. Well, that's a whole different ball game."

Catherine looked up into his eyes, which had a far-away look in them. "You're not fooling me one little bit, Harmon Rabb. You want back in the navy, don't you?"

"Yeah," he looked down into her eyes and saw the understanding in them, "Yeah I do, but I won't go back if it means letting you, our daughter or Mattie down. You three are my first priority right now. If the offer ain't right, I won't take it, and I'll go back to hawking my résumé around the various DC and Virginia law offices!"

"Harm, come here," Catherine reached up and placing her hand on the back of his neck she drew his head down and gently kissed him. "You'll do what is right," she told him, "And I'll be right at your shoulder when you do it, no matter what you decide. Because no matter what you do it will be the right thing!"

x-x-x-x-x

Mattie eyed him critically. He looked sharp enough in his grey suit. His white shirt was crisply pressed and his tie knotted neatly. "Ya know," she said with a teasing smile hovering on her lips, "you clean up pretty good!

Harm looked at her skeptically, "Yeah, well, thanks. I think! You sure you're going to be alright here in the parking lot?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I got my i-pod, and I got my book. I'll keep the central locking locked, and if anyone bothers me, I'll set the alarm going! Now go, before you're late!"

"Mattie, I'm always late," he grinned, as he stepped out of the Lexus.

"Yeah, I noticed that. I am still your boss, don't forget!"

"No ma'am!" he assured her.

Harm walked briskly across the parking lot to the entrance he'd been told to use and waited patiently while the impeccably turned-out Gunnery Sergeant went through the security protocols with him, eventually asking him to sign the visitors log, and issuing him with a clip-on visitors badge. The marine NCO then indicated a row of chairs against the lobby's side wall and said, "Take a seat please, Mister Rabb; I'll call down to the SecNav's department and have them send you a guide."

"There's no need for that, Gunny," a light female voice interrupted, "I've been sent by Commander Manetti to collect Mister Rabb." She turned, with a smile, towards Harm, "If you'll be pleased to walk with me. sir?"

Harm walked alongside the young Petty Officer Legalman Second Class, as she guided him down one of the many hallways that led to the inner rings of the Pentagon building. "I'm Commander Manetti's Legalman," she offered in explanation of her presence, "and the Commander asked that I meet you at the CP. And when you're done with the SecNav, I'll be here to guide you back. I suppose, that in a way, I'm a modern version of Ariadne"

Harm had to search his memory for a few moments before he made the connection, "You're not comparing the Honourable Edward Sheffield to the Minotaur, are you Legalman Two?"

For a moment the young woman was surprised by his form of address, most civilians she'd met addressed her as 'Petty Officer' and to be addressed by her rate and her rating by someone not in the navy was almost unheard of.

"Uh, no sir," she managed after a few seconds, "Not at all!" and casting a shy glance at him she read the good humour in his face and ventured a small joke, "And I don't consider Commander Manetti to be a Gorgon either!"

"No," he smiled amused at her display of confidence, "I wouldn't think that for a moment!"

The young Petty officer smiled again and continued to lead him through the hallways, eventually stopping at an office doorway, "We're here, sir, please…" she opened the door and waited for him to enter, before following him in and reaching for the intercom on the desk she pressed a button, "Yes, Barker?" came Tracy Manetti's vice.

"Ma'am, Mister Rabb is here."

"Thank you, Barker."

No more than a few seconds passed before the door in the office side wall opened and Tracy Manetti entered the room, her hand held out in greeting and a friendly smile on her face, "Harm, I am so glad, you decided to accept his invitation. Come on through." She then turned to Legalman Two Barker and once again said, "Thank you. Please make sure that you hold my calls for the next… no, wait until I get back to you, and let anyone who asks know that the SecNav is in a meeting until I say otherwise."

"Aye, aye, ma'am!"

Closing the door to her own office behind her, Tracy said, "That girl really is a treasure! I only hope I can take her with me when I leave."

Harm's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, "You? Leave the Pentagon? I thought you were here for life!"

"Oh, no, not hardly. Oh, don't get me wrong Harm. It's a damn good billet, the work is interesting and varied, even if it can be a bit high pressure at times, and a commander here ranks just about the same as a PO Two, but those few months at JAG reminded me that I am a lawyer, and an investigator, so I've been working the angles to get back there as a bona-fide JAG and not as the SecNav's snitch, and it looks as if I might finally have gotten my wish."

"Well, good for you. When does your new assignment take effect?"

"That, Mr Rabb, is not yet decided!" Tracy looked at her watch, "Excellent, two minutes to the hour. Now let me have a look at you!" She stepped back and gave him a quick inspection, "You'll do," she told him with a smile, and crossed to the door in the other side of the office. She knocked and waited until being told "Enter!"

Opening the door, she stepped inside and said clearly enough for Harm to hear, "Mister Secretary, Mister Rabb is here for his meeting!"

"Send him in Commander, send him in!"

Tracy stepped out of the office, and holding the door open, she said in invitation, "Mister Rabb?"

With a "Thank you, Commander," Harm entered the SecNav's office, and his back straightening instinctively he walked briskly to the front of Edward Sheffield's desk and automatically assumed a braced position.

Secretary Sheffield smiled, "Relax Mister Rabb, relax, please." You can take a man out of the navy he reflected, but it seems you can't take the navy out of the man, "Take a seat."

Harm sat, still none the wiser as to the reason he had been invited to meet with this politician. But it appeared that the SecNav was not about to waste much more time.

"Mister Rabb, I have here in front of me a full, un-redacted copy of your service record, not only for your years in the navy, but also the few months you worked for… Another Government Organisation. It makes remarkably interesting reading Mister Rabb. A very colourful and for the most part successful career, and yet, this last year and a half, it all went to hell, and buried you in a load of crap. Well, Mister Rabb, I have had some digging done, and at the bottom of all the crap that fell on you, I find the same initials cropping up time and time again, the initials of our friends at Langley, and of two men in particular.

"It appears, less the charge of attempting to murder Lieutenant Singer, you were finessed into resigning your commission, because one of those two individuals at Langley knew that you would do anything to rescue your partner, and that individual was aware that no military personnel would be allowed into Paraguay for a rescue attempt. It also appears that the agent in charge of that debacle was not completely honest either with Admiral Chegwidden, nor indeed his own superiors.

"But leaving that aside for the moment, I do not know what Admiral Chegwidden was thinking when he processed your resignation, and I understand from him that subsequent to your return, your successful return, from Paraguay, that certain things were said to you that should not have been said. I consider that you have been grossly mistreated, and as a result of that conclusion, I am offering to reinstate your commission, with the time you spent employed as a pilot for AGO credited to you service record as TAD, and the time since you left that organization as sick leave."

Harm was astounded. Yes, he'd hoped to be asked to rejoin the navy, but the terms he'd just been offered were more than generous. "Sir… I would like to rejoin, but…"

"But what, Commander?"

The use of his rank made Harm's heart skip a beat, but he also realised that by using his rank Sheffield was playing him. Schooling his face into an expressionless mask, he replied, "Sir, since I went to work for our friends at Langley, my personal circumstances have changed. My partner and I are three months off seeing the birth of our child, and I have just start proceedings to make us the legal guardians of a teenager. I have also just made, and had received, an offer on a house near DC. I'm sure you'll understand, sir, that the prospect of an assignment away from DC, or a deployment aboard ship would, at the moment make it very difficult for me to accept your offer. Your very generous offer."

"My God," Secretary Sheffield breathed, "I'm giving you an almost unheard of second chance, and you're telling me you won't take it unless your conditions are met?"

Harm's heart sunk. He had just blown his chance of returning to the navy. Then to his surprise, Edward Sheffield, broke into a wheezing chuckle. "My Goddaughter was right! You have got brass ones! Is there anything else you need before you'll accept my offer?"

"Just the one thing, sir. I can't return to JAG."

That statement effectively put an end to the Secretary's amusement, "No, you can't, he agreed, to Harm's surprise, "Well not yet anyway. Even without it putting you in an intolerable position professionally - which it would - I am, not quite so unfeeling as to send you back to JAG while Colonel Mackenzie is still assigned there, let alone while she is Acting JAG."

Harm's mouth dropped open.

"Mister Rabb, or shall I call you 'Commander'? Either way, I am not so unfeeling as to send you back there under the current circumstances. But, those circumstances have persisted for far too long. Ted Lindsey's report while in many ways was a hatchet job, did contain one or two truths. A lot of the personnel at JAG, especially the attorneys, have been there far too long. In fact the entire JAG Corps, no matter where assigned seem to have become too accustomed to their billets. The billet I have in mind for you, is a three year assignment, here in the Pentagon, working for me, and replacing, and more than replacing Commander Manetti, who has expressed a wish to return to Jag to work as an attorney. And I think she's right, she does need to get back to trial law.

"As for you, It's a static billet, with no long lasting TADs, although there might be the occasional need to attend a conference out of town. You would not only be my resident expert on international and maritime law, advising me on general policy and individual cases where necessary, but you will also be my legal representative when it comes to dealing with service matters with the Joint Chiefs. And," he went on remorselessly, "there is also the matter I hinted at a few minutes ago, the reorganizing of the JAG Corps, so that the best possible people are in the right places. In addition you will be given the opportunity to retain your flight status, if you wish to do so. I saw that ZNN C-130 broadcast, Commander. It was impressive. It's a pretty heavy load I'm saddling you with, Commander, but I think you are up it. Are you?"

Harm stood, from the depths he had just plummeted to be offered this job at a time when he needed it so badly in order to settle his personal life almost beggared belief.

"Sir, Mister Secretary; yes, I am up to it!"

Edward Sheffield smiled, and pressed the intercom buzzer on his desk, "Commander Manetti, will you and Petty Officer Barker please step into my office, and bring the folder with you, thank you."

The door opened in seconds and the two women entered the office, Tracy Manetti passed a stiff blue folder to Secretary Sheffield, who placing a pair of reading glasses on his nose, opened it and said to Harm, "Raise your right hand and repeat after me…"

As Harm finished taking his renewed oath of service, his head was in so much of a whirl that he almost missed Sheffield's next words, "Congratulations Commander! Commander Manetti, in the absence of Commander Rabb's family, perhaps you would like to do the honours!"

Tracy's "Aye, aye, sir!" was, perhaps slightly more enthusiastic than protocol called for as she stepped quickly towards Harm and standing on tiptoe just about managed to plant a soft kiss on his cheek, and as she stepped back she smiled and said just loudly enough for him to hear, "I've wanted to do that ever since Naples!" and then aloud, "Congratulations, Commander!"

"Well Commander, I'll expect to see you here at eight am on Monday morning, ready in all respects to start your takeover from Commander Manetti. Commander Manetti, please be so good as to have Commander Rabb's credentials ready for him at that time, and waiting for him at entrance twelve-B." The SecNav then grinned as he said "Dismissed, Commanders!"