19

Harm breathed a sigh of relief as he locked his desk he had half-expected at some stage during the day to be summoned by the SecNav and hauled over the coals over yesterday's confrontation with Admiral Chegwidden, it really had been like waiting for the other shoe to drop. But now, as he was securing for the day, albeit twenty minutes or so early, it seemed that either the SecNav had not (unlikely as it may seem) realised that anything was amiss between the two officers, or, and Harm felt a prickle of suspicion, he had for some reason (probably Machiavellian) decided to do nothing about it - for the moment at least.

But now other, more important, domestic matters pushed any professional worries to the back of his mind, where he could shovel them into the appropriate compartment and leave them there until the morning, until after one of the most important interviews of his life. Until after the meeting with Donna Le Moyne, Mattie's Court Appointed Guardian Ad Litem.

Passing through the outer office, he paused at Legalman Two Barker's desk where the young woman was stuffing letters and orders into envelopes, "All going well, Barker?"

"Yes, sir – although I reckon I'm going to be another hour, maybe an hour and half until this is all done."

Harm used his cover almost as a pointer, for added emphasis, "OK… but don't work on too late. I know the parking lot is pretty well lit, but I also know that the enlisted parking lots are the furthest from the building, and I don't like the idea of you walking almost half a mile across a nearly empty lot after dark and on your own.

Barker smiled, it was so typical of Commander Rabb to worry, and it was not a concern she had met before either – well that wasn't quite true, Commander Manetti had cautioned her before on pretty much the same subject, but then again Commander Manetti was a woman. "I'll be careful, sir, she assured him, and if it is dark, I'll ask the MPs for a ride out to my car…." She saw his eyebrow begin to lift and added, "Honestly, sir, I will. I promise!"

"Well, you just be sure and do that!" Harm grinned, he liked the young woman and would be sad to see her go, but it was in the best interests of her career, and besides, by replacing her with Jennifer Coates, he would also be in a position to help his favourite protégée to advance in her career.

"I will, sir!" Barker protested.

"OK, then, good night, Barker!"

"Good night, sir!"

Barker watched the office door swing shut behind him and stared at with a soft smile playing across her lips, and then for about the forty eleventh time since Commander Rabb had started his tour at the SecNav's Office, she sighed wistfully and gave herself an imaginary slap upside the head. "Get a grip girl!" she told herself severely.

"Talking to yourself, Petty Officer?" Faith Coleman asked as she left her office and stepped into the outer office.

"Not really, ma'am." Barker said, "More of a self-motivational chewing-out for not being entirely with the programme."

Faith Coleman's eyes flitted between Commander Rabb's office door and the door leading out to the hallway, a faint smile appeared on her lips, "Yes, sometimes it's hard not to get distracted, isn't it?"

"Ma'am?"

"Scuttlebutt has it that you're leaving us shortly, Barker?"

"Yes, ma'am, I had my orders cut today." And so did you, she thought, but refrained from speaking her thought out loud.

Faith nodded, "Yes, I'd heard. Sometimes it's best to just move on, before you get too comfortable with a billet…" she paused and looked the younger woman straight in the eye, "or the people with whom you work, or under whose command you work…"

Barker could not fight back the faint blush which suffused her face and made her feel that the tips of her ears were burning, "No, ma'am," was all the answer she could find, and that in a suffocated accent.

Faith Coleman nodded, satisfied that she'd made her point and with a twitch of the lips that could charitably be classified as a smile she said "Good night, Petty Officer,"

"Good night, ma'am." Once again Barker watched the door close behind a departing officer, but this time her sigh had nothing wistful about it, but was composed of relief, mixed with a little worry. "Surely to God, I haven't been that damn obvious?" She asked herself.

xix-xix-xix-xix-xix

Harm settled himself behind the wheel of the Lexus and pulled his cell 'phone out of his pocket and pressed Speed Dial #1. It was funny in a way, but even after all that had passed between them, he still half expected to hear Mac's voice answer when he pressed that particular button. But…

"Catherine Gale…"

"Hi, boo'ful, just checking to make sure you haven't forgotten…"

"I'm on my way out now, Harm… in fact, I'm just passing the wall…"

"OK, I'll see you at home in… say… twenty minutes?"

"Best make it thirty minutes, Harm."

"Split the difference, call it twenty five?" he asked hopefully.

Catherine's laugh was evident in her voice as she replied, "You just can't help yourself, can you? You're just a natural-born negotiator!"

"My predilection or otherwise for negotiation has nothing to do with it," Harm answered, doing nothing to keep the warmth out of his voice, "It's just that after a long day at work, I just can't wait to see my beautiful, pregnant girlfriend."

"Oh…" Catherine was startled into silence for a moment, she might have misinterpreted the depth of feeling he was expressing in his voice, but…

"What did you just call me?" she asked, cautiously optimistic.

"M'mm…" Harm thought rapidly as he tried to recall exactly what he'd just said, "My beautiful, pregnant, girlfriend," he affirmed.

"Oh… that's what I thought..." Catherine answered with a happy little sniffle.

"Hey, what else am I going to call the woman who shares my life and who is going to be the best mom in the world to our little girls?"

"Go, get going," Catherine said, "otherwise all the time we've gained in finishing early will be lost in talking. And we can do that when we get home."

"Yes, ma'am!" Harm smiled, and closed his phone.

Catherine stood just inside the main door of the Langley HQ complex and stared at the now-silent 'phone in her hand, "Damn you Harmon Rabb," she muttered, "You were so close there for a second or two… I really thought you were going to say it! Just what the hell did that bitch do to you?"

xix-xix-xix-xix-xix

Mattie looked anxiously at her reflected image, at least Harm and Catherine hadn't tried to make her wear a damn' dress, but she wasn't sure that this polo-neck sweater over a button down shirt thing was really her either. And her eyes were still a bit watery from the ruthless way Catherine had dragged comb and brush through her tangle of curls, and seeing her hair brushed into submission was so just weird that it made her doubt that it was her image she could see.

But still… Catherine always looked so good that it was hard to doubt her judgement, but Catherine had the advantage of being naturally beautiful to start with, and her pregnancy just made her even more so.

But now… something had obviously happened to piss… uh… tick Catherine off… she had barely been civil to Harm when he'd gotten in from work, and she sure had been energetic and had disregarded Mattie's complaints when she had attacked – yeah, attacked was the right word – Mattie's hair. There hadn't been any indication of any arguments coming from Catherine's … their bedroom, as they were getting changed, and nothing now emanating from the living room, but there had been a strained silence between them. Catherine was mad at Harm, but Harm, when Mattie had caught his eye, had spread his hands and given his head a little shake, baffled as to what he'd done to upset the blonde woman. Mattie sighed, she just hoped that Catherine could put whatever it was aside until this Guardian woman had been and come and gone.

xix-xix-xix-xix-xix

Harm sat on the edge of the bed as he watched Catherine silently finish getting ready for their visitor. He was ready; he'd be damned if he was going to sit around all evening in his Service Dress Blues and had quickly showered and changed into a pair of charcoal grey slacks and a mid-blue button down shirt. Catherine too had decided to change clothes and was now stepping into her charcoal grey stretch knit dress that at this stage really emphasised her burgeoning figure. Harm wasn't sure whether her making such a point of her pregnancy was a good thing or a bad thing,but he'd already had his head bitten off when he'd attempted to broach the subject, and had decided that it would be much wiser to let the matter drop. He had no idea why she was mad at him, or what he could possibly have done between ending the 'phone call and arriving home, but the cold disdain with which she had greeted him and the deliberate way she had avoided his kiss made it plain to him that somehow, somewhere along the line, he had, in Catherine's eyes, royally screwed up.

Seeing her now struggling to inch the zipper up the last six inches or so to her neck line in back, he stood and walking up behind her he put his hands gently on her shoulders, and said quietly, "Let me,"

Catherine froze for an instant and then dropped her hands to her side. Harm finished closing the zipper, and then replacing his hands gently on her shoulders, he looked at their image in the mirror and asked, "OK, I surrender. What did I do, or say that caused this sudden drop in temperature?"

Catherine sighed and turned to face him, "Nothing…"

Harm's face suddenly became a picture of confusion, "I didn't do or say anything…?"

Catherine looked up at him her eyes beginning to tear, "No… it's not what you said or did… I guess it's me wishing that…" she stopped suddenly aware that she had been about to betray her innermost feelings, something she didn't want to do, or was prepared to consider doing unless she was pretty sure of what Harm's response was going to be, and despite all that had happened between them, the way he cared for her, the way she sometimes caught him looking at her, he was so good at securing his emotions behind those inner walls that she still wasn't sure how he'd react if she told him how she really felt.

Harm stood for a second more, still baffled by Catherine's non-explanation, and then letting his hands slip down her arms, he caught her hands in his and stepped backwards to the bed, sitting once again on its edge, and gently drawing her down so that she sat on his knee. Supporting her with one arm braced across her back, he used one long finger of his other hand to raise her chin, tipping her face up towards his before cupping her cheek and using his thumb to wipe away the tears that had overflowed from her eye.

Catherine hiccupped and after a damp sniff or two, she burrowed her head into the hollow of his shoulder, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "so, so sorry…"

"That's OK, sweetheart," he murmured, "You're allowed to get upset…"

"Catherine, although still hiding her face in Harm's shoulder, shook her head, "No, I don't think I can let my hormones take the blame for this one… and besides, even if they were, it's not your fault I'm pregnant…"

Harm tightened his grip an infinitesimal degree, "No, it's not," he agreed in a whisper, "But, oh, how I wish it was…"

Catherine gasped in shock, and pulled back against his supporting arm, "Do you really mean that?" she asked. It was about the last thing on earth she'd expected him to say.

Harm blinked at her in astonishment, "Of course I mean it! You're wonderful, kind, generous, gentle, warm-hearted, understanding – well for the most part," he grinned, "What is there about you not to love, and not want you to be the mother of my children. Catherine, any sane man..."

"You just… just shut up, Harmon Rabb!" Catherine interrupted her eyes suddenly sparkling, "What did you just say?"

Harm looked down into her eyes, now almost as dark as his own, and marvelled how they seemed to change colour with her emotions. Seeing her so expose her inner self to him allowed him to let his own walls come crashing down, and realise that what he had said to comfort her was indeed the truth, "I said… no… I asked what is there about you not to love."

"Oh… Harm… Harmon Rabb…. Did… did you… did you just say… that… you… you love me?"

Harm looked at her in surprise, "Of course I said I love you! Catherine, surely you can't have been in any doubt? I've been in love with you for… well, since I don't know when… I admired you from the moment we met on the Angelshark case… even though I got so mad at you for blocking every move we made, although you were only doing your job, and then, even when I thought I was still in love with Mac… when I was so desperate to find her… and we had that absurd mock-wedding at Kresge… well, half-way through that so-called ceremony, I got to feeling that it ought to be the real thing.. and then when I got back from Paraguay… on top of the fall-out from my time in the brig, the feeling that my friends had deserted me, that my CO had betrayed me… through all that you were there – as a friend, and then you came to me when Webb had me fired to offer me… or to look for a friendly shoulder to lean on… and I asked if congratulations were in order… you said they always were when a baby was involved… and there was just something about you at that instant that totally captured my heart. And that feeling has grown stronger with every hour that I've been with you."

"But… you never said…" Catherine protested feebly

"No… I didn't, did I?" Harm said wonderingly. And then a worrying thought him, "But what about…"

Catherine looked up at him in amazement, "Dumb-ass, of course I love you – I have done for months – why do you think I was always so hostile to MacKenzie, or why I said 'yes' to your crazy proposition! Why do you think I was so worried about talking to your mom?"

"Oh, it's just that you never said so…." Harm said sheepishly.

"Well… I wasn't about to risk humiliation if it turned out that you didn't love me!" Catherine grinned, "I'd already gone that route with…" she broke off what she was saying with a gasp of dismay and took hold of Harm's hand and gently pressed it to her bump, and hastily amended her sentence "with Elizabeth's father – her biological father, I mean, 'cos her real father is right here acting as my armchair!" she finished softly.

Harm pinched the bridge of his nose in effort to disguise the tears her words had brought to his eyes, and sat silently for a moment or two, just gently holding Catherine close to him. Eventually, her cleared his throat and somewhat gruffly said, "Well, we'd better check to see what damage this little gab fest has wrought – I'm pretty sure that if this Des Moines sees us with reddened eyes she'll think we're a pair of basket cases, totally unfit to be guardians of a teenage girl!"

Catherine giggled damply, "Yeah, I'd better check my war paint, while you'd best go and get some cold water on your face. At least I have the advantage that way!"

"You know, that is just so not fair!" Harm grinned as he helped Catherine to her feet.

"Get used to it, sailor!"

xix-xix-xix-xix-xix

Mattie glanced up from the magazine she was trying to interest herself in as Harm and Catherine came out of their bedroom into the living room. Scowling suspiciously at them, she was relieved to see that they seemed to have resolved whatever had been wrong between them. Harm was supporting and guiding Catherine with a hand placed encouragingly in the small of her back, while Catherine was leaning back against it and at the same time smiling up at him.

With an exaggerated and highly audible sigh of relief Mattie rolled her eyes and said, "Well it's about damn' time!"

"What is?" Catherine asked distractedly.

"About time the two of you got over whatever had set you going this afternoon! If Miss Whatshername had seen the two of you an hour ago – I'd be on my way to child services just about now. Besides, you two are too good for each other to be so mad at each other!"

"Oh, Mats, sweetheart, we weren't mad at each other," Harm protested as he helped Catherine to settle back into her nest

"No?" Mattie replied pointedly.

"No, it was just a bit of miscommunication, kiddo," Catherine added, "And it was all – well, ninety per cent my fault!"

"No, it was fifty-fifty…" Harm began.

"Sheesh! Will you to listen to yourselves!" Mattie protested, "Can't you even agree on who has what part of the blame!"

The look of indignation on Mattie's face was so marked that when added to her words, Harm and Catherine stopped trying to apportion blame and looked at her in amazement, and then looking at each other and back at Mattie, they both burst into peals of laughter.

Mattie glared at them both, but the pretence of anger was too hard to continue, and she added her own giggles to the laughter which gradually died away, until Harm, mopping his eyes with a clean white handkerchief, said, "Well, I reckon we've got ten minutes before Miss Iowa arrives, so… Mats, could you brew a pot of tea, please? I figure, English Breakfast?" he looked at Catherine and received a confirmatory nod, "Yep, English Breakfast," he confirmed.

Mattie was halfway to the kitchen area when she stopped and turned around, "Miss Iowa?" she queried,

"Now see what you've done!" Catherine scolded harm. "Mattie, Harm has got into his dead that Ms le Moyne is Miss Des Moines, and as Des Moines is…"

"Yeah, in Iowa. I got it!" Mattie gave Harm a pitying look and a sorrowful shake of her head as she continued on her way to the kitchen.

Harm watched her go and as she did, Catherine, who had adopted her favourite snuggling position felt some the tension ease out of him. She looked up and followed the direction of his gaze and in a voice of soft admiration said, "Oh… nicely played, counsellor!"

"Yeah, not bad," he grinned down at her, "even if I say so myself!"

Mattie had barely brewed the tea and poured three cup when the door intercom buzzed. With a confident, "I got it!" she crossed to the intercom unit and pressed the 'call' button, "Yes?"

"This is Ms le Moyne, Donna le Moyne to see Mr Rabb and Miss Johnson." The disembodied voice announced.

Harm winced, but despite the scowl that flashed across her face, Mattie's voice remained civil, as she answered, "Yes, we've been expecting you, come on up."

Harm stood to open the door, and nodded to Mattie that she should take a seat. It was only a minute or so later that a light tap at the door announced that Ms Le Moyne had arrived. Drawing a shaky breath, Harm opened the door. Ms Le Moyne was a slender woman, some few years older than Harm, neatly but conservatively dressed in slacks, jacket and blouse, which were revealed when Harm offered to take her coat. Ushered to the other armchair she waited until Harm had sat down again next to Catherine.

"As you know, I'm Donna le Moyne, the court appointed Guardian Ad Litem for Mathilda Johnson…"

"That's Mattie Grace!" Mattie interrupted. "Nobody calls me Mathilda, and I go by Grace, my Mom's name, not Johnson!"

"I see," Ms Le Moyne smiled, not in the least disturbed by Mattie's outburst, as she made a note on one of the documents she'd brought out of her briefcase, "So... Mister Rabb and Miss Gale, yes?" She arched her eyebrows interrogatively at Harm and Catherine.

"That's Commander Rabb." Mattie muttered mutinously from behind the throw pillow which she was now hugging protectively.

"I see," Donna Le Moyne said apologetically, but with the beginning of a smile hovering on the corners of her mouth. "Mattie, could you give me, the Commander and Miss Gale, a few moments, please?"

Mattie looked questioningly at Harm and Catherine, "Go on sweetheart," Catherine said, I'll make sure they play nice."

Mattie stood, but turned to address Donna, "Yeah, OK… but before I go, can I offer you a cup of tea?" she indicated the three mugs of steaming liquid on the coffee table.

Donna gave Mattie a brief, but genuine smile, "No, no thank you, Mattie, but the offer is appreciated."

Mattie nodded and with a "See you later," disappeared into her bedroom.

The three adults watched her go and it wasn't until the door had closed behind her that Donna Le Moyne turned her attention back to Harm and Catherine. "I'll start with a few simple questions," she told them, "Now… where will Mattie be living?"

"With us," Harm answered, indicating Catherine, as well as himself, while Catherine nodded in confirmation.

"But, not here, I take it?" Donna indicated the stripped appearance of the apartment and the array of boxes stacked along the walls both sides of the door.

"No, we're moving on Friday to a house in Vienna, on Woodford Road," Catherine explained, as she gave Harm a 'Change of Address' slip which he passed to Donna.

Donna nodded, and carefully tucked the slip into one of the documents that had proliferated on her lap.

"And why is Mattie living with you here, now?" she inquired. And although the question was civil enough there was sufficient sharpness in it to ring a warning bell in Harm's mind.

"Mattie is the owner of a small general aviation and crop dusting business based at Blacksburg," he started, "And while nobody disputes her ownership, she is too young to be allowed to hold the requisite FAA licences."

Donna nodded, but sensing more to come, she added, "Go on."

"Well, through my own aviation links, I contacted a previous partner, and with Mattie's consent offered her the position of General Manager of Grace Aviation." Harm hesitated for a moment. "Well, to be brutally honest, Mattie's business was on the skids. Her father – who is now off the scene, had her enduring power of attorney and took out a loan secured on the company, and basically absconded with the cash. Mattie was in danger of losing the company and her home, and she couldn't offer a salary commensurate with the position, so to attract my former partner, Mattie allowed the use of her mom's home – almost adjacent to the airfield as rent-free accommodation to the new manager. Effectively making her homeless."

"I see, but why bring her home to you here. Why not alert CPS – as indeed you should have done the instant you became aware of her situation as a child living without adult guidance and protection?"

"Because I promised I wouldn't." Harm stated baldly, and then taking another deep breath, "Ms Le Moyne, I have done a fair bit of research into 'the system', not just recently in Mattie's case, but a few years ago in another case, and I became aware of the types of children that are easily found foster homes, and fourteen year olds with a chip on their shoulder aren't the easiest to re-home! Ms le Moyne. Are you perhaps familiar with the case of Darlyn and Annie Lewis?"

Donna Le Moyne shook her head, "No… the names don't ring a bell."

"If you'll forgive my cynicism Ms Le Moyne, I didn't think they would. The Lewis girls hardly rank up there with the CPS Stellar Success stories. They… uh… fell through the cracks, I was told. In the event Annie Lewis was beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend and it was only through my intervention that Darlyn escaped an identical fate. I had no intention of letting Mattie Grace 'slip through the cracks' and become another statistic."

"There's no saying that she would have, Commander Rabb," Donna said defensively.

"No… no there's not," Harm conceded, "But would you disagree with the figures that show teenagers that are taken into care often figure prominently in the statistics for runaways, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, prostitution and suicides?"

"No… I can't dispute those figures, Commander Rabb. I wish I could, but we know and acknowledge that the system isn't perfect. Now, having got that off our respective chests," she smiled, "Social services will have to make a visit of inspection to ensure that the housing you offer is appropriate for a fourteen year old girl. They will contact you direct to arrange the home visit. Now, what arrangements have you made for her schooling?"

"We've made provisional arrangements for Mattie to attend the George C Marshall High School, beginning in the new year," Catherine answered, having given Harm a cautionary hand-squeeze and to tell him to 'power down'. "In the meantime, she's welcome to borrow any books we have around the house, and she's encouraged to visit the local library, while both Harm and I are more than happy to answer any general education questions she may have. It's not perfect, I know, but at least she'll be getting some guidance, and we didn't think it was prudent to enrol her in a local school for six weeks until the end of the semester without knowing if she would be able to return to that school after the holidays."

Donna nodded, as if in approval, and made a further note. "And your income is sufficient to enable you to take care of not one, but two children?" she asked with a pointed look at Catherine's swollen stomach.

"Both Harm and I are attorneys in government service. While we may not be able to command the sort of salaries that are available in some private law practices, we have sufficient income to take care of Mattie, this child," Catherine stroked her bump, "and any future children we may decide to have together."

"Although you're a lawyer, Commander Rabb, you are also in the navy. Does your job take you out of town?"

"It has done in the past," Harm acknowledged, "Although I have recently taken up a billet where such absences will be much rarer and of a much shorter duration."

"And does your job take you out of the country?"

"Again, it has done in the past. But I don't expect it to in the foreseeable future. But, as you rightly point out, I am in the navy and billets do change."

"And what about you Miss Gale, would you expect your job to take you of the country?"

"Not at all, Miss le Moyne," I am not employed by the DoD but by the State Department. I wouldn't expect to be out of town for work purposes more than one, maybe two nights a year."

"I see, but if your absences should coincide, do you consider that Mattie is mature enough to cope on her own for a limited period?"

"Well, she has lived on her own for the last six months," Harm pointed out.

"That's not really answering my question, Commander," Donna answered in an uncompromising tone..

"If Catherine and I both have to be out of town at the same time, Ms Le Moyne, then arrangements will be in place for Mattie to be properly looked after!" Harm told her with more than just a hint of chill in his voice. "We will not leave Mattie alone!"

"I see, but you haven't made any arrangements yet?"

"No… Harm agreed reluctantly, "We're… uh… working on that. But I can assure you that Mattie will be well looked after!"

"It's not your assurances I'm interested in, Commander!" Donna said repressively, and turned to a new page of the document in which she was making notes.

"Have you ever been married?"

"No."

"Do you have other children?"

"No, not yet" He lightly touched Catherine's shoulder, and she smiled up at him, at the same time moving her hand to touch his. Donna Le Moyne smiled, the by-play hadn't escaped her, and it was so unselfconscious and spontaneous that she realised it was a genuine action and reaction and not something staged for her benefit.

"I see that Miss Gale has filed for joint guardianship of Mattie, would you consider her to be your significant other?"

"Significant other?" Harm's eyebrows rose and his face creased into a fond smile as he turned to look at Catherine, "No… not significant other, but the woman I love and with whom I am in love."

Donna looked from Harm to Catherine and back again, "Well, that's provided the answer to one of my questions," she smiled.

"And what might that be?" Harm asked, still inclined to be slightly aggressive.

"Oh… just that I now don't have to ask if you're gay!" Donna smiled. And then became serious again. "Miss Gale, when is the baby due?"

"Six weeks," Catherine replied.

"You don't feel that taking on the additional responsibility for a teenager at the same time as having a new baby will be too much for you?"

"No," Catherine was definite. "I shall have the support of my mother..."

"And mine, Harm interjected, "As well as the support of my friends."

Donna nodded and made some more notes and then laying her stack of documents to one side, she leaned forward, here elbows resting on her knees. "Just why do you want custody of this child?" she asked, her eyes fixed on Harm's.

"Someone needs to take care of this little girl!" he exclaimed, surprised at the question.

"She has a biological father."

"We looked for him!"

"And she has other relatives,"

"None of whom are in a position to look after her, and none of them who want to look after her."

"How long have you known Mattie?"

"A while!"

"A while. How did you meet her?"

"I was working for her!"

"Doing what?"

"Crop dusting. She was a good boss!" Harm added emphatically.

"Is this a whim, Commander?"

"No, certainly not!"

"Are you doing this out of pity?"

"No!"

"What are you doing this out of?"

"Out of… affection." Harm finished quietly but defiantly.

Donna Le Moyne leaned forward again and looked straight into Harm's eyes. "It is acceptable to say love, Commander," she admonished him gently, and then added briskly, "I shall need the name of somebody who you believe can vouch for your suitability as a parent…?"

Catherine and Harm exchanged glances, "Mac?" Catherine asked dubiously.

"Umm… probably not a good idea," Harm disagreed, "But… Bud Roberts and Harriet."

Catherine smiled at her memories of Bud the pseudo-minister fumbling his way through the fake marriage ceremony they'd held for her mother's sake, and nodded, "Yes, Bud would be ideal!"

Ms Le Moyne held her pen poised. "Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts, and his wife Harriet, Lieutenant Sims. They can both be found at JAG Headquarters in Falls Church." Harm explained.

Donna wrote down the details Harm had provided, and then stood, gathering together her sheaf of documents and replacing them in her briefcase. Harm picked up her coat and waited to help her into it. She thanked him with a brief smile and said, "Now, remember, Social Services will contact you about a home visit, and I'll be contacting Commander Roberts. No, please don't get up on my account," she hurriedly said to Catherine as she was about to struggle to her feet.

"It may not seem like it right now Commander, Miss Gale, but this was a good interview, with a lot of positive vibes." She gave them both a further smile, and briefcase in hand opened the door into the hallway and made her way along to the elevator.

Harm watched her go and then closed the door with a 'Whew!" as he exaggeratedly wiped his forehead clean of imaginary perspiration and managed a weak grin, while Catherine vented her release from tension with a nervous giggle.

Harm sank down beside her, "Man, I'd rather do a dozen night traps than face that again!"

"Oh, she wasn't that bad!" Catherine protested.

"Uh…yeah. Yeah, she was!" Harm disagreed, remembering what Mac had once said about his meatless meatloaf, "Anything you feel you need to say wasn't really that bad, probably was!"

"Umm… good point," Catherine conceded.

Harm grinned, "Watch this… Mattie," he said in a conversational tone, "you can stop pretending you're not listening in, and can come out now!"

Before she thought through Harm's words, "Mattie left her bedroom and came into the living room, to be greeted by a shout of laughter from both Harm and Catherine. Glaring at them both she suddenly realised that she'd betrayed her eavesdropping activities, and with a muttered, "Damn! Busted!" collapsed into her favourite chair, and then said defensively as Harm shook an admonitory finger at her, "Well, how else am I supposed to know what's going in in my life!"

xix-xix-xix-xix-xix

Mac had only just taken her seat in the JAG's chair after the morning staff call, and was debating whether to fetch her own coffee or ask Coates to get one for her, when that same petty officer rapped on the doorjamb.

"Enter!" Mac called.

Jen Coates approached the desk, her arms cuddling a stack of file folders and a perplexed expression on her face.

"What is it Coates?"

"Ma'am, while you were in staff call, a special courier arrived from the SecNav's office, ma'am."

Mac bit back a groan, "What did he bring us, Coates?"

"Orders, ma'am."

"Orders? What sort of orders?"

"PCS Orders, ma'am. For Commander Turner, and for me, ma'am. As well as for Major McBurney."

"I don't understand, Coates…"

"Ma'am, I've had orders cut, for a move to the SecNav's office on Monday. Commander Turner has had orders cut for a PCS to the Patrick Henry as Fleet JAG. And Major McBurney… you remember him ma'am, he prosecuted Comm… I mean Mister Rabb, at his court-martial. Well he's been PCS'd to here, along with a PO2 Barker to replace me."

Mac looked at her Yeoman in shock, and the only thing she could think of to say was, "No-one can replace you Coates!"